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new video loaded: Is Australia’s Social Media Ban for Kids a Good Idea?
By ‘HARD Fork’
December 23, 2025
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‘HARD Fork’
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What seems most likely: the law will not be rigidly enforced, as teen-agers and social-media companies figure out ways to circumvent the ban, but the social norm established by the law and its robust popularity among politicians and voters will lead to a significant downturn in social-media use by minors nonetheless. Not every fourteen-year-old is going to draw a moustache on their photograph or get a fake I.D.—and the law should be easier to enforce among younger kids, which may mean that in five or so years it will be rare to find a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old in Australia who has ever posted anything on social media.
This seems like a pretty good result—if you believe, as I do, that social media is obviously bad for children and adults alike. But it returns us to the question I posed at the start of this column, which has a particular relevance for Americans, who live in a country founded on the principle of free speech. The civil-libertarian argument against laws like the one that Australia has passed will probably win out in this country, if only because it happens to be aligned, in this case, with powerful domestic tech companies. That argument is simple, but bears repeating: we shouldn’t place arbitrary age limits on who gets to express themselves in the digital town square, and we shouldn’t require everyone who wants to express their opinions online to submit to an I.D. check. As a journalist, I’m also aware that, for many people, social media is a source of news. It may be a toxic and wildly imperfect alternative to legacy media, but I don’t think we should use government force to effectively reroute children to more traditional sources of information.
In my column on this subject two years ago, I compared the attempt to restrict social-media use to adults to earlier efforts to do something similar with tobacco. The remarkably successful fight against youth smoking did rely, in part, on a shift in social norms; it also depended on a variety of legal restrictions, and heavy taxation—and I did not, at the time, see what equivalent measures might be taken with social media. Ultimately, I thought it might just come down to parents holding the line.
I’m less pessimistic now. One of the recurring themes I discuss on “Time to Say Goodbye,” the podcast I host with the Atlantic’s Tyler Austin Harper, is what a good life looks like today. When politicians, especially liberal ones, discuss the society that they want to help bring into reality, what are the shared values that they imagine will hold people together? I’m not talking about kitchen-table issues, as important as they are, or even about tolerance and equality. What I have in mind is a vision of how Americans should live on a daily basis in a time when technology runs our lives. The Times columnist Ezra Klein addressed this recently in a piece about the “politics of attention” and the question of “human flourishing.” He concluded, “I don’t believe it will be possible for society to remain neutral on what it means to live our digital lives well.”
I ultimately agree with Klein that we will not be neutral forever, even if our courts make an Australia-like ban nearly impossible. But I have come to believe that, in the not too distant future, the concerns of crusty civil libertarians such as myself will be pushed aside, and a new set of social norms will emerge, especially in the middle and upper classes. The signs of this quiet revolution waged on behalf of internet-addicted children are already all around us. School districts around the country are banning phones from the classroom. “The Anxious Generation,” by Jonathan Haidt, which directly informed the new law in Australia, has been on the Times best-seller list for eighty-five weeks, and has inspired little acts of tech rebellion by parents around the country.
The nascent anti-smartphones movement in America is decidedly nonpartisan, for the most part, and this contributes to its potential and also to the vagueness of its outlines. It also has taken place almost entirely at the local and state level. More than thirty states in the country now have some form of cellphone ban in their schools, which should be applauded. I believe that teen-agers should have the right to post their opinions on social media, but I don’t think they need to do that in the middle of geometry class. If this means that First Amendment rights are further restricted in schools, that may be a compromise that free-speech absolutists have to accept.
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TikTok’s music influence hit an all-time high in 2025. All year long, a steady stream of new tracks exploded into viral trends, defining the sound of a generation. Fresh releases found second lives as dance challenges, meme soundtracks, and emotional anthems for millions of people.
It was a year where a single catchy hook or heartfelt lyric could spark a global movement overnight. From tear-jerking ballads to high-energy bops, TikTok’s community turned songs into cultural moments. The platform’s trends shaped what we listened to, proving once again that the For You page doubles as 2025’s hottest music chart!
The not-so-ordinary love anthem of 2025.
It’s ironic how a song called ‘Ordinary’ became the year’s most extraordinary viral hit. Alex Warren’s ‘Ordinary’ started as a tender love ballad he wrote for his wife, but TikTok sent it stratospheric. The track’s earnest lyrics about everyday romance struck a chord in countless relationship montages across the app. By summer, you couldn’t scroll your feed without hitting a heartfelt video of couples, friends, or even pets set to Warren’s soaring chorus. The song’s universality, “the angels up in the clouds are jealous,” he croons made it the perfect soundtrack for love in 2025.
Its popularity was unparalleled: ‘Ordinary’ topped the Billboard Hot 100 for ten straight weeks, fueled by millions of TikToks using its chorus as an audio backdrop. Warren, a former content creator himself, clearly understood TikTok’s pulse. We embraced him as 2025’s patron saint of sappy romance, while skeptics jokingly wondered how a YouTuber-turned-singer quietly dominated the charts. Love it or not, ‘Ordinary’ became the defining sound of young love this year: a wedding-worthy earworm that turned our feeds into one giant lovefest!
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The soulful slow-burn that TikTok turned into a global cry-fest.
Leave it to TikTok to catapult an R&B sleeper hit into the spotlight. Ravyn Lenae’s ‘Love Me Not’ dropped with a dreamy blend of retro-pop and indie vibes, but it truly caught fire when a creative TikToker mashed it up with Solange’s ‘Losing You.’ That unexpected mash-up became pure viral gold. Suddenly, ‘Love Me Not’ was the soundtrack to thousands of bittersweet montages: late-night drives, rain-soaked selfies, and “will they/won’t they” romance memes galore. The song’s chorus, an emotional tug-of-war of love and longing, had a way of making even silly videos feel touching.
TikTok’s Gen Z users turned Lenae’s heartfelt lyrics into a communal outpouring of feels, spawning a trend where creators shared stories of almost-relationships and unrequited crushes with the song swelling in the background. The emotional resonance was real: by mid-year, ‘Love Me Not’ had earned Lenae her first-ever spot on the Billboard Hot 100, cracking the top 25. Culturally, it hit that sweet spot between nostalgia and now. Here was a young R&B artist channeling vintage soul, and a new generation was crying and vibing in unison. In 2025, ‘Love Me Not’ proved that a TikTok trend can transform a slow-burn song into a worldwide cathartic sing-along.
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The friendship handshake heard ’round the world.
