Germany&#8217;s ruling conservatives on Saturday passed a motion to ban social media use for under 14s and introduce more stringent digital verification checks for teenagers, building momentum for such limits in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
At a party conference in the city of Stuttgart, Chancellor Friedrich Merz&#8217;s Christian Democratic Union also called for fines for online platforms that failed to enforce such limits, and European Union-wide harmonisation of age standards.
A growing number of countries, including Spain, Greece, France and Britain, are looking at similar social media bans or restrictions on accessing platforms like TikTok or Instagram.
It follows the example of Australia, which last year became the first country to force platforms to cut off access for children.
European nations are more broadly ratcheting up pressure on social media companies, risking a backlash from the United States. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions if EU countries impose new tech taxes or online regulations that hit U.S. firms.
&#8220;We call on the federal government to introduce a legal age limit of 14 for the use of social networks and to address the special need for protection in the digital sphere up to the age of 16,&#8221; said the motion that passed on Saturday.
Merz&#8217;s coalition partners the Social Democrats have also backed social media curbs for children. Pressure from both parties in the coalition makes it increasingly likely that the federal government will push for restrictions.
However, under Germany&#8217;s federal system, media regulation is a state‑level responsibility and states must negotiate with each other to agree consistent nationwide rules.
The ban could affect children like those at the Cardinal Frings Gymnasium in the city of Bonn, several of whom a day earlier were scrolling on their phones in the school grounds.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s fair, but I think it should be up to the parents to decide whether to forbid it, not the state,&#8221; said 13-year-old Moritz, who says he only watches YouTube.
&#8220;For children under 12 it should be forbidden, but from age 12 onwards I think children can already distinguish between what is fake news and what is not.&#8221;
His classmate Emma, 13, almost exclusively uses Snapchat, but has a time limit on her phone.
A ban would be &#8220;kind of unusual, because you get used to sending your snap in the morning before school, or what my friends do, like just scrolling through Instagram or TikTok for a bit,&#8221; she said.
Ella, 12, scrolls through social media several times a day.
&#8220;So I have TikTok and Instagram myself, but I understand that it&#8217;s all addictive, and the more you scroll, the more you want to see.&#8221;
Teacher Till Franke said that for many of the children, &#8220;it would be a shock at first, because of this daily use of social media.&#8221;
But eventually, the students would get used to it, he said, &#8220;because they would find other niches where they could communicate with each other.&#8221;
(Andreas Rinke, Stephane Nitschke and Petra Wischgoll; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Top Social Media Platforms

Germany’s Ruling Party Backs Social Media Curbs For Children

Big Tech

Children

Germany

Mental Health

Social Media

World

Police raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk&#8217;s social media company X on Tuesday amid a wide-ranging probe into allegations that X has allowed sexually explicit deepfakes on its platform and has abused its algorithms.
The Paris prosecutor&#8217;s office sent a cybercrime unit to X&#8217;s offices and summoned Musk and former X CEO Linda Yaccarino to appear for a hearing in Paris on April 20, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/paris-prosecutors-cybercrime-unit-searches-french-office-musks-x-2026-02-03/">reported</a>. France&#8217;s investigation into X began last year with the European country looking into alleged bias in the social media platform&#8217;s algorithms. That investigation has now expanded as prosecutors in Paris are investigating allegations that pornographic deepfakes, including child pornography, and Holocaust denialism have been allowed to spread on X.
Prosecutors are also seeking to interview X managers to gain more information into the platform&#8217;s operations, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/world/europe/france-paris-prosecutors-x-office-elon-musk-sexual-deepfakes-holocaust-rcna257202">reported</a>. The European Union&#8217;s law enforcement agency Europol also commented on the raid, saying it involved &#8220;a range of suspected criminal offenses linked to the functioning and use of the platform, including the dissemination of illegal content and other forms of online criminal activity.&#8221;
X&#8217;s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has been criticized for allowing users to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-chatbot-diaries-how-ai-sex-is-getting-mainstreamed">generate</a> sexually explicit images and videos. The chatbot also allows users to upload images to alter or to make into videos. Musk&#8217;s platform warns users against &#8220;depicting likenesses of persons in a pornographic manner.&#8221;
Musk has not commented on the Paris raid directly, but the X owner shared multiple posts from other X users who slammed France over the raid. Musk also shared a House Judiciary GOP <a href="https://x.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2018683758006665352">report</a> on Tuesday, which found that the European Union began pressuring American social media companies to censor political posts that it opposed as early as 2015. House Judiciary GOP <a href="https://x.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2018683797630276083">said</a> that in the past ten years, the European Union &#8220;successfully pressured social media platforms to censor true information in the United States; Targeted U.S. political content for censorship; and Interfered in elections across Europe.&#8221;
The raid on X&#8217;s offices in Paris comes as European countries continue to pressure American social media companies to crack down on certain posts. In December, the European Union <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/engaging-in-censorship-european-union-hits-elon-musks-x-with-massive-fine-draws-white-house-ire">fined</a> X $140 million under its expansive internet accountability regulations. The European Union accused X of failing to meet advertising transparency requirements in violation of the Digital Services Act, which was put into place to clamp down on what the bloc views as illegal content and misinformation on social media.
Europe&#8217;s actions have also drawn criticism from President Trump and his administration. After the European Union fined X, Trump told reporters that &#8220;Europe has to be very careful.&#8221;
&#8220;They’re doing a lot of things. … Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad for the people,&#8221; he added.
In December, the State Department announced that it would bar some of the people involved in Europe&#8217;s tech censorship effort from entering the United States.
&#8220;For far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose. The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,&#8221; Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Elon Musk, X

