Latest news with #PeopleBeforeProfit
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
‘The exact number of minutes needed for children to become TikTok addicts' & the hidden dangers posed by ‘filter bubble'
IT'S an attention economy and social media companies will do anything they can to keep your eyes on the screen. Now, US President 2 It takes around 35 minutes for a kid to get addicted to TikTok Credit: Getty Images - Getty 2 Olga Cronin wants Dail reps to back a motion to force social media companies to stop using algorithms on children Credit: PR Handout The app has been ordered to find a This is due to concerns that Americans' data could be passed on to the Chinese government. But where is the concern about what these We all know the horror stories of worrying content about eating disorders, violence or misogyny being pushed the way of our So, campaign group People Before Profit has tabled a Here, Olga Cronin, senior policy advisor at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, tells Irish Sun readers why she believes it is important for all JUST 35 minutes – that's all it allegedly takes for a child to become hooked on Not only that — should a child appear interested in an unhealthy type of content, TikTok's algorithm feeds the child similar unhealthy content in a 'filter bubble'. TikTok users are placed in filter bubbles after just 30 minutes of use in one sitting. These disturbing details were revealed in confidential company documentation disclosed and referenced in a US Trump says he has 'very wealthy people' to buy TikTok after pushing back app ban Why? Because an opportunity has arisen for Irish politicians to support a new bill which could help end this predatory nature of manipulative, harmful and profit-driven social-media algorithms which push content concerning self-loathing, self-harm and ALGORITHMIC PROFILING As the recent Online Safety Monitor from the Children's Rights Alliance called for regulations to require algorithmic profiling to be disabled by default for child and young users, a bill has been put forward by People Before Profit providing for the same. The bill also states that any algorithms based on profiling or sensitive personal data should have to be actively turned on by adult users. The aforementioned US court filing is crucial to understanding why we must demand that these algorithms are turned off by default. TikTok's The court document, from a case taken by the state of "While this may seem substantial, TikTok videos can be as short as eight seconds, and are played for viewers in rapid-fire succession, automatically. Thus, in under 35 minutes, an average user is likely to become addicted to the platform.' THREE STAGES The filing notes how in an internal presentation devoted to increasing user retention rates, TikTok identified three 'moments' when forming a TikTok habit. First there is the Set-up Moment when a young user watches their first video. Next is the Aha Moment when TikTok's algorithm has begun to discern what content a user will respond to, after a child has watched 20 videos or more on their first day on the platform. And finally, there is what they call the Habit Moment in which 'new users start to form a habit of coming to TikTok regularly' which occurs if a youth has watched 260 videos or more during the first week of having a TikTok account. TikTok is aware of negative impacts on its users. The court filing notes how internal reports observed 'compulsive usage correlates with a slew of negative mental health effects like loss of analytical skills, memory formation, contextual thinking, conver-sational depth and emp-athy, and increased anxiety' — and that 'compulsive usage interferes with essential personal responsibilities like sufficient sleep, work/ And yet, the lawsuit alleges TikTok has failed to disclose these harms and continues to mislead the public. The document outlines how the platform's design exploits psychological triggers that cause compulsive usage, such as low-friction variable rewards (where users are randomly rewarded with engaging content), social manipulation (where users are encouraged to interact and engage with the content), and ephemeral content (which creates urgency by presenting time-sensitive material). CYCLE OF ADDICTION These features make it difficult for users to control their time on the platform, creating a cycle of addiction. But this is not just about TikTok. All Big Tackling this problem is long overdue and, if 35 minutes is all it takes to addict a young child to TikTok, time is not on our side. Politicians of all hues should get on board with this bill and have these manipulation machines turned off.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Ex-RTE star potential presidential candidate amid ‘no comment' nod & joint ballot bid with election date to be finalised
LEADERS of opposition parties are due to meet next week to finalise a decision on whether to run a joint candidate in the Presidential election – with former RTE star Joe Duffy not being ruled out as an option. It comes as 3 Murphy has revealed that opposition leaders are planning to hold further talks next week Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved 3 Michael D Higgins will be replaced as president Credit: Getty Images - Getty An election to replace However, political parties have been holding back on their candidate selection processes as they fear a lengthy election campaign could get dirty. Opposition parties previously met to discuss the possibility of joining behind one candidate but there has been no progress as leaders wait to see if Sinn Fein will put forward their own runner. The group of left leaning parties that are in discussions for a joint candidate include Labour, the Greens, the Social Democrats, Sinn Fein and People Before Profit. READ MORE ON IRISH NEWS A move for a joint candidate from the left would become less likely if Sinn Fein decided to go it alone with their own party candidate. