#harm

#UK Govt must move away from #toxic social media

Sites like Facebook, Instagram & YouTube track & profile users to target advertising towards them

This fuels online #harm by pushing more & more #extreme content to users

Yet these sites are a primary way government departments share public information

• We shouldn’t be forced to use toxic platforms to get #public #information

https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-your-mp-government-must-move-away-toxic-social-media-platforms

#SocialMedia #Corporate #PeopleNotProfits #privacy #PublicInformation

Flying foxes in NSW and Victoria face mass starvation amid food shortages "Emaciated grey-headed flying fox. ‘They’re crawling around on the ground eating unripe dropped fruit, and quite literally dropping out of trees due to starvation.’ " "Flying foxes are starving en masse across New South Wales and parts of Victoria, with wildlife rescuers responding to a surge in reports of “exhausted and emaciated” adults and skeletal pups. They are now facing food shortages across NSW, from the northern rivers to the south coast, according to the state’s environment department." "Tamsyn Hogarth, director of the Fly By Night Bat Clinic, said rescuers in Victoria were seeing many “exhausted and emaciated” bats and starving babies “like little skeletons”, which appeared to be coming from NSW...The food shortages followed thousands of heat deaths this summer, and came amid disruptions to Melbourne’s Yarra Bend camp from freeway construction works. “They’re copping it everywhere, they can’t catch a break.” >> https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/14/flying-foxes-in-nsw-and-victoria-face-mass-starvation-amid-food-shortages #biodiversity #bats #wildlife #MassStarvation #GreyHeadedFlyingFoxes #pollinators #NSW #FossilFuels #climate #harm #starvation #heatwaves #roads

Tell Andy Burnham to regulate AI | #OpenRightsGroup

#AI is being developed and used at an alarming rate by private companies, governments and public sector organisations. While this new #technology has the potential for good, it can also cause great #harm whether through:

• #surveillance
• Controlling content we see
• Making unaccountable life-changing decisions

--->

#harm #dangerous #digital #hazard #DigitalHazard #PeopleNotProfits

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#UK #Ai #liability #legal #harm

Focus on Coffs Harbour and Nambucca Valley "NSW modern slavery report calls for urgent reform to protect migrant workers." A NSW parliamentary report into modern slavery has detailed "harrowing stories of mistreatment and harm..The report asked the government to investigate allegations of systemic labour exploitation in Coffs Harbour and the Nambucca Valley. "NSW Anti-slavery commissioner Dr James Cockayne said in a statement the report was "informed by evidence from almost 100 witnesses across NSW, including victim survivors of modern slavery, and 60 submissions"." >> https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-06/nsw-anti-slavery-report-urgent-reform-to-protect-migrant-workers/107003130 #exploitation #PALM #MidNorthCoast #HorticulturalIndustry #blueberries #CoffsHarbour #NambuccaValley #food #harm #slavery #regulation

“Runaway” land-clearing in NSW "Almost 90 football fields of woody habitat were bulldozed e v e r y d a y in NSW – despite pledges to rein it in." “Given there’s been no policy change since the government were elected in 2023 it’s no surprise to see that land clearing hasn’t been fixed." “Every hectare of trees bulldozed means fewer homes for wildlife and more carbon pollution in the atmosphere." >> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jul/21/nsw-land-clearing-increase-report #biodiversity #climate #harm #LandClearing #NSW #LoggingIndustry #crime #destruction #extractivism #regulation #wildlife #ScorchedEarth

Mistakes

1. Coming down from the trees
2. Language
3. Mass communications
4. The internet

Humanity, who would have it? 🤔

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jul/21/764-network-gamification-of-harm-the-com-cybercrime-ntwnfb

Edit. And then I saw this.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jul/20/dollar-tree-sexual-assault-gooner

#SocialMedia #Harm

For more than 50 years, the federal government has used a broader definition of #harm to #animals under the #EndangeredSpeciesAct, a bedrock #EnvironmentalLaw. It included any significant “modification or degradation” of habitat that kills or injures animals by impairing their ability to eat, shelter or breed. #Trump #law #regulations #EndangeredSpecies #wildlife #habitats #farming #drilling #mining #RealEstate #development #ecosystems #ColonyCollapse #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis

#SCOTUS upheld this interpretation in 1995, ruling against property owners who argued that #harm should only mean directly killing or injuring an #endangered #animal. But on Friday, the #Trump #Interior Dept & the #Commerce Dept announced a final rule that rescinded this longstanding interpretation. Under the rule, destroying an #EndangeredSpecies’ nest or #habitat would no longer be considered illegal. #law #EnvironmentalLaw #regulations #wildlife #habitats #ecosystems #ClimateChange

No roaming cats, more native wildlife. Successful cat trapping effort leads to spike in Tasmanian devil population "A dedicated group of Landcare volunteers is behind a five-year feral cat trapping program that has led to an increase in native animals and birdlife in the area. The estuary and reserves that hug the coastline are home to a range of vulnerable native species, including the hooded plover, Tasmanian devils, spotted-tailed quolls and eastern barred bandicoot." "The scientists will tell you that the feral cats will eat about 100 kilos of native wildlife a year...Feral cats also spread diseases to humans and livestock." >> https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-28/cat-trapping-northern-tasmania-devil-population-increase/106813282 #biodiversity #wildlife #cats #harm

Mining harm and liability "Brazil’s worst environmental disaster unleashed a wave ​of toxic sludge that killed 19 people, left thousands homeless, flooded forests and polluted the length of the Doce River. BHP cannot appeal against ruling it is liable for 2015 dam collapse" >> https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/may/07/royal-commission-antisemitism-budget-cost-of-living-jim-chalmers-anthony-albanese-tax-islamic-state-families-syria-ntwnfb Mariana dam disaster >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariana_dam_disaster BHP found liable in transnational claim over Brazil’s Fundão dam collapse >> https://www.hrlc.org.au/case-summaries/municipio-de-mariana-v-bhp-group/ #mining #extractivism #liability #disaster #pollution #rivers #watercourses #contamination #environment #harm #MiningWaste #TailingsDam