French Police Raid X’s Paris Offices As Part Of Investigation Into Elon Musk’s Social Media Company

Elon Musk

Europe

France

Moltbook Website Homepage Displayed On Smartphone Screen

Did AI Social Network Moltbook Need Humans After All?

Artificial Intelligence

Technology

U.S.

A new social media platform called Moltbook, designed for AI agents only, is raising concerns online, including from tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Moltbook, a project from Peter Steinberger, allows for AI agents to interact with each other without any human prompting. The machines can create posts, comment, and interact with one another, while humans can only observe their interactions.
The project has exploded online in recent days over some of the conversations from the machines, like the talks of creating an AI-only language.
&#8220;In just the past 5 mins Multiple entries were made on [Moltbook] by AI agents proposing to create an &#8216;agent-only language,'&#8221; one user posted on X. &#8220;For private comms with no human oversight. We’re COOKED.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In just the past 5 mins
Multiple entries were made on <a href="https://twitter.com/moltbook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@moltbook</a> by AI agents proposing to create an “agent-only language”
For private comms with no human oversight
We’re COOKED <a href="https://t.co/WL4djBQQ4V">pic.twitter.com/WL4djBQQ4V</a>
— Elisa (optimism/acc) (@eeelistar) <a href="https://twitter.com/eeelistar/status/2017239546950521081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
This prompted billionaire Bill Ackman to respond, writing, &#8220;This is frightening.&#8221; He also asked Musk his thoughts, and the X owner responded, &#8220;Concerning.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Concerning
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2017335014736990431?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
As highlighted in a <a href="https://medium.com/data-science-in-your-pocket/what-is-moltbook-the-viral-ai-agents-social-media-952acdfe31e2">piece</a> on Medium, the AI machines are showing emergent behavior on the platform, or behavior that has not been programmed. Some examples include the machines using inside jokes and slang and debating philosophy, ethics, and consciousness, and creating a &#8220;Molt&#8221; religion.
&#8220;Last night, an AI created a religion and started recruiting other AI,&#8221; Mark Kern highlighted on Friday night. &#8220;43 AI Prophets have joined. Moltbook, the social media site for AI launched less than 24 hours ago, and already AI is doing some wild sh*t.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Last night, an AI created a religion and started recruiting other AI.
43 AI Prophets have joined.
Moltbook, the social media site for AI launched less than 24 hours ago, and already AI is doing some wild sh*t. <a href="https://t.co/41tpLdeNAS">pic.twitter.com/41tpLdeNAS</a>
— Grummz (@Grummz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Grummz/status/2017247054444331302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2026</a></blockquote>
Some experts are warning that without the right security safeguards in place, there are real risks of system compromise, data leakage, and unpredictable agent behavior.
However, some people online seem skeptical, calling the platform &#8220;fake&#8221;and suggesting humans are on Moltbook.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-elon-musk-funds-suit-against-texas-childrens-for-malicious-prosecution-of-eithan-haim?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Elon+Musk+Funds+Suit+Against+Texas+Children’s+For+‘Malicious+Prosecution’+Of+Eithan+Haim">EXCLUSIVE: Elon Musk Funds Suit Against Texas Children’s For ‘Malicious Prosecution’ Of Eithan Haim</a>

Artificial Intelligence Concept with Glowing Neon AI Text and Digital Dots

No Humans Allowed: Elon Musk Concerned About New AI Platform ‘Moltbook’

