Category: Internet

Age verification online can be done safely and privately. Here’s how Online chat service Discord has announced it will begin testing age verification for some users, joining a growing list of platforms trying to work out who is actually behind the screen. Go to techxplore

Social media can be addictive even for adults, but there are ways to cut back Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids and cigarettes. Go to techxplore

Google adds AI image generation to Chrome browser, side panel option for virtual assistant Google is empowering its Chrome browser with the ability to alter imagery and a virtual assistant to help with online tasks as part of its push to turbocharge its digital services with more artificial intelligence technology. Go to techxplore

Meta pauses teen access to AI characters Meta is halting teens’ access to artificial intelligence characters, at least temporarily, the company said in a blog post Friday. Go to techxplore

ChatGPT’s free ride is ending: Here’s what OpenAI plans for advertising on the chatbot OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users who aren’t paying for a premium version of the chatbot. Go to techxplore

OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT OpenAI announced Friday it will begin testing advertisements on ChatGPT in the coming weeks, as the wildly popular artificial intelligence chatbot seeks to increase revenue to cover its soaring costs. Go to techxplore

Online ‘brainrot’ isn’t ruining children’s minds; it’s a new way of navigating the modern internet “Brainrot” is what many people call the chaotic, fast-moving memes, sounds and catchphrases that spread across TikTok, Roblox and online gaming and into playgrounds. An example is the endlessly repeated chant of “six-seven,” which still echoes through houses and schools…

France plans social media ban for children under 15 France will make a fresh attempt to protect children from excessive screen time, proposing a ban on social media access for children under 15 by next September, according to a draft law seen by AFP. Go to techxplore

User privacy in digital databases: New metric allows for more accurate assessment Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), in collaboration with the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), an entity under the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration through the Secretariat of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, have promoted the development of a new probabilistic…

What’s my age again? The tech behind Australia’s social media ban Tech giants will apply multiple layers of security to weed out young users under Australia’s world-first ban on social media for under-16s. Go to techxplore

Selfie-based age checks boom as govts push for online controls As governments crack down on online platforms from social networks to porn sites, business is booming for one sector offering AI age checks based on selfies. Go to techxplore

Tim Berners-Lee wants everyone to own their own data. His plan needs state and consumer support to work Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, has released an important new book about the problems we face online and how to solve them. It is called “This is for Everyone,” meaning that the internet…

Global number of Internet users increases, but disparities deepen key digital divides The world’s online population grew by more than 240 million people in 2025, according to Facts and Figures 2025 released today by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The new estimates confirm continuing progress in expanding digital connectivity, while pointing to differences in quality…

Denmark’s government aims to ban access to social media for children under 15 Denmark’s government on Friday announced an agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under 15, ratcheting up pressure on Big Tech platforms as concerns grow that kids are getting too swept up in a digitized world of harmful content and…

Amazon’s big outage reminds us that we trust big tech companies far too much On Monday, October 20, millions of internet users got a painful answer to a question few even knew existed. The question was: What do Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Signal, United and Delta airlines and countless other web-based sites and services have in…

Sex is a big market for the AI industry. ChatGPT won’t be the first to try to profit from it ChatGPT will be able to have kinkier conversations after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the artificial intelligence company will soon allow its chatbot to engage in “erotica for verified adults.” Go to techxplore

OpenAI to ease ChatGPT restrictions, allowing adult content for verified adults OpenAI announced plans on Tuesday to relax restrictions on its ChatGPT chatbot, including allowing erotic content for verified adult users as part of what the company calls a “treat adult users like adults” principle. Go to techxplore

Over 16,000 compromised servers uncovered using Secure Shell key probing method An international research team from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Informatics in Saarbrücken, Germany, and the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has developed a method to detect compromised hosts at an internet scale by probing servers with public SSH keys previously…

Austria orders YouTube to give users access to their data Austria’s data protection authority said Friday that it has ordered YouTube to comply with EU regulations and respond to requests by users for access to data that it holds on them. Go to techxplore

New Instagram location sharing feature sparks privacy fears Instagram users are warning about a new location sharing feature, fearing that the hugely popular app could be putting people in danger by revealing their whereabouts without their knowledge. Go to techxplore

OpenAI releases ChatGPT-5 as AI race accelerates OpenAI on Thursday released a keenly awaited new generation of its hallmark ChatGPT, touting “significant” advancements in artificial intelligence capabilities, as a global race over the technology accelerates. Go to techxplore

Berserkers to bigfoot: Computational folklore explained in 101 seconds Quick: Think of “folklore.” Did images of witches, trolls, goblins or other fairytale creatures and stories populate your mind? Go to techxplore

Meta says working to thwart WhatsApp scammers Meta on Tuesday said it shut nearly seven million WhatsApp accounts linked to scammers in the first half of this year and is ramping up safeguards against such schemes. Go to techxplore

