TikTok In America Is Now US-Owned With Major Changes Coming
bgr - TikTok USDS Joint Venture now runs TikTok in the United States, as the popular video sharing app avoids being banned following threats from the US government.
Back to Top / Saturday, January 24, 2026, 12:20 am / permalink 18354 / 6 stories in 6 wks
Anthropic releases new AI ‘constitution’ for Claude
Maria Deutscher / siliconangle - Anthropic PBC today released a new version of Claude’s constitution, a document that outlines how the large language model series should process prompts. The company published the original version of the file in May 2023. The document contained instructio…
- Reports debate Claude's consciousness and evolving moral challenges (5)
- Updated charter outlines Claude's ethics and safety protocols (7)
- All Other Stories
Reports debate Claude's consciousness and evolving moral challenges
Updated charter outlines Claude's ethics and safety protocols
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Wednesday, January 21, 2026, 11:21 pm / permalink 18270 / 13 stories in 6 wks
UK government considering social media ban for children
ft - Ministers will also look at restricting addictive app features as part of a consultation on curbing harmful online activity
UK/France youth ban debate
US KOSMA shifts parental control
Back to Top / Monday, January 19, 2026, 5:21 pm / permalink 18180 / 13 stories in 6 wks
Elon Musk's X to block AI chatbot Grok from making explicit images of real people
Huo Jingnan / npr - Elon Musk's social media company X says it will block its AI chatbot Grok from creating explicit images of real people after governments around the world launched investigations into the feature.
Back to Top / Friday, January 16, 2026, 10:23 am / permalink 18031 / 2 stories in 7 wks
Social media companies purge 4.7mn accounts after landmark Australia ban
ft - First data released on impact of blocking access for children as other countries monitor progress
Back to Top / Thursday, January 15, 2026, 11:20 pm / permalink 17987 / 4 stories in 7 wks
‘Heinous’: Musk’s AI Grok facing probe
news.com.au - Millions of accounts were deactivated in the wake of Australia’s social media ban, but it’s an “even more potentially catastrophic” threat that has the watchdog worried.
Back to Top / Thursday, January 15, 2026, 7:20 pm / permalink 17969 / 12 stories in 7 wks
How Activists in Iran Are Using Starlink to Stay Online
Adam Satariano,Paul Mozur,Sheera Frenkel / nytimes - Activists spent years preparing for a communications blackout in Iran, smuggling in Starlink satellite internet systems and making digital shutdowns harder for the authorities to enforce.
Back to Top / Thursday, January 15, 2026, 5:20 pm / permalink 17951 / 5 stories in 7 wks
Elon Musk’s AI company finally blocks nude image generation following pressure from regulators
Matthias Bastian / the-decoder - After days of abuse and investigations on both sides of the Atlantic, Elon Musk's chatbot Grok can no longer undress photos of real people—at least where it's illegal.The article Elon Musk’s AI company finally blocks nude image generation following pressu…
- Bikini edits stir quick tech tweaks (2)
- Regulators force nude image blockades (2)
- Wider Grok controversies spark ongoing debate (3)
- All Other Stories
Bikini edits stir quick tech tweaks
Regulators force nude image blockades
Wider Grok controversies spark ongoing debate
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Thursday, January 15, 2026, 12:21 pm / permalink 17910 / 13 stories in 7 wks
Starlink Users in Iran Get Free Internet Access, Nonprofit Says
Natallie Rocha / nytimes - Under a near-total communications blackout, users of Elon Musk’s satellite service have gotten online without paying, an organization that works on web access said.
- Activists bypass blackout using Starlink resilience (3)
- Free access fuels protest connectivity (5)
- Overall blackout narrative affecting millions (1)
- Regime jamming and crackdown on Starlink signals (6)
Activists bypass blackout using Starlink resilience
Free access fuels protest connectivity
Overall blackout narrative affecting millions
Regime jamming and crackdown on Starlink signals
Back to Top / Tuesday, January 13, 2026, 7:21 pm / permalink 17846 / 15 stories in 7 wks
Elon Musk Says X to Make Its Algorithm Open Source in Seven Days
Vincent Lee / bloomberg - Social media platform X will open its new algorithm to the public in seven days, Elon Musk said on Saturday, including the code used to decide what posts and advertisements are recommended to users.
Back to Top / Saturday, January 10, 2026, 3:20 pm / permalink 17741 / 9 stories in 7 wks
Indonesia blocks Grok over non-consensual, sexualized deepfakes
Anthony Ha / techcrunch - Indonesian officials said Saturday that they are temporarily blocking access to xAI’s chatbot Grok.