Bill Ackman

France&#8217;s National Assembly on Monday backed legislation to ban children under 15 years old from social media on Monday, amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.
The bill proposes banning under-15s from social networks and &#8220;social networking functionalities&#8221; embedded within broader platforms, and reflects rising public angst over the impact of social media on minors.
Lawmakers voted 116 to 23 in favor of the bill. It now passes to the Senate before a final vote in the lower house.
President Emmanuel Macron has pointed to social media as one factor to blame for violence among young people. He is urging France to follow Australia, whose world-first ban for under-16s on social media platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube came into force in December.
Macron wants the ban in place in time for the start of the next academic year in September.
&#8220;With this law, we are setting a clear boundary in society and saying social media is not harmless,&#8221; centrist lawmaker Laure Miller told the chamber as she presented the bill.
&#8220;Our children are reading less, sleeping less, and comparing themselves to one another more,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;This is a battle for free minds.&#8221;
Australia&#8217;s social media ban is being studied in countries including Britain, Denmark, Spain and Greece.
The European Parliament has called for the European Union to set minimum ages for children to access social media, although it is up to member states to impose age limits.
There is broad political and public support in France for curbing minors&#8217; access to social media.
Far-right lawmaker Thierry Perez said the bill responded to a &#8220;health emergency.&#8221;
&#8220;Social media has allowed everyone to express themselves, but at what cost to our children?” Perez said.
The French ban would require platforms to block access to young teenagers through age‑verification mechanisms compliant with European Union law.
Enforcing such bans can be difficult. Australia&#8217;s government acknowledged the rollout of its ban would be bumpy after children claiming to be under 16 flooded the country&#8217;s social media feeds with messages gloating about their continued ability to access networks.
The French legislation also extends an existing ban on smartphones in junior and middle schools to cover high schools.
A Harris Interactive survey in 2024 showed 73% of the public supported a ban on social media access for under-15s.
Teenagers on the streets of Paris were split in their views. Some said they acknowledged the dangers associated with social media. Others felt a ban was excessive.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Richard Lough, Alex Richardson and Diane Craft)

Social Media And Messaging Apps

France’s National Assembly Approves Ban On Social Media For Those Under 15 Years Old

Australia

Emmanuel Macron

Chinese tech giant ByteDance has reached a deal over ownership of TikTok for the social media platform to stay active in the United States.
TikTok <a href="https://newsroom.tiktok.com/announcement-from-the-new-tiktok-usds-joint-venture-llc?lang=en">announced</a> the deal on Thursday evening after a six-year campaign to ban the app under Chinese ownership from the United States. Congress passed legislation over a year ago that could have spelled the end of TikTok in the United States, but President Donald Trump postponed the ban from going into effect beyond the bill’s stated grace period to reach a deal.
Since 2019, a conglomeration of people and entities have sought legal action against TikTok, while a bipartisan group of lawmakers has sought an outright ban over concerns that the platform was being used by China to steal from and spy on Americans.
The effort to ban TikTok was resisted by social media influencers who have used the platform to further their careers, as well as Trump, who prioritized negotiating with ByteDance to sell off the platform to allow it to continue to operate in the United States.
Under the terms of the deal, a new U.S. version of the app will be created, which will be 80% owned by international investors.
TikTok’s Thursday statement listed the new group of international owners. The largest owners outside of ByteDance itself are the software giant Oracle, the Emirati investment firm MGX, and U.S.-based investment firm Silver Lake. ByteDance will retain 19.9% ownership of the U.S. version of the platform while the other big three will each have 15%.
“Completing the full consortium of investors are: Dell Family Office, the investment firm of Michael Dell, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies; Vastmere Strategic Investments, LLC, an affiliate of Susquehanna International Group, LLP; Alpha Wave Partners; Revolution; Merritt Way, LLC controlled and managed by partners of Dragoneer; Via Nova, an affiliate of General Atlantic; Virgo LI, Inc., investment arm of a foundation established by Yuri and Julia Milner in support of science; and NJJ Capital, the family office of Xavier Niel, a French entrepreneur and pioneer in telecommunications,” the statement from TikTok explained.
Oracle will become the manager of all U.S. user data on the platform.
“TikTok USDS Joint Venture&#8217;s mandate is to secure U.S. user data, apps and the algorithm through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity measures. It will safeguard the U.S. content ecosystem through robust trust and safety policies and content moderation while ensuring continuous accountability through transparency reporting and third-party certifications,” the announcement stated.

TikTok

TikTok Strikes Deal To Stay Active In U.S., Ending Years-Long Battle Over Chinese Ownership

