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The father of a teenager who took her own life after viewing suicide and self-harm content online has said banning under-16s from social media would be wrong.

Ian Russell, the father of Molly Russell, told BBC's Newscast that the government should enforce existing laws rather than "implementing sledgehammer techniques like bans".

The foundation he set up in Molly's honour is among a number of children's charities and online safety organisations to sign a joint statement opposing such a move.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has not ruled out an under-16 social media ban, after Australia imposed one in December.

The House of Lords is set to vote on proposals for a more nuanced ban next week, which could be added to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill as an amendment.

Meta deactivated nearly 550,000 underage accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and Threads to comply with Australia's 2025 ban on social media for those under 16, aiming to protect minors from digital harms. While supporting child safety, Meta critiques the policy's flaws, highlighting privacy issues and teens migrating to unregulated apps. This sets global precedents for tech regulation.

Tether, the largest company in the digital asset ecosystem, today announced an expansion of its collaboration with INHOPE, the International Association of Internet Hotlines, to support global efforts to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and protect children online.

INHOPE coordinates a global network of 57 hotlines across 52 countries, working alongside law enforcement, policymakers, technology companies, and civil society organisations to identify, report, and remove child sexual abuse material, while supporting victims and improving accountability worldwide. Tether’s role is to provide long-term support for the work already underway, helping ensure the systems in place can keep operating and continue to improve over time.

As a diamond-level collaborator, Tether is providing financial support to advance INHOPE’s global initiatives. This contribution enables INHOPE to plan beyond short term responses, strengthen hotline capacity, improve cross-border reporting and takedown processes, and invest in durable systems that support international cooperation against online exploitation.

As part of this work, Tether will engage directly with INHOPE’s global community through expert forums and international convenings that bring together hotlines, law enforcement agencies, policymakers, and technology leaders. These exchanges are central to advancing shared standards, identifying emerging risks, and strengthening collective approaches to protecting children online.

So-called 'nudification' apps have no reason to exist and should be banned, an online reporting platform has said.

Mick Moran, chief executive of Hotline.ie, has also called again for it to be illegal for any artificial intelligence (AI) app to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Google has been accused of “grooming” teenagers by emailing under-13s and outlining steps to turn off parental controls on their accounts.

A mother accused the tech giant of “asserting authority” over its teenage users by contacting them and outlining the steps they can take to update their account so that they “get access to more Google apps and services” once they turn 13.

Until children are 13, or the applicable age in their home country, their Google accounts must be managed by their parents - what it calls a “supervised account”. This allows parents to block certain content, control their child’s screen time and view their browsing history.

TikTok will roll out a new AI-powered feature in Europe intended to find and deactivate accounts made by kids under the age of 13.

“At TikTok, we’re committed to keeping children under the age of 13 off our platform, providing teens with age-appropriate experiences, and continuing to assess and implement a range of solutions,” a press release from TikTok announced. “We believe that a multi-layered approach to age assurance — one in which multiple techniques are used — is essential to protecting teens and upholding safety-by-design principles.”

The app will use “facial age estimation” and “credit card authorization” to ensure users are over the age of 13, as well as require them to provide “government-approved identification.”

“For teens who have passed our age checks, we are committed to ensuring that they have an age-appropriate experience,” the press release continued. “That’s why on TikTok, teen accounts have more than 50 preset safety, privacy and security features and settings automatically turned on.”

VIDEO: France is considering a ban on social media for young users. The ban resembles a similar ban recently put in place in Australia.

Countries across the globe are mulling restrictions on children’s social media use — including Egypt. As the global debate on how best to protect minors from potential social media harm intensifies — sparked by Australia’s enforcement of a ban last month — moves in Egypt to follow suit have caught the attention of the international press.

The House announced earlier this week that it will develop legislation to “put an end to the digital chaos our children are facing,” reports the Associated Press. The lawmakers’ decision to convene with government bodies and experts to develop a draft law follows President Abdel Fattah El Sisi urging lawmakers “to restrict mobile phone access for young age groups” in comments made Saturday.

Meta’s second major trial of 2026 over alleged harms to children begins on Monday.

The landmark jury trial in Santa Fe pits the New Mexico attorney general’s office against the social media giant. The state alleges that the company knowingly enabled predators to use Facebook and Instagram to exploit children.

The trial will introduce evidence that Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general, believes shows how Meta’s social networks create dangerous environments for children, exposing them to sexual exploitation, solicitation, sextortion and human trafficking.

The lawsuit states that Meta’s design choices and profit incentives prioritized engagement over child safety and that it failed to implement effective safeguards. The state accuses the company of allowing unmoderated groups devoted to commercial sex and of facilitating the buying, selling and sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

“While the New Mexico attorney general makes sensationalist, irrelevant and distracting arguments by cherrypicking select documents, we’re focused on demonstrating our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Hong Kong: The Department of Justice has set up an inter-departmental working group to review legislation governing artificial intelligence and to explore possible legislative action on AI-generated indecent images, Acting Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Lillian Cheong Man-lei said on Wednesday.

Her remarks came in response to an alleged case involving a male law student at the University of Hong Kong who is suspected of using free online AI software to create indecent images of his classmates without their consent.

Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting, Cheong said current laws do not specifically criminalize the act of producing indecent images of others as a standalone offense. However, acts involving the distribution of explicit images or infringements of privacy are already regulated under existing ordinances, regardless of whether artificial intelligence is used in the production process.

She said anyone who distributes or threatens to distribute intimate images without consent may contravene Section 159AAE of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

As part of a transparency report by eSafety, the commission sent “legally enforceable periodic transparency notices” to Apple, Discord, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Skype, Snap, and WhatsApp to find out how they detect and prevent child exploitation.

While Skype is no longer active, the report found that in the other platforms, there were critical gaps that created risks of child exploitation and abuse.

“It’s disappointing to not see bigger steps taken by these powerful companies to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse being perpetuated at scale on their platforms and services,” said eSafety commissioner Julie Inman-Grant.

“These companies have the resources and technical capability to make their services safer, not just [for] children but for all users. We’ve engaged with these companies about these issues for the past decade and highlighted these safety shortcomings in our previous transparency reports.”

Police say Tyler Thomas, from Ohio, met Fishers teen Hailey Buzbee on an online gaming platform.

It's not clear which one.

But this is a potential danger that concerns all families. Police and child advocates are encouraging families to have conversations right now about staying safe.

The temptation after tragedy involving a teenager and danger online is for parents to say — just shut it all off.

But this space online, with games and chats, is where teens socialize and spend a ton of time.

It's not going away.

Neither, an expert with Community Health Network says, is the threat of predators playing here, too.

"They do this on purpose. They're very intentional about this. They're very skilled," said Angie Morris, nursing manager at Community Hospital Anderson's Sexual Assault Treatment Center. "Groomers will generally use a lot of time. They will invest a lot of time to get to know the child because they want to kind of get to know kind of where their vulnerabilities are, what kind of oversight does this kid have at home. They need to know, 'Is this someone who I can manipulate and get away with it?' The groomers, they've done this before. Very rarely will this be their first time interacting with a child online."

Snapchat has blocked 415,000 accounts under Australia's social media ban for under-16s, the company has said, but warned some youngsters may be bypassing age verification technology.

The platform urged the Australian authorities to oblige app stores to check users' ages as an "additional safeguard" for the world-first crackdown.

Platforms including Snapchat, Meta, TikTok and YouTube must stop underage users from holding accounts under the legislation, which came into effect on 10 December.

Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (€28.6m) if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to comply.

Australia's eSafety online regulator reported last month that tech giants had already blocked 4.7 million accounts, delivering "significant outcomes".

As of the end of January, Snapchat said it had blocked or disabled 415,000 Snapchat accounts in Australia belonging to under-16s.

"We continue to lock more accounts daily," it said in an online statement.

KUALA LUMPUR — The government will step up efforts to ensure safer internet use this year amid rising cyber threats, including online scams, cyberbullying and child sexual exploitation.

Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said that after leading the ministry for nearly four years, the focus is now not just on expanding coverage, improving speed and lowering costs, but also on user safety.

“I do not want a legacy where the internet reaches even the most remote areas, yet becomes a highway for criminals to threaten public safety and peace,” he said at the 2026 Safer Internet Day launch organised by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) today.

He added that while the internet offers many benefits, from facilitating commerce to providing access to knowledge, it also creates opportunities for cybercriminals to exploit users.

“Latest trends show that criminals have largely shifted from physical crimes to cybercrime, using more organised and sustained methods,” said Fahmi.

A chat site facing lawsuits over child predators announced a new method of voice communication on X Thursday — and it did not receive a warm welcome.

Discord, a platform that allows strangers to form private chat rooms, is developing a “Voice Dares” feature letting users “challenge your friends in your voice channel to complete a task” such as winning a video game, according to Discord’s posts. Numerous comments on X raised concerns that the feature could add fuel to the fire of child abuse on Discord, a problem that has brought years of federal prosecutions, congressional scrutiny and litigation from the state of New Jersey and parents.

“Why don’t these companies care about the harms they’re causing???” one X user wrote. “How many dead or permanently injured children will be the tipping point before they finally decide to do actually protect kids.”

OZARK, Al (WDHN)—Being the parent of a Gen Z kid in today’s society, some parents are — “too busy'” or don’t feel they need to monitor their kids devices and behavior.

Until their child is a victim of human trafficking….Child Pornography.

Celeste Kemp, Ozark Police Investigator said “one of the greatest piece of advice I can give to parents to have, is to be aware. And their awareness, and their inclusion in their child activities when using electronic devices…we think of human trafficking— a lot of times we think of cartel, picking up humans and taking them to a foreign country. That is not necessarily what human trafficking is…Human trafficking by our state statue (Alabama), is the exchange of money or items for sexual activities or sexual conduct with children.”

The Ozark Police Department advise parents to know the signs of inappropriate online activity— And the importance of open communication with their children about internet safety.

Also, By fostering a proactive approach. Ozark Police Department hopes to create a safer environment for young users as they navigate the digital world.

Feb 4 (Reuters) - The United Nations children's agency UNICEF on Wednesday called for countries to criminalize the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse content, saying it was alarmed by reports of an increase in the number of artificial intelligence images sexualizing children.
The agency also urged developers to implement safety-by-design approaches and guardrails to prevent misuse of AI models. It said digital companies should prevent the circulation of these images by strengthening content moderation with investment in detection technologies.