The Guardian
Whistleblower Arturo Béjar compares Meta's settlement to allowing two hours of daily smoking - it doesn't make the cigarettes safer, just limits the dose.
TechCrunch
Meta drops $18B to settle child-safety suit, but the real challenge is age verification tech that can't tell a 12-year-old from a 40-year-old. Good luck with that.
TechCrunch
Instagram's new 'First Draft' feature auto-edits your Reels in under 10 seconds, because apparently manual editing is for suckers - announced on the same day Meta faces a child addiction trial.
Pitchfork
Solange honors Hayden Panettiere, her Bring It On co-star, with heartfelt Instagram posts after the actress's sudden death at 36.
The Guardian Europe
Meta's day in court begins as 29 states seek $200bn over addicting teens - because what better way to follow big tobacco's playbook than with dopamine instead of nicotine?
BBC World
Women who joined India's anti-Modi 'Cockroach' protests face a relentless online barrage of slut-shaming, doxxing, and threats - because apparently, disagreeing with the PM is now a gender-based sport.
The Guardian Europe
Tennessee's opening statements accuse Meta of ignoring its own research on teen harm to maximize ad revenue; Meta says it's doing its part and 'it takes a village.'
The Verge
Vertical video has conquered the internet, from Snapchat Stories to TikTok to Reels, and it's not letting go - unless a cultural revolution is brewing.
Pitchfork
Lana Del Rey announces that her long-delayed album 'Stove' has a surprise companion album, because one album's worth of waiting and name changes just wasn't enough.
BBC Business
Four upcoming trials could force social media giants to actually protect children, stop scam ads, and maybe even lose their legal immunity - if the courts finally decide that 'connecting people' doesn't mean 'exploiting them.'
The Guardian Europe
From cat-sized living rooms to £8,000 rabbit setups, pet owners are going all out on dedicated spaces - and Instagram loves every over-the-top second of it.
The Guardian Europe
Meta settles with a Kentucky school district over claims its apps are addictive, but the 1,200 other districts suing are still waiting for their turn at the legal piñata.
Yahoo News
Instagram’s automated translation kills off Afghanistan cricketer Rahmat Shah in a condolence post - except the condolence was for his mother, not him. Oops.
BBC Business
Meta pulls end-to-end encryption from Instagram DMs, citing low usage - but privacy advocates and analysts suspect AI training data is the real prize.
The Guardian
Welsh actor Kimberley Nixon writes a brutally honest memoir about perinatal OCD, paid for therapy out of her own pocket, and credits Instagram (free dungarees, not included) with saving her life.
The Good Times
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