A call to rethink social media
Breaking News: In a guest essay for The Times, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels on social media platforms and advised parents that technology may be contributing to a mental health crisis among adolescents.
It's the latest effort by regulators to impose limits on social networks, particularly regarding their impact on children and young people, and a reminder of increased scrutiny of global tech giants.
These labels would be similar to those placed on tobacco and alcohol products. In his guest essay, Murthy writes that the issue has become urgent.
Why are we failing to address the harms of social media, which are as urgent and pervasive as those caused by unsafe cars, planes and food? These harms are not the result of failures of willpower or parenting, but the result of unleashing powerful technologies without sufficient safeguards, transparency and accountability.
In recent years, there has been intensified research into the impact of social media on teenagers. Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt has said that the release of the iPhone in 2007 was a tipping point, and that since then, reports of suicidal behavior and despair among young people have skyrocketed. (Other experts have questioned such links, pointing to other factors, such as economic hardship.)
Warning labels have been successful in changing people's behavior in the past, but In the United States, smoking has declined sharply in the 50 years since permits were mandated for tobacco products.
Murthy acknowledged that Congress needed to get involved. Their approval is needed to add warning labels, and he also called on lawmakers to pass measures to protect young people from online harassment, abuse and exploitation.
Murthy also recommended preventing platforms from collecting sensitive data about children and limiting the use of features such as push notifications and autoplay that encourage excessive use.
This is the latest effort to check the power of social media around the world. States have sued Meta and other companies over features that regulators say are poisoning kids, and some have passed bills aimed at protecting young people from all the negative effects of social media. And a law enacted in April to force TikTok's sale by its Chinese owners focused on national security concerns but also warned about the video app's impact on young people.
Meanwhile, European Union regulations require social media users to be at least 16 years old before they can process their personal data without parental consent.
Tech companies say they are working to better protect teens. Mehta, for example, has said that platforms should be given time to work with watchdogs to “develop clear age-appropriate standards for the many apps that teenagers use.” But as Murthy's call shows, these efforts have not been enough to assuage the concerns of governments and parents.
What's going on?
Central bank and economic data will be in the spotlight this week. Chinese Data released on Monday showed that industrial production and the real estate sector slowed last month even as consumer spending rose more than expected. Wall Street will be closely watching U.S. retail sales reports on Tuesday for any indication of the strength of consumer purchasing power. and Inflation is developing. Thursday is interest rate decision day for the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disbands Israel's war cabinet. Netanyahu's decision comes after two of his party's five members resigned last week in protest over his handling of the Gaza war. The move comes as the army warns of an escalation of the conflict with Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia and aid groups call on Israel to do more to ease the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories.
OpenAI is reportedly considering becoming a for-profit company. According to The Information, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has told some shareholders that the artificial intelligence startup may restructure so that its operations are not controlled by a non-profit board of directors, a move that could make it easier for OpenAI to pursue an initial public offering.
What's Plan B for The Washington Post?
New revelations about Washington Post CEO Will Lewis threaten to ignite an increasingly public battle between Lewis and the paper's editorial staff. Two reports published over the weekend revealed new allegations about the journalism practices of Lewis and his pick to run the paper, Robert Winnett, in London two decades ago.
The article further fueled speculation about the level of support Lewis has from Post owner Jeff Bezos after the paper lost tens of millions of readers and subscribers under previous management. But the article also focused on events from two decades ago. It's clear that the shots are aimed at Lewis, who is trying to fundamentally reshape the Post's management and editorial department, and it also raises questions about what the Post could do to reposition itself if he leaves.
what's new: The Times and Post reported that both men were involved in phone hacking and fraud in their previous roles at the British publications.
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A spokesman for the Sunday Times said Mr Lewis asked the paper to do a story about British CEOs based on the hacked records in 2004 when he was editor of the paper. A Post spokesman said Mr Lewis declined to answer a series of questions from the Times.
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In 2002, Mr. Winnett wrote a story for The Sunday Times about buyers of the then-new Maybach luxury car, which the paper called “the Nazis' favorite limousine.” A private investigator later publicly admitted that he had “blagged” — or used false information to obtain classified information for the story, according to reports in the Times and The Washington Post. Mr. Winnett did not respond to requests for comment from the paper.
