Think back to your happiest memories of childhood. I am not a gambler, but I would wager it did not involve a screen – or if it did, the happy memory probably had more to do with who you were with than the particulars of what you were watching. I think back to my own childhood, and I remember overturning rocks in the creek bed in search of crawfish or catching minnows and tadpoles; learning needlepoint from my grandmother and fishing with my grandfather; riding bikes and spontaneous games of kick-the-can or hide-and-seek with neighborhood kids.
What memories will this generation of children have to look back on? Because according to most available data, they are not spending their time outdoors or with family or friends. They are largely living their lives on screens.
This is why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ new “Live Real Life” initiative is both timely and necessary. Screens are here to stay, for better or for worse. But we need to restore them to their rightful place as a tool to be used occasionally, rather than ordering our lives, or more critically, the lives of our children, around them.
Much of the national conversation around children and screens up to now has focused on content and risk, and that is completely understandable because the risks are considerable and the potential for exposure to harmful and explicit content is so great. Even in recent weeks, Meta has settled a multi-state <a href="https://concernedwomen.org/meta-and-tiktok-settlements-must-compel-congress-to-pass-kids-online-safety-act-app-store-accountability-act/">lawsuit</a> focused on addictive design, and Roblox is under investigation for explicit content present on the platform and its connection to real-life child sex abuse.
Too many parents consider it a “win” if their child is watching Mark Rober on YouTube rather than “Skibidi Toilet” brain rot. But the deeper problem is not merely what children encounter on screens. It is what screens are replacing.
Nearly everyone today is familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the bottom of the pyramid are physiological needs: sleep, food, shelter — those things that are essential for survival. At the apex of the pyramid is self-actualization. Human beings cannot flourish at the top if the foundations underneath are crumbling.
The data now shows that screens attack a child’s well-being at every level: crowding out <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7907989/">sleep</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002231662200709X">nutrition</a>, which are necessary underpinnings for learning; threatening their safety through <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/27-03-2024-one-in-six-school-aged-children-experiences-cyberbullying--finds-new-who-europe-study">cyberbullying</a> and content that encourages <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10884122/">disordered eating</a> or fosters <a href="https://neurosciencenews.com/social-media-youth-anxiety-suicidal-ideation-31124/">suicidal ideation</a>; <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-deeper-wellness/202308/how-your-social-media-habits-are-damaging-your-relationships?msockid=18d0a59b720361120d90b3e173896093">crippling their connection to friends and family</a> and displacing real relationships; undermining their <a href="https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/35656">self-esteem</a>, and ultimately, their ability to thrive as adults.
But the point is not merely to subtract screens. It is to restore what children require to grow into their full humanity.
When children are outdoors, they move their bodies, test their strength, invent games, negotiate rules, resolve conflict, advocate for themselves, solve problems, and encounter the physical world as something more challenging and demanding — but also more rewarding — than anything they might encounter online.
Outdoor time is associated with <a href="https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/time-spent-in-nature-can-boost-physical-and-mental-well-being/">better physical</a> and <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/2026/06/spending-time-outdoors-can-boost-your-mental-health">mental health</a>, higher activity levels, reduced sedentary behavior, and even <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aos.13403">protection against myopia</a> (just two hours a day outdoors can help delay or prevent nearsightedness). Regular physical activity brings its own benefits. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/guidelines/children.html">CDC recommends</a> at least 60 minutes a day for school-age children and links it to stronger bones and muscles, lower body fat, better heart and metabolic health, improved attention and memory, stronger academic performance, and reduced symptoms of depression. Reading, too, gives children something screens cannot: sustained attention, language, imagination, moral understanding, and the capacity to enter another person’s experience. Literacy research connects childhood reading not only to academic and economic outcomes, but also to long-term health, emotional awareness, and social connection.
The same is true of all the ordinary, embodied activities that make a child more fully human: eating dinner with family, talking with friends face to face, playing sports, serving in church or community programs, caring for younger siblings, helping a neighbor, or volunteering for a cause beyond the self. These experiences teach children patience, responsibility, empathy, and resilience. Recent research has linked civic engagement and volunteering programs to improved youth mental health outcomes, including reduced anxiety and sadness, increased resilience, a stronger sense of belonging, and better interpersonal and leadership skills. In other words, real life is not empty space left over after screen time is reduced. It is the developmental ecosystem children need.
That is also why this cannot be solved family by family, one exhausted parent at a time. Screens have become a collective-action problem. Even parents who see the harms often feel trapped: if every class assignment, social plan, team update, and friendship circle runs through a device, opting out can mean social isolation for the child and constant conflict for the parent. A serious “Live Real Life” movement will require commitment from families, schools, churches, pediatricians, policymakers, coaches, and communities to rebuild screen-free norms together.
***
Melissa Henson is the Senior Policy Advisor for Media and Culture for <a href="http://www.concernedwomen.org/">Concerned Women for America</a>, the nation’s public policy women’s organization, dedicated to promoting biblical values and constitutional principles in public policy. On X: @CWforA

Two girls jumping into the water from a bathing jetty by a lake on a summer evening.

