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19 articles in media

AI-generated news should carry ‘nutrition’ labels, thinktank says

AI-generated news should carry ‘nutrition’ labels, thinktank says

The Institute for Public Policy Research also argues that tech companies must pay publishers for content they use AI-generated news should carry “nutrition” labels and tech companies must pay publishers for the content they use, according to a left-of-centre thinktank, amid rising use of the technology as a source for current affairs . The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said AI firms were rapidly emerging as the new “gatekeepers” of the internet and intervention was needed to create a healthy AI news environment. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 30
AI (artificial intelligence)TechnologyNewspapers
Life after Molly: Ian Russell on big tech, his daughter’s death – and why a social media ban won’t work

Life after Molly: Ian Russell on big tech, his daughter’s death – and why a social media ban won’t work

Molly Russell was just 14 when she took her own life in 2017, and an inquest later found negative online content was a significant factor. With many people now pushing for teenagers to be kept off tech platforms, her father explains why he backs a different approach Ian Russell describes his life as being split into two parts: before and after 20 November 2017, the day his youngest daughter, Molly, took her own life as a result of depression and negative social media content. “Our life before Molly’s death was very ordinary. Unremarkable,” he says. He was a television producer and director, married with three daughters. “We lived in an ordinary London suburb, in an ordinary semi-detached house, the children went to ordinary schools.” The weekend before Molly’s death, they had a celebration for all three girls’ birthdays, which are in November. One was turning 21, another 18 and Molly was soon to be 15. “And I remember being in the kitchen of a house full of friends and family and thinking, ‘This is so good. I’ve never been so happy,’” he says. “That was on a Saturday night and the following Tuesday morning, everything was different.” The second part of Russell’s life has been not only grief and trauma, but also a commitment to discovering and exposing the truth about the online content that contributed to Molly’s death, and campaigning to prevent others falling prey to the same harms. Both elements lasted far longer than he anticipated. It took nearly five years to get enough information out of social media companies for an inquest to conclude that Molly died “from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”. As for the campaigning, the Molly Rose Foundation provides support, conducts research and raises awareness of online harms, and Russell has been an omnipresent spokesperson on these issues. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 26
Online abuseGrok AIX
Lords put pressure on Starmer with vote to ban social media for under-16s

Lords put pressure on Starmer with vote to ban social media for under-16s

Commons will now have to consider Tory-led amendment, which is likely to be supported by Labour MPs As a parent – and a Conservative – I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do The House of Lords has voted decisively for a ban on social media for under-16s in a move that puts pressure on Keir Starmer to bring in Australian-style restrictions. Peers voted by 261 to 150 in favour of a Tory-led amendment to the children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which was not backed by the government. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 21
Social media banKemi BadenochKeir Starmer
UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children

UK study to examine effects of restricting social media for children

Trial involving 4,000 children will explore impact on mental health, sleep and time spent with friends and family A pioneering investigation into the impact of restricting social media access for children in the UK has been announced as politicians around the world consider action on the issue. In December, Australia became the first country to ban under-16s from social media , with governments in other countries, including the, coming under pressure to do the same . Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 20
Social mediaSocial media bansSocial media ban
More than 100,000 people urge MPs to ban social media for under-16s in UK

More than 100,000 people urge MPs to ban social media for under-16s in UK

Letters sent using campaign group’s template as Keir Starmer indicates Australia-style move being considered MPs’ inboxes have been flooded with letters calling for an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, as the prime minister indicated such a move was being considered. More than 100,000 people have contacted their local MP since the grassroots organisation Smartphone Free Childhood launched an email campaign on Tuesday evening with a template calling for “reasonable, age-appropriate boundaries”. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 15
Social mediaInternet safetyChildren
Keir Starmer tells MPs he is open to social media ban for young people

Keir Starmer tells MPs he is open to social media ban for young people

PM says he is alarmed at reports about children’s screen time and has shifted position on Australian-style policy UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer has told MPs he is open to the idea of an Australian-style ban on social media for young people after becoming concerned about the amount of time children and teenagers are spending on their phones. The prime minister told Labour MPs on Monday evening he had become alarmed at reports about five-year-olds spending hours in front of screens each day, as well as increasingly worried about the damage social media is doing to under-16s. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 13
Keir StarmerLabourInternet safety
Can X be banned under UK law and what are the other options?

