Category: Government & Policy

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AI, Apple, Apple Intelligence, Asia Pacific, china, deepseek, deepseek-r1, generative ai, Global Security News, Google, Government & Policy, Hardware, Trump

What DeepSeek, China, and Trump mean for Apple ahead of its Q1 earnings

January 29, 2025

These days, nothing is certain about the tech market or the world at large. Even NVIDIA’s seemingly bulletproof stock took a hammering on Monday, enduring a $589 billion market cap decline after China-based DeepSeek raised questions for investors about more efficient AI models. But Apple’s stock has remained steady ahead of its first quarter earnings…

Anthropic’s CEO says DeepSeek shows that U.S. export rules are working as intended

January 29, 2025

In an essay on Wednesday, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, weighed in on the debate over whether Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s success implies that U.S. export controls on AI chips aren’t working. Amodei, who recently made the case for stronger export controls in an op-ed co-written with former U.S. deputy national security advisor Matt…

Ireland and Italy send data watchdog requests to DeepSeek: ‘The data of millions of Italians is at risk’

January 29, 2025

The jury is still out on whether the Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek is a game changer or part of an elaborate plan by its hedge fund parent company to short Nvidia and other tech stocks. Whichever it might be (maybe both?), DeepSeek and its large language model have made some major waves. And now, it’s…

Italy sends first data watchdog request to DeepSeek: ‘The data of millions of Italians is at risk’

January 28, 2025

The jury is still out on whether the Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek is a game changer or possibly part of an elaborate plan by its hedge fund parent company to short Nvidia and other tech stocks. Whichever it might be (maybe both?), DeepSeek and its large language model has made some major waves. Now, it’s…

David Sacks claims there’s ‘substantial evidence’ that DeepSeek used OpenAI’s models to train its own

January 28, 2025

David Sacks, Trump’s AI and crypto “czar,” said in an interview on Fox on Tuesday that there’s “substantial evidence” that Chinese AI company DeepSeek “distilled” knowledge from OpenAI’s AI models, a process that Sacks compared to theft. Sacks, who didn’t cite the source of this “evidence,” suggested that DeepSeek used responses from OpenAI models to…

Eric Schmidt says DeepSeek marks a ‘turning point’ for the global AI race

January 28, 2025

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called for the United States to ramp up open-source AI efforts to address the rise of DeepSeek in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday. Just last year, Schmidt said America was two or three years ahead of China. But DeepSeek’s rise marks “a turning point” for the global AI race,…

OpenAI launches ChatGPT plan for U.S. government agencies

January 28, 2025

In a week dominated by headlines about China’s growing AI competitiveness, OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Gov. The new version of the AI-powered chatbot platform is designed to provide U.S. government agencies an additional way to access the tech. ChatGPT Gov includes many of the capabilities found in OpenAI’s corporate-focused tier, ChatGPT Enterprise. Using the platform, agencies…

Google Maps will soon rename Gulf of Mexico to ‘Gulf of America’

January 27, 2025

Google will rename the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s Denali mountain in Google Maps once a federal mapping database reflects changes ordered by the Trump Administration, the company announced Monday. Google is complying with an executive order issued last week by President Donald Trump that changed the names of several American landmarks. The executive order…

Perplexity submits a new bid for TikTok

January 26, 2025

Perplexity AI has submitted a revised proposal to merge with TikTok, in an arrangement that would give the U.S. government up to 50 percent ownership of the new entity. The Associated Press first reported on the new proposal. A source with knowledge of the bid confirmed to TechCrunch that the AP’s reporting is accurate. The…

Trump administration reportedly negotiating an Oracle takeover of TikTok

January 25, 2025

The Trump administration is negotiating a deal that would see Oracle take over TikTok alongside new U.S. investors, according to a report in NPR. Lawmakers passed a bill last year forcing Chinese parent company ByteDance to either sell TikTok or see it banned in the U.S. The app briefly went dark before the law took…

Will states lead the way on AI regulation?

