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

Mark Zuckerberg made his courtroom debut in a landmark social media addiction trial, <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/social-media-trial-latest-mark-zuckerberg-to-appear-before-jury-for-first-time-13508905">positioning</a> Meta’s defense around value, not vice. 
“You should try and create something useful … and if you do, people will naturally want to use it.” He added, “To me, the north star is ensuring we&#8217;re delivering value and people are having a positive experience. If that happens, people will spend more time with social media.” 
Zuckerberg appeared before the Los Angeles Superior Court to face claims that his platforms are engineered to foster addiction.
He compared time spent on social media to other forms of entertainment, like watching TV. “TV hasn’t got better over time but social media has quite a bit.” 

The plaintiff argued that it was not because social media had “got better over time,” but that its addictiveness is what drives users to the platform. 
When challenged by the plaintiff’s attorney on whether a reasonable company would take advantage of those who use its services, Zuckerberg responded that he thought a reasonable company should try to help its people use its services. He elaborated on that point, saying the company has “evolved over time to add a lot more controls” which led to account removals when the company found users who were under thirteen. 
Zuckerberg bolstered his argument by noting that less than 1% of Instagram&#8217;s revenue comes from teenagers, emphasizing the demographic has limited purchasing power and is therefore less attractive to advertisers.  He argued that, from a business perspective, attracting teenagers is not &#8220;meaningful in the short term.&#8221;
Zuckerberg’s Meta is just one of the defendants in the case. Google and Meta are just the remaining defendants after TikTok and Snapchat settled prior to the trial. 

Snapchat told the Daily Wire that it was “pleased” to have settled the case in “an amicable manner.” Youtube, owned by Google, argues that its platform operates differently from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat so should not be included in the same litigation. YouTube told the Daily Wire that the allegations it faces are “simply not true.” 
The case before the California Supreme Court originated when a 19-year-old woman, referred to as K.G.M. in the trial, argued that social media platforms have knowingly designed their platforms to get younger users addicted. The defense argues that Meta makes its platforms addictive to “maximize young users’ time on their platforms to drive revenue.” 
A <a href="https://www.stompoutbullying.org/blog/teens-use-average-nine-hours-media-day-while-tweens-use-six-hours">report</a> released by Common Sense Media found that teenagers spent an average of nine hours on entertainment media per day, while children aged 8-12 spend an average of six hours a day, not including time spent using media for school. 
In the coming weeks, Meta’s defense could have an influence on future social-media platform regulation depending on the outcome of the trial. 
The courtroom did not allow cameras, and even outlined a ban on glasses that could capture scenes from instead the courtroom. When returning from recess, the Judge Carolyn Kuhl <a href="https://x.com/meghanncuniff/status/2024214400266326180">said</a> if anyone has used AI glasses with facial recognition to record jurors &#8220;you must delete it or you will be held in contempt of court.&#8221;

