Meta will alert parents if their teenager’s conversations with its AI chatbot suggest they may be at risk of suicide or self-harm – a feature now live in the US, UK, Australia and Canada, and due to reach South Africa in a global roll-out before the end of the year. When a flagged conversation…
Australia’s online platforms are stumbling at the very first step in implementing age checks for users, rendering a world-first teen social media ban ineffective, a study by a team that advised the government’s roll-out of the curbs found. Since December, Australia’s new social media law has mandated that platforms including Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube bar…
Meta hosted the 2026 Youth Online Safety Summit this week. Social media company Meta has deployed a mandatory system update that automatically shifts teenage user profiles into highly restricted safety configurations. According to Meta, the backend product overhaul – known as “Teen Accounts” – structurally reshapes data visibility, privacy configurations and messaging access defaults across…
Reatlegile Rammuki will represent the country on a global stage after being selected for an MIT programme exploring the use of AI in healthcare. A 16-year-old South African artificial intelligence (AI) enthusiast has been selected to attend a prestigious AI and healthcare programme at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. Reatlegile Rammuki,…
This photograph shows a set up smart-phone screen displaying the logo of main social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, Telegram, X, Bluesky, Tiktok and Whatsapp. Martin Lelievre | Afp | Getty Images Government action to ban social media platforms risks strengthening Big Tech’s grip on the industry further, limiting access for smaller players,…
Joe Tidy, dedicated cyber correspondent at BBC (Photo: Strike a Pose Studios) Teenage hackers pose an increasingly serious threat to organisations around the world, as they cross traditional lines in their behaviour, and they are motivated by chaos and a desire for infamy as much as they are driven by money. This is according to…
The singer D4vd was arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the death of teenage girl whose decomposed body was found in the trunk of his abandoned Tesla last year, authorities in Los Angeles said Thursday. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. The “Romantic Homicide”…
A 19-year-old New Mexico man killed in action during the Korean War has been accounted for, military officials said Tuesday. U.S. Army Sgt. Celestino Chavez enlisted in the military in 1949, when he was 17 years old, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said in a news release. Chavez was assigned to D Battery, in the…
The body of Piper James was found in January surrounded by dingoes on the island of K’Gari.
Instagram is introducing a proactive safety feature designed to notify parents if their teenage children repeatedly search for terms related to suicide or self-harm. This update, aimed at fostering earlier intervention and support, will begin rolling out next week for users with parental supervision enabled in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada, with a global…
