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Reddit has initiated legal action against AI startup Anthropic, accusing the company of unlawfully extracting large volumes of user-generated content from its platform to train the Claude chatbot. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in California Superior Court in San Francisco, claims Anthropic employed automated tools to access Reddit’s content without consent, violating the platform’s terms of service and compromising user privacy. Reddit alleges that Anthropic trained its AI models on user data without informing or obtaining permission from those users. “AI companies should not be permitted to extract and use personal content without clear boundaries on how that data is handled,” said Reddit’s chief legal officer, Ben Lee. He noted that Reddit’s data partnerships—with companies such as Google and OpenAI—include provisions that protect user privacy, allow content deletion, and prevent misuse, unlike the practices Reddit accuses Anthropic of using. Anthropic responded to the allegations by stating it “disagrees with Reddit’s claims and will defend ourselves vigorously.” Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI leaders, Anthropic is best known for its Claude AI assistant. It partners commercially with Amazon, which integrates Claude into its Alexa voice assistant. Like many AI developers, Anthropic has used publicly available web data, including Reddit and Wikipedia, to train its language models. New York Times signs first AI content licensing deal with Amazon Reddit’s complaint diverges from typical copyright-based lawsuits brought against AI companies. Instead, it centers on Anthropic’s alleged violation of Reddit’s terms and its engagement in unfair business practices. The legal filing cites a 2021 research paper co-authored by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, identifying specific Reddit forums—covering topics like gardening, history, and personal advice—as particularly valuable for training AI. The suit also refers to Anthropic’s argument to the U.S. Copyright Office that using large-scale web data for statistical AI training constitutes lawful use. Now a publicly traded company, Reddit has used licensing agreements both to raise capital and to ensure protections for its users. The lawsuit highlights the platform’s growing efforts to safeguard its data as demand from AI firms for human-created content continues to increase.

Amazon announced plans Wednesday to invest $10 billion in a major new campus in North Carolina, aimed at expanding its data center and artificial intelligence capabilities. The project is expected to significantly boost the economy in Richmond County, a rural area once known for its textile industry. The investment will create at least 500 direct jobs and support thousands more through construction and related supply chains, according to statements from Amazon and North Carolina Governor Josh Stein. Stein described it as one of the most significant economic investments in the state's history. Data centers already have a notable presence in North Carolina — Apple, for example, operates facilities there. But Amazon’s project is poised to be transformative for Richmond County, located on the state’s southern border with South Carolina and home to roughly 42,000 people. The facility will employ a range of skilled workers, including engineers and cybersecurity professionals. Amazon also committed to partnering with universities, community colleges, and workforce development programs to train people in data center operations and broadband technologies. “This investment will establish North Carolina as a center for advanced technology, while generating hundreds of high-skill jobs and substantial economic benefits,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s Chief of Global Affairs and Legal. He emphasized the company’s intent to collaborate with local governments, suppliers, and educational institutions to build a pipeline of future talent. On Tuesday, Richmond County commissioners approved an incentive package for Amazon. According to The Richmond Observer, the company will be eligible for annual cash grants over a 20-year period based on property and equipment tax rebates, provided it meets job creation and investment targets. “This project will reshape our community in ways we can’t yet fully envision,” said Richmond County Manager Bryan Land during the meeting. He noted that accompanying infrastructure upgrades — including water, wastewater, and fiber-optic improvements — would come at no cost to local taxpayers. Governor Stein’s office referred to the development as an “innovation campus,” saying it will house servers, data storage, networking gear, and other high-tech equipment. “Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way we work and create,” Stein said at a public event in Hamlet on Wednesday. “North Carolina will remain at the forefront of this transformation by continuing to attract top-tier tech companies like Amazon.” Amazon noted that it has invested $12 billion in North Carolina since 2010 and currently employs around 24,000 full- and part-time workers across the state.