US-TECHNOLOGY-INTERNET-CHILD-EXPLOITATION

Zuckerberg Fires Back At ‘Addiction’ Claims — Says Facebook Just Can’t Help It

addiction

Courts

Longtime Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine laid into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on Tuesday, saying that she was undermining her own reputation in her efforts to pivot away from gaffes at the weekend&#8217;s Munich Security Conference.
Turrentine explained on &#8220;The Huddle&#8221; that Ocasio-Cortez had built an image of herself as social-media-savvy and adept at taking her message directly to the people, so it did not look good when she turned to The New York Times for a bailout.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/danturrentine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@danturrentine</a> on AOC whining to NYT over scrutiny of her overseas gaffes🤣
&#8220;It’s now getting to the point where the cover-up is worse than the initial crime. It&#8217;s PATHETIC &amp; EMBARRASSING! This now has more &amp; more people LAUGHING AT HER within the party.&#8221;<a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DailyCaller</a> <a href="https://t.co/TqqRu9IXZr">pic.twitter.com/TqqRu9IXZr</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/2023798540179587149?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;It was a horrible idea. It’s now getting to the point where the kind of cover-up is worse than the initial crime,&#8221; Turrentine said. &#8220;Start with who she — she called the New York Times, right? We talked about how her brand is social media savvy. She’s young, she constantly is online, kind of giving and taking, and just in the game.&#8221;
&#8220;And next to [California Democratic Governor] Gavin Newsom, it’s who people said gets this modern world better than anyone else,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;To argue that basically it’s unfair that people are taking clips and sending them around in short snippets — duh! It&#8217;s pathetic and embarrassing for her to make this kind of whining argument that — when your calling card is that you&#8217;re kind of the party queen of social media.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t understand what she was doing,&#8221; he added.
Ocasio-Cortez delivered a full weekend&#8217;s worth of gifts to her conservative critics, from a nearly incoherent response to a question about whether American troops should ever defend Taiwan to her objectively false claim that Venezuela was below the equator. She also raised eyebrows when she attempted to engage Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a battle of historical trivia — a battle in which she was unsuccessful.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
AOC mocks Marco Rubio for saying cowboys can be traced back to Spain.
Fun immutable fact: cowboys can be traced back to Spain. <a href="https://t.co/WvQXGVI2mr">pic.twitter.com/WvQXGVI2mr</a>
— Brittany Hughes (@RealBrittHughes) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealBrittHughes/status/2023199816910516344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But Rubio was, in fact, correct in his assertions. &#8220;American&#8221; cowboys were modeled after the vaqueros — horse-mounted livestock herders from Spain&#8217;s Iberian peninsula — after Christopher Columbus brought Iberian horses to the New World in 1493. Spanish explorers and conquistadors also brought horses with them; some were traded to Native Americans, and others escaped and ran free. By 1525, horses were being bred in Mexico — but they were not, as Ocasio-Cortez suggested, native to the Americas.
When clips of her missteps began making the rounds on social media, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/aoc-mocked-for-global-stage-disaster-then-phones-a-friend">responded</a> by running to The New York Times for help.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

‘Pathetic And Embarrassing’: Dem Strategist Trashes AOC’s Attempt To Clean Up After Munich Gaffes

'Pathetic And Embarrassing': Dem Strategist Trashes AOC's Attempt To Clean Up After Munich Gaffes

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Congress

Munich

New York Times

Politics

What does European censorship look like, and why should Americans care? I answered that question before the <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation-part-ii">U.S. House Judiciary Committee</a> this week.
The last time I <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation">testified</a> before the Committee in September, I highlighted the censorship potential of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which at the time still seemed theoretical. My message then was that this EU law controlling online speech was poised to censor lawful expression beyond Europe, including in the United States.
Many were not convinced.
But now we have moved from theory to practice. There can be no doubt now that the DSA is the tip of a massive censorship industrial complex with global implications.
I testified yesterday before the Committee that the enormous fines recently levied on X by the European Commission prove beyond all doubt that the EU means to strangle free speech by a systematic assault on US companies. This is corroborated by the Committee’s incendiary new <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-report-exposes-european-commission-decade-long-campaign-censor-american" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, which shows that American companies are already having to adopt EU content moderation policies.
The EU has a multi-pronged strategy to open a slew of investigations, to add more and more regulations, to impose crippling fines, and, ultimately, to either break up or ban companies such as X, which are pro-free-speech.
Free speech is such a threat to European elites that they intend to either cripple X with fines and investigations or force them to bend the knee at the altar of censorship. I hope X stands strong because we need free speech in Europe more than ever.
But it goes deeper; this censorship campaign is not just aimed at destroying free speech in Europe, it’s about imposing European Union speech laws globally.
Make no mistake, Europe’s draconian speech laws are being imposed across the world via global content moderation rules.
The EU’s obsession with eliminating free speech means that they are deploying a global campaign to ensure that all speech online bans “illegal content” and “prevents systemic risk” to the “discourse”.
And the costs are borne by real people, like my client Päivi Räsänen, a longtime Finnish parliamentarian, who has spent more than six years criminally prosecuted for peacefully expressing her Christian beliefs in a 2019 Bible verse tweet. Räsänen also testified alongside me before the Committee on her ordeal, as she awaits a verdict from Finland’s Supreme Court for “hate speech” charges under the national law for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Of course, “hate speech” has no meaning except speech that European elites hate.
This is what European censorship looks like in practice: the process itself becomes the punishment, designed to chill speech, exhaust dissenters, and warn others to stay silent. And if this is what happens to a sitting parliamentarian in a Western democracy, Americans should have no illusion that either American companies or their citizens will be spared if these censorship regimes are allowed to normalize globally.
* * *
Lorcán Price is an Irish barrister and legal counsel for ADF International.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Uncle Sam

How Europe Plans To Strangle American Free Speech

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Elon Musk

Europe

European Union

Opinion

Twitter

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

France

Moltbook Website Homepage Displayed On Smartphone Screen

Did AI Social Network Moltbook Need Humans After All?