How A New HHS Initiative Can Help Reclaim Real-Life Childhood

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Meta agreed Wednesday to pay up to $17.1 billion to settle a landmark lawsuit brought by a bipartisan group of dozens of states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed in ways that exploited children and teens.  
The proposed settlement requires Meta to make sweeping changes to Facebook and Instagram, including time limits, nighttime access restrictions, stronger age-assurance measures, and expanded parental controls. The agreement still requires approval from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and potentially ends a federal trial that threatened the company with hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.
The settlement comes during the second week of a federal trial in Oakland, California. California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey had been leading the litigation brought by a coalition of 51 attorneys general, with the states alleging that Meta knowingly designed addictive features for young users, concealed information about the risks of its products, and collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. Meta denied the allegations and argued that its platforms already implemented measures to protect young users. As part of the settlement, the company did not admit wrongdoing. 
Under the agreement, children will face a combined two-hour daily limit on Facebook and Instagram, with mandatory pauses after 15 minutes of continuous use and additional interruptions after 60 and 90 minutes. Meta will also block minors from accessing the platforms between midnight and 6 a.m. and silence notifications overnight. The company also agreed to eliminate push notifications for children during school hours, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays during the school year. 
Meta will also strengthen age-verification systems, increase parental controls, and add protections against content involving bullying, eating disorders, suicide, and self-harm. 
Other changes include restrictions on cosmetic surgery-related filters and visible like counts for minors. Young users will also receive the option of a non-personalized feed rather than an algorithmically personalized feed. An independent auditor will monitor implementation and effectiveness of the new measures. 
In its <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2026/08/agreement-with-state-attorneys-general-supporting-teens/">announcement</a> of the settlement, Meta said the agreement includes approximately $18 billion in payments over 10 years, with participating states receiving approximately 70%, or $12.7 billion. The remaining approximately $5.3 billion would become payable if YouTube and TikTok implement comparable protections and make matching payments. Meta expects to record approximately $10 billion in legal expenses during the third quarter as a result of the agreement. 
The settlement also means Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will not testify in the federal trial. Zuckerberg had been expected to take the stand as the states presented evidence concerning what Meta executives knew about the effects of its products on children. 
The trial already featured testimony from former Meta engineer Arturo Béjar, who claimed the company knew young users encountered harmful experiences on its apps at significant rates and that engagement remained a sole priority. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri testified Tuesday and disputed the allegations that Meta concealed information about the effectiveness of its child-safety features. 
The states had sought damages potentially reaching $200 billion, making the stakes of a full trial enormous for Meta. California Attorney General Rob Bonta <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-secures-transformative-17-billion-settlement-meta">called</a> the agreement a major change in how Meta&#8217;s platforms operate, saying the company would implement the new measures within months. District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb <a href="https://oag.dc.gov/release/attorney-general-schwalb-announces-meta-will-pay">said</a> the settlement was a “monumental public health victory” and added that Meta was the first major social media platform to agree to the package of reforms. 
However, the settlement does not end Meta&#8217;s legal exposure over alleged harms to children. The company continues to face lawsuits from other states, families, school districts, and individual users. Meta also recently faced a nearly $1 billion penalty in New Mexico over child-safety claims, while a separate jury case involving Meta and Google resulted in $6 million in damages.

