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.

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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.

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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.

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International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.