With President Biden announcing he’s no longer seeking reelection and the attempted assassination of former President Trump, it seems politics has ruled the news this week. But while chaos abounds politically, tech companies have continued to make decisions that affect our children.

Catch up on the news parents should know about with this week’s roundup.

CrowdStrike’s Tech Fail Exposes Our Digital Vulnerability 

A recent global software outage caused by a routine update from cybersecurity firm CrowStrike, disrupted countless systems, highlighting our dependency on interconnected technology.

Despite expectations of high-tech sabotage, the incident was triggered by a mundane software update, causing widespread chaos, grounding flights, and stranding travelers for days.

CrowdStrike’s slow response and lack of preemptive testing exacerbated the situation, underscoring vulnerabilities in our highly networked world and suggesting that future tech failures could lead to more severe consequences.

When Tech Fails, It Is Usually With a Whimper Instead of a Bang | The New York Times

Meta Unveils Llama 3

Meta has released its Llama 3 AI models, with the largest version featuring 405 billion parameters. 

This model excels in multilingual capabilities, computer coding, and complex math problems.

Llama 3 is an open source model already competitive with other leading models (and aims to surpass others by next year), which could undercut companies like OpenAI who have raised billions of dollars in funding for their paid AI services.

Meta unveils biggest Llama 3 AI model, touting language and math gains | Reuters

Spotify’s New Comment Section Sparks Concerns

Spotify’s introduction of comment sections under podcasts is stirring debate about potential risks, as the platform allows publishers to review and select comments for public viewing.

The feature aims to mimic YouTube’s comment system but could lead to harassment and predatory behavior, especially given Spotify’s political content.

Balancing user engagement with safety is an ongoing challenge, particularly for young listeners.

Spotify, Stop Trying to Become a Social Media App | Wired

AI: The Guardian of the Digital Playground

Artificial Intelligence is being harnessed to monitor and analyze online content, filtering harmful material to protect young users. 

Companies like Google and Facebook employ AI to scan millions of posts, images, and videos daily, ensuring digital spaces are safe for children. 

This proactive use of AI is crucial in keeping the internet a secure environment for kids.

AI Shields Kids By Revolutionizing Child Safety And Online Protection | Forbes

Girls Call for Urgent Digital Safety Reforms

A survey by CNN and Plan International found that 75% of girls aged 13-24 faced harmful online content, with 25% experiencing daily harassment.

Girls report receiving unwanted sexual images, facing discrimination, and feeling unsafe online.

About 61% of the girls say programs about digital literacy in schools would help support them, as well as stricter platform regulations, and improved mechanisms for reporting harassment.

Hundreds of girls say they face sexual harassment online. This is what they want to change | CNN

Senate Pushing Children’s Online Safety Bills This Week

The Senate is set to vote on the Kid’s Online Safety Act and the Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act, aiming to enhance online protections for minors.

These bills propose measures like giving parents more control over their children’s social media usage and prohibiting targeted advertising to kids.

This legislative push is significant as it represents a rare moment of bipartisan cooperation and addresses growing concerns about the mental health impacts of social media on younger users.

Senate to push forward with child online safety bills this week | NBC News

Other Headlines

• Instagram is adding expiring and semiprivate comments | The Verge

• Apple, Nvidia, Anthropic Used Thousands of Swiped YouTube Videos to Train AI | WIRED

• Fluffy Coke has millions of views, but is the marshmallow mess worth the hype? | ABC News

• What is TikTok Lite and why are experts accusing it of having a ‘double safety standard’? | Yahoo! News

Did we miss anything?

Let us know in the comments below.

Author Jackie Baucom

Jackie is a Gabb staff writer. She is the mother of four children and is passionate about keeping kids safe, happy, loved, and thriving. She has a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Utah.

Kid-safe. Parent-easy.

Shop Now