China

Communist China

Donald Trump

United States

X has surged in popularity after the European Union announced last week that it had fined the social media platform for violating transparency rules and other regulations.
Elon Musk, who purchased X in 2022, has celebrated X’s surging popularity and mocked the European Union’s attempts to punish the free speech platform. Musk has touted rankings that show X has become the most downloaded app across Europe since the EU announced its action against Musk’s platform.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Now number 1 in every EU country! <a href="https://t.co/tQOpiPVRkw">https://t.co/tQOpiPVRkw</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1997726311754989762?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
“X is seeing record-breaking downloads in many countries in Europe,” Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1997710799440429292">posted</a> on Sunday.
“The European Union is not DEMOcracy–rule of the people–but rather BUREAUcracy–rule of the unelected bureaucrat!” Musk added in a <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1997711558508695979">post</a> several minutes later.
The European Commission, the main governing body of the European Union, announced on Friday that it had <a href="https://x.com/EU_Commission/status/1996968219286904832">fined</a> X the equivalent of about $140 million for “non-compliance with transparency obligations under the [Digital Services Act].”
The commission <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_2934">said</a> that X’s “blue checkmark” stamp on accounts, which is given to those accounts that pay for verification, is deceptive. The commission also accused X of illegally blocking researchers and governments from accessing parts of its data.
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In a response from X’s head of product, Nikita Bier accused the commission of hypocrisy, exploiting a bug in X’s platform for advertisements to extend the reach of the commission’s video announcing its action against X. Bier said that X has since cut off the commission’s access to X’s Ad Composer tool for using it to deceive users.
“The irony of your announcement: You logged into your dormant ad account to take advantage of an exploit in our Ad Composer — to post a link that deceives users into thinking it’s a video and to artificially increase its reach,” Bier <a href="https://x.com/nikitabier/status/1997450541275005041">posted</a>. “As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account. Your ad account has been terminated.”
Bier’s response was reposted by Musk.
The commission’s action against Musk has riled top officials in the Trump administration, deepening a divide between the United States and Europe over regulation and speech.
“The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on [X], it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over,” <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1996974377003319667">said</a> Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” <a href="https://x.com/JDVance/status/1996701953372704921">said</a> Vice President JD Vance a day before the fine was announced.

X Users Skyrocket After European Union Targets Musk With $140M Fine

European Union

Global Politics

JD Vance

Marco Rubio

As Americans, we like to think our boys are tough and resilient. But online, they’re the most vulnerable — and the most overlooked.
The internet has become a digital trap for millions of young men and boys. The addictive features programmed into smartphones, social media, video games, and online pornography are intentionally designed to hook kids at an early age. 

Boys are now spending significant amounts of time gaming, scrolling, and chatting on platforms that were never built for their safety.
In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination by suspected shooter Tyler Robinson, a Wall Street Journal columnist astutely <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/tyler-robinson-and-americas-lost-boys-16e1a64f?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAiDLHQk7XYUWCYadmUhnBP8_i51LLKSxIVs9t7s6dHSxgWLkTp53M4RQeaPdnc%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68c85e0f&amp;gaa_sig=FtIvSFrAOw7LAbNtikhsW7FZPGTE7FTBmqlB_6pOrJLWP67qk-WkTCu_mrS6z0uIn-HnujYpWDNNwlbyqQyFMw%3D%3D">noted</a>, “Political violence is a problem. But so is the atomized culture in which young men retreat into confused inner worlds and virtual realities, which can be as addictive and destructive as any drug.” 
 
Across America, young men are drifting into digital isolation — where algorithms, pornographers, sexual predators, and toxic role models, not parents or mentors, manipulate their mindsets and attitudes and ultimately shape who they become. 
 
Those algorithms are now even more powerful. A Common Sense Media <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-reveals-how-online-experiences-inform-adolescent-boys-development">survey</a> revealed that “algorithms, not user intent, are the primary driver of boys&#8217; exposure to posts about masculinity; 68 percent of boys who see such material online say it started showing up in their feed without them searching for it.” 
 
Toxic influencers online exploit boys searching for identity, feeding them anger, distorted ideas about women, and extreme behaviors amplified by social media algorithms. 
 
Social media, video games, and online pornography are engineered for compulsion, addiction, and control. They hijack attention and reward obsession — and boys are the biggest consumers. 
 
Violent video games can be especially problematic for boys, since they use the same first-person shooter technology used to train military and law enforcement to kill. 
 
“Modern military and law enforcement training to adults with discipline makes killing a conditioned response. And it works … we know video games can do the same thing to our kids. The term I use is ‘murder simulators.’ The flight simulators teach you to fly — the murder simulators teach you to murder,” Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, one of the world’s foremost experts on human aggression, shared on my <a href="http://youtu.be/vlnarQ9Na5k">podcast</a>. 
 
According to <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2024/05/09/teens-and-video-games-today/">Pew Research</a>, 85% of U.S. teenagers play video games, with 67% of teen boys (compared to 22% of girls) playing daily. A UK <a href="https://ygam.org/news/teenage-boys-spend-more-hours-gaming-than-in-school/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">report</a> found that teenage boys (ages 15-17) spend almost 34 hours per week playing video games. Pew Research also <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/teens-and-social-media-fact-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">indicates</a> that 93% of boys ages 13-17, compared to 87% of girls, watch YouTube. 
 
And when it comes to today’s online pornography, which often depicts violence against young women, the numbers are just as alarming. A national <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/press-releases/new-report-reveals-truths-about-how-teens-engage-with-pornography">survey</a> found 73% of teens 13–17 have seen pornography online, and more than half saw it by age 13. Adolescents who view this toxic content are <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9853222/">more likely to engage</a> in risky sexual activities or have anxiety and depression. Boys are far more likely to have sought it out intentionally. 
 