 Meta has cut a 20-year deal to secure nuclear power to help meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook’s parent company. The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant. The agreement announced Tuesday is just the latest in a string of tech-nuclear partnerships as the use of AI expands. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed. Constellation's Clinton Clean Energy Center was actually slated to close in 2017 after years of financial losses but was saved by legislation in Illinois establishing a zero-emission credit program to support the plant into 2027. The agreement deal takes effect in June of 2027, when the state's taxpayer funded zero-emission credit program expires. With the arrival of Meta, Clinton’s clean energy output will expand by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs and bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, according to the companies. The plant currently powers the equivalent of about 800,000 U.S. homes. George Gross, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois. estimates that 30 additional megawatts would be enough to power a city with about 30,00 residents for one year. “Securing clean, reliable energy is necessary to continue advancing our AI ambitions,” said Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy. Surging investments in small nuclear reactors comes at a time when large tech companies are facing two major demands: a need to increase their energy supply for AI and data centers, among other needs, while also trying to meet their long-term goals to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions. Rise in harmful content on Facebook following Meta's moderation rollback Constellation, the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, said in September that it planned to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft could secure power to supply its data centers. Three Mile Island, located on the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979. Also last fall, Amazon said it was investing in small nuclear reactors, two days after a similar announcement by Google. Additionally, Google announced last month that it was investing in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power. U.S. states have been positioning themselves to meet the tech industry’s power needs as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and gutting regulatory obstacles. Last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and lawmakers this year have introduced over 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy, according to the trade association Nuclear Energy Institute. Advanced reactor designs from competing firms are filling up the federal government’s regulatory pipeline as the industry touts them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet electricity demands from tech giants desperate to power their fast-growing artificial intelligence platforms. Still, it’s unlikely the U.S. could quadruple its nuclear production within the next 25 years, like the White House wants. The United States lacks any next-generation reactors operating commercially and only two new large reactors have been built from scratch in nearly 50 years. Those two reactors, at a nuclear plant in Georgia, were completed years late and at least $17 billion over budget. Additionally, Gross recommends that the U.S. invest more in the transmission grid that moves that power around. “That’s my biggest concern,” Gross said, adding that spending on the grid has actually fallen off in recent years, despite the voracious demand for energy. Amazon, Google and Microsoft also have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions. Meta's Movie Mate to Chat with M3GAN in Theater: Interactive Experience or Distraction Shares of Constellation Energy Corp., based in Baltimore, were flat Tuesday.

Meta's deal to help revive an Illinois nuclear power plant was one way of signaling that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram is preparing for a future built with artificial intelligence. Meta's 20-year deal with Constellation Energy follows similar maneuvers from Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but it will take years before nuclear energy can meet the tech industry's insatiable demand for new sources of electricity. AI uses vast amounts of energy, much of which comes from burning fossil fuels, which causes climate change. The unexpected popularity of generative AI products over the past few years has disrupted many tech companies' carefully laid plans to supply their technology with energy sources that don't contribute to climate change. Even as Meta anticipates more nuclear in the future, its more immediate plans rely on natural gas. Entergy, one of the nation’s largest utility providers, has been fast-tracking plans to build gas-fired power plants in Louisiana to prepare for a massive Meta data centre complex. France has touted its ample nuclear power — which produces about 75% of the nation's electricity, the highest level in the world — as a key element in its pitch to be an AI leader. Hosting an AI summit in Paris earlier this year, French President Emmanuel Macron cited President Donald Trump’s “drill baby drill” slogan and offered another: “Here there’s no need to drill, it’s just plug baby plug.” In the US, however, most of the electricity consumed by data centres relies on fossil fuels — burning natural gas and sometimes coal — according to an April report from the International Energy Agency. New York Times signs first AI content licensing deal with Amazon As AI demand rises, the main source of new supply over the coming years is expected to be from gas-fired plants, a cheap and reliable source of power but one that produces planet-warming emissions. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind account for about 24% of data centre power in the US, while nuclear comprises about 15%, according to the IEA. It will take years before enough climate-friendlier power sources, including nuclear, could start slowing the expansion of fossil fuel power generation. A report released by the US Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centres in the US tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation’s electricity. It takes a lot of computing power to make an AI chatbot and the systems they're built on, such as Meta's Llama. It starts with a process called training or pretraining — the “P” in ChatGPT — that involves AI systems “learning” from the patterns of huge troves of data. To do that, they need specialized computer chips — usually graphics processors, or GPUs — that can run many calculations at a time on a network of devices in communication with each other. Once trained, a generative AI tool still needs electricity to do the work, such as when you ask a chatbot to compose a document or generate an image. That process is called inferencing. A trained AI model must take in new information and make inferences from what it already knows to produce a response. All of that computing takes a lot of electricity and generates a lot of heat. To keep it cool enough to work properly, data centres need air conditioning. That can require even more electricity, so most data centre operators look for other cooling techniques that usually involve pumping in water.

