Policy – SiliconANGLE

Netherlands fines Uber €290M for breaching EU’s GDPR privacy regulation

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 19:29:12 +0000

The Netherlands’ privacy watchdog today issued a fine of €290 million, or about $324 million, to Uber Technologies Inc. over its data management practices. The decision relates to a regulatory framework called the EU-US Privacy Shield that was struck down by a court in 2020. Uber, like many other U.S. tech firms, transfers information it […]

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Google inks controversial deal with California’s lawmakers to fund local news

James Farrell — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 02:20:15 +0000

Google LLC and the state of California have agreed to a deal under which the tech giant will commit $172.5 million to fund local journalism over the next five years while some of the money will be set aside for artificial intelligence development in the state. The deal comes after months of dispute between lawmakers […]

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US judge blocks FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses

James Farrell — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 02:10:27 +0000

A federal judge in Texas today derailed the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, blocking the ban from taking effect in September as planned. In a 27-page opinion, District Judge Ada Brown said that the FTC didn’t have the authority to make such decisions, calling the rule “arbitrary and capricious.” Brown added that the […]

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EU issues request for information to Meta in connection with DSA probe

Maria Deutscher — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 19:18:27 +0000

The European Union has asked Meta Platforms Inc. for information about the way it shares data from its social media platforms with researchers. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, disclosed the request today. The move relates to a probe that officials launched earlier this year into Meta’s compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act […]

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FTC cracks down on fake reviews and influencer misconduct with new rule

Duncan Riley — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:05:33 +0000

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today announced a final rule that will ban marketers from using fake reviews, including those generated with artificial intelligence and other deceptive marketing methods such as paying for bots to inflate follower counts. The rule allows the FTC to strengthen enforcement and seek civil penalties against violators. “Fake reviews not […]

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EU Commissioner just warned Elon Musk over dangerous content and it backfired badly

James Farrell — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:44:45 +0000

EU Commissioner Thierry Breton shared words with X Corp. owner Elon Musk yesterday, reminding him that Musk and X have a responsibility to adhere to the EU’s Digital Services Act, or DSA. Breton’s strongly worded missive to Musk sent yesterday was sent in response to what he called the “risk of amplification of potentially harmful […]

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FTC enters Google v. Epic Games case and hints that Google should be broken up

Duncan Riley — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:37:44 +0000

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is reportedly considering breaking up Google LLC following its intervention via amicus brief into the Epic Games Inc. v. Google case regarding Google’s practices relating to competition and payments in its Play store. The case involved Epic Games, best known as the company behind the highly popular online game “Fortnite,” […]

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Federal appeals court rules that geofence warrants are unconstitutional

Maria Deutscher — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 22:55:35 +0000

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that geofence warrants, which allow police to collect data on individuals’ whereabouts, violate the Fourth Amendment. TechCrunch reported the decision today. Geofence warrants enable law enforcement officials to identify who was in the vicinity of a crime scene when the offense was committed. In […]

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Elon Musk’s X conversation with Donald Trump marred by technical failures

Maria Deutscher — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 18:31:33 +0000

Elon Musk’s interview with GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump kicked off more than 40 minutes late on Monday after X, which hosted the conversation, experienced technical issues. Musk had planned to start the broadcast at 8 p.m. EDT. Instead of launching at the scheduled time, the stream started playing low-quality background music that continued for […]

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Advertising coalition disbands after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X

James Farrell — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 01:29:17 +0000

The coalition of advertisers described by X Corp. owner Elon Musk as a “cabal” has shut down after X hit it with a lawsuit earlier this week. The group, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, was formed in 2019 by the World Federation of Advertisers, or WFA, in an effort to encourage boycotts […]

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UK government clashes with X’s Elon Musk over hate speech and misinformation

James Farrell — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 02:05:06 +0000

Following protests and riots on the streets of England this week, officials in the British government have condemned X Corp. and its owner Elon Musk for stoking the flames of discontent. In an interview with The Times newspaper published today, Peter Kyle, Britain’s secretary of science, innovation, and technology, said Musk “is accountable to no […]

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X goes to war with advertisers over boycott

James Farrell — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 02:18:47 +0000

Elon Musk’s X Corp., which has long felt that the pulling away of advertisers from the platform over hate speech concerns is unfair, today fought back and launched a lawsuit against a number of firms. The lawsuit claims that certain members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, have breached antitrust laws by […]

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X is leaving San Francisco but will stay in Silicon Valley

James Farrell — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 01:37:46 +0000

Elon Musk’s X Corp. is closing down its flagship office in San Francisco, although the new location for the office won’t be quite as far as Texas, as Musk had threatened last month. In July, after California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted the SAFETY ACT, legislation designed to protect LGBTQ+ students, Musk announced that this was the […]

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Senate passes controversial bills designed to protect children online

James Farrell — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:36:35 +0000

The Senate today unanimousl passed two children’s online safety bills in a rare show of bipartisan support. One of the bills, the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, was introduced in 2022 following mounting criticism against Big Tech for what experts and politicians said was companies focusing much more on the bottom line than the […]

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Meta agrees to pay $1.4B to settle Texas illegal biometric data gathering lawsuit

Duncan Riley — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 23:56:03 +0000

Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to pay $1.4 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by Texas that accused the company behind Facebook of illegally collecting biometric data on users without their consent, breaching Texas law. The lawsuit was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in February 2022 and claimed that Meta breached the Texas Capture or […]

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EU reportedly set to fine Meta over allegedly anticompetitive Marketplace Facebook integration

