X Sues California Over Law Requiring Reports on Content Moderation

Elon Musk’s X Corp. is suing the state of California over AB 587, a state bill requiring social media platforms to report to the state attorney general, semiannually, how they’re tackling moderation of certain categories of speech. The complaint alleges that the bill violates federal and state free speech laws because it “compels companies like X Corp. to engage in speech against their will,” as they’re forced to settle on definitions for “politically-charged” issues like hate speech or racism.

Appeals Court Says Biden White House Likely Violated First Amendment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the Biden White House, top government health officials and the FBI likely violated the First Amendment by improperly influencing tech companies’ decisions to remove or suppress posts on the coronavirus and elections. The decision was likely to be seen as victory for conservatives who’ve long argued that social media platforms’ content moderation efforts restrict their free speech rights.

Musk Reportedly Cut Ukraine's Satellite Internet Service During Drone Attack

SpaceX cut off Starlink satellite internet service to Ukrainian submarine drones last year just as they were launching an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, according to a new biography of SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The new details of the previously reported incident underscore how dependent multiple governments have become on a man who controls both a dominant means of high-speed communication and a major platform for public discourse, X.

Bipartisan Senators Introduce Framework to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, plan to announce a sweeping framework to regulate artificial intelligence, in the latest effort by Congress to catch up with the technology. The leaders of the Senate judiciary’s subcommittee for privacy, technology and law said in interviews that their framework will include requirements for the licensing and auditing of A.I., the creation of an independent federal office to oversee the technology, liability for companies for privacy and civil rights violations, and requirements for data transparency and safety standards.

Trial in Google Antitrust Case Tests Limits of U.S. Control of Tech Companies

U.S. et al. v. Google is the federal government’s first monopoly trial of the modern internet era, as a generation of tech companies has come to wield immense influence over commerce, information, public discourse, entertainment and labor. The trial moves the antitrust battle against those companies to a new phase, shifting from challenging their mergers and acquisitions to more deeply examining the businesses that thrust them into power.

Australia to Require Deletion of AI-Created Child Porn from Search Engines

Australia will make search engines like Google and Bing take steps to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material created by artificial intelligence, the country's internet regulator said. A new code drafted by the industry giants at the government's request will require search engines to ensure that such content is not returned in search results, e-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said in a statement.

Microsoft Agrees to Pay Copyright Damages for Users of Its AI Products

Microsoft will pay legal damages on behalf of customers using its artificial intelligence (AI) products if they are sued for copyright infringement for the output generated by such systems, the company said. Microsoft will assume responsibility for the potential legal risks arising out of any claims raised by third parties so long as the company's customers use "the guardrails and content filters" built into its products, the company said. It offers functionality meant to reduce the likelihood that the AI returns infringing content.

Russian National Sentenced to Nine Years for Hacking U.S. Corporate Databases

A Russian national found guilty of hacking into corporate earnings databases to steal and trade on nonpublic information about companies like Tesla and Roku was sentenced to nine years in prison. The sentence for Vladislav Klyushin, handed down by a federal judge in Boston, adds to the U.S. government’s roster of Russian nationals in its possession as U.S. officials seek potential bargaining chips in a negotiated prisoner swap with Moscow for Americans, including the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Europe to Investigate Microsoft, Apple for Digital Markets Act Coverage

Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. face fresh investigations from European Union regulators as part of the bloc’s landmark digital markets clampdown, which could end up forcing significant changes in how the firms do business in the region. The likes of Alphabet Inc.’s Google Search, Apple’s App Store and Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace are among a list of 22 services that fall under the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

China Bans Workers at Government Agencies from Using iPhones

China ordered officials at central government agencies not to use Apple’s iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bring them into the office, people familiar with the matter said. The directive is the latest step in Beijing’s campaign to cut reliance on foreign technology and enhance cybersecurity, and comes as China seeks to limit flows of sensitive information outside of China’s borders.

50 State Attorneys General Urge Congress to Study AI Links to Porn, Children

The top prosecutors in all 50 states are urging Congress to study how artificial intelligence can be used to exploit children through pornography, and come up with legislation to further guard against it. In a letter sent to Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, the attorneys general from across the country call on federal lawmakers to “establish an expert commission to study the means and methods of AI that can be used to exploit children specifically” and expand existing restrictions on child sexual abuse materials specifically to cover AI-generated images.

Meta to Discontinue 'Facebook News' Feature in UK, France, Germany

Meta Platforms said it will discontinue the "Facebook News" feature on its social media app in the UK, France and Germany, later this year. Users will still be able to view links to news articles and European news publishers will continue to have access to their Facebook accounts and pages after the change is implemented in December, Meta said.

Musk Threatens to Sue Anti-Defamation League for Advertising Slump

Elon Musk threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League after blaming the nonprofit for an advertising revenue slump on X since he led a takeover of the platform formerly known as Twitter. Musk accused the ADL in a post on X of "trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic" after the nonprofit reported a spike in hate speech on the platform following the reinstatement of banned accounts there.

Australian Government Won't Require Adult Websites to Adopt Age Verification

The Australian government will not force adult websites to bring in age verification following concerns about privacy and the lack of maturity of the technology. The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, released the eSafety commissioner’s long-awaited roadmap for age verification for online pornographic material, which has been sitting with the government since March 2023.

U.S. Copyright Office Seeks Public Comments on Artificial Intelligence

The U.S. Copyright Office is opening a public comment period around AI and copyright issues beginning August 30th as the agency figures out how to approach the subject. As announced in the Federal Register, the agency wants to answer three main questions: how AI models should use copyrighted data in training; whether AI-generated material can be copyrighted even without a human involved; and how copyright liability would work with AI.

UK Lawmakers Want Government to Enforce Clearer, Tougher Rules for AI

A group of UK lawmakers are calling on the government to enforce clearer and tougher rules on artificial intelligence systems that are trained off the work of artists, writers and other content creators. In its haste to lure AI companies and development into the UK, the government proposed a new exemption to copyright laws that, if enacted, would reduce arts and cultural content to mere “inputs” for generative AI systems, the UK Culture, Media and Sports Committee — a panel of Parliament members charged with scrutinizing policies for the industry — said in a report.

Commerce Secretary Not Planning to Discuss TikTok During Visit to China

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s visit to China is putting a spotlight on the future of TikTok in the United States, where criticism of the app and its ties to Beijing reached a fever pitch this year. Despite the intense pressure on the popular short-form video app, which is owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance, efforts to ban or regulate it in Washington have not yet borne fruit.

Schumer Plans September Forum with Tech Leaders to Discuss AI Issues

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer in September will convene top tech executives including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for a forum on AI policy as Congress races to create guardrails for the swiftly evolving technology. Schumer (D-N.Y.) earlier this summer teased plans for “AI Insight Forums,” which he says will serve as the bedrock for his efforts to craft bipartisan legislation to address the risks of artificial intelligence.

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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.