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Meta-owned social media platform facing multiple US state lawsuits over child safety, privacy violations, and addictive design, with a landmark $18 billion settlement reached in August 2026.
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Joy Online
… Meta, which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads, has been contacted by the BBC for comment. …
Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giantJoy Online
… A growing list of major tech companies participates in the initiative, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, X, Microsoft Bing, Snap Inc., and OnlyFans. …
StopNCII: Free online tool offers protection against non-consensual sharing of intimate imagesJoy Online
… Shares in the firm behind Instagram and Facebook fell 11% after its results for the quarter from April to June showed revenue grew 28% from a year ago to $61bn (£45.6bn), while profits fell 14% to $6bn. …
Meta shares fall as frustration grows over AI spending plansThe Chronicle
… Russia’s government has also blocked social media like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram while ramping up restrictions on services like YouTube. …
Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’Joy Online
… A judge is weighing additional financial penalties as well as an order directing the company to change Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in the state.
Meta disregarded its own research on teen harm, Tennessee tells juryJoy Online
… In a Public Alert on Facebook, CSA said: “Between January and June this year, the CSA recorded 112 cases from vendors and customers, up from 61 over the same period in 2025, with financial losses arising from GHC84,592 to GHC 296, 083.68.” It has therefore asked the public to ver …
Over GH¢296k lost to restaurant and food-vendor impersonation scams – CSAJoy Online
… rust of smartphones and social media over the past decade among her patients’ families. “People are tense (about smartphones),” she said. “There’s been a real change of atmosphere.” A smartphone displays a folder of social media applications, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook …
France becomes the first EU country to ban social media for childrenJoy Online
… New Mexico’s lawsuit against the company went to trial earlier this year, and a jury found the company had misled consumers about the safety of its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms. …
Meta faces Tennessee trial over allegations Instagram was designed to be addictiveJoy Online
… Yet, the desire for a “perfect smile” for TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram reels overrides caution. …
“Pretty Hurts”: The unregulated war on beauty in Ghana – a sister thinking out loudJoy Online
Meta’s Instagram and Facebook social networks appeared to suffer some outages on Sunday, with users reporting issues with the app and website. …
Users of Meta’s Facebook, Instagram report suffering some outagesA US-based tech watchdog found 332 paid ads containing artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material on Facebook and Instagram over 10 months, with 84 appearing in India—78 of them after the Indian government ordered Meta to remove such content.
9 September 2026 · Joy Online →
A US-based tech watchdog found 332 paid ads containing artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material on Facebook and Instagram over 10 months, with 84 appearing in India—78 of them after the Indian government ordered Meta to remove such content.
9 September 2026 · Joy Online →
About 20 million internet-using children across 21 countries were subjected to sexual exploitation or abuse on digital platforms in a single year, with most cases occurring on social media, according to a UNICEF report. More than one in five children aged 12 to 17 across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe experienced at least one form of sexual abuse or exploitation online in the year before being surveyed.
3 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Social media has evolved from a tool for connecting with friends into the dominant force shaping how people live, think, buy, learn, and protest. It has democratized access to audiences, shifted power from institutions to individuals, made news instant, and shaped culture and behavior through trends and viral content, though it has also accelerated the spread of misinformation.
2 September 2026 · Joy Online →
TrustGH, a scam verification platform, has identified more than 6,000 telephone numbers linked to suspected fraudulent activity in Ghana, with approximately 50 per cent of reported scam numbers associated with TikTok. Threat actors exploit social media, messaging apps, and telecommunications channels using social engineering techniques to target individuals and businesses.
31 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta resolved a lawsuit brought by nearly two-thirds of US states over its historic collection and use of data from children under 13, based on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The settlement reflects broader industry pressure on social media platforms ahead of what is expected to be a reckoning year for child safety in 2026.
27 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta Platforms has agreed to a historic settlement with dozens of U.S. states over allegations that its platforms fueled a youth mental health crisis, agreeing to pay up to $18 billion and overhaul key features on Facebook and Instagram. The company will initially pay approximately $12 billion, with additional payments conditional on whether competing platforms adopt similar safety standards.
26 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta Platforms has settled claims brought by 29 states that the company designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children, misled consumers about safety, and improperly collected personal data from child users without parental consent. The settlement was reached during a federal court trial in California, averting what would have been a major test of allegations that social media companies harmed young users.
26 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta Platforms and state attorneys general have discussed a potential mid-trial settlement of a lawsuit accusing the company of deliberately designing Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to young users, Bloomberg News reported. The case involves 29 states and is one of the highest-profile tests of allegations that social media companies have harmed young users.
26 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Adam Mosseri, Instagram's head since 2018, testified in a trial brought by 29 U.S. states over alleged addictive design that few teenagers — in the low-single digits — used the "Take a Break" feature before Instagram made it the default setting in September 2024, nearly three years after its launch. Mosseri acknowledged the feature was available to users but said most teens didn't want it before being made mandatory.
26 August 2026 · Joy Online →
New Zealand will introduce a bill banning those under 16 from using platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, with companies facing fines of up to 10% of global revenue for non-compliance. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the measure is needed to protect children from harmful content and addictive technology affecting their mental health and education.
24 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghanaian entrepreneur Adnan Saani, who reaches 2.7 million followers across social media platforms, has urged content creators to treat their work as a profession and invest in skills rather than chasing attention alone. He argues that social media only pays when matched with professional development, saying "attention is the door" but creators must build something of value behind it.
24 August 2026 · Joy Online →
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to the US to settle allegations that it and parent company ByteDance violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data on millions of users under 13. The settlement is one of the largest-ever over child privacy issues, following similar violations by YouTube ($170 million in 2019) and Epic Games ($275 million in 2022).
