Social Media

California legislators will renew discussion over a bill to penalize Facebook, Snapchat and other large companies for the algorithms and other features they use to keep minors on their platforms for as long as possible.

Witnesses testifying in a recent congressional hearing said domestic sources are playing a strong role in driving online falsehoods that undermine faith in elections and inspire real-world violent attacks.

The official Twitter account for the city of Wichita was hacked Friday evening and steps are being taken to secure the account, according to city officials. The unauthorized access appeared to have come out of Turkey.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has discriminated against users by restricting who can view housing ads based on certain demographics. Now, the company is in the process of fixing it.

Newly reintroduced legislation could soon force social media companies to publicly share their policies related to removing content. Advocacy groups, however, have several concerns regarding the bill.

Election-related disinformation continues to spark real threats. Paying close attention to these online conversations can tip off local governments to serious risks, says Maricopa County, Ariz., CISO Lester Godsey.

The alerts, which notify the public about kidnapped children and are primarily sent as notifications on mobile phones, will now also appear on people’s Instagram feeds as part of a nationwide rollout.

The state plans to hire a full-time misinformation expert to counter online falsehoods as part of a $2 million election security and public information campaign by the Secretary of the State’s Office.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision yesterday came down to a 5-4 vote, putting the law back on hold after recently being reinstated by a federal appeals court two weeks ago.

California could soon hold social media companies responsible for harming children who have become addicted to their products, permitting parents to sue platforms like Instagram and TikTok for up to $25,000 per violation.

Meta has shared its plans to make political ad targeting data available through its Ad Library and Facebook Open Research and Transparency project. The process would entail updates to both platforms.

Social media companies had a big win in Florida yesterday after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a bill aiming to levy penalties against social media companies for blocking politicians and media.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board has delayed for two months a new policy that would strictly regulate what district employees could post on social media, following a wave of criticism from staff and the public.

A three-judge appellate panel on Monday ruled that a 2021 Florida law targeting social-media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter unconstitutionally restricts the companies’ First Amendment rights.

Last week, a federal appeals court reinstated a Texas law allowing residents to sue social media companies for moderating their content. Industry experts, however, argue that the bill is unconstitutional.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is considering a far-reaching policy to regulate employee use of social media, including rules against defaming the district and accepting current students as followers.

The acquisition, financed by the private equity firm that owns CivicPlus, will add three pieces of software revolving around compliance in the government interaction space to a rapidly diversifying technology portfolio.

Governments may be reluctant to invest in metaverse-based services without a clearer sense of how the space is forming and how residents want to use it. These early days could be time for learning what the technologies might offer and how interventions could encourage equitable development.