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has revealed that opposition leaders are planning to hold further talks next week as he confirmed the idea of a joint candidate is not dead yet. He said: 'I'm involved in those discussions and People Before Profit are very enthusiastic about the idea of a joint left candidate. MOST READ IN THE IRISH SUN 'We think with the right candidate and the right platform, we might win the Presidency and we could have a left candidate in the Presidency again. 'From our perspective and this is objectively true, this process is still alive. JOINT CANDIDATE BID 'I would be very hopeful that we would have progress towards a joint left candidate before the Dail recess.' The Asked if The LiveLine host did not rule out running for the Aras after he left his long running show last week but confirmed that he has NOT been approached by a party to run. It comes as Housing Minister James Browne revealed that he wants to announce the date of the presidential election before the Cabinet breaks for a summer break. He told the Irish Sun: 'I expect to be having that discussion with the leaders before the recess with a view to bringing something to Cabinet. 'So we will have that detailed discussion. It will be up for the Government to make a decision but I think people need to know the date as soon as possible.' 3 Housing Minister James Browne revealed that he wants to announce the date of the presidential election before the Cabinet breaks for a summer break Credit: � 2025 PA Media, All Rights Reserved
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Sinn Féin needed for left presidential candidate, says PBP
A joint left candidate for the presidency largely depends on whether Sinn Féin decides to run its own candidate, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy has said. He said he hoped that Sinn Féin's intentions might become clear next week. 'I would be very hopeful that we would have progress towards a joint left candidate before the Dail recess,' Mr Murphy said. 'There is a meeting being scheduled for next week. 'Obviously Sinn Féin is having its own internal process to decide whether it will run a candidate or not . . . That's pretty crucial. If they have their own candidate then there isn't going to be a joint left candidate, certainly including Sinn Féin,' he said. READ MORE 'My understanding is that is due to end around now. So it makes sense to come back together, for Sinn Féin to report on the internal process, to say whether Sinn Féin, are they interested in pursuing further a joint left candidate or are they going to go their own way. And that's a choice for them to make,' he said. He said he hoped there would be a meeting to discuss this next week. If Sinn Féin are agreeable to a joint left candidate, then the parties of the left should move 'rapidly enough' to selecting a candidate. Sinn Féin , Labour , the Social Democrats , People Before Profit-Solidarity and the Greens have held exploratory talks about agreeing a 'consensus candidate' in recent months, on the basis that their combined votes would be more than enough to secure a nomination and could also funnel significant numbers of voters towards a chosen candidate. Mr Murphy said that People Before Profit was 'very enthusiastic' about a candidate of the left. 'We think it can be won and we think Michael D Higgins is an example of how that position can be quite important, in the context of genocide, of rising racism, of homophobia, having a progress left voice in the presidency is politically important,' he said. He said winning the presidency would be step in the direction of having a left-led government without Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Asked if he had floated the names of possible candidates, Mr Murphy replied: 'Yes.' However, he would not be drawn on who they were. If Sinn Féin decides to run its own candidate Mr Murphy said the rest of the left would have to decide how to respond but from People Before Profit's perspective, it would be 'much, much, much more preferable' to have Sinn Féin on board. Also speaking on Tuesday, Labour TD Marie Sherlock said that there was 'a whole kaleidoscope of names out there at the moment' but she expected that decisions would not be made until the end of August or the start of September But she said that there was a 'massive appetite out there' for someone to continue the 'incredible legacy' of Mr Higgins. 'I think across the left we want to see there's a strong and viable candidate going into November but I think those conversations are continuing,' she said.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Concern over law which would see separated parents lose widow's pension rights
A bereaved TD has described her shock at planned changes to the widow's pension which, she said, would have left her and her daughter in financial hardship had they been in place when her former husband died. People Before Profit's Ruth Coppinger was teaching part-time when her daughter's father died last year. 'We were married for 14 years and had a maintenance agreement written into our separation agreement. I was reliant on that,' said Ms Coppinger. When her former husband died suddenly,Ms Coppinger worried about their financial security without his support. READ MORE Divorced or legally separated co-parents have been entitled to the widow's, or widower's, pension for almost 30 years – since the 1995 divorce referendum. The weekly rate is up to €249.50 for those aged under 66 and €289.30 for those aged 66 and older, with increases of €50 for each dependent child under 12 and €62 for each child aged 12 and older. 