TikTok has seen its share of dance trends, but this year, a handshake trend stole the show, all thanks to PinkPantheress’s ‘Illegal.’ The UK alt-pop sensation dropped ‘Illegal’ as a quirky, electronic-infused single, and it quickly fueled the global “Is this illegal?” handshake challenge. Besties everywhere learned the syncopated secret handshake (set perfectly to PinkPantheress’s hypnotic beat) and flooded TikTok with videos showing off their newfound duo skills. The trend’s wholesome twist, celebrating friendship and borderline mischief, resonated across cultures. From high school hallways in the US to friend groups in Tokyo, everyone was bonding over this track!
With over 3.7 million TikTok creations and counting, ‘Illegal’ became the friendship anthem of 2025. It even earned PinkPantheress her second appearance on the Hot 100, proving the song’s impact beyond the app. Emotionally, ‘Illegal’ struck a chord by tapping into that giddy, rebellious energy of doing something silly with your BFF. In a year when online trends often felt divisive, this one brought people together… one elaborate handshake at a time. PinkPantheress’s airy vocals and the track’s tongue-in-cheek title made it irresistibly memeable. ‘Illegal’ wasn’t just a viral song; it became a secret handshake that united everyone around the world (even celebrities).
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The DIY glow-up jam that had everyone transforming.
Emerging Atlanta rapper BunnaB unleashed pure TikTok lightning with ‘Mad Again,’ a high-energy track that went from underground to unavoidable. How did it blow up? Two words: transformation videos. Creators on TikTok seized ‘Mad Again’ as the go-to soundtrack for their before-and-after glow-ups; think makeup transitions, room makeovers, and dramatic hair-dye reveals synced to the beat drop. The result? An explosion of ultra-satisfying content, each clip more addictive than the last. The song’s bold, confident hook also inspired a surprise secondary trend: a sign language challenge. Creators who are deaf and allies translated ‘Mad Again’ into expressive ASL performances, showcasing inclusivity in a way TikTok hadn’t seen before!
This one-two punch of visual trends launched ‘Mad Again’ into the viral stratosphere. By summertime, millions of TikToks featured the track, and BunnaB found herself with a breakout hit on her hands. The cultural resonance was big: here was a fierce female rapper (yep, BunnaB’s a woman killing it in a male-dominated scene) whose song empowered people to show off their transformations and personal growth. The track’s pounding bass and sassy lyrics became synonymous with confidence and change in 2025. If you flipped your look or your outlook this year, chances are ‘Mad Again’ was playing in the background, hyping you up for that reveal.
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The K-Pop fantasy banger that blurred fiction and reality.
When a fictional K-Pop band from an animated film scores a real-life hit, you know TikTok is involved. ‘Golden’ by HUNTR/X, a glossy K-Pop/R&B hybrid track from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters, transcended the screen and took on a life of its own. TikTok users globally couldn’t resist its charm. Multiple dance trends popped up, inspired by the movie’s choreography and the song’s impossible-not-to-dance hook. From teens showing off K-Pop moves to dads and kids dancing together after family movie night, ‘Golden’ turned into a cross-generational phenomenon. The track’s signature high note became a viral challenge in itself, with singers (and plenty of non-singers) attempting to nail it on camera.
Within days of the film’s release, ‘Golden’ was dominating not just TikTok but also Spotify and YouTube charts! A collaboration featuring real artists Audrey Nuna and EJAE, the song blurred the line between fiction and reality… and we ate it up. Creators used it for everything from outfit glow-up videos to celebratory montages, because its uplifting vibe instantly boosted any content. Emotionally, ‘Golden’ hit that feel-good spot; it’s joyous, inclusive, and just meta enough (a fictional band trending in real life!) to feel like a moment in pop culture history. By year’s end, HUNTR/X’s debut bop proved that in 2025, even cartoon pop stars can top the charts with a little help from TikTok.
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The Puerto Rican heartbreak anthem that had TikTok in tears.
In a year full of bops, Bad Bunny reminded everyone that a soft, nostalgic ballad can still rule TikTok. ‘DtMF,’ shorthand for Debí Tirar Más Fotos (“I should’ve taken more photos”), emerged as the most unexpectedly emotional viral trend of 2025. The song’s lyrics, where Bad Bunny laments not capturing enough memories with a lost loved one, struck a universal nerve. TikTokers began using ‘DtMF’ to soundtrack tribute videos, sharing personal montages of grandparents, parents, pets, and friends they’d lost. Suddenly, our feeds were filled with cherished snapshots and clips, each one more heart-tugging than the last. The trend became a communal space to grieve and celebrate life: a rare, tender moment on the internet.
Even Bad Bunny himself couldn’t stay dry-eyed: he posted a TikTok reacting to fans’ tributes, tears streaming as he watched their stories. That raw connection fueled ‘DtMF’ to juggernaut status. It quickly became the most-streamed song off his new album and climbed into TikTok’s top sounds. Culturally, the impact was huge! At a time when social media often feels shallow, this trend had millions openly discussing love and loss. Users commented about calling their abuela or saving more pictures; proof of music turning reflection into action. By blending Bad Bunny’s star power with genuine fan storytelling, ‘DtMF’ turned TikTok into a platform for healing in 2025. Grab the tissues…this one will be remembered as the song that made the internet collectively cry (in a good way).
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The cheeky pop blockbuster that had everyone knocking on wood.
Leave it to Taylor Swift to drop a song so provocatively fun that TikTok couldn’t help but blush… and dance. ‘Wood,’ a standout track from her 2025 album The Life of a Showgirl, is arguably Taylor’s most ahem adult song to date. Fueled by innuendo about her beau’s “new heights of manhood” and a tongue-in-cheek “I ain’t got to knock on wood” hook, the song set the internet abuzz from day one. TikTokers wasted no time spinning it into a viral knock-on-wood dance challenge, complete with a playful tap-tap gesture on the lyric cue. Suddenly, everyone from college kids to actual carpenters (seriously) were posting videos, playfully knocking on tables, doors, and yes, wooden boards in sync with Taylor’s sultry chorus.
The trend’s humor and boldness felt so 2025: a celebration of owning one’s sexuality and having a laugh about it. Culturally, ‘Wood’ resonated as part of the Taylor-Travis Kelce love story that pop culture obsessively followed. Fans gushed that Swift seemed happier and more empowered than ever, and they channeled that energy into TikTok skits quoting her spicy lyrics. Swifties turned cheeky lines into captions (cue the magic wand jokes) and shared their shock-and-delight reactions to Taylor’s bold new era. By dominating conversation and spawning countless memes, ‘Wood’ proved that a well-crafted pop song can be both a chart-topper and a TikTok trendsetter! Taylor gave 2025 a song equal parts sexy and playful, and we said amen.
