Skip to main content
All Stories Tagged:

Regulation

After years of moving fast and breaking things, governments around the world are waking up to the dangers of uncontrolled tech platforms and starting to think of ways to rein in those platforms. Sometimes, that means data privacy measures like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or more recent measures passed in the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. On the smaller side, it takes the form of specific ad restrictions, transparency measures, or anti-tracking protocols. With such a broad problem, nearly any solution is on the table. It’s still too early to say whether those measures will be focused on Facebook, Google, or the tech industry at large. At the same time, conservative lawmakers are eager to use accusations of bias as a way to influence moderation policy, making the specter of strong regulation all the more controversial. Whatever next steps Congress and the courts decide to take, you can track the latest updates here.

Supreme Court to hear case on how the government talks to social media companies

Murthy v. Missouri could change how platforms deal with covid misinfo, election threats, and more.

E
External Link
TikTok faces a $10.9 million fine in Italy over child safety concerns.

Italian regulators imposed the fine after finding that TikTok “failed to implement appropriate mechanisms” to monitor content on its platform, “particularly those that may threaten the safety of minors.”

It cites the “French scar” challenge as one of the “potentially dangerous” types of content disseminated by TikTok’s algorithm, which involves users pinching their face so hard it leaves a mark.


L
External Link
Steven Mnuchin is working to create a buyer for TikTok.

The former Treasury Secretary said on CNBC Thursday that he’s “going to put together a group to buy TikTok.” Such a group would need to have massive buying power, since the app boasts 170 million US users, and has an estimated value in the tens of billions of dollars.

The House passed a bill Wednesday that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance to sell it, or be banned from the US.


J
External Link
Now AliExpress is on the EU’s naughty list.

The European Commission says it’s opened formal proceedings against AliExpress because it may have breached the Digital Services Act’s rules. For example, the Commission says AliExpress may not be enforcing its terms of service properly, and is allowing the sale of “certain products posing risks for consumers’ health (such as fake medicines and food as well as dietary supplements).” Similar investigations have already been opened into TikTok and X.


L
Instagram
Nancy Pelosi is playing TikTok-toe.

The former House Speaker said passing a new bill that incentivizes China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok “is not an attempt to ban TikTok. It’s an attempt to make TikTok better. Tic-tac-toe. A winner.”

After the bill passed out of the House with 352 votes, it now must clear the Senate to reach the president’s desk.


J
External Link
The EU has officially adopted its sweeping AI law.

After two years of debate and revisions, European Parliament members gave the Artificial Intelligence Act their final approval on Wednesday.

While the law officially comes into force 20 days after it’s published in the Official Journal (likely happening in May), some rules — like those impacting general-purpose AI systems like chatbots — will take effect 12 months later to give AI providers time to comply.


T
Twitter
Brave choice.

Brave says its browser is having a hockey stick moment after the release of Apple’s DMA-compliant iOS 17.4 last week, which immediately nags users to choose their default browser from a randomized list upon startup.


W
External Link
Masimo jailbroke iPhones to try to keep the Apple Watch banned.

That’s according to the US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) recently-published January 12th ruling that approved Apple’s modification meant to lift the Apple Watch ban.

CBP chief Dax Terrill wrote that Masimo installed “otherwise restricted software that, but for the jailbreaking, would not have been feasible.” He concluded that the software change “would appear to resolve the issue of infringement.”


W
External Link
Boeing’s door plug incident is under criminal investigation.

The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation will consider whether Boeing complied with its 2021 settlement with the DOJ in light of an Alaska Boeing 737 Max that recently lost a chunk of fuselage mid-flight, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Alaska Airlines reportedly called such investigations “normal.” In February, an investigation revealed that four bolts were missing from the door plug when it left Boeing’s factory.


President Biden says he’ll sign a TikTok ban, if passed.

The President said so while addressing reporters in this video from The Associated Press.

The push to ban TikTok was revived this week as House congressional lawmakers introduced a bill to make it illegal to distribute ByteDance apps. TikTok has been prompting users to protest the ban, which House Republicans will vote on despite Trump’s objections.


