Report from the New York Times In Brief – The US and Chinese officials have said that they have the “framework for a deal” on TikTok as part of broader bilateral and foreign policy talks that could see President Trump certifying that the divestiture conditions set in...
Major Online Publisher Sues Google Over AI-Enabled Search Features
Report from Reuters In Brief – Penske Media, which owns online publisher sites including Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Variety, has sued Google in federal court alleging that it is leveraging its online search monopoly to gain access to Penske’s content for the...
California State Legislature Passes Major AI Transparency Bill
Report from TechCrunch In Brief – The California Legislature has passed SB 53, the “Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act” (TFAIA), that imposes new AI transparency requirements, especially for large developers, and creates whistleblower protections for...
Federal Judge Blocks Second California Election Deepfake Law
Report from Straight Arrow News In Brief – Federal Judge John Mendez has struck down California’s AB 2839 on summary judgement, ruling that the legislation combatting so-called political deepfakes violates the First Amendment. The measure, enacted in 2024, proposed to...
Amazon Suffers Initial Setbacks Before Trial in FTC Dark Patterns Lawsuit
Report from Reuters In Brief – Federal Judge John Chun delivered several quick wins to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just days before the jury trial begins in its lawsuit accusing Amazon of violating federal consumer protection law by using deceptive practices,...
Amazon Agrees to Pay $2.5 Billion to Settle FTC Dark Patterns Lawsuit
Report from the New York Times In Brief – Amazon has reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over allegations it tricked people into signing up for Prime subscriptions and made it difficult to cancel. The digital giant agreed to pay...
MD Tax Authority Proposes Digital Ads Tax Rules to Circumvent Federal Ban
Report from StateAndLocalTax.com In Brief – The Comptroller of Maryland, the state’s tax authority, has finally issued guidance detailing its position on the application of the state’s landmark Digital Advertising Gross Revenues (DGAR) tax, which was enacted in 2021...
Australia’s Social Media Age Limit Will Apply to Google’s YouTube
Report from Reuters In Brief – The Australian Government has reversed course and announced that the country’s strict social-media age limit of 16 years old, set to come online in December, will apply to YouTube despite the initial plan to exempt the massive and...
Platform Telecom Usage Fees Not Likely in the EU Digital Networks Act
Report from Reuters In Brief – As the Trump Administration continues to press the European Commission to step back from regulatory and tax policies that US officials argue discriminate against American tech companies, a commission spokesperson has clarified that the...
Meta to End Political and Social Issue Ads in Europe
Report from the New York Times In Brief – Meta will stop allowing political, electoral or social issue ads on its digital platforms in Europe starting in October due to the requirements of the EU’s Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation....
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Sen. Blackburn Proposes Combining AI Regulation with Anti-Internet Priorities
Report from Roll Call In Brief – Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a leading Republican critic of Big Tech companies, has released a nearly 300-page draft of federal AI regulation. Titled the “TRUMP AMERICA AI Act”, it preempts state AI laws in place of federal...
US Supreme Court Soundly Rejects Broad ISP Liability for User Piracy
Report from the New York Times In Brief – The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Cox Communications cannot be held liable for copyright infringement committed by its users, even if the company knows some customers engage in piracy and yet it does not cut them...
Tech Trade Group Challenges Chicago’s Social Media Tax
Report from the Chicago Sun-Times In Brief – NetChoice, a digital company trade group, is suing to block the City of Chicago’s new social media tax, arguing it violates the First Amendment and the federal Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA). The new tax extends...
Big Trial Losses for Social Media Giants in New Mexico and Los Angeles
Reports from CNBC and the Wall Street Journal In Brief – A New Mexico state court jury has found Meta liable for $375 million in civil damages in a lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of New Mexico for misleading users about the safety of its platforms and...
4chan Fined by UK Ofcom for Failing to Protect Children From Pornography
Report from Sky News In Brief – Ofcom, the UK online safety regulator, has fined 4chan £450,000 for failing to prevent children from accessing pornography. The regulator also ordered the platform to introduce effective age checks by April 2 or face additional fines of...
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