#government-oversight — Public Fediverse posts

The Daily Aus: Smart glasses will be banned in all Victorian schools. “Victoria will ban all students across the state from using smart glasses in schools and camps. The ban, announced by the Labor Government ahead of the state’s November election, will build on its existing statewide ban on mobile phones in schools. The Coalition also supports the ban. The new rules will prohibit smart […]

State of Rhode Island: Attorney General Neronha sues Meta for fraudulent advertisements. “Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly failing to curtail advertisements for fraudulent products and financial scams on its platforms, despite representing to the public that it engages in sophisticated efforts to prevent such ads.”

The Conversation: How governments worldwide are shaping what AI can say about politics. “I’m a researcher at a nonpartisan think tank at Vanderbilt University, where I study free speech policy. In two reports published in 2025 and 2026, my colleagues and I worked with global legal experts to examine how governments in 12 countries and regions regulate artificial intelligence. Our research […]

Politico: Data center real estate is getting hard to find. “backlash to large data centers for artificial intelligence is rewriting the rules. Instead of ramping up tax incentives, 16 state legislatures have considered outright bans on their development. As the glut in projects strains U.S. electrical grids and voters from both parties increasingly sour on the bulky facilities, developers are […]

CNBC: Meta ordered to pay $25 billion penalty in New Mexico Cambridge Analytica case. “Meta was ordered to pay $25 billion in penalties by a New Mexico court on Wednesday as part of a data privacy case that stemmed from the company’s Cambridge Analytica scandal from nearly a decade ago.”

Reuters: California settles 23andMe data breach claims for $6 million. “California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced the state will receive a $6 million settlement payment in 23andMe’s bankruptcy, resolving California’s ​legal claims related to a 2023 data breach that exposed 6.9 ‌million customers’ genetic and other personal information.”

Gizmodo: New Data Show How Much Worse Scams Are Getting for Americans Over 60. “The report, which is mandated by Congress under the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017, found that the amount of money seniors reported to the FTC as being lost to fraud jumped from $600 million in 2020 to $3 billion in 2025. But the real number is likely several times that, since most fraud goes […]

New Jersey Monitor: NJ picks Rutgers to lead social media research center. “Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Monday that Rutgers was selected through a competitive grant process that will provide the state university $500,000 to assess the impact of social media on New Jersey teens, identify specific measures that can be used to mitigate the damage it causes, and promote healthy and responsible use of […]

Bloomberg: Australia to sue Facebook, TikTok for alleged breaches of ban: Minister. “Australia’s government is set to sue Facebook, TikTok and other major digital platforms for alleged non-compliance with a nationwide social media ban for under-16s, Communications Minister Anika Wells said in an interview.”

Letitia James: Attorney General James Warns New Yorkers About AI-Generated Election Misinformation Ahead of November Elections. “New York Attorney General Letitia James today released an updated guide to help New Yorkers spot, avoid, and report election misinformation created by artificial intelligence (AI) ahead of the November 3 general elections.”

CNBC: SpaceX agrees to testify to NYC Council about AI safety after receiving subpoena. “SpaceX has agreed to testify before the New York City Council this week as part of a legislative investigation concerning artificial intelligence safety risks, the council announced on Tuesday. The council said in a press release that the hearing will take place on Friday at 10 a.m. ET in front of its tech […]

Reuters: Setback for TikTok as EU court adviser backs gatekeeper label. “An adviser to Europe’s highest court recommended on Thursday that TikTok lose its challenge to its ‘gatekeeper’ status under ​landmark EU rules, backing regulators in a closely watched test ‌of the bloc’s efforts to curb Big Tech’s power.”

The Conversation: How the ‘digital duty of care’ bill could undermine vital sex and drug education online. “This week the Australian government will introduce its landmark Digital Duty of Care Bill to parliament. The bill aims to make platforms legally responsible for creating a ‘safe online environment’ protecting users from ‘seriously harmful material and conduct’. In the wake of recent […]

Reuters: EU Commission is in dialogue with Google, spokesperson says. “The European Commission said on Wednesday ​it was ‘in dialogue with Google’ over actions the company ‌may take in response to the $1 billion fines imposed by the EU in July and required changes to its app store and its ​search engine.”

Engadget: Mexico’s president signs decree ordering tech platforms to protect minors from adult content . “Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum has signed a decree ordering digital platforms to protect children from accessing adult and other types of content, the government announced. Sites have 30 calendar days to implement the mandatory measures, though they won’t initially face any punishment […]

Channel News Asia: UK media regulator says concerns persist over X’s handling of illegal content. “Britain’s media regulator Ofcom said on Wednesday it remained concerned about Elon Musk-owned X’s handling of illegal hate and terrorism-related content despite improvements in response times, while disclosing new restrictions on the Grok AI chatbot.”

