The UK government is expected to launch a parliamentary inquiry into the roll of social media in summer riots, particularly around the use of generative AI, The Guardian reported. As part of that, MPs (members of Parliament) wish to cross-examine X owner Elon Musk, along with senior executives from Meta and TikTok, as part of a Commons science and technology select committee social media inquiry.
"[Musk] has very strong views on multiple aspects of this," said Labour chair of the select committee, Chi Onwurah. "I would certainly like the opportunity to cross-examine him to see … how he reconciles his promotion of freedom of expression with his promotion of pure disinformation. [The committee will] get to the bottom of the links between social media algorithms, generative AI, and the spread of harmful or false content."
The government is looking into the use of fake images created by generative AI, often containing Islamophobic content, which were widely shared in social media posts on Facebook and X. Such posts may have inflamed riots last August that took place after three schoolgirls were murdered. MPs are also looking into big tech business models that "encourage the spread of content that can mislead and harm."
Musk, who may soon have a large role in the US government under incoming president Trump, has criticized the UK government and isn't likely to attend. During the riots in August he said: “Civil war is inevitable," and on Monday stated that "Britain is going full Stalin."
In December, UK regulator Ofcom will publish new rules as part of the Online Safety Act. With the new regulations, it's likely that social media platforms will be forced prevent the spread of illegal materials such as CSAM and survey activities that could stir up violence. Companies like X and Facebook will then be required to remove any illegal material.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/uk-government-will-summon-elon-musk-as-part-of-social-media-inquiry-130004409.html?src=rss
Two undersea communications cables in the Baltic Sea have been knocked offline, and at least one appears to have been physically cut. CNNreceived confirmation from a local telecom company that a cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut on Sunday morning. A second cable, about 60 to 65 miles from the first, routes communications between Finland and Germany. The cause of that outage has yet to be determined, but officials suspect “intentional damage.”
The outages follow a September warning from the US about an increased risk of Russian “sabotage” of undersea cables. That came after a joint investigation from public broadcasters from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland that Russia had deployed a fleet of spy ships in Nordic waters. They were reportedly part of a program designed to sabotage the cables (and wind farms).
This doesn’t leave the European nations entirely without online communications, as data is typically routed through multiple cables to avoid overreliance on a single one.
Cinia, the state-controlled Finnish company that oversees the second cable, said it wasn’t yet determined what caused the outage since they haven’t yet physically inspected it. However, the sudden outage reportedly suggests it, too, was cut by an outside force.
The foreign ministers of Finland and Germany released a joint statement on Monday. “We are deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable connecting Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea,” they wrote. “The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times. A thorough investigation is underway. Our European security is not only under threat from Russia‘s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors. Safeguarding our shared critical infrastructure is vital to our security and the resilience of our societies.”
The Lithuania-Sweden cable, which handles about a third of Lithuania’s internet capacity, is expected to be repaired “over the next few weeks,” and weather could determine the precise timing.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/two-baltic-sea-communications-cables-have-been-knocked-offline-214130723.html?src=rss
President-elect Donald Trump has named Brendan Carr as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, The New York Times reported. Carr has previously argued in favor of punishing TV networks for political bias and regulating big tech firms like Google and Apple. The appointment doesn't require the usual senate approval, since Carr has sat on the commission since 2017.
Under a Trump administration, the FCC will have two Democrat and three Republican commissioners. Carr will take over from current FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
Carr wrote the FCC section on the infamous Project 2025 document, proposing new social media restrictions that could benefit conservative viewpoints. He also wants to limit the Section 230 legal shield that allows social media and other platforms to host and moderate comments and other user-generated content.
"The censorship cartel must be dismantled," Carr wrote last week on X. He added that the FCC under his leadership will also go after TV networks. " Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource — our airwaves. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation."
However, Carr won't have full powers to enact new rules. Since companies like Google and Meta aren't considered communications services, the FCC would have limited power to regulate them. That means an expansion of its powers would require new legislation. Brendan Carr has “proposed to do a lot of things he has no jurisdiction to do and in other cases he’s blatantly misreading the rules,” Free Press co-chief executive Jessica Gonzalez told the NYT.
