TikTok reached a $400M settlement with US regulators for severe child privacy violations, a historic COPPA penalty. It mandates significant platform reforms, reinforcing tech accountability for protecting minors' data. #ChildPrivacy

Judge George Wu's 16-page tentative ruling keeps TikTok US under reporting duties through 2029. A Monday hearing will test the last quarter of a $400m deal.

Judge George Wu's 16-page tentative ruling keeps TikTok US under reporting duties through 2029. A Monday hearing will test the last quarter of a $400m deal.

Judge George Wu's 16-page tentative ruling keeps TikTok US under reporting duties through 2029. A Monday hearing will test the last quarter of a $400m deal.

Judge George Wu's 16-page tentative ruling keeps TikTok US under reporting duties through 2029. A Monday hearing will test the last quarter of a $400m deal.

Australia’s law prohibiting social media for users under 16 took effect on December 10, with many nations looking to the rule as a potential template.

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Erica BellOver the last two decades, Republicans and Democrats in the United States (U.S.) have become more politically divided than at any other point in history. A 2014 survey found that polarisatio...

Children’s privacy must be treated as critical infrastructure in the AI era, as AI systems shape learning, safety, identity, and data use everywhere.

Meta’s settlement with 29 states allows it to retain certain data from children under 13 to train and test age-detection models, highlighting a privacy trade-off built into the deal.

 GPS trackers for children may put the tracked individuals and the people tracking them in danger, according to an investigation presented at the Black Hat security conference. Vangelis Stykas, CTO of Kumio, and Felipe Solferini, principal AI security engineer, discovered that 39 different consumer brands of parental monitoring devices share the same server in China where the data stored on them are processed.  The researchers named the producers of the technologies, which the mentioned companies used in their devices, SeTracker, SinoTrack and TKStar. They found 45 different vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized access to children’s smart devices enabling eavesdropping, video surveillance, and total remote control of the system where valuable information is stored. The researchers stated that to perform all these actions, a hacker would need only a free account on any of these platforms.  The scientists also found that parental monitoring devices of different brands did not have the necessary authorization restrictions, which allowed accessing their systems freely. These devices could collect and store much more personal information than monitoring their location. Some of them have the functionality to record the screen, as well as control the camera and microphone. Thus, the location of the tracked device, photographs and video, the child’s screen, the applications and websites he visits, and his personal information can be known to unauthorized people.  At the beginning of the demonstration, the researchers showed how they managed to run a script on a children’s smartwatch, which, among other things, dialed a phone number and transmitted an audio signal without any notification on the displayed screen that the call had begun. The scientists emphasized that the experiment was carried out ethically, and they used devices provided to them for the investigation. Stykas and Solferini also discovered that attacks on the system could have been made two years before the investigation began.  This indicates that, in principle, someone could have been able to track the child’s location and personal data without his knowledge. The researchers contacted the companies more than 30 times, but received no response. One unknown dealer, however, responded to the scientists, noting that he was helping them investigate and would forward the information to the manufacturer. Researchers have concluded that parental monitoring devices pose a serious danger to privacy and safety by possessing many vulnerabilities.  The investigation demonstrated that the same server is used for different brands, and the lack of protection allows hackers to gain full control of the system and track all the child’s activities. The report also suggests giving up these devices, and for those parents who want to control their children’s devices, the scientists recommended using the built-in tools of the giants: Apple Screen Time, Google Family Link, and Microsoft Family Safety.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Friday that ByteDance-owned TikTok will pay $400 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit accusing the company of violating child privacy laws in the country. As part of the settlement, the social media platform will pay $300 million immediately, and an additional $100 million "upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against

BRUSSELS, Germany - The European Commission said Friday that TikTok failed to adequately protect the privacy of minors, issuing preliminary

The article discusses the potential risks of Meta's new smartglasses, which can covertly film children, raising concerns about privacy and the misuse of AI technology. It references a personal anecdote about a stranger filming a toddler on a train, highlighting the ease with which such devices could be exploited. The piece explores the dangers of AI-generated child abuse material, which can be created from real-life or online images of children, potentially fueling sexual interest in children and normalizing violence. While Meta argues that users must ensure they do not 'actively exploit' the technology, critics question whether the company has learned from past social media missteps. The article also touches on the dual-use nature of the technology, noting its potential benefits for the visually impaired, while advocating for stricter regulations and manufacturer accountability to mitigate risks. The piece concludes by emphasizing the need for tech companies to anticipate and design out potential harms, rather than relying on users to self-regulate.