Weekly Roundup: The Republic Fights Back
It's not perfect, but lawsuits, legislation, and loosening detrimental regulations show that the people are still able to control their own destiny
The Big Tech antitrust lawsuits were the headline grabbers this past week. Google is in the remedy phase after losing one antitrust lawsuit last year over search dominance and one in April over its advertising monopoly. Meta’s antitrust lawsuit is in the trial phase, and Apple was found to have violated the ruling in the antitrust lawsuit it lost in 2021. I’ll publish an antitrust primer and lawsuit wrap-up probably tomorrow, giving you details on all the cases and what they mean to consumers.
California sent personal health data to LinkedIn.
The website that lets Californians shop for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, coveredca.com, has been sending sensitive data to LinkedIn, forensic testing by The Markup has revealed.
As visitors filled out forms on the website, trackers on the same pages told LinkedIn their answers to questions about whether they were blind, pregnant, or used a high number of prescription medications. The trackers also monitored whether the visitors said they were transgender or possible victims of domestic abuse.
The information was sent to LinkedIn via trackers, a practice that every social media website uses, often invisible to the individual user who is not logged in or even registered to the site where the tracker belongs. LinkedIn burdens the website owner to remove its trackers; nevertheless, they are “facing multiple proposed class-action lawsuits related to the collection of medical information. In October, three new lawsuits in California courts alleged that LinkedIn violated users’ privacy by collecting information on medical appointment sites, including for a fertility clinic.”
I wrote last week that the U.S. is already experiencing an unfortunate brain drain.
Semfaor compiled a chart detailing AI talent entering and leaving the US since 2010. China, the UK, and some Middle Eastern states have taken some of this talent away from the US.
The Take it Down Act passed the House 409-2, paving the way for the bill to become law.
Introduced by Senators Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota, the act “aims to crack down on the sharing of material known as “revenge porn,” requiring that social media companies and online platforms remove such images within two days of being notified of them.”
The bill’s passage also echoes similar efforts in statehouses across the country. Every state except South Carolina has a law criminalizing revenge porn. And at least 20 states have laws that address sexually explicit deepfakes.
So-called “free speech advocates” lobbied hard against the bill, worried the act could be abused. Their concerns are no doubt valid, yet if every piece of legislation were dispensed with, tossed down the “slippery slope” of future concern, we would have even less tech-centric policy than we do now. Abuses will come, and they will have to be dealt with like they always are—in a court of law. If that arena fails to curb abuse, we will be dealing with much more dire problems as a nation.
In other safety news
Brazil is going after social media sites to keep its kids safe.
Brazilian “kidfluencers,” driven by viral content and visions of wealth, promote online schemes to peers.
Prosecutors are investigating TikTok for monetizing young creators who do not have the right to work.
Fueled by family needs and dreams of fame, young influencers navigate the Instagram marketplace with parental support.
Kids should avoid AI companion bots—under force of law, assessment says.
“With input from a Stanford lab, Common Sense Media concludes the AI systems can exacerbate problems like addiction and self harm.”
Lawmakers weigh taxing social media.
“Many states this year are seeking to plug budget holes and protect minors.”
And in a move that is disturbingly on brand and almost unbelievable:
Google Plans to Roll Out Its A.I. Chatbot to Children Under 13.
“The tech giant said it would make its Gemini chatbot available to children next week, and warned families in an email about the changes.” (TechCrunch story)
Government regulation
Army Will Seek Right to Repair Clauses in All Its Contracts
Hegseth made this clear at the bottom of the memo in a subsection about reform and budget optimization. “The Secretary of the Army shall…identify and propose contract modifications for right to repair provisions where intellectual property constraints limit the Army's ability to conduct maintenance and access the appropriate maintenance tools, software, and technical data—while preserving the intellectual capital of American industry,” it says. “Seek to include right to repair provisions in all existing contracts and also ensure these provisions are included in all new contracts.”
The DoD released its Intellectual Property Guidebook for Acquisition.
An effort led by the DoD's IP Cadre, the IP Guidebook provides guidance on the implementation of IP laws and regulations, explains legal and operational challenges in acquiring IP and associated IP rights, and promotes partnerships with industry. [The full guidebook and tool kit are linked in the press release.]
US FCC to review spectrum sharing rules to boost space-based telecom
The Federal Communications Commission on Monday voted to open a review of the decades-old spectrum sharing regime between satellite systems sought by SpaceX.
The review by the U.S. telecom regulator aims to allow a greater and more intensive use of spectrum for space activities. Existing reductions approved in the 1990s limit power usage that prevent better coverage from SpaceX's Starlink and other systems.
TikTok Fined $600 Million for Sending European User Data to China
“TikTok was fined 530 million euros ($600 million)…after [EU] regulators found the company had improperly transferred users’ personal data to China.”
The US has approved CRISPR pigs for food.
“Pigs whose DNA makes them resistant to a virus could be the first big consumer product using gene editing.”
Before you go, here are some good longer reads
North Korea Stole Your Job.
“For years, North Korea has been secretly placing young IT workers inside Western companies. With AI, their schemes are now more devious—and effective—than ever.”
The Authoritarian Risks of AI Surveillance.
“AI-powered surveillance facilitates authoritarianism across the globe. Here’s how courts and lawmakers could stop it from happening here.”