That's not to say that Carr can't affect the way the internet operates. In 2017, he voted to repeal net neutrality rules, and in 2021, voted against restoring them.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/trump-names-commission-member-brendan-carr-as-fcc-chairman-130041732.html?src=rss
A damning report from the Anti-Defamation League published Thursday on the “unprecedented” amount of racist and violent content on Steam Community has prompted a US Senator to take action. In a letter spotted by The Verge, Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) asked Valve CEO Gabe Newell how he and his company are addressing the issue.
“My concern is elevated by the fact that Steam is the largest single online gaming digital distribution and social networking platform in the world with over 100 million unique user accounts and a user base similar in scale to that of the ‘traditional social media and social network platforms,’” Warner wrote.
The senator also cited Steam’s online conduct policy that states users may not “upload or post illegal or inappropriate content [including] [real] or disturbing depictions of violence” or “harass other users or Steam personnel.”
“Valve must bring its content moderation practices in line with industry standards or face more intense scrutiny from the federal government for its complicity in allowing hate groups to congregate and engage in activities that undoubtedly puts Americans at risk,” Warner writes.
Congress doesn’t have the ability to take action on Valve or any platform except to shine light on the problem through letters and committee hearings. The Supreme Court overturned two state laws in June that prevented government officials from communicating with social media companies about objectionable content.
This also isn’t the first time that Congress has raised concerns with Valve about extremist and racist content created by users or players in one of its products. The Senate Committee on the Judiciary sent a letter to Newell in 2023 to express concerns about players posting and spouting racist language in Valve’s multiplayer online arena game Dota 2.
We reached out to Valve for comment. We will update this story if we receive a statement or reactions from Valve.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/adls-report-on-racist-steam-community-posts-prompts-a-letter-from-virginia-senator-214243775.html?src=rss
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said this week it’s pressing criminal charges against X (Twitter) in France related to a Kremlin disinformation campaign that used the nonprofit as a prop to spread fake news. The organization said legal means are its “last resort” in its fight against the bogus stories, designed to foster pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine sentiment, that festered on the platform. “X’s refusal to remove content that it knows is false and deceitful — as it was duly informed by RSF — makes it complicit in the spread of the disinformation circulating on its platform,” RSF director of advocacy Antoine Bernard said in a statement.
“These legal proceedings seek to remind X, a powerful social media company, and its executives that they can be held criminally responsible if they knowingly provide a platform and tools for disseminating false information, identity theft, misrepresentation, and defamation — offences punishable under the French Penal Code,” RSF attorney Emmanuel Daoud wrote.
RSF published an investigation in September detailing how a fabricated video was planted and spread by Russia on the Elon Musk-owned social platform. The fake clip was made to look like a BBC-produced one, including the news organization’s logo. It made the erroneous case that RSF conducted a study that revealed a large number of Ukrainian soldiers sympathizing with Nazism.
False claims that Ukraine is a pro-Nazi nation have been a common propaganda tactic used by Russia since its 2022 invasion. The narrative is designed to engender support for the Kremlin-initiated war, which is estimated to have killed a million or more Ukrainian people.
RSF’s investigation revealed that an account called “Patricia,” claiming to be a translator in France, planted the seed for the disinformation. However, the report discovered that the account’s profile picture was found on a Russian website featuring photos of blond women designed “to make avatars.”
RSF says that even the account’s name seemed to have been automatically generated by X. In addition, the organization says Grok, X’s AI chatbot with access to live data about the platform, claimed the account has “very strong opinions, often in support of Russia and Vladimir Putin, while severely criticizing Ukraine and its supporters in Europe.”
The investigation found the video then took off, spreading through a chain that included a pro-Kremlin Irish entrepreneur living in Russia, a Kremlin propagandist with a large following on Telegram and even Russian officials. It was also shared by “highly influential bloggers” known for unflinching support of Vladimir Putin.
