Embracing a period-positive legacy

“A big path for challenge is that it burdens adult speech in attempting to regulate children’s speech,” Farley told the Reuters news agency in an interview on Tuesday. “I would say there are arguments that this is a content-based regulation singling out digital communication.”Child online safety groups that backed the Texas bill have also long argued for app store age verification, saying it is the only way to give parents effective control over children’s use of technology.

“The problem is that self-regulation in the digital marketplace has failed, where app stores have just prioritised the profit over safety and rights of children and families,” Casey Stefanski, executive director for the Digital Childhood Alliance, told Reuters.Apple and Google opposed the Texas bill, saying it imposes blanket requirements to share age data with all apps, even when those apps are uncontroversial.“If enacted, app marketplaces will be required to collect and keep sensitive personal identifying information for every Texan who wants to download an app, even if it’s an app that simply provides weather updates or sports scores,” Apple said in a statement.

Google and Apple each have their own proposal that involves sharing age range data only with apps that require it, rather than all apps.“We see a role for legislation here,” Kareem Ghanem, senior director of government affairs and public policy at Google, told Reuters.

“It’s just got to be done in the right way, and it’s got to hold the feet of [Meta CEO Mark] Zuckerberg and the social media companies to the fire because it’s the harm to kids and teens on those sites that’s really inspired people to take a closer look here and see how we can all do better.”

UN: '100 percent' of Gazans on brink of famineParis is hoping to rally momentum for a conditional recognition of Palestinian statehood, which would require, among other things, the demilitarisation of Hamas.

French officials are weighing up the move before a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting between June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.However, some diplomats and experts suggest that such moves would infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits.

Despite some aid starting to trickle into Gaza after the Israeli blockade, the humanitarian crisis remains dire. Experts warn that one in five people faces imminent starvation.Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)