Meta avoided a closely watched social media addiction trial after the plaintiff dropped the remaining claim, leaving broader questions over platform design unresolved.

The post Why Meta Escaped a Landmark Social Media Lawsuit appeared first on TechRepublic.

Google offers some very convenient and highly advanced software—there's no doubt about that—but it comes at the cost of pervasive user tracking. Not everyone is comfortable with that, and some of those who have yet to ditch Google surely have a nagging sense of unease, knowing their private lives are logged, monitored, tracked, and profiled. You can do something about it, and learning about great alternatives is a start.

YouTube is clarifying monetization rules for repetitive AI-generated videos, synthetic personas, and low-effort content in its Partner Program.

The post YouTube Tightens Monetization Rules for AI-Generated and Low-Quality Content appeared first on TechRepublic.

In a decisive move to protect viewer feeds and advertiser dollars, YouTube has updated its monetization guidelines to strip cash flow from low-quality, AI-generated material. The streaming giant is refining the rules governing its lucrative YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to specifically target “inauthentic content” designed solely for low-effort content farming. Rather than banning artificial intelligence […]

YouTube has updated its monetization policies to more clearly define the kinds of AI-generated and low-quality videos that can’t earn ad revenue.

As deepfakes spread, TikTok joins YouTube in giving creators tools to detect and report unauthorized AI likenesses of themselves.

Google is adding AI disclosure labels to ads on Search, YouTube, and Discover, but third-party AI use still depends on advertiser reporting.

The post Google Will Now Tell You If That Ad Was Made With AI appeared first on TechRepublic.

Nerds.xyz reports: DuckDuckGo just gave its browser a feature that a lot of people have been waiting for. The privacy-focused browser can now block most video ads on YouTube, letting users watch videos without sitting through the pre-roll and mid-roll interruptions that have become part of everyday life on the platform. The feature is already enabled by default for iPhone, Windows, and Mac users running the latest version of the browser. Android users can turn it on manually... with DuckDuckGo planning to enable it by default in a future update... To make it work, DuckDuckGo relies on the same community-maintained filter lists used by uBlock Origin, along with some of its own compatibility rules. The company says you might notice a bit of extra buffering before a video starts, but once playback begins, most ads should be gone. Slashdot reader BrianFagioli argues that the feature raises questions about how creators are compensated when ad revenue is bypassed.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.