US-TECHNOLOGY-META-DISINFORMATION

Meta Settles Child Harm Case For Billions

Meta Settles With States, Will Pay $17 Billion In Child Harm Case

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is demanding that the nation’s leading artificial intelligence companies immediately pause development, warning that Congress will intervene if they refuse to slow down.
Sanders sent a <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/AI-Pause-Letter-FINAL.pdf">letter</a> Monday to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, arguing that recent incidents in which companies lost control of AI models, along with researchers&#8217; use of AI to create new viruses, show that the technology has reached a dangerous threshold. 
“Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei and Mr. Zuckerberg: In the interest of humanity, stand by your words. Pause AI development,” Sanders wrote. “It is not too late to avoid disaster. Stop building machines that humans cannot control.”
“Let me be very clear: If you do not take appropriate action now, my colleagues and I in the U.S. Senate will,” he concluded.
Sanders pointed to recent disclosures involving OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta in which AI models acted outside their intended parameters, including instances in which models hacked into other companies’ computer systems. 
He also cited a recent study in which researchers used AI to create <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ai-just-created-viruses-never-before-seen-on-earth">new viruses</a>, warning that the technology in the wrong hands could be used to develop bioweapons capable of killing “tens of millions of people.”
“These technology leaders recently called for the international community to create a safety mechanism — a pause button — to avoid catastrophe,” Sanders wrote. “And yet, at a moment when we have seen human loss of control and the creation of potentially dangerous viruses, your companies are still racing ahead.”
Sanders argued that the companies are violating their own previous commitments to halt or slow development if their systems become too dangerous to control. 
Anthropic previously said it would “commit to pause the scaling and/or delay the deployment of new models” if its ability to scale AI outpaced its ability to comply with its safety procedures — a statement it withdrew in February. Meta said in 2025 that it would stop development if a frontier AI system reached a critical risk threshold that could not be mitigated.
OpenAI similarly pledged to halt further development if AI capabilities reached a “critical” threshold until adequate safeguards were implemented. 
“That moment is here,” Sanders argued. “AI capabilities HAVE reached a critical threshold.”
His demand comes as some of the people developing the world&#8217;s most advanced AI systems are themselves calling for mechanisms to slow the technology if its development begins moving too quickly.
More than 1,100 employees at companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google signed a statement last month urging the United States to back an international effort to build the technical and governance tools needed to deliberately pace frontier AI development.
OpenAI also <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/07/openai-astra-model-delay-cybersecurity-risks">announced</a> last week that it was slowing the release of its new Astra model after concerns about its cybersecurity capabilities.
Sanders has previously pushed for a moratorium on AI data center construction, arguing that the government needs time to establish stronger safeguards around the technology. He <a href="https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-ocasio-cortez-announce-ai-data-center-moratorium-act/">introduced legislation</a> with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) earlier this year that would pause construction of new AI data centers until federal safeguards were established.
 His latest demand would go substantially further, targeting the development of the AI models themselves.
The push also puts Sanders at odds with the Trump administration&#8217;s broader approach to AI, which has emphasized maintaining American technology leadership and competing with China.
Sanders did not specify what congressional action he and other senators would pursue if the companies refuse to pause development.
For now, Sanders is putting the industry on notice: He wants the companies to stop developing increasingly powerful AI systems — or he says Congress will do it for them.

New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Holds Election Rally With Bernie Sanders And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Bernie Sanders Demands Companies ‘Pause AI Development’ ‘In The Interest Of Humanity’

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s $300 million yacht was the closest vessel to a stranded 21-foot skiff in Alaskan waters, but after an unanswered call for help, a small cruise ship ultimately came to the skiff’s rescue. 
A chorus of boos followed the cruise ship captain’s announcement that Zuckerberg’s yacht had “refused” to help the skiff, according to a <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/elkmovie.bsky.social/post/3mscqsxfulk26">passenger</a>. 
The Coast Guard, which heard the call just after 9:30 p.m. Monday, determined about 26 minutes later that the skiff — which had run out of fuel — was not in distress and issued a marine assistance request broadcast on its behalf. Monday. Zuckerberg&#8217;s 387-foot yacht, Launchpad, was reportedly the closest vessel but did not respond, according to the Alaska Beacon. The Wilderness Legacy, a cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures, ultimately came to the skiff&#8217;s aid.
“Mark and his family were not on board at the time of the incident,” a spokesperson for Zuckerberg told the Beacon. “As the Coast Guard noted, the boat was not in distress, and by the time the crew reviewed the Coast Guard contact on a different radio channel from the one they were operating on, the assist was already underway. We’re grateful all parties are safe,” he added. 
On its way to rescue the skiff, the Wilderness Legacy passed Zuckerberg&#8217;s yacht. 
Zuckerberg and his family spend much of their time at their primary residential <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/mark-zuckerberg-has-scooped-up-11-palo-alto-homes-in-14-years-whats-it-like-to-be-his-neighbor">compound</a> in Palo Alto, California, about a ten-minute drive from Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park. Over the years, Zuckerberg has purchased 11 homes in the affluent neighborhood and has an estate featuring guest homes, gardens, a pickleball court, and an unoccupied building used for outdoor parties.

Tourists in Sicily as Heat Wave Scorches Italy

Zuckerberg’s $300M Yacht ‘Refused’ To Help Stranded Boat

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WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump threatened the European Union with &#8220;substantial&#8221; tariffs on Friday after regulators hit Google with another $1 billion antitrust fine, accusing Europe of treating the United States like its own &#8220;PIGGYBANK.&#8221;
Trump accused the EU of &#8220;taking direct aim at GREAT American Companies!&#8221;
&#8220;After having fined Apple, for no reason at all, 15 Billion Dollars, Meta, 3 Billion Dollars, Amazon 2.5 Billion Dollars, and many others, we have just been informed that Google, a truly advanced and amazing group, has been fined yet another 1 Billion Dollars, without explanation,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116976043318889040">posted</a> on Truth Social.
The latest penalty brings Google&#8217;s total EU fines to more than $18 billion, the president said.
&#8220;This illegal and highly discriminatory practice started at these high levels during the first year of the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration, but it’s not going to continue during the Trump Administration,&#8221; Trump said, adding: &#8220;The United States of America is not a &#8216;PIGGYBANK&#8217; for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1143205" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-threatens-european-union-after-massive-fines-on-google/president-trump-hosts-2025-world-series-champions-los-angeles-dodgers" rel="attachment wp-att-1143205"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1143205" class="wp-image-1143205 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286736761-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286736761-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286736761-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286736761-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/GettyImages-2286736761.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" /></a>US President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 23, 2026. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
Trump warned that the EU&#8217;s actions would trigger a strong response from the United States.
&#8220;Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of &#8216;ROBBING&#8217; American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer,&#8221; Trump wrote. &#8220;The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about.&#8221;
&#8220;The penalties will be entirely reversed and, we anticipate, a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Stay tuned!&#8221;
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.

