As always‚ Charles Barkley is out here keeping it 100

Biden's son could now be held in contempt

'Convicted foreign fugitive'

'Interfering with this process is a gross misdemeanor'

'We will use every tool at our disposal'

Haley wants people to vote for her because she's an Indian woman

The Academy of Science Fiction‚ Fantasy and Horror Films have announced the finalists for this year’s Saturn Awards today! Universal Pictures garnered the most nominations‚ not surprising given they were behind movies like Oppenheimer‚ Renfield‚ M3GAN‚ Fast X‚ Knock at The Cabin‚ and The Super Mario Bros. Movie this year. Others with multiple nods include Avatar: The Way of Water‚ and both Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The winners will be announced in Los Angeles on February 4‚ 2024 at the LA Marriott Burbank Airport Hotel. It will also be streamed live on Dean Devlin’s Electric Entertainment’s ElectricNOW. Scroll down for the lists of nominees from film and television. Congrats to all the finalists! FILM Best Science Fiction Film: Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) The Creator (20th Century Studios) M3GAN (Universal Pictures/Blumhouse) Prey (20th Century Studios/Hulu) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (Paramount/Hasbro)   Best Fantasy Film: Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures) Dungeons &; Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Paramount Pictures/Hasbro) Haunted Mansion (Walt Disney Studios) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Studios)   Best Horror Film: Barbarian (20th Century Studios) Evil Dead Rise (Warner Bros. Pictures) Insidious: The Red Door (Screen Gems/Blumhouse) Renfield (Universal Pictures) Scream VI (Paramount Pictures) Smile (Paramount Pictures) Talk to Me (A24)   Best Superhero Film: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Blue Beetle (DC/Warner Bros. Pictures) The Flash (DC/Warner Bros. Pictures) Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios)   Best Action / Adventure Film: Bullet Train (Sony Pictures) The Equalizer 3 (Sony Pictures) Fast X (Universal Pictures) John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate Films) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Paramount Pictures) The Woman King (TriStar Pictures)   Best Thriller Film: Don’t Worry Darling (Warner Bros./ New Line Cinema) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix) The Lesson (Bleecker Street) The Menu (Searchlight Pictures) Knock at the Cabin (Universal Pictures) Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures)   Best Animated Film: Elemental (Pixar/Walt Disney Studios) Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Dreamworks/Universal) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures/Marvel) The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal Pictures) Suzume (Crunchyroll) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount Pictures)   Best Actor in a Film: Ralph Fiennes The Menu (Searchlight Pictures) Harrison Ford Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) Ben Kingsley Jules (Bleecker Street) Cillian Murphy Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) Chris Pratt Guardians of the Galaxy – Vol. 3 (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Keanu Reeves John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate Films) Sam Worthington Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm)   Best Actress in a Film: Viola Davis The Woman King (TriStar Pictures) Mia Goth Pearl (A24) Anya Taylor-Joy The Menu (Searchlight Pictures) Amber Midthunder Prey (20th Century Studios/Hulu) Margot Robbie Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures) Zoe Saldana Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm)   Best Supporting Actor in a Film: Nicolas Cage Renfield (Universal Pictures) Robert Downey Jr. Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) Ryan Gosling Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures) Michael Keaton The Flash (DC/Warner Bros. Pictures) Stephen Lang Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Mads Mikkelsen Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney)   Best Supporting Actress in a Film: Angela Bassett Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Emily Blunt Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) Jane Curtain Jules (Bleecker Street) Melissa McCarthy The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Studios) Phoebe Waller-Bridge Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) Sophie Wilde Talk to Me (A24)   Best Younger Performer in a Film: Halle Bailey The Little Mermaid (Walt Disney Studios) Vivien Lyra Blair The Boogeyman (20th Century Studios) Jack