Report from MediaPost In Brief – District Judge Lynn Winmill has granted final approval to a class-action settlement requiring data broker Kochava to overhaul its privacy practices following allegations that it sold users’ location data without consent. Kochava agreed...
France Temporarily Suspends Effort to Shut Down Shein
Report from Reuters In Brief – The French Finance Ministry has suspended proceedings aiming to block the website of Chinese retail marketplace Shein in France that it initiated after government officials reported that they found illegal products, including “childlike”...
Google Hit with Follow-On Digital AdTech Antitrust Lawsuit
Report from PPC Land In Brief – Canada-based Index Exchange, a digital AdTech business founded in 2003, has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google that aims to build on US District Judge Leonie Brinkema’s April 2025 ruling that Google willfully maintained monopoly...
Nvidia’s CEO Says China “Will Win” the AI Race
Report from Financial Times In Brief – The CEO of Nvidia, the leading AI-optimized chip maker and now the most valuable company in the world, is warning that “China is going to win the AI race” due to lower energy costs and looser regulation. Jensen Huang, in London...
Social Media Companies Sue to Block California Law Banning Personalized Feeds
Report from MediaPost In Brief – Google, Meta, and TikTok have filed federal lawsuits and urged a federal judge to temporarily block enforcement of California’s “Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act” that restricts personalized or “addictive” content...
Apple Loses UK Class Action Arguing Its Fees Were Too High
Report from Financial Times In Brief – The UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has ruled that Apple violated competition law by imposing excessive App Store commissions on developers, leading to overcharges being passed on to consumers. The decision requires Apple...
Apple Says It May Disable App Tracking Transparency Rules in Europe
Report from DPA International In Brief – Apple is saying that it might turn off its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature in Europe due to regulatory pressure that the iPhone giant attributes to lobbying from the advertising industry. ATT is the Apple policy that...
Character.AI Setting an 18-Year-Old Age Limit for Its Companion Chatbots
Report from New York Times In Brief – AI “companion” company Character.AI has announced that they will bar users under 18 from its chatbots in a sweeping move to address concerns over teen safety. The move follows mounting scrutiny over how AI chatbot companions can...
Google and Epic Games Settle Federal Antitrust Battle Over the Play Store
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – Google and Epic Games have agreed to settle their long-running antitrust battle over the rules and fees of the Android Play Store, with Google agreeing to implement changes both sides say will lower fees and expand choices for...
Reddit and Kick Added to Social Media Platforms Facing Aussie Age Limit
Report from BBC In Brief – The Australian eSafety Commissioner has announced that nine digital platforms will be required to comply with the country’s new threshold of 16 years of age for individuals to have an account on social media platforms when the mandate goes...
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Judge Allowing California AG Lawsuit Targeting TikTok’s Addictive Design
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – A California judge has tentatively ruled that TikTok must face the state’s lawsuit alleging the platform’s design is addictive and harmful to children. Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Beth McGowen rejected the company’s attempt...
Federal Judge Allows School District Social Media Lawsuit to Proceed
Google Faces Heightened EU Scrutiny of Search Ad Market Conduct
Report from Bloomberg In Brief – Google is the target of heightened scrutiny by the European Commission antitrust officials over concerns that the digital giant may be illegally rigging the cost of advertising on its search engine. A February 9 letter and request for...
Brazil Orders Grok to Stop Sexualized Images
Report from DigWatch In Brief – Brazil has ordered X to stop AI chatbot Grok from generating sexualized images, adding to the global regulatory pressure on Elon Musk’s social media platform and AI chatbot. The directive, issued by Brazil’s National Data Protection...
India Adds Deepfakes to Tightened Social Media Takedown Regime
Report from MediaNews4U In Brief – India has amended its rules requiring social media platforms such as Meta, YouTube and X to remove unlawful material, adding AI-generated “deepfakes” to the regime. The new rules, which go into effect on February 20, bring...
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