Child safety

Child safety


Jurors wade through daunting evidence in high-stakes Meta trial about social media risks to children

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A daunting stream of testimony and evidence has been presented in a New Mexico case that explores what the social media conglomerate Meta knew about the effects of its platforms on children. State prosecutors allege Meta failed to disclose the risks that its platforms pose for children, including mental health […]

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Brazil rolls out law boosting online protection of minors

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian law that seeks to shield minors from addictive, violent and pornographic online content took effect this week, with experts calling it a milestone in the protection of children and adolescents. The issue gained traction in August, after influencer Felipe Bressanim, known as Felca, published a video denouncing the […]

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Former local teacher a convicted sex offender

On February 27, 2026, a northern Alberta teacher, Brock Mackenzie Whalen, was convicted of sex crimes against a minor. He was initially charged on October 1, 2024 with six counts. The offences occurred from September 1, 2018 to August 30, 2022, dates inclusive. The case began in June 2023 when McLennan RCMP, assisted by Alberta’s […]

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Montreal teacher challenges policy for trans students to hide identity from parents

Quebec’s Superior Court heard arguments Friday in a case about a high school teacher who alleges her Charter rights were violated when she was ordered to hide a student’s gender identity from their parents.  The teacher, identified only through the initials A.B. in court documents, alleges she was asked to use masculine pronouns for the […]

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Supreme Court blocks law against schools outing transgender students to their parents in California

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student’s approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group. The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns […]

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Paris prosecutors raid X offices as part of investigation into child abuse images and deepfakes

PARIS (AP) — French prosecutors raided the offices of social media platform X on Tuesday as part of a preliminary investigation into allegations including spreading child sexual abuse images and deepfakes. They have also summoned billionaire owner Elon Musk for questioning. X and Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI also face intensifying scrutiny from Britain’s data […]

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Will the online harms bill ban kids from social media? Maybe.

As other countries move toward banning social media use for some teens, the Liberal government has confirmed it’s working on new legislation to address online harms.  So could Canada follow Australia and implement a social media ban? Here’s what we know:  What are the rules in place now for kids under 13?  Canada has no […]

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Federal privacy commissioner looking into sexualized deepfakes on X platform

The federal privacy commissioner will investigate the proliferation of sexualized deepfakes created by artificial intelligence chatbot Grok and shared on X. “The use of personal information without consent to create deepfakes, including intimate images, is a growing phenomenon that poses serious risks to individuals’ fundamental right to privacy,” Philippe Dufresne said in a news release […]

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Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children

LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing a backlash from governments around the world after a recent surge in sexualized images of women and children generated without consent by the artificial intelligence-powered tool. On Tuesday, Britain’s top technology official demanded that Musk’s social media platform X take urgent action while a Polish […]

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Social media ban for children under 16 starts in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed a world-first social media ban for children younger than 16 that took effect Wednesday as families taking back power from tech giants but warned the implementation would be difficult. Many children posted farewell messages, while parents reported distraught children discovering they’d been shut out of […]

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Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

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 2024 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds […]

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Child advocates urge government to bring back online harms legislation

The dangers children face online constitute a national emergency, a coalition of child advocates and medical organizations said Thursday as they called for the federal government to take action. “Unlike every other industry that affects children, from cars to pharmaceuticals to toys to food safety, the tech industry has been allowed to self-regulate with tragic […]

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