People in parts of the U.S. may be able to see Northern lights Monday night — or at least use a smartphone's camera to reveal hints of the aurora not visible to the naked eye. Space weather forecasters issued a rare, severe solar storm alert on Sunday after the sun let out a huge burst of energy called a coronal mass ejection last week. Another one headed toward Earth on Monday could produce more aurora sightings and with it, more social media posts of the majestic spectacle. If you plan to head outside after sunset to look for the lights, and photograph them, there are things you can do to make sure you get the best shot. First, though, try to find a quiet, dark area away from light pollution and check the weather forecast — clouds can cover up the aurora borealis. As for equipment, ideally, you should use a DSLR camera because its manual controls give you lots of control, and a tripod to hold it steady. But many people won't have this sort of equipment. But if you've only got a smartphone, you can still take great photos of the night skies. Here are some tips on how to shoot the Northern Lights: A good setup Before fiddling with your phone, take a few other steps to improve your chances of getting a good shot. First, dim your screen. A bright screen can hurt your night vision and both others nearby. Even if you don't have a tripod, it's best not to hold your phone with your hands while shooting at night because there's a good chance the picture will turn out blurry. Find something to rest your device against, like a hat, a book or even just the ground. New York Times signs first AI content licensing deal with Amazon Of course, check the forecast because auroras are best seen in clear skies. Find a dark spot, away from city lights and look north. Also, consider going horizontal instead of vertical to capture a wider image. Tips for the iPhone First, turn off your phone's flash. It's usually marked by the lightning bolt symbol in the corner of the screen. Next, use Night Mode, which is found on iPhone 11 and newer models. It usually turns on automatically in low light. You can tell it's on because a circular icon with a crescent moon will appear in the top left corner of the screen. For night shots, a longer exposure is better because there's more time for light to hit the lens. Apple says Night Mode's exposure length is normally determined automatically, but you can still experiment with manual controls. To get to the controls, tap the arrow at the top of the camera screen, which will bring up a row of controls at the bottom. Tap find the exposure icon, which is the same crescent moon symbol as the Night Mode icon. A slider will come up, which you can drag left or right to choose between Auto and Max timer settings. Max will give you the longest exposure time. Whichever setting you choose, it will be remembered for the next time. Then, tap the shutter button to take your shot. Better yet, turn on the countdown timer. The delay gives you time to move away and reduces the chance any movement from your finger will affect the shot. If you are going handheld, and the iPhone detects movement in the frame, it will display crosshairs. Try to keep them lined up to minimize any motion that can ruin the shot. Tips for Android devices There are similar night and astrophotography modes available on most Android devices. On Pixel phones, tap the Night Sight setting at the bottom of the screen. If you're using a tripod, the astrophotography setting will come up automatically once the phone has detected that it is still and ready, according to Google's online guide. Now you can press the shutter, which will trigger a five-second countdown timer before the phone starts taking a long exposure of up to four minutes. If you don't have a tripod, you'll have to activate the astro mode by tapping the crescent moon icon and swiping the slider. Rise in harmful content on Facebook following Meta's moderation rollback You'll still get a five-second timer when you hit the shutter, which Google says “allows you to place your phone down on a steady surface facing the sky.” Then the phone will play a sound to let you know it's done. Newer Samsung phones can access an astrophoto mode, but users will have to download the company's free Expert Raw camera app to get it. Use a third-party app If you feel like you need some outside assistance for your snapshots, tourist boards and other outfits from some Nordic countries have suggestions for you. Iceland Air, for instance, has a blog entry on the best apps for taking pictures of the Northern lights, including the Northern Lights Photo Taker, which costs 99 cents to download and “does exactly what it says," according to the post. Inspired by Iceland lists additional apps to try, especially if your default camera lacks manual controls. These include NightCap Camera, ProCamera, and Slow Shutter for iOS. For Android, ProCam X Lite is a good choice. Visit Norway suggests similar camera replacement apps, but notes that you should test them before you go to see what works best for you and the type of phone you have.

