Government & Policy

Xbox will soon let players buy games directly in its Android app following Google antitrust ruling

Xbox President Sarah Bond announced that players will soon be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android. The announcement comes as a U.S. judge ordered Google to stop forcing developers to use Google Play’s billing system on Monday. The ruling forces Google to open up its app store to […]

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US and UK announce joint children’s online safety group to push for common fixes

The U.S. and U.K. governments announced Thursday they will set up a joint children’s online safety working group to cooperate on safeguarding efforts in the digital realm by sharing evidence and expertise, and pushing for “common solutions” to child safety challenges. A joint statement, released by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.K. Technology Secretary

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Antitrust challenge to Facebook’s ‘superprofiling’ finally wraps in Germany — with Meta agreeing to data limits

A multi-year competition challenge to Facebook (aka Meta), which saw Germany’s antitrust authority become a pioneering champion for privacy rights in 2019 after it sought to block the social media giant’s ‘superprofiling’ of users on the grounds that consentless cross-site tracking of users is an “exploitative abuse” of Facebook’s monopoly position, finally concluded Thursday with

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US government considers historic break-up of Google in antitrust case

The U.S. Justice Department has put forth a sweeping proposal to force Google to sell off parts of its business, potentially leading to the first major corporate breakup in four decades and reshaping one of the world’s most valuable tech companies. The Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general on Tuesday submitted

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Kenya fines Baltic fintech Eleving’s local arm for misleading customers

Kenya’s competition authority has fined Baltic lender Eleving‘s Kenyan subsidiary for misleading its customers, casting a spotlight on the continuing unethical operations of a section of digital lenders in the country despite a new law. The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) imposed a fine of $84,120 on Eleving subsidiary Mogo Kenya for violating competition law

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Judge blocks California’s new AI law in case over Kamala Harris deepfake

A federal judge blocked one of California’s new AI laws on Wednesday, less than two weeks after it was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Shortly after signing AB 2839, Newsom suggested it could be used to force Elon Musk to take down an AI deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris he had reposted (sparking a

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Microsoft to face higher competition scrutiny in Germany, including over its use of AI

Microsoft has joined an exclusive club of tech giants that are subject to a special abuse control regime in Germany. The country’s Federal Cartel Office (FCO) confirmed on Monday that the software giant could face restrictions if the competition authority deems an intervention is necessary. The designation, which lasts for five years, is important, as

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Here is what’s illegal under California’s 18 (and counting) new AI laws

In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom considered 38 AI-related bills, including the highly contentious SB 1047, which the state’s legislature sent to his desk for final approval. He vetoed SB 1047 on Sunday, but signed more than a dozen other AI bills into law over the course of the month. These bills try to address

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In war-torn Sudan, a displaced startup incubator returns to fuel innovation

Businesses need stability to thrive. Unfortunately for anyone in Sudan, stability has been hard to come by for the past year and a half as the country quakes amidst a raging civil war. More than 20,000 people have been killed, and about 7.7 million people have been displaced just within the country; millions have had

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X faces additional $1.9M fine to end ban in Brazil

X (formerly Twitter) could soon resume service in Brazil — if it’s willing to pay an additional fine. Reuters and other publications have reported on an order from the country’s Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes stating that the Elon Musk-owned social network could “immediately return to its activities in national territory” if it pays

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