Lead Story
UK unveils plans for world-first law forcing Apple and Google to block explicit images on children's phones
The UK government said Monday, September 15, 2026, it will begin drafting an act of Parliament to require Apple and Google to prevent under-18s from taking, sharing or viewing nude and explicit images on their devices, after the companies failed to meet a three-month deadline to fix the problem voluntarily. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the protections would be 'built into the device and switched on by default,' with tech companies also required to verify a user's age as an adult before granting access, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the firms' current proposals 'do not meet the scale of this crisis.' Officials and child-safety campaigners say the legislation, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, could set a template other governments follow.
Read more →Lead Story
UK unveils plans for world-first law forcing Apple and Google to block explicit images on children's phones
The UK government said Monday, September 15, 2026, it will begin drafting an act of Parliament to require Apple and Google to prevent under-18s from taking, sharing or viewing nude and explicit images on their devices, after the companies failed to meet a three-month deadline to fix the problem voluntarily. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the protections would be 'built into the device and switched on by default,' with tech companies also required to verify a user's age as an adult before granting access, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the firms' current proposals 'do not meet the scale of this crisis.' Officials and child-safety campaigners say the legislation, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, could set a template other governments follow.
Australia moves to let social media users opt out of algorithm-driven feeds entirely
Australia's federal government introduced 'My Feed, My Way' draft legislation to parliament in early September 2026 that would require social media platforms to let users choose between an algorithm-recommended feed or one showing only content from accounts they follow, with new and existing users notified of the choice. The bill also makes platforms responsible for minimising and preventing harm, and exposes non-compliant companies to fines of more than A$100 million. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government says the reform hands users back control over content that platforms currently curate for engagement rather than wellbeing.
Read more →Australia moves to let social media users opt out of algorithm-driven feeds entirely
Australia's federal government introduced 'My Feed, My Way' draft legislation to parliament in early September 2026 that would require social media platforms to let users choose between an algorithm-recommended feed or one showing only content from accounts they follow, with new and existing users notified of the choice. The bill also makes platforms responsible for minimising and preventing harm, and exposes non-compliant companies to fines of more than A$100 million. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government says the reform hands users back control over content that platforms currently curate for engagement rather than wellbeing.
Study of 12,000 English primary schools finds delaying kids' smartphones cuts mental health needs by 8%
A working paper published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in July 2026, authored by economist Gregory F. Veramendi, compared 329 English primary schools where at least a fifth of families had signed the Smartphone Free Childhood movement's 'Parent Pact' — pledging to delay smartphones until 14 and social media until 16 — against matched schools among roughly 12,000 with fewer signatories. Schools with higher Pact participation recorded 8.2% fewer social, emotional and mental health needs and about 6% fewer child psychiatric disability claims. Veramendi estimates that if a fifth of parents nationwide delayed smartphones this way, England would see roughly 13,000 fewer children with recorded mental health needs and 22,000 fewer psychiatric disability claims.
Read more →Study of 12,000 English primary schools finds delaying kids' smartphones cuts mental health needs by 8%
A working paper published by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in July 2026, authored by economist Gregory F. Veramendi, compared 329 English primary schools where at least a fifth of families had signed the Smartphone Free Childhood movement's 'Parent Pact' — pledging to delay smartphones until 14 and social media until 16 — against matched schools among roughly 12,000 with fewer signatories. Schools with higher Pact participation recorded 8.2% fewer social, emotional and mental health needs and about 6% fewer child psychiatric disability claims. Veramendi estimates that if a fifth of parents nationwide delayed smartphones this way, England would see roughly 13,000 fewer children with recorded mental health needs and 22,000 fewer psychiatric disability claims.
'Superhuman' AI tool trained on millions of ECGs spots heart disease in under two seconds
Researchers led by Dr Ahmed El-Medany at Imperial College London presented an AI system at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, held August 28-31, 2026, that detects signs of heart failure and heart valve disease from a routine electrocardiogram in the blink of an eye, extracting patterns beyond what the human eye can see. Trained on more than 1.6 million ECGs from Brazil plus several million more from the United States, the tool could let hospitals opportunistically flag high-risk patients from ECGs they already run, rather than waiting months for an echocardiogram scan. Imperial College London has spun the work out into a company, Cardiovolt.ai, to develop handheld AI-led ECG readers for clinicians.
Read more →'Superhuman' AI tool trained on millions of ECGs spots heart disease in under two seconds
Researchers led by Dr Ahmed El-Medany at Imperial College London presented an AI system at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Munich, held August 28-31, 2026, that detects signs of heart failure and heart valve disease from a routine electrocardiogram in the blink of an eye, extracting patterns beyond what the human eye can see. Trained on more than 1.6 million ECGs from Brazil plus several million more from the United States, the tool could let hospitals opportunistically flag high-risk patients from ECGs they already run, rather than waiting months for an echocardiogram scan. Imperial College London has spun the work out into a company, Cardiovolt.ai, to develop handheld AI-led ECG readers for clinicians.
UN General Assembly votes 164-1 to adopt map that shows Africa's true size
The UN General Assembly adopted a 'Correct the Map' resolution on September 4, 2026, promoting use of the Equal Earth projection over the centuries-old Mercator map, which exaggerates the size of countries near the poles while shrinking Africa and other equatorial regions. The measure, brought by African Union member states and the Bahamas and backed by the African Group, passed 164 to 1 with six abstentions; the United States was the sole vote against. Supporters say the switch corrects a long-standing distortion that has minimized the perceived scale and importance of Africa and the Global South in maps used across education, media and diplomacy.
Read more →UN General Assembly votes 164-1 to adopt map that shows Africa's true size
The UN General Assembly adopted a 'Correct the Map' resolution on September 4, 2026, promoting use of the Equal Earth projection over the centuries-old Mercator map, which exaggerates the size of countries near the poles while shrinking Africa and other equatorial regions. The measure, brought by African Union member states and the Bahamas and backed by the African Group, passed 164 to 1 with six abstentions; the United States was the sole vote against. Supporters say the switch corrects a long-standing distortion that has minimized the perceived scale and importance of Africa and the Global South in maps used across education, media and diplomacy.