“In this story, the Russian authorities have acted a bit like they were laundering dirty information,” an RSF representative said in a video about the investigation (translated from French) in September. “They took false information, they laundered it through official channels. And then, this piece of information that wasn’t actual information was reintroduced into public discourse to make it look credible.”
Russia’s bogus video was widely shared on X and Telegram. Reporters Without Borders says the clip’s viewership reached half a million combined views by September 13. To capture its frustration with the blow to its credibility, the nonprofit cited the quote (of unknown origin but often attributed to Mark Twain): “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.”
RSF says it filed 10 reports with X of illegal content through the social channel’s reporting system required by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). “After a series of rejections from X and requests for additional information — which RSF provided — none of the reports resulted in the removal of the defamatory content targeting our organisation and its advocacy director,” RSF wrote.
In July, the US Justice Department said it uncovered and dismantled a Russian propaganda network using nearly 1,000 accounts to push pro-Kremlin posts on X. The DOJ claimed the accounts posed as Americans and were made using AI. In October, The Wall Street Journalreported that Elon Musk held multiple private calls with Vladimir Putin from 2022 into this year, describing the contacts as a “closely held secret in government.”
“X’s refusal to remove content that it knows is false and deceitful — as it was duly informed by RSF — makes it complicit in the spread of the disinformation circulating on its platform,” RSF director Bernard wrote in a statement. “X provides those who spread falsehoods and manipulate public opinion with a powerful arsenal of tools and unparalleled visibility, while granting the perpetrators total impunity. It’s time for X to be held accountable. Pressing criminal charges is the last resort against the disinformation and war propaganda that RSF has fallen victim to, which is proliferating on this ‘Muskian’ network.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reporters-without-borders-says-its-pressing-charges-against-x-200005117.html?src=rss
Elon Musk’s X is taking the state of California to court over a new law that prevents the spread of AI-generated election misinformation. Bloomberg reports that X filed a lawsuit against AB 2655, also known as the Defending Democracy from Deepfake Deception Act of 2024, in a Sacramento federal court.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on September 17, creating accountability standards for using false political speech faked with AI programs close to an election. The legislation prevents the distribution of “materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election at which the candidate will appear on the ballet.”
X argues that the law will create more political speech censorship. The complaint says the First Amendment “includes tolerance for potentially false speech made in the context of such criticisms.”
Newsom signed AB 2655 into law as part of a large package of bills addressing concerns about the use of AI to create sexually explicit deepfakes and other deceptive material. The next day, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the law and other bills from Newsom’s signing.
California has become one of the epicenters of debate over the use and implementation of AI. Concerns about the use of AI in film and television projects, among other issues, prompted SAG-AFTRA to go on strike in 2023. SAG eventually reached a deal that included AI protections for actors prohibiting studios from using their likeness without permission or proper compensation. The following year, the state of California passed AB 2602, a law that makes it illegal for studios, publishers and video game studios to use someone’s likeness without their permission.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/x-sues-california-over-deceptive-ai-made-election-content-ban-185010406.html?src=rss
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TMSC) is the first CHIPS Act awardee to get part of the money that the government has promised. The Biden administration has finalized its grants for TSMC, which expects to receive $6.6 billion in grants as part of their agreement to grow semiconductor production in the US. TSMC will also loan another $5 billion from the government to fund the expansion of its planned $65 billion three-factory complex in Arizona. According to Bloomberg, it's getting at least $1 billion from the total before the year ends, since it has already met a certain set of requirements.
In October, a Canadian research firm discovered that Huawei was using TSMC chips for its artificial intelligence accelerators even though that violates US government sanctions. TSMC denied having any working relationship with Huawei, and it stopped shipping to the client that may have been illegally sending its chips to Huawei. It also decided to stop producing advanced AI chips for its Chinese clients, reportedly because it wanted to show the US government that it's "not acting against US interests."
