Report from Engadget In Brief – Roblox has agreed to the demands of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to undertake a series of court-enforceable changes to strengthen protections for young users against grooming and sexual abuse. The gaming platform, which has faced...
TikTok Settles US Government COPPA Lawsuit with $400 Million Payment
Report from MediaPost In Brief – TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from users under 13. The settlement...
Court Overturns Ban on Perplexity Shopping Agent Accessing Amazon
Report from MediaPost In Brief – A federal district court injunction barring Perplexity's AI shopping agent, Comet, from accessing Amazon has been overturned by an appeals panel of the US Ninth District that found it was unlikely that the AI company would be found to...
Australia Enacts New Tax to Force Platforms to Pay Aussie Media Companies
Report from Reuters In Brief – Australia has passed legislation enacting the News Bargaining Incentive, a 2.5% tax on the advertising revenues of large social media and search businesses that do not pay Australian media companies sufficient funds for content showing...
Google Modifies Search Anti-Spam Settings to Address EU Antitrust Concerns
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – Google has agreed to change its search ranking policies in Europe regarding websites that contain third-party content. The change involves Google's “Site Reputation Abuse” policy, an anti-spam initiative the company...
Anthropic Scores a Win in Ongoing Legal Battle with Trump Administration
Report from the Washington Post In Brief – US District Judge Rita Lin has ruled that the Trump administration violated Anthropic’s First Amendment rights by blacklisting the AI company from federal procurement as a supply-chain risk in retaliation for its public...
EU Commission Criticizes Social Media Giants over Ceuta Misinformation
Report from DW In Brief – EU Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, the lead EU commissioner on tech policy, has urged major social media platforms to more closely monitor misinformation following the Ceuta border crisis. European, Spanish and Moroccan authorities...
Apple Aims to Resolve App Store DMA Investigation with Lower Fees
Report from TechCrunch In Brief – Apple has unveiled a new lower-fee commission structure for apps in the EU in a bid to resolve its dispute with the European Commission over compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Apple’s top in-app purchase commission will be...
Federal Judge Rejects Google Plan to Comply with Epic Antitrust Remedy
Report from ArsTechnica In Brief – Soon after Google began allowing the first third-party app store to be downloaded through its Play Store, US District Judge James Donato said the company had not done enough to comply with his antitrust injunction and ordered the...
Meta and State AGs Settle Lawsuit for $18 Billion and Design Changes
Report from the Wall Street Journal In Brief – Meta has agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general, ending a major federal trial over allegations that Facebook and Instagram harmed teenagers and signaling how the top social media platforms may...
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X Facing Irish Regulatory Probe Over Online Safety
Report from Silicon Republic In Brief – Ireland’s media regulator, the Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM), has launched its first investigation under the country’s Online Safety Code, scrutinizing social media platform X for its compliance with requirements designed to protect...
Florida AG Sues Netflix Following the Social Media Litigation Playbook
Report from NBC News In Brief – Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) has filed a 66-page lawsuit against Netflix, accusing the streaming giant of misleading Florida consumers about its data-collection practices and exposing children and families to so-called...
SpaceXAI Fails to Block Minnesota Law Banning “Nudification” Apps
Report from Politico In Brief – Federal Judge Donovan Frank rejected SpaceXAI’s effort to block Minnesota’s law banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images while the company challenges the measure. Frank said the company, then xAI, waited too long to...
Australia Digital Duty of Care Law to Require Algorithm Choice
Report from ABC News Australia In Brief – The Australian Government has released draft legislation to add a Digital Duty of Care to the Online Safety Act of 2021. A key provision is the “My Feed, My Way” initiative requiring social media platforms to give all users a...
Google Updates Gmail Spam Filters for Political Fundraising
Report from Campaigns & Elections In Brief – Google has put in place a Gmail policy that will make it somewhat easier for political campaigns and committees to reach personal Gmail inboxes by allowing eligible political entities to become “verified senders,” bypassing...
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