Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I’m reading about how Google will delete inactive accounts starting in December. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Instagram’s algorithm pushes users who follow young girls toward risqué footage of children and overtly sexual adult content. Test accounts created by investigators at The Wall Street Journal — that the journalists set to follow young gymnasts, cheerleaders and teen and preteen influencers — were fed videos that included a child pantomiming a sex act, a young girl lifting her shirt to expose her midriff and a man lying on a bed with what the caption said was a 10-year-old girl. Current and former employees say Meta is aware of the problem but is yet to fix it.

2.

State policymakers are eyeing regulations that would allow Californians to opt out of artificial intelligence-based profiling that helps determine the outcomes of job, loan and housing applications. The regulations would also apply to AI-based advertising. There’s precedent for this: California already requires mobile applications and social media companies to give users the chance to opt out of sharing personal data. The AI regulations, if approved, would look similar.

3.

A new study found that the Salton Sea — a dying desert lake that sits south of Joshua Tree — might hold more lithium than experts previously thought. The federal analysis suggested the lake could contain up to 18 million metric tons of extractable “white gold,” enough to make 382 million electric vehicle batteries. There are fewer than 300 million cars registered in the United States.

4.

The LA City Council is considering a law that would require short-term rentals, including Airbnbs and hotels, to obtain police permits that’ll help the city crack down on “party houses” and properties that draw illicit activity. Airbnb owners are up in arms. The hosts say they don’t want to be fingerprinted as part of criminal background checks and question the proposed $260 fee. “I just ask that you not buckle us in with doing extra hoops to jump through and extra police checks and extra fees,” one host said.

5.

Big-wall rock climbers in the Yosemite Valley say new draft policies from federal agencies could regulate the sport out of existence. The proposal from the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service would require that park superintendents approve the replacement and installation of new fixed anchors that climbers depend on — which they currently install at will. Climbers say that’ll give superintendents unilateral control over climbing access and potentially lead climbers to use dangerous anchors that are overdue for replacement. Federal regulators say the policy is needed to preserve the wilderness.

You’re all caught up. Thanks for reading Morning, Trojan, and have a good day. Anna Hsu copy edited this newsletter.

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