Social Media and Youth Mental Health: Breaking down the Meta settlement
In the wake of Meta’s settlement with 48 states over claims the tech giant designed its platforms to be addicting and harmful to youth, the…
social media
Time limits and a midnight cutoff: Meta’s new rules for kids go further, but critics say not enough
By BARBARA ORTUTAY and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Kids under 18 will soon see a host of changes to their Instagram and Facebook experiences thanks to a historic $18 billion settlement Meta Platforms reached Wednesday with 48 U.S. states. Besides the money, which…
Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president’s posts on US policy
By BERNARD CONDON NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump was sued in federal court Wednesday to stop him from making money off a new, paid service at his Truth Social company offering early, exclusive access to his posts on U.S.…
Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567M to address kids’ mental health online
By BARBARA ORTUTAY and WUFEI YU A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said…
French lawmakers approve a sweeping social media ban for children under 15
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill banning children under 15 from using social media, making France the first country in the European Union to pass a blanket ban on the platforms as concerns grow worldwide over…
Court orders Ohio restrictions on kids’ use of social media restored
By JULIE CARR SMYTH COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s law requiring children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps must be restored, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The decision comes…
Tech CEOs summoned to Congress for another hearing on social media’s risks for children
By KAITLYN HUAMANI Social media CEOs once again are being called to testify before the Senate in light of mounting legal and public pressure to protect young users on their platforms. The leaders of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Snap were invited to testify…
Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids
By MICHAEL CASEY BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts’ highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state’s lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General…
Advocacy groups urge YouTube to protect kids from ‘AI slop’ videos
By KAITLYN HUAMANI Advocacy groups and experts condemned YouTube for serving up low-quality artificial intelligence-generated videos to its most vulnerable audience: children. In a letter to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan and Sundar Pichai, the CEO of YouTube’s parent company Google, children’s…
Jury finds Instagram and YouTube liable in landmark social media addiction trial
By KAITLYN HUAMANI and BARBARA ORTUTAY LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury found both Meta and YouTube liable in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that aimed to hold social media platforms responsible for harm to children using their services, awarding the plaintiff $3 million in damages. After…
What the World Happiness Report reveals about social media and the world’s happiest country
By KOSTYA MANENKOV and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER HELSINKI (AP) — Heavy social media use contributes to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report…
Instagram says it’s safeguarding teens by limiting them to PG-13 content
By BARBARA ORTUTAY Updated 9:34 AM CDT, October 14, 2025 Teenagers on Instagram will be restricted to seeing PG-13 content by default and won’t be able to change their settings without a parent’s permission, Meta announced on Tuesday. This means kids…
Court rules Mississippi’s social media age verification law can go into effect
By KATE PAYNE Updated 1:47 PM CDT, July 20, 2025 A Mississippi law that requires social media users to verify their ages can go into effect, a federal court has ruled. A tech industry group has pledged to continue challenging the law,…
TikTok goes dark in the US
NEW YORK (AP) — TikTok’s app was removed from prominent app stores on Saturday evening just before as a federal law that bans the popular social media platform went into effect. By 10:50pm Eastern Standard Time, the app was not…
Supreme Court gives green light to law that could ban TikTok
By Lawrence Hurley and Kat Tenbarge WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a blow to TikTok by upholding a law that could potentially lead to the video-sharing social media platform being banned in the United States. The justices rejected a free speech challenge filed…
TikTok Facing a Ban: South Mississippi TikTok Users Share Their Reactions
On January 19th, TikTok faces the possibility of being banned. WXXV 25's Jordyn Lassiter spoke with social media users to gather their thoughts on the potential loss of one of the…
New social media app for Swifties now has users from around the world
The social media app is created specifically for fans of singer songwriter Taylor Swift. WXXV New's 25's Ethan Krauss brings us this exclusive story on this new app…
Law Enforcement: No credible threats to local schools
A few South Mississippi schools are issuing statements regarding alleged social media threats. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has investigated recent social media threats in which Jackson County schools have been a target. According to the sheriff’s office, currently the…
Justice Department sues TikTok, accusing the company of illegally collecting children’s data
By HALELUYA HADERO Updated 12:32 PM CDT, August 2, 2024 The Justice Department sued TikTok on Friday, accusing the company of violating children’s online privacy law and running afoul of a settlement it had reached with another federal agency. The complaint,…
Fast growing app ‘Threads’ aims to rival Twitter
There is a hot new app on the block that is picking up conversations fast. It’s called ‘Threads.’ Last week, META, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram,…
Hancock middle school student arrested for making threats
A Hancock County middle school student was taken into custody on Sunday night after threatening to "shoot up the school" on the social media app Snapchat. The student was…
Donald Trump is reinstated to Facebook after 2-year ban
By BARBARA ORTUTAY and JILL COLVIN The Associated Press Facebook parent Meta is reinstating former President Donald Trump’s personal account after two-year suspension. The company said in a blog post Wednesday it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are…
Mississippi man is known as America’s TikTok Dad
Introducing you to a father figure of many! Summer Clayton is a Columbus, MS resident and a social-media father to millions. People refer to Clayton as ‘America’s TikTok…
Local shelters, animals benefit from #BettyWhiteChallenge
The Humane Society of South Mississippi has collected more than $10,000 in donations in two days -- thanks to the Betty White Challenge The effort stemmed from a viral…