Back to Top / Saturday, January 10, 2026, 2:20 pm / permalink 17739 / 26 stories in 7 wks
Italy Fines Cloudflare 14 Million Euros For Refusing To Filter Pirate Sites On Public 1.1.1.1 DNS
BeauHD / slashdot - An anonymous reader quotes a report from TorrentFreak: Italy's communications regulator AGCOM imposed a record-breaking 14.2 million-euro fine on Cloudflare after the company failed to implement the required piracy blocking measures. Cloudflare argued tha…
Back to Top / Friday, January 9, 2026, 5:21 pm / permalink 17698 / 4 stories in 1 month
Elon Musk's Grok AI image editing limited to paid users after deepfakes
bbc - It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
- Government, regulatory scrutiny intensifies (4)
- Monetization measures restrict free access (11)
- Other analysis (1)
- Sexual deepfakes and abuse scandals (8)
- All Other Stories
Government, regulatory scrutiny intensifies
Monetization measures restrict free access
Other analysis
Sexual deepfakes and abuse scandals
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Friday, January 9, 2026, 3:20 am / permalink 17668 / 30 stories in 1 month
Iran’s Internet Traffic Drops to 'Near Zero' as Protests Intensify
Jason Nelson / decrypt - Cloudflare data shows a near-total blackout as demonstrations calling for regime change spread and authorities tighten control.
Back to Top / Thursday, January 8, 2026, 8:20 pm / permalink 17657 / 8 stories in 1 month
X’s deepfake machine is infuriating policymakers around the globe
Lauren Feiner / theverge - X's Grok chatbot hasn't stopped accepting users' requests to strip down women and, in some cases, apparent minors to AI-generated bikinis. According to some reports, the flood of AI-generated images includes more extreme content that potentially violates …
- Censorship and defaults: Debating AI safety and limits (2)
- Deepfake surge: Undressing outputs spark explicit content alarm (4)
- Media mix-up: Questioning Grok reportage inaccuracies (1)
- Regulatory clampdown: Governments seek answers on explicit outputs (5)
- All Other Stories
Censorship and defaults: Debating AI safety and limits
Deepfake surge: Undressing outputs spark explicit content alarm
Media mix-up: Questioning Grok reportage inaccuracies
Regulatory clampdown: Governments seek answers on explicit outputs
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Wednesday, January 7, 2026, 8:20 pm / permalink 17621 / 13 stories in 1 month
Grok AI Sparks International Investigations After Creating Explicit Images of Children
eWEEK Staff / eweek - Elon Musk's initial reaction sparked additional controversy when he responded with laughing emojis to AI-generated bikini images.The post Grok AI Sparks International Investigations After Creating Explicit Images of Children appeared first on eWEEK.
Global Regulatory Crackdown
Sexual Explicit Content Controversies
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 10:20 am / permalink 17554 / 15 stories in 2 months
France Targets Australia-Style Social Media Ban For Children Next Year
BeauHD / slashdot - An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: France intends to follow Australia and ban social media platforms for children from the start of the 2026 academic year. A draft bill preventing under-15s from using social media will be submitted for…
Editor: As a parent, to be fully honest, I'm heartened by these moves - people and governments asserting themselves is not a bad thing. That being said - there's performative eassertion for the sake of hearing one's voice heard, and then there's assertion in favour of all the entrenched players...
- Big tech faces child safety and privacy probes (3)
- French crackdown on kids' social media use (11)
- All Other Stories
Big tech faces child safety and privacy probes
French crackdown on kids' social media use
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 4:21 pm / permalink 17399 / 15 stories in 2 months
U.S. Bars 5 European Tech Regulators and Researchers
Steven Lee Myers / nytimes - The Trump administration, citing “foreign censorship,” imposed travel bans on experts involved in monitoring major tech platforms.
EU backlash over travel bans
US sanctions on tech officials
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Tuesday, December 23, 2025, 7:21 pm / permalink 17259 / 23 stories in 2 months
The ‘60 Minutes’ Report on CECOT That Bari Weiss Censored Is Now Internet Contraband
John Gruber / theverge - Elizabeth Lopatto, writing at The Verge: 60 Minutes had already begun promoting the now-censored segmentonline. Because it was pulled so late, it seems that CBS missed atleast one platform for distribution: Canada’s Global TV. Somepeople used a VPN to wat…
- Background on CECOT (1)
- Censorship and Online Resurgence (14)
- Political and Editorial Backlash (2)
- All Other Stories
Background on CECOT
Censorship and Online Resurgence
Political and Editorial Backlash
All Other Stories
Back to Top / Monday, December 22, 2025, 7:20 pm / permalink 17222 / 28 stories in 2 months
Reddit challenges Australia's age-verification law, says it's not social media
techspot - Australia's under-16 social media ban came into effect last week, just over a year after the legislation was passed. It requires Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, and YouTube to verify the ages of Australian us…
Back to Top / Monday, December 15, 2025, 6:21 pm / permalink 16993 / 6 stories in 2 months