What does Bezos think? The Post said he had voiced his support for Lewis amid a recent public clash with former Washington Post editor-in-chief Sally Busby, but before the latest article was published. Some media watchers say the furor over Lewis is partly rooted in disagreements between U.S. and British journalism practices.
Bezos has backed Lewis' strategy to split The Post's editorial department into one focused on traditional reporting and another on service journalism and social media. It's unclear whether the revelations will be enough to weaken Lewis' support.
What would happen if Lewis was kicked out? He said the Post has lost $77 million since 2023 and its readership has fallen by half since the 2020 presidential election.
Bezos has publicly said the Post cannot continue to lose money forever — “This is not a charity,” he told a journalism conference in 2017 — and has been involved in the paper's budget and weighed in on its business issues, suggesting that even if Lewis steps down, The Post's owners would still want to push for big changes to how the company is run.
“Of all the climate work that I do, I would say that the nuclear work is actually the one that has the most bipartisan energy.”
— Bill GatesThe Microsoft co-founder said he has invested billions of dollars in nuclear energy and is ready to invest “billions more” to meet the country's burgeoning electricity demand.
“I have to leave France.”
French shares rebounded slightly on Monday but global investors remain cautious due to ongoing political turmoil in the country with less than six weeks to go until the Paris Olympics.
The country's parliamentary election campaign begins on Monday. European markets were rattled by President Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision to call a surprise general election last week, with opinion polls showing the far-right in the lead, reports DealBook's Vivienne Walt.
The shockwaves are not over. Following mass protests in Paris this weekend, Italy's leading financial daily Les Echos slammed the government in a front-page headline on Monday, saying “fear and uncertainty have spread across the financial world.”
To summarise:Macron called for parliamentary elections after far-right forces dealt a heavy blow to centrist parties in European elections. But his decision sent repercussions across Europe as investors fled the world's seventh-largest economy. The euro crashed, billions of dollars were wiped from French and European stock markets and the gap between French and German government bond yields, a key gauge of European stability, widened at its fastest pace since the 2012 European debt crisis last week.
This is happening as Germany, continental Europe's largest economy, faces a political crisis that threatens to tear apart its coalition government.
The European Central Bank is in a tough spot. Analysts say a weaker euro could undermine central bank efforts to further lower borrowing costs. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde dodged questions about the French election last week. As head of the IMF during the Greek debt crisis, Lagarde had a front row seat when Europe's economy was in crisis.
Tensions are rising. Many investors and business leaders are not waiting to hear the outcome of next month’s vote. “Many of my clients and companies are saying, ‘We have to get out of France,'” Marc Touati, chief economist at Paris-based investment advisory firm ACDEFI, told DealBook. “It’s the start of panic.”
Election promises can be bad for business. The far-right wants to lower the retirement age to 60, halve sales taxes on utility bills and food and raise the minimum wage, which one estimate says could cost around 101 billion euros. Left-leaning parties plan to halt infrastructure spending and reinstate a wealth tax that Macron abolished in 2017 – measures that some believe have helped attract billions of dollars of foreign investment.
Uncertainty could also create some bargains for investors. “Fear is opportunity,” said Alberto Gallo, chief investment officer at Andromeda Capital Management. “When we see non-European investors worried about euro exit or extreme situations, it gets us very excited,” he told DealBook.
Speed Read
Bargain Deals
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Activist investor Starboard Value has reportedly acquired $500 million in Autodesk stock, raising questions about accounting issues and the software company's strategy. (WSJ)
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Fisher Investments, the asset management firm run by billionaire Ken Fisher, sold a stake to Advent International and a unit of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund in a deal valued at $12.75 billion. (Bloomberg)
Elections, politics, policies
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President Biden pulls in a record $28 million for a Hollywood event as his campaign steps up attacks on Donald Trump following his felony conviction. (NYT)
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President Donald Trump's plan to end the tip tax could add $250 billion to the federal deficit over 10 years. (Bloomberg)
Best remaining
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