Trial against Meta in New Mexico highlights video depositions by top executives

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors began presenting never-before-seen video depositions of Meta executives at a trial in New Mexico on Tuesday to bolster accusations that the social media conglomerate failed to disclose what it knows about harmful effects to children on its platforms, including Instagram.

New Mexico prosecutors are billing depositions from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram leader Adam Mosseri as centerpieces of the state's case against Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Prosecutors have accused Meta of violating state consumer protection laws.

Prosecutors say the dangers of addiction to social media as well as child sexual exploitation on Meta's platforms weren’t properly addressed or disclosed by the company.

Meta attorney Kevin Huff pushed back on those assertions during opening statements on Feb. 9, highlighting efforts to weed out harmful content from its platforms while warning users that some content still gets through its safety net. He said Meta discloses the risks.

Hockey games and missed opportunities

When I was 16, I quit hockey. I was a closeted teenager, and I was sick to death of the bullying, the violence, and the culture. Hockey made me ashamed. For a decade, I found it easier to come out of the closet than to tell people I had once loved hockey.

Solomon to meet OpenAI CEO Altman in wake of mass killings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

VANCOUVER - Federal Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon will meet with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman next week looking for a plan on how the company might prevent another tragedy like the mass killings in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Solomon said in a statement on Friday that he plans to talk to Altman "to seek further clarity and to ensure that the commitments made are translated into concrete action."

OpenAI had sent a letter to Solomon on Thursday, outlining its commitment to strengthen detection systems, to identify potential warning signals of serious violence, and better prevent attempts to evade safeguards.

Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar had her ChatGPT account flagged internally and shut down by OpenAI last June, but the company did not notify police at the time. She went on to murder eight people on Feb. 10 in Tumbler Ridge, before killing herself.

Young woman says she was on social media ‘all day long’ as a child in landmark addiction trial

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A young woman who is battling against social media giants took the stand Thursday to testify about her experience using the platforms as she was growing up, saying she was on social media “all day long” as a child.

The now 20-year-old, who has been identified in court documents as KGM, says her early use of social media addicted her to the technology and exacerbated depression and suicidal thoughts. Meta and YouTube are the two remaining defendants in the case, which TikTok and Snap have settled.

The case, along with two others, has been selected as a bellwether trial, meaning its outcome could impact how thousands of similar lawsuits against social media companies are likely to play out.

KGM, or Kaley, as her lawyers have called her during the trial, started using YouTube at age 6 and Instagram at age 9.

AI chatbots and teens — a sometimes deadly combination

As if there weren’t enough concerns about the changes artificial intelligence may bring in the future — the displacement of millions of workers, or the potential for AI to disconnect from its human managers and go its own way — there are clear and present dangers which AI companies must be forced to address now.

Police warn about AI use in sophisticated scam calls

Police warned Manitobans about the rising use of artificial intelligence to clone voices for use in phone scams, while launching a campaign Tuesday to protect seniors from fraud.

The six-month “Just Hang Up” campaign will alert seniors, their children and their caregivers about grandparent or emergency scams that have become prevalent and increasingly sophisticated.

“These scams are designed to be high pressure. They prey on the ones we love the most — our grandparents, the ones we know who are going to help us in the time of need,” Winnipeg Police Service Insp. Jennifer McKinnon said at a news conference.

Manitobans aged 60 and older reported losing almost $350,000 to grandparent or emergency scams in 2024, as reported by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The actual total is likely much higher because scams are vastly underreported.

‘Abolish ICE’ gets most votes in Chicago snowplow-naming contest; ‘Stephen Coldbert’ also a winner

When it comes to putting a name to Chicago's annual battle against its infamously inclement weather, it turns out that the practical is also the political.

“Abolish ICE” was the top vote-getter in the city's “You Name a Snowplow” contest. Choosing the protest slogan with a double meaning proved a potent way for voters to jab at President Donald Trump after he sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers into the city and its suburbs last fall in a major immigration crackdown.

With a surge of ICE officers beginning in September, “Operation Midway Blitz” resulted in more than 4,000 arrests, a fatal shooting and a sour taste among Chicago's Democratic leaders and many of its residents, particularly in large immigrant populations. Despite mid-winter frigid cold, “ICE Out” protests in recent weeks have continued downtown, near ICE facilities and throughout the suburbs.

The snowplow-naming contest, in its fourth year, also produced winning names ranging from those paying tribute to the new pope, who hails from Chicago, to a homegrown horror purveyor and the popular quarterback of the city's NFL franchise. The top six winners will get a snowplow named in their honor.

Manitoba’s top tabby clawing for title of North America’s favourite pet

Patrick (also known as Patty Cakes Bakers Man of Karalot) has already earned an impressive number of ribbons and accolades, and he's trying to add to his titles by winning America’s Favorite Pet.

Social media can be addictive even for adults, but there are ways to cut back

Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids and cigarettes.

While there’s some debate among experts about the line between overuse and addiction, and whether social media can cause the latter, there is no doubt that many people feel like they can’t escape the pull of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms.

The companies that designed your favorite apps have an incentive to keep you glued to them so they can serve up ads that make them billions of dollars in revenue. Resisting the pull of the endless scroll, the dopamine hits from short-form videos and the ego boost and validation that come from likes and positive interactions, can seem like an unfair fight. For some people, “rage-bait,” gloomy news and arguing with internet strangers also have an irresistible draw.

Much of the concern around social media addiction has focused on children. But adults are also susceptible to using social media so much that it starts affecting their day-to-day lives.