Read the latest positive news, breakthroughs, and inspiring stories about social media safety, curated daily by BrightWire.
Egypt just became one of the first countries to require automatic safety features for young teens on social media. The new rules ban accounts for kids under 13 and mandate built-in protections for ages 13 to 15.
A former Facebook employee turned whistleblower who spent 15 years inside the company is now helping shape European laws to protect kids online. After witnessing how features like infinite scroll were deliberately built to maximize profit over wellbeing, they're fighting for design changes that could transform social media.
Instagram is making it easier to spot AI-generated people on the platform with clearer labels and penalties for accounts that don't disclose their artificial nature. The move comes after users expressed frustration about being misled by profiles that looked human but weren't.
Meta will pay $17 billion and implement sweeping new protections for young users on Instagram and Facebook, including daily time limits and enhanced parental controls. The landmark settlement with 52 state attorneys general aims to protect kids' mental health after allegations the company knowingly designed addictive products.
Meta will pay nearly $18 billion and introduce major safety changes, including a two-hour daily limit for users under 18, to settle a lawsuit filed by states alleging harm to children. The settlement could reshape social media across the industry if competitors follow suit.
TikTok and ByteDance agreed to pay $400 million to settle child privacy violations and implemented extensive new protections for young users. The settlement marks one of the largest children's online privacy recoveries in history.
Swimming Australia just created a groundbreaking website to protect athletes from AI-generated fake news that's been causing them real distress. The "flickbait" resource will publicly debunk false stories targeting swimmers with a simple red X.
Canada just introduced legislation that would restrict social media access for children under 16, following Australia's groundbreaking move last year. The bill also creates new safety standards for AI chatbots to better protect young users online.
Instagram is testing new protections to prevent teens from seeing too much content about body image, dieting, and mental health struggles. The change aims to keep younger users' feeds balanced and healthier.
Two groundbreaking jury verdicts found Meta and YouTube liable for harming young people's mental health, validating years of parent advocacy. Safety advocates hope the rulings will finally force social media platforms to redesign features that keep kids hooked.
New research identifies exact design features that make social media addictive to young brains and offers concrete solutions companies could implement today. Recent court verdicts against Meta and Google confirm what scientists have been saying: platforms were built to hook developing minds.
Two landmark jury decisions found Meta and YouTube responsible for harming children's mental health, marking a major shift in Big Tech accountability. For the first time, courts validated what parents and advocates have been saying for years about social media dangers.