International
New York plans a law to limit the addictive network algorithm for minors
New York is preparing to approve a pioneering bill to restrict the absorbing algorithm of social networks for minors, considering that the content they provide is as addictive and harmful as tobacco or gambling.
State legislators have already given it the green light and now only the signature of Governor Kathy Hochul is missing.
“It’s crazy that the internet is not regulated for children. The last time we did something was literally the last century,” the 38-year-old Democratic state senator who has promoted this project, Andrew Gounardes, tells EFE.
The measure does not seek to eradicate the networks themselves in New York, but its recommendation algorithm system that shows the user tirelessly the content that the platform thinks it wants to see – according to its information and history. Therefore, the legislators propose that it be replaced by a system of publications in chronological order, such as the one that existed when the networks were launched.
The final objective of Gounardes – which had the support of the two parties – is to make minors spend less time glued to the phone, but without intervening in what they can see, since content cannot be prohibited without interfering in the first amendment of the Constitution, which protects the rights to freedom of expression.
The idea of Gounardes, who has two young children, is that the under 18-year-old can only see the following content: “The one that his friends, his family, Taylor Swift’s fan page publish…, but not a constant loop of information designed to absorb it in an increasingly deep burrow.”
Andrew Gounardes met with teachers, teenagers and parents to create this bill and heard desolate stories, such as that of a family whose 16-year-old son, who was struggling with depression, committed suicide. His TikTok home page showed how the network had led him to increasingly depressive content, to the point of showing him “recipes for self-injury or suicide.”
For the state senator it is not about having a greater willpower: “They are the same arguments that people made about cigarettes: ‘If you had more self-control, you could stop smoking’. That’s not true, we know that cigarettes are not (only) nicotine, it is a chemical dependence that is formed in you and that makes you addicted.”
Idea that the general surgeon and highest health authority of the country, Vivek Murthy, agrees, who advocated this week to introduce mental health warnings on social networks, similar to those on tobacco packs or alcohol bottles.
New York senators also met with the technology giants – Google, Meta, TikTok Snapchat, among others – to make sure that they can fulfill their requests on social networks.
Despite the fact that the Titans collaborated with politicians, Gounardes assures that they have “11 billion reasons not to want to change the status quo,” referring to the money earned in 2022 by the six largest social media companies for the sale of advertising to children.
Now the bill awaits the signature of Kathy Hochul, who celebrated in the approval of the legislators in X and, according to Gounardes, could sign the document this week.
Then the process would take a year to implement, since the state attorney general, Letitia James, who has also been in favor of the measure, will have to draft the regulations on the bill and New York would give companies a time margin of one year to comply with the law.
When it is in operation, the network that breaches the law would have 30 days to correct the problem or face fines of up to $5,000 per minor user.
“California and Virginia have copied (the project) and we hope that this can soon become the national model,” Gounardes concludes.
International
U.S. sanctions cuban president Díaz-Canel over regime crackdown on protesters
The United States announced on Friday, for the first time, sanctions against Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, citing his role in the regime’s crackdown on the Cuban people as the country marks four years since the historic anti-government protests of July 2021.
The U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on Díaz-Canel and other key figures in the Cuban government, including Defense Minister Álvaro López Miera and Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas, according to Senator Marco Rubio, who shared the update on social media platform X.
“The United States is capable of imposing migration sanctions on revolutionary leaders and maintaining a prolonged and ruthless economic war against Cuba, but it will not break the will of our people or its leaders,” responded Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
In addition, the State Department added “Torre K”, a newly inaugurated 42-story hotel in central Havana, to its list of restricted entities in an effort to prevent U.S. dollars from funding repression by the Cuban regime.
The hotel has sparked criticism for representing a massive state investment in luxury infrastructure despite Cuba’s declining tourism sector and worsening shortages of food, medicine, water, and electricity.
“While the Cuban people suffer from shortages of food, water, medicine, and electricity, the regime squanders money,” wrote Rubio.
In another post, Rubio also accused the Cuban government of torturing dissident José Daniel Ferrer and demanded immediate proof of life.
Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), was among the 553 prisoners released in January as part of an agreement between Cuba and the Vatican, following a decision by former U.S. President Joe Biden to temporarily remove Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
However, Ferrer’s conditional release was revoked in late April, prompting strong protests from Washington. The island has since been returned to the terrorism list after Republican President Donald Trump’s return to power in January.
International
Two missing after torrential rains cause flooding in Catalonia
Two people are missing in Catalonia, northeastern Spain, after torrential rains hit the region on Saturday night, causing flooding and disrupting rail traffic for several hours.
“We are working on the search for two people in Cubelles,” announced the Catalan Fire Department in a message posted on social media platform X. Cubelles is a town of about 17,000 residents located 50 kilometers from Barcelona.
Emergency crews remain active in the affected area, where the heavy rains overwhelmed local infrastructure and forced temporary closures of several transport routes.
International
Trump administration begins downsizing ‘bloated’ state department workforce
The U.S. Department of State issued layoff notices on Friday to more than 1,300 employees both domestically and abroad, marking the start of a workforce reduction aimed at trimming what officials have called a “bloated” staff. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader effort to restructure the federal government.
According to local media reports, more than 1,100 Civil Service employees and around 250 Foreign Service officers received notifications via email. Those affected will be placed on administrative leave for periods ranging from 90 to 120 days from the date of their dismissal notice.
The job cuts are part of a plan to centralize and streamline the agency’s operations without disrupting its overall functioning. The restructuring was designed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had previously informed Congress in May of his intention to reduce the department’s workforce by 15%. The State Department currently employs about 18,000 people.
According to the top U.S. diplomat, the goal is to optimize what he described as a “bloated bureaucracy that stifles innovation and misallocates scarce resources,” as well as to eliminate remnants of “radical political ideology.”
The reorganization is expected to hit hardest in offices focused on human rights and refugee issues, which will now be handled by regional bureaus, according to The New York Times.
“We inherited a system that needed reform, and we are delivering it,” said State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Thursday, adding that the Administration is committed to a foreign policy that puts U.S. interests first.
U.S. sanctions cuban president Díaz-Canel over regime crackdown on protesters
Two missing after torrential rains cause flooding in Catalonia
Trump administration begins downsizing ‘bloated’ state department workforce
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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