Can X be banned under UK law and what are the other options?

UK media regulator is investigating whether X has breached the Online Safety Act – what could happen next? The UK government is threatening Elon Musk’s X with the nuclear option under the country’s online safety laws: a ban. The social media platform is under pressure from ministers after it allowed the Grok AI tool, which is integrated within the app, to generate indecent images of unsuspecting women and children. The government has said it will support the media regulator Ofcom, which has launched an investigation into X, if it decides to push ahead with a ban. But is such a move likely? Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 13
XGrok AIOfcom
UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

Liz Kendall describes content as vile and illegal and says Ofcom has the government’s backing to use its full powers The UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes. Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X. Failing to assess the risk of people seeing illegal content on the platform. Not taking appropriate steps to prevent users from viewing illegal content such as intimate image abuse and CSAM. Not taking down illegal material quickly. Not protecting users from breaches of privacy law. Failing to assess the risk X may pose to children. Not using effective age checking for pornography. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 12
XAI (artificial intelligence)Technology
UK threatens action against X over sexualised AI images of women and children

UK threatens action against X over sexualised AI images of women and children

Government signals support for possible Ofcom intervention on Grok as scrutiny of X’s AI tool intensifies Business live – latest updates Elon Musk’s X “is not doing enough to keep its customers safe online”, a minister has said, as the UK government prepares to outline possible action against the platform over the mass production of sexualised images of woman and children. Peter Kyle, the business secretary, said the government would fully support any action taken by Ofcom, the media regulator, against X – including the possibility that the platform could be blocked in the UK. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 12
Internet safetyGrok AIAI (artificial intelligence)
Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images

Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images

Platform has restricted image creation on the Grok AI tool to paying subscribers, but victims and experts say this does not go far enough Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women. The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 9
Grok AIXElon Musk
No 10 condemns ‘insulting’ move by X to restrict Grok AI image tool

No 10 condemns ‘insulting’ move by X to restrict Grok AI image tool

Spokesperson says limiting access to paying subscribers just makes ability to generate unlawful images a premium service UK politics live – latest updates Downing Street has condemned the move by X to restrict its AI image creation tool to paying subscribers as insulting, saying it simply made the ability to generate explicit and unlawful images a premium service. There has been widespread anger after the image tool for Grok, the AI element of X, was used to manipulate thousands of images of women and sometimes children to remove their clothing or put them in sexual positions. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 9
Grok AIXSocial media
Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z

Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z

Platform is now Britain’s fourth most visited social media site as users seek out human-generated content Reddit, the online discussion platform, has overtaken TikTok as Britain’s fourth most visited social media service, as search algorithms and gen Z have dramatically transformed its prominence. The platform has undergone huge growth over the last two years, with an 88% increase in the proportion of UK internet users it reaches. Three in five Brits online now encounter the site, up from a third in 2023, according to Ofcom . Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Jan 3
RedditSocial mediaInternet
Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic

Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic

How the tech CEO and ‘Dogefather’ made a mess of the year – from an apparent Nazi salute during his White House tenure to Tesla sales slumps and Starship explosions The year of 2025 was dizzying for Elon Musk . The tech titan began the year holding court with Donald Trump in Washington DC. As the months ticked by, one public appearance after another baffled the US and the world. Musk appeared to give a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration, staunchly championed a 19-year-old staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” denied reports of being a drug addict while advising the president, and showed up at a White House press conference with a black eye – all in the first half of the year alone. “Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon,” Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, told Vanity Fair in an expansive interview earlier this month. “And so with that attitude, you’re going to break some china.” Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 31, 2025
Elon MuskTeslaSpaceX
‘Undermines free speech’: Labour MP hits back at US government over visa ban on UK campaigners

