Policy – SiliconANGLE

EU reportedly set to investigate Amazon’s $1.7B iRobot acquisition

Maria Deutscher — Thu, 22 Jun 2023 19:37:14 +0000

The European Union is expected to launch an investigation into Amazon.com Inc.’s planned acquisition of iRobot Corp. for $1.7 billion. The development was reported this morning by Bloomberg and Reuters. According to the sources cited in the reports, EU antitrust officials are currently conducting a preliminary review of the deal. The full investigation is expected […]

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FTC sues Amazon over Prime sign-up and cancellation interfaces

Maria Deutscher — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 21:13:32 +0000

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today sued Amazon.com Inc. over the subscription management interfaces of its Prime service. Introduced in 2005, Prime provides access to free shipping, discounts and other benefits for a monthly fee. The service reached 100 million users in 2018. According to Amazon, it passed 200 million users about three years later. The […]

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EU suggests breaking up Google’s display ad business over antitrust concerns

Maria Deutscher — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 17:26:02 +0000

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, has sent Google LLC a statement of objections over its practices in the display advertising market. The EU announced the move today. A statement of objections is a document that the bloc’s antitrust officials issue to a company after determining it may have run afoul of antitrust […]

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EU lawmakers approve tougher rules as AI Act moves closer to becoming law

Kyt Dotson — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 15:25:18 +0000

The European Parliament today came to an agreement approving its proposed draft law governing artificial intelligence, known as the “AI Act,” in a vote that passed it along to member states to become formal regulation. European lawmakers have been wrangling over the legislation since April in an attempt to balance the growing AI industry against risks […]

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Reddit users come together in protest after highly unpopular API changes

James Farrell — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:53:40 +0000

Thousands of Reddit Inc. forums today switched into private mode in protest over the company’s controversial changes to its application programming interface, API. At least 7,000 pages engaged in voluntary blackouts, which restrict the public from seeing those pages. This included the r/todayilearned, r/funny, and r/gaming subreddits which, between them, have about 30 million subscribers. […]

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Report: FTC seeking injunction to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 21:16:43 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly seeking an injunction to prevent Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. from closing. CNBC reported the FTC’s plans today, citing a person familiar with the matter. Activision Blizzard is one of the world’s largest video game developers. Last quarter, it generated $2.38 billion in revenue from an installed […]

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EU reportedly set to greenlight Broadcom’s $61B VMware acquisition

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 19:42:50 +0000

Antitrust officials in the European Union are set to approve Broadcom Inc.’s proposed acquisition of VMware Inc., according to a new report. Reuters today cited sources as saying that the approval is expected to be conditional. Broadcom will reportedly only receive the go-ahead if it agrees to make certain antitrust commitments. Broadcom announced its proposed […]

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Meta to take action after investigation finds Instagram algorithm promoted child sex abuse material

James Farrell — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 01:05:56 +0000

Meta Platforms Inc.-owned Instagram today said it will take action after an investigation by The Wall Street Journal and researchers at Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst revealed the company’s algorithm was promoting child sexual abuse material to pedophiles. The investigation found that accounts owned and operated by minors were creating self-generated child […]

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New Twitter boss Linda Yaccarino starts her job today at a difficult time

James Farrell — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 01:25:58 +0000

Linda Yaccarino began her job as Twitter Inc. chief executive today, reportedly much earlier than expected. Prior to taking the post, Yaccarino had worked for four years as head of NBCUniversal Media LLC’s advertising and partnership team. Back in December, Musk polled Twitter users, asking them if he should stay or go, and 57.5% said he […]

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Airbnb sues New York City in effort to block short-term rental ordinance

James Farrell — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 01:24:53 +0000

Airbnb sued New York City today in an attempt to prevent the city’s officials from enforcing an ordinance that the app says will effectively end its business in the city. The ordinance, Local Law 18, was drawn up last year, and the city could start enforcing the rules next month. If that goes through, it […]

