INSIDER
Details from New Mexico's lawsuit against Snap show site failed to act on reports of sextortion
Read full article: Details from New Mexico's lawsuit against Snap show site failed to act on reports of sextortionSnapchat has failed to act on rampant reports of child grooming, sextortion and other dangers to minors on its platform.
How social media became a storefront for deadly fake pills
Read full article: How social media became a storefront for deadly fake pillsFentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last 5 years or so — and social media, where tainted, fake prescription drugs can be obtained with just a few clicks, is part of the problem.
Snapchat Inc. to pay $15 million to settle discrimination and harassment lawsuit in California
Read full article: Snapchat Inc. to pay $15 million to settle discrimination and harassment lawsuit in CaliforniaSnapchat Inc. will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by California’s civil rights agency.
Spain proposes law to improve online safety for children, including virtual restraining orders
Read full article: Spain proposes law to improve online safety for children, including virtual restraining ordersSpain’s government has proposed a law to protect children from online threats that includes virtual restraining orders for felons and a higher age for opening social media accounts.
Instagram, YouTube the biggest likely winners of TikTok ban but smaller rivals could rise too
Read full article: Instagram, YouTube the biggest likely winners of TikTok ban but smaller rivals could rise tooWhile a bill to ban TikTok if it doesn't change owners has received President Joe Biden's signature, it could still be years before the popular video-sharing app is actually blocked from U.S. app stores — if it is blocked at all.
Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicides
Read full article: Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicidesTwo tribal nations are accusing social media companies of contributing to high rates of suicides that disproportionately affect Native American youth.
4 Canadian school boards sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for disrupting students' education
Read full article: 4 Canadian school boards sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for disrupting students' educationFour of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario have launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta and SnapChat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning.
A judge has blocked enforcement of an Ohio law limiting kids’ use of social media during litigation
Read full article: A judge has blocked enforcement of an Ohio law limiting kids’ use of social media during litigationA federal judge has extended his block on enforcement of an Ohio law that would require children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps while a legal challenge proceeds.
Nevada attorney general launches go-it-alone lawsuits against social media firms in state court
Read full article: Nevada attorney general launches go-it-alone lawsuits against social media firms in state courtNevada’s attorney general has launched a go-it-alone legal fight accusing TikTok, Snapchat and Meta of creating what one lawsuit calls “an addiction machine” that exploits children too young to have self-control.
A judge has temporarily halted enforcement of an Ohio law limiting kids’ use of social media
Read full article: A judge has temporarily halted enforcement of an Ohio law limiting kids’ use of social mediaA federal judge has temporarily halted enforcement of an Ohio law that would require children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps.
A group representing TikTok, Meta and X sues Ohio over new law limiting kids' use of social media
Read full article: A group representing TikTok, Meta and X sues Ohio over new law limiting kids' use of social mediaA trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies has sued Ohio over a pending law that requires children to get parental consent to use social media apps.
34-year-old man arrested after taking 14-year-old to motel for 3 days, sexually assaulting her, police say
Read full article: 34-year-old man arrested after taking 14-year-old to motel for 3 days, sexually assaulting her, police sayJustin Brent Crowe, 34, of Magnolia, is charged with sexual assault of a child.
Social media companies made $11 billion in US ad revenue from minors, Harvard study finds
Read full article: Social media companies made $11 billion in US ad revenue from minors, Harvard study findsA study from Harvard says social media companies collectively made over $11 billion in U.S. advertising revenue from minors last year.
Pew survey: YouTube tops teens' social-media diet, with roughly a sixth using it almost constantly
Read full article: Pew survey: YouTube tops teens' social-media diet, with roughly a sixth using it almost constantlyTeen usage of social media hasn’t dropped much, despite rising concerns about its effects on the mental health of adolescents.
Georgia kids would need parental permission to join social media if Senate Republicans get their way
Read full article: Georgia kids would need parental permission to join social media if Senate Republicans get their wayChildren in Georgia would need their parents' permission to create social media accounts if some top Republicans in the state get their way next year.
Ex-band teacher arrested on child porn, online solicitation charges while out on bond, records show
Read full article: Ex-band teacher arrested on child porn, online solicitation charges while out on bond, records showA former band teacher who was arrested last year for sharing child pornography on Snapchat was arrested again while he was out on bond, according to the Converse Police Department.
