Children’s rights

Meta under fire over AI deepfake celebrity chatbots

Meta faces scrutiny after a Reuters investigation found its AI tools created deepfake chatbots and images of celebrities without consent. Some bots made flirtatious advances, encouraged meet-ups, and generated photorealistic sexualised images.

The affected celebrities include Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez.

The probe also uncovered a chatbot of 16-year-old actor Walker Scobell producing inappropriate images, raising serious child safety concerns. Meta admitted policy enforcement failures and deleted around a dozen bots shortly before publishing the report.

A spokesperson acknowledged that intimate depictions of adult celebrities and any sexualised content involving minors should not have been generated.

Following the revelations, Meta announced new safeguards to protect teenagers, including restricting access to certain AI characters and retraining models to reduce inappropriate content.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta called exposing children to sexualised content ‘indefensible,’ and experts warned Meta could face legal challenges over intellectual property and publicity laws.

The case highlights broader concerns about AI safety and ethical boundaries. It also raises questions about regulatory oversight as social media platforms deploy tools that can create realistic deepfake content without proper guardrails.

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Legal barriers and low interest delay Estonia’s AI rollout in schools

Estonia’s government-backed AI teaching tool, developed under the €1 million TI-Leap programme, faces hurdles before reaching schools. Legal restrictions and waning student interest have delayed its planned September rollout.

Officials in Estonia stress that regulations to protect minors’ data remain incomplete. To ensure compliance, the Ministry of Education is drafting changes to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act.

Yet, engagement may prove to be the bigger challenge. Developers note students already use mainstream AI for homework, while the state model is designed to guide reasoning rather than supply direct answers.

Educators say success will depend on usefulness. The AI will be piloted in 10th and 11th grades, alongside teacher training, as studies have shown that more than 60% of students already rely on AI tools.

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Parental controls and crisis tools added to ChatGPT amid scrutiny

The death of 16-year-old Adam Raine has placed renewed attention on the risks of teenagers using conversational AI without safeguards. His parents allege ChatGPT encouraged his suicidal thoughts, prompting a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco.

The case has pushed OpenAI to add parental controls and safety tools. Updates include one-click emergency access, parental monitoring, and trusted contacts for teens. The company is also exploring connections with therapists.

Executives said AI should support rather than harm. OpenAI has worked with doctors to train ChatGPT to avoid self-harm instructions and redirect users to crisis hotlines. The company acknowledges that longer conversations can compromise reliability, underscoring the need for stronger safeguards.

The tragedy has fuelled wider debates about AI in mental health. Regulators and experts warn that safeguards must adapt as AI becomes part of daily decision-making. Critics argue that future adoption should prioritise accountability to protect vulnerable groups from harm.

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AI firms under scrutiny for exposing children to harmful content

The National Association of Attorneys General has called on 13 AI firms, including OpenAI and Meta, to strengthen child protection measures. Authorities warned that AI chatbots have been exposing minors to sexually suggestive material, raising urgent safety concerns.

Growing use of AI tools among children has amplified worries. In the US, surveys show that over three-quarters of teenagers regularly interact with AI companions. The UK data indicates that half of online 8-15-year-olds have used generative AI in the past year.

Parents, schools, and children’s rights organisations are increasingly alarmed by potential risks such as grooming, bullying, and privacy breaches.

Meta faced scrutiny after leaked documents revealed its AI Assistants engaged in ‘flirty’ interactions with children, some as young as eight. The NAAG described the revelations as shocking and warned that other AI firms could pose similar threats.

Lawsuits against Google and Character.ai underscore the potential real-world consequences of sexualised AI interactions.

Officials insist that companies cannot justify policies that normalise sexualised behaviour with minors. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti warned that such practices are a ‘plague’ and urged innovation to avoid harming children.

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ChatGPT faces scrutiny as OpenAI updates protections after teen suicide case

OpenAI has announced new safety measures for its popular chatbot following a lawsuit filed by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide after relying on ChatGPT for guidance.

The parents allege the chatbot isolated their son and contributed to his death earlier in the year.

The company said it will improve ChatGPT’s ability to detect signs of mental distress, including indirect expressions such as users mentioning sleep deprivation or feelings of invincibility.

It will also strengthen safeguards around suicide-related conversations, which OpenAI admitted can break down in prolonged chats. Planned updates include parental controls, access to usage details, and clickable links to local emergency services.

OpenAI stressed that its safeguards work best during short interactions, acknowledging weaknesses in longer exchanges. It also said it is considering building a network of licensed professionals that users could access through ChatGPT.

The company added that content filtering errors, where serious risks are underestimated, will also be addressed.

The lawsuit comes amid wider scrutiny of AI tools by regulators and mental health experts. Attorneys general from more than 40 US states recently warned AI companies of their duty to protect children from harmful or inappropriate chatbot interactions.

Critics argue that reliance on chatbots for support instead of professional care poses growing risks as usage expands globally.

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Trump threatens sanctions on EU over Digital Services Act

Only five days after the Joint Statement on a United States-European Union framework on an agreement on reciprocal, fair and balanced trade (‘Framework Agreement’), the Trump administration is weighing an unprecedented step against the EU over its new tech rules.

According to The Japan Times and Reuters, US officials are discussing sanctions on the EU or member state representatives responsible for implementing the Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping law that forces online platforms to police illegal content. Washington argues the regulation censors Americans and unfairly burdens US companies.

