Latest news with #Snapchat
TECHx
42 minutes ago
- TECHx
Snapchat Updates Family Hub for Safer Teen Use
Home » Top stories » Snapchat Updates Family Hub for Safer Teen Use Snapchat has announced the relaunch of its Family Safety Hub. The updated platform aims to help families navigate the app with more confidence and clarity. The new version features improved guidance, simplified access to resources, and inclusive tools that support both parents and teens. Snapchat revealed that the update addresses the evolving digital safety needs of families. As part of the initiative, Snapchat hosted an educational session. The event was conducted in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority and life coach Hala Kazim. The session aimed to educate parents, creators, and media about Snapchat's family-focused safety features. The revamped Family Center section now includes clear instructions on using in-app tools. These features allow parents to see who their teen is in contact with, without reading message content. This approach helps balance digital safety and user privacy. Snapchat reported that the platform has shifted its language to be more inclusive. Previously called the 'Parents Site,' it is now named the 'Family Hub.' This change reflects a shared responsibility between parents and teens in maintaining safe digital habits. Fatima Al Melhi, Director of Special Projects at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, emphasized the importance of child protection. She stated, 'We are working together with Snapchat and other Children's Digital Wellbeing Pact members to ensure safe digital environments.' Jawaher Abdelhamid, Head of Public Policy, MEA at Snap Inc., added, 'User safety has always been a priority for Snapchat. The Family Safety Hub demonstrates our commitment to empowering families while respecting young users' privacy.' Snapchat also revealed the addition of new features to the Hub: A dedicated FAQ section A reorganized feature overview with tab-by-tab guidance Snapchat confirmed that downloadable tools and resources are now available online. These were previously accessible only at Snap-hosted events. Videos from Snap's YouTube channel have also been embedded and will be updated quarterly. The content on the Family Hub is presented in a clear and accessible format. The goal is to help families have informed conversations about digital wellbeing. Earlier this year, Snapchat was named a key member of The Pact. This is a UAE-based digital wellbeing committee led by the Digital Wellbeing Council and the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority. The Pact brings together government entities, tech companies, and telecom providers to support a safer digital experience for youth in the UAE.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Teen who murdered 12-year-old schoolgirl Ava White named for first time
The teenager who murdered schoolgirl Ava White after the Christmas lights switch-on in Liverpool can be named and pictured for the first time after turning 18. Harry Gilbertson was 14 when he carried out the cowardly attack on November 25, 2021. He was found guilty of her murder the following year at 15 and locked up for at least 13 years. Reporting restrictions preventing Gilbertson from being identified were kept in place until his 18th birthday, despite representations from the media, which were supported by Ava's family. Ava's mother Leeann White, 42, said: 'I wanted the whole world to know who he was. I think Liverpool had the right to know who he was as well.' Ms White said that since the trial, she had been told very little about Gilbertson but had learnt he had done his GCSEs. Speaking through tears, she said: 'It should have been Ava sitting her GCSEs, not him.' On Ava's 15th birthday, in January 2024, Ms White's nephew was sent a photograph from a seemingly fake Snapchat profile which appeared to show Gilbertson posing for the camera with his arms crossed alongside another male whose face had been covered on the photo with a logo and who had his middle finger up. Ms White reported the photo and was told Gilbertson had been using an iPad for educational purposes and there was a glitch in the system allowing him to use the internet, but was also told the photo had been taken while he was on a visit. She said she was told he had been 'read the riot act' but had no formal punishment. Ms White said: 'He didn't get any privileges taken off him. He just got a telling off, basically.' She said she felt 'really angry' when she saw the picture. 'I can never have a photograph with my child now, so why does he have the right? He lost his rights when he murdered my child,' she said. Ms White, who has set up a foundation in Ava's name that provides bleed control kits to premises, said she had mixed emotions about Gilbertson being named. 'I try not to think about him if I'm being honest, because if I do, I'm just taking a million steps back,' she said. 'So, I just try to focus on Ava and doing stuff for her legacy is more important to me than thinking about him.' When making the decision to keep reporting restrictions in place, trial judge Mrs Justice Yip said there were concerns for Gilbertson's younger siblings, one of whom had not been told their brother was on trial for murder. Ms White said: 'Yet I had to sit my little nephews and nieces down and tell them about Ava, but they could hide everything for him. 'I feel like they've done everything they can to protect him and his family.' She said she felt her own family had 'nowhere near' the same protection. Ava had been in the city centre with friends on the night the Christmas lights were being switched on. The group became involved in an argument with Gilbertson and his friends, who had been filming Snapchat videos of them. Gilbertson was carrying a knife and struck Ava once to the neck, causing her fatal injury, before fleeing the scene, discarding the weapon and getting rid of his coat. He was seen on CCTV in a shop later that night taking a selfie and buying butter, which he said was for crumpets. Ms White added: 'I think he's got understanding (of what he's done), he's quite a clever child. 