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Gen Z’s existential pop mood, wrapped in a TikTok trend.
Jessie Murph delivered a late-year viral gem with ‘Certain Kind of Love,’ a song that turned one candid lyric into a TikTok catchphrase. The track’s pop-rock energy is amazing on its own, but it was the line “I don’t see a world where I turn 25” that set off a firestorm. Young TikTokers seized on those words, half-joking and half-emoting about the classic quarter-life crisis feels. In a trend equal parts dark humor and heartfelt yearning, creators would lip-sync that lyric and showcase their wildest dreams or chaotic life plans before the dreaded 25th birthday. Others made vision board-style videos, proclaiming they will see 25, complete with images of future goals, as Jessie’s anthem blared in the background.
The dual interpretations made the trend fascinating: some played it for laughs (“YOLO, who needs 26?”) while others found motivation in it. Either way, Murph’s raw, youthful vocals became the sound of Gen Z’s hopes and fears in 2025. The song itself, with its sparkling production and emo-pop vibe, resonated emotionally because it encapsulates that in-between feeling of being young and uncertain about the future. Culturally, ‘Certain Kind of Love’ gave voice to a generation’s anxiety, and did it in a way that was oddly uplifting. As the song climbed streaming charts (buoyed by TikTok exposure), it proved that sometimes one powerful lyric is all it takes to spark a movement. Jessie Murph went from a rising singer to the patron saint of “live in the moment” youth, and we couldn’t stop humming along!
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The animated movie’s OST that had everyone doing the Shakira shimmy.
If you thought soundtracks were safe from TikTok’s grasp, think again. Shakira’s ‘Zoo,’ from Disney’s Zootopia 2, pounced onto the scene and immediately took over TikTok. With its signature Shakira bounce and irresistible rhythm, ‘Zoo’ has that universal appeal that makes people nod along…or better yet, jump up to mimic her moves. As the film hit cinemas, TikTok was flooded with clips of fans attempting the ‘Zoo’ dance. From expertly choreographed renditions to adorably clumsy first tries, creators worldwide got in on the fun. One day you’d see a Colombian dance crew nailing Shakira’s hip drops; the next, a suburban dad giving it his best shot in the living room. The hashtag #ZooDance trended in multiple countries as Shakira’s track united all ages in a celebratory shimmy.
Culturally, this song’s virality was a real full-circle moment: Shakira had given us a TikTok smash back in 2016 with ‘Try Everything,’ and here she was again, reminding us she’s still the queen of soundtrack pop. The emotional uplift of ‘Zoo’ was impossible to resist; it’s pure joy in musical form, arriving just when 2025 needed it. TikTok users used the song not only for dance challenges but to soundtrack zoo outings (of course), fitness routines, and any content needing a jolt of fun energy. Shakira even interacted with fans doing the challenge, further fueling the hype. By year’s end, ‘Zoo’ wasn’t just a song from a movie; it was a global TikTok party. When Shakira yells “Come on, get on up” in the chorus, you best believe millions are dancing like animated animals set free!
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The hype rap bop that brought mosh-pit energy to our feeds.
Every year needs a no-holds-barred banger, and in 2025, it was ‘Whim Whamiee.’ This collab between rappers Pluto & YK Niece came out of left field and promptly took over TikTok with its chaotic, high-octane vibe. The track itself is two minutes of pure adrenaline, and TikTokers treated it like a rallying cry. Dance crews, gym rats, and party-goers all jumped on a trend of showcasing insane energy whenever ‘Whim Whamiee’ played. We’re talking college students turning dorm halls into impromptu mosh pits and choreographers bringing full-out hip-hop routines to the app. The song’s rapid-fire lyrics turned into a lip-sync challenge only the bold (or breathless) would attempt, while its bass drops fueled countless “hype me up” memes.
By mid-summer, ‘Whim Whamiee’ had the whole platform on its feet (literally). The frenzy propelled the song to #5 on TikTok’s own summer chart in the US, and its popularity spilled over to streaming services. Perhaps the biggest sign of its impact? Two of music’s heavy hitters, Lizzo and Sexyy Red, jumped on official remixes, dropping their own verses to ride the wave. We went wild at the co-sign: seeing A-listers vibing to a TikTok-made hit felt like vindication for internet culture. ‘Whim Whamiee’ resonated because it was pure fun: a little unhinged, a lot catchy, and totally participatory! In a year where many viral songs tugged at our heartstrings, this one was all about letting loose. It turned TikTok into a virtual nightclub where anyone could be the life of the party. And if you ask us, Pluto and YK Niece won 2025’s award for the most insane glow-up; from obscurity to everybody’s hype soundtrack, no VIP pass needed!
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What’s been your favorite viral track of 2025? Let us know all your thoughts in the comments below or over on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
Want more trending music? Check here!
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That’s the word U.S. Geological Survey volcanic experts used to describe a muddy eruption at Black Diamond Pool in Yellowstone National Park on Saturday morning.
Video shared by the USGS on social media shows mud spraying up and out from the pool just before 9:23 a.m. in Biscuit Basin about midway between park favorites Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic.
Other recent eruptions have mostly been audible and not visible, because they happened either at night or when the camera was obscured by ice.
The agency said the Black Diamond Pool was previously the site of a hydrothermal explosion, in July 2024, that sent rocks and mud flying hundreds of feet high and damaged a boardwalk. It prompted the closure of the area to visitors due to the damage and the potential for additional hazardous activity.
So-called dirty eruptions reaching up to 40 feet (about 12 meters) have occurred sporadically since then.
Researchers installed a new camera and a seismic and acoustic monitoring station this summer, and they say the instruments, along with temperature sensors maintained by the Yellowstone National Park Geology Program, can better detect and characterize the eruptions.
The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory webcam at Black Diamond Pool didn’t disappoint Saturday.
“We got a nice clear view of one of these dirty eruptions under bright blue skies with the surroundings covered in snow (ah, winter in Yellowstone!),” USGS Volcanoes said on social media, noting that it was a great example of the kind of activity that has been happening at the spot over the past 19 months.
Experts say there is no real pattern to the eruptions at the pool and no precursors.
Park officials say Yellowstone preserves the most extraordinary collection of hot springs, geysers, mud pots and fumaroles on Earth. More than 10,000 hydrothermal features are found within the park, over 500 of them geysers.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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A former Brown University student shot and killed two students and injured nine other people Dec. 13 at the Rhode Island school, according to authorities.
At a late-night press briefing five days later, police identified Claudio Manuel Neves Valente as the gunman. The 48-year-old Portuguese national — who attended the school in 2000 and 2001 — was found dead in a New Hampshire storage facility. Neves Valente is also suspected in the Dec. 15 killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor, they said.