The New York Times Company has signed a multiyear agreement to license its content to Amazon for AI-related uses, marking the newspaper’s first such deal in the generative AI space. Announced on May 29, the partnership comes as the Times continues its legal battle against OpenAI and Microsoft over alleged copyright infringement involving the use of its journalism to train AI systems. According to Variety, the agreement will bring The New York Times’s editorial content to various Amazon platforms, enhancing customer experiences across the tech giant’s services. According to the companies, the collaboration aims to make the Times’s original content more accessible within Amazon products, including direct links to Times offerings, and reflects a shared commitment to delivering global news and perspectives via AI. Under the deal, Amazon will license content from The New York Times, including NYT Cooking and The Athletic sports publication. This includes the real-time display of summaries and brief excerpts on Amazon products such as Alexa, and the use of content to train Amazon’s proprietary foundation AI models. Rise in harmful content on Facebook following Meta's moderation rollback New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said, “This deal is consistent with our long-held principle that high-quality journalism is worth paying for. It aligns with our deliberate approach to ensuring that our work is valued appropriately, whether through commercial deals or through the enforcement of our intellectual property rights.” The Times’s move reflects the broader, mixed response of media companies to the rise of artificial intelligence, some opting for licensing partnerships while others pursue legal action. Last month, The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, entered a “strategic partnership” with OpenAI.

Cameras from a bygone era. Rusty typewriters. Vintage radios. Matchboxes once used to light contraband cigarettes. In an age of new technology and artificial intelligence, a visit to the New Delhi home of Aditya Vij is like stepping into a time machine. Every corner of his museum feels like a carefully constructed history chapter. The anthropologist is an avid collector of artifacts and has dedicated his life to antiquities. Over decades, he has doggedly collected thousands of items that span several centuries and documented their relevance and the impact they have had on society. Each collectable he has salvaged feels like a victory against time, Vij says, underscoring his belief that maybe one individual's attempts can quietly resist their erasure from people’s memory. “The deepest emotion I feel while collecting these items is the sense of satisfaction that I managed to save a piece of history,” said Vij, during an interview surrounded by his priceless collection of vintage cameras and gramophones. The excitement of the hunt Fossils of fish, snails, tadpoles and fern leaves that date back millions of years are Vij's most ancient items. But he has a passion for another trove of objects that date back to around 1915: thousands upon thousands of matchboxes. His obsession began at the age of 8 when he discovered his first matchbox while wandering on the roads with his father. Today, the 51-year-old possesses more than 22,000 matchboxes. A few of them are over a century old and their cover labels showcase different forms of religious representations and political scenarios of the times they were produced. “It is not just the possession of these trinkets, but the process of hunting for them is what adds a layer of excitement for me,” Vij said, adding that matchboxes symbolize different cultures at different times. 'Vigilance and quick action' Nvidia tops Q1 forecasts despite tariff hurdles He says the preservation of memory through these collectables pushes people to think about the craftsmanship of a time where life was slower and decisions were more deliberate. Some of his possessions were acquired by a chance. Many years ago, Vij says, he spotted a scrap dealer about to break an old radio with a hammer. He shouted from across the street and stopped the man. The scrap dealer, taken by surprise, explained how he would get good money out of the parts. Vij offered to buy it. Today, that radio sits amongst his existing collection of vintages. “Thirty more seconds and I would have lost it, and sometimes that’s what it takes — vigilance and quick action,” he said. Vij describes his journey that of a man "who links the past to the future" and aspires to create a museum out of his house that will act as a physical space where younger generations get to learn about innovations from the past. Otherwise, Vij says, these unassuming objects would be forever lost in the vast expanse of new technology. “What was once familiar has become rare, often forgotten, and has left behind only traces of nostalgia and memories," he said. ‘Urgency to preserve history’ Vij also gets requests from parents who want him to show their children how his collectables were put in use during the past. Some want their children to see how a typewriter works, or how pictures were clicked using a film camera. Others come to see how some household devices used to operate, like the rotary telephones, tube radios, pressing irons, ice cream makers, and lanterns. “When they (kids) tell me how they had no idea about the existence of these objects, that is when I feel a stronger urgency to preserve history," he said. SpaceX launches another Starship rocket after back-to-back explosions, but it tumbles out of control Over the past few years, Vij says, technology has evolved rapidly and the gadgets from his childhood were made obsolete overnight. He believes archiving them is necessary. "I hope the younger generations realize the importance of history and carry it forward by preserving it,” he said

