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Down-ranking polarizing content lowers emotional temperature on social media: New researchReducing the visibility of polarizing content in social media feeds can measurably lower partisan animosity. To come up with this finding, my colleagues and I developed a method that let us alter the ranking of people's feeds, previously something only the social media companies could do.... Read more -
EU could hit X with fine before 2025 endsThe European Union could fine Elon Musk's X platform for breaking its digital rules by the end of 2025—two years into a probe that has tested the bloc's resolve to police the online space.... Read more -
Tim Berners-Lee wants everyone to own their own data. His plan needs state and consumer support to workTim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, has released an important new book about the problems we face online and how to solve them. It is called "This is for Everyone," meaning that the internet should be for all.... Read more -
The avatar in a wheelchair: A call for more diversity in the MetaverseA study by the University of Stuttgart, the California State University at Fullerton, and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems has found that there are benefits to representing one's real-life disability through an avatar in virtual reality.... Read more -
Based in US or Nigeria? Musk's X erupts over location featureElon Musk's X erupted in uproar after the rollout of a feature revealing an account's location, exposing what users describe as global troll farms and influence operations on the platform—including in support of Donald Trump.... Read more -
Don't expect AI to disrupt Google's monopoly on searchIn a recent episode of the podcast "Acquired," venture capitalists and hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal argued that the horrible roll-out of Google's Bard AI chatbot in February 2023—which led the company's stock to drop 8% in a day—was a blessing in disguise.... Read more -
Snapchat begins age checks in Australia ahead of social media banSnapchat has begun asking teenage Australians to verify their ages, a company spokesperson said Monday, just weeks before Canberra enforces sweeping laws banning under-16s from social media.... Read more -
Meta alerts young Australians to download their data before a social media banTechnology giant Meta on Thursday began sending thousands of young Australians a two-week warning to downland their digital histories and delete their accounts from Facebook, Instagram and Threads before a world-first social media ban on accounts of children younger than 16 takes effect.... Read more -
EU moves to delay 'high-risk' AI rules, cut cookie bannersThe EU executive proposed rolling back key AI and data privacy rules on Wednesday as part of a push to slash red tape and help Europe's high-tech sector catch up with global rivals.... Read more -
Under pressure, EU to scale back digital rulesThe EU will unveil plans on Wednesday to overhaul its AI and data privacy rules after coming under pressure from European and US companies.... Read more -
Cloudflare resolves outage that impacted thousands, ChatGPT, X and moreA widely used Internet infrastructure company said that it has resolved an issue that led to outages impacting users of everything from ChatGPT and the online game, "League of Legends," to the New Jersey Transit system early Tuesday.... Read more -
Cloudflare outage impacts thousands, disrupts transit systems, ChatGPT, X and moreA widely used Internet infrastructure company said that it has resolved an issue that led to outages impacting users of everything from ChatGPT and the online game, "League of Legends," to the New Jersey Transit system early Tuesday.... Read more -
Global number of Internet users increases, but disparities deepen key digital dividesThe world's online population grew by more than 240 million people in 2025, according to Facts and Figures 2025 released today by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The new estimates confirm continuing progress in expanding digital connectivity, while pointing to differences in quality that impact how users benefit from Internet... Read more -
The most effective online fact-checkers? Your peersWhen the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) invited users to flag false or misleading posts, critics initially scoffed. How could the same public that spreads misinformation be trusted to correct it? But a recent study by researchers from the University of Rochester, the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, and the... Read more -
Video podcasts become next streaming battlegroundBig tech platforms, including TikTok and Netflix, are all looking to add video podcasts to their content, a rapidly growing format that attracts a young audience prized by advertisers and where YouTube dominates.... Read more
