Federal Regulators Agree on AI Probes of Microsoft, OpenAI, Nvidia

Federal regulators have reached a deal that allows them to proceed with antitrust investigations into the dominant roles that Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia play in the artificial intelligence industry, in the strongest sign of how regulatory scrutiny into the powerful technology has escalated. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission struck the deal over the past week, and it is expected to be completed in the coming days, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the confidential discussions.

FTC Investigating How Microsoft Structured Deal with Inflection AI

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether Microsoft structured one of its latest deals with an artificial-intelligence startup to avoid a government antitrust review of the transaction. Microsoft in March hired Inflection AI’s co-founder and almost all of its employees and agreed to pay the startup around $650 million as part of a licensing fee to resell its technology.

OpenAI Disrupts Campaigns Using AI to Influence Political Discourse

OpenAI said that it had identified and disrupted five online campaigns that used its generative artificial intelligence technologies to deceptively manipulate public opinion around the world and influence geopolitics.The efforts were run by state actors and private companies in Russia, China, Iran and Israel, OpenAI said in a report about covert influence campaigns.

U.S. Seizes Millions in Raid on Chinese Botnet Operator in Singapore

A 35-year-old Chinese man has been arrested in Singapore, and millions of dollars in cars, watches and real estate have been seized as part of a blockbuster raid on a global cybercriminal network that defrauded the U.S. government of billions of dollars, the Justice Department said. The Chinese man, YunHe Wang, is accused of helping assemble a vast network of infected computers, known as a botnet, that was used to carry out bomb threats, send child exploitation materials online and conduct financial fraud, among other schemes, the department alleges.

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'RansomHub' Hacker Group Claims Responsibility for Attack on Christie's

A hacker group called RansomHub said it was behind the cyberattack that hit the Christie’s website just days before its marquee spring sales began, forcing the auction house to resort to alternatives to online bidding. In a post on the dark web, the group claimed that it had gained access to sensitive information about the world’s wealthiest art collectors, posting only a few examples of names and birthdays.

U.S. Appeals Court Creates Fast-Track Schedule for Challenges to TikTok Ban

A U.S. appeals court set a fast-track schedule to consider the legal challenges to a new law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok's U.S. assets by Jan. 19 or face a ban. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the case set for oral arguments in September after TikTok, ByteDance and a group of TikTok content creators joined with the Justice Department earlier this month in asking the court for a quick schedule.

Report Finds Proliferation of Fake Accounts on X Posting About Election

Fake accounts posting about the U.S. presidential election are proliferating on the social media platform X, according to a social media analysis company's report shared with Reuters exclusively ahead of its release. Analysts from Israeli tech company Cyabra, which uses a subset of artificial intelligence called machine learning to identify fake accounts, found that 15% of X accounts praising former President Donald Trump and criticizing President Joe Biden are fake.

Relatives of Uvalde School Shooting Victims Sue Video Game Publisher, Meta

The lawyer who won a record-setting settlement for Sandy Hook families announced two lawsuits on behalf of the relatives of Uvalde school shooting victims against the manufacturer of the AR-15-style weapon used in the attack, as well as the publisher of Call of Duty video games and the social media giant Meta. The lawsuits against Daniel Defense, known for its high-end rifles; Activision, the manufacturer of the Call of Duty first- ­person-shooter series, and Meta, the parent company of Facebook, may be the first of their kind to connect aggressive firearms marketing tactics on social media and gaming platforms to the actions of a mass shooter.

TikTok Says It Removed Thousands of Accounts for Covert Influence Operators

Dominant short-video platform TikTok said that it had taken down thousands of accounts that belonged to 15 covert influence operations in the first four months of this year, including the second-largest such network detected from China. The company, which is under threat in the United States because of its Chinese ownership, said that in February it removed 16 accounts based in China that promoted the policies of the ruling Chinese Communist Party as well as Chinese culture.

Russia Appears to Disrupt Starlink Satellite Internet Service in Ukraine

Just before Russian troops pushed across the Ukrainian northern border this month, members of Ukraine’s 92nd Assault Brigade lost a vital resource. Starlink satellite internet service, which soldiers use to communicate, collect intelligence and conduct drone attacks, had slowed to a crawl. The new outages appeared to be the first time the Russians have caused widespread disruptions of Starlink.

U.S. Tech Lobbying Group Asks India to Rethink EU-Like Competition Law

A U.S. lobby group representing tech giants Google, Amazon and Apple has asked India to rethink its proposed EU-like competition law, arguing regulations against data use and preferential treatment of partners could raise user costs, a letter shows. Citing increasing market power of a few big digital companies in India, a government panel in February proposed, opens new tab imposing obligations on them under a new antitrust law which will complement existing regulations whose enforcement the panel said is "time-consuming."

OpenAI Creates Safety and Security Committee After Johansson Voice Flap

OpenAI’s board formed a safety and security committee after recently becoming embroiled in a legal battle over a new voice assistant in its latest artificial-intelligence model. The generative AI company in a blog post said the committee will be led by directors Bret Taylor, who serves as chair; Adam D’Angelo; Nicole Seligman; and Chief Executive Sam Altman.

EU Regulators Investigating Meta for Addictive Effects on Children

European Union regulators opened investigations into the American tech giant Meta for the potentially addictive effects Instagram and Facebook have on children, an action with far-reaching implications because it cuts to the core of how the company’s products are designed. Meta’s products may “exploit the weaknesses and inexperience of minors” to create behavioral dependencies that threaten their mental well-being, the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member bloc, said in a statement.

U.S. Charges Two Chinese Nationals in $73 Million Cryptocurrency Scam

U.S. authorities charged two Chinese nationals in a cryptocurrency scam that laundered at least $73 million from defrauded victims, the Justice Department said. U.S. officials arrested Yicheng Zhang in Los Angeles, according to an indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court in California's central district later that day. Daren Li, a dual citizen of China and St. Kitts and Nevis, was arrested at the Atlanta airport in April.

Senators Release AI Report Calling for Billions in Funding, Few Regulations

A bipartisan group of senators released a long-awaited legislative plan for artificial intelligence, calling for billions in funding to propel American leadership in the technology while offering few details on regulations to address its risks. In a 20-page document titled “Driving U.S. Innovation in Artificial Intelligence,” the Senate leader, Chuck Schumer, and three colleagues called for spending $32 billion annually by 2026 for government and private-sector research and development of the technology.

TikTok Creators Sue Over U.S. Law, Alleging It Violates First Amendment

Eight TikTok creators are suing the U.S. government over a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban, arguing it violates their First Amendment rights. The creators allege that the law is “unconstitutionally overbroad” and lacks “any conceivable legitimate interest that would warrant shuttering an entire media platform used by millions.”

ByteDance Asks U.S. Court to Create Fast-Track Schedule for TikTok Suit

China-based ByteDance Ltd. asked an appeals court to speed up its lawsuit challenging a U.S. law that would force it to sell the TikTok video-sharing app or face a ban. “Prompt consideration of these cases is needed to avoid irreparable harm, “ lawyers for ByteDance and TikTok said in a filing in the District of Columbia federal appeals court.

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.