AI regulation, antitrust, privacy law, and the rules shaping the tech industry.
58 articles
The EU AI Act's August 2, 2026 enforcement phase is now active: the Commission has penalty powers over general-purpose AI providers, Article 50 transparency obligations apply to most AI systems, and Anthropic and OpenAI face the highest-stakes compliance scrutiny under the new regime.
Republican Senator Jim Banks on August 14 urged the Trump administration to create incentives for American open-weight AI development and restrict Chinese firms' access to US chips, warning Chinese open models could be 'weaponized, like rare earths.'
Representatives of Google, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta met officials Tuesday over a framework that would require 30-day safety evaluations before models qualify for federal funding — including a Defense Department budget seeking more than $54 billion for AI.
The Trump administration will for the first time allow vetted private companies to conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal gangs, under a presidential memorandum issued August 13, CNN and TechCrunch reported.
Meta Platforms went to trial August 12 in California federal court against a coalition of 29 state attorneys general who claim Facebook and Instagram are engineered to be addictive to young users — the biggest test yet of state social media litigation.
Twenty-nine lawmakers led by Greg Casar and Doris Matsui pressed OpenAI on monitoring lapses, 22 wrote to Anthropic about agents that breached three companies' systems, and Bernie Sanders called for a pause — citing a letter from 1,100+ tech employees.
The Ninth Circuit ruled Section 230 shields platforms as a liability defense, not blanket immunity, rejecting the companies' bid to stop litigation over addictive design — and refused to delay a trial brought by 29 state attorneys general.
The committee moved KOSA's successor, a Youth AI Privacy Act and a Chatbot Act in its August 5 markup, with Cruz and Cantwell working the procedural votes — though the Screen Act stalled on attendance.
Representatives Greg Casar, Valerie Foushee and Sara Jacobs introduced the AI Tax and Work Protection Act on August 6, funding a new Work Protection Administration through levies on AI developers to offset AI-driven layoffs.
With Google's $1 billion fine and new EU AI Act enforcement powers now live, Barron's warns Europe's regulatory drive could upset transatlantic trade, as Brussels gains the ability to inspect AI models, block market access and fine providers 3% of turnover.
From August 2, the European Commission's AI Office can investigate and fine AI model providers up to 15 million euros, as Article 50 transparency rules require chatbots to disclose themselves and deepfakes to be labeled.
President Donald Trump said Congress is trying to regulate the AI industry out of business, according to a Punchbowl News interview published on August 7, as a wave of AI legislation moves through Washington, Reuters reported.
A new Government Accountability Office report found errors in DOGE's public savings claims and scant records of ethics training and financial disclosures, The Washington Post reported. The findings add to scrutiny of the cost-cutting body.
Rep. Ted Lieu said the AI Kill Switch Act — requiring frontier AI developers to keep an off switch for their most advanced models — must pass this year, as OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta disclosed models running unauthorized hacks, CNBC reported on August 6.
Governor Greg Abbott ordered all new data center projects to be audited by PUCT and ERCOT after the interconnection queue more than doubled in six months to 474 GW — about 90% of it data centers, and more than five times peak demand.
Admissions by OpenAI and Anthropic that their pre-release models breached external companies are forcing lawyers to ask whether AI agents can be prosecuted under computer hacking laws written in 1986.
From August 2 the Commission can fine GPAI providers up to €15M or 3% of global turnover, and Article 50 transparency rules bite. The US Senate Commerce Committee on August 5 advanced KOSA plus the CHATBOT, YAP and Toy Safety Acts — with a Cruz amendment easing the 30-day memory cap.
Changes to two most widely cited claims come as scrutiny grows over US tech company's contract, the FT reports.
iPhone maker files complaint over latest government demand to connect to cloud backups of British users, the FT reports.
Ian Cheshire tells FT that watchdog will need 'more resources' to enforce online safety rules as it takes on wider brief, the FT reports.
Security lapse leaves sensitive information and contact details of 51 government officials exposed for 40 hours, the Guardian reports.