In the span of just 48 hours this week, two separate juries in two different US states delivered verdicts that could reshape the entire social media industry — not because of the dollar amounts involved, but because of what those verdicts legally establish for the first time. On Tuesday, March 24, a jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $375 million for failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram. Less than 24 hours later, on Wednesday, March 25, a jury in Los Angeles found both Meta and Google (YouTube) liable for engineering addiction in young users — finding them negligent in the design of their platforms and awarding a further $6 million in damages. Two days. Two states. Two juries. Both pointing at the same conclusion: that Big Tech can no longer hide behind the legal shields it has relied on for nearly three decades. This is the story of what happened, why it matters far beyond the headline numbers, and what comes next for the s...
If your a regular user of Google Buzz on Monday you would have been asked or rather reminded by Google Buzz that you need to look at your privacy settings and confirm that all is well. Google Buzz wants to be doubly sure that backlash because of their privacy settings do not crop up again. Users should not be taken by surprise and find that private stuff their shared was actually in public mode. The system suggests users to follow and also the ability to block people from following you. The Federal Trade Commission has criticized Google's approach and members of Congress have recently called for an investigation into Google Buzz and the privacy fiasco, which might have prompted the move to make sure every Buzz user understands their privacy options. Google Buzz wants every individual to be made aware of their privacy options and this prompt may become a regular feature asking people to confirm their privacy settings and make sure that they are happy with the options. An origin...