January 25, 2025

2024 was a busy year for lawmakers (and lobbyists) concerned about AI — most notably in California, where Gavin Newsom signed 18 new AI laws while also vetoing high-profile AI legislation. And 2025 could see just as much activity, especially on the state level, according to Mark Weatherford. Weatherford has, in his words, seen the…

Paul McCartney calls on UK government to protect artists from AI

January 25, 2025

Legendary musician Paul McCartney is warning against proposed changes to UK copyright law that would allow tech companies to freely train their models on online content unless the copyright holders actively opt out. In excerpts of an interview with the BBC, McCartney said the government needs to do more to protect musicians and other artists.…

AI companies upped their federal lobbying spend in 2024 amid regulatory uncertainty

January 24, 2025

Companies spent significantly more lobbying AI issues at the U.S. federal level last year compared to 2023 amid regulatory uncertainty. According to data compiled by OpenSecrets, 648 companies spent on AI lobbying in 2024 versus 458 in 2023, representing a 141% year-over-year increase. Companies like Microsoft supported legislation such as the CREATE AI Act, which…

The EU wants to talk to US tech companies ahead of Germany’s upcoming election

January 24, 2025

The European Union will give tech and social media companies a “stress test” to see how they handle misinformation ahead of Germany’s election next month. European Commission officials have invited tech companies, including: X, Meta, Snap, TikTok, Google, Microsoft, and LinkedIn, to a meeting on January 31, according to multiple news outlets. During this meeting,…

OpenAI’s Stargate project reportedly doesn’t have the money it needs

January 24, 2025

Stargate — the massive infrastructure project to build data centers for OpenAI in the U.S. — lacks a fully developed plan and hasn’t secured funding yet, according to a report from the Financial Times. Backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, Middle East AI fund MGX, and others, Stargate would funnel around $100 billion — and upward of…

Google commits to combatting fake reviews in the UK after 5-year probe

January 24, 2025

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has reached an agreement with Google to counter the scourge of fake online reviews. The internet giant has committed to several remedies. Bogus endorsements have blighted the web since the creation of user reviews, which is why regulators around the world have been upping the ante on tech companies to put…

Trump orders formation of working group to evaluate crypto stockpile

January 23, 2025

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the formation of a working group to propose federal regulations for “digital assets” — including cryptocurrencies, digital tokens, and stablecoins — and evaluate a national crypto stockpile. Ex-PayPal COO and founder of VC firm Craft Ventures David Sacks, Trump’s pick for crypto an AI ‘czar,’ will lead the working…

Fitbit fined $12M over Ionic smartwatch burns

January 23, 2025

Fitbit has settled with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) over a longstanding defeat that caused some wearers to sustain burns. The deal finds the Google-owned fitness company paying a $12.25 million penalty for the issues surround its Ionic smartwatch. The issue dates back to 2018, continuing on into 2020. Fitbit agreed to recall…

Trump’s not happy with how EU regulators have treated US tech giants

January 23, 2025

President Donald Trump isn’t happy with how European Union regulators have treated U.S.-based tech companies including: Google, Meta, and Apple. On stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Trump put EU regulators on blast. He said that the EU’s cases against these U.S. tech companies are “a form of taxation,” according to Bloomberg reporting.…

Canoo craters and Trump comes for EVs

January 23, 2025

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. Sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! We’re just a few days into a new Trump administration, and it’s already a firehose of executive orders, declarations, and even pardons. A few have crossed into…

Quantum VC QDNL hits €25M first-close on new fund

January 23, 2025

VC investment into Quantum computing declined by 50% last year according to the ‘State of Quantum 2024’ report, dropping from $2.2bn in 2022 to $1.2bn, with funds switching in favour of Generative AI. However, government spending on quantum was predicted to hit $40 billion over the next decade. Now a new VC European fund hopes…

UK probes Apple and Google over ‘mobile ecosystem’ market power

January 23, 2025

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is launching so-called “strategic market status” (SMS) investigations into the mobile ecosystems of Apple and Google. The investigations constitute part of the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) which passed last year and came into effect in January. The Act includes provisions for digital markets regulation…

