Social Networks

Aug. 7, 2026, 10:48 a.m. ET A New Mexico state court ordered Meta META.O on Thursday to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund and change how its platforms function for young users after finding the company is to blame for harming children's wellbeing. Judge Bryan Biedscheid in Santa Fe ruled the company had created a public nuisance in New Mexico, siding with Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat. Torrez had accused the social media company of designing products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. The ruling comes five months after a New Mexico jury in an earlier phase of the case ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding it violated consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users. The case was being closely watched amid a growing wave of litigation accusing social media companies of harming young users. While many lawsuits have been brought by children and families over alleged injuries to individuals,  » Read More

(CNN) — A new luxury resort in Mexico that costs thousands of dollars a night is off to a rocky start after a reviewer with a reservation alleges he was turned away at the property’s gates. Ryan Walker, a luxury hotel reviewer on YouTube with more than 140K subscribers, posted a video earlier this week showing an interaction on Monday outside the brand-new Amanvari Mexico by Aman Resorts. The property, where stays for August 6 were listed on Aman’s site for more than $6,000 a night, is located about a two-hour drive from San José del Cabo on the Baja California peninsula. Walker’s driver was told he could not enter the property, the video shows, although Walker said he booked the hotel stay weeks ago. The video, viewed more than 500K times this week, showed a screenshot of an email exchange discussing his stay. Conversations with workers outside the resort quickly escalated with one person captured on video saying she needed to speak with the police. Walker claims they did call the police. “We were stopped by an unmarked armed patrol truck with 5-6 armed officers,” Walker told CNN Travel via email on Thursday. “They did not speak to us

Social Media Meta added that it remains confident in its record of protecting teens online. Photo of Chief District Judge Bryan Biedscheid on March 24, 2026, by Santa Fe New Mexican via AP August 7, 2026 (AP) – A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years.  » Read More

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Meta told a federal judge Thursday it is immune from claims brought by financial professionals who say the tech giant helped facilitate an investment scam that unlawfully used their names and likenesses to promote Chinese penny stocks. Meta attorney Sonal Mehta of WilmerHale argued Meta is exempt under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — which shields online businesses and social media platforms from liability for content posted by third parties — because scammers, and not Meta, created the content that contained impersonations of the plaintiffs. “What they are alleging is the likenesses and impersonation happened in the WhatsApp chats once the people were already in those chatrooms,” she said. “They admit Meta did not create that content. Just looking at allegations of the amended complaint, they admit Meta did not contribute to core illegality.” The class of financial professionals say their names, images, voices and personas were used in a pump-and-dump scheme orchestrated through Meta-owned WhatsApp. They say scammers used advertising tools, including generative AI tools, offered by Meta to create fraudulent ads for WhatsApp scam groups. They say users who clicked on the ads were added to WhatsApp groups, where the scammers, posing

The development came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his cabinet colleagues to bolster their social media presence by engaging with young minds through the use of interactive content like reels. Ministry of External Affairs joins Snapchat (Photo: Unsplash) UPDATED: Aug 7, 2026 07:45 IST The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday launched its official Snapchat account, becoming one of the first ministries to expand its footprint on the digital platform that is dominated by the Gen Z population. The development came as Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his cabinet colleagues to bolster their social media presence by engaging with young minds through the use of interactive content like reels. Briefing on the latest development, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the MEA, posted a video on X. “You followed us on X, on Instagram, and on LinkedIn. Follow us on Snapchat to hear more about what the Ministry of External Affairs does. Both in India and through our missions and posts abroad,” Jaiswal was heard saying. He also shared the video with the caption, “We're now on Snapchat! Add us and stay connected for exclusive stories, updates, engaging content and more. Let's Snap!” Nearly two weeks ago, Prime Minister

The companies failed to persuade a judge that their reliance on algorithms amounted to “expressive” activity meriting First Amendment protection. (CN) — A federal judge rejected on Thursday a bid by Meta, Google and TikTok to block provisions of California’s Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act that prohibits them from sending minors personalized — or addictive — feeds. Senior U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, denied the social media behemoths’ request for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the statute’s provisions, which bar them from sending minor users personalized feeds based on their prior interactions with their platforms. The Barack Obama appointee said the three companies weren’t likely to succeed with their First Amendment challenge to the state law because the personalized feeds aren’t “expressive,” but the product of predictive algorithms that incorporate a user’s past watch history and other data to suggest content that the algorithms anticipate will be engaging or interesting to this user. “Plaintiffs are not making any decisions about what content will be ‘interesting,’ because they are merely relying on predictive modeling to assess what users’ characteristics and history on the platform suggest will keep these same users engaged,” Davila said.

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The time the Seattle Mariners have left to turn their season around is only getting shorter after another series loss. New Mariners prospect hits first HR with organization After evening their three-game set with Detroit on Wednesday night, the Mariners came out with a dud Thursday, falling in an 11-0 drubbing that saw them go down three runs before their first turn at the plate. With the loss, the Mariners fell to 56-60 on the season and missed out on a chance to win consecutive series for the first time since the start of July. Below is a look at where the Mariners stand in races for the American League West title and AL wild-card berths following Thursday’s defeat. AL West race The AL West-leading Astros were idle Thursday, meaning Seattle had a chance to make up one-half game in the standings. Instead, it fell a half game further behind and now sits three back of first place with 46 games to go. The Mariners are in third place in the division but currently hold the second best of odds winning it at 32.7%,  » Read More

Seattle Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh and Mariners Insider Shannon Drayer are joined by Mariners Co-Clubhouse Managers Joseph Van Fleck and Chris Dewitt to discuss their role with Cal and what they do for the team. PLUS a look inside the memorabilia in their office ---- 0:00 - Intro 0:50 - Inpact of Clubhouse Managers 1:44 - Chris and Joe’s career paths 3:10 - Clubhouse Manager typical work day 4:15 - The Start of Cal’s relationship with Chris and Joe 5:20 - Cal’s impact on the Clubhouse 6:50 - What the clubbies do for cal 8:40 - Out of the stadium tasks 9:40 - Cal’s talks with Chris and Joe 11:02 - How Cal brings fun into the clubhouse 12:30 - Impact of the Mariners Support staff 15:35 - What the clubhouse staff gives to Cal 16:15 - Managing players emotions through a long season 16:50 - Why the clubhouse is important to Cal 17:45 - Clubhouse manager office tour ---- ---- More Seattle Mariners coverage from SeattleSports.com: https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/mariners/ Watch & Read more Shannon Drayer's Mariners Insider content all season long: https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/shannon-drayer  » Read More

A wide array of colorful flowers behind and beside a garden bench. Image created from elements in Canva Pro The City of Kennesaw announced that Smith-Gilbert Gardens will host its annual fundraising event, Harvest Gathering: A Garden-to-Table Dining Experience, on Sunday, Oct. 4, offering guests an evening of seasonal cuisine, wine pairings and opportunities to support the nonprofit foundation that helps maintain the public gardens. The event will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and will feature a specially curated three-course dinner prepared by Taylor Lairsey of 1885 Grill. Each course will be paired with wines from Tiger Mountain Vineyards. Proceeds from Harvest Gathering will benefit the Smith-Gilbert Gardens Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that partners with the city of Kennesaw to support the gardens’ horticultural collections, educational programming and initiatives connecting children with nature and art. Garden staff also will host informational booths where attendees can learn more about the foundation’s mission and make additional contributions. A limited number of patron and VIP tickets are available. Those ticket holders will receive early access to the gardens, including charcuterie and a beverage, as well as a private garden tour led by Executive Director Dave Simpson and Garden Manager Hanna