Mashable

Following the Australian government's social media ban for kids under 16, governments around the world are looking into the possibility of similar style bans. 

These governments considering these social media bans now have at least one unlikely supporter: The CEO of Pinterest.

In a piece published for Time, Pinterest CEO Bill Ready has come out in full support for government bans on social media for users under the age of 16.

"Children today are living through the largest social experiment in history," Ready writes. "For years, kids around the world have been given unfiltered access to social media platforms. The companies building these platforms gave insufficient forethought about the consequences, the worst of which include exposing them to unknown strangers and fueling screen addictions."

Ready goes on to list additional effects that social media has had on children as "rising anxiety and depression, eroding concentration, and classrooms competing for attention."

SEE ALSO: Teens sue xAI for Grok's reported sexual image generation issues

The Pinterest CEO says that social media as it is today is not safe for children and blames tech companies for that. Ready says social media is designed to "maximize view time" of kids and pays little attention to their actual well-being. Ready likens the tech CEOs of today to the tobacco industry executives of decades ago.

Now, it might seem hypocritical of Ready to say this as Pinterest's own policies allow kids as young as 13 to sign up for the site. However, as Ready points out, Pinterest has made changes to its platform and removed all social features from Pinterest for users under the age of 16. Their profiles aren't discoverable, and these users can't receive messages, comments, or likes from strangers on Pinterest.

Interestingly, Ready says removing these features did not hurt Pinterest with that demographic.

"When Pinterest removed social features for teens and made every account under 16 private…people said we’d lose the next generation of users," Ready writes. "But Gen Z says the opposite. Today, they make up over 50 percent of our users. Our experience shows that prioritizing safety and well-being doesn’t push young people away; it builds trust."

Ready goes on to say that if tech companies don't want more governments instituting these bans, they need to step up and prioritize kids' safety on their platforms. The Pinterest CEO also expressed support for a proposed bill in the U.S., the App Store Accountability Act. Under this bill, app stores would be required to verify users' ages when downloading apps.

"The cost of inaction is a generation of young people overwhelmed by anxiety and depression," the Pinterest CEO writes. "It’s time to raise the bar on safety and well-being for kids. We need clearer rules, better tools for parents, and stronger accountability for platforms and social media apps."

Many people first saw it on X: A most unusual, and unsettling, job posting. Some assumed it was a joke. Others were reminded of Cyberdyne Systems, the tech company in the Terminator franchise that accidentally invents Skynet.

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But over on LinkedIn, where they speak a different language, Anthropic had merely posted a listing looking for a Policy Manager, Chemical Weapons and High Yield Explosives. The job description added more details.

"This role offers a unique opportunity to shape how AI systems handle sensitive chemical and explosives information," it read. "You'll work with leading AI safety researchers while tackling critical problems in preventing catastrophic misuse. If you're excited about using your expertise to ensure AI systems remain safe and beneficial, we want to hear from you."

Mashable reached out to Anthropic, and the company provided more context.

"Our usage policies prohibit the use of Anthropic products or services to develop or design weapons," a company spokesperson told us. "This role is for the Safeguards team which is responsible for preventing misuse of our models."

The spokesperson stressed that Anthropic explicitly prohibits its AI or any of its technology to be used for weapons creation. Instead, the New York-based manager will be tasked with building and enforcing safeguards to ensure weapons are not made from Anthropic’s tech.

The company seeks to hire experts in sensitive fields who can ensure Anthropic's AI is kept from nefarious hands, the spokesperson said.

SEE ALSO: Anthropic's Claude overtakes ChatGPT in App Store

Anthropic recently found itself in a very public battle with the Department of War (a.k.a. the Department of Defense). The company says it's not budging in its demands that its AI not be used to build fully autonomous weapons or to establish mass surveillance on people.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responded to Anthropic’s conditions by declaring the company a supply chain risk to America’s national security, banning the Pentagon from using its tech after a six-month phase-out. The company then filed suit according to a March 5 note from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei.

