Bidders accustomed to buying prized art or luxury goods were recently introduced to a new category of coveted items at auction: Mementos from the world’s most popular internet stars.
Bidders accustomed to buying prized art or luxury goods were recently introduced to a new category of coveted items at auction: Mementos from the world’s most popular internet stars.
Budgets for investigators are falling behind as AI floods the internet with images
Bedford County Sheriff’s Office ICAC Investigator Caileigh Witcher stands for a portrait in the conference room at the ICAC office, May 26, 2026. Photographer: Parker Michels-Boyce/for Bloomberg News
Meta Platforms Inc. reached an agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit alleging that addiction to Instagram and other top social media platforms upended learning across America and pushed US public schools to spend enormous resources fighting a mental health crisis.
Meta Platforms Inc. reached an agreement to settle a landmark lawsuit alleging that addiction to Instagram and other top social media platforms upended learning across America and pushed US public schools to spend enormous resources fighting a mental health crisis.
Snap Inc., Google’s YouTube and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok reached agreements to settle the first lawsuit headed to trial over claims that addiction to top social media platforms has disrupted learning and pushed public schools to spend massive sums fighting a mental health crisis, according to court filings.
Snap Inc., Google’s YouTube and ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok reached agreements to settle the first lawsuit headed to trial over claims that addiction to top social media platforms has disrupted learning and pushed public schools to spend massive sums fighting a mental health crisis, according to court filings.
The Snapchat logo on a laptop computer arranged in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Snap Inc. shares tumbled about 14% on Wednesday after the company projected its first ever quarterly revenue decline, casting a shadow over other advertising-dependent businesses. Photographer: Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg
Snap Inc. declined in extended trading after noting that advertising revenue, a key part of its business, has been hampered by the war in the Middle East.
Snap Inc. declined in extended trading after noting that advertising revenue, a key part of its business, has been hampered by the war in the Middle East.
The Snapchat logo is displayed during the TechFair LA job fair in Los Angeles, California, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017. Filings for U.S. unemployment benefits rose more than forecast last week amid holiday-related volatility, while remaining low by historical standards. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Social media companies face backlash over safety of youth on their platforms
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., second right, arrives at Los Angeles Superior Court in Los Angeles, California, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Zuckerberg is set to take the stand at a landmark trial over social media addiction and face a barrage of questions about how Meta Platforms Inc. balances protecting young users on its platforms and boosting revenue. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg
To find real kids in danger, law enforcement must sift through a surge of AI-generated sex imagery.
March 12, 2026. Raleigh, North Carolina. A display in the ICAC Task Forces office shows the criminals apprehended so far in calendar year 2026.Kevin Roughton is the Special Agent in Charge of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. The state received 4,930 cyber tips in 2019 and 50,000 in 2025.
Snap Inc. is laying off roughly 1,000 full-time employees, or 16% of its global workforce, as part of an effort by Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel to reduce costs and achieve profitability.
Snap Inc. is laying off roughly 1,000 full-time employees, or 16% of its global workforce, as part of an effort by Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel to reduce costs and achieve profitability.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel informed staffers of sweeping job cuts on Wednesday.
Meta and YouTube try to redefine themselves in light of increasing criticism
Social media app icons for Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and Reddit are displayed on a smartphone in an arranged photograph in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday Feb. 11, 2026. Major social media platforms blocked 4.7 million underage accounts in Australia in December as the country’s landmark social media ban for under-16s took effect. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
TikTok advertising leader Khartoon Weiss is leaving the short-form video company, joining a wave of American executives stepping down over the past year.
TikTok advertising leader Khartoon Weiss is leaving the short-form video company, joining a wave of American executives stepping down over the past year.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing demands from child development experts to prohibit videos created with artificial intelligence from being shown or recommended to young viewers across YouTube and YouTube Kids.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is facing demands from child development experts to prohibit videos created with artificial intelligence from being shown or recommended to young viewers across YouTube and YouTube Kids.
The threat of a US ban no longer overshadows the app
The TikTok House pavilion on the Promenade ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. The annual Davos gathering of political leaders, top executives and celebrities runs from Jan. 19-23. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
Merve Lapus’s 13-year-old daughter told her dad she was horrified: This month, whenever her teacher stepped out of the room, kids in the class used their devices to play a new online game called Five Nights at Epstein’s.
Merve Lapus’s 13-year-old daughter told her dad she was horrified: This month, whenever her teacher stepped out of the room, kids in the class used their devices to play a new online game called Five Nights at Epstein’s.
A photo illustration shows the Five Nights At Epstein’s game on a laptop.
A landmark jury verdict holding Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google liable for harming a young user with products designed to be addictive threatens to put the social networking companies in the same category as Big Tobacco and opioid makers — a potential crack in their shield from legal responsibility for what happens on their platforms.
A landmark jury verdict holding Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google liable for harming a young user with products designed to be addictive threatens to put the social networking companies in the same category as Big Tobacco and opioid makers — a potential crack in their shield from legal responsibility for what happens on their platforms.
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 25: The family of victims raise photographs of their loved ones who passed away after hearing the verdict outside the Los Angeles Superior Court during one of the coordinated lawsuits alleging that Meta and YouTube are designed to hook young users and cause them a variety of negative mental health effects, including strangling themselves and developing eating disorders, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, CA. The jury found Meta and Youtube negligent, finding Meta 70% responsible for harm and YouTube 30% responsible awarding the plaintiff $3 million in damages. (Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Google is investing in an artificial intelligence content studio focused on making videos for children on YouTube, part of an effort to seed the platform with high quality viewing for the site’s youngest users.
Google is investing in an artificial intelligence content studio focused on making videos for children on YouTube, part of an effort to seed the platform with high quality viewing for the site’s youngest users.
A child interacts with the YouTube Kids application.
Chinese tech giant ByteDance Ltd. is hiring in the US for nearly 100 open roles within its artificial intelligence division, an effort to compete with the world’s leading US-based AI companies despite years of national security concerns from American lawmakers and regulators.
Chinese tech giant ByteDance Ltd. is hiring in the US for nearly 100 open roles within its artificial intelligence division, an effort to compete with the world’s leading US-based AI companies despite years of national security concerns from American lawmakers and regulators.
Signage at the ByteDance Ltd. offices in Singapore.
Move to restrict teens more likely to damage reputation than sales
Lawyers are expected to question Mosseri Wednesday on internal company communications in which an employee says he “freaked out” when confronted with concerns about how Instagram affects the brains of young users, among other topics.
Snap Inc. shares fell by the most in six months after the company reported a decline in daily users, partly driven by Australia’s ban on social media for children.
Snap Inc. shares fell by the most in six months after the company reported a decline in daily users, partly driven by Australia’s ban on social media for children.
Pedestrians pass in front of Snap Inc. signage displayed on the exterior of the New York Stock Exchange. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
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