Popular app banned from hosting young teens in a groundbreaking settlement
CNN
The Federal Trade Commission and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office have banned a controversial anonymous messaging app from serving kids under 18, taking an unprecedented and aggressive step against what regulators called “rampant cyberbullying and threats against children and teens” on the platform.
The Federal Trade Commission and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office have banned a controversial anonymous messaging app from serving kids under 18, taking an unprecedented and aggressive step against what regulators called “rampant cyberbullying and threats against children and teens” on the platform. The targeted ban is the FTC’s latest move in a wider crackdown on social media companies, data brokers and other businesses that allegedly mishandle consumer data or make overhyped claims about artificial intelligence. As part of a lawsuit and settlement announced Tuesday, the app being penalized — known as NGL — will also pay $5 million to settle what FTC Chair Lina Khan said was “reckless disregard for kids’ safety.” The app will also have to implement an age gate to block its services to current and new users who are under 18 years old. The regulators wrote that the app billed itself as a “safe space” for teens but, in reality, preyed on them. In addition to highlighting FTC follow-through on earlier promises to police AI hype, the lawsuit directly names the company’s co-founders, reflecting recent agency commitments to holding individual executives accountable for corporate wrongdoing. The app, known as NGL, had been downloaded millions of times, according to the complaint. NGL is an internet abbreviation for “not gonna lie.” NGL actively marketed itself to young users and violated federal laws aimed at protecting children’s data, the lawsuit claimed, while its employees allegedly mocked paying users as “suckers” while profiting from their ignorance.
Nippon Steel is expected to re-file its application for a national security review by American regulators of its $15 billion takeover bid of US Steel, sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Tuesday, buying Japan’s largest steelmaker an additional 90 days to close its acquisition of an American rival after political opposition emerged in an election year.
So far, the attacks that targeted Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah members through their pagers have had devastating consequences. At least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed, and at least 2,800 were wounded. Over 150 of those injured are in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health minister.