Social media CEOs risk facing trial over harms to minors

Instagram is leaning into the Halloween spirit this year, rolling out a new batch of spooky-themed updates for its Edits feature — complete with eerie fonts, chilling sound effects, horror-inspired filters, and more. So, if you’re planning to post a creepy short video to join the seasonal fun, you’ll now have a collection of frightful creative tools to experiment with, all neatly packed within Meta’s video editing app. First up, Edits introduces a range of Halloween-style fonts, perfect for adding a ghostly flair to your visuals and ensuring your audience feels the spooky energy before the jump scare even hits.  As the preview shows, users can now explore several unsettling font options — because, naturally, typography can be terrifying when done right. (Ghosts, after all, have been known to prefer “spooky” script.) Beyond fonts, Edits is also getting an array of new filters and restyle effects, along with a haunting selection of Halloween sound effects such as “Bubbling Cauldron” and “Adventure Theme (Spooky).”  The naming alone is enough to set the mood, but with so many combinations available, creators will likely find plenty of ways to creep out their Reels audiences this Halloween season. And for something a little less spine-chilling — Edits is also enhancing its voiceover recording tools, making it simpler to retake or fine-tune your voiceover clips without breaking the creative flow.  As shown in the demo, users can now easily re-record and position their voiceovers directly in the stream, with an added countdown timer to help perfect timing and delivery. These updates not only add a dose of Halloween fun but also bring practical improvements for creators aiming to polish their video content. So whether you’re conjuring up a terrifying short or just want cleaner audio for your clips, Edits now offers a few handy — and haunting — new tricks. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

This could be a major moment — or maybe not. A U.S. Supreme Court judge has ruled that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel must appear in an upcoming trial examining the potential harmful effects of social media on younger users. The three executives had attempted to avoid personal testimony, arguing that their previous Senate appearances — where they were questioned on similar concerns — had already established their public stance. But Judge Carolyn Kuhl rejected that argument, ruling that they will need to attend in person to represent their companies in what could become a landmark case for future social media regulation. And regulation, it seems, is coming one way or another. Across the world, governments are now actively debating how to protect children online. In Europe, leaders meeting in Brussels this week are weighing the idea of a teen social media ban, after 25 EU member states signed a declaration earlier this month calling for stronger digital protections for minors. France, Greece, and Denmark have already expressed support for banning access to social platforms for users under 15, while Spain has gone a step further, proposing a cutoff at 16. Meanwhile, Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea are developing their own restrictions, and the U.K. has introduced tougher age verification laws to pressure social platforms into taking more concrete steps. Of course, the biggest challenge lies in enforcement. There’s still no universal standard for verifying a user’s age online, making it almost impossible to ensure consistent application. This patchwork of different national laws further complicates compliance for global platforms like Meta, Snap, and TikTok. Still, given the rising political pressure — and public anxiety about the effects of social media — it seems inevitable that tougher oversight is on the horizon. Platforms will eventually need to adjust, or be forced to. This latest U.S. case is just one of several ongoing legal challenges aimed at holding social networks accountable. The platforms have long maintained that there’s no conclusive scientific proof linking social media use to mental harm among young people. But the growing body of research highlighting potential correlations — increased anxiety, lower self-esteem, and exposure to harmful content — has raised enough red flags for lawmakers to act. The real issue, though, isn’t about new laws — it’s about making them actually work. Most major social networks already claim to restrict access to users aged 14 and above, but enforcement remains loose at best. Studies suggest that as much as one-third of TikTok’s U.S. audience may be 14 or younger — meaning the rule is effectively meaningless in practice. Some platforms are experimenting with AI-driven age verification, including video selfies and machine learning analysis to estimate a user’s age. But without an industry-wide standard or regulatory benchmark, each platform continues to operate in isolation, developing its own systems to meet public expectations. The EU appears closest to defining a unified approach, while Australian authorities are also finalizing their own model for national enforcement. If a global standard eventually emerges, it could make teen restrictions both practical and enforceable. Until then, however, progress will remain fragmented — and symbolic gestures, like compelling tech CEOs to testify, may not change much on their own. Still, bringing Zuckerberg, Mosseri, and Spiegel back into the spotlight could give regulators fresh insights into how these companies think — and that might help shape more effective rules for protecting young users in the years ahead. 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!

Meta is once again trying to prove it still understands what’s cool among younger users — this time with a new Instagram feature for teen accounts that lets them swap out their app icon for one of six new designs. The update follows Instagram’s recent overhaul of its teen account settings, which introduced simplified protections inspired by movie-style content ratings. Alongside those changes, the platform is now rolling out a small but flashy addition: customizable app icons, giving teens another way to express their personal style within the app. As Instagram’s design team explained: “With the creativity of illustrator @doncarrrlos, we’ve introduced six different aesthetics that teens can use to customize their app icons, including chrome, cosmic, slime, and more.” Honestly, they look a bit simplistic — at least to adult eyes. But maybe that’s the point. I’m clearly not the demographic Meta is courting here, and perhaps these minimalist, playful designs genuinely appeal to younger users. Snapchat, for instance, offers similar customization features as part of its Snapchat+ subscription, and those have been widely embraced by teens. So, while the concept might seem minor or superficial, there’s likely an audience for it — even if the designs themselves look a little like doodles you’d find in a high school notebook. Still, Instagram insists there’s been a considerable amount of design thinking behind the update. The goal, according to the company, was to “push the boundaries of the logo” and bring more creative flair to the user experience. So, if custom icons are your thing, you now have a handful of new ways to dress up your Instagram app — at least if you’re on a teen account. To try it, Instagram says teen users can tap the Instagram logo at the top of their home feed after opening the app and select one of the new designs from there. A small update, sure — but one clearly aimed at keeping Instagram feeling fun, personal, and a little more “Gen Z.” 📢 If you're interested in Facebook Ads Account, don't hesitate to connect with us!🔹 https://linktr.ee/Adshinepro💬 We're always ready to assist you!