Representatives from TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security today to discuss how to protect kids online. This hearing follows Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen‘s document leaks to the Wall Street Journal, which — among many things — exposed Facebook’s knowledge that Instagram is toxic for […]
YouTube and Snapchat were asked to defend their apps’ age ratings in Senate hearing
YouTube and Snapchat were asked by lawmakers to defend whether or not their respective social media apps were appropriately rated on the U.S. app stores, given the nature of the content they hosted. In a line of questioning led by Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Snap was given specific examples of the types of content found […]
In hearing with Snap, TikTok and YouTube, lawmakers tout new rules to protect kids online
Fallout from revelations around teen mental health on Instagram continues — and not just for Facebook. On Tuesday, policy reps from YouTube, Snap and TikTok faced Congress to talk about kids and online safety, marking the first time the latter two companies appeared in a major tech hearing. The hearing, held by the Senate Subcommittee […]
TikTok dodges questions about biometric data collection in Senate hearing
In its first-ever Congressional hearing, TikTok successfully dodged questions about what it plans to do with the biometric data its privacy policy permits it to collect on the app’s U.S. users. In an update to the company’s U.S. privacy policy in June, TikTok added a new section that noted the app “may collect biometric identifiers […]
Vercel brings new dynamic features to its Next.js framework
Vercel, the well-funded company behind the popular Next.js React framework, today announced the launch of Next.js 12 during a keynote at its annual conference. While Next.js, by default, mostly focuses on helping developers build static sites, Next.js 12 introduces what Vercel calls ‘middleware’ that makes it easier for developers to provide users with personalized content. […]
Check out what’s happening tomorrow at TC Sessions: SaaS 2021
It’s officially TC Sessions: SaaS 2021 eve, and tomorrow is a big, busy day for everyone involved with or interested in building the next generation of SaaS startups. Top-line industry experts will cover vital SaaS topics — from fundraising and building to securing and scaling. You need a pass to SaaS: Buy your pass today […]
YouTube warns creators it will start to demonetize low-quality kids’ videos next month
YouTube says it will soon begin to demonetize some of the channels on its platform that market themselves as “made for kids” if the content they produce is low-quality, encourages negative behavior or attitudes, or is heavily commercial. The company had previously warned this sort of content would no longer be eligible for inclusion in […]
The Week In Games: Groot And His Pals Are Ready To Save The Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is out later this week on all major platforms. I’m excited to play it if only because the soundtrack seems great and I’m in the mood for a nice, single-player-only sci-fi action game. (A reminder that the Switch edition of the g…
Partner sessions are going all out at TC Sessions: SaaS 2021
TechCrunch events always offer a compelling mix of main stage presentations and smaller breakout sessions that allow more time for lots of questions and deeper discussions. Expect nothing less at TC Sessions: SaaS 2021 on October 27. We want to highlight these sessions we have on tap for you. Remember, TechCrunch partners don’t just cut […]
Ubisoft Brings Back Might and Magic Game They Shut Down In June
In May, Ubisoft took down some DRM servers that accidentally broke Might & Magic X – Legacy, to the point where the game had to be removed from shopfronts. A few months later, and probably after some folks had long assumed the game was simply dead,…