Meta is facing EU action after being told that excluding third-party AI assistants from WhatsApp while promoting its own Meta AI breaches EU competition law. The European Commission is proposing to impose interim measures on Meta in relation to the change to its WhatsApp Business Solution Terms, whi
Social Media
TikTok is too addictive, according to the European Commission, which has preliminarily found the video-sharing platform in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission's findings follow an investigation launched in February 2024 focused on design features such as infinite scroll, autopla
Further pressure has been piled on Elon Musk's social media company X over the scandal of AI-powered abuse of women and children following the launch of an investigation by a UK regulator and a raid on its Paris headquarters by French police. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) yesterda
France’s National Assembly has approved a bill that would bar under-15s from accessing social media, a move backed by President Emmanuel Macron. Parliamentarians in the lower house voted 116–23 late on Monday to approve the core provisions of the legislation, which would prevent young te
The European Commission has launched a new investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X in light of the international scandal around the creation and dissemination of AI-generated sexually-explicit images of women and children. The investigation under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) will
Karyn Harty, Lesley Caplin and Aaron McCarthy of Dentons consider whether EU law permits member states to ban social media for under-16s. Australia's ban on under-16s using major social media services came into force in December. Hot on the heels of this news, President Macron announced that France
The UK's independent online safety watchdog, Ofcom, has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk's social media platform X amid concerns about AI-powered abuse of women and children. The regulator warned that some sexually-explicit images generated and shared by X users using the Grok AI chatbot
Experts on children's rights and women's safety have urged the introduction of a ban on AI-powered "nudification" tools in Ireland as quickly as possible. Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok has come under intense scrutiny in Ireland and internationally because it has been widely used to generate and share
An Garda Síochána has come under further pressure to investigate Elon Musk's social media company X for alleged breaches of child sexual abuse legislation. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) said in a joint statement that X Internet Unlimited
Coimisiún na Meán and An Garda Síochána have been urged to take action against Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok, which has been used to generate and share sexually explicit images of women and children. Ireland's media regulator has told RTÉ News that it is engaging wit
The parents of a Scottish teenager who died after being targeted by an Instagram sextortion gang have launched a wrongful death lawsuit against Meta in the US. Murray Dowey, 16, died at his family home in Dunblane in December 2023 after being deceived into sharing intimate images with an Instagram a
Social media platform Reddit has launched legal proceedings aimed at overturning Australia's landmark ban on social media for under-16s. Australia's Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 took effect on Monday, requiring designated platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent u
Elon Musk's social media platform X has been fined €120 million by the European Commission for breaches of the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), including over its paid "blue checkmark" system. Originally introduced to verify the identity of high-profile users such as celebrities and journalists,
Ireland's online safety watchdog has signed a memorandum of understanding which paves the way for closer collaboration with its Australian counterpart. The document was signed this week by Niamh Hodnett, online safety commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán, and Australia's eSafety commissio
Ireland's media regulator has launched formal investigations into TikTok and LinkedIn amid concerns that their processes for reporting suspected illegal content fall short of EU legal requirements. Coimisiún na Meán's investigations team will assess whether the two platforms have contr



