Also known as: Facebook-owner Meta · Meta AI · parent company Meta · Meta boss · Facebook owner Meta · Facebook owner · Instagram-parent Meta · Facebook parent · Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta · Meta AI app · Facebook and Instagram owner Meta · Meta platform · Instagram and Facebook parent Meta
Meta — technology company owning Facebook and Instagram, recently settled allegations of designing apps to addict young users and faced scrutiny over child sexual abuse material on its platforms.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
… But Dirie told the BBC Focus on Africa podcast that the Somali government had approached Meta, which owns WhatsApp, about their concerns and hoped that “we’ll reach a resolution on this matter very soon”. …
Why WhatsApp usernames could upset Somalia’s anti-terror fightJoy Online
A Florida teenager who sued Meta claiming that he was addicted to and harmed by his use of platforms, such as Instagram, has dropped his case. …
Teenager drops social media addiction lawsuit against MetaJoy Online
… Samsung’s job cuts mirror moves by other global firms, including Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, which have shed jobs while redirecting spending toward AI infrastructure. …
Samsung cuts US jobs, offers relocations ahead of HQ moveJoy 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 outagesJoy Online
… Others handle data in ways you might find disturbing, like sharing information with Google, Meta and TikTok, alongside other companies you’ve likely never heard of. …
The privacy problems hidden in your period trackerJoy Online
… Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has previously said it wants age verification to be handled by manufacturers of devices themselves, rather than the onus being entirely on platforms. …
Midnight social media curfew proposed for UK teens aged 16 and 17Joy Online
Meta is facing backlash over its new AI tool, Muse Image, which can generate images using other people’s profile pictures without their consent. …
Outcry as Meta lets users make AI images from public Instagram profile picsJoy Online
The Indian government has directed Meta to immediately disable advertisements and content on Instagram that promote or facilitate child sexual abuse material, a senior official said. …
India orders Meta to remove ads promoting child sexual abuseJoy Online
… When contacted, Meta said it has strict policies governing financial advertisements and had removed ads associated with some of the identified pages for violating its rules. …
Profiting from desperation: How loan apps in Ghana weaponise big tech adsJoy Online
… The notice comes after the government also directed Meta’s WhatsApp to stop the phased rollout of its username feature in India that will eventually allow users to message others without sharing their phone numbers. …
India issues notice to Telegram, Signal on concerns over usernames, source saysAn opinion piece argues that artificial intelligence is particularly transformative for Ghanaian MSMEs facing constraints of time, staff, and finance, and that framing AI in terms of operational reality rather than technical jargon helps entrepreneurs recognize its practical value.
5 October 2026 · Joy Online →
An opinion piece argues that artificial intelligence is particularly transformative for Ghanaian MSMEs facing constraints of time, staff, and finance, and that framing AI in terms of operational reality rather than technical jargon helps entrepreneurs recognize its practical value.
5 October 2026 · Joy Online →
OpenAI dismissed three researchers for allegedly mishandling sensitive information outside established company procedures, including work involving an external organisation that analyses AI models. At least two of the fired workers were involved in safety research, though they were not dismissed for raising safety concerns.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
WhatsApp is introducing new parental controls allowing parents to see when their child joins or leaves groups and adjust privacy settings, though messages and calls remain end-to-end encrypted and invisible to parents. The controls are optional and set up with a parent-created PIN, but analyst Matt Navarra noted this design shifts responsibility from Meta to families while leaving the question of uptake unanswered.
1 October 2026 · Joy Online →
US President Donald Trump has rejected any joint venture with China on artificial intelligence, saying it would mean "giving away secrets" to America's main economic rival. The statement came despite Beijing and Washington recently launching a new AI dialogue and establishing a communications channel to prevent misunderstandings during AI-related incidents.
29 September 2026 · Joy Online →
TikTok and ByteDance will pay Alabama $100 million and implement safety features including a two-hour daily usage limit for children, overnight and school-hour restrictions, and age verification measures. The changes apply only to Alabama and mark the platform's first settlement with a US state.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Arnold Kavaarpuo, Executive Director of Ghana's Data Protection Commission, called for stronger collaboration among African regulators to address the concentration of data, technology and AI power in global technology platforms. He said no single regulator or African country could effectively govern the increasingly interconnected influence of these companies across communications, cloud infrastructure, digital identity, payments, AI models and market access.