'He's got understanding, he's just got no remorse. 'It really doesn't feel like justice. He still gets to live and breathe. My Ava doesn't. His mum can see him getting married, having a baby. I'm never going to have that with Ava.' Since Ava's death, Ms White, along with Ava's older sister Mia and her aunt June White, have worked through the Ava White Foundation to provide hundreds of bleed control kits in the hope they can prevent other families from going through what they experienced. At least six lives have been saved thanks to the kits provided by the Ava White Foundation, Ms White said. The packs, which include gauze, trauma dressings and tourniquets, are delivered to schools, pubs and businesses and training is given on how to use them. When a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy were stabbed in Kirkby, Merseyside, in April, a bleed control kit donated in Ava's name to a nearby pub was used to help treat the children, who were both taken to hospital but survived. Ms White said: 'I think every establishment should have one. The way knife crime is, it's not going down, it's getting worse. Everyone needs to be aware of this training, it's so easy.' She said hearing of other children killed through knife crime made her 'sad for the child but more so for the mum and what she's got to go through now'. Since Ava's death she no longer has 'good days' but has 'OK days and really bad days', Ms White said. More Trending She added: 'What keeps me going is I'm keeping Ava's name out there and that's more important to me – to keep Ava's name out there so she's not forgotten.' A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: 'This was an horrendous crime, and our thoughts remain with the family of Ava White. 'No victim should ever have to see their perpetrators appearing online. 'We've put in place tough measures to clamp down on the use of social media in prisons and have committed to review how we could extend these controls to all places of custody.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Three men repeatedly raped 12-year-old girl after luring her from Asda car park MORE: 'I beat the system and proved I didn't need a TV licence' MORE: Met Police deploying dedicated patrols to protect women and girls at concerts this summer
Time of India
an hour ago
- Business
- Time of India
Social media ban moves closer in Australia after tech trial
HighlightsAustralia's world-first social media ban for users under the age of 16 is set to be implemented following a successful trial demonstrating that age verification technology is both feasible and can be integrated into existing platforms. The government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial concluded that there are no significant technological barriers to preventing users under 16 from accessing social media accounts, with various methods tested including facial scans and behavioral inference. Digital platforms such as Snapchat, Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram, and X will be tasked with enforcing the new age limit, facing penalties of up to A$50 million ($32 million) for non-compliance. Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s moved closer to implementation after a key trial found that checking a user's age is technologically possible and can be integrated into existing services. The conclusions are a blow to Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok and Snap Inc., which opposed the controversial legislation. Some platform operators had questioned whether a user's age could be reliably established using current technology. The results of the government-backed trial clear the way for the law to come into force by the end of the year. The findings also potentially allow other jurisdictions to follow Australia's lead as countries around the world grapple with ways to protect children from harmful content online. 'Age assurance can be done in Australia and can be private, robust and effective,' the government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial said in a statement Friday announcing its preliminary findings. The trial's project director, Tony Allen, said there were 'no significant technological barriers' to stopping under-16s gaining social media accounts. 'These solutions are technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services and can support the safety and rights of children online,' he said. Under the new law, digital platforms including Snapchat, Meta-owned Instagram , and X will be responsible for enforcing the age limit, with penalties of as much as A$50 million ($32 million) for breaches. The trial tested a range of methods and technologies, including facial scans, inferring a user's age based on their behavior, age verification, as well as parental controls. The tests also took into account the ways teenagers might try to circumvent age checks. 'We found a plethora of approaches that fit different use cases in different ways, but we didn't find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases,' the trial said in its statement. More than 50 companies participated in the trial, while Apple Inc. and Google, developers of the most popular mobile-phone operating systems, are also contributing, Allen said on a video conference call on Friday. The trial didn't assess public acceptance for any particular technology or the costs involved. The accuracy of the different methods, for example the margin of error for facial analysis, wasn't made available.
