Tech Giants Face Landmark Trial Over Social Media Addiction Claims
A landmark trial concerning social media addiction began Tuesday in California, with top tech executives expected to testify. The plaintiff, a 19-year-old woman identified as KGM, alleges that the design of platforms' algorithms led to her addiction and negatively impacted her mental health, according to BBC Business.
The defendants in the case include Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, TikTok's owner ByteDance, and YouTube parent company Google. Snapchat settled with the plaintiff last week, BBC Business reported. The case is being closely watched as it could set a precedent for future litigation against social media companies.
In other news, Meta announced plans to trial premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp users in the coming months, according to BBC Business. These subscriptions would provide access to features such as expanded artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Access to the platforms' core services would remain free. Meta also aims to test subscriptions for features like its Vibes video generation app, which the company says "can bring your ideas to life with new AI visual creation tools," according to BBC Business. Meta announced Vibes in September as part of the latest version of the Meta AI app. It also aims to use Manus, a Chinese-founded AI firm it bought in December for a repo.
Meanwhile, Revel Collective, the parent company of Revolution Bars and Revolucion de Cuba, is set to enter administration, putting as many as 2,200 jobs at risk, BBC Business reported. The company, which owns 62 pubs and bars across the UK, put itself up for sale in October after facing "a continued period of external challenges," according to BBC Business. Discussions with a buyer are "well advanced," but shareholders are expected to be left with nothing after the sale. The pubs and bars, including the Revolution chain, will remain open during the administration process, but the company has been suspended from trading.
In the Mediterranean, up to 380 people are feared to have drowned attempting to cross the sea last week as Cyclone Harry battered southern Italy and Malta, The Guardian reported. The Italian coastguard provided the estimate, and Maltese authorities confirmed a shipwreck with the loss of 50 lives. Only one person survived the shipwreck and was hospitalized in Malta. Cyclone Harry generated huge waves in the Mediterranean, lashing Sicily's eastern coast.
Southern Africa is also facing a crisis, with devastating floods killing more than 100 people and displacing hundreds of thousands in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe, The Guardian reported. Authorities and aid workers are warning of hunger, cholera, and attacks by crocodiles that have spread with the floodwaters. More than 70 people have died in Zimbabwe and 30 in South Africa, where hundreds have been evacuated.
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