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Teenagers are connected like never before, through social media and messaging. But instant access online can also expose kids to severe cyberbullying, sextortion and exploitation.
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Australia is proposing to tax digital giants Meta, Google and TikTok a proportion of their revenue to pay for news reporters. The government released draft legislation Tuesday that it intends to introduce to Parliament by July. It would create a financial incentive for the social media companies to strike deals with news organizations to pay for journalism. The platforms’ have said the proposal was a “digital services tax” that misunderstood the evolving advertising industry and would fail to deliver a sustainable news sector. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says a monetary value needs to be attached to journalists’ work.
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What started as a spark of inspiration has turned into a must-see attraction in one Springfield neighborhood.
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President Donald Trump said Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general. Trump in a social media post on Thursday named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick. It marks the end of a contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.
AP Wire
Advocacy groups and experts have slammed YouTube for serving up low-quality artificial intelligence-generated videos to its most vulnerable audience: children. In a letter to the CEOs of YouTube and its parent company Google, children’s advocacy group Fairplay expressed concern about the spread of AI-generated videos on YouTube and YouTube Kids. The letter was signed by more than 200 organizations and experts including child psychiatrists and educators. The videos distort kids' sense of reality and dominate their attention spans, the advocacy groups say. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan has said “managing AI slop” is one of the company’s priorities for 2026.
AP Wire
Australia is considering bringing court action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube after alleging they are not doing enough to keep Australian children younger than 16 off their platforms. Australia banned young children from holding accounts on 10 social media platforms in December. The first report from the eSAfety commission about compliance with the law was issued Tuesday. It found significant concerns with five platforms and was gathering evidence against them before deciding whether to initiate court action. The law also applies to Reddit, X, Kick, Threads and Twitch, but they aren't under investigation.
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It’s not unusual for the Taylorville Police Department’s Facebook posts to get laughs or thousands of reactions online, but behind the humor is a strategy focused on transparency, connection, and community engagement.
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Rep. Dave Vella (D-Rockford) told WAND News a lot of people in his district are concerned about questionable medical information coming from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and random influencers on social media.
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Chatham police are warning residents about a dangerous trend teenagers are participating in called the "Door-Kicking Challenge."
WDRB's John Matarese uncovers some ticket scams so you don't waste your money.