Tech companies will soon face stricter regulations regarding abusive content, while facing scrutiny over their platforms' impact. A new UK law proposes that tech firms remove intimate images shared without consent within 48 hours, with potential penalties including hefty fines or service blocks, according to BBC Technology. Simultaneously, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his company in a landmark social media addiction trial, and other platforms are facing criticism for content and user verification policies.
The proposed UK law amendment aims to treat intimate image abuse with the same severity as child sexual abuse material and terrorist content, according to BBC Technology. Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10% of a company's global sales or a ban on their services in the UK. Janaya Walker, interim director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, called the move "welcome and powerful," emphasizing that it "rightly places the responsibility on tech companies to act."
In a separate legal matter, Zuckerberg testified in a California court, defending Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, in a case concerning social media addiction among children, as reported by BBC Technology. The trial, which also involves Google's YouTube, marks a significant moment of scrutiny for the tech giant. Meta's lawyers argued that the plaintiff's issues stemmed from other factors, not Instagram use.
Meanwhile, the UK's advertising regulator banned an advertisement for "Call of Duty: Black Ops 7" for trivializing sexual violence, according to BBC Technology. The ad, which featured a security check scene deemed offensive, was criticized for its insensitivity.
Furthermore, Discord's age verification rollout has raised concerns among top streamers, including Eret, a popular Twitch streamer with over a million followers, according to BBC Technology. Eret expressed concerns about the implications for user data and online communities. "A lot of people use the online world as a place where they can talk about things they can't talk about in real life," he said.
In other news, the Victoria & Albert Museum (VA) is displaying a reconstruction of the original YouTube watchpage from December 2006, along with the first video ever uploaded to the platform, "Me at the Zoo," according to BBC Technology. YouTube's chief executive Neal Mohan stated that the exhibit invites the public "to step back in time to the beginning of a cultural phenomenon."
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