L
External Link
Republicans ignore Trump criticism, and plan to vote next week on a bill that could ban TikTok.

The Republican-controlled House is planning a speedy vote on a new bill that could ban TikTok unless it separates from its Chinese parent company. House leaders plan to bring the bill to a vote on Wednesday in an accelerated process that requires a two-thirds vote to pass, according to Semafor.

That says a lot about how much House Republicans care about this bill, considering that former President Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social after the committee vote to advance it:

If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business. I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!


T
External Link
Biden wants to “ban AI voice impersonation.”

He said it in the State of the Union address last night, without elaborating. Robocalls using an AI voice clone of the President recently tried to persuade New Hampshire voters not to vote, causing the FCC to issue a ban on such calls. But is Biden now alluding to something broader? The entertainment industry which is grappling with cloned musiciansactors, and comedians will certainly be interested if so.


L
Twitter
Google supports a list of child safety bills — but still not KOSA.

The series of bills Google endorsed would do things like fund investigations of child exploitation and make it easier for victims to request child abuse images to be removed from social media.

So far only Microsoft, Snap, and X have come out in favor of the Kids Online Safety Act. Groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and Fight for the Future say they still have serious concerns about KOSA.


A
Quote
The TikTokers are revolting.

Apparently TikTok’s push notification warning is working, because congressional staffers say they’re flooded with calls protesting a new play to make Chinese owner ByteDance sell the app:

“It’s so so bad. Our phones have not stopped ringing. They’re teenagers and old people saying they spend their whole day on the app and we can’t take it away,” one House GOP staffer told POLITICO, granted anonymity to speak candidly.


J
Twitter
DMA celebrations overlook Epic disappointment.

This post from the European Commissioner responsible for competition feels a little premature considering, just yesterday, Apple terminated the developer account that Fortnite maker Epic was using to create its own app marketplace for iOS.

The EU is currently chasing Apple to explain its actions, but Vestager seems confident about the outcome.


L
External Link
Facebook and Instagram account takeovers are skyrocketing and Meta needs to fix it, AGs say.

41 attorneys general sent a letter to Meta’s chief legal officer Tuesday demanding the company invest more in stopping scam account takeovers that threaten users’ privacy and “drain” AG resources.

The problem has gotten significantly worse over the past few years, the AGs said. In New York, Meta account takeover complaints spiked from 73 in 2019 to 783 by the end of 2023.


Apple kills Epic’s iOS game store plans over App Store criticism

After Epic CEO Tim Sweeney criticized how Apple is rolling out alternative app stores on iOS in the EU, Apple terminated its developer account and called the company ‘verifiably untrustworthy.’

L
External Link
Can antitrust cases against Google and Apple be won on a budget?

26 groups including Public Knowledge and the Tech Oversight Project are raising alarms as Congress considers cuts to the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s budget. Language in the appropriations bill would “unravel” a recent law that allowed enforcers to raise money from merger filing fees, according to the letter shared exclusively with The Verge. It comes as the DOJ fights Google in two separate cases and is reportedly nearing the end of its probe into Apple.


W
External Link
The 2024 Nissan Leaf gets the US EV tax credit.

Nissan announced today that its EV hatchback once again qualifies for a federal EV tax credit, though only up to $3,750 and not the full $7,500 that precious few vehicles actually qualify for.

The car had previously fallen off the list of eligible cars because of battery components sourced from “foreign entities of concern” as defined by new guidelines under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.


The Affordable Connectivity Program for cheap broadband is staggering to a halt.

The FCC has issued a formal notice that ACP funding, which subsidizes broadband access for 23 million households, runs out at the end of April. As Karl Bode at Techdirt notes, Congress (particularly congressional Republicans) didn’t find the Biden administration’s request for $6 billion to fund it worth granting. Those households will lose out on a $30 monthly broadband discount — which FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel warns will cause some to lose access altogether.


The EU’s new competition rules are going live — here’s how tech giants are responding

The Digital Markets Act’s deadline for compliance is imminent. Its six designated ‘gatekeepers’ have fought the rules, but also bent to them.