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can they prove what we all know?
The sun rises and falls, the rivers flow, and every other month Zuckerberg enters the defendant’s dock to commence lengthy court proceedings.
The Meta owner has had several major run-ins with the law since Cambridge Analytica, mostly over a lax company attitude towards user privacy. However, the ongoing case now has major ramifications that could extend beyond putting the tycoon the odd billion out of pocket.
Carrying an angry mob of senators, schools, and parents on her back, a 20-year-old California woman (known only as K.G.M.) has opened a can of worms for the Meta owner over the deliberately addictive design of its social media platforms – I should probably say alleged, right? But why?
The prosecution says that Meta’s product designs are negligent, in that their algorithms deliberately hook minors and keep them bound through curated addiction. It claims Meta execs knew their designs caused harm, and possess internal research showing exactly that, but chose the greedy path of profit over safety anyway.
Basically, Zuckerberg could get the cosh for what many of us have assumed for well over a decade, provided the plaintiff’s team can convince a jury.
The transition from a Myspace or Bebo type formula – for my fellow Gen Zers bordering on Millennials – to infinite scroll machines, vertical video, and glorified surveillance glasses has been extreme and jarring, and we know better than most that social media overuse is synonymous with degrading mental health in young people.
It’s not a stretch, and the studies backing the correlation are endless.
As so-called ‘digital natives’ (heaves slightly), we’ve grown up glued to screens and are now regretfully trying to curate more present lifestyles as adults. But it’s encouraging to see that big tech’s worst kept secret isn’t being swept under the rug anymore.
If you’re glass-half full, a win for the prosecution could have a huge knock-on effect, prompting social media companies to be transparent about their secretive algorithms, while also getting serious about age-based design limits and duty of care for young folks.
If you’re more cynical and nihilistic (and fair enough), Zuckerberg’s entourage could convolute the case as much as possible, chuck endless finances at lawyers to muddle legal definitions, and ultimately get off without any major industry changes.
It would be a whopping kick in the nuts, but recent history suggests we should probably grit our teeth and brace for that eventuality.
🤖 ai chat
Teenager first in SA to be prosecuted for allegedly creating deepfake images – abc news
The creation of non-consensual sexual deepfakes is becoming a massive problem in recent times. Eradicating them completely isn’t a realistic prospect, but prosecutors are getting serious about punishing those who make them as well as share them. South Australia has charged its first offender, 19-year-old Mercedes College student William Yeates, on eight counts of creating deepfake pornography and 12 of using online platforms to harass the victim with the material. The maximum penalty each charge holds is seven years, with the federal offences officially instated in 2024. People have previously landed jail time under old harassment and revenge porn laws, but this is among the first major criminal prosecutions to punish the creation of sexualized images separate from any intent to distribute. Given the barriers to generative AI image tools have been lowered completely, it’s imperative that people are dissuaded from utilizing them for nefarious means. Without continued intervention like that of Australia and the UK, the situation has the potential to spiral out of control.
Snoop Dogg embraces AI in new music video – and, yes, it’s kinda weird – musictech
Everyone knows Snoop Dogg loves getting zooted, but getting high doesn’t always enhance creative thinking – as shown by the garbage AI music video he rolled out. The hip hop legend previously dabbled with a dash of AI on his music video for Last Dance last April, but the latest composition for Sophisticated Crippin’ is a shameless mess. Generally speaking, Gen Z are averse to any instance of generative AI replacing human creativity – usually at the expense of human animators – even if the creation looks relatively okay. This doesn’t even achieve an uncanny valley tick, however, as poorly rendered Snoops go back and forth and a skyscraper-sized version of his current self scraps with a Temu Godzilla. Jesse Wellens apparently directed the music video, but the whole thing looks like a bunch of first prompt generations spliced together. Gen Z aren’t Snoop’s target audience, granted, but they’re right to be miffed at the crap they just watched.
🏡 lifestyle
It’s your perception of sleep that’s making you feel tired all day – new scientist
If there’s one thing our generation loves martyring itself over, it’s how exhausted we are and how little we sleep. There’s never been any cryptic reasoning to why: not very much sleep equals tiredness, surely? It turns out that, according to recent research, how a person feels about a night’s sleep can actually have a bigger impact on state of mind and grogginess than how many hours they spent wrapped in a duvet. A UCLA study tracked 249 people with depression over a 13 week period and found that those who believed they slept more produced better cognitive performance and reported feeling better mood-wise. More than 1 in 3 who considered themselves to be insomniacs were actually getting adequate sleep, indicating a significant belief-perception gap. It’d be ridiculous to suggest a good night’s sleep isn’t needed, but perhaps mindfulness is an important ingredient to adopt too. Maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t assume iron tablets will make all the difference, either.
Gen Z are racking up serious debt in the UK – thred
We love credit cards and water is wet, but were you aware that Gen Z are currently responsible for unlocking the vast majority of credit in the UK?. In February 2026, debt rose across all age groups aside from the 25s to 34s (shout out to my kin). According to data published by the S&P Global Consumer Sentiment Index, those who borrowed the most and racked up far and away the biggest bill were the 18s to 24s. Your parents may blame your lack of available savings on the vanilla iced lattes you grab every morning from Pret, but the reality is we’re hindered by a job market in dire straits. Unemployment rates are at five-year highs, average rent is up, student loan thresholds are taking more per person, and 79% of the generation feel priced out of getting on the property ladder. Despite these grim circumstances, however, we’re still managing to enjoy life and have novel experiences – and utilising a bit of debt to do so. It’s called self-preservation, mother!
Shocking Saturday Stat:
41% of Gen Z borrowed money for groceries or rent in the last year 😳 pic.twitter.com/Kq0wa9qNeI
— Amy Nixon (@texasrunnerDFW) June 28, 2025
