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These 3 ‘addictive’ social media UX features are on trial
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These 3 ‘addictive’ social media UX features are on trial

The world’s biggest tech companies are facing a legal showdown that could fundamentally change the way that social media is designed. The trial is taking place in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where jury selection started on January 27. It’s testing out a new legal theory intended to spur greater regulation of social media platforms like TikTok, Snap, YouTube, and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram: Lawyers are gearing up to argue that the companies behind these platforms are designing their sites to be deliberately addictive, resulting in direct personal injury to users, especially children. Overall, the trial is expected to consist of nine cases, which have been compiled by judges across the nation as some of the strongest bellwethers for this new argument. First on the docket is a case brought by a 20-year-old plaintiff identified as K.G.M., who says that a lack of sufficient guardrails on social media sites during her youth led to compulsive use and mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, self-harm, and risk of suicide. The defendants named in K.G.M.’s initial suit were Bytedance, the former majority owner of TikTok; Snap, which owns Snapchat; Google, the owner of YouTube; and Meta. However, both Snap and TikTok settled the suit in the days leading up to jury selection for undisclosed sums, leaving just Meta and Google. The results of these initial decisions are expected to serve as a testing ground for a second set of federal cases, scheduled for trial this summer, wherein several school districts, states, and attorneys general plan to argue that social media is a public nuisance and addictive to children.At the crux of all of these suits lies a design-based claim: These tech companies are using intentionally engineered tricks to foster addictive behaviors among young users. Court documents point out several specific user experience (UX) choices as evidence of this pattern. Here are a few of the key examples in question.[Illustration: FC]Endless scroll“Endless (or infinite) scroll” is a chief concern across almost all of the cases that have been filed. It refers to any feature that allows users to continuously scroll through video content without disruptions.One court document, filed by the Florida attorney general’s office against Meta, claims that infinite scroll “makes it difficult for young users to disengage [from the content] because there is no natural end point for the display of new information.” In a court filing before Bytedance’s settlement, K.G.M. testified that TikTok’s endless scroll feature disrupted her sleep and caused her to become addicted to the app. According to confidential internal messages obtained by NPR back in October, TikTok is aware of the addictive nature of its central endless scroll “Explore” page, and even calculated the number of videos required to become hooked to the app to be 260.[Illustration: FC]Ephemeral contentAnother pattern of social media design that’s frequently cited in these legal documents is “ephemeral content.” This refers to any kind of post that can only be viewed under certain time parameters, like a once-viewable snap on Snapchat or an 24-hour Instagram story.The Florida attorney general’s office specifically called out Meta’s visual design cues on Instagram Stories indicating that “the content would soon disappear forever,” noting that this tactic made young users feel more compelled to keep clicking on new content to avoid potential social consequences. “Meta designed such ephemeral content features to induce a sense of ‘FOMO’ in young users, that is, a ‘fear of missing out,’ which would drive teen engagement,” the filing reads.[Illustration: FC]Algorithmic recommendationsOne of the most concerning details in K.G.M.’s testimony regards the algorithmic recommendations that she’s encountered on social media, which she says have repeatedly directed her to content with disturbing or damaging themes.“I have gotten a lot of content promoting that kind of stuff—just like body checking, posts [of] what I eat in a day—just a cucumber—making people feel bad if they don’t eat like that,” she said in her deposition. Per the Florida attorney general’s filing, Meta’s algorithms direct users to concerning content like this by design. Its platforms, the document reads, “periodically [present] users with ‘emotionally gripping content to provoke intense reactions’ (e.g., relating to eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, violence, body-image issues, and more), a result of what Meta purportedly refers to as the algorithms’ ‘preference amplification.’ Despite Meta’s representations to the contrary, this design results in harm to young users.”For their part, K.G.M.’s lawyers are grounding their arguments in past precedents established by cases ruling that products with purposefully addictive designs should be off-limits to kids.“Borrowing heavily from the behavioral and neurobiological techniques used by slot machines and exploited by the cigarette industry, [d]efendants deliberately embedded in their products an array of design features aimed at maximizing youth engagement to drive advertising revenue,” the lawsuit alleges. It adds: “Like the cigarette industry a generation earlier, [d]efendants understand that a child user today becomes an adult user tomorrow.”

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Illegal Sports Streaming: How It Fuels Unlicensed Betting
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Illegal Sports Streaming: How It Fuels Unlicensed Betting

We often treat illegal sports streaming as a piracy problem, but recent data shows that it plays a larger-than-expected role in online gambling. In Great Britain, these streams are increasingly used to advertise illegal gambling to sports fans during live events, when interest in betting is at its highest. This article explores how illegal sports...The post Illegal Sports Streaming: How It Fuels Unlicensed Betting appeared first on Techopedia.