India Today
3 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
Kids under 16 may soon face social media ban after Australia proves it has tech for age verification
Australia is preparing to become the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide ban on social media use for children under the age of 16. This bold move now appears increasingly likely after a major government-backed trial found that age verification technology can work both effectively and privately. The Age Assurance Technology Trial, involving over 1,000 school students and hundreds of adults, tested how well current tools could verify a user's age without over-collecting personal data. The trial was overseen by the UK-based nonprofit Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), and the results are being seen as a key step towards making Australia's proposed legislation a no significant tech barrier to age assurance in Australia,' said Tony Allen, CEO of ACCS. Speaking at an online briefing, Allen acknowledged that no system is perfect, but emphasised that 'age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively.'Although some tools may collect more data than necessary, Allen stressed the importance of balance. 'There's a risk some solutions over-collect data that won't even be used. That's something to watch.'Here is how the system will work At the heart of the proposed verification model is a layered approach. It begins with traditional ID-based checks using documents like passport or driver's licence. These are verified through independent systems, and platforms never directly access the estimation adds another layer: users can upload a selfie or short video that AI analyses to determine age. This method is quick and does not store biometric data. A third component – contextual inference – draws from behavioural patterns such as email type, language, and digital behaviour to further estimate a user's age. While not reliable alone, it helps strengthen the system when used with other these technologies aim to prevent children from easily bypassing checks while also respecting December 2025, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and X will be required to take 'reasonable steps' to keep underage users off their services. If they fail, they could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million (which is about US $32 million) per platforms, including YouTube, WhatsApp and Google Classroom, are exempt for now. Australia's move is being closely monitored by other countries, including the UK, New Zealand, and members of the EU, all of which are exploring ways to regulate children's access to social media. The Australian government sees this trial as proof that privacy and child protection can go hand in hand. A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner's office reportedly called the findings 'a useful indication of the likely outcomes from the trial', and added that when deployed correctly, the technologies 'can be private, robust and effective.'Despite the positive trial results, there are still some caveats. Children may try to bypass age checks using VPNs, shared devices or borrowed credentials. It will now be up to social media platforms to detect and prevent these workarounds – a responsibility they've rarely shouldered at this scale In
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Australia's teen social media ban faces a new wildcard: teenagers
HighlightsThirteen-year-old Jasmine Elkin expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of age-checking software designed to restrict social media access for users under 16, stating that individuals will find ways to bypass such measures. From December, social media platforms like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok could face substantial fines for failing to implement reasonable steps to block younger users, amidst growing global scrutiny of child protection efforts online. The trial of photo-based age estimation products revealed that while many young testers had their ages guessed correctly, the reliability of the software remains uncertain, with the need for the government to establish acceptable effectiveness standards. When 13-year-old Jasmine Elkin tried out the age-checking software Australia might use to ban children and teenagers from social media, she was surprised some products could identify a person's age to the month - but she still doubts it will work. "People are always going to find a way to get past it," said the Perth schoolgirl who trialled five photo-based age estimation products with about 30 other students in May. "They can get their brother or sister to take a photo. There's nothing really that you can do about it." Elkin's view echoes one of the main concerns of child protection advocates, tech firms and even the trial organisers about the technology Australia hopes will enable the world's first national social media ban for under-16s: the software works, they say, but young