Meanwhile, some in the Pentagon are reportedly finding it hard to abandon Claude, Anthropic's AI model.

Back in February, Anthropic announced an update to its AI safety policy, also known as its Responsible Scaling Policy. The company stated it was forced to rethink its safety policies — considered by some to be the strongest in the industry — due to several factors, including the federal government’s emphasis on economic growth over safety regulations.

Whoever ends up in that policy manager role, then, will find themselves at the center of an explosive debate. Not to mention, potentially, the ability to help prevent a future Skynet threat.

We're now deep into tax season with most people filing between now and the April 15 deadline. This also means that we're now deep into scam season for fraudsters and cybercriminals.

Over the years, Mashable has covered countless scams during the tax season period that prey on individuals just trying to file their taxes.

This week, Google published a post sharing their own tools and tips to avoid getting scammed this tax season. As the company points out, Alloy's annual State of Fraud report found a 67 percent increase in fraud attempts. The most common? Tax-related refund update scams.

So, here's what Google is doing to help.

SEE ALSO: Why you shouldn't use ChatGPT to do your taxes Scam Detection on Pixel phones

Google says Pixel users experience 70 percent fewer spam calls thanks to Call Screen, a feature that detects and filters out spammers when they're calling your Pixel phone. 

However, Google has another new layer of protection that can even actively monitor the call in real-time and alert the user when the conversation is headed into scam territory. Scam Detection alerts is an opt-in feature in the Pixel's Phone app. Using AI, Scam Detection lets users know when conversations start sounding like scams and will send a notification, a sound alert, and vibration to the device to let the user know.

Detect text scams with Circle to Search

One common scam during tax season comes in the form of text messages or DMs in messaging apps that claim to come from the IRS or have important information about your tax refund.

Google already has Scam Detection built into Google Messages on Android devices, but Circle to Search now provides another layer of protection. 

Simply long-press the home button on your Android device and circle the potentially fraudulent message or post. Circle to Search will fact check the message and let you know if its suspicious or not.

On iOS devices, this feature can be utilized with Lens via the Google app. Simply take a screenshot of the message, open Lens, and then tap on the screenshot for Google to make its determination.

SEE ALSO: Google wants to fill Fitbit with AI — and your medical records Google Safe Browsing

Google's Chrome web browser also has its own layers of protection for users with Google Safe Browsing

Simply go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, followed by Security, and select Enhanced protection. Google Safe Browsing will scan the websites you visit against a database of known threats and let users know if they are on a phishing website or other nefarious webpage.

Gmail alerts

When a known scam, spam, or malware gets delivered to your Gmail inbox, Google immediately flags that email to let users know about the malicious activity that awaits.

Gmail shows "high-visibility warning banners" that point out suspicious emails, links, and senders. The red or yellow banners are hard to miss and ensure one place that fraudsters can't take advantage of you is in your inbox.

Ad transparency

See an ad that seems too good to be true? 

Click the three-dot icon next to any ad in Google Search and head to the “About this advertiser” section. The advertiser's name, location, and whether they've been verified by Google all appears here.

Google's ad transparency tools will make sure scammers don't weaponize Search ads to carry out their schemes.

The real joy of Pokémon Pokopia for Nintendo Switch 2 is seeing all sorts of weird little creatures show up in your towns, but not all of them arrive in the most intuitive of fashions.

Take Hoppip, for example. This pink plant fella is in Pokopia, but at the moment only in a time-limited, event-centric way. If you want Hoppip in your Pokopia environment, there are a couple of things to know. Keep reading to find out.

SEE ALSO: Pokémon Pokopia: How to power up Rock Smash How to get Hoppip in Pokémon Pokopia

The main thing to know about Hoppip and its evolutions Skiploom and Jumpluff is that they're currently only available in Pokopia as part of the "More Spores for Hoppip" seasonal event, which is only available from now until March 25, per our friends at IGN. That means you've only got a few days at most to get this done.