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French IT giant Capgemini to sell US subsidiary after row over ICE links
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French IT giant Capgemini to sell US subsidiary after row over ICE links

French IT giant Capgemini to sell US subsidiary after row over ICE linksNorman CloeteSun, 02/01/2026 - 13:00 French IT giant Capgemini said Sunday it was selling a subsidiary working for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency amid international controversy over the deaths of two people in ICE operations.Capgemini, which operates in about 50 countries and is one of France's largest listed companies, held an extraordinary board meeting this weekend after facing questions in parliament and calls for transparency from the government.The company has been in the spotlight for days over the deal its American subsidiary signed with ICE to identify foreigners on US soil and track their locations.The killings of two people, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by ICE and CBP border patrol agents in Minneapolis have provoked widespread condemnation of the American agency."The divestiture process of this business will be initiated immediately," the company said in a statement, referring to Capgemini Government Solutions."Capgemini determined that the customary legal restrictions imposed for contracting with federal government entities carrying out classified activities in the United States did not allow the Group to exercise appropriate control over certain aspects of the operations of this subsidiary," the statement said.The subsidiary represents 0.4 percent of the group's global 2025 estimated revenue and less than two percent of its US revenue, the company said.In an internal message sent to employees earlier this week, the group said that the disputed contract, awarded in December, was "the subject of an appeal".Frederic Bolore of the CFDT union said that he had "never experienced a crisis situation like the one today" in his 32 years with the company. "It's a huge shock for the employees," he told AFP on Thursday.Campaign group Multinationals Observatory has revealed the ICE contract.- 'Like a bounty hunter' - AFP/File | ERIC PIERMONT Chief executive Aiman Ezzat wrote on LinkedIn last week that the management "were recently made aware, through public sources" of the contract with Capgemini Government Solutions. At CGS, "decision making is separate, networks are firewalled, and the Capgemini group cannot access any classified information (or) classified contracts," Ezzat added.Public US government documents show that the ICE-CGS contract signed on December 18 is worth $4.8 million.The revelations sparked uproar in France and earned a rebuke from Economy Minister Roland Lescure, who called for transparency.On Satuday, Multinationals Observatory said Capgemini's subsidiary had been providing services to ICE even before signing the contract in December with President Donalt Trump's administration."Documents suggest that, contrary to what the group's management claims, Capgemini Government Solutions was already providing skip tracing services to Trump's anti-migrant police before signing its controversial new contract in December," the campaign group said.Multinationals Observatory said the US subsidiary was not just providing logistical support to ICE, but was "at the heart of the machine.""Its final remuneration will depend on the number of people it has helped to detain and deport, much like a bounty hunter," it said.On 20 January, Capgemini announced up to 2,400 job cuts in France through redeployments and voluntary departures.By Anne Pascale Reboul

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Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Raises Over $20.2M as 19,000 Investors Are Testing The V1 Protocol Launch
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Mutuum Finance (MUTM) Raises Over $20.2M as 19,000 Investors Are Testing The V1 Protocol Launch

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Many old projects are losing steam because they lack real-world use. At the same time, a new wave of decentralized finance (DeFi) is taking over. One project in particular is standing out from the crowd. Mutuum Finance (MUTM) has just reached a massive milestone. It has officially raised over $20.1 million in its presale. Even more impressive is its community. More than 18,900 investors are now part of the ecosystem. This growth comes at a perfect time. The project has just launched its V1 protocol on the Sepolia testnet. This is no longer just a plan on paper. It is a working piece of technology that people are testing right now.

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Indian stock indices nosedive on Budget day, Sensex dips over 1,800 points
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Indian stock indices nosedive on Budget day, Sensex dips over 1,800 points

New Delhi: Indian stock indices nosedived as Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2026-27 in the Parliament on Sunday. Pre-Budget, the indices were largely steady, but they dipped as the Budget speech progressed and closed the session deep in the red. Sensex closed at 80,722.94 points, down 1,843.43 points or 2.23 per [...]The post Indian stock indices nosedive on Budget day, Sensex dips over 1,800 points appeared first on KalingaTV.

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India Raises Tax on Stock Derivatives Trading in Blow to Traders - Bloomberg

India Raises Tax on Stock Derivatives Trading in Blow to Traders BloombergIndian shares open little changed ahead of union budget Yahoo Finance SingaporeIndia plans to raise tax on stock derivatives trading The Edge SingaporeIndia budget makes bet on manufacturing; transaction tax hike spooks markets The Business TimesWhy is stock market crashing after Budget 2026? Top reasons Times of India

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