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[ad_1] Eric Adams, mayor of New York, speaks during the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images New York City banned TikTok on government-owned devices Wednesday, pointing to security concerns that have made the app a target of bipartisan scrutiny across the country. Congress already voted to ban TikTok on federal devices last year and several states have taken similar steps. The concern generally stems from TikTok's ownership by China-based tech company ByteDance, since many policymakers fear that structure could make U.S. users' information vulnerable to being accessed by the Chinese government, if forced to hand over information to comply with Chinese law . An NYC City Hall Spokesperson told WNBC in a statement that the ban was a result of the city's Cyber Command's conclusion that TikTok "posed a security threat to the city's technical networks." City agencies h

[ad_1] Protecting kids from harmful social media How to protect kids and teens from the harmful effects of social media 05:22 U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for stronger guidelines for social media use among children and teens, pointing to a growing body of research that the platforms may pose what he described as a "profound risk" to young people's mental health. In a report issued on Tuesday, Murthy urged technology companies and lawmakers to take "immediate action" by formulating policies to protect young people from "addictive apps and extreme and inappropriate content"

[ad_1] Social network Twitter, recently rebranded as X, has commandeered the handle "@music" from open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught, who told CNBC he created the account in 2007, and had built a community of around half a million followers there. While Elon Musk-led X gave Vaught no choice but to surrender the desirable username on its platform, he was offered the option to choose from a list of other handles related to the topic of music. His X-assigned account, which is "@musicfan," is not to his liking but he's settling for it for now. X ported his followers over to the new account at least, he said. The move on the part of the social media company raises questions about the worth of a handle on its platform. X terms of service , last updated in May, say, "We may also remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim username

[ad_1] Washington — Kati Morton was a reluctant adopter of YouTube. A therapist working toward her license in California, it was her then-boyfriend, now-husband, who first suggested that Morton explore posting videos on the platform as a way to disseminate mental health information. The year was 2011, and Morton, like many others, thought YouTube primarily consisted of videos of cats playing the piano and make-up tutorials. But after seeing other content posted on the site, Morton decided to give it a shot. Her audience started small, with her videos garnering a handful of views. But in the more than a decade since then, Morton's YouTube channel has grown to more than 1.2 million subscribers. Crucial to the growth of Morton's audience is YouTube's system for recommending content to users, which the company began building in 2008. It relies on a highly complex algorithm to predict what videos will interest viewers and keep

[ad_1] Algerian footballer Youcef Atal has become the latest Muslim footballer to be reprimanded by a European football club after France’s Nice suspended him for reposting an allegedly anti-Jewish message on social media related to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The move, on Wednesday, came less than two days after French prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation into Atal on suspicion of “glorifying terrorism”, following complaints filed by local politicians. “Given the nature of the publication shared [by Atal], and its seriousness, the club has taken the decision to take immediate disciplinary action against the player, prior to any action that may be taken by sporting and legal authorities,” the Ligue 1 club said in a statement. “As such, the club has decided to suspend Youcef Atal until further notice.” Atal is suspected of sharing a video from a Palestinian preacher on Instagram, purportedly calling for violence against Jewish people. He has since dele

[ad_1] Microsoft has pulled a computer-generated travel article on Ottawa, Canada, that included an eyebrow-raising recommendation. Along with popular tourist spots like Parliament Hill, the piece endorsed visiting the Ottawa Food Bank.  The now-deleted article , published this week on Microsoft's MSN website, is the latest in a long list of flubs from various news sites online that employ technology using algorithms and AI for creating content. The MSN article included the food bank as one of Ottawa's "cannot miss" tourist destinations, prompting a backlash from some readers on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter.  "Microsoft is really hitting it out of the park with its AI-generated travel stories," one X user  said in a post. "If you visit Ottawa, it highly recommends the Ottawa Food Bank and provides a great tip for tourists: 'Consider going into it on an empty stomach.'" The tou

[ad_1] The social media app will be developed by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG). Rafael Henrique | LightRocket | Getty Images Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp. — the shell company seeking to take former President Donald Trump 's social media platform public — soared more than 50% on Friday following the company's announcement that it had settled fraud charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $18 million . This surge brought DWAC's stock to $20.08, still a far cry from its highs above $95 in March of last year. DWAC is a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, that announced plans to merge with Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group in  October 2021 . The merger has since faced numerous delays. DWAC's SEC settlement dictates that the company must pay an $18 million civil penalty fee if it merges with TMTG and takes the company public. But if the merger does not occur before the Jan. 1, 2025, deadline, a

[ad_1] Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is hinting at legal action against Bud Light's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, for the beer brand's promotion earlier this year with  TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney . Bud Light's March Madness promotion with Mulvaney, a transgender actress and activist, sparked an uproar among some conservatives, including singers Kid Rock and Travis Tritt, who called for a boycott of the popular beer. An ongoing  sales slump for Bud Light  has been attributed to backlash from both conservatives and the LGBTPQ community over the marketing campaign. In an interview Thursday with Fox News, DeSantis  said  that Florida's pension fund contained over $50 million worth of Anheuser-Busch shares. Bud Light's decision to team with Mulvaney was followed by a sales slump , and as a result the state's pension fund has suffered collateral damage, according to the 2024 presidential candidate.  "When you start pu

[ad_1] A judge on Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about "protected speech," a decision called "a blow to censorship" by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling. U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged that the federal government overstepped in its efforts to convince social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections. Doughty cited "substantial evidence" of a far-reaching censorship campaign. He wrote that the "evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government s