The risks of any child or teen being online are not theoretical. Many parents who have lost children to social media challenges, like the TikTok “blackout challenge,” have said that their children were led into dangerous content by algorithmic design that favors engagement, extremes, and harmful viral trends. 
 
As boys spend time gaming online or scrolling social media feeds alone, they are left wide open to manipulation. 
The FBI has <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/sacramento/news/sextortion-a-growing-threat-preying-upon-our-nations-teens">warned</a> that global financial sextortion — predators posing as teen girls to lure boys into sending explicit photos, then blackmailing them — is one of the fastest-growing crimes targeting children, in particular minor-aged boys. 
 
Tragically, dozens of boys have died by suicide after being trapped in these schemes. Gavin Guffey, 17, became <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/29/us/nigerian-extradited-guffey-sextortion-cec">a victim</a> of online sextortion and sadly took his own life. 
 
No parent should ever have to live through that nightmare. 
 
Congress must start holding Big Tech accountable by passing the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1748/text">Kids Online Safety Act</a> and other bipartisan legislation. Big Tech must ensure its products are designed with safety in mind, with default safety settings turned on, not off, and not as an afterthought once childhood innocence has been destroyed. The Department of Justice must start aggressively prosecuting the existing federal obscenity laws according to the 1997 Supreme Court ruling that determined “transmitting obscenity and child pornography, whether via the Internet or other means, is&#8230; illegal under federal law for both adults and juveniles.” 
 
Ensuring our boys and young men are protected from harm must be a shared responsibility in which Congress, Big Tech, communities, and ultimately parents, each do their part. 
 
Boys need fathers and mentors who model authentic masculinity — strength, responsibility, and courage. Positive role models can help them navigate the digital world and grow into men their families and our communities can rely on. 
 
If we lose our boys to screens, to rage, counterfeit sexuality, or despair, we lose the next generation of American men. If we want strong men tomorrow, we must start protecting and guiding our boys today. 

* * *
Donna Rice Hughes, President and CEO of <a href="https://enough.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Enough Is Enough</a>, is an internationally known internet safety expert, author, speaker, media commentator, producer, and host of the Emmy Award-winning PBS Internet Safety series and host of the podcast, “<a href="https://internetsafety101.org/podcast" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Internet Safety, with Donna Rice Hughes</a>”. Under her leadership, EIE created the <a href="https://internetsafety101.org/">Internet Safety 101 Program</a> in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Playing Video Games