Artificial Intelligence

Technology

U.S.

The NFL is being dragged for appointing a “Chief Kindness Officer” ahead of Super Bowl LX next weekend.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that the league is partnering with more than 160 “creators” to promote the Super Bowl in the week leading up to the big game. This includes naming YouTuber Dhar Mann as “Chief Kindness Officer,” a nod to his feel-good content, and having him produce football-themed videos on kindness.
The outlet noted that Mann will release the content on both his channel and the NFL’s official channel. This “series of digital, social, and on-the-ground activations” is reportedly “designed to activate kindness and sportsmanship across fans and players throughout Super Bowl events.”
For example, the “Be Kind To Your Rival” social campaign encourages fans to say nice things about opposing teams and their fans. Mann will donate $1 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, up to $100,000, for every qualifying post that includes the #KindnessWinsBig hashtag.
“Instead of a halftime show, we’re gonna do a hug time show,” Mann said in a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@dhar.mann/video/7600906194936450335">TikTok video</a> promoting the partnership with the NFL. At another point, he tells the refs, “How about instead of throwing these [penalty] flags, we just present them nicely.” The video also shows Mann encouraging football players to find nice things to say about their opponents.
The campaign has sparked widespread mockery on social media, with fans saying the move underscores how out of touch the NFL is with its audience.  
“The NFL has no idea of who their fan base is,” one X reply <a href="https://x.com/plzbepatient/status/2017023884378407422?s=43">said</a>. 
“Not sure any business hates their fans more than the @NFL and @nflcommish Roger Goodell,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/2017052441229889605">agreed</a>. “People are watching for champions and gladiators, not to have a chief kindness officer. Ridiculous.”
“They have ignored the real fans in search of mythical fans that do not exist and could not care less about football in general; however, they will cry victim at the first hint that they aren&#8217;t being catered to,” another comment said.
Critics have also pointed to Mann’s past legal troubles. In 2011, he pleaded no contest to five felony counts of defrauding the city of Oakland after being accused of stealing $44,000 in redevelopment grant funds, per <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/19/style/dhar-mann-youtube.html">The New York Times</a>. He was fined $37,500 and served no time.
Mann told the outlet in 2021 that the conviction was later expunged.

Dhar Mann

NFL Slammed For Appointing ‘Chief Kindness Officer’ Ahead Of Super Bowl

NFL Absolutely Trashed For Appointing 'Chief Kindness Officer' Ahead Of Super Bowl

