Government & Policy

US appeals court blocks FTC’s ‘click-to-cancel’ rule for subscriptions

A U.S. appeals court has blocked the Federal Trade Commission’s “click-to-cancel” rule that would have required companies to make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. The rule was set to take effect on July 14. Reuters reports that the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis […]

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California lawmaker behind SB 1047 reignites push for mandated AI safety reports

California State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world’s largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur. If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose meaningful transparency requirements onto leading AI

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Steve Davis left DOGE in May, but officials say he’s still running the show

Though he officially left the U.S. government in May, Steve Davis — Elon Musk’s low-flying former top lieutenant at the Department of Government Efficiency — continues to wield influence at DOGE, according to the WSJ. The outlet says Davis, who is a longtime Musk ally and insider, regularly gives directions to current DOGE officials and

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ByteDance reportedly plans to release US-specific version of CapCut

TikTok owner ByteDance is planning to move U.S. users to a new version of CapCut, its video editing app, according to a report from Business Insider. Launching a U.S.-specific app could be part of the company’s broader plan to comply with a 2024 law requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok and its other U.S. assets,

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Google faces EU antitrust complaint over AI Overviews

A group known as the Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission over Google’s AI Overviews, according to Reuters. The complaint accuses Google of “misusing web content for Google’s AI Overviews in Google Search, which have caused, and continue to cause, significant harm to publishers, including news publishers in the

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Microsoft is closing its local operations in Pakistan

Microsoft is closing its operations in Pakistan, marking the end of a 25-year presence in the South Asian nation. The Redmond-based company on Friday told TechCrunch that it is changing its operational model in Pakistan and will now serve its customers through resellers and “other closely located Microsoft offices.” “Our customer agreements and service will

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Trump admin unlawfully killed health websites related to gender, court rules

U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management did not comply with all necessary laws when it ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to speedily comply with the president’s executive order on “gender ideology.” On the first day of his term, President Trump passed

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US senate removes controversial ‘AI moratorium’ from budget bill

U.S. senators voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to remove a controversial 10-year ban on states’ abilities to regulate AI from the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” reports Axios. The provision to the reconciliation bill was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Many prominent Silicon Valley executives — including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anduril’s Palmer Luckey, and a16z’s

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Congress might block state AI laws for a decade. Here’s what it means.

A federal proposal that would ban states and local governments from regulating AI for 10 years could soon be signed into law, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and other lawmakers work to secure its inclusion into a GOP megabill ahead of a key July 4 deadline.  Those in favor – including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anduril’s

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