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Keller: Massachusetts’s lawsuit against TikTok likely to make a difference?

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Keller: Massachusetts’s lawsuit against TikTok likely to make a difference?


The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller’s, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.

BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the social media giant deliberately exploited young people.

Do lawsuits against social media companies get results?

It’s the latest in a series of lawsuits brought against big social media companies. But is it the best way to fight back?

“Virtually every young person in this Commonwealth uses TikTok,” said Campbell. And for many kids, she added, it’s become an addiction that’s hazardous to their mental health. “Teens report using TikTok for hours a day, often late at night, and this is no accident. Rather, it’s a result of TikTok intentionally designing its platform to keep our young people glued to their screens, all in the name of profit.”

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So Campbell has joined more than a dozen other states in suing TikTok to change its tactics. And if that sounds familiar, it’s no wonder. Campbell and other AGs filed a similar suit against Meta last fall. That case is dragging on, as this one likely will in the face of TikTok’s deep pockets.

“The lawsuit becomes a stick. It becomes an incentive to make that social media company do it,” said WBZ-TV legal analyst Jennifer Roman. “The downside of it, though, is to what cost?”

Why doesn’t Congress make laws regulating social media?   

Roman noted cases like this demand lots of time and money – taxpayer money. And in the meantime, the alleged mental health crisis rolls on.

“During that extended period of time, nothing is changing from TikTok,” Roman said. “They’re not gonna change until they have to.”

Congress could pass laws to bring the tech companies to heel, but they don’t, leaving the courts to play what seems like an endless game of whack-a-mole.

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“Technology is just moving at such a rapid pace, and the wheels of justice do not move quickly,” noted Roman. “So we’re never gonna keep up with what’s on the horizon, what’s coming next and what those impacts may be.”

Some of these lawsuits have gotten results. A federal judge ruled this summer that Google and it’s ubiquitous search engine was an illegal monopoly.

But it took nearly four years of legal wrangling to get there, and the appeals process is expected to take at least another five years.

So it seems clear that with the kinds of profits these companies are making off the way they operate, other parties – like parents – are going to have to step up to deal with the mental health fallout. Because – to adapt an old cliche – changes in technology circle the globe while social responsibility is still putting its pants on. 

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‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran

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‘No way to leave’: Mass. families stuck in Middle East amid war in Iran


Massachusetts families are stuck in the Middle East amid the war in Iran, and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey says the State Department needs to do more to get them home.

The Trump administration is telling Americans to leave the region, and families would love to, but they haven’t been able to get out.

Stacey Schuhwerk of Hingham has been sheltering in place in a Doha hotel since Saturday.

“We hear the missiles outside,” she said. “We can see them.”

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The Hingham mother and her son are among nearly 1,600 Americans trapped in the Middle East with no way to get home.

“Airspace is shut down. There’s no planes,” said Schuhwerk. “There’s no way to leave.”

Flights between Boston and the Middle East are canceled or delayed as travelers express anxiety over the conflict.

At first, U.S. officials told people to shelter in place and register with the State Department — something Schuhwerk did days ago.

“There’s no help there. The last time we called was 20 minutes ago, and they continue to say that ‘We don’t know anything about any plans for government help to get people out,’” she said.

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Embassies and consulates across the region — including the U.S. Embassy in Israel — have now suspended services, saying they simply can’t get Americans out.

“They did not have a plan to conduct this war, and they clearly did not have a plan as to how to evacuate innocent families,” Markey said.

The senator says his office is hearing from Massachusetts families, and he’s pressuring the Trump administration to come up with an evacuation plan fast.

“We are going to apply that pressure on the State Department until every American who wants to leave that region is out,” he said.

Back in Doha, Schuhwerk keeps watching the war outside her window.

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“The talk here is ‘How much defensive ammunition’s left?’ Good question, you know, because the missiles aren’t stopping,” she said. “So how long are we going to be safe here?”

With no clear end to this conflict, she’s worried she could be stuck there for weeks.



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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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Snow, ice, rain to impact roads in Massachusetts – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


Happy Tuesday! While today started off dry, we’re already looking at snow out there across the area. While this event will primarily stay as rain on the Cape and islands, it will be an icy mix of snow, ice and rain for the rest of us.

The rain/snow line will continue to advance from the south to the north as the evening progresses. Before the changeover, there will be a quick coating to 2 inches for most of our area.

The threshold between the snow and rain will feature sleet and freezing rain, leading to that icing.

For the rest of the night, there will primarily be rain with continued pockets of freezing rain, leading to increasing spotty ice accretion. Be extremely careful on roads, especially since switching between rain and freezing rain can wash off any road salt.

The rain and freezing rain will exit by 6 a.m. Wednesday, but temperatures will still be close to freezing during the morning commute, so watch out for some spotty black ice.

The rest of Wednesday will be really nice! Highs will warm up to the mid 50s with the help of ample sun.

Thursday we start off in the mid 20s and top off in the mid 40s. We’ll be partly sunny with another chance for some wintry weather Thursday night. This primarily looks like some rain and freezing rain, rather than the triple threat with snow too. We’ll keep an eye on that for you.

That will continue into Friday morning. The rest of Friday: cloudy with a chance for a spot shower and highs cooler again in the upper 30s. Saturday will be dry, breezy and cloudy but gorgeous near 50 degrees! There’s a chance for some rain showers Saturday night. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward an hour before you to go bed!

Sunday we start the day mild in the 40s and make it all the way into the upper 50s with more sun. Monday and Tuesday both look bright and in the 60s! Stay tuned.

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Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks

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Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks




Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks – CBS Boston

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Poya Sohrabi hasn’t heard from his family since they took shelter from attacks in Tehran. WBZ-TV’s Mike Sullivan reports.

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