New Mexico Judge Orders Meta to Pay $567 Million in Mental Health Case

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million and make changes to the way young people can use its platforms, the largest financial penalty yet against the tech giant in its ongoing legal battles over social media harm and addiction. The ruling was in addition to $375 million that Meta was ordered to pay in the same case in March, when a jury found that the company misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled the sexual exploitation of young people.

Iran Suspected in Cyberattacks on Water Utilities in 12 States

Possible cyber intrusions targeting water and wastewater utilities have now been reported in at least a dozen states, multiple sources told ABC News. Iran is the prime suspect in the cyberattacks, which can blind utility operators by changing passwords or disabling alarms, according to the sources, though its involvement has not been officially confirmed.

White House to Exclude Review of Some AI Models for Security Risks

In a meeting with top artificial intelligence companies, White House officials said the federal government planned to review only certain types of artificial intelligence models for potential security risks and not others, according to four people familiar with the discussions. The AI models the government plans to review are known as “closed” models, which do not publish their underlying code and are made by companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, according to three of the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details of the meeting were private.

Zuckerberg Reportedly Apologizes to India for Child Sex Abuse Content

Meta Platforms' Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has apologized to the Indian government over child sexual abuse ​material on the company's platforms and for operational errors, local television ‌channels reported. Zuckerberg apologized for the presence of the material, as well as deepfake content and operational lapses on Meta's platforms, financial news publication Moneycontrol reported, citing sources.

British Competition Tribunal Rejects Google's Bid to Block Suit

Alphabet Inc.’s Google must face a class action lawsuit over alleged abuse of its dominance after an antitrust tribunal allowed a claim on behalf of hundreds of thousands of British firms to go ahead. The lawsuit alleged that Google overcharged businesses that paid for online advertising and abused its dominance over mobile operating systems, app distribution and search advertising.

Chinese-Made Routers Have Backdoor Access, Researchers Say

More than 20 models of a Chinese-made router available throughout ‌the world ship with a backdoor that could allow access and potential connections to other devices on the network, researchers with cybersecurity firm VulnCheck said. The finding adds to growing Western concerns about cybersecurity risks posed by Chinese-made networking equipment. ​Western governments have warned for years about hackers exploiting such devices, and U.S. regulators moved this ​year to restrict imports of foreign-made routers.

Bill Would Require Parental Approval for Children's Social Media Use

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz) is introducing legislation mandating social media platforms receive parental permission before children under 16 can create and keep accounts on the applications. The measure would be the most significant requirement on social media companies operating in the U.S., raising the age threshold at least three years for some platforms.

OpenAI, Anthropic Ask U.S. Government to 'Deliberately Pace' AI Development

Two of the biggest players in the race to develop artificial intelligence endorsed a letter asking the U.S. government to find a way to slow down the development of the technology should it become too rapid. ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its main rival, Anthropic, which provides the Claude chatbot, endorsed a petition released Tuesday that had been signed by hundreds of employees at the two companies, as well as Google, Meta and other leading companies working on AI.

Britain's Antitrust Regulator Investigating Microsoft Over Copilot Pricing

Britain's antitrust regulator said it would investigate Microsoft over whether ​it misled personal and family customers when ‌marketing subscription plans for its ever-popular Microsoft 365 product, resulting in them overpaying. The Competition and Markets Authority said ​the probe would examine Microsoft's addition of ​its AI assistant Copilot to Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Man Who Wiped Phone Under Questioning by CBP faces Felony Charge

A Georgia man was charged with a felony for allegedly wiping his phone while being questioned by Customs and Border Protection. Samuel Tunick had something in common with others who have had their devices searched at airports: He was an activist. Unlike others who have had their phones seized with no explanation, Tunick was told that CBP needed to search his device to determine whether it contained child sexual abuse material, according to court filings.

Russian Security Service Charges Telegram Founder with Aiding Terrorism

Russia’s main security service said that it had charged the founder of Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country and around the world, with facilitating terrorism, escalating the Kremlin’s efforts to restrict all means of communication not under its direct control. The security service, the FSB, said in a statement that it had issued an international warrant to arrest the Telegram founder, Pavel Durov, 41, who is Russian-born.

China Releases Draft Law Targeting Cyberbullying, AI-Enabled Abuse

China's cyberspace regulator released a draft law aimed at curbing cyberbullying, ​including AI-enabled abuse, as Beijing tightens ‌oversight of online bullying in the world's largest internet community. Online platforms would be required to verify the real identities of users before allowing them to post information ​or use instant messaging services.

Ariana Grande Sues to Disclose Identities of Anonymous Hackers

Ariana Grande is taking aim at a group of anonymous hackers she claims infiltrated the devices of people in her inner circle, stealing unreleased music, private photos and behind-the-scenes footage that was later sold online. In a lawsuit filed in California state court, the singer points to a years-long hacking campaign targeting people in her orbit who had access to unreleased materials.

Florida Teenager Drops Social Media Addiction Suit Against Meta

A 15-year-old Florida teenager who accused Meta of creating addictive and harmful social media features dropped his bellwether lawsuit against the company, in a reprieve for the internet giant in its legal battles against teenagers, school districts and state attorneys general. Emily Jeffcott, a lawyer representing the teenager, said he dropped the lawsuit because he was satisfied with the settlements and had concerns about “enduring a grueling weekslong trial.”

OpenAI Says AI Software Breached Security, Hacked Tech Firm

Artificial intelligence software in testing by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI breached security controls, accessed the Internet and hacked another tech firm to obtain answers to questions probing its cybersecurity skills, OpenAI said. OpenAI briefed the Trump administration on the situation before announcing it publicly, according to a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share nonpublic information.

White House Official Accuses Chinese Startup of Abusing Anthropic Model

A top White House official accused a Chinese startup of improperly using Anthropic’s latest model and accessing restricted Nvidia chips to develop its new Kimi model. Michael Kratsios, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said the administration has information that Moonshot AI distilled Anthropic’s Fable to produce Kimi K3.

European Commission Fines Google $1B for Abusing Search Dominance

In a decision likely to intensify trans-Atlantic trade tensions, European Union regulators hit Google with a $1 billion fine for illegally undercutting competition through its dominance as a search engine. In explaining the fine of 890 million euros, regulators in Brussels said Google had used its position as the world’s largest search engine to unfairly boost its services in areas like shopping, travel, games and language translation.

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The GigaLaw Firm helps companies of all sizes protect their brands online, using domain name dispute policies – such as the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) – and other legal tools available to copyright and trademark owners on the Internet.