Champion Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Xolo Mariduena Blue Beetle (DC/Warner Bros. Pictures) Violet McGraw M3GAN (Universal Pictures/Blumhouse) Noah Schnapp The Tutor (Vertical Entertainment)\   Best Film Direction: James Cameron Avatar: The Way of Water (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Greta Gerwig Barbie (Warner Bros. Pictures) James Gunn Guardians of the Galaxy – Vol. 3 (Marvel/Walt Disney Pictures) James Mangold Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) Mark Mylod The Menu (Searchlight Films) Christopher Nolan Oppenheimer (Universal Pictures) Danny Philippou &;Michael Philippou Talk to Me (A24) Best Film Screenwriting: Avatar: The Way of Water James Cameron and Rick Jaffa &; Amanda Silver (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Barbie Noah Baumbach &; Greta Gerwig (Warner Bros. Pictures) The Menu Seth Reiss &; Will Tracy (Searchlight Films) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Erik Jendresen &; Christopher McQuarrie (Paramount Pictures) Oppenheimer Christopher Nolan (Universal Pictures) Pearl Ti West &; Mia Goth (A24)   Best Film Music (Composer): Avatar: The Way of Water Simon Franglen (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Barbie Mark Ronson &; Andrew Wyatt (Warner Bros. Pictures) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny John Williams (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) The Little Mermaid Alan Menken (Walt Disney Pictures) Renfield Marco Beltrami (Universal Pictures) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Daniel Pemberton (Sony Pictures/Marvel)   Best Film Make-Up: The Covenant Donald Mowat (United Artists Releasing) Evil Dead Rise Luke Polti (Warner Bros. Pictures) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Alexei Dmitriew (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Oppenheimer Luisa Abel‚ Jason Hamer (Universal Pictures) Prey Alec Gillis‚ Tom Woodruff Jr. (20th Century Studios/Hulu) Renfield Christien Tinsley (Universal Pictures)   Best Film Editing: Avatar: The Way of Water Stephen Rivkin‚ David Brenner‚ John Refoua‚ James Cameron (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Fast X Dylan Highsmith‚ Kelly Matsumoto‚ Corbin Mehl‚ Laura Yanovich (Universal Pictures) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Andrew Buckland‚ Michael McCusker‚ Dirk Westervelt (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) John Wick: Chapter 4 Nathan Orloff (Lionsgate Films) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Eddie Hamilton (Paramount Pictures) Oppenheimer Jennifer Lane (Universal Pictures)   Best Film Production Design: Avatar: The Way of Water Dylan Cole‚ Ben Proctor (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Barbie Sarah Greenwood (Warner Bros. Pictures) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Beth Mickle (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) John Wick: Chapter 4 Kevin Kavanaugh (Lionsgate Films) Oppenheimer Ruth De Jong (Universal Pictures) Renfield Alec Hammond (Universal Pictures)   Best Film Costume: Avatar: The Way of Water Bob Buck‚ Deborah Scott (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) Barbie Jacqueline Durran (Warner Bros. Pictures) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Ruth E. Carter (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Judianna Makovsky (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Joanna Johnston (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) Oppenheimer Ellen Mirojnick (Universal Pictures)   Best Film Visual / Special Effects: Avatar: The Way of Water Joe Letteri‚ Richard Baneham‚ Eric Saindon‚ Daniel Barrett (Walt Disney/Lightstorm) The Creator Jay Cooper‚ Ian Comley‚ Andrew Roberts‚ Neil Corbould (20th Century Studios) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Stephane Ceretti‚ Alexis Wajsbrot‚ Guy Williams‚ Dan Sudick (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Andrew Whitehurst‚ Kathy Siegel‚ Robert Weaver‚ Alistair Williams (Lucasfilm/Paramount/Disney) Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Alex Wuttke‚ Simone Coco‚ Jeff Sutherland‚ Neil Corbould (Paramount Pictures) Oppenheimer Andrew Jackson‚ Giacomo Mineo‚ Scott Fisher‚ Dave Drzewiecki (Universal Pictures)   Best Independent Film: Aporia (Well Go USA) Brooklyn 45 (Shudder) Fall (Lionsgate Films) Jules (Bleecker Street) Pearl (A24) The Tutor (Vertical Entertainment)   Best International Film: Madeleine Collins (Greenwich Entertainment) Missing (Dark Star Pictures) The Origin of Evil (IFC Films) Ransomed (Well Go USA) Speak No Evil (Shudder) Sisu (Lionsgate Films)   TELEVISION Best Science Fiction Television Series: Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Foundation (Apple TV+) The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+) The Peripheral (Amazon) Silo (Apple TV+) Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS) Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)   Best Fantasy Television Series: Ghosts (CBS) Good Omens (Amazon) House of the Dragon (HBO/Max) The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Amazon) Mayfair Witches (AMC) Schmigadoon! (Apple TV+) Wednesday (Netflix)   Best Horror Television Series: American Horror Story (FX/Hulu) Chucky (NBC/Universal/Syfy) Fear the Walking Dead (AMC) From (MGM+) Interview with the Vampire (AMC) The Last of Us (HBO/Max) What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu)   Best Superhero Television Series: Doom Patrol (HBO/Max) The Flash (Warner Bros. Television) The Sandman (Netflix) Secret Invasion (Marvel/Disney+) She-Hulk: Attorney-At-Law (Marvel/Disney+) Stargirl (Warner Bros. Television) Superman &; Lois (Warner Bros. Television)   Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Television Series: La Brea (NBC/Universal) Manifest (Netflix) Outlander (Starz) Quantum Leap (NBC/Universal) Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Amazon) The Witcher (Netflix) Yellowjackets (Showtime)   Best Television Presentation: Black Mirror (Netflix) Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix) Hocus Pocus 2 (Disney+) Marvel’s Werewolf by Night (Marvel/Disney+) The Midnight Club (Netflix) Mrs. Davis (Peacock) The Munsters (Universal 1440 Entertainment)   Best Animated Television Series or Special: Chainsaw Man (Crunchyroll) Gremlins: Secrets of Mogwai (HBO/Max) Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix) Harley Quinn (HBO/Max) My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim) Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+) Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Lucasfilm/Disney+)   Best New Genre Television Series: Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+) The Ark (Electric Entertainment/Syfy) The Last of Us (HBO/Max) Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Amazon) Silo (Apple TV+) The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC) Wednesday (Netflix)   Best Actor in a Television Series: Tyler Hoechlin Superman &; Lois (Warner Bros. Television) Sam Heughan Outlander (Starz) Diego Luna Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Anson Mount Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS) Pedro Pascal The Last of Us (HBO/Max) Harold Perrineau From (MGM+) Patrick Stewart Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)   Best Actress in a Television Series: Caitriona Balfe Outlander (Starz) Lauren Cohan The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC) Emma D’Arcy House of the Dragon (HBO/Max) Rebecca Ferguson Silo (Apple TV+) Tatiana Maslany She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law (Marvel/Disney+) Rose McIver Ghosts (CBS) Elizabeth Tulloch Superman &; Lois (Warner Bros. Television)   Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series: Jonathan Frakes Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS) Harvey Guillen What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu) Ernie Hudson Quantum Leap (NBC/Universal) Ethan Peck Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS) Ed Speleers Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS) Matt Smith House of the Dragon (HBO/Max) Todd Stashwick Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)   Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series: Jess Bush Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS) Celia Rose Gooding Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS) Genevieve O’Reilly Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Jeri Ryan Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS) Katee Sackhoff The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Sophie Skelton Outlander (Starz) Rebecca Wisocky Ghosts (CBS)   Best Younger Performer in a Television Series: Milly Alcock House of the Dragon (HBO/Max) Freya Allan The Witcher (Netflix) Zachary Arthur Chucky (NBC/Universal/Syfy) Brec Bassinger Stargirl (Warner Bros. Television) Jenna Ortega Wednesday (Netfix) Bella Ramsey The Last of Us (HBO/Max) Igby Rigney The Midnight Club (Netflix)   Best Guest Star in a Television Series: Gael Garcia Bernal Marvel’s Werewolf by Night (Marvel/Disney+) Giancarlo Esposito The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Nick Offerman The Last of Us (HBO/Max) Amanda Plummer Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS) Andy Serkis Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+) Paul Wesley Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS) Catherine Zeta-Jones Wednesday (Netflix)