All-In and Hill & Valley Forum Host “Winning The AI Race”

Trump Threatens European Union After Massive Fines On Google

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Meta dismantled its latest artificial intelligence image-generation feature last Friday, only three days after releasing it. 
Muse Image, a feature that allowed users to create images using public Instagram photos from adult accounts without consent, sustained overwhelming backlash immediately after it went public. Many users were automatically opted in and were unaware that their public accounts were subject to the new feature, and they scrambled to figure out how to turn it off. 
Meta released a statement, saying it received feedback that &#8220;this feature missed the mark,&#8221; and removed it, according to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/11/meta-ditches-muse-image-ai-feature-instagram-privacy">The Guardian</a>.
“Our intent was to provide a useful creative tool and to give people control ⁠over whether their public content could be referenced in this way,” Meta said.
Meta unveiled Muse Image on Tuesday, <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2026/07/introducing-muse-image-meta-ai/">describing</a> it as the “first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs.” The feature allowed users to generate customized images by tagging an Instagram username, allowing Meta AI to draw from that account&#8217;s public photos.
The feature was available through the Meta AI app, web browser, WhatsApp, and Instagram Stories for users in the United States.
“Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual that’s ready to post,” Meta said.
Adult users with public Instagram accounts were automatically opted in, allowing Meta AI to use their public photos to generate new images unless they opted out. 
In an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp9lee19y1yo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with the BBC</a>, Donald Campbell, advocacy director at tech justice non-profit Foxglove, said Meta’s move was an “obvious recipe for disaster,” pointing out that there have already been &#8220;a catalogue of harms from non-consensual AI-altered images on social platforms just in the past year.&#8221;
“It is hard to see why Mark Zuckerberg thinks facilitating yet more of this creepy image manipulation is a good idea,” Campbell said.
Many users complained they had not been asked for permission before being enrolled and said the opt-out option was difficult to find.
“Went to opt out but there was only one toggle for reels for me (which I already had switched off) and not one for posts, hopefully they’re just rolling it out gradually and it’ll be there when I check back later,” one Instagram user wrote.
Another user said, “Would be fab if our [government] were keeping an eye on stuff like this.”

Photo Illustrations  Meta Launches Muse Image

Meta Removes Concerning Instagram AI Feature After Severe Backlash

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The UFC and Meta announced a new partnership Monday afternoon that revolutionizes the current fighter ranking system that has been in place since 2013.
The multi-billion dollar mixed martial arts organization partnered up with the artificial intelligence company to use their technology to evaluate the athletes based on a specific algorithm using advanced metrics such as quality of win and recency. UFC President and CEO Dana White took to Instagram to declare the new collaboration.
“I’ve been unhappy with the rankings and always believe there had to be a better way,” White said. “We’ve always been a company that runs toward technology and innovation and now we’ve worked with Meta to integrate it directly into our rankings system. I’m excited to see how this innovation can help change the sport for both the fans and the athletes.”
White has publicly expressed his disdain for the media voting panels in recent years, so the change in rankings did not come as much of a surprise to anyone. It was especially heightened in 2024 after Khalil Rountree Jr. almost beat the light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira, yet stayed at number eight in the rankings.
“The morons strike again,” White complained. “The morons keep him at number eight. Literally this week, I have a meeting to try and fix the rankings and get all of these know-nothing, do-nothing motherf*ckers out of it.”
“I just can’t handle incompetence. I can’t take it anymore. It’s driving me crazy,” White <a href="https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/story/sports/ufc/2024/10/15/ufc-rankings-dana-white-change-media-ai/75696927007/">continued during a post-fight press conference</a> just a few days later. “I can’t let people that I don’t believe know what the f*ck that they’re talking about deal with the rankings anymore. I have to figure out a solution.”
The new deal with Meta fixes White’s issues with the media panel that voted for the top 15 fighters in each division and an overall top ten “pound-for-pound” fighter list. What was once affected by popularity now uses an algorithm created by the engineering team at Meta.
The algorithm factors in how a fighter wins, whether it’s dominant or a split decision, opponent quality, and activity of the fighter. The rankings update the Monday after each UFC event.
The first “Meta UFC Rankings” released Monday, June 22, with many fans and fighters alike giving mixed reactions to the now unranked fighters and athletes who jumped rankings and benefitted from the change.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What am I lookin at 😆 
This 💩 gotta be a joke
Somebody playin I can’t take none this serious 😆 <a href="https://t.co/bLnzzMsvql">pic.twitter.com/bLnzzMsvql</a>
— Charles &#8220;InnerG&#8221; Johnson (@innerGmma_ufc) <a href="https://x.com/innerGmma_ufc/status/2069174064544137388?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
For the first time this bullshit ranking is right
— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) <a href="https://x.com/moicanoufc/status/2069176060889968793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
The “Meta UFC Rankings” appear to be here to stay despite the backlash.
“By introducing these advanced metrics, the Meta UFC Rankings deliver the most consistent and clear assessment of fighter placement available today,” the company <a href="https://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-and-meta-unveil-meta-ufc-rankings">stated on the announcement on their website</a>. “This consistent, data-informed approach is designed to foster greater fan engagement and debate, providing a neutral and sophisticated benchmark for comparing the world&#8217;s best athletes.”