But in the days before authorities named Neves Valente, prominent right-wing influencers and some social media users baselessly blamed a current Brown student: Mustapha Kharbouch, a Palestinian man studying international affairs and anthropology.
An X account with the handle @0hour1 shared Kharbouch’s name and photo on Dec. 15, and posted Kharbouch’s picture alongside a police-issued photo of the shooting suspect. The posts racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Others latched on to Kharbouch’s name and the two photos, falsely stating that police had identified him as the shooting suspect, or that his “gait” matched the suspect’s. Many prominent accounts noticed that Brown University websites that mentioned Kharbouch seemed to have been taken down, fueling unfounded allegations against the university. It’s unclear when the pages were removed.
End Wokeness, an X account with nearly 4 million followers, asked in a post that has been deleted, “Umm, why did @BrownUniversity just scrub its entire website of Mustapha Kharbouch (Free Palestine, LGBTQ activist)?”
Conservative influencers Benny Johnson and Laura Loomer flagged the deleted web pages for their millions of followers and raised questions about the university’s activities. Conservative pundit Jack Posobiec claimed on X that a source told him “Providence Police are indeed looking into the student whose online presence was scrubbed today.”
Social media users often rush to fill the void when answers are lacking after a tragedy, with many people — including elected officials — sharing unverified information. In some cases, it’s helpful; authorities said a Reddit post forwarded to a Providence Police tip line led them to Neves Valente.
But sharing names and photos of an unverified suspect can endanger an innocent person.
Kharbouch’s legal team said they faced questions from authorities and that the student received death threats from strangers.
Kharbouch was the target of a “disturbing, racist and hateful campaign” to tie him to the shooting, lawyers with the advocacy groups the Clear Project and Muslim Advocates said in a statement.
“Mustapha is a beloved and exemplary member of the Brown University community, an exceptional student, and an engaged citizen of the world,” the statement said.
The attorneys said they responded to law enforcement inquiries about his whereabouts on the day of the shooting.
Kharbouch, in the statement, called what he went through “an unimaginable nightmare.” He said he woke up on Dec. 16 to “unfounded, vile, Islamophobic, and anti-Palestinian accusations” and received “non-stop death threats and hate speech.”
At a Dec. 16 news conference, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha cautioned against speculating about the shooting suspect’s identity. He didn’t mention Kharbouch by name, but alluded to rumors about the student.
Neronha said there are many reasons a webpage might be taken down. “If that name meant anything to this investigation, we would be out looking for that person, we will let you know we are looking for that person,” he said.
In a press briefing after Neves Valente was found, Rhode Island State Police Supt. Darnell Weaver criticized the online activity.
“Criminal investigations are grounded in evidence, not speculation or online commentary,” he said at the Dec. 18 briefing. “The endless barrage of misinformation, disinformation, rumors, leaks and clickbait were not helpful in this investigation.”
Neronha’s office and the Providence Police Department didn’t respond to PolitiFact’s questions about Kharbouch. But a press release, affidavit and arrest warrant released Dec. 19 mentioned only Neves Valente — not Kharbouch.
Brown University spokesperson Brian Clark said in a statement to PolitiFact that Brown had seen “harmful doxxing activity directed toward at least one member of the Brown University community.”
The statement called the “accusations, speculation and conspiracies” about the student “irresponsible” and “in some cases dangerous.”
“It is not unusual as a safety measure to take steps to protect an individual’s safety when this kind of activity happens, including in regard to their online presence,” the statement said.
Brown University President Christina Paxson expressed relief that authorities found the person responsible for the killings.
“This week has been devastating for our community in a number of ways, including the experiences that members of our community have had with being targeted by online rumors and accusations, and I hope this development also means an end to this truly troubling activity,” she said at the Dec. 18 news conference.
Some of the prominent social media accounts later acknowledged Kharbouch wasn’t the suspect after Neves Valente’s death, but they weren’t exactly apologetic.
“I never said it was you. I said you fit the description based on YouTube videos for tips” @0hour1posted Dec. 19 on X. “Good luck in your life.”
Social media posts claimed that Karbouch was a suspect in the Dec. 13 shooting that killed two students.
Authorities never publicly named Karbouch as a suspect and dismissed speculation about him in a Dec. 16 press briefing. On Dec. 18, they said Claudio Manuel Neves Valente was the shooter and that they believe he acted alone.
We rate claims that authorities identified Karbouch as a suspect in the case False.
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Social media users shared purported photos of President Donald Trump and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with young women, but these images weren’t released by the House Committee on Oversight.
The images, which resemble Polaroid photos, appear to show Trump hugging a young woman wearing only underwear and another with her wearing a bathrobe. Other photos show Epstein laying down and posing with a young woman in a white outfit.
“The Epstein photo dump has been released,” says the Dec. 12 X post.
Another X post reads, “Not AI, not photoshopped, just an old photo taken from the Epstein archives. There’s a special place in Hell.”
Other users on Instagram, Facebook and Threads also shared the photos as early as Dec. 9.
(Screenshot from X post.)
But there are signs these photos were, in fact, generated using artificial intelligence tools.
In the image on the top left, the young woman appears to be missing an arm.
In that same image, Trump’s nose looks different from other old images of him, and part of his face is missing.
Epstein’s arm in the top right image is darker than the rest of his body.
In the bottom right image, Epstein is missing an eye.
In a fuller version of the images posted on Threads, some of Trump’s fingers are missing in the bottom left image.
PolitiFact found no credible news reports about these images. Instead, we found other fact-checkers saying they are fake.
We also didn’t find them in released documents from Epstein’s estate by members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Both the committee and, separately, its Democratic minority members have released thousands of photos and documents from Epstein’s estate since September. The Justice Department began releasing more documents Dec. 19 to comply with the deadline set in a law Trump signed.
While these images aren’t real,Trump has appeared in other Epstein related photos, including some published by Oversight Committee Democrats on Dec. 12; Trump has not been connected to Epstein’s crimes.
Since these images aren’t real, we rate this claim Pants on Fire!
RELATED: Fact-checking falsehoods about Epstein’s client list, island and involvement with Trump
RELATED: ‘We have nothing to hide.’ How Donald Trump shifted on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files
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TikTok has reached a deal to cede a substantial portion of its U.S. operation to a group of American investors, thus ending a years-long tussle in which the federal government has sought to force the platform to do just that.
The new partnership is described as a “new TikTok U.S. joint venture” in an internal memo from ByteDance CEO Shou Chew, which was viewed by TechCrunch.