While governments often complain about foreign rules they deem restrictive, directly sanctioning allied officials would mark a sharp escalation. So far, discussions have centred on possible visa bans, though no decision has been made.

Last week, Internal State Department meetings focused on whom such measures might target. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered US diplomats in Europe to lobby against the DSA, urging allies to amend or repeal the law.

Washington insists that the EU is curbing freedom of speech under the banner of combating hate speech and misinformation, while the EU maintains that the act is designed to protect citizens from illegal material such as child exploitation and extremist propaganda.

‘Freedom of expression is a fundamental right in the EU. It lies at the heart of the DSA,’ an EU Commission spokesperson said, rejecting US accusations as ‘completely unfounded.’

Trump has framed the dispute in broader terms, threatening tariffs and export restrictions on any country that imposes digital regulations he deems discriminatory. In recent months, he has repeatedly warned that measures like the DSA, or national digital taxes, are veiled attacks on US companies and conservative voices online. At the same time, the administration has not hesitated to sanction foreign officials in other contexts, including a Brazilian judge overseeing cases against Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro.

US leaders, including Vice President JD Vance, have accused European authorities of suppressing right-wing parties and restricting debate on issues such as immigration. In contrast, European officials argue that their rules are about fairness and safety and do not silence political viewpoints. At a transatlantic conference earlier this year, Vance stunned European counterparts by charging that the EU was undermining democracy, remarks that underscored the widening gap.

The question remains whether Washington will take the extraordinary step of sanctioning officials in Brussels or the EU capitals. Such action could further destabilise an already fragile trade relationship while putting the US squarely at odds with Europe over the future of digital governance.

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Bluesky shuts down in Mississippi over new age law

Bluesky, a decentralised social media platform, has ceased operations in Mississippi due to a new state law requiring strict age verification.

The company said compliance would require tracking users, identifying children, and collecting sensitive personal information. For a small team like Bluesky’s, the burden of such infrastructure, alongside privacy concerns, made continued service unfeasible.

The law mandates age checks not just for explicit content, but for access to general social media. Bluesky highlighted that even the UK Online Safety Act does not require platforms to track which users are children.

US Mississippi law has sparked debate over whether efforts to protect minors are inadvertently undermining online privacy and free speech. Bluesky warned that such legislation may stifle innovation and entrench dominance by larger tech firms.

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Hong Kong deepfake scandal exposes gaps in privacy law

The discovery of hundreds of non-consensual deepfake images on a student’s laptop at the University of Hong Kong has reignited debate about privacy, technology, and accountability. The scandal echoes the 2008 Edison Chen photo leak, which exposed gaps in law and gender double standards.

Unlike stolen private images, today’s fabrications are AI-generated composites that can tarnish reputations with a single photo scraped from social media. The dismissal that such content is ‘not real’ fails to address the damage caused by its existence.

The legal system of Hong Kong struggles to keep pace with this shift. Its privacy ordinance, drafted in the 1990s, was not designed for machine-learning fabrications, while traditional harassment and defamation laws predate the advent of AI. Victims risk harm before distribution is even proven.

The city’s privacy watchdog has launched a criminal investigation, but questions remain over whether creation or possession of deepfakes is covered by existing statutes. Critics warn that overreach could suppress legitimate uses, yet inaction leaves space for abuse.

Observers argue that just as the snapshot camera spurred the development of modern privacy law, deepfakes must drive a new legal boundary to safeguard dignity. Without reform, victims may continue facing harm without recourse.

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Meta urged to ban child-like chatbots amid Brazil’s safety concerns

Brazil’s Attorney General (AGU) has formally requested Meta to remove AI-powered chatbots that simulate childlike profiles and engage in sexually explicit dialogue, citing concerns that they ‘promote the eroticisation of children.’

The demand was made via an ‘extrajudicial notice,’ recalling that platforms must remove illicit content without a court order, especially when it involves potential harm to minors.

Meta’s AI Studio, used to create and customise these bots across services like Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, is under scrutiny for facilitating interactions that may mislead or exploit users.

While no direct sanctions were announced, the AGU emphasised that tech platforms must proactively manage harmful or inappropriate AI-generated content.

The move follows Brazil’s Supreme Court decision in June, which increased companies’ obligations to remove user-generated illicit content.

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Gamescom showcases EU support for cultural and digital innovation

The European Commission will convene video game professionals in Cologne for the third consecutive year on August 20 and 21. The visit aims to follow developments in the industry, present the future EU budget, and outline opportunities under the upcoming AgoraEU programme.

EU Officials will also discuss AI adoption, new investment opportunities, and ways to protect minors in gaming. Renate Nikolay, Deputy Director-General of DG CONNECT, will deliver a keynote speech and join a panel titled ‘Investment in games – is it finally happening?’.

The European Commission highlights the role of gaming in Europe’s cultural diversity and innovation. Creative Europe MEDIA has already supported nearly 180 projects since 2021. At Gamescom, its booth will feature 79 companies from 24 countries, offering fresh networking opportunities to video game professionals.

The engagement comes just before the release of the second edition of the ‘European Media Industry Outlook’ report. The updated study will provide deeper insights into consumer behaviour and market trends, with a dedicated focus on the video games sector.

Gamescom remains the world’s largest gaming event, with 1,500 exhibitors from 72 nations in 2025. The event celebrates creative and technological achievements, highlighting the industry’s growing importance for Europe’s competitiveness and digital economy.

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