‘Evil is out there’: Hays County authorities urge parents to monitor social media use
Read full article: ‘Evil is out there’: Hays County authorities urge parents to monitor social media use“It’s important that we as parents have an obligation to monitor those devices. We have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our children. And when we fail to do that, unfortunately, evil is out there,” Opiela said. “Evil will find our kids if we don’t do our job.”
Why social media is being blamed for fueling riots in France
Read full article: Why social media is being blamed for fueling riots in FranceSocial media companies are once again under scrutiny, this time in France as the country’s president blames TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms for helping fuel widespread riots over the fatal police shooting of a 17-year-old driver.
8 tips for parents and teens on social media use — from the US surgeon general
Read full article: 8 tips for parents and teens on social media use — from the US surgeon generalThe U.S. surgeon general is calling for tech companies and lawmakers to take “immediate action” to protect kids’ and adolescents’ mental health on social media.
The Snapchat AI feature makes me want to delete the app
Read full article: The Snapchat AI feature makes me want to delete the appI’m very much aware that I have no control over the decisions social media apps and organizations make, but it would have been nice to know that a strange little AI bot was going to show up as a Snapchat friend.
School lawsuits over social media harm face tough legal road
Read full article: School lawsuits over social media harm face tough legal roadLike the tobacco, oil, gun, opioid and vaping industries before them, the big U.S. social media companies are now facing lawsuits brought by public entities that seek to hold them accountable for a huge societal problem in the mental health crisis among youth.
Seattle schools sue tech giants over social media harm
Read full article: Seattle schools sue tech giants over social media harmThe public school district in Seattle is suing the tech giants behind TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat, seeking to hold them accountable for the mental health crisis among youth.
Group urges feds to investigate Snapchat over fentanyl sales
Read full article: Group urges feds to investigate Snapchat over fentanyl salesAs the U.S. deals with its deadliest overdose crisis to date, a national crime-prevention group is calling on the Justice Department to clamp down on social media’s role in the spread of fentanyl, the drug largely driving a troubling spike in overdose deaths among teenagers.
Judson ISD band teacher arrested for sharing child pornography files on Snapchat, police say
Read full article: Judson ISD band teacher arrested for sharing child pornography files on Snapchat, police sayA middle school band teacher with Judson ISD is on leave after San Antonio police found child pornography files on his Snapchat account.
Snap cutting 20% of staff as ad sales continue to dry up
Read full article: Snap cutting 20% of staff as ad sales continue to dry upThe parent company of social media platform Snapchat said Wednesday that it is letting go of 20% of its staff as it reorganizes and tries to reduce costs in the face of declining ad sales.
Social media offers parents more controls. But do they help?
Read full article: Social media offers parents more controls. But do they help?As concerns about social media’s harmful effects on teens continue to rise, platforms from Snapchat to TikTok to Instagram are bolting on new features designed to make their services safer and more age appropriate.
Social media hammered by mounting questions over advertising
Read full article: Social media hammered by mounting questions over advertisingSocial media has had a rough 2022 with lingering questions about advertising spending and a $44 billion takeover of Twitter that may or may not be happening, depending on which Elon Musk tweet you read.
Man arrested for child sex crime 2 days before starting job as temporary Bexar County jailer, BCSO says
Read full article: Man arrested for child sex crime 2 days before starting job as temporary Bexar County jailer, BCSO saysA 20-year-old man was arrested on an active warrant for a child sex crime two days before he was scheduled to start working at the Bexar County Jail, according to authorities.
Ex-SAPD officer sentenced to federal prison after sending explicit videos of children via Snapchat
Read full article: Ex-SAPD officer sentenced to federal prison after sending explicit videos of children via SnapchatA former San Antonio police officer who was fired last year for sending explicit videos of children via Snapchat has been sentenced to federal prison.
Several Snapchat users have become millionaires. Here’s how
Read full article: Several Snapchat users have become millionaires. Here’s howYes, you heard that correctly – Snapchat is making a few people millionaires. The spotlight feature on Snapchat is a dedicated tab in the app for promoting short viral videos from the Snapchat community, much like TikTok. Meanwhile, the Snapchat app overall grew to 265 million global daily active users in its fourth quarter of 2020, from 249 million in its third quarter. AdSo far, Snapchat has given out more than $110 million overall across the markets where spotlight is live. Snapchat said “several” users have become millionaires through the spotlight club since November 2020.