'It was such a relief, financially and mentally, to know I would get the widow's pension, that I would have that for my daughter,' Ms Coppinger said. Planned changes, however, would see parents in her situation excluded from entitlement to the pension. The Bereaved Partner's Pension Bill , expected to complete its passage through the Dáil on Wednesday, will remove entitlement to the pension from bereaved co-parents with the loss of hundreds of euro a week for them and their children, according to one legal charity. The Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac) is to brief Oireachtas members on its concerns about the Bill on Tuesday. The new law is to give effect to last year's Supreme Court judgment in the O'Meara case which ruled the exclusion of John O'Meara, a bereaved, unmarried father of three, from entitlement to the widower's contributory pension scheme was unconstitutional. It found the rules around access to the pension breached the guarantee of equality in the Constitution by refusing it to a bereaved unmarried parent with exactly the same obligations to their children as a bereaved married parent. While the new law extends entitlement to bereaved cohabiting parents, it stipulates they must be in a committed, intimate relationship and living together at the time of bereavement. It removes the entitlement of those who married the deceased parent of their children, but are divorced or separated from them when they die. The new law will not affect current recipients. The existing scenario, in which divorced or legally separated co-parents are entitled to the pension, has been an 'important protection' against poverty for children where the death of a parent meant the loss of maintenance, Flac has said. Karen Kiernan, chief executive of the support charity One Family, said a 'very small number' of divorced or separated people claim a survivor's pension. 'We see no basis for removing their entitlement,' she said. 'It is highly concerning that the potential financial impact ... on this group does not seem to have been considered by the Department in what is otherwise a very positive piece of legislation.' Damien Peelo, chief executive of lone-parent advocacy organisation Treoir, said the bill risked 'replacing one inequality with another' by excluding divorced or separated parents. 'Grieving children deserve equal treatment, regardless of their parents' relationship status,' he said. Ms Coppinger said the law would 'plunge households into poverty' and could see some children facing 'homelessness on top of grief' if their surviving parent could not pay their rent or mortgage. A Department of Social Protection spokesman said the O'Meara judgment had raised 'a range of complex matters. 'The Bill has been developed to ensure that the principle of equality in the treatment of potential beneficiaries is upheld both in relation to eligibility for the payment and the rules on the loss of entitlement when a relationship ends,' he said. 'The representation that this amounts to discrimination against single parents is incorrect.'
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
O'Donovan has ‘no notion' of abolishing TV licence fee or replacing it with tax on tech companies
Minister for Communications Patrick O'Donovan has insisted he has 'no notion' of abolishing the TV licence fee or replacing it with a tax on big tech companies. Mr O'Donovan was responding in the Dáil to People Before Profit (PBP) TD Paul Murphy , who described the licence fee as a 'regressive, unjust tax' where the richest and poorest households pay the same €160 fee. Mr Murphy said increasing numbers are 'boycotting' the licence as he asked the Minister to instead tax the social media and technology giants to fund public service broadcasting. 'No, I won't, so that's the end of that,' said Mr O'Donovan. 'I have no notion of doing it. This is a fund that's in place to support RTÉ and public service broadcasters.' READ MORE It also supports the 'sound and vision' sectors, he said. 'I have no intention of replacing it and I have no intention of going down a cul-de-sac that Deputy Murphy would like us to do, which is a road to nowhere for RTÉ and everybody associated with broadcasting,' the Minister said. 'So the short answer is no.' Mr Murphy said the 'tax is deeply unpopular and licence sales have plummeted '. He said 950,000 paid in 2022. That figure dropped to 825,000 in 2023 and to 790,000 in 2024. Mr Murphy said that was a fall of more than 155,000 households 'who are refusing to pay either in protest or because they cannot afford to pay this regressive flat tax, which takes no account of ability to pay'. [ Why I stopped paying my TV licence fee: 'The whole model is broken' Opens in new window ] The Minister replied that 'the licence fee is not a tax. I don't see references to that anywhere in the legislation'. Describing it as an 'important funding mechanism for RTÉ,' Mr O'Donovan said Mr Murphy seems 'to think that there's a phantom entity out there that can pay for everything'. Mr Murphy said the licence accounted for just more than a third of funding for public service broadcasting. He said his party's proposals included a 'radical plan' to increase funding for public service broadcasting by taxing big tech corporations. Mr Murphy said they had a 'parasitical role' in journalism, not creating content but getting most of the advertising from it and it 'clearly makes sense to allow them to pay'. 'I'll continue to support those who refuse to pay the TV licence, and I warn you that that number is increasing,' he said, adding that the number of prosecutions was also dropping. 'You're entitled to start whatever campaign it is you want to start to undermine another public service,' Mr O'Donovan replied. 'I don't support it… and I don't think most people do either.' He said if Mr Murphy gets an opportunity to be in government, he will 'actually see that there's more to running a public service than a megaphone'.