Thankfully, there really isn't much to get done in order for Hoppip to grace your town with its presence. All you have to do is finish work on the Pokémon Center in Withered Wasteland, the game's opening area. This is part of the tutorial for Pokopia, so there's a good chance anyone reading this has already done that. If not, just keep following the main story quests until it's done.

SEE ALSO: 'Pokémon Pokopia': How to get the Suck ability to move water around

Once you have the Pokémon Center built, simply log into Pokopia during the day before the event runs its course. When your character wakes up, you should see a notification that a Pokémon is "the talk of the town," which means Hoppip has shown up. Go to that Pokémon Center we talked about earlier and you should find it, which kicks off the whole event. Participating in the event, which entails collecting cotton spores on Dream Islands, will net you some fun items that you can then use to create habitats to attract Skiploom and Jumpluff.

Congrats on becoming friends with Hoppip. If only we could all be so lucky.

Free promotions often come with a catch. Sure, you can get some limited-edition merch or a brand-new device, but most of the time you need to spend some cash to qualify. Can you claim that this type of "free giveaway" is free at all? It's a grey area, at best.

But sometimes you really can get something for nothing: Dairy Queen recently gave away cones for free, Krispy Kreme handed out green doughnuts for St. Patricks Day, and Ben & Jerry's has confirmed that it's running its free cone day once again in 2026. And Rita's is doing something similar by offering a truly free giveaway to celebrate the first day of spring.

SEE ALSO: Dunkin' is giving away free ring boxes on National Proposal Day — how to claim yours today

On March 20, customers who visit one of Rita's 600+ locations across the U.S. can get a free 6-ounce Italian Ice. You can choose from a number of flavors, including the new Mystery Peeps Italian Ice Flavor.

Rita’s expects to serve about one million cups of its signature Italian Ice during this promotion. To be one of those lucky million, find your nearest Rita's location and set out in search of your free ice on March 20. We're all feeling the spirit of spring right now, so what better way to celebrate?

Pokémon officially turned 30 a few weeks ago (feel old yet?), but the merch drops are still going strong. Case in point: PopSockets just launched its brand new Pokémon Day and Night collection on March 19.

As the name implies, the lineup gives you two distinct aesthetics to choose from: pastel, sun-soaked designs or moody, dark-purple galaxy themes.

SEE ALSO: 10 of the coolest and weirdest 'Pokémon Pokopia' builds we've seen so far

PopSockets went all out with a full ecosystem of MagSafe accessories that feature four fan-favorite creatures: Mew, Gengar, Espeon, and Umbreon.

Prices run anywhere from $20 to $50. You've got $45 MagSafe cases for all four characters (along with a few matching wallets) split between the two themes: a dark, cosmic look for Gengar and Umbreon, and bright pastel colors for Mew and Espeon. The grips range from $35 to $50; our fave is the Tidepool Dome Mew Aura Sphere. They even threw in some $40 magnetic PowerPacks (so your phone doesn't die while playing Pokémon GO), along with $30 suction mounts and a few beaded phone wristlets.

Where to buy the PopSockets x Pokémon collection

You don't have to wait around for this one. The entire Day and Night collection is available to shop right now directly on the PopSockets website.

Opens in a new window Credit: Pokémon Pokémon Day and Night Collection   Shop Now

TL;DR: Live stream RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Bundesliga action kicks off this weekend with a fascinating matchup between RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim. Only three points separate these sides in the battle for continental qualification. Hoffenheim have been one of the biggest stories of the season — they're only eight points behind Dortmund in second place and they'll go into this clash with a lot of confidence.

A number of exciting players will look to light up this Friday night contest, including the highly-regarded Yan Diomande. Premier League clubs are beginning to circle this talent — can Hoffenheim keep him quiet?

If you want to watch RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim?

RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga kicks off at 7:30 p.m. GMT on March 20. This fixture takes place at the Red Bull Arena Leipzig.

How to watch RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim for free

RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Live stream RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from the Bundesliga before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga for free with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Cagliari vs. Napoli in Serie A for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free live stream from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Serie A action kicks off this weekend with a huge clash between Cagliari and Napoli.