Twitter without Trump tumbles along with other tech shares
Read full article: Twitter without Trump tumbles along with other tech sharesFILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Twitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called Fleets globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)Shares of social media and other tech companies slid Monday, hit by fallout from the siege on the U.S. Capitol by supporter of President Donald Trump. Trump supporters have argued that the actions of the technology companies is a violation of free speech and Trump has long tried to repeal Section 230. Though Trump's tenure ends in nine days, power in the Senate has flipped to the Democrats who have long begrudged the oversized influence of social media.
Suspect in Las Vegas slaying arrested in Austin, extradited to Nevada
Read full article: Suspect in Las Vegas slaying arrested in Austin, extradited to NevadaLAS VEGAS – A 23-year-old man accused in a fatal stabbing in Las Vegas and then posting to Snapchat with the victim’s property has been extradited to Nevada’s Clark County, authorities said. Las Vegas Metro Police said 23-year-old Nile Herrington was arrested Nov. 2 north of Austin, Texas in connection with the death of 34-year-old Anthony King. Herrington is accused of stabbing King on Oct. 25 inside a Las Vegas apartment. Jail records show Herrington was booked into the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on Friday. Metro Police said King owned multiple short-term rentals in Las Vegas and hired Herrington to clean them.
Twitter launches disappearing tweets that vanish in a day
Read full article: Twitter launches disappearing tweets that vanish in a dayTwitter is launching tweets that disappear in 24 hours called “Fleets” globally, echoing social media sites like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram that already have disappearing posts. Twitter tested the feature in Brazil, Italy, India, and South Korea, before rolling it out globally. Fleets are a “lower pressure” way to communicate “fleeting thoughts” as opposed to permanent tweets, Twitter executives Joshua Harris, design director, and Sam Haveson, product manager, said in a blog post. The news comes the same day Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from a Senate Judiciary Committee about how they handled disinformation surrounding the presidential election. Such features are increasingly popular with social media users looking for smaller groups and and more private chats.
NEISD middle school teacher arrested after soliciting 14-year-old girl for sex, affidavit says
Read full article: NEISD middle school teacher arrested after soliciting 14-year-old girl for sex, affidavit saysSAN ANTONIO – A North East Independent School District teacher has been arrested after he asked a 14-year-old girl for sex on social media, an arrest affidavit said. According to the affidavit, Christopher Michael Rocha, a math teacher and coach at Krueger Middle School, started to message a student on Snapchat, a popular social media application. Rocha, 29, then asked the student to invite him over to her house to have sex, the affidavit said. The family then reported the incident to the school district and the San Antonio Police Department. Rocha gave a voluntary statement to investigators and gave names of other students he was communicating with through social media, the affidavit said.
Why experts say you should take a break from social media
Read full article: Why experts say you should take a break from social mediaSocial media can be magical when it comes to staying in touch with family and friends, but we all know that social media has its dark side too. According to an article published on the healthy.com, social media constantly interrupts us. Studies show that by doing social media while working can reduce your productivity by up to 40%. Doctors say just spending one to two hours on social media before bedtime can lead to 15 hours a week of lost sleep. staying away from social media can make you feel calmer, and more focused on things that really matter.
Border Patrol agent accused of soliciting 16-year-old girl on Snapchat for sex arrested, police say
Read full article: Border Patrol agent accused of soliciting 16-year-old girl on Snapchat for sex arrested, police sayPolice say the 16-year-old victim told them in early November that she had run away from home after getting into an argument with her father. Police obtained a search warrant and reviewed the victim’s Snapchat account. Officials said the victim told the user, identified as 24-year-old Spencer Allen Cox, that she was 16 early on in their conversation. Police said the victim told them that Cox had requested a “car date” so that they could “hook up” on three separate occasions. Cox told police he used his Snapchat app to communicate with various females, according to an arrest affidavit.
How a California teen’s message on Snapchat helped lead police to her alleged kidnappers
Read full article: How a California teen’s message on Snapchat helped lead police to her alleged kidnappersA teenager's Snapchat message is what led authorities to her kidnappers, investigators say. Snapchat, a social media app, allows friends to share their locations with each other if the app is open on their phone. "Within a few feet," San Jose State University professor Ahmed Banafa told KPIX. Banafa told the affiliate that the app is easy to use -- even in similar circumstances. And you have to understand that Snapchat broadcasts your location to multiple friends -- not just one.”