President Donald Trump formally bid goodbye to Elon Musk at the White House on Friday, closing a controversial and impactful chapter for the billionaire entrepreneur, who is stepping down from his leadership role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk, now returning full-time to helm his companies — including Tesla, SpaceX, and social media platform X — was praised by Trump for bringing “a colossal change” to government operations. Trump acknowledged that some of Musk’s team would remain in place, continuing the work they started. Wearing black attire and a “The Dogefather” T-shirt, Musk nodded as Trump listed off federal contracts that had been eliminated under Musk’s oversight. Accepting a ceremonial key, Musk said, “I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job... and they’re going to keep it up.” Musk’s time at DOGE left a major imprint on the federal government, including the dismissal or forced resignation of thousands of employees. Agencies like USAID — which supports global humanitarian work — were gutted. Researchers at Boston University estimate that these budget cuts may have already led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. The State Department responded by saying core health initiatives like PEPFAR (the U.S. HIV/AIDS program) remain active but didn’t address broader funding reductions. They urged other nations to increase their humanitarian efforts. Musk, however, fell short of his ambitious fiscal promises. After vowing to slash $1–$2 trillion in federal spending, he later adjusted the goal to $150 billion for this fiscal year. DOGE claims $175 billion in savings, but the site’s accuracy has been questioned due to frequent errors and inflated figures. During the Oval Office event, observers noticed a bruise near Musk’s eye. He explained it lightheartedly, saying his young son punched him during playful roughhousing. “I said, go ahead, punch me in the face — and he did,” Musk remarked. Trump described Musk’s impact as “the most sweeping and consequential government reform in generations,” and hinted that Musk would remain informally involved: “He’s really not leaving… he’ll be around.” Still, the spotlight on Musk appeared to be dimming. Once a constant presence beside Trump, he now stood by quietly as reporters asked the president about various unrelated issues — from France’s president to possible pardons. When Musk was asked about tariffs affecting Tesla, Trump answered for him. Musk, the world’s richest person and a top donor to Trump’s last campaign, recently said he plans to scale back his political contributions. Trump, eager to leave Musk’s exit on a positive note, posted on social media: “This will be his last day, but not really… Elon is terrific!” Though his role at DOGE was always meant to be temporary, Musk had previously floated the idea of staying on part time. He’s been vague about the agency’s future without him but expressed optimism. “DOGE is a way of life,” he recently told reporters. “Like Buddhism.”

Google will return to federal court Friday to fend off the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to topple its internet empire at the same time it's navigating a pivotal shift to artificial intelligence that could undercut its power. The legal and technological threats facing Google are among the key issues that will be dissected during the closing arguments of a legal proceeding that will determine the changes imposed upon the company in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared as an illegal monopoly by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta last year. Brandishing evidence presented during a recent three-week stretch of hearings, Justice Department lawyers will attempt to persuade Mehta to order a radical shake-up that includes a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser. Google lawyers are expected to assert only minor concessions are needed, especially as the upheaval triggered by advances in artificial intelligence already are reshaping the search landscape, as alternative, conversational search options are rolling out from AI startups that are hoping to use the Department of Justice's four-and-half-year-old case to gain the upper hand in the next technological frontier. “Over weeks of testimony, we heard from a series of well-funded companies eager to gain access to Google’s technology so they don’t have to innovate themselves,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, wrote in a blog post earlier this month. “What we didn’t hear was how DOJ’s extreme proposals would benefit consumers.” After the day-long closing arguments, Mehta will spend much of the summer mulling a decision that he plans to issue before Labor Day. Google has already vowed to appeal the ruling that branded its search engine as a monopoly, a step it can't take until the judge orders a remedy. While both sides of this showdown agree that AI is an inflection point for the industry's future, they have disparate views on how the shift will affect Google. Nvidia tops Q1 forecasts despite tariff hurdles The Justice Department contends that AI technology by itself won't rein in Google's power, arguing additional legal restraints must be slapped on a search engine that's the main reason its parent company, Alphabet Inc., is valued at $2 trillion. Google has already been deploying AI to transform its search engine i nto an answer engine, an effort that has so far helped maintain its perch as the internet's main gateway despite inroads being made by alternatives from the likes of OpenAI and Perplexity. The Justice Department contends a divestiture of the Chrome browser that Google CEO Sundar Pichai helped build nearly 20 years ago would be among the most effective countermeasures against Google continuing to amass massive volumes of browser traffic and personal data that could be leveraged to retain its dominance in the AI