Tech

Tech


Kansas moves to join Texas and other states in requiring porn sites to verify people’s ages

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is poised to require pornography websites to verify visitors are adults, a move that would follow Texas and a handful of other states despite concerns about privacy and how broadly the law could be applied. The Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature passed the proposal Tuesday, sending it to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. […]

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Addressing deepfake porn doesn’t require new criminal laws, which can restrict sexual fantasy and promote the prison system

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. ___ After deepfake pornography of Taylor Swift went viral on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Swifties sprung into action. They organized to report violations […]

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Apple, Google, Meta targeted under new European law to prevent cornering of digital markets

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators opened investigations into Apple, Google and Meta on Monday, the first cases under a sweeping new law designed to stop Big Tech companies from cornering digital markets.  The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm, said it was investigating the companies for “non-compliance” with the Digital Markets Act.  The […]

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PC plan for central online high school shelved

Manitoba Education has abandoned plans to create an entirely new online high school to increase access to remote learning and expand e-course offerings coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. The department’s planned takeover of InformNet — a Grade 9-12 remote learning program operated by Winnipeg’s St. James-Assinbioia School Division — appears to be collateral damage […]

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Justice Department sues Apple, alleging it illegally monopolized the smartphone market

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the tech giant of engineering an illegal monopoly in smartphones that boxes out competitors, stifles innovation and keeps prices artificially high. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New Jersey, alleges that Apple has monopoly power in the smartphone […]

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New bipartisan bill would require online identification, labeling of AI-generated videos and audio

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House Thursday would require the identification and labeling of online images, videos and audio generated using artificial intelligence, the latest effort to rein in rapidly developing technologies that, if misused, could easily deceive and mislead. So-called deepfakes created by artificial intelligence can be hard or even impossible […]

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Supreme Court seems favorable to Biden administration over efforts to combat social media posts

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed likely Monday to side with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security in a case that could set standards for free speech in the digital […]

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Canada, B.C. legislation would tackle ‘toxic’ online products: Facebook whistleblower

A woman who blew the whistle about Facebook ignoring potential harms to users of the social media platform says proposed laws by Canada and B.C. have promise to hold tech companies to account for profiting off harmful content.  Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, says big tech companies such as Facebook’s parent company Meta […]

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Utah governor replaces social media laws for youth as state faces lawsuits

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s governor has approved an overhaul of social media laws meant to protect children as the state fends off multiple lawsuits challenging their constitutionality. Republican legislative leaders announced at the start of this year’s 45-day work session that they would prioritize revising a pair of policies passed last year that […]

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Europe asks Google, Facebook, TikTok and other platforms how they’re reducing generative AI risks

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators on Thursday ratcheted up scrutiny of big tech companies including Google, Facebook and TikTok with requests for information on how they’re dealing with risks from generative artificial intelligence, such as the viral spread of deepfakes.  The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has sent questionnaires about the ways that […]

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OpenAI has ‘full confidence’ in CEO Sam Altman after investigation, reinstates him to board

OpenAI is reinstating CEO Sam Altman to its board of directors and said it has “full confidence” in his leadership after the conclusion of an outside investigation into the company’s turmoil. The ChatGPT maker tapped the law firm WilmerHale to look into what led the company to abruptly fire Altman in November, only to rehire […]

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Microsoft says it hasn’t been able to shake Russian state hackers

BOSTON (AP) — Microsoft said Friday it’s still trying to evict the elite Russian government hackers who broke into the email accounts of senior company executives in November and who it said have been trying to breach customer networks with stolen access data.  The hackers from Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service used data obtained in […]

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