Snap Reaches Tentative Agreement in L.A. Social Media Addiction Case

Snap Inc. said it has reached a tentative agreement to settle the second case set for trial over claims that the world’s largest social media platforms are addictive to minors, leaving only Meta Platforms Inc. to face a jury starting in Los Angeles. Google’s YouTube and TikTok previously reached accords with the plaintiff, known as “R.K.C.”

Meta Faces Trial in Tennessee Over Instagram-Addiction Allegations

Meta Platforms faces trial in Tennessee over the state's claims that Instagram's design is to blame for a youth mental-health ​crisis, one of several trials in the coming weeks testing allegations that the company's social media platforms were intentionally built to be addictive. Tennessee accuses ‌the company of violating the state's consumer protection law by knowingly designing a product that drives teens to compulsive use and misleading the public about its safety.

Britain Plans Curfew on Social Media Apps for Children

Older teenagers in Britain will ‌have to switch the settings on social media apps to be able to use them after midnight under new safeguarding rules planned by the government. A month after it announced plans to introduce a sweeping ban on social media for ​young people under 16, the government said it also planned a default overnight ​curfew for young people aged 16 and 17.

Europe Considers Report Limiting Children's Social Media Access

Experts delivered a report to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, recommending that the European Union restrict access to social media for children under the age of 13 unless they are supervised by a parent or teacher. The report, by a child psychiatrist, Professor Jörg Fegert, and an epidemiologist, Dr. Maria Melchior, also recommended that 13- to 18-year-olds should have access only to social media platforms that have introduced safety features such as limits on infinite scrolling.

Apple Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI for Stealing Trade Secrets

Apple accused OpenAI of stealing secrets about products still in development, setting up a legal face-off between two of the world’s biggest tech companies. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the consumer tech giant said OpenAI, a leader in artificial intelligence that has a new hardware business, had asked job candidates from Apple to share details about secret projects and to bring device components and prototypes to their interviews.

Britain Creates Oversight for Microsoft, ​Google, Amazon, Oracle

Britain has designated cloud service providers Microsoft, ​Google, Amazon and Oracle as critical third-party suppliers ‌to its financial sector, bringing them under direct regulatory oversight. The move is aimed at strengthening the resilience of financial firms by ​reducing the risk of widespread disruption from cyber ​attacks or technology outages.

Publishers Seek Sanctions Against OpenAI in Copyright Case

The New York Times, The New York Daily News and 15 other media organizations said in a federal court filing that OpenAI was withholding evidence that could play a key role in high-profile lawsuits the companies filed against the artificial intelligence start-up. With their filing, the publishers called for legal sanctions against OpenAI, accusing the company of violating court rules and acting in bad faith during the litigation’s fact discovery phase.

European Commission Report Says Meta Violated Digital Services Act

Meta Platforms isn’t doing enough to protect users’ physical and mental health from its addictive designs of Instagram and Facebook, the European Union said, escalating a probe that could yield heavy fines. The European Commission issued preliminary findings that Meta breached the bloc’s Digital Services Act, a landmark law that requires the world’s biggest online platforms to assess and mitigate risks.

Four States Seek $1.4 Trillion from Meta in Addiction Cases

Four states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties from Meta over claims that the social media giant designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children and withheld information from the public about the harms the apps pose to young users, Meta said in a court filing. The case is being brought by California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey. Meta disclosed the trillion-dollar figure in its response to the attorneys general filings on how penalties should be calculated if the states win at the trial set to begin next month in Oakland, California.

Canadian Intelligence Agency Discloses State-Authorized Hacks

Offering a rare glimpse at the priorities of a top spy organization, Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said it conducted a handful of state-authorized hacks last year in order to disrupt the operations of drug traffickers, violent extremists, and a ransomware gang. The disclosures in the Canadian intelligence agency’s annual report underscore some of the main national security threats that face Canada and its closest allies: ranging from the import of illegal drugs to cyberattacks.

Nigeria to Investigate Tech Companies for Unauthorized Use of News

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has directed the country’s competition regulator to investigate major technology companies over alleged anti-competitive ​practices and unauthorised use of news content, the Federal Competition ‌and Consumer Protection Commission said. The FCCPC said the inquiry would examine complaints by Nigerian media groups against companies including Meta, Alphabet, X and generative ​artificial intelligence platforms operating in Nigeria.

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.

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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.