That arrangement will see major American investors take over significant control of the U.S.-based business. The newly formed investor group includes cloud giant Oracle, the tech-focused private equity firm Silverlake, and MGX, an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm focused on AI. Together, those companies will own 45% of the U.S. operation, while ByteDance retains a nearly 20% share, the memo states. The new entity formed by this partnership has been dubbed “TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.”
That new entity will be responsible for overseeing the app, including data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance, the memo states. “A trusted security partner will be responsible for auditing and validating compliance with the agreed upon National Security Terms, and Oracle will be the trusted security partner upon completion of the transaction,” the document says.
The closing date for the deal is listed as January 22, 2026. The news was originally reported by Axios.
Much of the deal, as it has been described in the memo, parallels the language in an executive order signed by President Trump in September. That memo similarly approved the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American investor group. CNBC previously reported that Oracle, Silverlake, and MGX would be the primary investors in the deal. Until now, ByteDance had not divulged details of such a deal, except to say that it would abide by U.S. law to ensure that TikTok remained available to U.S. users.
The U.S. government has long sought to cleave TikTok’s U.S.-based business away from its Chinese parent company, espousing national security concerns as the rationale.
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TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. business to three American investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the United States
SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok has signed a deal to sell its U.S. business to three American investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the United States.
The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, according to an internal memo seen by The Associated Press. CEO Shou Zi Chew said in the memo that ByteDance and TikTok have signed binding agreements with the three investors.
The new TikTok U.S. joint venture will be 50% held by a consortium of new investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX with 15% each. Another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors and 19.9% will be retained by ByteDance, according to the memo.
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Helping teens develop healthy habits around social media use and screen time is important when they first receive a smartphone. Pediatric psychologist Ann-Louise Lockhart, an Instagram brand spokesperson and author of the new book “Love the Teen You Have,” joins “CBS Mornings” to share some advice and tools, such as Instagram Teen Accounts, that parents can use to help their teens. For more information on Instagram Teen Accounts, visit familycenter.meta.com. (Sponsored by Instagram)
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MOSCOW, Dec 18 (Reuters) – A Russian ban on U.S. gaming platform Roblox has fuelled debate among some children and parents about censorship and the utility of bans in a world where children can bypass limits with a few clicks.
Russia’s communications watchdog Roskomnadzor said on December 3 it had blocked access to Roblox because it was “rife with inappropriate content”, spread extremist and LGBT propaganda and was popular with paedophiles.
In wartime Russia, censorship is extensive and Moscow blocks or restricts social media platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube while presenting its own narrative through social media and Russian media.
But the ban on Roblox has hit a nerve, leading to a small rally in the Siberian city of Tomsk at which protesters held banners reading “Hands off Roblox” and “Roblox is the victim of the digital Iron Curtain”.
A Roblox spokesperson said in an emailed comment to Reuters that the company was ready “to temporarily limit communication features in Russia and to revise our content moderation processes to address the legal requirements necessary to restore our community’s access to the platform.”
“Roblox intends to continue dialogue with Roskomnadzor as access to the platform is restored, including discussions around additional compliance measures that may be considered over time,” the spokesperson said.
Roblox says on its website that it provides “rigorous built-in protections to help keep users safe” and seeks to “create a secure, age-appropriate environment for every user.”
‘A WINDOW ON A WORLD OF GAMES’
Russian officials, at odds with the West over the war in Ukraine, say censorship is needed to defend against a Western “information war” and what they cast as decadent Western culture that undermines “traditional” Russian values.
For many young Russians, Roblox was a window onto a vast world of games and potential friends around the globe. The Kremlin, without providing details, says it has received correspondence about the Roblox ban from many young people.
“I don’t consider it’s worth blocking Roblox,” 14-year-old Polina Gerina told Reuters in Moscow. “It was so much fun.”
Her sisters, 11-year-old Darya and seven-year-old Yekaterina, also said they played on the Roblox platform.
“I think children will still find a way around,” Darya Gerina said. “There have been blocks on other apps, and we have found a way around to use them, so I think children will find a way around and continue playing.”
Many Russians use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to get around digital censorship. Hundreds of VPNs have been banned this year but new ones appear, prompting some young Russians to ask why authorities ban apps or sites that can be easily accessed, and why there are few Russian alternatives to them.
CONCERNS OVER ‘CIRCUMVENTION OF BLOCKAGES’
Some proponents of tough limits on what can be accessed by children also have concerns about both the security of VPNs and the impact of widespread circumvention of state rules.
“How many children have downloaded a three-letter app (geocoding system) in the last few days after the game was banned?” asked Yekaterina Mizulina, director of the Safe Internet League censorship organisation.
Mizulina, who has had sanctions imposed on her by the European Union for enforcing Russian censorship, said some young people wanted to leave Russia because of the Roblox ban.
She said “the mass circumvention of blockages also forms a generally dismissive attitude towards government decisions.”
Maria Gerina, whose three daughters played on the Roblox platform, said she did not back a ban but would like assurances over the monitoring of apps for inappropriate content and contacts, and that there should be alternatives.
“If it will be controlled somehow and people will follow what is going on specially, then I would feel calmer as a mother when my children are playing,” she said.
“But I do not think a full ban will resolve the problem – if there is no Roblox, then there will be something else.”
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.
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Immigration authorities must provide detained activist Jeanette Vizguerra with a bail hearing in the next week, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in Denver.
The order offers an avenue for potential temporary release for Vizguerra, an immigrant without proper legal status who has spent nine months in federal immigration detention.
The activist was arrested in March and has been fighting efforts by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and deport her ever since. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Nina Wang requires that authorities give Vizguerra the opportunity to seek a temporary release before an immigration judge in Aurora’s detention center by Christmas Eve.
Her hearing is currently set for Friday morning, according to one of her attorneys, Laura Lichter.
If granted bail, Vizguerra would be released from detention while her immigration case continues to wind its way through the courts. Because Vizguerra is fighting her deportation both in federal court and in immigration court, it will likely be “many months or even years” before her case is fully resolved, Wang said.
The Mexico-born activist has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and has repeatedly fought attempts to deport her, though she accepted a voluntary departure in 2011. During the first Trump administration, she sought shelter in a Denver church and was named by TIME as one of the most influential people of 2017. She left the church’s sanctuary and was given reprieves by ICE.
But early in Trump’s second term, she was arrested in March in what her attorneys have argued was an intentional effort to detain and deport her because of advocacy that’s protected by the First Amendment. Her detention was celebrated by ICE on social media, and one agent allegedly told her, “We finally got you.”
