Report from Bloomberg In Brief – Google has reportedly made a proposal to European Commission digital regulators to change their search engine's anti-spam policy to downrank news publisher websites that engage in a practice dubbed “parasite SEO”. The move comes in...
Colorado Scales Back Its Big AI Safety Law
Report from Colorado Newsline In Brief – Colorado, which was the first state to enact comprehensive “AI Safety” legislation when it did so in 2024, was set to see it finally go into in go into effect in June, but instead the law has been frozen by a court...
Australia Opens Online Safety Push Against Top Gaming Platforms
Report from DW In Brief – Online gaming platforms Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Steam have been directed by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to explain how they address risks to young users such as child grooming and the spread of extremist content. The regulator,...
Italian Regulator Challenges Booking on Unlabeled Sponsored Links
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – The Italian Competition Authority, which is both an antitrust and consumer protection regulator, has opened an investigation into Booking over concerns that the company’s “preferred partner” and “preferred plus” programs...
Another Publisher AI Copyright Suit – This Time Targeting Meta’s Zuckerberg
Report from MediaPost In Brief – Another coalition of major publishers and authors has filed a class-action lawsuit against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, alleging the company illegally downloaded millions of copyrighted books and journal articles from pirate websites...
Settlement Between the FTC and Kochava Defines Sensitive Location Data
Report from AdExchanger In Brief – The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with data broker Kochava over allegations that the firm engaged in unfair competition by improperly collecting and selling precise geolocation data from hundreds of millions of...
French Regulator Buys Suspicious Products and Reports Online Problems
Report from Reuters In Brief – France’s consumer protection agency, the DGCCRF, reported that it purchased over 600 “high risk” items from seven large foreign-based ecommerce platforms and deemed that 75% failed to comply with EU product safety or labeling standards,...
Utah Prohibits Adult Websites from Discussing or Offering VPN Services
Report from TechRadar In Brief – Utah is implementing a new law imposing a 2% excise tax on online adult content sites with a controversial provision aimed at reducing the likelihood that Utah residents will employ Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or other digital...
Korean FTC Directs eCommerce Platforms to Revise Unfair User Terms
Report from The Korea Times In Brief – The Korean Fair Trade Commission (FTC), the country’s antitrust regulator, has directed seven major ecommerce platforms to make changes to their customer terms of service to better protect consumer rights and securely handle user...
European Commission Says Meta Failed to Keep Kids Off Its Platforms
Report from the New York Times In Brief – European Commission has announced its preliminary finding that Meta is failing to adequately prevent children under 13 from accessing Instagram and Facebook, potentially violating the Digital Services Act. The EU regulators...
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5th Circuit Delivers a Split Decision on Texas Social Media Teen Law
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – A three-judge panel of the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 to block key sections of the Texas SCOPE Act that aims to protect teens from harmful online content such as promoting substance abuse and eating disorders, but...
OpenAI Sued for ChatGPT Giving Dangerous Medical Advice
Report from the New York Times In Brief – A Florida pastor has sued OpenAI in California Superior Court alleging ChatGPT provided dangerous medical advice, delaying care before he was hospitalized with a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. The complaint alleges that...
Teen Plaintiff Drops Meta Complaint Cancelling 2nd “Bellwether” Trial
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – A Florida teenager suing social-media companies over claims that their platforms contributed to his mental health problems has dropped his lawsuit against Meta, leading to the cancellation of the second “bellwether” trial...
European Commission Issues AliExpress a Big Digital Services Act Fine
Report from Politico In Brief – The European Commission has announced a fine of €550 million for Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress for failing to curb the sale of illegal and harmful products, the largest penalty yet imposed under the EU’s Digital Services...
EU High Court Rules YouTube Liable for Content Created by Vetted Affiliates
Report from Reuters In Brief – Europe’s highest court has ruled that Google can be held liable for YouTube videos uploaded by content creators with whom it has commercial partnerships, limiting the scope of legal protections for online platforms and potentially...
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