8 h. ago Big tech continues to bend the knee to Trump a year after his inauguration

Inside the big rewards tech titans have reaped from caving to Trump. Plus, a look at the US datacenter boom and the effects of Australia’s social media banHello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, the Guardian’s US tech editor.One year ago today, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. Standing alongside him that day were the leaders of the tech industry’s most powerful companies, who had donated to him in an unprecedented bending of the knee. In the ensuing year, the companies have reaped enormous rewards from their alliance with Trump, which my colleague Nick Robins-Early and I wrote about last month after Trump signed an executive order prohibiting states from passing laws regulating AI. Trump has sponsored the tech industry with billions in government funding and with diplomatic visits that featured CEOs as his fellow negotiators in massive, lucrative deals. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children

Trial involving 4,000 children will explore impact on mental health, sleep and time spent with friends and familyA pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue.In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media, with governments in other countries – including the UK – under pressure to do the same. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago Everything we know about UK following Australia's social media ban for teens

The UK government has said they are open to the idea of raising the minimum age for social media use

Politics

23 h. ago UK social media ban: Government considering Australian style measures to stop 'infinite scrolling'

The Government said it would consult on options including raising the digital age of consent and restricting potentially addictive social media features

Politics

25 h. ago Children in UK face social media ban, addictive app restrictions and tough Ofsted phone checks

Keir Starmer is ramping up action to tackle online harms amid mounting pressure to introduce a social media ban for under 16s after Australia did so last month

Politics

29 h. ago 'As a mum and a teacher I saw the harm social media does, now I want to ban it for teens'

'Get children off these addictive apps and into books, playing sport, chatting and enjoying themselves'

Politics

30 h. ago Mother of murdered teenager backs social media ban for under

16-year-old Brianna Ghey was murdered by two other teenagers in 2023.

Events

31 h. ago Starmer to consider all options on social media ban for under

The consultation is expected to look at all options for reform including a blanket ban

Politics

3 d. ago Schoolgirl's tragic note before taking own life is warning on social media ban

Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly died in 2017 due to online harms, has teamed up with more than 40 charities, experts and bereaved parents to oppose a social media ban for teens

Events

3 d. ago Damien Martyn declares ‘I’m back!’ after leaving hospital following meningitis

In a social media post, the former Australia batter revealed he had been given a ‘50/50 chance of surviving’ and thanked medical staff and well-wishers Damien Martyn has declared he is back after overcoming a meningitis scare, which he said took his life out of his hands.In a heartfelt post on his social media accounts, the former Australia batter said he was given a 50% chance to live after battling the disease, which causes an infection and swelling of fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord. The 54-year-old was put into an induced coma on 27 December and was fighting for his life in a Gold Coast intensive care unit until he woke eight days later. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago ‘I’m back’: Damien Martyn out of hospital after surviving meningitis

Former Australia batter given a ‘50/50 chance of surviving’Spent eight days in induced comaDamien Martyn has said he is back after overcoming a meningitis scare, which he said took his life out of his hands.In a heartfelt post on his social media accounts, the former Australia batter said he was given a 50% chance to live after battling the disease, which causes an infection and swelling of fluid and membranes around the brain and spinal cord. The 54-year-old was put into an induced coma on 27 December and was fighting for his life in a Gold Coast intensive care unit until he woke eight days later. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago Albanese says the social media ban is working, but it is too early to say if it has been successful

As the UK government faces pressure to follow suit, evidence on whether the ban is working is still a while away.More than 4.7m accounts for teens under 16 have been been taken offline by Australia’s social media ban, but that doesn’t mean it’s been successful.As the UK government faces pressure to follow suit, let’s take a closer look at the facts and figures. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Social media platforms removed 4.7 million accounts after Australia banned them for children

Social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia

Economics

5 d. ago More than 100,000 people urge MPs to ban social media for under

Letters sent using campaign group’s template as Keir Starmer indicates Australia-style move being consideredMPs’ inboxes have been flooded with letters calling for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, as the prime minister indicated such a move was being considered.More than 100,000 people have contacted their local MP since the grassroots organisation Smartphone Free Childhood launched an email campaign on Tuesday evening with a template calling for “reasonable, age-appropriate boundaries”. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago More than 4.7m social media accounts blocked after Australia’s under

Accounts removed or restricted on Twitch, Kick, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, Snap, X, TikTok and Reddit in world-leading banGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 4.7m social media accounts held by Australians who platforms have judged to be under 16 years of age were deactivated, removed or restricted in the first days after the ban came into effect in December, the prime minister has said.After the social media ban came into effect on 10 December, the eSafety commissioner sent questions to each of the platforms covered by the ban asking how many accounts had been removed in order to comply with the law. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Australian Open star strips off in topless photo as she thanks tennis fans for their help

Tennis star Renata Zarazua took to social media with a topless pic on the eve of the Australian Open, tennis' first Grand Slam of the season

Culture

5 d. ago How teenagers outsmarted Australia's social media ban with tricks as simple as screwing up their faces to make it look like they've got wrinkles

Anyone visiting the Sortino family home in Melbourne, Australia, last month could have cut the tension with a knife.

Politics

6 d. ago Social media time does not increase teenagers’ mental health problems – study

UK study comes as ministers consider Australia’s ban on social media use for under-16sScreen time spent gaming or on social media does not cause mental health problems in teenagers, according to a large-scale study.With ministers in the UK considering whether to follow Australia’s example by banning social media use for under-16s, the findings challenge concerns that long periods spent gaming or scrolling TikTok or Instagram s driving an increase in teenagers’ depression, anxiety and other mental health conditions. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Keir Starmer tells MPs he is open to social media ban for young people

PM says he is alarmed at reports about children’s screen time and has shifted position on Australian-style policyUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has told MPs he is open to the idea of an Australian-style ban on social media for young people after becoming concerned about the amount of time children and teenagers are spending on their phones.The prime minister told Labour MPs on Monday evening he had become alarmed at reports about five-year-olds spending hours in front of screens each day, as well as increasingly worried about the damage social media is doing to under-16s. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago After the Bondi attack, a deepfaked Guardian video went viral. It won't be the last – video

In the days after the worst mass shooting in Australia since Port Arthur, a wave of misinformation spread across social media. A video of Australian federal police commissioner Krissy Barrett claiming four Indian nationals had been arrested, with a Guardian watermark on screen, was in fact a deepfake made from a genuine video of a press conference Barrett had given on 18 December. The video was flagged by online factcheckers, but not before being watched hundreds of thousands of times. As Guardian Australia's technology reporter Josh Taylor explains, these deepfakes are only getting easier to makeFake Minns, altered images and psyop theories: Bondi attack misinformation shows AI's power to confuse Continue reading...

Events