White House Hosts CEOS from AI Companies to Discuss Risks

The White House will host CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies, including Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft to discuss risks and safeguards as the technology catches the attention of governments and lawmakers globally. Generative artificial intelligence has become a buzzword this year, with apps such as ChatGPT capturing the public's fancy, sparking a rush among companies to launch similar products they believe will change the nature of work.

Meta Warns Malware Actors Spreading Attacks Across Multiple Platforms

The social media giant Meta warned that malware actors are increasingly spreading their attack infrastructure across multiple platforms, presumably to make it more difficult for individual tech companies to detect their malicious activity. The company added, though, that it views the shift in tactics as a sign that industry crackdowns are working, and it says it is launching additional resources and protections for business users with the goal of raising the barriers for attackers even more.

FTC Chairwoman Vows to Monitor for 'Unfair or Deceptive' Uses of AI

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan pledged for the agency to be vigilant in monitoring “unfair or deceptive” uses of artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology is increasingly deployed across critical sectors. In an op-ed published in The New York Times, Khan said it is crucial for the FTC to monitor the risks to ensure “the hard-learned history” of the rise of Web 2.0 doesn’t repeat itself — when she said mainstream tech giants “revolutionized communications” at a “steep cost” paid in the “widespread hoarding and sale of our personal data.”

UK Antitrust Authority Launches Review of Artificial Intelligence Markets

The UK’s antitrust watchdog launched a wide-ranging market review into the development of AI as authorities grapple with how they can regulate the rapidly evolving technology. The Competition and Markets Authority announced an initial review to examine developments foundational artificial intelligence models and the impacts of the technology on market competition in the tech sector.

Court Affirms Dismissal of Antitrust Suit Against Meta Over Instagram, WhatsApp

New York and other state attorneys general waited too long to sue Meta Platforms Inc. over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, a federal appeals court ruled, upholding the dismissal of their antitrust suit. “The states were on notice of Facebook’s two major acquisitions. Both were publicized,” a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit wrote . We “agree with the district court that the States unduly delayed in bringing suit.”

Hackers Breaking Into AT&T Email Accounts to Steal Cryptocurrency

Unknown hackers are breaking into the accounts of people who have AT&T email addresses, and using that access to then hack into the victim’s cryptocurrency exchange’s accounts and steal their crypto, TechCrunch has learned. At the beginning of the month, an anonymous source told TechCrunch that a gang of cybercriminals have found a way to hack into the email addresses of anyone who has an att.net, sbcglobal.net, bellsouth.net and other AT&T email addresses.

Supreme Court to Hear Case on Public Officials Blocking Constituents Online

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether public officials violate the First Amendment when they block constituents on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, reviving an issue that last came to the high court in a case involving former President Donald Trump. The appeal, which will be heard by the Supreme Court in the term that begins this fall, has implications for how public officials use social media to interact with the public.

Judge in Epic Games Case Says Apple Not 'An Illegal Monopolist'

Apple is not an illegal monopoly but has engaged in illegal anti-competitive conduct, a California federal judge ruled in the high-profile case brought by Epic Games. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, an Obama appointee, ruled that “the court does not find that it is impossible,” but rather that Epic failed to demonstrate that Apple is “an illegal monopolist.”

Bipartisan Senate Bill Sets National Minimum Age for Using Social Media

A new federal bill would establish a national minimum age for social media use and require tech companies to get parents’ consent before creating accounts for teens, reflecting a growing trend at all levels of government to restrict how Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms engage with young users. The proposed legislation by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators aims to address what policymakers, mental health advocates and critics of tech platforms say is a mental health crisis fueled by social media.

  • Read the article: CNN

British Antitrust Regulators Block Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

British antitrust regulators dealt a major setback to Microsoft’s plans to acquire the video game giant Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, blocking the proposed deal and handing a notable win to government enforcers around the world who want to rein in Big Tech. In deciding that Microsoft’s proposals to ensure the acquisition did not harm competition “failed to effectively address the concerns in the cloud gaming sector,” a nascent part of the gaming industry, the Competition and Markets Authority inflicted a possibly fatal blow to what would be the largest consumer tech acquisition since AOL bought Time Warner two decades ago.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Involving Inventions Created by AI

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge by computer scientist Stephen Thaler to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's refusal to issue patents for inventions his artificial intelligence system created. The justices turned away Thaler's appeal of a lower court's ruling that patents can be issued only to human inventors and that his AI system could not be considered the legal creator of two inventions that he has said it generated.

Ireland's Data Protection Chief Warns Against Rush to Ban AI Tools

Generative AI, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, needs to be regulated, but governing bodies must figure out how to do so properly before rushing into prohibitions that "really aren't going to stand up", Ireland's data protection chief said. "It needs to be regulated and it's about figuring out how to regulate it properly," Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) Helen Dixon told a Bloomberg conference, saying the debate extended to thousands of ChatGPT equivalents.

EU Parliament Approves World's First Rules to Regulate Cryptocurrency

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have approved the world’s first comprehensive package of rules aimed at regulating the cryptocurrency industry. In a vote, the EU Parliament voted 517 in favor and 38 against to pass the Markets in Crypto Act, or MiCA. The legislation, which seeks to reduce risks for consumers buying crypto assets, will mean providers can become liable if they lose investors’ crypto-assets.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Musk Says U.S. Government Has 'Full Access' to Private Twitter Messages

Twitter CEO Elon Musk claimed in an interview that the U.S. government has “full access” to users’ private direct messages, saying knowing that information blew his mind. In an excerpt of his Fox News interview with host Tucker Carlson, Musk told Carlson that he was shocked to find out about the government’s ability to read users’ direct messages on his platform.

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Case About 'True Threats' Made Online

The Supreme Court wrestled with what prosecutors need to prove to convict someone of making “true threats” in a case brought by a Colorado man who repeatedly sent abusive messages to a local musician. The appeal brought by Billy Counterman says his conviction for sending Facebook messages to singer-songwriter Coles Whalen is invalid because the jury was not required to make any finding about whether he intended his comments to be genuine threats.

German Associations, Unions Urge EU to Create Copyright Rules for AI Tools

Forty-two German associations and trade unions representing more than 140,000 authors and performers urged the European Union to beef up draft artificial intelligence rules as they singled out the threat to their copyright from ChatGPT. Trade unions for the creative sector Verdi and DGB and associations for photographers, designers, journalists and illustrators set out their concerns in a letter to the European Commission, European Council and EU lawmakers.

Mexico Using Pegasus Spyware Against Human Rights Defenders, Report Says

A New York Times investigation based on interviews, documents and forensic tests of hacked phones shows the secret dealings that led Mexico to become Pegasus’ first client, and reveals that the country grew into the most prolific user of the world’s most infamous spyware. Mexico went on to wield the surveillance tool against civilians who stand up to the state — abuses the country insists it has stopped. But The Times found that Mexico has continued to use Pegasus to spy on people who defend human rights, even in recent months.

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