Social networks, perceived, at the state level, as threats

Social networks are no longer seen as a simple and innocent place for recreation, as was the case over a decade ago. Authorities have put a magnifying glass on them, and what is seen behind the amusement is not fun at all. Recently, there has been talk of harassment, political manipulation, trafficking, sale of prohibited substances, fake news, and more recently about threats to the national security of a state. Restrictions are also starting to appear in more and more areas of the world. One example: Canada has decided to liquidate the local subsidiary of TikTok, citing major risks to national security. Although the application will not be banned at the national level, the offices in Toronto and Vancouver will be closed, according to an official announcement by the Canadian Minister of Innovation, François-Philippe Champagne.

• A persistent threat to national security

Minister Champagne stressed that the measure follows a comprehensive review of the activities of TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. "This decision was made based on information gathered and advice provided by national security agencies," the official explained. The government warns, however, that users are free to access the app, but do so at their own risk. TikTok, owned by Chinese giant ByteDance, is used by more than a billion monthly active users. In February, the Canadian government banned the app from government devices, citing "an unacceptable level of risk" to privacy and security.

• Criticism of the measure's effectiveness

The decision to close the subsidiary but not ban the app has drawn criticism from experts. Michael Geist, an internet law specialist, believes that this approach may make the situation worse. "Liquidating the company could weaken the ability to hold TikTok accountable, while the risks associated with the app remain unchanged," he wrote on his blog.

• Global pressure

TikTok's problems are not unique to Canada. In the United States, authorities have accused the platform of facilitating Chinese espionage and passed a law requiring ByteDance to sell the app. The company is currently challenging that legislation in American courts. Australia has also taken tough measures against social media platforms. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the minimum age for accessing social media will be raised to 16, and technology companies will be responsible for complying with that limit. Australia will set the age at which minors can access social media at 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, promising to take drastic action against technology companies that fail to protect young users. "This is (a measure) for mothers and fathers. "Social media is doing a lot of harm to children and I have decided to put an end to this," he told reporters, according to AFP. Albanese announced the upcoming legislation in September, but it was not clear at the time whether it would apply to children aged 14 or 16. Tech giants and social media platforms would be responsible for ensuring that users were of the right age, Albanese stressed, rather than parents who are "deeply concerned about their children's online safety." "The responsibility will not lie with parents or young people. "There will be no penalties for users," he added. Previous proposals to introduce an age limit for social media have enjoyed broad support in Australia. Labor's Albanese said the new laws would be presented to Australian state and territory leaders this week before being introduced to Parliament in late November.

• General commitment to digital security

The decisions by Canada and other countries reflect a global trend towards tighter regulation of digital platforms. While social media remains a vital space for communication and entertainment, governments are increasingly concerned about the protection of personal data and national security. In this context, users must be vigilant about the data they share, and platforms are under pressure to increase transparency and comply with international security standards.

• The Internet boosts well-being

Even if it seems difficult It's hard to believe that the internet has health benefits, say Oxford researchers. The findings could change the way we think about online socialising. The internet has a generally positive effect on wellbeing, an international study has found. The findings suggest that, despite fears to the contrary, internet use appears to have a positive effect on health. beneficial effects on well-being. Researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute, at the University of Oxford in the UK, analyzed data from about two million people aged 15 to 99 in 168 countries, including Latin America, Asia and Africa. The scientists found that life satisfaction, across all countries, was 8.5% higher for people with internet access, and their level of positive experiences was 8.3% higher. Across 33,000 different models and subsets of the statistical data, the researchers found that 84.9% of the associations between internet use and well-being were positive. Andrew Przybylski, professor of behavioural science and technology at the Oxford Internet Institute, said: "It's a bit of a cliche, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And if we want to make the online world safer for young people, we can't just attack with preconceived ideas and one-size-fits-all solutions. We need to make sure we're open to changing our views based on the data and hopefully that message gets across and doesn't lead to another stupid debate." The professor noted that, in his opinion, there will come a time when people will no longer be worried about social media use and the effect of internet use on young people because their concerns will be directed towards what comes next.

• Online bullying at a very high level

Earlier this year, in January, a piece of information related to social media shocked. Meta estimates that about 100,000 children using Facebook and Instagram are exposed to online sexual harassment every day, including "images of adult genitalia," according to internal company documents, The Guardian reported. The court filing includes several allegations against the company, based on information the New Mexico attorney general's office received from Meta employee presentations and communications between employees. The company issued a statement at the time in response: "We want teens to have safe, age-appropriate experiences online, and we have over 30 tools to support them and their parents. We've spent a decade working on these issues and have hired people who have dedicated their careers to keeping young people safe and supporting them online." The investigation also revealed how Messenger, Facebook's private messaging service, is being used as a platform for traffickers to communicate to buy and sell children.

In February, a hearing was held in the US Congress in which harsh accusations were launched and apologies were also requested from the highest level, with five executives of major companies in the field being present. Beyond the apologies, the head of Facebook was directly asked whether he would pay, from the billions earned, compensation for victims of sexual abuse and harassment, and the answer was not at all in the "Yes or No" margin. In fact, it is obvious that the heads of social networks are trying their best to minimize the problems. During the Congressional hearing on the alleged online harms to children, Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, addressed the parents of the victims in the Senate and apologized, reports The Guardian. "I'm sorry for everything you all went through," Zuckerberg said while the parents held photos of their children who died as a result of sexual exploitation or harassment through social networks. Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel offered similar condolences to parents whose children had access to illegal drugs on Snapchat. Parents of more than 60 teenagers filed a lawsuit in late 2023 against Snap for allegedly facilitating their children's purchase of drugs that were used in overdoses.

• Bot farms that would try to influence the elections in Romania

The Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, Bogdan Ivan, announces that dozens of accounts of organized networks that are trying to obtain illegitimate content to promote a certain candidate have been discovered. The minister specifies that all of these accounts have been blocked. "Today, dozens of accounts were identified in Romania that represent several organized networks that are trying to obtain illegitimate content to promote a certain candidate in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. All of these accounts have been blocked, these networks have been identified and have been blocked in their entirety," said Bogdan Ivan. According to the Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitalization, behind each scammer, dozens or even hundreds of other accounts were discovered. The Romanian authorities' request to the large companies Meta and TikTok came after there were discussions in the public space regarding bot farms that would try to influence the elections in Romania.