Social media

A TikTok content creator, sits outside the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Washington as Senators prepare to consider legislation that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

US banning TikTok? Your key questions answered

After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app, including by former President Donald Trump, a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature.

FILE - Social media applications are displayed on an iPhone, March 13, 2019, in New York. An independent Russian news site has reported that a court in Russia convicted the spokesman of U.S. technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison in absentia. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Russia convicts the spokesperson for Facebook owner Meta in a swift trial in absentia

Firefighters extinguish a fire at Oregon's historic Timberline Lodge, which was featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film "The Shining," Thursday evening, April 18, 2024, in Government Camp, Ore. (Clackamas Fire Department via AP)

Firefighters douse a blaze at a historic Oregon hotel famously featured in ‘The Shining’

Apple pulls WhatsApp and Threads from App Store on Beijing’s orders

FILE - Joelle Pineau, Vice President AI Research, speaks at the at the Meta AI Day in London on April 9, 2024. Meta, Google and OpenAI, along with leading startups, are churning out new AI language models and trying to persuade customers that they've got the smartest or fastest or cheapest chatbot technology. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

Meta’s newest AI model beats some peers. But its amped-up AI agents are confusing Facebook users

Reaction outside Tokyo’s Imperial Palace as Japan’s royal family joins Instagram

Tourists and young people in Tokyo shared their thoughts on Monday on the new Instagram account launched by Japan’s imperial family. The family made an Instagram debut with a barrage of posts on Monday, hoping to shake off their reclusive image and reach out to younger people on social media. (AP video/Ayaka McGill)

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Florida’s DeSantis signs one of the country’s most restrictive social media bans for minors

Content creators worry TikTok ban will cut income

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European Union questions TikTok on new app that pays users for watching

European Union regulators are seeking details from TikTok on a new app from the video sharing platform that pays users to watch videos.

Instagram begins blurring nudity in messages to protect teens and fight sexual extortion

Instagram says it’s deploying new tools to protect young people and combat sexual extortion. The tools include a feature that will automatically blur nudity in direct messages.

FILE - Social media applications are displayed on an iPhone, March 13, 2019, in New York. An independent Russian news site has reported that a court in Russia convicted the spokesman of U.S. technology company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison in absentia. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Two tribal nations sue social media companies over Native youth suicides

Two tribal nations are accusing social media companies of contributing to high rates of suicides that disproportionately affect Native American youth.

FILE - Elon Musk appears at an event in London, on Nov. 2, 2023. A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice included Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation late Sunday, April 7, 2024, into the executive for alleged obstruction. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)

Elon Musk will be investigated over fake news and obstruction in Brazil after a Supreme Court order

A crusading Brazilian Supreme Court justice is adding Elon Musk to an investigation over the dissemination of fake news and investigating him separately for alleged obstruction.

Anonymous users are dominating right-wing discussions online. They also spread false information

As the presidential election draws nearer, the spread of bogus information online is getting a huge boost from social media accounts that have been created anonymously.

This cover image relesed by Gallery Books shows "Armed with Good Intentions" by Wallace Peeples, better known as Wallo267. (Gallery Books via AP)

Wallace Peeples, activist-influencer otherwise known as Wallo267, has memoir out in September

Wallace Peeples has lived many lives — activist, speechmaker, podcaster, social media influencer — since serving 20 years in prison.

FILE - Taylor Swift arrives at the world premiere of the concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 2023. Swift’s Instagram message encouraging her 283 million followers to register to vote was nominated for a Webby in the best creator or influencer category. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce earn Webby Award nominations, along with Sydney Sweeney, Ryan Gosling

Taylor Swift and her Super Bowl-winning boyfriend Travis Kelce, along with Sydney Sweeney, Ryan Gosling and Timothee Chalamet, are among the nominees for this year’s Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators.

The instagram page of Japan's Imperial Household Agency is seen on a mobile phone Monday, April 1, 2024, in Tokyo. Japan’s Imperial Family made an Instagram debut on Monday, with images of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako capturing moments of their official duties, an effort to shake off their cloistered image and reach out to the younger generations.(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan’s royal family makes formal debut on Instagram as world’s oldest monarchy tries to draw youth

Japan’s imperial family has made an Instagram debut with a barrage of posts, hoping to shake off their reclusive image and reach out to younger people on social media.

