Trump Signs Executive Order Intended to Limit States' AI Laws

U.S. President Donald Trump on said he will withhold federal broadband funding from states whose laws to regulate artificial intelligence are judged by his administration to be holding back American dominance in the technology. "We want to have one central source of approval," Trump told reporters, flanked by top advisers, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, arguing that 50 different regulatory regimes hamper the growth of the nascent industry.

Russian State Media Regulator Blocks Access to Roblox

Roblox, the California-based platform that allows users to create and share their own games, stopped working for Russian users on Dec. 3. The state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, later confirmed it had restricted access, accusing the company of hosting “extremist materials” and “LGBT propaganda,” and claiming its moderation allowed content that could “negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”

Disney Accuses Google of Copyright Infringement 'On a Massive Scale'

As Disney has gone into business with OpenAI, the Mouse House is accusing Google of copyright infringement on a “massive scale” using AI models and services to “commercially exploit and distribute” infringing images and videos. Attorneys for Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google, demanding that Google stop the alleged infringement in its AI systems.

State Attorneys General Warn Companies About 'Delusional' Chatbots

Microsoft, Meta, Google and Apple were among the 13 companies that received a warning from a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, according to a letter from the state leaders, who said their chatbots' "delusional outputs" could be violating state laws. In it, dozens of attorneys general said the chatbots "encouraged users' delusions," creating mental health risks for kids and adults.

Trump Proposal Would Require Foreign Visitors to Disclose Social Media

Citizens of countries including the U.K. and France will have to disclose five years of their social-media history to visit the U.S., even though they are covered by a visa waiver program, under a proposal by the Trump administration. The proposed requirement would apply to visitors using the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, under a visa waiver program that covers 42 countries, including Italy, Japan and Germany.

EU Opens Antitrust Investigation of Google Over AI Practices

The European Union opened an antitrust investigation into Alphabet’s Google, citing concerns about how it uses uploaded content on platforms such as YouTube to power and train its artificial-intelligence tools. The European Commission said that it is looking into whether Google is distorting competition by imposing unfair terms and conditions on publishers or by giving itself privileged access to their content.

Indian Plan Would Require AI Companies to Pay Content Creators

An Indian government panel has proposed requiring AI companies to pay content creators a share of revenue for using their work to train models, a setback for companies such as OpenAI and Google that back free access to publicly available data. The step comes as governments worldwide are fast developing regulations to resolve AI-related copyright disputes, as AI companies say they are making fair use of material generated by content owners.

FTC Refuses to Lift Ban on Founder of Consumer Spyware Company

A stalkerware maker who was banned from the surveillance industry after a data breach that exposed the personal information of its customers, as well as the people they were spying on, will not be able to go back to selling the invasive software, according the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC denied a request to cancel that ban made by Scott Zuckerman, the founder of consumer spyware company Support King and its subsidiaries SpyFone and OneClickMonitor.

U.S. Detains Two in 'Sophisticated Smuggling Network' of AI Chips

Two businessmen are in custody for allegedly "violating U.S. export control laws" in a scheme that attempted to smuggle Nvidia H100 and H200 chips to China, the Department of Justice said. The alleged smuggling network "threatens our Nation's security by funneling cutting-edge AI technology to those who would use it against American interests," U.S. Attorney Nicholas Ganjei said in a statement.

Startup Company Seeks to Cancel 'Twitter' Trademark Registrations

A fledgling social media platform has asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel trademarks for Twitter so it can take them for itself, contending that billionaire Elon Musk’s X Corp has abandoned them. The Virginia-based startup, Operation Bluebird, said in its December 2 petition that it wants to be allowed to use “Twitter” and “tweet” for a rival social media platform called “twitter.new.” It also filed an application to trademark “Twitter.”

Developer Sues Trump Officials After Apple Removes 'ICEBlock' App

For six months, Apple distributed an app called ICEBlock that allowed users to alert people when they saw Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. But after the Trump administration complained that the app endangered officers, Apple removed it. Now, the app’s developer, Joshua Aaron, sued top Trump administration officials, accusing them of pressuring Apple to stifle his free speech and his right to create, distribute and promote ICEBlock.

Meta to Give European Users Ad Choices, European Commission Says

Meta has committed to giving Facebook and Instagram users in the European Union a choice when it comes to personalized ads, in line with the EU's Digital Markets Act, the European Commission said. "Meta will give users the effective choice between consenting to share all their data and seeing fully personalized advertising, and opting to share less personal data for an experience with more limited personalized advertising," the Commission said in a statement.

Trump Says He'll Issue Executive Order Against State Laws on AI

President Trump said in a social media post that he will issue an executive order to curb state laws on artificial intelligence, the latest win for a tech industry lobbying for deregulation. Mr. Trump said he would create a federal order for rules and approvals for A.I. to eliminate a patchwork of state laws that have emerged in recent years.

New York Times Sues Perplexity for Copyright Infringement

The New York Times claimed in a lawsuit that its copyrights were repeatedly violated by Perplexity, an artificial intelligence start-up that has built a cutting-edge internet search engine. The Times said in its lawsuit that it had contacted Perplexity several times over the past 18 months, demanding that the start-up stop using the publication’s content until the two companies negotiated an agreement.

White House Plan to Block States' AI Laws Called Likely to Fail

Pressure from President Trump to block state-level AI regulation is falling short on Capitol Hill. Although the White House and Hill allies have landed on an AI preemption proposal and are pressing ahead, time is running out and opposition is mounting as sources familiar with the matter described the proposal from Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) as "a long shot," "it's dead" and "it will fail."

YouTube to Restrict Access for Users Under 16 in Australia

YouTube is taking steps to comply with Australia’s upcoming under-16s social media ban, even after rejecting its inclusion in the crackdown and speculation that the company was considering a court challenge. Anyone under the age of 16 in Australia will be automatically signed out of their YouTube accounts on Dec. 10 when the law takes effect, Rachel Lord, public policy senior manager for Google and YouTube Australia, said in a blog post.

India Drops Plan to Require State-Run Cybersecurity App on Phones

India's government scrapped an order to smartphone makers to preload a state-run cybersecurity app on all new devices after an outcry from politicians, privacy advocates and global tech companies over surveillance fears. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government had privately told companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi on November 28 to preload new phones with an app that cannot be deleted called Sanchar Saathi within 90 days.

Missouri Becomes 25th State with Age-Verification Law for Porn

Half of the states in the U.S. are under restrictive age verification laws that require adults to hand over their biometric and personal identification to access legal porn as Missouri became the 25th state to enact its own age verification law. As it’s done in multiple other states, Pornhub and its network of sister site — some of the largest adult content platforms in the world — pulled service in Missouri, replacing their homepages with a video of performer Cherie DeVille speaking about the privacy risks and chilling effects of age verification.

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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.