Microsoft Authenticator is ending password autofill soon. How to set up a passkey before Aug. 1 If you’re a Microsoft Authenticator user, like me, you’ve probably received at least one notice that the app’s password management features are no longer usable and that your stored passwords will be inaccessible starting Aug. 1 unless you have…

UK starts online checks to stop children accessing harmful content New UK age verification measures to prevent children accessing harmful online content came into force on Friday, with campaigners hailing them a “milestone” in their years-long battle for stronger regulations. Go to techxplore

Extreme weather misinformation ‘putting lives at risk,’ study warns Major social media platforms are enabling and profiting from misinformation around extreme weather events, endangering lives and impeding emergency response efforts, a research group said Tuesday. Go to techxplore

Five EU states to test age-check app to protect children online Five EU countries including France will test an app aimed at preventing children from accessing harmful content online by checking users’ ages, the European Commission said Monday. Go to techxplore

How Eurostack could offer Canada a route to digital independence from the United States The contemporary internet has been with us since roughly 1995. Its current underlying economic model—surveillance capitalism—began in the early 2000s, when Google and then Facebook realized how much our personal information and online behavior revealed about us and claimed it for…

xAI apologizes for Grok’s offensive posts Elon Musk’s startup xAI apologized Saturday for offensive posts published by its artificial intelligence assistant Grok this week, blaming them on a software update meant to make it function more like a human. Go to techxplore

Latest Grok chatbot turns to Musk for some answers The latest version of xAI’s generative artificial intelligence assistant, Grok 4, frequently consults owner Elon Musk’s positions on topics before responding. Go to techxplore

Ad blockers may be showing users more problematic ads, study finds Ad blockers, the digital shields that nearly one billion internet users deploy to protect themselves from intrusive advertising, may be inadvertently exposing their users to more problematic content, according to a new study from NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Go to techxplore

Open-source engine enables high-performance data processing for Internet of Things devices The Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) announces the open-source release of NebulaStream, a next-generation stream processing engine built for the unique challenges faced in IoT environments. Go to techxplore

Billions of login credentials have been leaked online, Cybernews researchers say Researchers at cybersecurity outlet Cybernews say that billions of login credentials have been leaked and compiled into datasets online, giving criminals “unprecedented access” to accounts consumers use each day. Go to techxplore

Study finds curated ‘starter packs’ fueled rapid user growth on Bluesky ‘Starter packs’—curated user lists that new users can follow with a single click—played a key role in helping Bluesky grow to over 30 million users, according to a new study. Go to techxplore

AI overviews have transformed Google search. Here’s how they work—and how to opt out People turn to the internet to run billions of search queries each year. These range from keeping tabs on world events and celebrities to learning new words and getting DIY help. Go to techxplore

AI tackles toxic speech online: Can algorithms judge fairness as well as accuracy? Earlier this year, Facebook rolled back rules against some hate speech and abuse. Along with changes at X (formerly Twitter) that followed its purchase by Elon Musk, the shifts make it harder for social media users to avoid encountering toxic speech. Go…

Circumventing internet censorship in countries like China or Iran Free access to information online is a vital component of democratic societies. However, something that is taken for granted in this country is by no means possible everywhere. Go to techxplore

Google says to appeal online search antitrust ruling Google said Saturday it will appeal a ruling against it for anti-competitive practices in online search, a day after urging a US judge to reject the suggestion it spin off its Chrome browser. Go to techxplore

German court says Meta can use user data to train AI A German court on Friday dismissed an injunction request brought by consumer protection groups to prevent US tech giant Meta from using user data from Facebook and Instagram to train artificial intelligence systems. Go to techxplore

Large language model accurately predicts online chat derailments Online chat rooms and social networking platforms frequently experience harmful behavior as discussions drift from their intended topics toward personal conflict. Traditional predictive models typically depend on platform-specific data, limiting their applicability and increasing implementation costs. Go to techxplore

Musk’s xAI blames ‘unauthorized’ tweak for ‘white genocide’ posts Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup has blamed an “unauthorized modification” for causing its chatbot Grok to generate misleading and unsolicited posts referencing “white genocide” in South Africa. Go to techxplore

Personalized social media features could help users manage time and well-being Redesigning social media to suit different needs of users could make their time online more focused, according to new research by University of Bristol academics. Go to techxplore

Web archivists scrambling to save US public data from deletion As President Donald Trump’s administration purges public records since storming back to power, experts and volunteers are preserving thousands of web pages and government sites devoted to climate change, health or LGBTQ rights and other issues. Go to techxplore

What a judge’s ruling over Google’s ‘monopoly’ on ad-tech means In another major legal blow to Google, a federal judge has ruled that the search giant held an illegal monopoly over some advertising technology, a ruling that could reshape the online advertising business. Go to techxplore