Football

Roger Goodell

Superbowl

YouTube

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has revoked the license of a nurse who wished childbirth injuries on White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
State Attorney General James Uthmeier (R-FL) announced the move to strip Lexie Lawler of her Florida state nursing license in a post on X on Wednesday, praising Ladapo for taking such a &#8220;decisive action&#8221; and ensuring that those who wish harm on others — particularly those who work in fields like health care — face consequences for doing so.
&#8220;Effective today, Lexie Lawler is no longer allowed to practice nursing in Florida. Making statements that wish pain and suffering on anyone, when those statements are directly related to one&#8217;s practice, is an ethical red line we should not cross,&#8221; Uthmeier <a href="https://x.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2016551568779202738">posted</a>.
After learning one day earlier that Lawler had been fired for her statements directed at Leavitt, Uthmeier had <a href="https://x.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/2016244226757972192">argued</a> that simply the loss of her job was not adequate: &#8220;Being fired isn’t good enough. Any healthcare worker who fails to uphold his or her obligation to provide adequate, safe healthcare should not be licensed in Florida. No excuses!&#8221;
Uthmeier issued a similar statement to Fox News Digital, saying, &#8220;Women shouldn’t have to worry about a politically driven nurse who wishes them pain and suffering being in the delivery room during childbirth. It’s evil. The Florida Board of Nursing must take action to keep this person away from patients permanently.&#8221;
Lawler&#8217;s original TikTok video went viral — with a little help from Libs of TikTok — prompting backlash as she expressed her sincere wish for Leavitt to suffer permanent damage from a difficult delivery.
&#8220;As a labor and delivery nurse, it gives me great joy to wish Karoline Leavitt a fourth degree tear,&#8221; she said, adding, &#8220;I hope you f*cking rip from bow to stern and never sh*t normally again, you c*nt.&#8221;
A fourth-degree tear is the most severe type of obstetric tear and includes lacerations that extend through the perineal muscles into the rectal lining. Such tears require surgery to repair and six to eight weeks of recovery time — and only 60% to 80% of women will fully recover with no further complications.
A short time after the video went viral, Baptist Health confirmed that Lawler had been let go from her job, releasing the following statement to Boca Raton <a href="https://cbs12.com/news/local/boca-raton-nurse-fired-after-graphic-tiktok-targeting-pregnant-white-house-official-karoline-leavitt-white-house-press-secretary-karoline-leavitt-baptist-health-boca-raton-regional-hospital-january-23-2026">CBS affiliate</a> 12 News: &#8220;The comments made in a social media video by a nurse at one of our facilities do not reflect our values or the standards we expect of health care professionals. Following a prompt review, the individual is no longer employed by our health system.&#8221;

Media Briefing Held By White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt

Florida Nurse Loses License After Wishing Harm On Karoline Leavitt During Childbirth

Florida Surgeon General Revokes License Of Nurse Who Wished Childbirth Injuries On Karoline Leavitt

Florida

Karoline Leavitt

medicine

Nursing

Three of the world&#8217;s largest social media platforms are heading to court on Tuesday as they defend themselves in a bellwether social media addiction case.
The California Superior Court in Los Angeles County is set to hear the case, which alleges that Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have contributed to the growing problem of social media addiction and the mental health issues that stem from it. TikTok and Snapchat were also sued in the case, but settled with the plaintiff before the trial began. 
Jury selection for the trial begins on Tuesday, with opening arguments scheduled for next week. The case is part of a coordinated effort across the country that includes hundreds of similar cases where litigants accuse social media giants of fueling addiction.
In the case before the California Superior Court, a 19-year-old woman, referred to as K.G.M., argues that social media platforms have knowingly designed their platforms to get children and young users addicted. Studies have shown that social media features such as autoplay and infinite scroll induce a dopamine hit, which can lead to users spending hours on platforms each day.