Trump open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison buying TikTok

January 22, 2025

President Donald Trump has said he would be open to Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Oracle chairman Larry Ellison buying TikTok as part of join venture with the U.S. government. Trump was asked at a press conference on Tuesday if he was open to “Elon buying TikTok.” He responded that he would be, and added:…

Google hit with $12.6M fine in Indonesia for monopolistic practices in payment system

January 22, 2025

Indonesia’s antitrust agency KPPU fined Google 202.5 billion Rupiahs, equivalent to $12.6 million, on Wednesday for antitrust violation related to its payment system services for the Google Play Store. The KPPU ordered the search giant to cease the mandatory use of Google Play Billing in the Google Play Store. It also asked Google to let…

UK appoints ex-Amazon executive Doug Gurr as interim chair of antitrust body

January 22, 2025

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a new interim chairman: former Amazon executive Doug Gurr (pictured above). The announcement comes as the U.K. seeks to position itself as a pro-growth, pro-tech nation by cutting red-tape and bureaucracy, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking center stage. The country is also nearing the end of a…

Trump pardons Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht

January 21, 2025

President Trump on Tuesday pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the infamous dark web exchange Silk Road, which was best known as a once-thriving online marketplace for illegal drugs. Trump announced the news in a Truth Social post, saying the pardon was in honor of Ulbricht’s mother and the Libertarian movement. In 2015, a federal…

Trump moves to sink offshore wind

January 21, 2025

UK plans ‘digital wallet’ for driver’s licenses and other ID, plus a chatbot powered by OpenAI

January 21, 2025

Alongside its big public push for AI investments, the U.K. government is also playing a virtual card to catapult itself into the 21st century. Today it announced plans to launch a secure digital wallet to manage government-issued credentials, alongside a chatbot — built in collaboration with OpenAI — to interact with the main GOV.UK portal.…

President Trump signs exec order to make Musk’s DOGE commission more official

January 20, 2025

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory commission spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk recommending deep cuts to federal agencies, could soon become more official, should an executive order signed by President Donald Trump pass legal muster. On Monday evening, Trump signed an order that renames the U.S. Digital Service, which was created in 2014…

President Trump repeals Biden’s AI executive order

January 20, 2025

During his first day in office, President Donald Trump revoked a 2023 executive order signed by former President Joe Biden that sought to reduce the potential risks AI poses to consumers, workers, and national security. Biden’s executive order directed the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to author guidance that helps companies…

How to stream Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day 2025

January 19, 2025

Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office on Monday in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., once again. The event takes place at noon ET and is expected to attract considerable attention from both supporters and opponents. How to stream Trump’s inauguration You can watch the inauguration live with cable or…

The Pentagon says AI is speeding up its ‘kill chain’

January 19, 2025

Leading AI developers, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, are threading a delicate needle to sell software to the United States military: make the Pentagon more efficient, without letting their AI kill people. Today, their tools are not being used as weapons, but AI is giving the Department of Defense a “significant advantage” in identifying, tracking,…

TikTok is restoring service in the US

January 19, 2025

Barely more than 12 hours after TikTok went dark in the United States, the video-sharing app is coming back online. “In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” the company said in a statement. “We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers…

TikTok is restoring service in the US

January 19, 2025

TikTok goes dark in the US

January 19, 2025

TikTok has gone dark in the U.S., the result of a federal law that bans the popular short-form video app for millions of Americans — at least for now. TikTok users began receiving a message about the ban around 10:30 p.m. Eastern on Saturday evening, and the app also disappeared from the Apple and Google…

Trump says he will delay TikTok ban, suggests a joint venture with US ownership

January 19, 2025

TikTok went dark for users in the US on Saturday night, but it may not be gone for long. President-elect Donald Trump posted on Truth Social this morning that he will issuing an executive order Monday that will “extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a…

FTC says partnerships like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns

January 18, 2025

The Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report issued Friday that there are potential competitive issues in partnerships between big tech companies and generative AI developers — specifically, Microsoft’s backing of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet/Google’s partnerships with Anthropic. “The FTC’s report sheds light on how partnerships by big tech firms can create lock-in,…

DOJ confirms arrested US Army soldier is linked to AT&T and Verizon hacks

January 18, 2025

TikTok says it will go dark Sunday unless Biden offers ‘definitive statement’

January 18, 2025

It remains unclear whether TikTok will still be available in US app stores Sunday, with the company claiming that President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration needs to offer “definitive” assurances that it won’t enforce the ban. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States if the app’s…

ChatGPT’s head of product will testify in the US government’s case against Google

January 17, 2025

TikTok CEO responds to Trump, thanks him for trying to solve US ban

January 17, 2025

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to comments made by Donald Trump regarding Friday’s Supreme Court ruling to ban the app in the U.S. In a video posted on TikTok, Chew said, “On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to…

As TikTok faces a US shutdown, here are some alternative apps to check out

January 17, 2025

TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just six days, as the Supreme Court is currently weighing the law that would ban the app. So we thought it’s time to take a look at other platforms that may be able to fill the TikTok-shaped hole in our lives. The law gives TikTok parent company…

Trump spoke to China’s President Xi about TikTok just ahead of Supreme Court ruling

January 17, 2025

Just ahead of today’s Supreme Court ruling — which saw the nation’s highest court uphold the law banning TikTok in the U.S. as of January 19 — Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had a “very good” phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, which included discussion of TikTok. Though the U.S. president-elect…

Trump comments on TikTok ban

January 17, 2025

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

January 17, 2025

The Supreme Court has upheld the law that will effectively ban TikTok on Sunday, January 19. The decision marks the end of TikTok’s months-long legal fight against a law that essentially forces the ByteDance-owned app to shut down unless it divests its U.S. operations. As of Sunday, it will be illegal for app stores and…

Ken Howery: the tech mogul at the center of Trump’s Greenland ambition

January 17, 2025

Surprise! Donald Trump’s big, audacious ambition to buy Greenland from Denmark has a tech angle. Ken Howery, named by U.S. President-elect Trump’s pick to be the next ambassador to the country (and thus chief broker of any deal), is one more part of the rich seam of tech people running through Trump’s upcoming administration. Part…

Europe orders Elon Musk’s X to submit documents on its recommendation algorithms

January 17, 2025

The European Commission (EC) says it has requested information from Elon Musk’s X related to the algorithms that determine the content it recommends to users. The EC wants to determine how those algorithms may or may not be compliant with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes key obligations on online platforms operating across the…

GM banned from sharing driving and location data with insurance companies

January 17, 2025

Trump administration might give a boost to deep-sea mining for critical minerals

January 16, 2025

A string of nominees all previously said that they support the practice A string of nominees all previously said that they support the controversial practice. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TikTok CEO plans to attend Trump inauguration

January 16, 2025

As TikTok’s fate hangs in the balance, TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, is planning to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, The New York Times reports. The executive will join Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk on the dais, which is where former presidents and important guests are traditionally seated. Although Trump initiated calls…

As TikTok faces a US shutdown, here are some alternative apps to check out

January 15, 2025

Biden administration adds 14 additional Chinese firms to trade blacklist

January 15, 2025

Days after pushing for sweeping AI chip export restriction, the Biden administration has added an additional 14 Chinese companies to its restricted trade list. This brings the full list up to 25 names, according to reporting from The Associate Press. Sophgo is, perhaps, the highest profile addition. An entity of Bitmain, the firm sparked international…

How to stream Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day 2025

January 15, 2025

Donald Trump will take the presidential oath of office on Friday in front of the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., once again. The event takes place at noon ET and is expected to attract considerable attention from both supporters and opponents. How to stream Trump’s inauguration You can watch the inauguration live with cable or…