Politico: Germany moves to criminalize sexual deepfakes and rape videos. “The German government has approved a draft law on digital violence Wednesday in a bid to tighten the rules on rape videos and pornographic deepfakes. The possession and production of videos depicting rape are currently not prohibited in Germany if intended for private use, while there is no specific law which regulates […]

EFF: When No ID Means No Internet: Age Verification and the Right to Access Information. “Age verification proposals are often presented as a simple tradeoff: sacrifice a little privacy to better safeguard children online. But that framing overlooks a more fundamental question. What happens to people who cannot verify their age at all? This is particularly a problem when users are required to […]

BBC: AI is less regulated than milk, says Microsoft president. “Milk and washing machines are currently more regulated than AI, the president of Microsoft has said. Brad Smith said there needed to be global safety rules in place, including a legal obligation to tell a ‘victim’ if their system is breached by a rogue AI agent as well as deciding when outside evaluators should sign off on an AI […]

Reuters: Italy regulator probes AI music startup Suno over terms of service. “Italy’s antitrust authority said on Tuesday it had opened an investigation ​into AI music startup Suno, ‌saying some clauses in its terms of service may be unfair to consumers.”

🔎 Are Public Institutions Serving the Public?

This week’s reporting examines billions in Pentagon support, pressure around FBI election investigations, and taxpayer-funded political messaging.

newsletter.usaresistproject2025.org/p/resist-tru...

#Transparency #GovernmentOversight

TechSpot: Norway wants to temporarily ban smart glasses in parks, beaches, and schools. “Norwegian authorities are preparing a temporary ban on AI-enhanced smart glasses, giving experts time to draft a new law that restricts potential abuse of the latest wearables. The government announced the plan on Monday, saying smart glasses will become an unwelcome guest in certain public places, at least […]

Reuters: Florida asks court to force Meta to change Facebook, Instagram for teens. “Florida ​asked a state judge on Wednesday to order changes to Instagram and Facebook to better ‌protect young users, pressing ahead with a lawsuit accusing parent Meta Platforms of harming teens after most states resolved similar claims through a sweeping settlement.”

The Guardian: California issues investigative subpoena to OpenAI over rogue agents’ hacking. “California’s attorney general has issued an investigative subpoena to OpenAI, starting an investigation into the startup ⁠as ​part of a broader inquiry into potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities and incidents related ⁠to its AI models, his office said on Thursday.”

Reuters: TikTok gave teens, children placebo safety feature in experiment, New York alleges. “TikTok ran an experiment on thousands of ​users who tried to turn on a safety feature on the platform, giving them non-functional versions of the tool, according to ‌allegations in New York’s lawsuit against the company unsealed on Wednesday.”

Engadget: Poland’s antitrust regulator accuses Google of unfair market practices . “A Polish regulator said that Google isn’t playing by the rules when the tech giant displays articles from local media publishers in Google Search, Google News and Google Discover. Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, abbreviated as UOKiK, said that Google leaned on its dominant market position […]

CNBC: AI researcher warns ‘we are racing to build and grow our own adversary’ in NYC hearing. “Former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner warned that ‘misaligned’ artificial intelligence could prove more dangerous than China’s aggressive development push during a New York City Council meeting on Monday.”

KRQE: New Mexico attorney asks for $40B penalty against Meta in state case. “The State of New Mexico is asking a judge for the biggest penalty ever awarded in a court case in the United States to punish Facebook for lying to New Mexicans. The attorney for the State of New Mexico is calling for Facebook’s parent company Meta to pay up to $40 billion, after a jury found they willfully deceived […]

CT Mirror: New CT AI, data privacy laws go into effect Oct. 1. What to know. “The legislation, also known as the Connecticut Artificial Intelligence Responsibility and Transparency, or CART, Act, was result of a long-sought compromise between lawmakers in the state Senate, House and governor’s office. While some of CART Act’s provisions went into effect already, some will become law […]

🚨 Oh, did you think your phone was safe just because you're back from sipping margaritas on the beach? 😂 Guess again! The government's got dibs on your selfies without a warrant, and all you'll get is a "403 Forbidden" error while they swipe right on your privacy. 📵🔒
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/immigration-advocate-sues-border-agents-for-demanding-his-cell-phone/ #privacyissues #governmentoversight #warrantlesssearches #digitalrights #technews #HackerNews #ngated

The Conversation: As AI political deepfakes go viral, lawmakers struggle to keep up – 2 states’ laws show limits of what they can do. “I am an AI policy scholar at the University of Denver, where we use an AI policy tracker to monitor bills and laws across the U.S. With 2026 midterm elections approaching, the important question for voters is what protection a deepfake law actually provides, […]

CNBC: California Gov. Gavin Newsom bans AI ‘robo bosses’ in landmark state law, reversing his earlier veto. “SB 947, dubbed the No Robo Bosses Act, prevents businesses around the state from exclusively using ‘automated decision-making systems’ in matters of employee discipline and termination. It also restricts their capacity to use AI as a principal tool in such decisions.”