Zuckerberg testifies in social media addiction trial, hazardous substances found in headphones

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Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook co-founder, arrived at a California court on Wednesday where he is due to testify in a landmark legal case over whether social media is addictive to children. It will mark Zuckerberg’s first appearance before a jury after years of backlash against his company, Meta Platforms, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. Lawyers for Meta have argued the lead plaintiff in this case, known by her initials K.G.M, was hurt by other things in her life and not by her use of Instagram. BBC 

You wear them at work, you wear them at play, you wear them to relax. You may even get sweaty in them at the gym. But an investigation into headphones has found every single pair tested contained substances hazardous to human health, including chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of males. Even products by market-leading brands such as Bose, Panasonic, Samsung and Sennheiser were found to contain harmful chemicals in the formulation of the plastics from which they are made. The Guardian 

Have you ever asked an AI for a password? When you do, it quickly generates one, telling you confidently that the output is strong. In reality, it’s anything but, according to research shared exclusively with Sky News by AI cybersecurity firm Irregular. The research, which has been verified by Sky News, found that all three major models – ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini – produced highly predictable passwords, leading Irregular co-founder Dan Lahav to make a plea about using AI to make them. “You should definitely not do that,” he told Sky News.

Sony is poised to delay the launch of its latest PlayStation console amid a shortage of memory chips caused by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The new PS6 could be delayed until 2028 or as late as 2029, according to reports, as the Japanese company struggles to obtain vital components needed for the console amid rival demand from data centres. Consumer electronic giants like Sony are facing ballooning prices for Random Access Memory (Ram) chips, which have been snapped up by lucrative AI customers to power their large language model chatbots. Telegraph 

The Pixel 10a is set to go up for pre-order starting tomorrow, but if you’re impatient, you don’t need to wait long to learn all about the phone. In addition to yesterday’s leaked specs sheet, we’re also getting a look at a leaked ad that paints Google’s budget phone as an affordable do-everything device. As shared by WinFuture‘s Roland Quandt on Bluesky, this 24-second spot paints a pretty complete picture about how Google wants consumers to view its next device. 9to5Google 

For Ines Tan there’s one particular site she turns to again and again for advice – and that’s Reddit. Tan, who works in communications, regularly jumps on the site for skincare advice, to view reactions to shows she watches, such as The Traitors, and for help planning her upcoming wedding in May. “It’s a very empathetic place,” she says of Reddit. “For my wedding, I’ve found help emotionally, logistically and inspiration-wise.” Tan believes people are consulting the online discussion platform more as they’re craving human interaction in the world of increasing AI slop. BBC 

Telecoms group Virgin Media O2 has warned over falling sales and earnings in 2026 as it revealed hefty mobile customer losses after hiking prices. The group said it lost 397,500 mobile customers on a net basis last year, with a 164,800 plunge in the fourth quarter largely due to O2 price hikes. Last October, Virgin Media O2 announced it would put up prices for its 15.6 million mobile customers by £2.50 a month from spring 2026, having previously said the increase would be £1.80. Independent 

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