Government & Policy

Texas AG is investigating Character.AI, other platforms over child safety concerns

Government & Policy /

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday launched an investigation into Character.AI and 14 other technology platforms over child privacy and safety concerns. The investigation will assess whether Character.AI — and other platforms that are popular with young people, including Reddit, Instagram and Discord — conform to Texas’ child privacy and safety laws. The investigation […]

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Google wraps ‘blue links’ search test, lobbies for less maximalist application of EU’s DMA

Government & Policy /

Google has ended a test in which it was returning basic “blue link” search results for hotel-related searches in a handful of markets in the European Union, in response to compliance complaints related to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). These blue links appeared instead of visually richer results, where its search engine will display

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Mark Zuckerberg sweetens Meta’s $1M donation to Trump’s inaugural fund with a pair of smart glasses

Government & Policy /

Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pulling off a lobbying-public relations combo move by gifting President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund $1 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The money came from Meta, to be clear, but Zuckerberg sweetened the gift further — while doing great marketing — by sending Trump a pair of Meta’s smart

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How much ‘government efficiency’ will Elon Musk be able to pull off?

Government & Policy /

The idea that government “should be run like a business” is by no means a new one. But with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of government efficiency, it’s worth taking a closer look at whether business principles can be applied to government.  Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan is discussing the intersection of tech,

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EU cybersecurity rules for smart devices enter into force

Government & Policy /

Rules for boosting the security of connected devices have entered into force in the European Union. The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) puts obligations on product makers to provide security support to consumers, such as by updating their software to fix security vulnerabilities. Although the deadline for compliance with the main obligations of the law is

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As Australia bans social media for kids under 16, age-assurance tech is in the spotlight

Government & Policy /

Age assurance, an umbrella term that refers to technologies for verifying, estimating, or inferring an internet user’s age, is being thrust into the global spotlight thanks to a blanket ban on social media use for people under 16 in Australia. The law, which is expected to come into force in Australia in November 2025, will

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Silicon Valley hitters take over Trump transition team: “a dozen Musk allies”

Government & Policy /

About a “dozen Musk allies” have put a pin in their daily routines to serve as unofficial advisers to the Trump transition effort, says the New York Times.  Among them, reports the outlet: Jared Birchall, the head of Elon Musk’s family office, has interviewed a few candidates for jobs at the State Department; Marc Andreessen

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