K.G.M.&#8217;s social media addiction <a href="https://www.carriermanagement.com/news/2025/10/21/280613.htm">resulted</a> in crippling depression, body dysmorphia, and suicidal thoughts, according to the lawsuit. K.G.M.&#8217;s case is just the first of many that are expected to trial this year, targeting Snapchat, Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, which is owned by Google. Snapchat settled with K.G.M., but it remains a defendant in numerous other social media cases that are set to go before state and federal courts.
YouTube told The Daily Wire that the allegations it faces in the cases “are simply not true.”
“Providing young people with a safer, healthier experience has always been core to our work,” said YouTube spokesman José Castañeda. “In collaboration with youth, mental health and parenting experts, we built services and policies to provide young people with age-appropriate experiences, and parents with robust controls. The allegations in these complaints are simply not true.”
The Daily Wire also reached out to Snapchat, TikTok, and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. Snapchat told The Daily Wire that it was &#8220;pleased&#8221; to have settled the K.G.M. case in &#8220;an amicable manner.&#8221;
The K.G.M trial will likely put Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the witness stand, where he will have to answer questions in front of a jury. Meta’s lawyers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/meta-tiktok-youtube-stand-trial-youth-addiction-claims-2026-01-26/">told</a> Reuters that the social media giant will argue before the court that its platform did not lead to K.G.M’s mental health issues. YouTube said it will argue that its platform is different from those of the other defendants and shouldn&#8217;t be considered in the same case as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
The California Superior Court trial could shape public opinion on social media platforms moving forward as the companies face more trials, including one in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, which is set to begin on June 12. The lawsuit before the federal court was filed by school districts, which argue that social media addiction fueled by social media companies “not only harms individual children and their loved ones but also causes substantial and financially burdensome interference with school district, county, and municipal operations.”
In recent years, Meta has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ig-introduces-teen-accounts-with-built-in-privacy-settings-to-better-support-parents">rolled out</a> online safety features for children using Instagram. The platform&#8217;s &#8220;Teen Accounts&#8221; keep children&#8217;s accounts private, meaning other Instagram users cannot see posts from or contact a Teen Account unless the teenager accepts their follow requests. Instagram also censors content on Teen Accounts, so that children are not shown content that features fighting or cosmetic procedures.
TikTok, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/support/faq_detail?id=7543604789335071238&amp;category=web_account">created</a> &#8220;a separate TikTok experience specifically designed&#8221; for kids under 13 years old. The &#8220;TikTok Under 13 Experience&#8221; curates content that is more appropriate for young children, makes all accounts private, and limits screen time to one hour. YouTube also has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/intl/ALL_us/kids/safer-experience/">kids version</a> of the platform that is &#8220;designed to be a safer and simpler place for kids to explore their interests through online video.&#8221; YouTube requires videos uploaded on YouTube Kids to be &#8220;family-friendly.&#8221;
The effects of social media on children has become a hot topic in recent years, and the issue gained more attention after the book, &#8220;The Anxious Generation,&#8221; by Jonathan Haidt was published in 2024. In the book, Haidt, a social psychologist, argues that anxiety and depression skyrocketed in the past 15 years, coinciding with what he calls the &#8220;great rewiring of childhood,&#8221; which is the flip from a play-based childhood to a phone-based childhood.
The social media addiction case in California comes as some countries move to ban social media for children. Last month, Australia became the first nation in the world to ban social media for kids under 16. Malaysia has introduced a similar social media ban, and Utah passed a law in 2024 requiring social media platforms to verify a users&#8217; age and obtain parental consent, but parts of the law were temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
This article was updated after TikTok settled with K.G.M. shortly before the trial started.