Georgia joins states seeking parental permission before children join social media

Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.

PSG's Korbin Albert celebrates after scoring her side's second goal during the women's Champions League quarterfinals, second leg, soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and BK Hacken at Parc des Princes, in Paris, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

U.S. midfielder Korbin Albert apologizes for sharing ‘insensitive and hurtful’ social media posts

U.S. women’s national team midfielder Korbin Albert has apologized for having liked and shared social media posts that she described as “offensive, insensitive and hurtful.”

FILE - The Facebook app is shown on a smart phone in Surfside, Fla., Friday, April 23, 2021. Meta will be sunsetting Facebook News in early April for users in the U.S. and Australia as the platform continues to deemphasize news and politics. The feature was shut down for users in the U.K., France and Germany last year. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Facebook News tab will soon be unavailable as Meta scales back news and political content

Meta will be sunsetting Facebook News in early April for users in the U.S. and Australia as the platform further deemphasizes news and politics.

FILE - The TikTok Inc. building is seen in Culver City, Calif., Friday, March 17, 2023. Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario launched lawsuits Thursday, March 28, 2024, against TikTok, Meta and SnapChat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

4 Canadian school boards sue Snapchat, TikTok and Meta for disrupting students’ education

Four of the largest school boards in the Canadian province of Ontario have launched lawsuits against TikTok, Meta and SnapChat alleging the social media platforms are disrupting student learning.

Sparks paying ex-police officer $525,000 to settle a free speech lawsuit over social media posts

The city of Sparks has agreed to a $525,000 settlement with an ex-police officer who filed a lawsuit in 2021 accusing the city of violating his free speech rights by suspending him for contentious comments he posted on his private social media account.

This image provided by Murrieta, Calif., Police Dept. shows an altered photo of a suspect used by the The Murrieta Police Department. The Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego after the Danish toy company asked the agency on March 19, 2024, to stop editing Lego heads over suspects' photos on social media. (Murrieta Police Dept. via AP)

Lego head mugshots add to California’s debate on policing and privacy

A Southern California police department has been handcuffed by Lego. The Danish toy company asked the agency to stop adding Lego heads to cover the faces of suspects in the photos it publishes on social media.

Pedestrians walk past the Nasdaq building in New York on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. Donald Trump’s social media company begins trading publicly Tuesday. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. was acquired Monday by a blank-check company called Digital World Acquisition Corp. Trump Media, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, now takes Digital World’s place on the Nasdaq stock exchange. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

Trump’s Truth Social soars nearly 40% in its first day of trading on Nasdaq

Shares of Donald Trump’s social media company rose about 16% in the first day of trading, boosting the value of Trump’s large stake in the company as well as the smaller holdings of fans who purchased shares as a show of support for the former president.

FILE - Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the company headquarters, formerly known as Twitter, in downtown San Francisco, July 28, 2023. A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk's X Corp. against the non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which has documented the increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased by the Tesla owner. On Monday, March 25, 2024 U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the suit, writing in his order that it was “unabashedly and vociferously about one thing" — punishing the nonprofit for its speech. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Judge dismisses lawsuit by Musk’s X against nonprofit researchers tracking hate speech on platform

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s X Corp. against the non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate, which has documented the increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased by the Tesla owner.

The download screen for Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in New York. Shareholders vote Friday on a deal to merge Trump Media & Technology Group, which runs Truth Social, and Digital World Acquisition Corp. — a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC., also referred to as a blank check company. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Trump’s social media company to start trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday

Trump Media & Technology Group, whose flagship product is social networking site Truth Social, will begin trading on the Nasdaq stock market on Tuesday.

Some of the 30 child influencers invited by toy company Cepia LLC wave at an event held to launch its new fashion doll line called Decora Girlz, at an FAO Schwarz store on March 2, 2024 in New York. Cepia began investing in TikTok in 2019. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio)

Big brands could pivot easily if TikTok goes away. For many small businesses, it’s another story

A lot of “What ifs” still surround a bill the U.S. House passed last week that would mandate TikTok′s Beijing-based parent company to sell its stake in the platform or face a nationwide ban.