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Amazon will pay more than $30M for Alexa and Ring privacy violation allegations

James Farrell — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 01:45:57 +0000

Amazon.com Inc. will pay more than $30 million to settle two separate lawsuits brought by the Federal Trade Commission, it was reported today. One of the lawsuits, brought by both the FTC and Justice Department, accused the company of collecting data on children who had spoken with its virtual assistant Alexa. It was alleged that […]

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Twitter to expand crowdsourced fact-checking tool after Pentagon explosion deepfake video

James Farrell — Wed, 31 May 2023 01:15:11 +0000

After a fake image of the Pentagon on fire went viral recently, Twitter Inc. has decided that the platform needs to arm itself better against such deepfake skullduggery. The artificial intelligence-generated image was seen by enough people to upset the stock market briefly. Some news websites reported about the incident and later apologized when it […]

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US slams China’s ban on buying Micron chips as ‘economic coercion’

Mike Wheatley — Mon, 29 May 2023 00:25:53 +0000

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said late Saturday that her country “won’t tolerate” China’s recent ban on the purchase of memory chips from Micron Technology Inc. and added that the U.S. government is working closely with its allies to counter what she termed “economic coercion.” Raimondo (pictured) was speaking at a news conference after a meeting of trade […]

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US Surgeon General warns social media is driving a mental health crisis in the young

James Farrell — Wed, 24 May 2023 02:15:48 +0000

Echoing countless studies on the subject, the U.S. Surgeon General said in a report released today that social media could be playing a significant role in a mental health crisis affecting the youth of America today. In a 19-page report, Dr. Vivek Murthy said it’s too early to understand fully just how harmful social media […]

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Meta fined €1.2B in the EU for moving users’ data to the US

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 22 May 2023 17:25:10 +0000

Meta Platforms Inc. has been fined €1.2 billion in the European Union for transferring local users’ information to its U.S. data centers. The penalty was issued today by the Irish Data Protection Authority, which oversees Meta’s privacy practices in the EU. The company’s regional headquarters are based in Ireland. In addition to fining Meta, regulators […]

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As ‘code pollution’ grows, licensing becomes crucial, Grafana expert says

Brian Njuguna — Fri, 19 May 2023 20:30:59 +0000

Every time there is an infection point in technological innovations, the licensing dynamic comes up. With things becoming more open with data, licensing code should be simplified using a specific method, such as a reference file, according to Richard Hartmann (pictured), director of community at Raintank Inc. (dba Grafana Labs). “I like the concept of […]

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Supreme Court declines to address Section 230 in new rulings

Maria Deutscher — Thu, 18 May 2023 19:55:11 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court didn’t discuss the question of whether Section 230 should be reinterpreted in two closely anticipated rulings it issued this morning. Section 230 is part of the Communications Decency Act, a law that Congress enacted in 1996. It protects tech firms from being sued over many forms of user-generated content uploaded to […]

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DOJ charges former Apple engineer with stealing self-driving car technology for China

James Farrell — Wed, 17 May 2023 00:51:48 +0000

The Department of Justice today charged a former Apple Inc. engineer with stealing autonomous technology and giving it to a Chinese self-driving car company. The indictment, filed at federal court in the Northern District of California, alleges that Weibao Wang, who started working on Apple’s hardware and software for autonomous systems in 2016, had “broad […]

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The IRS is building a government-run system for tax preparation

James Farrell — Tue, 16 May 2023 01:58:27 +0000

The Internal Revenue Service has been working on a system for Americans to file their taxes in one place, for free, according to an article in The Washington Post today. The Biden administration wants Americans to have an alternative to tax preparation software such as Intuit Inc.’s TurboTax and H&R Block. For a long time […]

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EU approves Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition as Azure reportedly faces scrutiny

Maria Deutscher — Mon, 15 May 2023 17:33:16 +0000

The European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, has approved Microsoft Corp.’s plan to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. for $68.7 billion. The decision was made public this morning. The development coincided with a report from Bloomberg that revealed the EU is conducting an informal probe into Azure, Microsoft’s public cloud platform. It’s believed the probe […]