The defending champions are nine points behind Inter going into this game, so they need to be incredibly consistent if they stand any chance of bridging that gap. They'll expect to beat Cagliari, but the home team will be desperate to pick up points and move away from the relegation zone. It's going to be a tense contest involving a number of star players, and you can watch all the action without spending anything.

If you want to watch Cagliari vs. Napoli in Serie A for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is Cagliari vs. Napoli?

Cagliari vs. Napoli in Serie A kicks off at 5:30 p.m. GMT on March 20. This fixture takes place at the Unipol Domus.

How to watch Cagliari vs. Napoli for free

Cagliari vs. Napoli in Serie A is available to live stream for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming platform with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Cagliari vs. Napoli for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the UK

4. Visit BBC iPlayer

5. Live stream Cagliari vs. Napoli for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but most do offer free-trials or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can watch Cagliari vs. Napoli without committing with your cash. This isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream select fixtures from Serie A before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries including the UK

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Live stream Cagliari vs. Napoli in Serie A for free with ExpressVPN.

If there's two things in life that we truly love, it's food and free stuff. Combine those two things together and you're onto a real winner.

If you know where to look, you can find free food promotions all over the place: Dairy Queen gives away free cones, Ben & Jerry's hands out free ice cream, Krispy Kreme offers up free doughnuts, and then there's the long list of promotions tied to significant events like St. Patricks Day or March Madness. This latest giveaway falls into the latter category.

National Proposal Day takes place on March 20. To celebrate, Dunkin' is giving away limited-edition “I Dough” ring boxes at participating locations nationwide (while supplies last). This offer is only available on March 20, so cancel your plans and head to your nearest location. This is your one opportunity to score ring box with a Wedding Cake Munchkins donut hole — a glazed blueberry donut hole topped with wedding cake-flavored sprinkles. 

How to get a Dunkin’ "I Dough" ring box 

Interested in this limited-time promotion? Here's how to get your hands on the Dunkin' ring box:

• Visit a participating Dunkin’ location on March 20 (National Proposal Day) 

• Order a 25- or 50-count of Munchkins Donut Hole Treats 

• Receive a complimentary “I Dough” ring box  

If you go a step further and actually propose with this ring box (why wouldn't you?), you could win a Vera Wang bridal experience. 

From March 20 to April 3, post your proposal video on Instagram or TikTok, tag Dunkin' or Vera Wang, and use the hastag #DunkinVeraWangcontest to be in with a chance of winning a bridal salon experience at Vera Wang’s flagship location in New York City or Beverly Hills. This includes a gown with a custom embroidered detail inspired by your go-to Dunkin’ order. It's something different, at least.

Amazon is launching a phone for the first time in over a decade.

This is according to a Reuters report, which cites four people familiar with the matter. The new phone is internally known as "Transformer," and the company wants to make it a "mobile personalization device" that syncs with Amazon's smart assistant Alexa.

SEE ALSO: Apple's iPhone Fold may come later than we thought

The idea, according to the report, is for the phone to make interacting with various Amazon services easier. This includes buying from Amazon, watching Prime Video, or listening to Prime Music. Of course, AI would be in the middle of it all, though Alexa may not be the "primary operating system" of the phone. We're not quite sure what that means, but it seems to imply that Amazon might rely on another company's AI to run things on the phone.

If this sounds familiar, you might be thinking of Amazon's Fire Phone, which launched in 2014 and was pulled from the market roughly a year later.

Remember the Fire Phone (pictured)? It barely lasted a year before Amazon pulled it off the shelves. Credit: Christina Ascani / Mashable

While the Fire Phone has been a massive flop for Amazon, things are very different now. The Fire Phone's primary claim to fame was a pseudo 3D user interface, and artificial intelligence was nowhere near as smart as it is these days.

The report says that the new Amazon phone is still in early stages, and may be scrapped by Amazon entirely. The anticipated launch date, price of the phone, or the revenue Amazon hopes to generate selling the phone, are all unknowns at this point.

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