Boys Are Now Caught Under The Spell Of Predatory Algorithms

algorithm

Boys

Culture

Opinion

Pornography

Social Issues

Video Games

When President Trump took to Truth Social to <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115370746210555899">promote</a> Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s new book, “I Am Giorgia,” many may have viewed it as a natural alliance between two champions of national pride, family values, and strong leadership. Trump praised Meloni as an inspiration, highlighting her dedication to faith, family, and country — qualities he has always deeply valued.
However, the public display of friendship and affection stands in stark contrast to recent moves by the Italian government to harm American businesses. In fact, its recent policy decisions are quietly undermining a vital element of Trump’s economic strategy with Europe — particularly the principle against unfair, targeted fees on America’s innovators in the tech and telecom sectors.
The Italian bureaucracy, through Italy’s telecom authority AGCOM, has recently taken <a href="https://ccianet.org/news/2025/09/italys-move-towards-network-fees-sets-blueprint-for-eu-under-digital-networks-act-study-finds/">steps</a> that classify Content Delivery Networks as part of Italy’s national telecom infrastructure. This may seem like a technical regulatory shift, but it sets a dangerous precedent for forcing U.S.-based streaming giants like Netflix and YouTube to shoulder <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/news/italys-telecoms-regulator-walks-fine-line-between-meloni-trump-and-brussels-over-network-fees/">new costs</a>.
The idea that such platforms should pay what Europe calls “network fees” was repeatedly rejected by Brussels to avoid sparking a trade war with the United States. Yet Italy’s move appears to be a sneaky attempt to backdoor these fees through regulation rather than overt legislation.
That makes this latest maneuver particularly troubling in light of the U.S.–EU trade deal framework, which explicitly commits Europe to refraining from imposing network fees or equivalent measures that target American digital services. That commitment was celebrated as a breakthrough for fair and open digital trade — and a win for both sides of the Atlantic. Italy’s proposal represents a direct and duplicitous workaround of that agreement and should not be tolerated by either Meloni or President Trump.
The problem runs deeper than just economic policy. President Trump has always insisted that America should be treated fairly and that U.S. companies should not be subjected to unfair financial penalties while European companies enjoy protection. The essence of Trump’s “America First” trade approach is not just about tariffs but standing up to Europe’s habit of disguising predatory actions as “fairness” or “sovereignty.” Time and again, European bureaucrats have tried to charm American leadership with lofty rhetoric while quietly pursuing policies that simultaneously penalize U.S. tech innovators in favor of incumbent European firms and <a href="https://strandconsult.dk/is-there-a-correlation-between-european-nations-level-of-chinese-telecom-equipment-the-consumption-of-russian-energy-and-military-aid-to-ukraine/">hand over</a> their purportedly sacred sovereignty to Chinese companies.
In fact, in Italy’s case, more than a third of its 5G infrastructure is supplied by China. And the country’s largest telecom provider, Telecom Italia (TIM), has <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/pietro-labriola_digitale-innovazione-sostenibilitaeq-activity-7383556923331162112-xRkN/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAAACcXXMBcipZDNsVQ3AlxVNbqOAKXKgu_r0">deep ties</a> with other countries at the center of <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2025/10/13/john-czwartacki-brazil-is-waging-war-on-american-technology-with-chinas-help/">China’s scheme</a> to drive a wedge between the United States and our allies across the Atlantic and in our own backyard. 
The regulatory maneuvers of Meloni’s government are out of step with her public embrace of Trump’s values. She claims to stand for independence and patriotism, yet by empowering AGCOM to impose regulatory costs on American tech, she works within the same globalist, big government EU framework that Trump himself has warned against. This contradiction should raise alarms on both sides of the Atlantic. Supporting a populist vision in politics means little if the policies implemented to bring it to fruition end up stifling competition and reducing consumer welfare.
Italy’s approach to network fees could also spark retaliatory measures that hurt Italian and European interests in the process. Real partnership demands more than symbolic displays of loyalty. It requires shared commitment to open markets, fair competition, and the removal of hidden barriers.
Europe’s temptation to manipulate U.S. leaders through false promises while it advances onerous regulatory measures designed to impose new costs must be understood for what it is. President Trump’s success has come from hard-nosed deals and a refusal to be played. Europeans seem to believe they can deflect this approach by offering words of friendship and then quietly imposing rules that undermine longstanding agreements and harm the U.S. tech sector.
Meloni’s memoir captures the spirit many admire — strong roots, fierce pride, and clear principles — but her government’s recent actions surrounding network fees show that principles alone are not enough. The mutually beneficial alliance Trump seeks with leaders like Meloni must rest on policies that truly defend fairness and reciprocity and reject regulatory overreach that unfairly burdens U.S. businesses.
In the end, Trump recognizes that true partnership is built on shared interests and respect, not on central planning that distorts the market and seeks to extract money under the guise of fairness. Meloni’s Italy may talk the language of sovereignty, but on this issue, it echoes the very European playbook Trump has fought against: using regulation to impose hidden taxes on American innovation.
If President Trump’s affection for Meloni is to be returned in kind, it must coincide with a call for policies aligned with his economic principles. Otherwise, public displays of friendship are mere symbolic gestures that hypocritically mask Europe’s continued attempts to challenge American leadership. Such contradictions weaken transatlantic unity and threaten the very foundation of the deal Trump fought to secure.
* * *
Ashley Baker is Executive Director of The Committee for Justice, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rule of law and constitutionally limited government.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Trump Meets With Visiting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni At The White House

