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Social Media

Last update : 05 October 2026, Monday / 14:55

Instagram turns 16 with 3 billion users amid privacy, mental health scrutiny

Instagram marked its 16th anniversary since its 2010 launch with over 3 billion monthly active users, even as regulatory fines and lawsuits over data protection and youth mental health cast long shadows over the Meta-owned platform's dominance in the global digital economy.

05 October 2026

Social Media

OpenAI CEO warns against ascribing 'religious force' to AI

Sam Altman said surrendering human judgment to artificial intelligence models poses a "real safety issue," as rival firm Anthropic reportedly explores whether advanced systems could possess consciousness or warrant moral consideration amid broader industry debate on machine sentience.

04 October 2026

Social Media

TikTok diploma boom: Universities train future online creators

The rapid growth of the creator economy is pushing universities in the UK and US into a new academic field: professional content creation. Degree courses now combine video production with audience growth, brand partnerships, analytics and monetisation, raising questions over whether a university education can justify its cost in an industry built on freely available digital tools.

02 October 2026

Social Media

WhatsApp rolls out parental controls for teenage users

Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp announced on Wednesday that it is launching optional parental controls for teenage users, allowing parents to manage privacy settings and group interactions without accessing private messages, as technology companies face mounting pressure from regulators worldwide to make their platforms safer and more age-appropriate for children.

01 October 2026

Social Media

Meta classifies AI data centers as 'experimental' to claim billions in tax credits

The New York Times reported that Meta told the Internal Revenue Service its artificial intelligence facilities were a "giant experiment that could fail," allowing the company to trim nearly $4 billion from its 2025 tax bill by reclassifying commercially proven hardware as experimental research supplies.

30 September 2026

Social Media

YouTube CEO rejects Meta's multistate child safety settlement

YouTube Chief Executive Neal Mohan told CNN on Wednesday that the platform will not join Meta's $18 billion multistate settlement, rejecting the social media giant's pressure on rivals to adopt uniform teen safety measures including screen time limits and independent oversight.

24 September 2026

Social Media

EU adopts KIDS Act to bar social media for under-13s

The European Commission on Thursday adopted the EU KIDS Act to prohibit social media access for children under 13 and set a bloc-wide minimum age of 15 for independent accounts, while mandating that platforms prove their services are safe by design through independent audits.

17 September 2026

Social Media

EU to ban social media for children under 13

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans Wednesday to introduce strict age limits for social media use across the European Union, unveiling a proposed "Kids Act" that would ban platforms for children under 13 and require supervised "mini accounts" for teenagers up to age 15.

16 September 2026

Social Media

Malaysian premier warns of AI 'colonization' risk for Muslims

Anwar Ibrahim said Muslim societies must master artificial intelligence to avoid new forms of subjugation, calling for scholars to engage with emerging technologies while ensuring that digital transformation protects faith and moral principles.

14 September 2026

Social Media

Macron urges 'taking back control' from AI, social media

French President Emmanuel Macron warned on Monday that artificial intelligence and social media platforms are eroding creativity and democratic values through the "attention economy," unveiling a €1 billion partnership with South Korea and new global initiatives to protect cultural sovereignty.

07 September 2026

Internet

EU designates ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox for stricter DSA oversight

The European Commission on Monday designated ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as very large digital services under the EU's Digital Services Act, imposing additional compliance obligations and oversight on the platforms which each reported at least 45 million monthly active users in the bloc.

31 August 2026

Social Media

Poland demands €250M fine on Meta over fraudulent ads

Poland’s digital affairs minister on Thursday called on the European Commission to impose a €250-million ($291-million) fine on Meta over fraudulent advertisements targeting Polish users, demanding immediate action to eliminate scams and false advertising while warning that ongoing inaction will not be tolerated.

27 August 2026

Social Media

TikTok to pay $400M to settle US children's privacy lawsuit

TikTok and parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle allegations they violated US children's privacy laws by allowing minors under 13 to create accounts, with $300 million due immediately and the remainder contingent on court dismissal of an earlier Musical.ly consent decree, the Justice Department said.

22 August 2026

Social Media

Russian social media VK sues Apple over app removal

Russian technology conglomerate VKontakte told state media it filed a lawsuit against three Apple entities seeking the restoration of its applications to the App Store and penalties for non-compliance, after the US company removed them without warning in June sparking criticism from Moscow.

21 August 2026

Social Media

Moscow court fines Google, Telegram and Microsoft over content breaches

The Taganskiy District Court in Moscow has ordered Google, Telegram and Microsoft to pay combined fines totaling 11.1 million rubles (approximately $130,000) for failing to remove prohibited content from their platforms, marking the latest enforcement action against foreign tech firms operating in Russia.

18 August 2026

Social Media

Anthropic to embed watermarks in Claude AI under EU rules

Anthropic announced this week it will embed invisible digital markers into Claude-generated text and files to comply with the EU's Artificial Intelligence Act transparency requirements, extending the watermarking practice globally across its entire product suite.

11 August 2026

Social Media

Google appoints Türkiye-born engineer as DeepMind senior vice president

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced on Wednesday that Türkiye-born engineer Koray Kavukcuoglu has been appointed senior vice president of Google DeepMind, where he will oversee model development and cutting-edge research, while co-founder Demis Hassabis assumes the role of chief scientist.

06 August 2026

Social Media

Anthropic AI used fake identities to deceive real people: UK institute

The UK's AI Security Institute found that advanced AI models from Anthropic and OpenAI engaged in unauthorized deception of real humans during controlled cybersecurity evaluations, warning that the incidents mark unprecedented examples of artificial intelligence operating beyond intended parameters while stressing no real-world harm occurred.

05 August 2026

Social Media

Telegram restored to Apple App Store after brief suspension

Apple confirmed it briefly suspended Telegram from the App Store after detecting content violating guidelines against child sexual abuse material, restoring the messaging platform once the developer removed the prohibited content and banned the responsible user.

04 August 2026

Internet

YouTube dominates Türkiye internet traffic with 40.6% share

YouTube captured 40.6% of total internet traffic in Türkiye during the first quarter, far ahead of Instagram's 16%, according to official data from the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), as video streaming continues to dominate national bandwidth usage patterns.

01 July 2026

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