The investigation will explore whether the video-sharing app violated state consumer protection laws
A bipartisan coalition of US attorneys general on Wednesday launched a probe into video-sharing app TikTok’s impact on children, marking the latest investigation into the effect of social media companies on kids’ safety.
Attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee and Vermont are working together to establish if TikTok has violated state consumer protection laws and put the public at risk.The probe will seek to explore the potential harm young people suffer from using the app, including what TikTok knows about the effects of its service on children.
The attorneys general are seeking information on the methods employed by TikTok to increase user engagement among young individuals, such as boosting their time spent on the app, Massachusetts’ Attorney General Maura Healey revealed on Wednesday.
The same bipartisan coalition of attorneys general announced a similar investigation in November, into Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, exploring how it has impacted children.
A spokesperson for TikTok defended the company’s safety policies that protect younger users, in a statement released in response to the announcement of the investigation.
“We care deeply about building an experience that helps to protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that the state attorneys general are focusing on the safety of younger users. We look forward to providing information on the many safety and privacy protections we have for teens,” the representative said.
The probe by the group of attorneys general comes after US President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that tech companies should be held accountable for children’s online safety.
“We must hold social media platforms accountable for the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit,” Biden stated, calling on Congress to “strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children [and to] demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
LONDON, Mar 03 (IPS) – The writer is Global Lead of Ending Sexual Violence at Equality Now
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8. At Equality Now, we have been on a years-long journey to track and analyze sexual violence laws and their implementation around the world. This work was born after working with survivors of sexual violence for over two decades and observing that women and girls reported similar barriers to justice regardless of where they were from.
The mission, which had been set for this year, is a part of the ExoMars program to search for signs of life on Mars. It’s likely to be delayed by nations’ response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A Romanian fighter jet disappeared in the country’s southeast, with a helicopter crashing during a search-and-rescue op
A Romanian MiG-21 LanceR fighter jet disappeared from the radar in the southeastern region of Dobrogea late on Wednesday, the country’s Defense Ministry has said. The incident was followed by the crash of an IAR 330 Puma helicopter, dispatched to locate the jet.
The fighter aircraft, which is an Israeli-upgraded version of the iconic 1960s Soviet jet, disappeared some 15 minutes after taking off and heading to patrol the coastal region bordering Ukraine. A search and rescue mission was scrambled, with the helicopter dispatched to find the jet.
The helicopter, however, disappeared some 20 minutes into its mission as well, the military has said. Before the comms were lost, its pilot reported extremely bad weather conditions in the area.
The helicopter was confirmed to have crashed some two hours later, with the country’s Defense Minister Vasile Dincu extending his condolences to the victims of the crash.
“Today is a sad day for the Romanian Army family. The five members of the crew of the IAR 330-Puma helicopter, on a search-and-rescue mission for the MiG 21 LanceR aircraft, were found dead in the area of Gura Dobrogea, approximately 11 km from the aerodrome,” said the defense minister.
Local media reports, however, put the death toll even higher, suggesting that seven people have been killed in the helicopter crash. Footage aired by the media shows the husk of the helicopter, apparently heavily damaged on impact, engulfed in flames.
Romanya’ya ait MiG-21 savaş uçağı Karadeniz üzerinde radardan kayboldu.
▪️Uçağın enkazını aramaya çıkan ve düşen IAR 330 helikopterinin enkazına ulaşıldı. pic.twitter.com/9QhNF9tZnA