Social media

Bellwether Social Media Addiction Trial Puts Instagram, Facebook, And YouTube In The Crosshairs

Instagram

Snapchat

TikTok

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

Pictures of bikini-clad women have been known to cause strain in marriages. But could skimpy swimsuits trigger a threat to the United States&#8217; and Great Britain&#8217;s “special relationship?&#8221;
In recent weeks, young women have been targeted on X by individuals using Grok’s AI technology to manipulate their image without their consent. I, myself, was a victim in this scandal: an anonymous user replied to a perfectly normal post I had written about puberty blockers and instructed X’s AI to generate a sexualized deepfake of me: “put her in a micro-bikini, on her knees, knees out, tongue out.”
I have never taken, shared, or consented to anything remotely like that. The ability of a stranger to weaponize my face and turn it into public pornography is a profound violation. It strips you of your dignity, your identity, and your sense of personal control in a way few things can.
So, I reported it. And X acted: fast. The comment was removed, the image was deleted, and the account responsible was, as far as I can tell, permanently suspended. Soon after, X restricted Grok’s image-generation features for non-subscribers, effectively shutting down the anonymous abuse that had driven most of this trend. Within days, the phenomenon had largely disappeared.
It was a negative experience, but it was handled. The platform corrected course. We moved on.
Or at least, most of us did. The British government did not.
Instead, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration has chosen to escalate the incident into something far bigger: floating the possibility of <a href="https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/uk-x-ban-grok-ai-elon-musk/">banning X entirely</a> in the United Kingdom. This has triggered an extraordinary diplomatic row with the United States, whose State Department has now openly warned Britain that such a move could provoke retaliation.
State Department spokesmen have <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/us-state-department-threaten-uk-probe-elon-musk-x-grok/">made clear</a> that Washington would view such a ban as an unjustified attack on freedom of speech, behavior more typical of an authoritarian state than a Western democracy. Some American officials have even hinted at travel restrictions or legal pressure against British officials involved in enforcement.
That kind of terse language is almost unheard of between Britain and America. But it didn’t come out of nowhere. Tensions have been building over the last few years as the United Kingdom persistently flouts respect for free expression. Mothers are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp3nn60wyr6o">jailed</a> for months on end for long-since deleted tweets. Christians are <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/2025/02/14/adam-smith-connor-abortion-campaigner-jd-vance/">convicted</a> for praying silently near abortion facilities. The examples are racking up at an extraordinary pace.
The recent government targeting of X is ostensibly meant to prevent women and children from porn-related crime. But if ministers were genuinely driven by concern for female dignity and child safety, X would be nowhere near the top of their list.
Pornhub, one of the largest pornography platforms in the world, has a documented history of hosting child sexual abuse material, rape videos, and non-consensual content. In 2025, American regulators <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/ftc-takes-action-against-operators-pornhub-other-pornographic-sites-deceiving-users-about-efforts">concluded</a> that Pornhub&#8217;s parent company had misled the public about safeguards and failed to prevent the re-uploading of illegal material.
And yet Pornhub remains accessible in Britain. No threats or bans from the government. Just quiet assurances about age verification and “compliance.”
The same is true of other AI platforms. Gemini, ChatGPT, and countless image-generation tools have all faced cases where non-consensual deepfakes were produced. None have been threatened with national expulsion. None have been treated as existential threats to public safety.
So, why X?
X is not primarily a sexual platform. It is a political one. It hosts journalists, dissidents, activists, and cultural critics. It is messy, chaotic, and often offensive — but it is also one of the last major spaces where unfiltered political disagreement still happens at scale.
That is why this fight has become transatlantic. The United States understands something the British government seems either unable or unwilling to admit: a wholesale ban on X would be a gross attempt to control and shut down public conversation, including views the government simply dislike.
If Starmer truly believes in protecting the vulnerable, his government should be relentlessly targeting the platforms that profit from sexual abuse and exploitation. Until that happens, the sudden ferocity directed at X will remain impossible to read as anything other than ideological.
And now, thanks to America’s spotlight, the world is watching.
* * *
Lois McLatchie Miller (@LoisMcLatch) is a writer and commentator from Great Britain.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Deep fake hoax and manipulation news titles on screen in hand 3d illustration

Someone Made AI Porn Of Me. Could That Kill America’s Relationship With Britain?

I Was Targeted By An AI Deepfake. Now My Country Wants To Ban X.

