Social Networks

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Russia has blocked the U.S.-based messaging app WhatsApp, the Kremlin announced Thursday, claiming the Meta-owned company failed to comply with local laws. The move follows six months of pressure on WhatsApp and comes after Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram were banned in Russia in 2022 following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. "Due to Meta's unwillingness to comply with Russian law, such a decision was indeed taken and implemented," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. RUSSIAN FORCES LOSE KEY BATTLEFIELD ADVANTAGE AFTER STARLINK TERMINALS ABRUPTLY SHUT DOWN Russia blocked the U.S.-based messaging app WhatsApp, citing the company’s failure to comply with local laws. (REUTERS/Thomas White/File Photo / Reuters) Peskov instead urged Russians to use MAX, the country's state-owned messaging app. "MAX is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger, and it is available on the market for citizens as an alternative," he said. WhatsApp, Russia's most popular messenger app, said in a statement that the Russian government "attempted to fully block" the app "in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app." "Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia,"

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More than 40 families, whose children died after using Snapchat, rallied on Thursday outside of Snap Inc. headquarters to urge the company to make changes on their social media application for the protection of youth. The families arrived by charter bus to Santa Monica Business Park, where they blocked off the road leading into Snap Inc.’s buildings. The families along with child-safety advocates from Heat Initiatives began painting the names of 108 children and young adults on the road. Families said their loved ones died due to harms they experienced while using Snapchat, which involved access to drugs and other illicit substances, online bullying and sexual exploitation. The group urged Snap Inc. to implement safety measures such as the removal of all addictive features, default minor users to the most private settings, remove features that facilitate harmful connections with adults, disable any artificial intelligence chat-companion, implement age assurance, and to stop algorithms that promote harmful information, drugs and child sexual abuse. A representative for Snap Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Amy Neville, a resident of Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, lost her son, Alexander, in 2020. “When he was 14 years old, it is my

Photo credit KNX News 97.1 FM A demonstration was held outside Snapchat’s headquarters in Santa Monica on Thursday, as parents painted a memorial to kids they say were lost to social media harms. KNX News’ Karen Adams reported that parents blocked the street and painted the names of 108 children. Many of those kids, the parents say, died from fentanyl poisoning after purchasing the drg through the app. Sarah Gardner with Heat Initiative, which organized this massive demonstration, told said this is about “showing Snapchat for what it really is- a platform that is killing kids.” “Any other product in America that killed 108 children,” she said. “Can you imagine it remaining on the market? Amanda Faith was among the parents who attended the demonstration. She said she lost her son, Luca, to a fentanyl overdose and that he got the drug from a dealer through Snapchat. “My son died in 2020 and nothing on the application has actually been changed to protect children,” she said. “Nothing but lip service.” Faith and the other parents demanded changes to protect children, including “actual age verification.” After the demonstration, the memorial was powerwashed. Follow KNX News 97.1 FM Twitter | Facebook |

More than 40 families, whose children died as a result of social media harms, Thursday rallied outside of Snap Inc. headquarters to urge the company to make changes on their social media application for the protection of youth. These families arrived by charter bus to Santa Monica Business Park, where they blocked off the road leading into Snap Inc.’s buildings. The families along with child-safety advocates from Heat Initiatives began painting the names of 108 children and young adults on the road. Families said their loved ones died due to harms they experienced while using Snapchat, which involved access to drugs and other illicit substances, online bullying and sexual exploitation. The group urged Snap Inc. to implement safety measures such as the removal of all addictive features, default minor users to the most private settings, remove features that facilitate harmful connections with adults, disable any artificial intelligence chat-companion, implement age assurance, and to stop algorithms that promote harmful information, drugs and child sexual abuse. A representative for Snap Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Amy Neville, a resident of Aliso Viejo, in Orange County, lost her son, Alexander, in 2020. “When he was 14 years old

Troye Sivan, the Australian pop artist, is best known for his song  ‘One Of Your Girls’, which went viral after for his iconic drag look and Ross Lynch’s cameo, hitting charts across the world in 2023. But, before there were trending sounds and TikTok videos, there was the pastel grunge moodiness of mid 2010’s tumblr – and Troye Sivan was one of the artists to spearhead it. Tumblr, a popular microblogging app, was a formative part of thousands of Gen Z’s teenage years. It was a place of community, where people all over the world connected over a specific aesthetic – ripped fishnet tights, messy space buns, choker necklaces, and pastel anything. A major part of this aesthetic was the alt-pop music that defined this era – Lana Del Rey’s ‘Ultraviolence’, The 1975’s self-titled album, Halsey’s ‘Badlands’, and of course Troye Sivan’s debut album, ‘Blue Neighbourhood’. — — Gen Z, now no longer teenagers, carry an obvious nostalgia for the time they spent as a part of this internet subculture, listening to the music which came out of it. In 2023, The 1975 bagged a last minute slot at Reading Festival to fill in for Lewis Capaldi. When the band announced

Russia announced Thursday it had blocked WhatsApp over its alleged failure to comply with Russian legislation, days after restricting access to rival messaging service Telegram for similar reasons. Moscow has for months been trying to shift users onto Max, a domestic messaging service that lacks end-to-end encryption and which activists have called a potential surveillance tool. Critics say the restrictions are part of a broader campaign by Russian authorities to tighten control over internet use and more easily monitor Russian citizens online. Here's what we know about both apps and Russia's attempts to push users onto Max. WhatsApp, which has over 100 million users in Russia, is owned by US tech giant Meta. The app was the most popular messaging service among Russians aged 25 and over in 2023, while Telegram was more popular among younger users, according to a report by Russian news outlet RBK. Russia announced it was blocking calls on both applications last August, accusing them of facilitating crime. It has since progressively slowed down WhatsApp and in November announced it would ban the platform outright unless it complied with Russian legislation. Russia has asked for both messengers to provide access to data when requested by law