Trump’s DOT pick wants EV owners to pay to use roads

January 15, 2025

Sean Duffy, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Transportation, thinks owners of electric vehicles should pay to use roads. “How to do that, I think, is a little more challenging,” Duffy said at his confirmation hearing Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee. The former Republican lawmaker is correct that it would…

SEC sues Elon Musk for allegedly failing to disclose Twitter acquisition on time

January 14, 2025

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk on Tuesday over an alleged securities violation relating to his acquisition of Twitter, now called X. The SEC claims Musk failed to disclose his 5% ownership stake of Twitter in a timely manner, violating federal securities law, according to a complaint filed in federal…

Biden admin’s final rule banning Chinese connected cars also bars robotaxi testing on U.S. roads

January 14, 2025

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads. “China is trying to dominate…

Biden administration opens up federal land to AI data centers

January 14, 2025

With less than a week left in office, President Joe Biden is not done leaving his mark on the AI industry. President Biden issued an executive order on Tuesday that will allow private sector AI companies to lease federal sites owned by the Department of Defense and Department of Energy in order to build AI…

OpenAI quietly revises policy doc to remove reference to ‘politically unbiased’ AI

January 14, 2025

OpenAI has quietly removed language endorsing “politically unbiased” AI from one of its recently published policy documents. In the original draft of its “economic blueprint” for the AI industry in the U.S., OpenAI said that AI models “should aim to be politically unbiased by default.” A new draft, made available Monday, deletes that phrasing. When…

UK’s CMA slaps Google Search and its 90%+ market share with an antitrust investigation

January 14, 2025

The Competition and Markets Authority — the U.K.’s antitrust watchdog — is wasting no time in lodging its first official investigation of 2025 under its new rules that came into effect this month. It’s looking into the market dominance of Google in Search, including the new work it’s doing in AI search as well as…

China is reportedly open to Elon Musk acquiring TikTok US

January 13, 2025

Chinese government officials have reportedly discussed a scenario where ByteDance sells TikTok’s United States arm to Elon Musk, should the Supreme Court uphold the law banning the app on January 19. Bloomberg reports that China would strongly prefer for TikTok to stay under ByteDance’s ownership, but says government officials have considered a sale to Musk…

As TikTok faces a US shutdown, here are some alternative apps to check out

January 13, 2025

The CIA’s first CTO, Nand Mulchandani, prepares for the Trump administration

January 13, 2025

In April 2022, the CIA decided to swipe right on Nand Mulchandani, appointing him as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer. It was a good look for the CIA. Mulchandani, who previously served as the CTO and acting director of the Defense Department’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, is something of a rare breed in Washington. Before…

OpenAI presents its preferred version of AI regulation in a new ‘blueprint’

January 13, 2025

OpenAI on Monday published what it’s calling an “economic blueprint” for AI: a living document that lays out policies the company thinks it can build on with the U.S. government and its allies. The blueprint, which includes a forward from Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s VP of global affairs, asserts that the U.S. must act to attract…

Biden administration proposes sweeping new restrictions on exporting AI chips

January 13, 2025

With a week left in office, President Joe Biden introduced a new set of guidelines and restrictions for exporting U.S.-made AI chips. On Monday the administration announced its Interim Final Rule on AI diffusion. This ruling is meant to “provide clarity to allied and partner nations about how they can benefit from AI” and streamline…

UK throws its hat into the AI fire

January 13, 2025

In 2023, the U.K. made a big song and dance about the need to consider the harms of AI, giving itself a leading role in the wider conversation around AI safety. Now, it’s whistling a very different tune: today, the government announced a sweeping plan and a big bet on AI investments to develop what…

Apple board opposes proposal to abolish DEI programs

January 11, 2025

Apple’s board of directors has come out in opposition to a proposal seeking to end the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. In a proxy filing, the company said the National Center for Public Policy Research (a conservative think tank) is submitting a proposal for Apple to “consider abolishing its Inclusion & Diversity program,…

