Despite New Law, Australian Companies Not Enforcing Age Checks

Australia's online platforms are stumbling at the very first step in implementing age checks for users, rendering a world-first teen social media ban ineffective, a ​study by a team that advised the government's rollout of the curbs found. A team of software testers, which last year trialled age-assurance software on more than ​1,000 Australians, found that platforms did not ask for age proof on any of the 50 accounts it opened after the law came into force and on which it declared ​the age as 16, the researchers told Reuters.

Supreme Court Refuses to Block Texas Law Restricting App Purchases

The Supreme Court declined to pause enforcement of a Texas law that restricts which apps children can download from online stores, in a case that involves the balance of online safety for kids and the Constitution’s free-speech guarantees. The law requires users to verify that they’re at least 18 years old; if they are not, minors must receive consent from their parents for every download or in-app purchase.

Illinois Governor Signs Bill Creating Accountability for AI Companies

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation aimed at holding artificial intelligence companies accountable. The bill requires developers to create and publish a transparency framework explaining how the company applies industry standards, measures model capabilities and the chance of catastrophic risk, and identifies and responds to safety incidents.

Domain Registrars Oppose Indian Court's Order Against Privacy Protections

The world's biggest internet domain seller, GoDaddy, has warned that India's crackdown on fake websites impersonating famous brands will make the internet less safe for legitimate ​businesses and carry global ramifications. A New Delhi judge in December ordered sweeping new measures that tech experts say have rewritten rules of internet governance: Domain sellers should not offer buyers free privacy protection by default, the buyer's details should be released to ​anyone with a "legitimate interest" within 72 hours, and website addresses that are variations of protected brand names must be prohibited.

Supreme Court to Review Contempt Ruling Against Apple in Epic Games Case

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear Apple's bid to escape being found in contempt ​in its legal fight with "Fortnite" maker Epic Games after the iPhone maker was deemed in violation of a ‌judicial order mandating sweeping changes to its lucrative App Store in the antitrust litigation. The justices took up Apple's appeal of a lower court's ruling upholding a decision by Oakland, California-based U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers finding Apple in contempt in Epic's 2020 lawsuit contesting App Store fees.

Commerce Department Lifts Restrictions on Anthropic's AI Models

The Commerce Department lifted restrictions on all of Anthropic’s artificial intelligence models, allowing the company to bring its most powerful AI technologies back online, according to a letter from the government to the company that was viewed by The New York Times. In the letter, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Anthropic that it would no longer need a license for exports or in-country transfers of its Claude Mythos and Claude Fable AI models, reversing an order issued on June 12.

TikTok Finalizing Settlement in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit

TikTok is finalizing a settlement related to a lawsuit claiming that the world’s largest social media platforms are addictive to minors, according to people familiar with the matter, avoiding a jury trial scheduled for July in Los Angeles. Meta Platforms Inc. and Snap Inc. are also listed as defendants in the July trial; Google’s YouTube settled with the plaintiff, known as “R.K.C.,” earlier this month.

Iran Increases Number of Cyberattacks on Israel, Official Says

The number of Iranian cyberattacks against Israel has shot up since the launch of the ​U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran this year, a senior ‌Israeli security official was quoted as saying. Yossi Karadi, Director General of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, told German ​newspaper Die Welt that in June 2025 ​during Israeli military operations against Iran, Israel's ⁠authorities registered around 1,600 hostile cyber incidents.

New York Times Amends Copyright Suit Against OpenAI, Microsoft

The New York Times amended its lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, modifying one claim against Microsoft and dropping another against OpenAI, according to a legal filing in federal court. The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in late 2023, accusing the tech companies of infringing on its copyrights by using millions of its articles to train AI technologies, including the ChatGPT chatbot.

Australia Doubles Fines for Tech Firms Violating Teen Social Media Ban

Australia said it would double the maximum penalty ​it can impose on tech firms found to have failed to uphold a ground-breaking social media ban for children, ‌as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use. The government will also strengthen the information-gathering powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, allowing it to compel social media companies to provide evidence of what they have done to stop under-16s from getting an account.

Trump Administration Lifts Some Limits on Anthropic's AI Models

The Trump administration is allowing Anthropic to reoffer one of its banned AI models to trusted companies and government partners, a key step toward rolling back restrictions that fueled industry concern about ad hoc federal regulation of artificial intelligence. Anthropic can allow dozens of companies and partners trusted by the government to access Mythos 5, one of the two models that the administration banned for foreign use two weeks ago, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a letter to Anthropic Chief Compute Officer Tom Brown, a copy of which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Russian Hackers Blamed for Attack That Shut Down Jaguar Land Rover

A group of Russian hackers was responsible for burrowing into the computer systems of Jaguar Land Rover last year, a devastating attack that forced Jaguar to lock down its computers and suspend production for five weeks, according to five people familiar with an investigation into the hack. Authorities are still sorting through the murky details trying to determine whether the attackers were operating at the behest of the Kremlin, or with its tacit assent.

FCC Expands Ban On Electronic Gear from Chinese Companies

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said ​it will ban the import of more equipment from a group of ‌Chinese manufacturers, the latest move by Washington to crack down on Chinese-made electronic gear. The move expands an FCC ban imposed in 2022 on new models of telecommunications and video surveillance ​equipment made by Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision, and Dahua, citing U.S. national ​security risks.

Microsoft Credits AI to Identify, Take Down Two Hacking Tools

Microsoft Corp. deployed artificial intelligence to link two separate hacking tools and help take them down, a shift the company says reflects how AI is reshaping both sides of the digital crime landscape. The company’s Digital Crimes Unit used AI — including its Copilot assistant — to analyze the malware behind Amadey and StealC, two cybercrime tools that share the same digital infrastructure.

Local Newspapers File Copyright Suit Against OpenAI, Microsoft

Publishers that collectively own and operate nearly 400 newspapers are suing OpenAI Inc. and Microsoft Corp. for scraping their content to build products like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot without permission or compensation. These generative artificial intelligence products — made possible by the publishers’ work — have made billions of dollars in market value for the defendants, and not “a cent of it has gone” to the publishers, according to a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

EU Preparing to Issue Report on Meta's Design Addiction

The European Union is set to ramp up an investigation into Meta Platforms Inc. that alleges its products are addictive to children, as the bloc increases regulatory pressure on the U.S. social media company. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, is preparing to issue preliminary findings that accuse Meta’s Facebook and Instagram of using exploitative design techniques to keep young users hooked, according to people familiar with the matter.

House Lawmakers Reach Agreement on Child Protection Bill

House lawmakers announced a bipartisan deal on a package for protecting kids online, months after negotiations on digital and social media regulation fell apart between the two parties. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) said they “worked across the aisle for many months” and found “common ground on polices to significantly improve the digital environment for kids.”

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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.