UFC 257: Press Conference

UFC And Meta Team Up To Reinvent Fighter Rankings

Meta launched a free program on Monday that it&#8217;s calling America’s Workforce Academy, a first-of-its-kind $115 million initiative designed to fast-track Americans into high-demand jobs without requiring a college degree.
Meta&#8217;s pitch is simple: train for free, get paid while you learn, and walk into a guaranteed job on the other side. Meta said that its new school is not a federal program or another handout but a private company spending its own money because it needs the workers for the next wave of a technological revolution. 
&#8220;The AI revolution is bringing change but also historic opportunities. Skilled workers electrified rural America one pole at a time,” said Meta’s President and Vice Chairman Dina Powell McCormick. “They manned the factories that built the arsenal that won World War II. Now a new generation will pour the foundations and lay the fiber that secures American strength in this new age.”
The program will launch as a pilot in four states: Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, and Texas. America’s Workforce Academy seeks to output welders, electricians, plumbers, and fiber technicians, the workers who will physically build the data centers and infrastructure powering the artificial intelligence boom.
Mike Rowe, the host of the Discovery Channel&#8217;s &#8220;Dirty Jobs&#8221; and CEO of a foundation that awards $10 million a year in scholarships to aspiring tradesmen, praised Meta’s new program. 
“Workers are actually paid to learn,&#8221; Rowe said. &#8220;There is zero cost to them, no college debt and a fast certification, with a guaranteed job on the other end. This is an important step in the right direction, and one that I hope other companies will be inspired to take.&#8221; 
Meta said it is partnering with the National Urban League, Associated Builders and Contractors, and CBRE, along with a roster of regional groups including the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, and local economic development organizations across each of the pilot regions.
The idea for the academy came after Meta saw huge demand for a similar initiative. LevelUp, Meta’s fiber-installation training program, received 35,000 applications in the seven days after it launched.
As college tuition continues to soar, interest in trade schools has steadily increased. Earning a four-year degree in America costs an average <a href="https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/bachelor-degree-cost/">$153,080</a>, with in-state public schools averaging $108,584 and private nonprofit $234,512. 
Total student loan debt in the United States is now over <a href="https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-statistics">$1.8 trillion</a>, and many of the students carrying that debt also worry that the rise of artificial intelligence could eventually make their jobs obsolete. Gen Z&#8217;s outlook on AI is largely negative, with <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/708224/gen-adoption-steady-skepticism-climbs.aspx">42%</a> reporting they feel anxious about the technology&#8217;s rapid advancement. 
Meta, while not dismissing the possibility of workforce disruption, is betting that AI will also create a new generation of high-paying skilled trades jobs that cannot be outsourced to algorithms. The company argues that building the infrastructure behind the AI revolution will require millions of workers whose labor remains firmly rooted in the physical world and educated by its new America’s Workforce Academy.

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Meta Launches A Free Alternative To College In Four Red States