Duncan Riley — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 22:41:41 +0000

Meta Platforms Inc. is reportedly set to be hit with its first European Union antitrust fine in tying Marketplace, the Facebook classified service, to Facebook itself. Reuters, referencing people with direct knowledge of the matter, claims that Meta could be fined as much as $13.4 billion, or 10% of its 2023 global revenue, although the […]

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White House task force releases first-of-its-kind online safety report aimed at protecting kids

James Farrell — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 01:31:25 +0000

The White House’s Task Force on Kids Online Health and Safety today released a report featuring a number of strategies to protect American children online. The topic of what too much time online is doing to the mental well-being of children in the U.S. has become a big deal over the last few years, leading […]

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Google no longer plans to end support for third-party cookies in Chrome

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 22:48:37 +0000

Google LLC has scrapped its plans to phase out Chrome’s support for third-party cookies. The company disclosed the decision today. It detailed that some of the technologies built as part of Privacy Sandbox, the development initiative through which it planned to phase out third-party cookies, are still set to become available in Chrome. The change […]

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EU finds that Meta’s ad-free tier may be in breach of consumer protection rules

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 21:08:43 +0000

The European Union has informed Meta Platforms Inc. that the ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram may breach the bloc’s consumer protection laws. The CPC Network, a group of EU-based consumer protection agencies, notified the company of the development in a letter sent today. The group also asked Meta to suggest ways of bringing its […]

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Chip stocks suffer biggest single-day loss on threat of tougher restrictions on Chinese exports

Mike Wheatley — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 02:15:35 +0000

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index saw more than $500 billion in value wiped out from its stocks today, posting its worst single-day performance since 2020. The fall came after a Bloomberg report said the United States government is considering introducing tighter restrictions on the sale of computer chipmaking technologies to China. Shareholders’ fears were worsened when the […]

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Co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz give full support to Trump campaign

James Farrell — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 01:26:48 +0000

Billionaires Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firm, have announced their support for Donald Trump’s reelection bid, stating they will make hefty donations to his campaign. “The future of our business, the future of new technology, and the future of America is literally at stake,” Horowitz (pictured) said during […]

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Elon Musk is moving X and Space X to Texas, claiming it’s over a new California gender law

James Farrell — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 02:53:20 +0000

Elon Musk today announced that he’s taking the X Corp. and Space X Corp. headquarters out of California following the state governor’s signing of a bill that prohibits school districts from disclosing students’ gender identity. Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) enacted the SAFETY ACT on Monday, legislation designed to protect LGBTQ+ students in the state. The […]

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EU asks Amazon for information about its DSA compliance

Maria Deutscher — Fri, 05 Jul 2024 18:55:08 +0000

European Union officials have asked Amazon.com Inc. for information about its compliance with the DSA, a piece of tech industry regulation that the bloc rolled out in 2022. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, disclosed the move today. The request marks the third time that regulatory officials in the bloc have asked Amazon for […]

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France poised to slap Nvidia with antitrust charges stemming from its AI dominance

Mike Wheatley — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 00:00:38 +0000

French antitrust regulators are reportedly on the verge of slapping Nvidia Corp. with charges that allege it has engaged in anticompetitive practices regarding its domination of the artificial intelligence computing industry. Nvidia has emerged as the world’s foremost supplier of graphics process units and high-speed networking gear that’s required to build the massive clusters required […]

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Supreme Court returns Texas and Florida social media laws to lower courts

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 22:53:20 +0000

The Supreme Court today avoided making a decision in two closely watched social media moderation cases and instead sent them back to the lower courts for review. The justices issued the decision unanimously. There were four separate concurrences, opinions written by justices who agree with the majority view but for different reasons. The two cases […]

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EU probe tentatively finds that Meta breached DMA with ad-free subscription

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 18:59:45 +0000

European Union officials have tentatively determined that Meta Platforms Inc. breached the bloc’s Digital Markets Act regulation with a subscription offering it launched last year. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, published its findings today. A final decision will be made in the probe by March 25, 2025. Meta could face steep fines if […]

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Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts to get minimum pay, other benefits in $175M settlement

James Farrell — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 02:01:09 +0000

Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. today settled a lawsuit with the attorney general in Massachusetts, which will include the companies agreeing to pay their drivers a minimum wage. The $175 million settlement comes with a slew of benefits for drivers other than the $32.50 per hour minimum during driving time. The drivers will also […]

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Supreme Court rules US officials can continue communicating with social media companies

Maria Deutscher — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 18:55:26 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court today rejected a lawsuit that sought to limit how the federal government communicates with social media companies. The case, Murthy v. Missouri, was dismissed in a 6-3 ruling. It focused on misinformation removal requests that officials from the White House and several federal agencies had sent to social media companies. Meta […]

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EU files antitrust charges against Microsoft for bundling Teams with Microsoft 365

Maria Deutscher — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 21:01:04 +0000

European Union officials have tentatively determined that Microsoft Corp. breached the bloc’s antitrust rules with its Microsoft Teams collaboration service. The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, published its findings today. The development is not unexpected. Rumors that EU officials plan to bring antitrust charges against Microsoft first emerged in April. Teams, the service at the […]

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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is returning to Australia a free man

James Farrell — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 02:06:37 +0000

After spending years in a British prison, the former Australian hacker and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has left the U.K., reportedly having agreed to a plea deal with authorities in the U.S. Assange (pictured) had been wanted by U.S. authorities after famously publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, […]

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