UN experts on Wednesday raised concern over Meta’s proposed multibillion-dollar settlement with US state attorneys general over alleged harms to children and adolescents, warning that privately negotiated agreements should not replace transparent regulation developed with participation from young people and affected communities. The experts described bringing social-media platform design within accountability mechanisms as a necessary [...]

The UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries warned Tuesday that rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies are making it harder to determine who is responsible for human rights abuses linked to mercenary and private military and security operations. In a report presented during the 63rd session of the UN Human [...]

In her State of the Union Address in Strasbourg on Wednesday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to become the first “associate member” of the European Union (EU). Von der Leyen proposed upgrading the existing Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to an “Alliance for the Future” that would create [...]

Nineteen consumer advocacy organizations sent a letter Wednesday to the National Association of Attorneys General, urging state attorneys general to investigate Zillow, Compass and other major real estate platforms over practices the groups say have made housing less affordable nationwide. The letter, addressed to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong as president of the association, was signed [...]

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement warned on Thursday that harsh drug laws and policies continue to play a role in systemic racism against “Africans and people of African descent around the world.” They advocated a shift to approaches based on public health and respect for human [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that Kalshi is likely violating federal law by allowing users to wager on sporting events from tribal land. The court held that two federally recognized California tribes, the Blue Lake Rancheria and Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, were likely to succeed on claims [...]

A US federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward for now with changes to a federal homelessness program, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that had set aside the new funding plan. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit granted the request by the Department of Housing and [...]

The UN Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela stated on Wednesday that despite some limited improvements in the human rights situation in the South American country, institutions involved in rights violations and repression remained intact. Sofia Macher, chair of the UN mission said: “The reduction in some of the harshest forms of repression is notable, but it [...]

The UN Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus on Tuesday presented a report detailing the weaponization of the nation’s criminal justice system against government dissenters. The experts found violations of several international human rights treaties, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [...]

Judge Christopher Cooper of US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees cannot install memorials for President Donald J. Trump, or anyone else who is not former President John F. Kennedy, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts without Congress’s approval. This [...]