Social Media

On Jan. 15, a new law is scheduled to take effect in Ohio that will compel many other social media platforms to ask for a parent's permission before establishing an account for minors under the age of 16.

The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced a global outage for around an hour Thursday. Some users were unable to see their timelines, but were able to post content.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine says a federal digital literacy curriculum is necessary to address the harmful impacts of social media on youth. The recommendations will be shared with Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and social media companies.

A new report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine; Galea; and 10 other researchers lays out ways that society can help improve teens' interactions with social media.

Facebook. TikTok. X. In a year that saw major upheaval across popular social platforms, are these sites still viable options for delivering vital public information?

In the four months since Orange County Public Schools in Florida banned students from using cellphones at school, teachers and staff have seen positive changes. Some students are irked they can't use phones at lunch.

Addressing Carnegie Mellon University this week, Duke University law professor Nita Farahany said ChatGPT was adopted even faster with less safeguards than social media, but we need not repeat the same mistakes.

A survey from the gov tech company Springbrook Software found that most people prefer to pay their local government bills online, but they want easier navigation, better access to data and better payment options.

The Cumberland County Board of Education in Tennessee has joined a lawsuit against Meta and Google for how their products contributed to disordered eating, unhealthy social comparisons and cyber-bullying among students.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced $75 million in funding to combat the spike in hate speech and crime in the city. Funds will be used to provide new police technology and social media analysis, and more.

Washington announced this week it has joined dozens of other states to sue Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, accusing the social media giant of fueling a nationwide youth mental health crisis.

State and local government PIOs and social media teams are navigating the drastic changes at what was once Twitter, grappling with unexpected features and shifts in user verification, as they weigh the pros and cons of remaining on the evolving platform.

The official Twitter/X account for the Boulder, Colo., Office of Disaster Management was deactivated to prevent “suspicious activity” after it was apparently hacked over the weekend.

As more universities make use of the anonymous social networking app Fizz to keep students connected, some officials have questions about cyber bullying, misinformation and other malicious online behaviors.

Social media has a portability problem: When users leave one platform for another, none of their followers go with them. That's no small issue for governments that rely on networks to disseminate important information.

OSF Saint Anthony's Health Center in Illinois is advising school personnel and parents that they need to teach students about social media and how to develop a healthy sense of self-worth and resilience.

New York City leaders pleaded with social media companies to do something about the deadly trend of subway surfing viral videos. Now the tech companies are removing dangerous videos and publishing the city's PSA content.

A U.S. district court judge has issued a temporary injunction against an Arkansas law that mandates social media companies to use third-party vendors for age verification checks on new users or face substantial fines.