A bipartisan group of senators is about to take Big Tech CEOs to task on Jan. 31‚ 2024‚ by having them publicly address their failures to protect kids online. And the CEOs need to! The harms social media poses to children are well documented and‚ at this point‚ indisputable—even by the companies themselves. YouTube admits that it hosts harmful content for children and even calls for legislation to address the problems it helps create. YouTube’s CEO indicated as much when he published his “principled approach for children and teenagers.” In it‚ he writes that YouTube “can’t do it alone … [and] support[s] policymakers‚ families‚ researchers‚ companies‚ and experts coming together to define a set of consistent standards for companies serving young people online.” He then advocates for policies that provide more parental rights‚ age-appropriate content for minors‚ and “appropriate safeguards.” Even with this call for legislation‚ policymakers are finding it hard to impose basic measures‚ such as age restriction requirements to protect kids using these services. Age restrictions on a deliberately addictive product that targets children should be a no-brainer. Various levels of government impose age restrictions on these types of offerings all the time. For example‚ kids can’t get tattoos or piercings without parental consent. Or attend movies that are rated R or PG-13. Or purchase video games rated “M.” But somehow‚ social media services are distinct‚ even though they trigger a similar addictive response as nicotine withdrawal and gambling. So‚ why haven’t we done it? State legislatures are making unforced errors by not considering the full internet stack—e.g.‚ the operating system‚ the app store‚ or the app—when imposing such measures. Arkansas’ social media law is a prime example of an unforced error. Its law would have required some‚ but not all‚ social media companies to verify the age of their users. The law didn’t apply to YouTube‚ for example. Failing to take a holistic approach when crafting legislation for the social media market unnecessarily opened the state up to a First Amendment challenge. This is because for the state to require such a measure‚ it would have to show that the requirement is both “narrowly tailored” to not impact adult users’ speech and also necessary to address the harms alleged. According to federal District Court Judge Timothy Brooks‚ the state failed because excluding some social media companies made little sense if the law’s stated goal is to protect kids from the harms social media imparts. Brooks pointed out that even though “YouTube is not regulated by [Arkansas social media law]‚” the state oddly cited YouTube as being particularly harmful to children and “[a]mong all types of online platforms‚ YouTube was the most widely used by children.” So‚ if Arkansas’ law doesn’t apply to YouTube‚ how can the state justify an imposition on adult speech on services that aren’t even favored by most children? But it’s not all bad news. Brooks may have provided legislatures a path forward to get age verification without implicating the First Amendment—by going through the app stores. Brooks seemed to be more upset that Arkansas’ law imposed duties on social media companies rather than on Google and Apple‚ the companies that run two of the biggest app stores on the internet. Throughout his opinion‚ he noted that Apple and Google provide parents several tools to shield kids from certain apps and wondered why the state needed to go through social media platforms to do what the app stores ought to. He’s got a point. Social media apps rely on users to self-certify their age when they create an account‚ but they can’t fully confirm that the user is being truthful—whereas Apple and Google know the precise age of the owner of the device. How? Well‚ their software is integrated at every level of the mobile device. They own the two dominant mobile operating systems (i.e.‚ iOS and Android‚ respectively)‚ app stores (i.e.‚ the App Store and Play Store)‚ and browsers (i.e.‚ Safari and Chrome). Candidly‚ not including Apple and Google in age verification legislation makes little sense‚ because doing so would almost certainly resolve the First Amendment concern. Why? Because all the law would have to require is for Apple and Google to give the app a thumbs up or thumbs down when a social media app asks to verify the device is owned by an adult or a child. The social media company would no longer have to guess how old the user is‚ which limits‚ or even eliminates‚ the risk of denying an adult the ability to engage on American social media platforms. What’s more‚ going through the app stores makes parental consent more doable‚ because‚ as the court noted‚ parents have more control over the device than the apps themselves and the app stores are already required to obtain express parental consent for in-app purchases to comply with consent decrees from the Federal Trade Commission. If the child’s device’s app store prohibits the child from downloading apps without a parent’s credentials (e.g.‚ entering a password‚ providing a fingerprint‚ or using facial recognition)‚ then parents immediately get more agency over the apps their children can access. Better yet‚ it wouldn’t require the consumer to provide more information about the user to social media companies. If social media companies could simply send a request to the device (leveraging the data already available from the device’s operating system) to confirm (almost instantaneously) that a person is above the age of 18‚ then two things occur: 1) The user doesn’t provide more data other than what he has already provided to Apple or Google; and 2) the social media company only gets a thumbs up or a thumbs down in response to its inquiry‚ which limits the amount of new information the company receives. State legislators should learn from these mistakes in order to effectively protect kids online. The biggest lesson so far is to look to both the apps and the app stores when it comes to age restrictions.  Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com‚ and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post Protecting Kids Online: Requiring Age Verification Through App Stores appeared first on The Daily Signal.

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