era. Executives from both OpenAi and Perplexity testified last month that they would be eager bidders for the Chrome browser if Mehta orders its sale. The debate over Google's fate also has pulled in opinions from Apple, mobile app developers, legal scholars and startups. Apple, which collects more than $20 billion annually to make Google the default search engine on the iPhone and its other devices, filed briefs arguing against the Justice Department's proposed 10-year ban on such lucrative lock-in agreements. Apple told the judge that prohibiting the contracts would deprive the company of money that it funnels into its own research, and that the ban might even make Google even more powerful because the company would be able to hold onto its money while consumers would end up choosing its search engine anyway. The Cupertino, California, company also told the judge a ban wouldn't compel it to build its own search engine to compete against Google. In other filings, a group of legal scholars said the Justice Department's proposed divestiture of Chrome would be an improper penalty that would inject unwarranted government interference in a company's business. Meanwhile, former Federal Trade Commission officials James Cooper and Andrew Stivers warned that another proposal that would require Google to share its data with rival search engines “does not account for the expectations users have developed over time regarding the privacy, security, and stewardship” of their personal information. The App Association, a group that represents mostly small software developers, also advised Mehta not to adopt the Justice Department's proposed changes because of the ripple effects they would have across the tech industry. Hobbling Google in the way the Justice Department envisions would make it more difficult for startups to realize their goal of being acquired, the App Association wrote. “Developers will be overcome by uncertainty” if Google is torn apart, the group argues. SpaceX launches another Starship rocket after back-to-back explosions, but it tumbles out of control Buy Y Combinator, an incubator that has helped create hundreds of startups collectively worth about $800 billion filed documents pushing for the dramatic overhaul of Google, whose immense power has discouraged venture capitalists from investing in areas that are considered to be part of the company's “kill zone.” Startups “also need to be able to get their products into the hands of users, free from restrictive dealing and self-preferencing that locks up important distribution channels. As things stand, Google has locked up the most critical distribution channels, freezing the general search and search text advertising markets into static competition for more than a decade,” Y Combinator told Mehta.

A proposed ban on social media accounts for minors under 18 in Texas has stalled, as state lawmakers failed to hold a critical vote ahead of a looming deadline, likely ending the push for what would have been one of the strictest measures of its kind in the U.S. The bill, which had already passed the Republican-led Texas House, sought to go beyond Florida’s restrictions on social media use by children under 14. By comparison, Australia has implemented a ban on users under 16. However, momentum behind the Texas legislation faltered in the state Senate late in the session, with lawmakers facing a weekend deadline to pass bills and send them to Republican Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott has not publicly expressed support or opposition to the proposal, which drew strong resistance from tech industry groups and free speech advocates, who argued it would violate constitutional rights. “This bill was the best way to protect children in this state,” said Republican Representative Jared Patterson, who sponsored the legislation, on Wednesday. The Texas legislative session concludes on Monday, leaving little time for the bill to advance. If enacted, the measure would have marked another major attempt by states to regulate when and how minors access social media. Texas is home to a growing number of major tech firms, including Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter). Earlier this week, Governor Abbott signed a separate bill into law requiring Apple and Google to verify users' ages in app stores and obtain parental consent for minors to download apps or make in-app purchases — a move similar to legislation passed in Utah earlier this year. The proposed Texas social media ban is part of a broader, bipartisan effort across the U.S. to curb the harmful effects of social media on children. Critics accuse tech platforms of using addictive features to hook young users, failing to prevent exposure to harmful content, and inadequately addressing online abuse. A December 2024 Pew Research Center report found that nearly half of American teens report being online "constantly," despite growing concerns about the mental health impact of excessive screen time and social media use. The American Psychological Association has urged both lawmakers and tech companies to take steps to protect young users, warning that social media poses significant risks to children and teens who struggle with impulse control and the ability to disconnect. Various states and countries have attempted to implement similar safeguards, though not all efforts have withstood legal scrutiny. In 2024, a federal judge temporarily blocked Utah’s groundbreaking law that required social media companies to verify user ages and impose limitations on minors' accounts. California, home to many of the world’s biggest tech companies, will ban platforms from offering addictive feeds to children without parental permission starting in 2027. Meanwhile, a new law in New York allows parents to prevent algorithm-driven content suggestions from reaching their children on social media platforms.