In Wednesday’s order, Wang said Vizguerra’s allegations that she was targeted specifically because of her speech raised “serious due process concerns.”
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WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Wednesday that he will resign from the bureau next month, ending a brief and tumultuous tenure in which he clashed with the Justice Department over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and was forced to reconcile the realities of his law enforcement job with provocative claims he made in his prior role as a popular podcast host.
The departure, which had been expected, would be among the highest-profile resignations of the Trump administration. It comes as FBI leadership has been buffeted by criticism over Director Kash Patel’s use of a government plane for personal purposes and social media posts about active investigations.
Bongino was always an unconventional pick for the No. 2 job at the FBI, a position that historically has entailed oversight of the bureau’s day-to-day operations and typically has been held by a career agent. Though he had previously worked as a New York City police officer and Secret Service agent, neither he nor Patel had any experience at the FBI before being picked for their jobs.
Nonetheless, Bongino was installed in the role in March by President Donald Trump after years as a far-right podcast host, where he used his platform to repeatedly rail against the FBI and to encourage conspiracy theories related to the Epstein sex-trafficking case and pipe bombs discovered in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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In a new experiment, Meta is limiting the number of links users can post on Facebook, unless they have a paid Meta Verified subscription.
Over the last week, several users have spotted Meta’s test, which impacts link posting. Social media strategist Matt Navvara noted that users part of the test can only post two links unless they pay for a Meta Verified subscription, which starts from $14.99 per month.
According to the screenshot posted by Navarra, users can still post affiliate links, comments, and links to Meta platform posts, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The company confirmed the test to TechCrunch and said it impacts those people using professional mode and Facebook Pages. Professional mode lets you convert your personal profile into a creator profile while making your content eligible for discovery by a wider audience.
“This is a limited test to understand whether the ability to publish an increased volume of posts with links adds additional value for Meta Verified subscribers,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.
This would directly impact creators and brands posting links from their blogs or other platforms to reach a wider audience.
The company said it is trying to learn how it can add more value to Meta Verified subscribers, and this test is one such experiment to enhance that paid plan. The company added that, at the moment, publishers are not included in this test. It also said that users can still post links in comments, and they are not impacted by the limit.
In its transparency report for Q3, Meta said that more than 98% views on the feed in the U.S. come from the posts that don’t have any links. It is not clear if this signal pushed the company to experiment with limits on link sharing, however. The company said that the majority of the 1.9% of views of posts with links came from a page they followed. Linked posts shared by friends and groups were minimal.
The same report noted that YouTube and TikTok, along with GoFundMe, were the top domains amid the links posted. With the new link posting limit test, creators and brands would be forced to post content from other Meta platforms if they reached their limit, or stop posting altogether if they didn’t want to pay for a subscription.
As AI has taken over the internet, there is an ever-raging debate about the link-based web. AI summary and search have impacted the publishing industry negatively. In the past few years, social networks like X have toyed with demoting linked posts to encourage users to post content on the platforms natively.
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Still studies have shown that women do face extra barriers to visibility on social media.
A paper published in Nature Communications this year looked at academics self-promoting their work on X, and found that women did it 28 per cent less than men. As the authors note, research from other areas already tells us that women have learned to stay quiet about their achievements, partly because of the “adverse reactions” when they do speak out.
This mix of reticence and culturally imposed silence is potentially a huge barrier to success on LinkedIn, a place chock-full of self-promoters (who are, indeed, mostly men).
Whatever the truth behind the drop in women’s visibility, the campaigners make timely points. LinkedIn is overdue a change or challenge.
Microsoft bought it for US$26.2 billion in 2016, yet not much has improved in the user experience. I like the platform, but even for a technologically challenged Gen Xer, it is retro and clunky.
The torching of civility elsewhere on social media handed LinkedIn a golden ticket. It’s a place where you have to say who you really are – and consequently, people usually have polite conversations.
Yes, it can be a bit dull. But as AI-generated posts take over many social feeds, it’s likely that users who post human stories about our lives, as well as our work, will increasingly get sifted to the top.
My best-performing LinkedIn content in 2025? A video I shot on the phone while hiding in a ladies’ bathroom at the office, feeling very sorry for myself: 150,000 views.
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When you think of a chief financial officer, you’re probably imagining spreadsheets and revenue models rather than influencer collabs and viral videos. But for many CFOs these days, especially at consumer-facing companies, the importance of social media can’t be ignored. Brands are built, customers are wooed and sales are made on apps like TikTok and Instagram—platforms which number-crunchers ignore at their own peril.
It’s notable, then, that of the five executives who landed on Inc.’s 2025 “Entrepreneurial CFOS of the Year” list, the three who hail from consumer product companies—Therabody’s Jim Allwein, Poppi’s Joshua Gittler and Nourish’s John McGrath—all have nuanced and clear-sighted perspectives on how social marketing meshes with their financial strategies.
“There is a direct correlation between our social presence, our community mentions, and the commercial performance,” says Allwein, CFO at the wellness tech company Therabody, which has built a 1.1 million follower count on Instagram and a strong foothold among influencers while also securing double-digit revenue growth. Pointing to the company’s ongoing relationship with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, he adds that the company sees “measurable spikes in sales and site visits and so forth [from] partnering with Josh.”
Allwein cites an internal metric that Therabody tracks called ROMI, or “return on marketing investments,” as allowing the company to measure the upside of their social media strategies, and pivot strategies accordingly.
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“You can instantly see if there’s results … so we can then take monies and shift them around based on what’s performing well,” he explains. “That would even be at a SKU level or a search level. It’s pretty powerful, and we track that daily.”
Gittler—CFO at the Gen Z-friendly, better-for-you soda startup Poppi, which PepsiCo acquired earlier this year for almost $2 billion—says that having a strong online presence has helped his company build a strong consumer base, too, which in turn leads to material upsides such as faster sales conversions or getting granted more shelf space by retailers.
Part of his job as CFO, then, is to help budget for Poppi’s marketing efforts and then use KPIs to track success.
“You can’t really assign perfectly a dollar value to one follow or one viral video, but you can have ways to measure the impact of those moments on the full funnel,” he says. At Poppi, that includes equating spikes in online chatter with pops in sales quantity, repeat purchases or household penetration. “It helps to strengthen our earned media flywheel, and it also helps to lower our reliance on paid spend because… those dollars are working so much harder for us.”
So did Poppi’s strong online following—over 800,000 on TikTok, plus another 615,000 on Instagram—help close their multi-billion-dollar exit? Gittler demures, noting that he can’t speak for Pepsi, but says the acquisitive soda giant was complementary of Poppi’s social media efforts and that the brand’s pickup among Gen Z was a “meaningful” part of negotiations.