Digital tech’s rapid pace outstrips safety research, say researchers Scientific research on the harms of digital technology is stuck in a “failing cycle” that moves too slowly to allow governments and society to hold tech companies to account, according to two leading researchers in a new report published in the journal Science. Go to techxplore

What would happen if the US’s Section 230 went away? Exploring ‘the law that built the internet’ Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, passed in 1996 as part of the Telecommunications Act, has become a political lightning rod in recent years. The law shields online platforms from liability for user-generated content while allowing moderation…

Cybersecurity officials warn against potentially costly Medusa ransomware attacks The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are warning against a dangerous ransomware scheme. Go to techxplore

One Tech Tip: Wasting too much time on social media apps? Tips and tricks to curb smartphone use If you’ve got a smartphone, you probably spend too much time on it—checking Instagram, watching silly TikTok videos, messaging on WhatsApp or doomscrolling on X. Go to techxplore

Thousands report outage affecting Microsoft services like Outlook Thousands of Microsoft 365 customers reported having issues with services like Outlook on Saturday. Go to techxplore

Scammers using AI to dupe the lonely looking for love Meta on Wednesday warned internet users to be wary of online acquaintances promising romance but seeking cash as scammers use deep fakes to prey on those looking for love. Go to techxplore

AI-powered method improves reliability of next-generation networks As 5G and 6G networks expand, they promise a future of incredibly fast and reliable wireless connections. A key technology behind this is millimeter-wave (mmWave), which uses very high-frequency radio waves to transmit huge amounts of data. To make the most of mmWave, networks use large groups of…

Yes, you’re being watched on the internet: Professor discusses personal data risks in post-Dobbs era When you go shopping or visit the doctor, your smartphone tracks your journey there. It also tracks what we like and share on Facebook and Instagram; what we listen to on Spotify or watch on YouTube; our credit card transactions.…

TikTok shuts down US access as Trump seeks app’s reinstatement TikTok disconnected access to its users in the United States late Saturday shortly before a national ban on the app was to take effect, with President-elect Donald Trump unable to intervene until he takes office. Go to techxplore

Meta abandons racial diversity programs in further right-wing shift Social media giant Meta announced Friday it is dismantling its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the company, marking another major shift in strategy as it aligns with politically conservative priorities. Go to techxplore

How Meta’s fact-checking program works Internet giant Meta’s fact-checking program aims to counter false information on its social platforms—Facebook, Instagram and Threads—with the help of media organizations, including AFP. Go to techxplore

How secure is your Wi-Fi network? Research uncovers major vulnerability in wireless networking technology We often take for granted just how ubiquitous Wi-Fi has become over the past two decades, explains Northeastern University electrical and computer engineering professor Francesco Restuccia, who is also a member of the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things. Go…

Disinformation experts slam Meta decision to end US fact-checking Tech giant Meta’s shock announcement to end its US fact-checking program triggered scathing criticism Tuesday from disinformation researchers who warned it risked opening the floodgates for proliferating false narratives. Go to techxplore

‘Yes, I am a human’: Bot detection is no longer working—and just wait until AI agents come along You’re running late at the airport and need to urgently access your account, only to be greeted by one of those frustrating tests—”Select all images with traffic lights” or “Type the letters you see in this box.”…

Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami The world’s deadliest tsunami hit nations around the Indian Ocean two decades ago before social media platforms flourished, but they have since transformed how we understand and respond to disasters—from finding the missing to swift crowdfunding. Go to techxplore

How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation Finland is consistently ranked as Europe’s most media-literate country and the skills needed to spot online hoaxes are on the school curriculum, amidst a boom of mis- and disinformation campaigns. Go to techxplore

The internet is rife with fake reviews. Will AI make it worse? The emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce novel and detailed online reviews with almost no work has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory, watchdog groups and researchers say. Go to techxplore

Unmasking hidden online hate: A new tool helps catch nasty comments—even when they’re disguised People determined to spread toxic messages online have taken to masking their words to bypass automated moderation filters. Go to boat international

When asked to build web pages, LLMs found to include manipulative design practices A team of computer scientists at Technical University of Darmstadt, working with a colleague from the University of Glasgow, and another from Humbold University of Berlin, has found evidence via experiments they ran, that when asked to build a web page, LLMs…

Brazil’s top court takes on regulation of social media Brazil’s Supreme Court on Wednesday started examining four cases that turn on how far social media should be regulated, and what responsibilities platforms have in cracking down on illegal content. Go to boat international

Navigating the opt-in maze: Balancing transparency and persuasion in data consent In the digital age, personal data is hugely valuable. Companies are eager to access this data, but regulations like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) require users’ explicit consent. What GDPR doesn’t specify, however, is how firms should ask for that consent. Some…

US antitrust lawyers are calling on a judge to force the sale of Google’s Chrome browser to limit the company’s market clout in a move that would shake up the internet giant.