Pushback against social media platforms is gaining momentum

In New Zealand, National plans to ban social media for kids under 16

The challenge, as always, is around implementation. What framework is the Government expecting? How accurate should their systems be? Is there any testing? Benchmarks?   

Without something like a digital ID or ID verification, you're stuck with things like facial recognition or account activity signals. So if these social media companies get it wrong, there's no one to call, no one to email. It's not like you can walk into a store and prove who you are. You're at the mercy of the systems, and hoping they're accurate. Otherwise, you get your account blocked... and then what?  

  

Meta to pay up to $18 billion over Instagram and Facebook's effect on teens  

Facebook's owner just admitted, in dollar terms at least, that it built its apps to be addictive to kids — and it's about to change how they work for every teenager, everywhere. Teen accounts get a default two hour daily cap, no app access from midnight to 6am, and quieter notifications overnight and during school hours. 

Like/reaction counts will be hidden from teens, cosmetic-surgery filters blocked, and there will be stronger age checks to catch under-13s. The settlement landed just over a week after opening arguments kicked off, and before CEO Mark Zukerburg took the stand.   
  

Get ready for AI scams and attacks like never before  

Just this week, a group of the major tech companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, Visa, and Amazon called for businesses and governments —basically all of society— to act now. They want governments to coordinate cyber defence at local, national, and international levels.   

In June, the world’s “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance issued a rare joint statement warning that the AI revolution was poised to “fundamentally transform” cybersecurity.  

Voice cloning can now be done, to a realistic level, in around three seconds of training data. The FBI is warning that criminals are using the voices of trusted people —officials and family members— to trick victims into taking actions. The criminals can get the audio from things like an Instagram video post, voicemail greeting, or a TikTok then run it through free tools to make the AI mimic the person. The two biggest attacks: the 'grandparent / family emergency' scam and the 'CEO wire transfer' scam (average loss $250,000+).