Court documents reveal staff considered ways to ‘get academic community to disavow’ influential US author

Meta staff discussed deploying a “whisper strategy” to undermine the influential US academic whose work has inspired a global social media crackdown, according to court documents.

Employees at the parent group of Facebook and Instagram sought to discredit Jonathan Haidt, the social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, a book that helped tip the debate about online safety towards more stringent measures such as the under-16 ban in Australia.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds

© Photograph: Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds

© Photograph: Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds

Watchdog says under-16 ban may affect older teenagers without passport or licence, and that ‘motivated children’ will skirt restrictions

More than 100,000 British teenagers risk being locked out of social media if they do not have a passport or driving licence when an under-16 ban is introduced next year.

Ofcom, the UK’s online watchdog, said about 150,000 16- to 17-year-olds do not own a passport or driving licence, which are likely to be needed to access age-restricted platforms.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Peter Cripps/Alamy

© Photograph: Peter Cripps/Alamy

© Photograph: Peter Cripps/Alamy

Supporters of a California wealth tax are short on cash and are relying on cheaper campaign methods to get their word out.

© Minh Connors for The New York Times

Social media users may be required to have photo ID to prove their age when Labour's ban for under-16s comes into force in spring as current facial age checks are inadequate, Ofcom has said.

The post Everyone Over 16 May Need ID to Use Social Media, Ofcom Says appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Official’s controversial September request for Senate hearing footage to not be shared on social media has been heavily criticised

• Get our daily political email, free app or daily news podcast

The secretary of the defence department approved a senior official’s controversial idea to tell a Senate hearing that footage of public servants giving evidence should not be shared on social media because it could invite online bullying and raise national security concerns.

Emails obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information reveal deputy secretary Celia Perkins’ planned request to the parliamentary inquiry was flagged with the offices of deputy prime minister Richard Marles and assistant defence minister Peter Khalil, and received the backing of department secretary Meghan Quinn.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

© Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The White House has been rocked by turnover and anxiety over the midterms. The president, who is tightening his inner circle, has lashed out at critics, held meandering rallies and feasted on a diet of news clips and “A.I. slop,” as one aide put it.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times