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Italy’s antitrust watchdog begins probe into Apple’s app market dominance

James Farrell — Fri, 12 May 2023 01:03:05 +0000

Italy’s antitrust watchdog announced today that it has launched an investigation into Apple Inc. for what it believes could be the iPhone maker’s abuse of its dominant position in the app market, a probe that follows similar European antitrust probes into American big tech. The watchdog, Italy’s Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, or […]

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European legislators vote to impose tighter controls on AI

Kyt Dotson — Thu, 11 May 2023 17:30:45 +0000

European lawmakers today voted on amendments to the European Union’s “AI Act” draft legislation aimed at tightening regulations over generative artificial intelligence, including bans on biometric surveillance, predictive policing and expanded definitions of “high-risk AI.” Two legislative bodies joined to negotiate amended text for the AI Act, the International Market Committee and the Civil Liberties […]

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Report: EU expected to approve Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

Maria Deutscher — Wed, 10 May 2023 19:27:39 +0000

The European Union could greenlight Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. as early as next week, according to a new report. Reuters today cited sources as saying that the EU will likely approve the $68.7 billion deal on Monday. The deadline for the decision is May 22. Activision Blizzard is one of the world’s […]

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White House launches new AI initiatives as UK begins review of foundation models

Maria Deutscher — Thu, 04 May 2023 17:31:10 +0000

The White House today announced a series of initiatives designed to encourage the creation of safe artificial intelligence software, as well as mitigate the risks posed by the technology. The development comes as generative AI is increasingly emerging as a focus for policymakers. On Wednesday, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan called for AI to […]

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FTC wants to stop Meta from monetizing young people’s data

James Farrell — Thu, 04 May 2023 01:50:30 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission today shared some stern words with Meta Platforms Inc., accusing the company of breaching a child privacy protection order, adding that it’s time there was a “blanket prohibition” on Meta collecting the data of kids. The FTC, which has been something of a bête noire for Meta over the years, said […]

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Tesla defense lawyers say Elon Musk’s past statements about autopilot safety could be deepfakes

James Farrell — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 00:56:07 +0000

A California judge today said that Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk should be questioned under oath over his claims about the company’s autopilot safety, after Musk’s lawyers argued that those comments could be deepfakes. After crashes in Tesla vehicles where it’s believed the drivers were using autopilot — some of whom died in […]

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Bipartisan bill aims to ban kids under 13 from using social media

James Farrell — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 01:35:52 +0000

A bipartisan bill introduced today would stop anyone in the U.S. under 13 years of age from using social media as well as put limits on all young people from getting onto such platforms. The “Protecting Kids on Social Media Act,” is the brainchild of Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arizona), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), […]

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UK regulators block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, citing cloud gaming concerns

Kyt Dotson — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 16:45:30 +0000

The United Kingdom’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, has stifled Microsoft Corp.’s deal to acquire Activision Blizzard Inc. in a dramatic move after a monthlong investigation, stating that the deal would “alter the future of the fast-growing cloud gaming market.” Microsoft announced its plans to acquire Activision Blizzard, in January last year for […]

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UK bill aims to tackle big tech’s dominance in digital markets

James Farrell — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 01:29:31 +0000

The U.K. announced today that its Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill will crack down on the dominance of some of the world’s leading tech companies. Despite mammoth efforts by big tech to stop the bill from going through, their lobbying has not produced any significant changes. The U.K.’s watchdogs, including the all-new Digital Markets Unit, […]

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Supreme Court to hear cases involving disputes over public officials blocking people on social media

James Farrell — Tue, 25 Apr 2023 01:30:23 +0000

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear two First Amendment rights cases in which public officials blocked people on their social media accounts. The cases both related to a case involving former president Donald Trump, in which he argued that he should have the right to block people on his Twitter account. Trump argued that since […]

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