Policy – SiliconANGLE

Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road drug marketplace

James Farrell — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 05:04:51 +0000

President Donald Trump today signed a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the man who operated the notorious dark web drug marketplace, Silk Road. Ulbricht ran the Silk Road from 2011 until 2013 under the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts.” That year he was arrested and in 2015 was sentenced to life without parole. The […]

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Trump suspends TikTok ban, signs tech-focused executive orders

Maria Deutscher — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 20:13:03 +0000

President Donald Trump has issued an executive order that suspends the U.S. government’s ban of TikTok for 75 days. The directive was included in a batch of technology-focused executive orders that Trump signed late Monday. Another renamed the United States Digital Service, a government office that helps maintain federal websites, and granted it new responsibilities. […]

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Trump signs executive order to prevent censorship of online platforms

James Farrell — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 02:34:58 +0000

President Donald Trump today signed an executive order that he claims will restore freedom of speech and end federal censorship, with the express purpose of keeping government out of social media. “Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive […]

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TikTok restores US service following intervention from President-elect Trump

Duncan Riley — Sun, 19 Jan 2025 23:25:29 +0000

TikTok services were being restored to users in the U.S. Sunday afternoon following a promise from President-elect Trump after the service went dark Saturday. The Chinese-owned social media service had been late Saturday following the implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The ban, which extended to all apps owned by TikTok’s […]

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US places new set of export restrictions on advanced chips

Maria Deutscher — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 23:34:19 +0000

The U.S. Commerce Department is rolling out a new set of export restrictions designed to prevent China from obtaining advanced chips. The rules were announced today by the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. The export restrictions focus on chip foundries, or companies that make semiconductors for other organizations. Bloomberg reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing […]

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China reportedly evaluating plan for Elon Musk to acquire TikTok’s US operations, but TikTok denies it

Duncan Riley — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 01:05:15 +0000

With TikTok in the U.S. facing being shut down on Jan. 19, Chinese officials are reportedly evaluating an 11th-hour option that involves Elon Musk, through X Inc., acquiring the U.S. operations of TikTok should last-minute attempts to stop the ban fail. Bloomberg, quoting people familiar with the matter, said today that though Beijing officials strongly […]

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UK court begins hearing $1.83 billion lawsuit against Apple over App Store fees

Duncan Riley — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 23:26:13 +0000

Lawyers representing Apple Inc. will be in court Monday in the U.K. to face a class action lawsuit that alleges that the iPhone maker runs its App Store as an illegal monopoly. The lawsuit, filed back in 2021, alleges that Apple’s 30% commission on app sales is an abuse of dominance and unlawful. The lawsuit […]

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Judge rejects Google’s motion to dismiss privacy lawsuit, trial set for August

Duncan Riley — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 23:30:34 +0000

Google LLC is set to face trial in August over a privacy-related class action lawsuit after failing to persuade a judge to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that it adequately discloses how its Web & App Activity settings worked and that users consented to being tracked. The lawsuit was filed in 2020 and accused […]

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Meta announces broad changes to fact-checking, content moderation policies

Maria Deutscher — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 20:12:15 +0000

Meta Platforms Inc. plans to make a set of sweeping changes to its fact-checking and content moderation policies, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced in a video released this morning. In 2016, Meta launched a program that relied on third-party fact-checking organizations to review user content on Facebook. The company’s initial partner roster included more than 90 such […]

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Nick Clegg steps down as Meta’s global policy chief, replaced with Trump-friendly Joel Kaplan

James Farrell — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 02:28:17 +0000

Former Republican White House staffer Joel Kaplan just became Meta Platforms Inc.’s global policy head as Britain’s former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, leaves the company after six years. Clegg (pictured, center), who led the Liberal Democrat Party from 2007 to 2015, joined Meta – then Facebook Inc. – in 2018 as vice president of […]

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Appeals court ruling kills off efforts to restore FCC net neutrality rules

Mike Wheatley — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 23:58:31 +0000

A U.S. appeals court today ruled the Federal Communications Commission does not have the legal authority to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules first implemented by former President Barack Obama. The ruling ends a decade-plus-long effort by Democrats to gain more oversight over the internet. In today’s ruling, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals […]

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Judge upholds most of California’s ban on ‘addictive feeds’ for children

James Farrell — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 02:32:05 +0000

Tech industry trade group NetChoice has failed to block California’s attorney general from enforcing most of a law that will regulate how social media firms deliver content to young people. The Protecting Our Kids from Social Media Addiction Act (SB 976) was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September last year. The law […]

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Trump, lawmakers and advocacy groups urge Supreme Court to pause TikTok divestment

Duncan Riley — Sun, 29 Dec 2024 23:16:49 +0000

As the deadline for Byteance Ltd. to divest the U.S. operations of TikTok quickly approaches, President-elect Trump, various members of Congress and advocacy groups have made representations to the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of pausing the forced selloff. The forced selloff of the U.S. arm of TikTok was signed into law by President Biden […]

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Iran votes to lift bans on WhatsApp, Google Play and other foreign-owned apps

Mike Wheatley — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 01:34:46 +0000

Iran’s government has unblocked access to the WhatsApp messenger and Google Play store after banning them two years ago, state media reported. The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today, according to a report […]

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US officials launch investigation into China’s legacy chip sector

Mike Wheatley — Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:02:11 +0000

The outgoing Biden administration today said it’s launching a fresh probe into China’s semiconductor industry, with a particular focus on legacy chips that are used in products such as cars, electrical goods and defense systems. The White House said the investigation stems from the Chinese government’s “non-market policies and practices, as well as industrial targeting” […]

