EU Opens Investigation of Snap Over Child Grooming, Illegal Sales

Social media platform Snapchat, owned by U.S. tech company Snap, was hit with an EU investigation ​as regulators warned it appears not to be doing ‌enough to prevent child grooming and the sale of illegal goods. The EU is conducting the probe under the Digital Services Act, which requires big online platforms to ​do more to tackle illegal and harmful content or risk fines of ​as much as 6% of their global annual sales.

Dutch Court Blocks Grok from Creating Unapproved 'Undressing' Images

A Dutch court ordered Elon ‌Musk's xAI and chatbot Grok not to generate and distribute images "undressing" adults or children, or showing them in sexualized poses with scant or no clothing, without their consent in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam Court's preliminary injunction, which could set a precedent in Europe, is ​one of the first times a judge has weighed in on xAI's responsibility for making tools ​that can be used to easily create sexualised images, amid a flood of complaints and ⁠investigations over Grok around the world.

Judge Blocks Pentagon from Labeling Anthropic as Security Risk

A federal judge temporarily stopped the Department of Defense from labeling Anthropic as a security risk, in a reprieve for the artificial intelligence start-up and its work with the federal government. In a scathing 43-page ruling, Judge Rita F. Lin of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said Anthropic would not be restricted from continuing with its federal contracts for now.

Legislation Would Block New Data Centers Until AI Regulations Enacted

Sen. Bernie Sanders planned to introduce legislation to block the construction of new data centers until lawmakers enact regulations on artificial intelligence, laying down a marker on the populist left as Washington confronts deep public skepticism of the new technology. By targeting data centers — the huge computer facilities powering AI — Sanders (I-Vermont) said the bill seeks to slow the advancement of the technology, giving Congress time to debate the guardrails.

Jury Orders Meta, YouTube to Pay $3 Million in Addiction Case

The social media company Meta and the video streaming service YouTube harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress, a jury found, a landmark decision that could open social media companies to more lawsuits over users’ well-being. Meta and YouTube must pay $3 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering and other financial burdens.

Baltimore Sues xAI, Alleges Grok Chatbot Violates Consumer Protection Law

The city of Baltimore sued Elon Musk’s xAI, claiming ​its Grok chatbot illegally generates nonconsensual sexually explicit images, including of children. The Maryland city said in a complaint filed in Baltimore Circuit ⁠Court that xAI is violating its consumer protection statute by promoting Grok as a safe, general-purpose ​artificial intelligence assistant for everyday people.

Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million in Child Safety Case

Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms and enabled the sexual exploitation of young users, a New Mexico jury found, one of the first major child safety trial losses for the social media giant. The jury, in State District Court in Santa Fe, agreed, ordering Meta to pay $375 million in damages for violating state consumer protection laws.

Musk Loses Trial in Case Over Defrauding Twitter Shareholders

A U.S. federal jury found Elon Musk liable for claims he defrauded Twitter shareholders by ‌trying to drive down the social media company's stock price so he could renegotiate or back out of a $44 billion takeover in 2022. The verdict from a jury in San Francisco federal court came in a closely watched civil trial where Musk, the world's richest person, was accused of falsely claiming on ​social media that Twitter underreported how many fake and spam accounts, known as bots, were on its platform.

White House Issues Guidelines for Blocking States' AI Laws

The White House released policy guidelines that called for blocking state laws regulating artificial intelligence, while also recommending some safeguards for children and consumer protections for energy costs. Among the Trump administration’s suggested measures, Congress would streamline the process for building data centers, the warehouses full of computers that power A.I. The framework also proposed guardrails to prevent the government from using the technology for censorship, as well as mandating A.I.-related work force training.

FBI Buying Data to Track People's Location History, Patel Says

The FBI is buying up information that can be used to track people’s movement and location history, Director Kash Patel said during a Senate hearing. It is the first confirmation that the agency is actively buying people’s data since former Director Christopher Wray said in 2023 that the FBI had purchased location data in the past but was not doing so at that time.

British Regulator Investigating Adobe Over Cancellation Fees

Britain's competition regulator has launched an investigation into ​Photoshop maker Adobe to examine whether its early cancellation fees ‌were unfair and misleading, the watchdog said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will look at whether customers are given "clear and timely information upfront" about early cancellation fees, ​which are likely to influence their decision to purchase the ​product, it said.

Justice Department Charges Three with Trying to Sell AI Tech to China

The U.S. Justice Department said that three ‌people have been charged with conspiring to unlawfully divert U.S. artificial intelligence technology to China. The FBI said Yih-Shyan Liaw, Ruei-Tsang Chang, and Ting-Wei Sun "allegedly conspired to sell billions of dollars worth of servers integrating ​sensitive, controlled graphic processing units to buyers in China, in violation of U.S. ​export control laws."

U.S. Urges Companies to Secure Accounts Using Microsoft Tool

The U.S. government is warning businesses to secure their corporate accounts within a popular Microsoft Corp. management tool, following a cyberattack on Stryker Corp. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an advisory urging companies to follow Microsoft’s recommendations for fortifying Intune, a tool that manages employee and administrative account access across an organization.

Justice Department Seizes Websites Used by Iran to Support Hackers

The Justice Department seized several websites it says were used by Iran as part of “psychological operations” targeting perceived advisories and spreading terrorist propaganda. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was using the four websites, in part, to post “sensitive data stolen during such hacks, and calling for the killing of journalists, regime dissidents, and Israeli persons,” the DOJ said in an announcement.

  • Read the article: CNN

Appeals Court Lifts Injunction Against California Social Media Law

A federal appeals court threw out much of an injunction that had blocked ‌California from enforcing a state law meant to shield children from social media and other online content that could harm them mentally or physically. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the trade group NetChoice was unlikely to prove that the ​California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act was unconstitutional on its face, violating the First Amendment rights of members, ​such as Amazon.com, Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix and Elon Musk's X by turning them ⁠into censors.

British Regulators Pushing Social Media to Increase Child Protection

Britain's media and privacy regulators demanded that major social ‌media platforms do more to keep children off their services, warning that companies were failing to enforce their own minimum age rules. Britain has been weighing tougher curbs on children's access to social media, with the government considering barring under 16s from such platforms - mirroring a ​move by Australia.

Subscribe

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.