For McGrath, CFO of the telehealth nutrition startup Nourish, social media offers a key pipeline for growing the emerging telehealth market. Somewhere between 150 and 200 million Americans would benefit from seeing a registered dietitian, but only a fraction of them are having their needs met, he explains; social media offers a way to reach them.
It’s working, too. Nourish has 66,000 followers on Instagram and 45,000 on TikTok, which is more than you might expect of a health services company. That’s on top of hitting unicorn status earlier this year through a $70 million Series B.
Nourish sets defined thresholds, McGrath explains, where the company looks to bring back a certain return on each marketing dollar it invests. That benchmark is based on a target 3x ratio of LTV to CAC, or lifetime value to customer acquisition cost, as well as payback period, or how long it takes to recoup marketing spend and break even. The marketing team’s mandate is to get as many patients as they can within that constraint, he adds.
Of course, your social media presence will have a low ceiling if what you’re offering isn’t any good—so make sure you have a clear product value prop, the telehealth CFO advises.
“If you’re solving an acute pain point in a way that is differentiated from the market, it’s kind of like [an] ‘If you build it, they will come’ type of thing,” he says. “So much of it comes down to just, build a great product and service and the rest will take care of itself. It’s less about focusing on engagement or followers for the sake of engagement or followers.”
Allwein, Gittler and McGrath were recognized by Inc. as Best in Business Entrepreneurial CFOs of 2025 alongside Jonathan Carr of the cybersecurity firm Armis and Gina Mastantuono of the enterprise software company ServiceNow.
The final deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, December 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.
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Brian Contreras
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Social media platform Reddit on Friday launched a legal challenge against Australia’s social media ban for under 16s.
Under the law, which took effect on Wednesday, people under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to have their own accounts on 10 major social media platforms including Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube.
In a High Court filing, Reddit argued the ban infringed on free political speech and posed privacy risks.
In a post on the platform, Reddit said it took youth safety online seriously and the court action was not an attempt to avoid compliance.
“That said, we believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth.”
The new law had “the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors,” the company said.
It would isolate teens from being able to engage in age-appropriate community experiences and create “an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit added.
The law was applied to Reddit inaccurately, the company said.
“Unlike other platforms included under this law, the vast majority of Redditors are adults, we don’t market or target advertising to children under 18, and had an age rating of ’17+’ in the Apple App Store prior to the law.”
Reddit said there were more targeted, “privacy-preserving measures” to protect young people online without resorting to blanket bans.
Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler accused Reddit of putting profit over safety.
“Across our history, when our governments have taken strong action to protect citizens against highly addictive, highly damaging products, they’ve usually been challenged in the courts by the companies that profit most from them,” he said.
“But the idea that this is some action by Reddit to protect the political freedoms of young people is a complete crock.”
The government would “fight this action every step of the way,” Butler said.
“It’s action we saw time and time again by Big Tobacco against tobacco control, and we’re seeing it now by some social media or big tech giants taken against these world leading social media reforms that are going to do so much to improve the social skills, the learning skills, and, importantly, the mental health of young Australians.”
Butler said other governments and communities around the world were watching Australia as the first country in the world to impose such a ban.
“They want it to be a success, and if it is a success, I’m very confident they’ll follow seat and take the same sorts of actions to protect their young citizens as well.”
The regulation, passed with the support of almost all major parties in parliament at the end of 2024, aims to protect young people from risks such as cyberbullying, problematic consumption and distressing content.
Affected companies were given a year to introduce age verification measures, and violations will result in hefty fines of up to $49.5 million Australian ($33 million).
Messaging services such as WhatsApp, email, online games and educational offerings are exempt.
Numerous teenagers reported that their accounts were still active after the law came into force, or that they had managed to circumvent the regulation on its first day.
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MELBOURNE, Australia — Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia’s world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world’s most popular social media platforms.
California-based Reddit Inc.’s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project.
Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia’s implied freedom of political communication.
“We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law carries some serious privacy and political expression issues for everyone on the internet,” Reddit said in a statement.
“While we agree with the importance of protecting people under 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government declined to comment on the merits of Reddit’s challenge.
“The Albanese government is on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms,” a government statement said.
“We will stand firm to protect young Australians from experiencing harm on social media. The matter is before the courts so it is not appropriate to comment further,” the statement added.
Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the law’s enforcer, sent compulsory information notices to the 10 age-restricted platforms on Thursday demanding data on how many accounts of young children they had deactivated since the law took effect on Wednesday.
Inman Grant had predicted that some platforms might have been waiting to receive their first notice or their first fine for noncompliance before mounting a legal challenge.
ESafety will send six monthly notices to gauge how effectively the platforms are complying.
Despite the court challenge, Reddit said it would comply with the law and would continue to engage with eSafety.
The platforms’ age-verification options were to ask for copies of identification documents, use a third party to apply age-estimation technology to analyze an account holder’s face, or make inferences from data already available, such has how long an account has been held.
The government hasn’t told the platforms how to check ages, but has said requesting all account holders verify their ages would be unnecessarily intrusive, given the tech giants already have sufficient personal data on most people to perform that task.
For privacy reasons, the platforms also cannot compel users to provide government-issued identification.
Documents filed with the court registry show Reddit will ask the seven High Court judges to rule the law is invalid.
Alternatively, the company wants the court to prevent the government from listing Reddit among the age-restricted platforms.
The High Court will hold a preliminary hearing in late February to set a date for Digital Freedom Project’s challenge on behalf of two 15-year-olds. It is not yet clear whether the two challenges would be heard together.
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Global online forum Reddit on Friday filed a court challenge to Australia’s world-first law that bans Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on the world’s most popular social media platforms.
California-based Reddit Inc.’s suit filed in the High Court follows a case filed last month by Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project.
Both suits claim the law is unconstitutional because it infringes on Australia’s implied freedom of political communication.
“We believe there are more effective ways for the Australian government to accomplish our shared goal of protecting youth, and the SMMA (Social Media Minimum Age) law carries some serious privacy and political expression issues for everyone on the internet,” Reddit said in a statement.
“While we agree with the importance of protecting people under 16, this law has the unfortunate effect of forcing intrusive and potentially insecure verification processes on adults as well as minors, isolating teens from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions), and creating an illogical patchwork of which platforms are included and which aren’t,” Reddit added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government declined to comment on the merits of Reddit’s challenge.
“The Albanese government is on the side of Australian parents and kids, not platforms,” a government statement said.