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Japan targets Google over alleged Android ecosystem monopolization

Duncan Riley — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:15:33 +0000

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is reportedly planning to or has already sent a cease-and-desist order to Google LLC’s Japan office, accusing Google of breaching Japan’s antimonopoly laws by forcing smartphone manufacturers to include the Google search app on their smartphones. The exact status of the order is unclear. The Japan Times said today that the Japanese […]

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Google tries to persuade judge in antitrust case not to force the sale of its Chrome browser

Mike Wheatley — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 01:05:14 +0000

Google LLC has proposed putting limits on its search partnerships in order to resolve antitrust violations in its search business, as an alternative to the U.S. Department of Justice’s suggestion that it sell its Chrome browser. Google Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland detailed the company’s remedies proposal in a blog post Friday. It […]

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EU opens probe into TikTok over possible Russian interference in Romanian election

James Farrell — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 01:50:15 +0000

Regulators in the European Union today announced they’ve opened an investigation into TikTok for possible breaches of the Digital Services Act, DSA, by failing to prevent foreign interference in the recent Romanian presidential election. The second round of the vote didn’t go through earlier this month after intelligence showed that 25,000 TikTok accounts suddenly became […]

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CISA releases draft updates to National Cyber Incident Response for public comment

Duncan Riley — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 00:08:10 +0000

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency has released a draft update to the National Cyber Incident Response Plan that addresses significant changes in policy and cyber operations since the plan was first released in 2016. The NCIRP is a strategic framework that establishes how to undertake a coordinated response to cyber incidents along four lines: […]

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TikTok CEO meets with Trump as company hopes Supreme Court will block upcoming ban

James Farrell — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 01:46:25 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump today met with TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, to discuss the app being banned in the U.S. over security risks. Prior to the meeting, Trump said at a press conference he had “a warm spot” for the Chinese app, saying, “We’ll take a look” […]

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TikTok makes a last stand as it asks for emergency pause on US ban

James Farrell — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 02:01:52 +0000

Chinese social media app TikTok today asked a court for an emergency injunction to prevent it from becoming unavailable to U.S. users next month. Last Friday, the company lost an appeal to save its existence in the U.S. when it argued in an appeals court that the ban signed into legislation earlier in 2024 is […]

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Trump nominates Gail Slater to lead antitrust at DOJ and crypto backer Paul Atkins for head of SEC

James Farrell — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 02:42:13 +0000

President-elect Donald Trump today picked Big Tech critic Gail Slater to become the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice in a slew of nominations that also included crypto-friendly Paul Atkins as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Slater served Trump during his first presidential term as a tech […]

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Biden administration hits out at China’s chip industry with export controls

James Farrell — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 01:58:04 +0000

The Biden administration today announced new restrictions on advanced chip technology that can be exported to China in a further effort to curb the country’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and the development of high-end military technology. According to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, the new export controls will see over 100 Chinese […]

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Elon Musk tries to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition in latest legal tussle

Mike Wheatley — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 23:14:14 +0000

Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has filed an injunction with a federal court, asking it to stop OpenAI from transforming itself into a fully for-profit business. In the filing for a preliminary injunction Nov. 29, Musk, along with his artificial intelligence startup xAI Corp. and former OpenAI board member Shivon Zillis, is also seeking to stop […]

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Australian Senate bill means under 16s will be banned from using social media

James Farrell — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 01:58:19 +0000

Australian lawmakers today approved a landmark ban on social media for children under 16 in an attempt to address the negative impact of various apps on young people’s physical and mental health. The world-first ban will affect most major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit, although Google LLC-owned YouTube hasn’t made the […]

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Canada’s Competition Bureau seeks to force Google to divest ad tech tools in antitrust suit

Duncan Riley — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 22:57:54 +0000

Canada’s Competition Bureau, the country’s antitrust watchdog, took legal action against Google LLC today, alleging that it’s engaging in anticompetitive conduct in its online advertising technology services within Canada, and it’s seeking to force the company to divest some of its advertising technology tools. The case claims that as the largest provider of web advertising, […]

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TikTok to block beauty filters over mental health concerns among the young

James Farrell — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 01:30:22 +0000

The embattled Chinese social media app TikTok has said that over the coming weeks it will start blocking beauty filters after growing research showing that transforming one’s face from its reality causes anxiety and issues with self-esteem, adding to the mental health crisis affecting the young. It’s long been known – and let’s face it, […]

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FTC reportedly launches antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s cloud, AI and cybersecurity practices

Duncan Riley — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 23:58:21 +0000

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into various aspects of Microsoft Corp.’s business, including the company’s cloud computing, software licensing, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence offerings. The investigation comes after FTC was reportedly preparing to launch an investigation into claims that Microsoft earlier this month. It was claimed that the FTC […]

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X claims ownership of all X accounts in battle for The Onion to acquire Alex Jones’ Infowars

James Farrell — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 01:42:17 +0000

Who actually owns your social media account came into question on Monday after lawyers for Elon Musk’s X Corp. argued that the accounts belonging to Alex Jones’ bankrupt InfoWars site were its exclusive property. The Onion’s bid to buy the website through auction was recently put on hold after Jones and one of the losing […]

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European Commission flags Bluesky for breaching transparency rules

Duncan Riley — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 23:44:00 +0000

Up-and-coming social network Bluesky Social Inc. has been found to be breaching European Union regulations by not disclosing key details about the decentralized platform. The news came today from a European Commission spokesperson during a daily briefing, as reporters were told that Bluesky was missing a number of mandatory legal notices on its website. “All […]

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