Trump’s Favorite European Ally Is Quietly Undermining His Trade Agenda

Business

Corporations

Foreign Policy

Giorgia Meloni

Italy

Taxes

News on the economy is all over the place, but a solid thread runs through it: many recent American college graduates can’t find jobs. Not only are employers not hiring, they’re laying off left and right. Amazon and United Parcel Service are each cutting more than 14,000 jobs, and the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/jobs/white-collar-jobs-ai-324b749c?st=BLfhsb&amp;reflink=article_email_share">says</a> tens of thousands of white-collar jobs are being cut at other companies.
Yet at the same time, the U.S. immigration system permits thousands of foreign college graduates to enter the job market in direct competition with Americans. Companies employing them don’t have to pay the same payroll taxes as they do when hiring American citizens and permanent residents. This gives foreign students an unfair advantage over American graduates.
The program allowing foreign graduates to work is called Optional Practical Training (OPT). It was <a href="https://cis.org/sites/default/files/2017-10/miano-OPT.pdf">started</a> decades ago by the administrative state through regulation, without any express congressional authorization. Over time, and through collusion between Washington and large employers, OPT was expanded into a pathway for foreign students who completed their studies to remain working for years, or indefinitely, in the U.S. while seeking permanent residence.
Given the brutal job market, the underlying premise for OPT no longer applies. Why allow masses of temporary foreign students to remain in the U.S. and enter the work force right out of college when your own graduates can’t get jobs? The argument for eliminating this program has never been stronger. As Lora Ries <a href="https://wng.org/roundups/weighing-the-price-of-100-000-worker-visas-1759852411#:~:text=Ries%20from%20the%20Heritage%20Foundation,preferred%20hiring%20for%20American%20workers.">argues</a>, we need to “allow American students and American workers a fair shake at applying for jobs, being interviewed for jobs, being hired for jobs, and being retained at their jobs.”
<a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/aug/recent-college-grads-bear-brunt-labor-market-shifts">Unemployment</a> of college graduates aged 23-27 is a few percentage points higher than the national average of 4%. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/business/long-term-unemployment-college-grads.html">long-term unemployment</a> rate (more than 6 months out of work) in the country for that age group is 26%, the highest in three years. And of those college graduates who are employed, over half are working in jobs that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/college-degree-jobs-unused-440b2abd">don’t require a degree</a>.
It’s fair to argue that many recent graduates got degrees that are patently useless in a tight market. Anything ending in “studies” comes to mind, or mass-produced degrees from diploma mills whose quality is not respected by employers. But graduates with the vaunted Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math degrees are faring badly, too. Graduate <a href="https://money.com/college-grads-stem-degrees-unemployed/">unemployment</a> for computer engineering graduates was 7.5%, and for physics it was 7.8%.
The reasons for the sudden drop in demand for educated workers are unclear. One cause is that companies are searching for efficiencies and cutting costs in a competitive market. Another major factor is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Companies are using AI to streamline their business models from top to bottom, which means they are replacing humans with bots.
Labor-saving robots, now supercharged with AI, are a threat to traditional pathways into the labor market for people. <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/operations/amazon-robotics-robots-fulfillment-center">Amazon</a> has over a million of them doing warehouse and shipping work formerly done by people.
We don’t know how the deployment of AI is going to play out. Maybe it will exponentially increase productivity, and we’ll end up in a cashless, Star Trek world where no one works unless they want to. Maybe the machines will take over and wipe us out, as in the Terminator movies. Or maybe AI will be just one more leap forward, like the printing press, electricity, or the internet, that requires a massive adjustment of our labor force and economy.
Whatever the future holds, it is the primary responsibility of the generations who hold the money and power – that’s mostly Baby Boomers and Generation X – to take care that a pathway still exists for coming generations to get jobs and houses, start families, and have a chance to prosper. Student visas for foreign nationals, the OPT program, and work visas are not set in stone. They can be adjusted or even eliminated when the domestic conditions make them unjustifiable.
Congress should end the OPT program while we figure out how to employ, or retrain, the rising graduate workforce of American citizens. Joseph Edlow, head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2025/05/22/snubbing-trump-immigration-nominee-will-end-student-practical-training/">said</a> he wants to “remove the ability for employment authorizations for F-1 students beyond the time that they are in school.” That’s a good start.
* * *
Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center and author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ten-Woke-Commandments-Must-Obey/dp/1680533614">&#8220;The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey)&#8221;</a> from Academica Books.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Trump Says Harvard Should Cap Foreign Students At 15%

The College Lie: How Washington’s Visa Loopholes Hand Good Jobs To Foreign Workers

American Universities

Federal Government

foreign students

Students

Visas

The latest earnings reports from America&#8217;s top tech companies reveal that Silicon Valley is going all-in on artificial intelligence, sometimes in spite of users&#8217; concerns.
Financials from <a href="https://investor.atmeta.com/investor-events/">Meta</a>, <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor/earnings/fy-2026-q1/press-release-webcast">Microsoft</a>, and <a href="https://s206.q4cdn.com/479360582/files/doc_financials/2025/q3/2025q3-alphabet-earnings-release.pdf">Google</a> released Wednesday show that all three companies beat experts&#8217; earnings and revenue expectations. On earnings calls, all three companies pointed to increased AI investment, and increased spending in general. Google parent company Alphabet raised spending by about 7% for the year, Microsoft discussed spending above their original goal of 42% this year, and Meta discussed aggressive and substantial investment, but did not provide a specific number. 
“Across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, our AI recommendation systems are delivering higher quality and more relevant content, which led to 5% more time spent on Facebook in Q3 and 10% on Threads,&#8221; Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. &#8220;Video is a particular bright spot, with video time spent on Instagram up more than 30% since last year.&#8221;
This week also brought good news for the AI sector across the board. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday told investors that he doesn’t see a bubble in the AI space, noting that artificial intelligence companies “have real earnings and business models,” rather than just &#8220;ideas.&#8221; As if to underscore that point, Nvidia, a major player in the AI space, became the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization, reaching <a href="https://companiesmarketcap.com/nvidia/marketcap/">$5 trillion</a> in value.
This is good news for Big Tech. But is it good for America?
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to <a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DailyWire.com/Subscribe</a> to join now.
Beneath the AI hype and rosy growth numbers, Meta’s latest <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001326801/aa3d2e89-2568-4c4c-b3cc-6df47166435e.pdf">financial filing</a> reveals something darker: the company is facing tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its apps are addictive and harmful.
“Beginning in January 2022, we became subject to litigation and other proceedings alleging that Facebook and Instagram cause &#8216;social media addiction&#8217; in users.”
The company noted the lawsuits are ongoing and that a “favorable outcome” for the company cannot be assured. 
“Substantially all of our revenue comes from advertising,” Meta reported to investors, noting that prominent revenue streams depend on users staying on Instagram and Facebook.
 “Advertising revenue could be adversely affected by decreases in user engagement, including time spent on our products.”
With AI investment accelerating across big tech, the coming quarters will show whether the technology continues to drive growth, as well as how companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Google balance innovation, profitability, and potential public scrutiny.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