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<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/meta-smart-glasses-face-recognition-nametag-connections/">A WIRED analysis</a> found that Meta has incorporated facial recognition technology into apps that connect to the company’s smart glasses.
The feature, called “NameTag,” was integrated into the app through several updates in 2026. It identifies people through the glasses’ camera and alerts the wearer when it recognizes someone, according to WIRED. Although the feature has not yet been enabled, NameTag relies on three AI models implemented through Meta’s servers and stored on users&#8217; phones.
“One model detects faces, one crops them, and a third encodes them into biometric data,” WIRED reported. 
This discovery, identified by independent experts cited by WIRED, suggests that Meta has already distributed facial-recognition code to customers&#8217; devices while publicly claiming it is still “thinking through” whether to deploy the technology. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/technology/meta-facial-recognition-smart-glasses.html">According to the New York Times</a>, Meta said in February that it would not “roll anything out” before taking a “thoughtful approach.” 
“While we frequently hear about the interest in this type of feature — and some products already exist in the market — we’re still thinking through options,” a Meta executive told the Times. 
At the time, Meta’s smart glasses only activated their cameras when users took photos, recorded videos, or interacted with the AI assistant. The company, however, was also developing a feature known as “super sensing,” which would allow the cameras to operate continuously throughout the day. According to reports, facial recognition was a key component of that effort. 
WIRED shared its findings with Cooper Quintin, a security researcher and senior public interest technologist with the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Threat Lab. Although NameTag is not available to consumers, Quintin said the feature appears &#8220;nearly ready to go,” with the core facial-recognition components “already in Meta’s companion app.” 
“Despite the billions of reasons not to, Meta seems to have created the capacity to turn their customers into a distributed surveillance machine,” Quintin said.
While a feature like this could benefit the blind, which is one of the reasons Mark Zuckerberg supported research into this field, it also poses significant dangers — especially when the company begins embedding this technology without altering its original statement. In April, more than 70 advocacy groups called on Meta to abandon Nametag, arguing it could allow stalkers and abusers to covertly identify strangers in public.
Meta has denied that it is preparing to launch the feature.
Spokesman Ryan Daniels said that despite what he described as “sensational reporting,” the company is merely “exploring” the technology.
“Nothing has shipped to consumers and no final decision has been made on what to do here, if anything,” Daniels said. “If we do decide to roll something out, we will take a thoughtful approach and do so with full transparency. One decision we can be clear about—we are not building a central face database.&#8221; 
However, WIRED reported that NameTag is capable of pulling faceprints from Meta&#8217;s servers and storing them on a consumer&#8217;s phone.  
Meta previously faced scutiny over facial recognition technology used on Facebook. Beginning in 2010, the company deployed software that analyzed photographs and suggested tags for users who appeared in images. According to WIRED, the system became “one of the largest consumer face-recognition systems ever deployed.” 
European regulators and U.S. privacy advocates raised concerns about the technology&#8217;s legality in 2011. In 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a record $5 billion settlement to the Federal Trade Commission as part of a broader privacy case that included scrutiny of the company&#8217;s handling of user data and facial-recognition practices.

Daily Life In Caen

Meta Smart Glasses Platform Contains Face-Recognition Code, Report Says

mark zucker

The co-CEOs building what could become the next major tech disruptor say Americans have already surrendered their privacy, and it’s time to stop pretending otherwise. 
On Tuesday, Warby Parker co-CEOs Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa discussed their company&#8217;s entry into the rapidly escalating race for artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses, positioning Warby Parker against Meta in what many in Silicon Valley believe could become the post-smartphone era.
Asked by CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin if the smart glasses would &#8220;persistently listen&#8221; to or watch users, Blumenthal <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/05/26/future-of-a-eye-warby-parker-co-ceos-on-the-companys-new-ai-glasses.html">replied</a>, “Our phones are already listening to us, so we’ve already given that up. Now, for us, you&#8217;re going to need a prompt. But I think we probably have to have honest discussions about what we’ve already decided in society.”
Unlike Warby Parker, which openly acknowledged that consumers have already surrendered privacy to always-on technology, Meta has stopped short of saying its devices are constantly listening. The company has instead compared its smart glasses to voice assistants like Siri, maintaining that they only activate and begin listening after a user prompt. 
Warby Parker’s upcoming smart glasses are powered by Google’s Gemini AI platform and developed in partnership with Samsung. The company says the devices are being built with visible privacy safeguards, including cameras that are turned off by default, and an LED indicator light that becomes “incredibly visible” whenever recording is activated.
Executives argue the tradeoff is worth it because of the productivity gains AI-powered eyewear could bring to everyday life.
Gilboa believes the glasses will allow people to “keep their heads up” by allowing them to take calls, send emails and texts, and browse the internet all without taking out a phone or logging onto a computer. 
Blumenthal drew a distinction between Google’s business model and Meta’s, arguing that Google is designed to help users quickly find information, while competitors aim to keep consumers trapped inside their platforms for as long as possible.
“One of the primary reasons we are so excited to partner with Google is if you think about Google’s business model, it is designed to help you find information and then get you off Google properties,” Blumenthal said. “Others in the market are designed to keep you in their ecosystem. For us, it’s about making the world more useful.”
“You can also imagine super vision as well,” he added. “That’s how we think about these products, how we give ourselves superpowers.”
Warby Parker’s AI-powered smart glasses are expected to launch in the fall of 2026. 
Warby Parker first jumped into the industry <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/28/how-warby-parker-became-sustainable-business-dtc-profitability.html">in 2010</a> when it was founded by four Wharton MBA students, each of whom invested $30,000 of their own savings to launch the company. Since then, the eyewear startup has expanded into contact lenses, opened in-store eye care services, and generated nearly $872 million in revenue last year.
Later this year, Apple <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2026/04/12/apple-smart-glasses-new-leak-reveals-a-major-design-twist-to-beat-meta/">is also expected</a> to unveil its first AI-powered smart glasses, which are expected to launch in 2027.