“We will stand firm to protect young Australians from experiencing harm on social media. The matter is before the courts so it is not appropriate to comment further,” the statement added.
Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the law’s enforcer, sent compulsory information notices to the 10 age-restricted platforms on Thursday demanding data on how many accounts of young children they had deactivated since the law took effect on Wednesday.
Inman Grant had predicted that some platforms might have been waiting to receive their first notice or their first fine for noncompliance before mounting a legal challenge.
ESafety will send six monthly notices to gauge how effectively the platforms are complying.
Despite the court challenge, Reddit said it would comply with the law and would continue to engage with eSafety.
The platforms’ age-verification options were to ask for copies of identification documents, use a third party to apply age-estimation technology to analyze an account holder’s face, or make inferences from data already available, such has how long an account has been held.
The government hasn’t told the platforms how to check ages, but has said requesting all account holders verify their ages would be unnecessarily intrusive, given the tech giants already have sufficient personal data on most people to perform that task.
For privacy reasons, the platforms also cannot compel users to provide government-issued identification.
Documents filed with the court registry show Reddit will ask the seven High Court judges to rule the law is invalid.
Alternatively, the company wants the court to prevent the government from listing Reddit among the age-restricted platforms.
The High Court will hold a preliminary hearing in late February to set a date for Digital Freedom Project’s challenge on behalf of two 15-year-olds. It is not yet clear whether the two challenges would be heard together.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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(CNN) — Disney is taking a $1 billion equity stake in OpenAI, while also striking a deal that would allow its famous characters be used on Sora, the AI company’s video generation platform.
Disney’s investment in OpenAI is the first such major licensing agreement for Sora.
Under the agreement, users of OpenAI’s shortform video-generating social media network Sora will be allowed to make videos using more than 200 Disney animated characters. Those characters including Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Disney Princesses like Ariel, Belle, and Cinderella, characters from Frozen, Moana, and Toy Story. Animated characters from Marvel and Lucasfilm, including Black Panther and Star Wars characters like Yoda are included as well – although the agreement does not include any talent likenesses or voices.
Users of OpenAI’s popular chatbot ChatGPT will also be able to ask the bot to create images using the Disney characters.
“The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence marks an important moment for our industry, and through this collaboration with OpenAI we will thoughtfully and responsibly extend the reach of our storytelling through generative AI, while respecting and protecting creators and their works,” Disney CEO Robert A. Iger, CEO said as part of a statement.
OpenAI, which has come under scrutiny for copyright violations – and also for striking massive ‘circular’ deals leading to fears of an AI bubble – said the deal shows how the creative community and AI can get along.
“Disney is the global gold standard for storytelling, and we’re excited to partner to allow Sora and ChatGPT Images to expand the way people create and experience great content,” said Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI. “This agreement shows how AI companies and creative leaders can work together responsibly to promote innovation that benefits society, respect the importance of creativity, and help works reach vast new audiences.”
Shortly after the announcement, Iger and Altman both sat down with CNBC’s David Faber, during which the Disney boss stressed that the deal “does not, in any way, represent a threat to the creators.”
“In fact, the opposite, I think it honors them and respects them, in part because there’s a license fee associated with it,” Iger said, later adding that the goal is to “continue to honor, respect, value the creative community in general.”
Iger also stressed that the deal allows Disney to “be comfortable that OpenAI is putting guardrails essentially around how these are used,” adding that, “really, there’s nothing for us to be concerned about from a consumer perspective.” Altman, too, stressed the presence of guardrails, telling Faber that “it’s very important that we enable Disney to set and evolve those guardrails over time, but they will, of course, be in there.”
The deal is exclusive, per Iger, at least in part. The Disney CEO hinted that “there is exclusivity, basically, at the beginning of the three-year agreement,” but remained mum on what that means. Asked if OpenAI is pursuing similar deals with other companies, Altman said, “I won’t rule out anything in the future, but we think this alone is going to be a wonderful start.”
Disney has previously sued AI companies for using their intellectual property. On Monday, the company sent Google a cease and desist letter, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The cease and desist letter claims the company’s AI products, including its image and video generating products Veo and Nano Banana, are infringing Disney’s copyrights “on a massive scale,” by allowing users to create images and videos depicting their characters. The letter alleges that Google has “refused to implement any technological measures to mitigate or prevent copyright infringement.”
In response, a Google spokesperson said they have “a longstanding and mutually beneficial relationship with Disney, and will continue to engage with them.”
More generally, we use public data from the open web to build our AI and have built additional innovative copyright controls like Google-extended and Content ID for YouTube, which give sites and copyright holders control over their content.”
Disney had already sent similar cease and desist letters to Meta and Character.AI. In June, Disney and Universal sued AI photo generation company Midjourney, alleging the company violated copyright law.
This story has been updated with additional developments and context.
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities on Thursday demanded some of the world’s biggest social media platforms report how many accounts they have deactivated since a ban on accounts for children younger than 16 became law.
Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch all said they would abide by Australia’s world-first law that took effect on Wednesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
But the tech companies’ responses to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s first demand for data will likely indicate their commitment to ridding their platforms of young children.
“Today the eSafety Commissioner will write to all 10 platforms who are considered age-restricted social media platforms and she will ask them … what were your numbers of under 16 accounts on Dec. 9; what are your numbers today on Dec. 11?” Wells said.
The commissioner would reveal the platforms’ responses within two weeks. The platforms would be required to provide monthly updates for six months.
The companies face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Wells said the European Commission, France, Denmark, Greece, Romania, Indonesia, Malaysia and New Zealand were considering following Australia’s lead in restricting children’s access to social media.
“There’s been a huge amount of global interest and we welcome it, and we welcome all of the allies who are joining Australia to take action in this space to draw a line to say enough’s enough,” Wells said.
Sydney-based rights group Digital Freedom Project plans to challenge the law on constitutional grounds in the Australian High Court early next year.
Inman Grant said some platforms had consulted lawyers and might be waiting to receive their first so-called compulsory information notice Thursday or their first fine for noncompliance before mounting a legal challenge.
Inman Grant said her staff were ready for the possibility that platforms would deliberately fail to exclude young children through age verification and age estimation technologies.
“That could be a strategy that they have in and of themselves: we’ll say we’re complying but then we’ll do a crappy job using these technologies and we’ll let people get through and have people claim it’s a failure,” Inman Grant told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Inman Grant said her research had found that 84% of children in Australia aged 8-12 had accessed a social media account. Of those with social media access, 90% did so with the help of parents.
Inman Grant said the main reason parents helped was because “they didn’t want their children to be excluded.”
“What this legislation does … is it takes away that fear of exclusion,” Inman Grant said.
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