‘Undermines free speech’: Labour MP hits back at US government over visa ban on UK campaigners

Chi Onwurah speaks out after Marco Rubio accused five Europeans, including two Britons, of ‘seeking to suppress American viewpoints they oppose’ A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, announced sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners. Chi Onwurah, the chair of parliament’s technology select committee, criticised the US government hours after it announced “visa-related” sanctions against five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed and Clare Melford. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 24, 2025
Elon MuskDonald TrumpTechnology
‘A gamechanger’: 200,000 UK small businesses sign up to TikTok Shop

‘A gamechanger’: 200,000 UK small businesses sign up to TikTok Shop

Big brands such as Sainsbury’s and M&S also selling directly in app through links in videos and livestreams It is better known for its viral dances and for making hits out of forgotten songs , but the social media site TikTok is becoming a force to be reckoned with as a shopping platform. Major retailers such as Marks & Spencer, Samsung, QVC, Clarks, and Sainsbury’s are now selling their wares on the site’s e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, alongside more than 200,000 UK small and medium businesses. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 24, 2025
TikTokRetail industryBusiness
Activist group says it has scraped 86m music files from Spotify

Activist group says it has scraped 86m music files from Spotify

Platform with 700m users says it is investigating after Anna’s Archive claims to have scraped tracks and metadata An activist group has claimed to have scraped millions of tracks from Spotify and is preparing to release them online. Observers said the apparent leak could boost AI companies looking for material to develop their technology. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 22, 2025
SpotifyArtificial intelligence (AI)Computing
Tinsel and Home Alone back in style as TikTok seeks comfort in #90sChristmas

Tinsel and Home Alone back in style as TikTok seeks comfort in #90sChristmas

Emphasis this year is on nostalgia as present day feels ‘a bit more uncertain’, say trend experts Tinsel, DIY tree decorations, deep burgundy drapes – and Home Alone on VHS. Christmas has gone retro on TikTok, and in people’s living rooms. The app has reported a surge in Christmas decor videos, with an emphasis on nostalgia as users embrace festive looks from bygone eras. For younger TikTokers, that means the 90s. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 20, 2025
TikTokChristmasLife and style
Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: ‘It’s an extinction event’

Google AI summaries are ruining the livelihoods of recipe writers: ‘It’s an extinction event’

AI Mode is mangling recipes by merging instructions from multiple creators – and causing them huge dips in ad traffic This past March, when Google began rolling out its AI Mode search capability, it began offering AI-generated recipes. The recipes were not all that intelligent. The AI had taken elements of similar recipes from multiple creators and Frankensteined them into something barely recognizable. In one memorable case , the Google AI failed to distinguish the satirical website the Onion from legitimate recipe sites and advised users to cook with non-toxic glue. Over the past few years, bloggers who have not secured their sites behind a paywall have seen their carefully developed and tested recipes show up, often without attribution and in a bastardized form, in ChatGPT replies. They have seen dumbed-down versions of their recipes in AI-assembled cookbooks available for digital downloads on Etsy or on AI-built websites that bear a superficial resemblance to an old-school human-written blog. Their photos and videos, meanwhile, are repurposed in Facebook posts and Pinterest pins that link back to this digital slop. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Dec 15, 2025
TechnologyFoodArtificial intelligence (AI)
Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation

Small changes to ‘for you’ feed on X can rapidly increase political polarisation

Study finds that a week of political content can bring about a shift in views that previously would have taken three years Small changes to the tone of posts fed to users of X can increase feelings of political polarisation as much in a week as would have historically taken at least three years, research has found. A groundbreaking experiment to gauge the potency of Elon Musk’s social platform to increase political division found that when posts expressing anti-democratic attitudes and partisan animosity were boosted, even barely perceptibly, in the feeds of Democrat and Republican supporters there was a large change in their unfavourable feelings towards the other side. Continue reading...

theguardian.com
Nov 27, 2025
XUS politicsInternet