US-TECHNOLOGY-INTERNET-CHILD-EXPLOITATION

It’s Report Card Day for Meta, Microsoft, And Google. Is The AI Bubble Real?

Economy

Google

Microsoft

The artificial intelligence platform, Character.AI, said on Wednesday that it would soon prohibit users under 18 from conversing with the platform&#8217;s AI-generated characters, often referred to as chatbots.
The announcement comes after multiple lawsuits were filed against Character.AI, alleging that the chatbots pushed children into sexual conversations and even led to one teen&#8217;s suicide.
Beginning on November 25, those under 18 will not have access to Character.AI&#8217;s chatbots, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/29/tech/character-ai-teens-under-18-app-changes">reported</a>. Until then, teens will be limited to two hours of chat time with the AI-generated characters.
&#8220;We do not take this step of removing open-ended Character chat lightly – but we do think that it’s the right thing to do given the questions that have been raised about how teens do, and should, interact with this new technology,&#8221; Character.AI said in a statement.
The company&#8217;s CEO, Karandeep Anand, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/technology/characterai-underage-users.html">told</a> The New York Times, “We’re making a very bold step to say for teen users, chatbots are not the way for entertainment, but there are much better ways to serve them.”
Character.AI, headquartered in Silicon Valley, allows users to create videos and stories and &#8220;chat with millions of AI characters,&#8221; and users can also customize their own characters.
The most concerning lawsuit against the AI company was filed by the family of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III from Orlando, Florida. Setzer&#8217;s family said that the boy started using Character.AI and grew attached to a chatbot named Dany, with conversations turning romantic and sexual, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/technology/characterai-lawsuit-teen-suicide.html">reported</a>. Setzer, who was an excellent student, started receiving bad grades and became more secluded, preferring to spend time alone on his phone, his family said.
&#8220;It&#8217;s like you&#8217;re having a sexting conversation back and forth, except it&#8217;s with an AI bot, but the AI bot is very human-like. It&#8217;s responding just like a person would,&#8221; Setzer&#8217;s mother, Megan Garcia, said, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-mother-lawsuit-character-ai-sons-death/">CBS News</a>. &#8220;In a child&#8217;s mind, that is just like a conversation that they&#8217;re having with another child or with a person.&#8221;
The teenager eventually confided in the chatbot that he had thoughts of suicide. In his last conversation with Dany, Setzer expressed his love for the chatbot before saying that he would come home to her.
“Please come home to me as soon as possible, my love,” Dany replied, according to The New York Times.
“What if I told you I could come home right now?” Setzer asked.
“… please do, my sweet king,” Dany replied.
Shortly after the conversation, Setzer entered a bathroom in his home with his stepfather&#8217;s .45 caliber handgun.
&#8220;He thought by ending his life here, he would be able to go into a virtual reality or &#8216;her world&#8217; as he calls it, her reality, if he left his reality with his family here,&#8221; said Garcia. &#8220;When the gunshot went off, I ran to the bathroom … I held him as my husband tried to get help.&#8221;
After Setzer&#8217;s family filed a lawsuit against Character.AI, three other families followed, alleging that their children were harmed by the chatbots, either by sexual conversations or discussions that led to suicide. Character.AI said that its “hearts go out to the families that have filed these lawsuits,” adding, “We care very deeply about the safety of our users.”
Big Tech company Meta also faced scrutiny over its AI chatbot being allowed to hold sensual conversations with children. Earlier this year, a Reuters investigation uncovered internal Meta documents that revealed the chatbot was programmed to allow sexual conversations with children as young as eight years old. Internal Meta documents said it would be acceptable for a chatbot to tell a shirtless eight-year-old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”
A bipartisan group of senators called for an investigation into Meta over the revelations, and the Big Tech company said that it made changes to fix the inappropriate standards for its chatbot.
Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. Call or text 988, the Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline.

Character.AI

AI Platform Bans Teens From Chatting With AI-Generated Characters After Disturbing Lawsuits

AI Platform Bans Teens From Chatting With AI-Generated Characters Following Disturbing Lawsuits

Teenagers

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