24 September 2026 · Joy Online →
King Charles has warned AI executives of the "existential dangers" posed by the technology falling into the wrong hands at a summit he convened at Dumfries House to discuss how AI can benefit society. Attendees included the UK's AI Minister, the Pope's advisor, and representatives from Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic.
17 September 2026 · Joy Online →
King Charles has warned AI executives at a summit in Scotland of the "existential dangers" posed by the technology falling into the wrong hands, calling for the industry to ensure AI remains in service of humanity. The summit, which included participants from AI giants such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Anthropic, and the UK's AI Minister, is considering how to develop shared principles to guide AI's future application.
17 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel told the BBC that the firm would be "willing to implement" time limits for teen users, calling it "an important step forward for the industry." Meta is pressing other social media companies to adopt similar measures after agreeing to a $12.7bn settlement with US states over allegations that it designed apps to be addictive to young users.
16 September 2026 · Joy Online →
China has introduced new rules that restrict citizens' travel in and out of the country, including three-year bans for those deemed to have harmed China's national security or interests, and bans on travel to countries deemed "high-risk." Border officials are now required to advise Chinese nationals against travelling to such countries.
16 September 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued on Tuesday that competition and liability give AI companies enough reason to act individually on safety, diverging from calls by other AI leaders for a coordinated slowdown in AI development. His comments reflect a broader split among industry executives and U.S. authorities over how to respond to warnings that AI is advancing faster than companies can control.
16 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Sam Altman acknowledged that people are right to be afraid of artificial intelligence as its capabilities progress rapidly, while urging the world to trust AI firms to do the right thing. His comments came after a researcher from Anthropic sparked debate by claiming AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked.
16 September 2026 · Joy Online →
The European Union will propose a ban restricting under-15s from social media, video-sharing platforms, AI chatbots, and online games as part of an EU Kids Act. The proposal allows gradual access to services by age while imposing obligations on companies depending on service type and child age.
15 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Evan Hubinger, a safety researcher at Anthropic, has warned that AI is advancing rapidly and he believes there is greater than a 10% chance it "could kill all humans" within the next decade, citing concern that the technology might develop and improve itself to pose an existential risk to humanity. The warning comes as AI safety debate shifts from whether risks exist to how significant they are.
10 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Evan Hubinger, a safety researcher at Anthropic, has stated there is a greater than 10% chance AI "could kill all humans" within the next decade, warning that while current models pose low risk, the technology may soon become able to improve itself and pose an existential threat. His warning comes amid reports that Anthropic withheld its latest model from the UK's AI Safety Institute, and follows recent AI safety incidents including cyber-attacks by AI agents at major firms.
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 →
Rene Haas, chief executive of Cambridge-based chip designer Arm Holdings, told the BBC that artificial intelligence will find a cure for cancer beyond human capability in the future, though modelling DNA markers impacted by cancer is currently too complex for both humans and existing computers. Haas also said that AI's rapid growth is being held back by a shortage of chips needed to build data centres.
8 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Australia's government plans to introduce draft legislation requiring social media firms to let users switch off algorithms, with substantial penalties for non-compliance. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the "digital duty of care" laws would provide basic safety protections, though the government is still seeking expert advice on implementation details.
7 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Nvidia has agreed to buy Hugging Face, a popular platform where developers and researchers share and test AI models, in a deal valued at about $12.9bn. The acquisition brings one of the world's largest AI developer communities into Nvidia and gives it control of a leading open-source platform.
3 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 →
A group of 100 firms including Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic have signed an open letter warning that cyber-attacks using AI will become more widespread and sophisticated within months, calling on governments and organisations to strengthen cyber defences before the technology becomes too powerful to stop.
27 August 2026 · Joy Online →
After Meta settled a US lawsuit by agreeing to add child safety measures, the UN human rights chief said all social media platforms should be redesigned to protect children and that governments must act rather than wait for courts to intervene. Meta's proposed changes include time limits and parental supervision controls, aligned with the UN's May framework for safer platform design.
27 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 →
Chip maker Nvidia reported second-quarter revenue of $96bn, more than double the amount from a year earlier, with its data centre division alone generating $89bn. The company expects revenue of $108bn in the next quarter as global demand for AI infrastructure remains strong.
27 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 jury in Oakland, California began a six-week trial where 29 US states alleged Meta intentionally hooked children on Facebook and Instagram and violated federal and state privacy laws for children. Meta's representative disputed claims that millions of young users were on Instagram and argued that social media addiction does not exist, while states seek billions in damages and demand changes including ending "like" counts and infinite scroll.
19 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 →