people will find a way around it. From December, social media companies like Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok will face a fine of as much as A$49.5 million ($32.17 million) if they fail to take what the law calls "reasonable steps" to block younger users in an effort to protect their mental and physical health. The platforms say users need to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account. How well the ban works could reverberate across some of the world's largest companies and the governments seeking to contain them: already Britain, France and Singapore are making efforts to keep children and teens off social media, while U.S. states including Florida are challenging free speech laws by pushing for a ban. Even the law's opponents are likely to be watching closely: X owner Elon Musk, who has been advising U.S. President Donald Trump and is a vocal opponent of platform moderation and regulation, has criticised the measure and called the regulator overseeing it a "censorship commissar". "Everybody is looking at Australia," said Colm Gannon, CEO of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children Australia, a member of the trial's stakeholder adviser group. "Australia should be really focusing on robust technology, robust testing and making sure the scope of the actual project is in line with the needs that they're trying to address." The organisers of the trial, which ended this month, say it was designed to determine whether the software worked as promised, and that nearly 60 products were pitched. But it also underlined the teenagers' tech skills - testers were so fast completing their assignments, organisers doubled the number of products they tested and halved session times as the project progressed. "It hasn't been our intention to pull apart the software, rip the guts out and work out every different way that you could circumvent it," said Andrew Hammond, general manager at tech contractor KJR, which ran the trial. They will present an overview of the findings on June 20 and deliver a detailed report to the government by the end of next month. That will inform the eSafety Commissioner's advice to the government, which cited risks from cyberbullying, harmful depictions of body image and misogynist content in pushing forward with the legislation. "We know that social media age restrictions will not be the end-all be-all solution for harms experienced by young people online, but it's a step in the right direction to keep our kids safer," said a spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells. What about the teens? For some of the young Australians who participated, the trial was a glimpse into a world six months in the future where, according to the law, they will no longer be allowed to use a platform they have come to rely on for daily communication. "I use it a lot, but I can still live without it," said Canberra school student Charlie Price, 14, who trialled four software options in a room with about 60 peers and had his age guessed accurately (someone in his testing group was wrongly assessed at over 20). "I know people that will get really shocked and upset," added Price, who uses Snapchat, Instagram and messaging platform Discord and plans to collect phone numbers of his online associates before December. Like Elkin, he said he thought some teenagers might try to get around the block. Emanuel Casa, 15, who was in the same group, said the test subjects tried to check the products for ease and accuracy, but "no one tried to challenge it necessarily, like no one tried to trick it." Hammond said software that revolved around a user submitting a selfie - sometimes with different facial expressions - proved the fastest and most accurate way to identify teenagers. Products involving credit card details proved impractical since few young teens had their own cards, while those that required a person to hold up their hand in various positions gave too broad an age estimate for people near the 16 cutoff, he added. No further trials have been scheduled, but Hammond said the government would need to decide on the level of software reliability it was prepared to accept. Most of the young testers had their ages guessed correctly most of the time, but a peer of Elkin, the 13-year-old, was placed at 42 by one product, she said. "There is no measure at the moment as to what 'good' is. Do they need to be 70% effective or 80% effective or 100% effective?" said Hammond. "The government so far hasn't indicated that they're going to mandate a particular solution." Nathanael Edwards, principal of Radiant Life College, a Queensland high school where 35 students along with a few parents and teachers participated, said his group tested a basic age-gating product where a person typed in their birthday. Some did as asked, while others faked a birthday to age themselves up - although not always successfully. "I think the mathematics caught a couple of kids out," he said.