Mark Zuckerberg defends Meta’s latest pivot in three-hour Joe Rogan interview

January 10, 2025

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended his decision to scale back Meta’s content moderation policies in a Friday appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Zuckerberg faced widespread criticism for the decision, including from employees inside his own company. “Probably depends on who you ask,” said Zuckerberg when asked how Meta’s updates have been received. The key updates…

Amazon curbs some DEI programs

January 10, 2025

Amazon is now the latest company to curb some of its DEI programs, Bloomberg reports, after Meta announced that it, too, is ending its diversity efforts earlier on Friday. An internal memo that was sent to staffers said that the company was looking to wind down outdated programs and materials as part of a review…

TikTok ban: How both sides made their case to the Supreme Court and what the justices asked

January 10, 2025

On Friday, the nation’s highest court heard arguments on whether to uphold or block a law that could effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. The bill, signed into law by President Biden in April 2024, gives TikTok’s parent company ByteDance until January 19 to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban in the country.…

EU approves $35B Synopsys and Ansys merger, subject to divestment conditions

January 10, 2025

The European Commission (EC) has given the greenlight for Synopsys to acquire Ansys, though the companies must divest some half-a-dozen products as part of the proposed remedies. Chip design software maker Synopsys revealed last January its plans to acquire Ansys, a simulation software developer that helps engineers model and analyze the physical behavior of products, such as chips,…

TikTok pleads its case against sell-or-ban law before Supreme Court

January 10, 2025

A lawyer for TikTok argued before the Supreme Court on Friday that a ban on the social network would violate TikTok’s and Americans’ First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court this morning heard arguments on whether to overturn or delay a law that could effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. The bill, officially titled the Protecting…

India’s payment push is cutting out Visa and Mastercard

January 10, 2025

As global regulators increase their scrutiny on Visa and Mastercard over merchant fees, India has chosen a different path: creating rival payment networks that are increasingly sidelining international card networks. The strategy builds on India’s Unified Payments Interface, known as UPI, a nine-year-old system that now processes more than 13 billion real-time transactions monthly, or…

Facebook Marketplace to display eBay listings to appease EU regulators

January 8, 2025

Meta is set to start displaying eBay listings in its own Facebook Marketplace classifieds platform, in an effort to appease European regulators. Back in November, Meta was hit with a €798 million fine by the European Commission (EC) in Europe for breaching antitrust rules. The EC contended that Meta created “unfair trading conditions” by connecting…

FTC accuses gig work app Handy of misleading ads and opaque fees for workers

January 7, 2025

The FTC and New York’s attorney general have accused Handy, the gig app customers can use to book cleaners, handymen, and more, of making deceptive claims about how much workers could earn through its platform. In a complaint filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the FTC…

Trump announces $20B plan to build new data centers in the US

January 7, 2025

UK confirms plans to criminalize the creation of sexually explicit deepfake content

January 7, 2025

The U.K. is forging ahead with plans to make the act of creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images a specific criminal offence. A deepfake refers to manipulated media, often video or audio, created using AI to make someone appear to say or do something they didn’t. The U.K. had already made sharing — and the threat…

Consumer tech spending will break records in 2025 if Trump’s tariffs don’t squash it, CTA predicts

January 6, 2025

AI is leading US consumers towards a tech spending bonanza this year if tariffs don’t materialize, new research from the Consumer Technology Association finds. © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

UK uses AI to tackle ‘bid-rigging’ collusion in public procurement contracts

January 6, 2025

The U.K’s competition authority already has a lot on its plate in terms of tackling Big Tech’s growing reach across the technological spectrum, but closer to home it’s dealing with a different kind of anti-competitive threat — one it reckons AI is well-equipped to address. As per a Financial Times’ report this week, the Competition…

YouTuber LegalEagle sues PayPal over ‘sleeping leech’ Honey extension

January 5, 2025

A new lawsuit alleges that the PayPal-owned browser extension Honey is cheating creators out of money. Honey, which PayPal acquired for $4 billion in 2019, works by automatically presenting users with relevant coupon codes as they shop. However, in a video posted last month, YouTuber MegaLag described Honey as a “scam” that’s “stealing money from…

