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
Marco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, is reportedly being considered by President-elect Donald Trump as the next U.S. Secretary of State, according to media outlets such as The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR) last night.
However, The New York Times noted that Trump could still change his mind at the last minute, but he appeared to be leaning toward Rubio, whom he also considered as a running mate this year. Another potential candidate for Secretary of State is former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.
The Secretary of State serves as the United States’ Foreign Minister and is typically seen as one of the most powerful officials in the U.S. government.
Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010 and has established himself as a foreign policy hawk, particularly taking hardline positions on China and Iran. He has also been a strong critic of Cuba’s Castro regime, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega.
Senator Rubio has appeared quite close to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whom he visited in El Salvador in March 2023. Following Bukele’s re-election in February, Rubio encouraged the Salvadoran president to lay the groundwork for prosperity in El Salvador, strengthen democratic institutions, and further curb China’s influence in the country.
International
Sheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum assured on Monday that she will “always” defend Mexican migrants in the United States, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of former official Tom Homan as “border czar,” responsible for overseeing “all deportations of illegal foreign nationals back to their countries of origin.”
“We will always defend Mexican men and women on the other side of the border, who are also essential to the U.S. economy,” Sheinbaum stated during a press conference at the National Palace.
When questioned by Mexican media about the appointment of former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan to oversee U.S. borders under the new administration, Sheinbaum said she would reach out to the president-elect’s team.
“We have data, and we’ll share the information, but it’s also important to establish contact, understand their intentions, and, as much as possible, work toward coordination,” she emphasized.
Her remarks come just hours after the newly elected head of the White House announced on his Truth Social platform that Homan will be in charge of “all borders” in the country, as well as the massive deportations Trump has promised.
International
Le procureur vénézuélien dénonce une campagne visant à présenter les “criminels” comme prisonniers politiques
Le procureur général du Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, a dénoncé lundi une campagne visant à montrer des “criminels” capturés dans le contexte de manifestations post-électorales en tant que prisonniers politiques, et a réitéré que dans le pays “il n’y a pas d’enfants détenus”, comme le dénonce l’opposition majoritaire.
Le chef du ministère public (MP, bureau du procureur) a assuré que, ces derniers jours, cette campagne s’est accrue, dans le but de “mal mettre, nuire et stigmatiser la démocratie vénézuélienne et ses autorités”, ainsi que de faire voir “ceux qui ont commis ces actes, qui sont détenus, comme s’ils étaient des héros”.
“Ces personnes ne sont pas des prisonniers politiques, ce ne sont pas des prisonniers d’opinion, ce sont des criminels qui se sont prêtés à des actions terroristes, criminelles, payées par les soi-disant commandits (…) et pour déclencher une guerre civile au Venezuela”, a déclaré Saab, en référence aux groupes d’organisation politique de l’opposition majoritaire.
En ce sens, il a qualifié d’”antiéthique” que “ces cas se présentent comme s’ils avaient un caractère politique”.
D’autre part, il a assuré qu’”il n’y a pas d’enfants arrêtés”, mais “des adolescents qui, malheureusement, ont avoué” que – a-t-il dit – “ont été utilisés” pour “provoquer ces actes de violence”.
Le procureur vénézuélien défend les forces de sécurité
Selon les chiffres officiels, les manifestations contre la réélection du président Nicolás Maduro lors des élections du 28 juillet ont fait 28 morts, dont deux militaires, et environ 1 000 blessés, pour lesquels plus de 2 400 personnes ont été arrêtées.
“Beaucoup d’entre eux ont reçu des coups de feu, des coups de couteau, des coups”, a déclaré le procureur, qui a assuré que, depuis lors, l’institution n’a pas reçu “une seule plainte” liant l’un de ces décès aux forces de sécurité de l’État, que le PUD accuse de répression.
Selon l’ONG Foro Penal, il y a 1 963 “prisonniers politiques” au Venezuela, dont 1 836 arrêtés après les élections présidentielles, dans lesquelles la principale coalition d’opposition – la Plateforme unitaire démocratique (PUD) affirme que son candidat, Edmundo González Urrutia, a gagné par une large marge.
Sur le total, 69 sont des mineurs âgés de 14 à 17 ans, selon l’organisation, qui affirme enregistrer “le plus grand nombre de prisonniers à des fins politiques connues au Venezuela, au moins au XXIe siècle”.
Les dirigeants de l’opposition et les ONG demandent quotidiennement, via les réseaux sociaux, la libération “immédiate” des détenus pour des raisons “politiques”, parmi lesquels les quelque 170 militants et militants de partis qui, dénoncent-ils, sont derrière les barreaux.
Marco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say
Sheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
Mexico deploys 12,000 security agents to Guerrero amid escalating violence
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International4 days agoJustice gives a pause to the trial of Trump for the assault on the Capitol
-
International4 days agoNATO accuses Russia and North Korea of “dangerously expanding” the war in Ukraine
-
International4 days agoLegislators related to Evo Morales prevent the Arce report in Parliament, which qualifies it as an “act of vandalism”
-
International4 days agoThe United States accuses a man linked to the Iranian government of plotting a plan to kill Trump
-
International4 days agoWho rings for Trump’s cabinet 2.0?
-
International4 days agoAnother journalist dies in an Israeli bombing in northern Gaza and the total rises to 184
-
International4 days agoTrump tells the Palestinian president that he will “work to stop the war” in Gaza
-
International4 days agoMachado urges international justice to “act” against the Maduro Government
-
International4 days agoCuba tries to recover two days after the impact of Hurricane Rafael
-
International4 days agoDonald Trump spoke with Zelenski in a call in which Elon Musk also participated
-
Central America1 day agoBukele begins official visit to Costa Rica based on security, cooperation and trade
-
International4 days agoEvery four minutes a boy or girl dies in the world from an act of violence, says Unicef
-
International1 day agoDaniel Ortega turns 79: 29 in power, 17 “governing from below”, and 7 in prison
-
International1 day agoA US flight to Haiti is deflected after being shot when approaching Port-au-Prince
-
International1 day agoLes migrants qui ont été retenus en Albanie par le gouvernement de Meloni arriveront ce soir en Italie
-
International2 days agoShooting at Tuskegee University leaves one dead and several injured
-
International1 day agoIrish mobster Hutch is rending for general elections after arrest in Spain
-
International1 day agoLe procureur vénézuélien dénonce une campagne visant à présenter les “criminels” comme prisonniers politiques
-
International1 day agoTrump appoints an ally without experience in the sector to the environmental agency
-
Internacionales2 days agoTropical storm Rafael weakens over gulf of Mexico after devastating Cuba
-
International16 mins agoSheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
-
International4 days agoBolivia’s Constitutional Court ratifies that Evo Morales cannot be a candidate
-
International1 day agoThe court of El Salvador postpones the preliminary hearing for the massacre of Jesuit parents in 1989
-
Internacionales19 mins agoMexico deploys 12,000 security agents to Guerrero amid escalating violence
-
International5 mins agoMarco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say