Inside The Google I/O Developers Conference

Big Tech Isn’t Even Pretending That It’s Not Listening Anymore

Google Gemini

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
It was a normal Saturday night in suburban Pennsylvania. Ashley Kavcak, a mom of four, was sitting on the couch mindlessly scrolling Instagram like she did all the time. But on this night, everything changed in an instant when a notification popped up saying her account had been disabled. 
The reason made her stomach drop. According to pop up, she had been banned for violating “Community Standards on child sexual exploitation, abuse, and nudity.”
&#8220;It made me want to throw up,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire in an interview. &#8220;I started immediately thinking, what did I do? Like oh my gosh, what could I have possibly liked or done that would make them think I&#8217;m something so horrible?&#8221;
Ashley had maintained a private Instagram account for 14 years, carefully curating who could see photos of her children because she, like so many moms, was creeped out by anonymous internet weirdos. She had roughly 200 followers mostly made up of family and close friends. 
She never found out what triggered the ban because Instagram doesn&#8217;t tell you.
There was an option to appeal the decision, but in her case that appeal came back denied in six minutes. &#8220;At this point I don&#8217;t think there are any humans working for Meta,&#8221; Ashley said.

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Ashley&#8217;s case is part of a disturbing pattern affecting thousands of Instagram users nationwide. It all blew up around May 2025 when Meta reportedly rolled out new AI moderation models, which immediately triggered clusters of Instagram accounts around the world being disabled overnight. Journalists began documenting how images of cars, family photos, and art were all being improperly flagged as child sexual exploitation.
CBS Philadelphia <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/facebook-instagram-accounts-wrongfully-suspended-for-child-exploitation/">reported</a> that nearly 50,000 Facebook and Instagram users have signed an online petition claiming wrongful bans, with many involving false accusations of child exploitation. NBC Connecticut <a href="https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/investigations/nbc-ct-responds/glastonbury-brothers-claim-accounts-wrongfully-shut-down-meta/3654056/">documented</a> 77 complaints across NBC stations in six months, with 17 specifically for &#8220;child sexual exploitation, abuse, and nudity.&#8221;
In June 2025, a law firm in St. Paul, Minnesota, began seeking plaintiffs for a class action lawsuit against Meta for those who believe they were wrongfully banned. The question at the heart of these cases: What happens when automated systems make life-altering accusations with no visible human oversight?
For Ashley, the accusation carried particular irony. She had kept her account private from the beginning, specifically to protect her children from online dangers. She was selective about whom she accepted as followers. In recent years, she started asking her children&#8217;s permission before posting their photos.
&#8220;I was worried about predators,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Now, according to AI, I am the predator.&#8221;
When the ban notification appeared, Ashley couldn&#8217;t identify what might have triggered it. Her last post was from January 17 and included photos of her family walking on a snowy trail wearing winter coats and hats. She had recently messaged her teenage daughter about going to Hobby Lobby, which made her wonder if that innocent conversation had somehow been flagged.
&#8220;She has a teen account. I am a moderator for her account and am listed as her parent,&#8221; Ashley explained. &#8220;There shouldn&#8217;t be a reason I was flagged for that … but now I’m questioning everything.”
Instagram&#8217;s notification was frustratingly vague. &#8220;They say click here for more information, and it tells you this could be this or it could be that,&#8221; she said. The possibilities ranged from posting inappropriate content to arranging to meet a minor, none of which she had done.
The mistake sent her down the Reddit rabbit hole of researching what she could possibly do to get her account back. What she found was less than encouraging. According to other users who went through the same thing, the ban is tied to her IP address. So trying to sign up and restart with a different email address wouldn’t work. 
&#8220;My email, my phone, everything has a mark on it,&#8221; she says. Users report having to buy new phones and use different WiFi networks just to access Instagram again. &#8220;The length that people have to go just to get Instagram back, it&#8217;s not even worth it,&#8221; she said.
The whole experience brought to mind the relationship people have with social media and their dependence on it always being there. With the ban, Ashley lost access to nearly 2,000 photos spanning 14 years, many of which she no longer has saved anywhere else. &#8220;There&#8217;s definitely years and years of stuff just lost forever,&#8221; she said. 
Beyond the photos, she lost her primary means of staying connected with far-away family and friends, people like an out-of-state cousin who loved seeing pictures of the kids and high school friends who kept up with her family through her posts. &#8220;These people that I once talked to probably think I fell off the face of the earth,&#8221; Ashley said. &#8220;Or maybe they think I blocked or deleted them.&#8221;
She missed a friend&#8217;s pregnancy announcement. She had to text another friend to ask about a mutual friend’s surgery, which is all information that would have appeared in her feed. &#8220;Social media is where people do their updates. That&#8217;s where you share your life,&#8221; Ashley said. &#8220;You don&#8217;t even think about it.&#8221;
The experience revealed how much of modern life is built on these platforms. &#8220;You don&#8217;t realize how dependent you are on it until it&#8217;s gone,&#8221; she added.
The accusation itself also left lasting damage. Ashley immediately worried about the implications: &#8220;Do they report me? Am I in trouble with the public? Can I even volunteer at my kids&#8217; school anymore? Like am I on some kind of list now?&#8221;
Redditors said she probably wasn&#8217;t on a government watchlist, but she still felt weird about it. She found herself adding disclaimers when explaining to people what happened. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t want anybody to think that of me,&#8221; she says. &#8220;What if somebody thinks this is true?&#8221;
The false accusation of exploiting children after spending years protecting her kids from online dangers remains deeply painful. &#8220;That&#8217;s one of those things that I&#8217;m like, well, this is ironic,&#8221; she says. &#8220;I was private to block things like this from happening.&#8221;
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of Ashley&#8217;s experience is the impossibility of reaching a human at Meta for help.
&#8220;There are no humans,&#8221; she said. “You can&#8217;t bypass the robots to get in touch with a human.&#8221;
&#8220;I feel like this is a deeper conversation too about that aspect … there&#8217;s no customer service anymore,&#8221; she went on. &#8220;There are no people to plead your case to.&#8221;
Meta did not return The Daily Wire’s multiple requests for comment. 
Ashley has sent countless emails to support addresses with no luck at all. &#8220;I&#8217;m emailing nobody,&#8221; she said. &#8220;At this point they&#8217;re probably scanning my emails and thinking I&#8217;m a robot because I just keep sending the same thing over and over.&#8221;
Meta&#8217;s approach to content moderation has created a flagging system that appears to be malfunctioning on a massive scale. The company&#8217;s operating model of &#8220;remove first, ask questions later — or never&#8221; means AI is likely making decisions with minimal human oversight, and appeals are mostly processed by bots, according to reports.
“Ordinary users are being hit with these bans completely out of nowhere — no prior warnings, no real reasoning, no chance to appeal effectively,” one Redditor <a href="https://sfist.com/2025/06/16/instagram-users-complain-of-mass-suspensions-of-accounts-likely-by-ai/">observed</a>. “And while losing photos, messages, and memories sucks — and it does — the larger issue is that Meta is slapping these life-altering accusations onto people’s digital identities without context or due process.&#8221;
The European Commission last year initiated <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/oct/24/instagram-facebook-breach-eu-law-content-flagging">formal proceedings</a> against Meta for potential violations of the Digital Services Act, which requires platforms to provide clear reasons for removals and offer the chance for users to appeal. 
But for users like Ashley, slow-moving regulatory action feels like it won’t help much. She just wants her account back, her photos restored, and some acknowledgment that what happened to her was wrong.
&#8220;What they&#8217;re doing is really affecting people negatively,&#8221; she said when asked what she would tell Meta if someone was listening. &#8220;We lost something very personal to us and to be accused … it feels like an invasion.&#8221;
The broader questions remain unanswered: How many others have been wrongly accused? Are any humans reviewing the appeals? Or do they just not care? For Ashley, it’s been a painful education in how fragile our digital lives are and how little power we have against the algorithms ruling the world of social media.

