Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – The US Justice Department is declining to assist French authorities investigating X, describing the effort as a politically motivated misuse of the criminal justice system to regulate online speech in a way that conflicts...
Another Arkansas Social Media Law Blocked by Federal Judge
Report from the Arkansas Advocate In Brief – US District Judge Timothy Brooks has issued a temporary injunction blocking Arkansas Act 900 that was set to restrict minors from accessing social media with certain features. The 2025 law, challenged by the tech industry...
EU President Releases an EU-Wide Online Age Verification App
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has introduced a new age-verification app developed by the commission to confirm users’ ages online in a way that also protects their personal data. The app is intended to be a...
EU Commission Tells Google How to Open Android to AI and Chatbots
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – EU antitrust regulators have announced extensive directives they plan to impose on Google to give AI developers full access to Android on phones and tablets in the same manner as Google’s own AI models and services such...
California Judge Rules That Jury Will Hear AG’s Amazon Antitrust Complaint
Report from Redheaded Blackbelt In Brief – San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman has ruled that there is sufficient evidence backing the state’s antitrust lawsuit targeting Amazon’s price-parity regime that a jury will hear the case. The...
EU Regulators Tell Google How to Share Search Data with AI Competitors
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – The European Commission announced that it sent preliminary findings to Google outlining measures the digital giant should take to allow third party search engines, including some AI chatbots, to access its store of search data to...
Telegram Investigated by UK Ofcom Over Child Sexual Abuse Material
Report from The Guardian In Brief – Ofcom, the UK online content moderation regulator under the Online Safety Act (OSA), has announced that it is investigating whether Telegram has failed to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The probe follows...
Colorado House Passes Bill Banning Online “Surveillance” Pricing
Report from Colorado Newsline In Brief – The Colorado House of Representatives has passed House Bill 26-1210, a measure prohibiting companies from using personalized data and algorithms to offer individualized prices and wages. Approved 39 – 24, with all support...
Google Faces New Antitrust Lawsuit from Old Android App Store Rival
Report from Reuters In Brief – Aptoide, a Portuguese company that specializes in mobile games and claims the world's third-largest Android app store, filed an antitrust lawsuit in US federal court accusing Google of shutting out rival app stores by monopolizing app...
European Commission Rejects WhatsApp Plan to Charge Chatbots
Report from Politico In Brief – The European Commission announced that it has sent a charge sheet to Meta rejecting its plan to introduce fees for rival AI assistants on WhatsApp, arguing that the proposal effectively mirrors the company’s earlier outright exclusion....
Ninth Circuit Panel Rules That Code Developed by Generative AI Is Not a Copy
Report from Reuters In Brief – The US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a 2024 ruling favoring AI developers in a lawsuit brought by computer coders alleging that OpenAI’s Codex and Microsoft’s Copilot violate the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) by...
Meta Fined $25 Billion for Privacy Violations in New Mexico (Billion with a B)
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to the state after a jury found that the company violated state consumer protection law by misleading users about its data-privacy practices. The jury ruled that Meta...
Turkey Bans Social Media for Teens Under 15
Report from Politico In Brief – Turkey has banned social media access for children under 15, with the law taking effect November 1st following its passage by Parliament in April. Social media platforms must implement “necessary technical and administrative measures,...
High Court Considers Applying 80’s Video Rental Law to Online Advertising
Report from USA Today In Brief – The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared skeptical of broadly applying the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) to modern online advertising. The 1988 law prohibits video stores from disclosing the rental history of customers....
Character.ai Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in Reorganization Effort
Report from CNN In Brief – Character.ai, an AI “companion” chatbot startup facing extensive regulatory pressure and lawsuits alleging its app contributed to teen mental health problems and suicides, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a plan to sell its...
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