Reddit fined £14m over children’s data protection failures February 24, 2026 Social media platform Reddit has been fined £14.47m by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after a probe found it unlawfully processed children’s personal information. The platform was also found to have failed to implement adequate age checks. The UK data protection regulator said the US-based company did not implement robust age assurance measures, meaning it [...]
Leading German group backs bid for Telegraph Media Group February 21, 2026 A leading German media group has backed a £500m bid for the Telegraph Media Group, which could rival the deal struck by the owner of the Daily Mail to acquire the UK titles. Axel Springer, which owns brand including Politico and Business Insider, said it would support a consortium of bidders led by Dovid Efune, [...]
UK under-16s social media ban could land before year end February 16, 2026 Sir Keir Starmer is considering banning under-16s from social media within months, as ministers crack down on children’s online activity following a deepfake scandal on Elon Musk’s Grok. The prime minister has insisted that “no platform gets a free pass” on child safety, with a formal consultation on tougher social media protections launching in March. [...]
M&S is now worth more than Snapchat February 12, 2026 Here’s an interesting stock chart comparison that caught my eye this week. For the first time, the market cap of Snapchat owner Snap is now less than supermarket M&S, in a sharp reversal of the tech firm’s fortunes. If you’d spent £1,000 on shares in the social media platform five years ago, you’d be left [...]
Meta and Google face first trial over child safety claims February 9, 2026 The world’s largest social media giants are heading into a series of lawsuits in the US, accusing them of harming children with their addictive algorithms. The opening arguments begin this week in LA County Superior Court in the first case to be heard in front of a jury, alleging that Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube [...]
TikTok no longer in limbo as it seals US deal January 24, 2026 After half a decade of geopolitical brinkmanship, court battles and executive orders, TikTok has finally secured its future in the US. The short-form video platform confirmed on Thursday that it has closed a deal allowing it to continue operating across the pond, bringing an end to years of uncertainty that began during Donald Trump’s first [...]
The Debate: Should the UK ban social media for under-16s? January 21, 2026 As the UK launches a consultation into a social media ban for under-16s, we hear the arguments for and against in this week's Debate.
Ofcom investigation launched into Grok AI deepfakes on X January 12, 2026 The media and online safety watchdog has announced an investigation into Elon Musk’s X, to determine whether the platform has done enough to protect Brits from explicit deepfakes generated by its Grok AI. Ofcom pointed to “deeply concerning reports of the Grok AI chatbot account on X being used to create and share undressed images [...]
Trump official warns UK on ‘Russia-style’ X ban after Grok row January 11, 2026 A key Trump administration official has sent the UK a firm warning following speculation Elon Musk’s X platform may face a ban after a scandal around AI-generated images. Sarah Rogers, under-secretary for public diplomacy at the US State Department, issued a series of messages criticising the UK on the rumoured ban. Rogers said the UK [...]
Elon Musk’s X suffers sales and profit slump before Grok fallout January 9, 2026 Turnover and profit at the UK arm of X fell sharply in its second year after being taken over by Elon Musk, it has been revealed. The division’s turnover was slashed from £69.1m to £28.8m in 2024, accounts filed late with Companies House show. The results also confirm that Twitter UK’s pre-tax profit was cut [...]