One Tech Tip: How to get around Instagram’s new limits on political content

Instagram has started an automatic clamp down on the amount of political content appearing in its users’ feeds, but there is a relatively quick and easy way to turn off the controls if you don’t want to keep the limitations place.

FILE - Cameron Diaz arrives for her 92Y In Conversation with Rachael Ray on April 5, 2016, in New York. Diaz and her musician husband, Benji Madden, say they are “blessed and grateful” to have welcomed a baby boy — Cardinal Madden — to their family. The couple announced the arrival of their son in an Instagram post they each shared Friday, March 22, 2024. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden announce birth of baby boy named Cardinal

Star couple Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden say they are “blessed and grateful” to have welcomed a baby boy.

FILE - Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks after voting in Florida's primary election in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Trump’s return to the stock market could be right around the corner. All eyes are on a vote Friday by shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a shell company that is looking to merge with the former president’s media business. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

What we know about Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform

Former President Donald Trump launched his social media platform, Truth Social, in early 2022, after he was banned from major sites such as Facebook and the former Twitter following the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Truth Social account for former President Donald Trump is seen on a mobile device, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in New York. Trump’s Truth Social looks set to hit Wall Street in a move that could give him stock worth billions of dollars on paper. But the former president likely can’t cash it out right away, unless some things change. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Trump’s social media company approved to go public, potentially netting former president billions

Donald Trump is returning to the stock market. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded shell company, approved a deal to merge with the former president’s media business in a Friday vote.

Reddit mascot Snoo rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell, prior to the company's IPO, Thursday, March. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Reddit, the self-anointed ‘front page of the internet,’ soars in Wall Street debut

Reddit soared in its Wall Street debut as investors pushed the value of the company close to $9 billion seconds after it began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

FILE - The Reddit app icon is seen on a smartphone, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. Reddit is due to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Reddit poised to make its stock market debut after IPO prices at $34 per share amid strong demand

Reddit will enter a new era as a publicly traded company with a market value of $6.4 billion. The social media platform’s initial public offering was priced at $34 per share Wednesday.

FILE - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet greets garment workers at Prey Speu village outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Aug. 29, 2023. Manet has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes. Hun Manet called on the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and police to immediately take action against any vehicle whose normal horn has been replaced by a tune-playing one by ripping it out and restoring the standard honking type. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Cambodia’s prime minister sounds a sour note on trucks’ musical horns

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has ordered a ban on musical horns, after videos posted on social media showed people dancing on roads and roadsides as passing trucks blasted rhythmic little tunes.

FILE - People talk near a Meta sign outside of the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., March 7, 2023. Australia's eSafety regulator announced Tuesday, March 19, 2024, that it had issued legal notices to Google, Meta, X, WhatsApp, Telegram and Reddit requiring each company to report on steps they are taking to protect Australian users of their platforms from extremist material online. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Google, Meta and others face tough questions in Australia over cyber extremism threats

Australia’s online safety regulator has put social media giants on notice, requiring them to explain what they are doing to to protect people from violent extremists and terrorists.

FILE - Isabella DeLuca, of Long Island, N.Y., appears outside the Supreme Court, Oct. 26, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. DeLuca, a conservative social media influencer, has been charged with storming the U.S. Capitol. Court records unsealed Monday, March 18, 2024, show that DeLuca is charged with misdemeanors, including theft of government property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted area. She was arrested last Friday in Irvine, Calif. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Social media influencer is charged with joining the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol

A conservative social media influencer has been charged with storming the U.S. Capitol and passing a stolen table out of a broken window, allowing other rioters to use it as a weapon against police.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court seems favorable to Biden administration over efforts to combat social media posts

The Supreme Court is taking up a dispute between Republican-led states and the Biden administration over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security.

What TikTok creators say a ban would mean for them

TikTok creators across the country are expressing frustration over a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would lead to a nationwide ban of the app if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake.

FILE - The Reddit app icon is seen on a smartphone on Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. Reddit said Friday, March 15, 2024, that the Federal Trade Commission has opened an inquiry into the social platform’s sale, licensing or sharing of user posts and other content to outside organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

Reddit reveals FTC inquiry into deals licensing its users’ data for AI training

Reddit says the Federal Trade Commission has opened an inquiry into the social media platform’s sale, licensing or sharing of user posts and other content to outside organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models.