The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
The UK government has launched a consultation on introducing an Australian-style ban on social media for under-16s. The proposal is framed as a bold response to rising concerns about young people’s mental health, online abuse and exposure to harmful content. Continue reading
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that makes a victim’s data, system or device inaccessible. It locks the target or encrypts it (converting text into an unreadable form) until the victim pays a ransom to the attacker. Continue reading
Over the course of 2025, deepfakes improved dramatically. AI-generated faces, voices and full-body performances that mimic real people increased in quality far beyond what even many experts expected would be the case just a few years ago. They were also increasingly used to deceive people. Continue reading
Reddit is asking Australia’s High Court to rule that it’s not a social media platform and therefore should not have to comply with the under-16s social media account ban. Continue reading
Remember when Twitter used to be good? I reckon it peaked somewhere around the first COVID lockdowns. In those days, there was a running gag on the site where everyone would refer to it as a “hellscape”. And it did invite some of the worst that humanity has to offer. Opinions, as the old joke goes, are like assholes: everybody has one. Continue reading
Two teenagers are taking the federal government to the High Court. They argue the ban on social media accounts for under-16s is unconstitutional because it interferes with free political communication. The ban is due to take effect on December 10. Will the High Court challenge make any difference? Continue reading
Canadian politicians have increasingly taken to social media to campaign as well as communicate with constituents, sharing updates on policies, local events, emergencies or government initiatives. But stories have emerged of constituents being blocked by their representatives. Should Canadian politicians be free to block their own constituents? Continue reading
The BBC is the latest media organisation to be targeted by Donald Trump’s highly litigious machine. The fallout over a Panorama episode that included a misleadingly edited clip of the US president’s January 6 2021 speech led to the resignation of two BBC executives, and Trump’s threat to sue the BBC for $1 billion if they do not retract the episode. Continue reading
One of the first executive orders that President Trump signed after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, was titled Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship. The order accused the previous administration of having “trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms.” Continue reading
Imagine a protest outside the funeral of a popular political leader, with some of the protesters celebrating the death and holding signs that say things like “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,” “America is Doomed” and “Don’t Pray for the USA.” Continue reading
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