Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced it is rescinding its digital services tax (DST) that targets the largest US digital companies in a bid to boost trade talks with the US and avoid major...
Another Week. Another State Social Media Teen Law Blocked – Georgia
Report from MediaPost In Brief – Federal District Judge Amy Totenberg has blocked enforcement of Georgia law SB 351, the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act. In her 50-page order she says, “The state seeks to erect barriers to speech that cannot...
Google’s Latest Offer to Change Vertical Search to Comply with EU DMA
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google has proposed more changes to its search results to improve the visibility of “vertical” search competitors, such as those specializing in hotels, airfares, or local services, aiming to resolve the European Commission’s preliminary...
Apple and Google Asked to Block DeepSeek Downloads in Germany
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – The Data Protection and Privacy Commissioner of Berlin has announced that she asked Apple and Google to remove China-based chatbot DeepSeek from their app stores due to data security concerns and a failure to comply with the EU General...
Google Agrees to Invest in Legal Compliance in a Shareholder Settlement
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google and a collection of plaintiffs in shareholder derivative litigation alleging leadership wrongdoing that exposed the company to antitrust liabilities have agreed on a settlement that will have the company invest $500 million over...
AU eSafety Commissioner Enters the Chat on YouTube’s Age Limit Exemption
Report from Reuters In Brief – Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is recommending that the Albanese Government not exempt YouTube from the country’s strict social-media age limit of 16 years old despite the government’s initial plan to do so. Google representatives...
Commission-Led Google DMA Meetings Fail to Resolve Search Issues
Report from Reuters In Brief – Google used a European Commission-hosted workshop on July 7–8 to outline two more proposals intended to address complaints over how it treats “vertical” search competitors, such as those specializing in hotels, airfares, or local...
Apple Appeals to the Courts on the Commission’s DMA Fine and Demands
Report from Politico In Brief – Apple has appealed the €500 million fine imposed by the European Commission for failing to comply with the Digital Market Act (DMA), calling the penalty “unprecedented” and arguing that the regulator’s demands for changes to its App...
Small Publishers File Complaints Against Google’s AI and Search Policies
Report from Reuters In Brief – The Independent Publishers Alliance, a UK-based trade group of small independent publishers, has filed antitrust complaints against Google with the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority accusing Google of...
Reddit Implements Age Verification in UK
Report from TechCrunch In Brief – Reddit, which is reported to be the fastest growing social media platform in Great Britain, has announced that they are checking the age of users in the UK to bring their services into compliance with the Online Safety Act (OSA). To...
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UK Antitrust Authority Investigating Microsoft Business Software Dominance
Report from Reuters In Brief – The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the country’s antitrust regulator, has announced that it will investigate Microsoft's dominance in business software using its powers to oversee big tech. The CMA is opening a "strategic...
AI Hallucination Stories Grab Bag
Context - Within weeks of Chat-GPT’s public release, the fact that chatbots make plausible and realistic sounding stuff up emerged. The AI scientists knew about the phenomenon, which they called “hallucinations”. It appears to be baked into the technology. LLMs don’t...
Texas Supreme Court Facing Online Legal Jurisdiction Question in Yelp Case
Report from MediaPost In Brief – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), with a long track record of aggressive legal action against big online companies, is urging the Texas Supreme Court to reject Yelp’s attempt to block a lawsuit he filed in 2023 alleging that...
Meta Challenges UK Online Safety Act Fees and Fines Regime
Report from The Guardian In Brief – Meta is challenging the methodology Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, uses to determine the regulatory fee and fines structure under the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA). The fees that Ofcom charges regulated firms to fund the...
New York AG Opposes Surveillance Pricing and Electronic Shelf Labels
Report from WRVO In Brief – New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is calling for state legislation to ban the use of personal data to influence prices, as well as a measure to prohibit grocery stores and pharmacies in the state from adopting digital shelf price...
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