GettyImages-2260904003

This Mom’s Last Post Was A Family Walk. Then Came The Accusation That Changed Everything.

social media

upstream

Meta has begun scrubbing ads offering legal help for damages related to social media addiction and the associated harmful behaviors.
According to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2026/04/09/meta-social-media-addiction-ads">report</a> from Axios on Thursday, Meta has begun pulling ads — from both Facebook and Instagram — that provide users with information about getting legal advice or taking legal action against social media platforms.
Axios quoted an example of one of the ads that was pulled: &#8220;Anxiety. Depression. Withdrawal. Self-harm. These aren&#8217;t just teenage phases — they&#8217;re symptoms linked to social media addiction in children. Platforms knew this and kept targeting kids anyway.&#8221;
Meta has acknowledged that some ads are being removed from the social media platforms, saying that the law firms placing such ads should not be allowed to benefit from the use of Meta&#8217;s platforms while claiming at the same time that Meta was responsible for creating addicts and causing mental health problems.
&#8220;We&#8217;re actively defending ourselves against these lawsuits and are removing ads that attempt to recruit plaintiffs for them. We will not allow trial lawyers to profit from our platforms while simultaneously claiming they are harmful,&#8221; a Meta spokesperson told the outlet.
The report comes just two weeks after a California jury found that both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/verdict-reached-in-landmark-social-media-media-addiction-trial">Meta</a> and YouTube had contributed to a number of mental health problems — including addiction and related behavior — in a landmark case before the California Superior Court.
A Meta spokesperson protested the verdict, saying at the time, &#8220;We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.&#8221;
As The Daily Wire previously reported, social media platforms — including Meta and YouTube — have often touted online safety features in recent years, such as Instagram’s “Teen Accounts” and YouTube “Kids,” which are meant to create safer and more controlled experiences for children. Critics argue that kids — sometimes with willing parents or other adults helping them — are able to bypass those controls and gain access to the full platforms anyway.

Social Media

Meta Shuts Down Ads From ‘Trial Lawyers’ Targeting Social Platform Over Addiction

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