"Today’s final agreement with TSMC — the world’s leading manufacturer of advanced semiconductors — will spur $65 billion dollars of private investment to build three state-of-the-art facilities in Arizona and create tens of thousands of jobs by the end of the decade.... The first of TSMC’s three facilities is on track to fully open early next year," President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Other companies, like Intel and Samsung, are still waiting to get their grants. Business groups are reportedly urging the government to finalize their CHIPS Act deals before Biden leaves the office. While they're not worried about the new administration killing the CHIPS Act, which enjoyed bipartisan support, they apparently want to avoid the possibility of having to renegotiate with the government.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-government-finalizes-tsmcs-66-billion-chips-act-incentives-143007608.html?src=rss
Google will stop serving political advertisements in the European Union. The decision, announced in The Keyword blog, is in response to an upcoming new rule for the bloc that "introduces significant new operational challenges and legal uncertainties for political advertisers and platforms." The company says the Regulation on Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising has an overly broad definition for political advertising and raised concerns that technical guidance around the policy may not be given until close to October 2025, when the rules will take effect.
In addition to no longer serving that ad content ahead of next October, Google said that paid political advertisements will also not be allowed on YouTube in the EU. The company said that similar regulations have already led it to stop serving political ads in Canada, France and Brazil.
Google's advertising and ad tech have been subjected to scrutiny by the European government in recent years. The company faced (but ultimately avoided) fines for "abusive" advertising practices in 2019, and last year was hit with antitrust accusations. And Google has also engaged in other eyebrow-raising behavior in the bloc. Just yesterday, the company began what it called a "small, time-limited test" to omit results from EU-based news publishers in search, Google News and the Discover feed.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-will-stop-serving-political-ads-in-the-eu-including-on-youtube-210604043.html?src=rss
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has started the process of placing Google under federal supervision, an action which could create new standards for how the federal government can oversee big tech if the effort is successful. Falling under the CFPB's supervision would subject Google to regular inspections and scrutiny, although the exact aims of the department's efforts have not been fully disclosed. However, it has been an ongoing project for some time, as sources told The Washington Post that Google has been fighting against this move by the CFPB for months.
This department was created in 2008 in response to the financial crisis that year, and its objective is to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive financial practices. The CFPB primarily focuses on businesses such as banks and credit unions, but Director Rahit Chopra has voiced an interest over recent years in subjecting tech companies that offer financial products to similar oversight. For instance, the bureau began an investigation into app store payments systems from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, PayPal and Square back in 2021.
The preliminary moves by the CFPB to oversee Google, and the agency's entire scope of operation, will likely be impacted by Donald Trump's return to the presidency in early 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-is-being-targeted-for-oversight-by-the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-181032853.html?src=rss
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's research center responsible for robotic space missions, will lay off more workers before the year ends due to budget constraints. JPL Director Laurie Leshin has announced in a memo addressed to employees that the reduction will affect 325 people, or about five percent of its whole workforce. Leshin explained that the lab took various measures to meet its budget allocation for the 2025 fiscal year and to minimize the adverse effects of a limited budget on its workers. In the end, though, JPL "reached the difficult decision" to make "one further workforce reduction."
The lab already cut 530 employees and cut over 100 contractors from its roster earlier this year because of uncertainty over the final budget that the Congress will give NASA for 2024. It also froze hiring in response to the dilemma. The main reason why the lab had to implement those measures was because the Mars Sample Return Program was allocated a much smaller budget than it needed. NASA had requested $950 million for the mission, but only $300 million was allocated for it.
NASA's original plan was to bring home the samples collected by the mission in 2040. But its budget ballooned from $7 billion to $11 billion, and as The Washington Post notes, the government found the return date "unacceptable." For the 2025 fiscal year, NASA only requested $200 million for the project that could go through significant changes. The agency is now looking for ways to alter the mission and is even considering proposals from private companies.
Leshin said that the layoffs will affect all areas of the lab, including its technical, business and support divisions. "[W]e had to tighten our belts across the board, and you will see that reflected in the layoff impacts," she said. JPL's director also said that the US presidential election results have nothing to do with the reduction that the "action would be happening regardless" of its outcome.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasas-jet-propulsion-laboratory-is-laying-off-325-more-workers-130001669.html?src=rss