Lyft will credit NYC riders for congestion fee throughout January

January 4, 2025

New York City’s congestion pricing is scheduled to take effect Sunday — but for the first month, Lyft said it will be crediting riders who pay the fee. New York’s program, which is supposed to reduce traffic in lower Manhattan while also raising funding for mass transit, was paused by Governor Kathy Hochul in June,…

FTC orders AI accessibility startup accessiBe to pay $1M for misleading advertising

January 3, 2025

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has fined accessiBe, a startup that claims to make websites more compatible with the screen readers blind people rely on to access the internet, for false advertising and compensating reviewers without disclosing that it sponsored the reviews. In a proposed order, the FTC would require accessiBe to pay $1 million…

Hydrogen tax credit rules give startups clarity while boosting nuclear and carbon capture

January 3, 2025

Hydrogen startups are widely seen as a promising way to eliminate fossil fuels from heavy industry and long-haul transportation. But they have been stuck in limbo for the last couple years, waiting for official guidance from the U.S. Treasury on lucrative tax credits. The wait ended today, with the Treasury announcing final rules for hydrogen…

Meta policy chief Nick Clegg steps down

January 2, 2025

The President of Meta’s Global Affairs team, Nick Clegg, is stepping down from his position at the company, the executive announced in a tweet on Thursday. Clegg, Meta’s politically centrist policy chief since 2018, will be replaced by one of the company’s most prominent Republican executives, Joel Kaplan. Clegg noted on X that Kaplan is…

Silicon Valley stifled the AI doom movement in 2024

January 1, 2025

For several years now, technologists have rung alarm bells about the potential for advanced AI systems to cause catastrophic damage to the human race. But in 2024, those warning calls were drowned out by a practical and prosperous vision of generative AI promoted by the tech industry – a vision that also benefited their wallets.…

Elon Musk’s pro-Trump critics claim they’re being censored on X

December 31, 2024

Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition

December 30, 2024

Encode, the nonprofit organization that co-sponsored California’s ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk’s injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit company. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for…

India’s mobile payments dilemma

December 29, 2024

India’s payments regulator is set to decide as early as Monday whether to curb the dominance of Walmart’s PhonePe and Google in the nation’s fast-growing mobile payments market, a move that could reshape how its billion-plus population moves money. The decision centers on UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, a network backed by more than 50…

Trump asks Supreme Court to pause imminent TikTok ban

December 28, 2024

Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have asked the Supreme Court to pause a law that would force TikTok-owner ByteDance to sell the short-form video app or see it banned from the United States. If the app isn’t sold, the ban is set to take effect in just a few weeks, on January 19. ByteDance is…

Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition

December 27, 2024

Encode, the nonprofit org that co-sponsored California’s ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk’s injunction to halt OpenAI’s transition to a for-profit. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for Encode…

Elon Musk’s jets made 355 trips in 2024, including 31 to or from the Mar-a-Lago area

December 26, 2024

Sriram Krishnan named Trump’s senior policy advisor for AI

December 22, 2024

Incoming president Donald Trump has confirmed reports that Sriram Krishnan, until recently a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), will serve as senior policy advisor for AI at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Trump said in a statement that Krishnan will “help shape and coordinate AI policy across government, working with…

Palantir and Anduril reportedly building a tech consortium to bid on defense contracts

December 22, 2024

Two big defense tech players, Palantir and Anduril, are talking to tech companies including SpaceX, OpenAI, Saronic, and Scale AI about forming a consortium to bid on Pentagon contracts, according to a report in the Financial Times. The goal, the FT says, is to challenge the dominance of “prime” defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon,…

Google pushes back against DOJ’s ‘interventionist’ remedies in antitrust case

December 21, 2024

Google has offered up its own proposal in a recent antitrust case that saw the US Department of Justice argue that Google must sell its Chrome browser. US District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google had acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, with the DOJ then proposing a number…

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