- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
- Equity markets, yen rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Meta and Spotify blast EU decisions on AI
- Hasan takes three as Bangladesh rattle India in first Test
- Two killed during police operation in New Caledonia
- Flood-hit region leaders to meet in Poland to discuss EU aid
- Sri Lanka to vote in first poll since economic collapse
- Hong Kong probe finds Cathay Airbus defect could cause 'extensive' damage
- AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn
- All Blacks primed for 'hell' of a Wallabies clash
- Japan firm says no longer makes radio reportedly used in Lebanon blasts
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- Boeing to start large-scale furloughs with Seattle strike talks stalled
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- Slipper to become most-capped Wallaby in All Blacks clash
- Tokyo surges on weak yen as Asian traders cheer big US rate cut
- Vast France building project sunk by sea level rise fears
- UK campaigners in green energy standoff reject 'nimby' label
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- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of device blasts
- China's 'full-time dads' challenge patriarchal norms
- What we know about the fire 'pandemic' plaguing Brazil
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- Amazon drought leaves Colombian border town high and dry
- Some Cubans depend on sugar water as food shortages bite
- Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
- YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
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- Hundreds of thousands at risk in Sudan's El-Fasher: UN
- Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charge
- Venezuelan opposition candidate says letter conceding election was coerced
- Ukraine official claims Russian advance in Kursk has been 'stopped'
Instagram, under pressure, tightens protection for teens
Meta on Tuesday announced the creation of "Teen Accounts," designed to better protect underage users from the dangers associated with Instagram.
The hugely popular photo-sharing app is accused by many experts and authorities of damaging the mental health of its youngest users.
"'Teen Accounts' is a significant update, designed to give parents peace of mind," Antigone Davis, Meta vice-president in charge of safety issues, told AFP.
Under the new policy, users age 13 to 15 will have private accounts by default, with tighter safeguards on who can contact them and what content they can see.
Teens who want a public profile and fewer restrictions -- because they want to become influencers, for example -- will need to obtain permission from their parents. The new rules apply for both existing and new users to the platform.
"This is a big change. It means making sure that we do this really well," Davis said.
- 3 billion IDs -
For the past year, pressure has been building across the globe against the social media giant founded by Mark Zuckerberg and its rivals.
Last October, some forty US states filed a complaint against Meta's platforms, accusing them of harming the "mental and physical health of young people," due to the risks of addiction, cyber-bullying or eating disorders.
Australia, meanwhile, will soon set the minimum age for its social networks at between 14 and 16.
For the time being, Meta refuses to check the age of all its users, in the name of confidentiality.
"When we have a strong signal that someone's age is wrong, we're going to ask them to verify their age, but we don't want to make three billion people have to provide IDs," Davis said.
In her opinion, it would be simpler and more effective if age checks were carried out at the level of the smartphone's mobile operating system, i.e. Google's Android or Apple's iOS.
"They actually have significant information about the age of users. And if they were to share that broadly across all the apps that teens use, that would provide peace of mind for parents."
It's not clear whether the new protections will be enough to reassure governments and online safety advocates, such as Matthew Bergman, founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center.
"Instagram is addictive. Instagram leads kids down dangerous rabbit holes, where they are shown not what they want to see, but what they can't look away from," he said.
His group represents 200 parents whose children committed suicide "after being encouraged to do so by videos recommended by Instagram or TikTok."
Bergman points to the many cases where young girls have developed serious eating disorders.
Meta now prevents the promotion of extreme diets on its platforms, among other measures taken in recent years.
These measures are "baby steps, but nevertheless, steps in the right direction," he told AFP.
In his view, all that's needed is for groups to make their platforms less addictive - "and therefore a little less profitable."
This can be done without the platforms losing their quality for users, he said.
L.Harper--AMWN