TechScape: How Snapchat is saving itself – and keeping up with Silicon Valley giants

The messaging service pegs itself as the ‘happiest place’ online, but Snap’s Ronan Harris explain how its post-pandemic struggles has made it focus on being friendlier not just to users but to small businesses, too

‘It’s just not hitting like it used to’: TikTok was in its flop era before it got banned in the US

I used to be an avid user of TikTok, but the algorithm serves much less delight and serendipity than it used to

How can parents protect their children from sextortion?

Consequences of sharing nude images and subsequent threat of blackmail can be devastating. Talk to your child, say experts

News Corp quotes anti-immigration TikToker but fails to reveal ex-One Nation MP adviser role

Daily Telegraph featured Jordan Knight as a spokesperson for his self-founded Migration Watch

Universal signs TikTok deal allowing artists back on platform

Music group pulled content amid row over issues such as deepfake AI-generated music and artists’ compensation

Best podcasts of the week: The cast of Green Wing bring the beloved sitcom back to life

Original cast members Olivia Colman, Tamsin Greig and more return for a revamp of the show, 17 years later, in audio form. Plus: five of the best home improvement podcasts

Number of writers jailed in China exceeds 100 for first time, says report

Pen America says there are 107 people behind bars for published content in China, with many accused of ‘picking quarrels’

I live in an uninhabitable ‘boy room’ – can a comedian save me from myself?

Rachel Coster’s TikTok show, which documents the extremely messy dwelling spaces of New York’s young men, has clearly struck a nerve

Smartphones ban may cause more harm than good, says Molly Russell’s father

Ian Russell says parental controls could weaken trust and ‘punish children for tech firms’ failures’

Australia urged to impose big tech tax to fund trusted media and fight disinformation

Thinktank casts ‘deterioration of the information environment’ as a foreign policy priority and a threat to social cohesion

Why row over Baby Reindeer sleuths will change real-life drama for ever

Netflix’s No 1 hit show sparks legal and moral debate over identities in true-crime stories

The week in audio: The Bachelor of Buckingham Palace; The Price of Paradise and more – review

Ugly truths emerge when two very different reality shows go under the microscope. Elsewhere, a star turn from Ted Danson, and why bands break up

The ‘boring phone’: stressed-out gen Z ditch smartphones for dumbphones

The feature-free phone, launched at Milan design week, is the latest device to tap into young people’s concerns about attention-harvesting and data privacy

We must target the root cause of misinformation. We cannot fact check our way out of this

One of the best tools we have to clean up this mess is already in our hands

Snapchat parent company sees shares surge as improved ad system pays off

Snap’s share surged 21% in after-hours trading as app’s users increased by 422 million, bringing in $1.2bn in revenue