23 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A 15-year-old girl from New Jersey dismissed her claims against Meta, Google, and Snap, which alleged the platforms' owners contributed to her social media addiction, depression, and self-harm. Her attorney said the plaintiff chose to dismiss the remainder of her claims to resume her life, though she had sought to hold social media companies accountable.
21 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A former Meta engineering director testified that CEO Mark Zuckerberg fostered a culture treating child safety as secondary to growth on Facebook and Instagram. The testimony came during a landmark trial in which California, Colorado, Kentucky, New Jersey and 25 other states accuse Meta of designing platforms to harm young users and improperly collecting data from children under 13.
20 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A California jury has begun hearing claims that Meta intentionally hooked children on Facebook and Instagram through violations of federal and state privacy laws. Twenty-nine US states, including California and New York, filed the lawsuit in 2023 and are seeking billions of dollars in damages and demanding Meta make changes including ending "like" counts and infinite scroll.
19 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A jury trial beginning Tuesday, filed by 30 US states including California and New York, claims Meta violated federal and state privacy laws for children. The states seek over $1 trillion in damages and demand changes to Instagram and Facebook, including ending "like" counts, infinite scroll, autoplay video, filters, and other features they say manipulate young users into prolonged engagement.
17 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Top social media platforms urged the Australian government not to rely heavily on early evidence that most children still use their products despite a landmark under-16 ban introduced in December, as lawmakers consider doubling maximum penalties to A$99 million and expanding regulators' investigative powers. Australia's eSafety Commissioner reported that roughly 80% of minors were still on social media months after the ban took effect but noted modest declines in underage accounts and said enforcement would drive further change.
14 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta said Thursday it had taken down more than 750,000 accounts suspected to be held by Australians under 16 since the country's social media ban went live in December, with 462,000 Instagram and 294,000 Facebook accounts deactivated through June. The action comes as Australia's internet regulator considers an enforcement lawsuit against platforms for insufficient compliance, though independent studies showed more than eight in 10 under-16s remained on social media in the ban's first three months.
14 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A group including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is close to acquiring about one-third of Premier League club Liverpool for approximately £4.4 billion, according to media reports. The deal, being led by Amit Bhatia, could be announced as early as this week by owner Fenway Sports Group, which has owned the club since 2010.
10 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Economist Professor Godfred Bokpin has called for a broader national conversation on Ghana's democracy beyond partisan politics, arguing that the country must confront issues threatening free speech, institutional independence, and citizens' confidence in democratic governance. He said Ghana should objectively examine evidence and patterns from successive NDC and NPP governments to determine whether emerging trends could undermine democratic institutions.
8 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A US judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $567m for failing to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children, calling the company a "public nuisance" and requiring the funds be placed in a pool aimed at reducing future harms. This marks the largest ruling against the social media giant over child safety and comes in addition to an earlier $375m fine in the same case.
7 August 2026 · Joy Online →
StopNCII is a free online tool that helps adults prevent non-consensual sharing of intimate images or videos using a "privacy-first" approach called perceptual hashing, which creates a unique digital fingerprint for each image on the user's device rather than uploading the actual content.
5 August 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta's stock plunged after the company reported revenue growth of 28% to $61bn for the April-to-June quarter, but a 14% profit decline to $6bn, alongside plans to spend $130bn–$145bn on artificial intelligence projects this year. Investors expressed concern that Meta's expanding AI spending—which accounted for nearly all of the company's free cash flow this quarter—lacks clear commercial returns yet.
30 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Russian authorities have charged Pavel Durov, cofounder of the encrypted messaging platform Telegram, with "aiding terrorism" and issued an international arrest warrant, alleging his company failed to remove channels and bots used by Ukrainian special services and terrorist organisations to coordinate attacks in Russia.
30 July 2026 · The Chronicle →
Tennessee's attorneys told a jury that Meta disregarded internal research showing Instagram's features like autoplay and infinite scroll caused eating disorders, depression and self-harm among teenagers, prioritizing profit over safety. Meta's defense maintains the company has been transparent about risks and works to find and fix problems.
28 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The Cyber Security Authority reported 112 restaurant and food-vendor impersonation scam cases between January and June 2026, resulting in financial losses of GH¢296,083.68, up from 61 cases in the same period of 2025. The CSA advised the public to verify contact details through official websites and verified social media pages, avoid unfamiliar payment links, insist on payment after delivery, and monitor accounts for unauthorised transactions.
24 July 2026 · Joy Online →
French lawmakers voted to ban social media use for children under 15, with the bill set to take effect this school year after President Emmanuel Macron signs it into law. The ban makes France the first EU country to impose such a restriction, following Australia's implementation of a ban for under-16s last year.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta faces trial in Tennessee over claims that Instagram was designed to be addictive and contributed to a youth mental-health crisis. Tennessee's Attorney General alleges the company violated consumer protection law by knowingly designing the product to drive compulsive teen use, failing to disclose internal research on harms, and misleading the public about platform safety.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Ghana's expanding beauty clinics and spas, which proliferate across major cities, offer cosmetic procedures including skin-lightening and body enhancement, but weak regulatory oversight by the FDA and HeFRA allows untrained practitioners to administer injectables and invasive procedures, experts warn this is fuelling rising rates of cancer, kidney disease, hypertension, and other non-communicable diseases.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta's Facebook and Instagram social networks experienced outages on Sunday, with 4,808 reports filed by U.S. Facebook users and 2,829 reports by U.S. Instagram users according to Downdetector; access was also intermittent in Singapore. Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →