Ethnic armed groups in Myanmar claim capture of regional military headquarters and gem mining center

BANGKOK (AP) — Ethnic armed groups claimed on Thursday to have captured two strategically important towns in northeastern Myanmar: Lashio, which houses the major regional military headquarters, and Mogok, the center of the country’s lucrative gem-mining industry. Their fall would...

Meta's Oversight Board says deepfake policies need update and response to explicit image fell short

LONDON (AP) — Meta's policies on non-consensual deepfake images need updating, including wording that’s “not sufficiently clear," the company's oversight panel said Thursday in a decision on cases involving AI-generated explicit depictions of two famous women. The...

Meta takes down thousands of Facebook, Instagram accounts running sextortion scams from Nigeria

Meta said Wednesday that it has taken down about 63,000 Instagram accounts in Nigeria running sexual extortion scams and has removed thousands of Facebook groups and pages that were trying to organize, recruit and train new scammers. Sexual extortion, or sextortion, involves...

Despite Musk's Trump endorsement, X remains a go-to platform for Democrats

A week after Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president, President Joe Biden's team used Musk's social media platform X — in addition to more neutral spaces such as Facebook and Instagram — to announce he is ending his reelection campaign. It's a testament to how ingrained...

What to know about the Kids Online Safety Act and its chances of passing

The last time Congress passed a law to protect children on the internet was in 1998 — before Facebook, before the iPhone and long before today's oldest teenagers were born. Now, a bill aiming to protect kids from the harms of social media, gaming sites and other online platforms appears to have...

Italian judge orders a journalist to pay 5,000 euros in damages for making fun of Meloni's height

ROME (AP) — A judge in Milan has ordered an Italian journalist to pay 5,000 euros (nearly $5,500) in damages to Premier Giorgia Meloni for making fun of her height in social media posts. The judge ruled on Wednesday that two social media posts by journalist Giulia Cortese, who was...

Historic utility AND high fashion. 80-year-old LL Bean staple finds a new audience as a trendy bag

FREEPORT, Maine (AP) — L.L. Bean created it 80 years ago to haul heavy blocks of ice. Now it's a must-have summer fashion accessory. The simple, sturdy canvas bag called the Boat and Tote is having an extended moment 80 years after its introduction, thanks to a social media trend...

European Union court says TikTok owner can't avoid bloc's law cracking down on digital giants

LONDON (AP) — TikTok owner ByteDance can't avoid the bloc's crackdown on digital giants, a European Union court said Wednesday in a decision that found the video sharing platform falls under a new law that also covers Apple, Google and Microsoft. The EU's General Court rejected...

Amazon Prime Day is a big event for scammers, experts warn

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Prime Day is here, and experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams. Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant...

FBI has not yet identified any threatening writing, social media posts from Trump rally shooter