Deepfake

England

Great Britain

Keir Starmer

Pornhub

Pornography

Women

Secretary of State Marco Rubio responded after dozens of memes flooded X with potential new jobs or responsibilities that President Donald Trump might ask him to take on.
&#8220;I do not normally respond to online rumors but feel the need to do so at this moment,&#8221; Rubio said in his own <a href="https://x.com/marcorubio/status/2009297348799942872">X post</a>. &#8220;I will not be a candidate for the currently vacant HC and GM positions with the Miami Dolphins. While you never know what the future may bring right now my focus must remain on global events and also the precious archives of the United States of America. Thank you.&#8221;
Rubio, who is currently the acting National Security Adviser in addition to holding the top post at the United States Department of State, was responding to memes suggesting he&#8217;d be put in charge of everything from the state of Minnesota to the nation of Venezuela.
One post suggested Trump would ask Rubio to cover his shift at McDonald&#8217;s, referencing the president&#8217;s wildly successful 2024 campaign stop.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubio after learning that he has to cover Trump&#8217;s shift at McDonald&#8217;s. <a href="https://t.co/Pj3tcpPWDH">pic.twitter.com/Pj3tcpPWDH</a>
— Make America Meme Again (@meme4USA) <a href="https://twitter.com/meme4USA/status/2008582071032443200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
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After an interaction between the Department of Homeland Security and a Hampton Inn refusing service to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents — an interaction that quickly caused Hilton Hotels to cut ties with the franchise in question — several memes suggested Rubio would be tapped to <a href="https://x.com/JRand1685/status/2008266721598337123">run the hotel chain</a>.
&#8220;What shall we do with a Russian tanker, What shall we do with a Russian tanker, What shall we do with a Russian tanker, Early in the morning?” another post read, showing Rubio in pirate garb with a parrot on his shoulder.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🎶 “What shall we do with a Russian tanker, 
What shall we do with a Russian tanker, 
What shall we do with a Russian tanker, 
Early in the morning?” 🎶 <a href="https://t.co/nAY0AUZnbi">https://t.co/nAY0AUZnbi</a> <a href="https://t.co/3uZkftPGbK">pic.twitter.com/3uZkftPGbK</a>
— Benedict Spence (@BenedictSpence) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenedictSpence/status/2008938070079586484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
A &#8220;Lord of the Rings&#8221; themed post put Rubio in the place of Frodo Baggins, tasking him with returning the One Ring to the fiery pit of Mordor.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this.” <a href="https://t.co/RjMyefa4pF">pic.twitter.com/RjMyefa4pF</a>
— Elwë Singollo ❄️🧝🏻‍♀️ (@Strangeland_Elf) <a href="https://twitter.com/Strangeland_Elf/status/2008433894438416761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Trump&#8217;s about to disclose aliens and he&#8217;s sending Rubio to negotiate,&#8221; another posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
My contribution &#8211; Trump&#8217;s about to disclose aliens 👽 and he&#8217;s sending Rubio to negotiate. <a href="https://t.co/PiFBhwg5FL">pic.twitter.com/PiFBhwg5FL</a>
— Rizwan Virk (@Rizstanford) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rizstanford/status/2008760930340126861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
And more &#8230;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubio realizing he has to be the Governor of Minnesota. <a href="https://t.co/HPQ3uJ2u90">pic.twitter.com/HPQ3uJ2u90</a>
— Kyle Tibbitts (@KyleTibbitts) <a href="https://twitter.com/KyleTibbitts/status/2008346505455767937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubio realizing he’s going to be president of Venezuela, governor of Cuba, and the Shah of Iran. <a href="https://t.co/wh5S2gpIi9">pic.twitter.com/wh5S2gpIi9</a>
— Antonio García Martínez (agm.eth) (@antoniogm) <a href="https://twitter.com/antoniogm/status/2007398586246672723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Would you consider being OC with the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lions?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Lions</a> ??? We need someone with the huevos to match Dan Campbell!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnePride?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnePride</a> <a href="https://t.co/cAUey7MGnF">https://t.co/cAUey7MGnF</a>
— Rep. Bill Huizenga (@RepHuizenga) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepHuizenga/status/2009363082586505696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Rubio Leaves Open Possibility of Becoming Miami&#8217;s Next QB <a href="https://t.co/DRuVKNCDbl">https://t.co/DRuVKNCDbl</a>
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) <a href="https://twitter.com/AriFleischer/status/2009338320330031231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
So you’re saying there’s a chance. <a href="https://t.co/S1aPEVkecV">https://t.co/S1aPEVkecV</a> <a href="https://t.co/1Qq8jzQsS9">pic.twitter.com/1Qq8jzQsS9</a>
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/TimMurtaugh/status/2009303945814925672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Can you coach the <a href="https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AtlantaFalcons</a>? <a href="https://t.co/hZl6btWxAW">https://t.co/hZl6btWxAW</a>
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/2009312710316769648?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Fox News anchor John Roberts <a href="https://x.com/johnrobertsFox/status/2009306580102029570">responded</a> to Rubio, noting that he&#8217;d only ruled out jobs with the Miami Dolphins and suggesting he might be entertaining any number of others.
&#8220;You will note that he did not dispel rumors that he is a candidate for: Ravens head coach, President of Venezuela, Shah of Iran, President of Cuba, Prime Minister of Greenland, Governor of Minnesota,  CEO of Hilton Hotels,&#8221; Roberts posted. &#8220;Ruling out a job with the Dolphins doesn&#8217;t end the speculation &#8230;&#8221;
&#8220;I think we should probably make Rubio president in 2028 just to limit his power,&#8221; Abby Libby <a href="https://x.com/abbythelibb_/status/2008726373825990863">posted</a> in response to the memes.

President Trump Hosts Philippines President Marcos At White House

Rubio Responds After X Memes Give Him Dozens Of New Jobs

Marco Rubio

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