The government of Canada has ordered social video app TikTok to shut down its business operations in the country, following a national security review under the Investment Canada Act. and potential risks posed by TikTok and parent ByteDance. “The government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content,” explains François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry. “The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice.” Canada previously banned the TikTok app from official government devices, while the U.S. passed a law that could also ban the app. Continue reading Canada Orders TikTok to Shut Down Its Business Operations

A group of TikTok creators has filed a lawsuit with the intent to block a new law that requires ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the popular social platform, to divest of the app by mid-January or have it banned from U.S. app stores. The eight petitioners claim that banning the app would be a violation of their First Amendment rights. TikTok and ByteDance filed a similar suit last week and is also paying the legal fees for this latest challenge, according to media reports. The creator lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Continue reading TikTok Creators Sue U.S. Over New Law Forcing Sale or Ban

Short-form video hosting service TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance have filed suit against the United States challenging the constitutionality of the law that seeks to force a sale of the popular social media company, or otherwise ban it from use in the United States. The petition seeks to upend the bill President Biden signed into law April 24 as part of a foreign aid package. TikTok faces a ban from U.S. app stores if ByteDance has not been sold to a non-adversarial entity by mid-January 2025. ByteDance has made clear it has no intention of divesting. Continue reading ByteDance Files Suit Against the U.S. Over TikTok Sale or Ban

Jonathan Mayer has been named the Justice Department’s first chief science and technology advisor and will also hold the title chief artificial intelligence officer, another first. The announcement was made by Attorney General Merrick Garland, who said “the Justice Department must keep pace with rapidly evolving scientific and technological developments in order to fulfill our mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights.” Mayer will advise Garland and department leaders and collaborate with other departments “on complex issues requiring technical expertise,” including cybersecurity, AI and other areas of emerging technology. Continue reading Justice Department Appoints Jonathan Mayer Chief AI Officer

Epic Games has prevailed against Google in U.S. District Court, scoring a victory in the 2020 lawsuit filed against the search giant over antitrust behavior related to its Google Play store. Epic claims that Google leverages control over the Android mobile operating system to require content creators who want a presence on an estimated 71 percent of the world’s smartphones to sell through the Play Store. The verdict “proves Google’s app store practices are illegal and they abuse their monopoly to extract exorbitant fees, stifle competition and reduce innovation,” Epic wrote of the win. Google disagrees with the ruling and says it plans to appeal. Continue reading Court Rules in Favor of Epic Games in Google Antitrust Case

Right on schedule and after a rocky start, Microsoft has closed the $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard that regulators in the U.S. and UK had challenged. Big Tech is celebrating the move as a signal that their cash reserves can still be used to target expansion. The deal is consumer tech’s largest since AOL purchased Time Warner in a 2000 deal valued at more than twice that. Until now, Microsoft’s games unit, built around Xbox, has been a modest part of the company’s immense portfolio — representing just over 7 percent of total sales, or revenue of about $15 billion. Continue reading Microsoft Closes $69 Billion Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

President Biden heralded the “enormous promise” of artificial intelligence while pointing out that we must manage risks to society and our economy. These include misinformation and job loss. Meeting with experts in San Francisco, Biden said AI is already fueling “change in every part of American life, often in ways we don’t notice.” Citing social media and its potential harms, Biden called for proper AI guardrails. The Bay Area visit was part of Biden’s 2024 reelection fundraising campaign, and included an event co-hosted by venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, who was integral to the launches of LinkedIn and PayPal. Continue reading Feds Escalate Urgency Around AI, Biden Meets with Experts

A video editing app from China’s ByteDance is gaining in popularity in the U.S. even as the parent company comes under fire for its viral video app TikTok potentially threatening national security. App-tracking firms including Shanghai-based Diandian show CapCut has more U.S. downloads than TikTok in recent weeks. CapCut lets users quickly create online memes and videos using templates and filters that include music and visual effects. Users say the app helps them achieve professional-looking results that are more likely to go viral on TikTok, as well as Facebook, Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube. Continue reading ByteDance Video Editing App ‘CapCut’ Gains Traction in U.S.

The Biden administration has reportedly come to the conclusion that ByteDance must sell its stake in TikTok or face the possibility of a U.S. ban. The decision comes as Congress turns up the heat on action against TikTok, which is suspected of compromising U.S. data and potentially manipulating news feeds to influence opinion. It follows a quiet, years-long assessment by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), which The Wall Street Journal says “made the sale demand recently.” The Treasury Department, which oversees CFIUS, declined to comment. Continue reading ByteDance Must Sell Chinese TikTok Stake or Face U.S. Ban

The nation’s largest publisher, Penguin Random House, was in federal court this week to defend itself against the Justice Department, which filed an antitrust lawsuit to block its acquisition of Simon & Schuster. The DOJ has been increasingly focused on antitrust and is hiring more trial lawyers in preparation for an action against Alphabet’s Google for its dominance in search and digital advertising. Although ostensibly on trial for threatening to shrink the number of American mass-market publishers from five to four, the Penguin suit also involves examination of the retail power of Amazon. Continue reading How the DOJ Antitrust Publishing Lawsuit Relates to Amazon

Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) has introduced a new bill, the Digital Platform Commission Act, which proposes the establishment of a five-person commission to protect consumers in the Big Tech era. This, even as attorneys for groups representing Facebook and Twitter on Friday filed with the U.S. Supreme Court an emergency request to block Texas House Bill 20. The companies argue the law compels social platforms to disseminate propaganda and misinformation, including racist and pro-Nazi screeds. Calling HB 20 “an assault on the First Amendment,” the companies claim its implementation could undo billions in development. Continue reading Legislators Continue Their Scrutiny of Big Tech, Social Media

Facial recognition software company Clearview AI has agreed to limit U.S. sales of its identity database to businesses and other private actors as part of a lawsuit settlement. The case, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups, was filed in state court in Illinois, where the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) is considered the nation’s strongest data privacy law. The lawsuit alleged that Clearview routinely scraped images of state residents from the Internet without obtaining their permission or making them aware of the practice. Continue reading Clearview to Limit Sales After Settling Illinois Privacy Lawsuit

Amazon completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM late last week. The companies finalized the deal immediately upon expiration of the Federal Trade Commission’s mid-March deadline to object, though the agency let it be known that it can challenge a deal any time it finds cause. Amazon in May announced intent to acquire MGM, which has a library of more than 4,000 films and some 17,000 TV episodes as well as ongoing production in both areas. In August, a group of four labor unions collectively urged the FTC to quash Amazon’s bid. Continue reading Amazon Closes $8.5B Deal for MGM, FTC Watches in Wings

Discovery plans to merge Discovery+ and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max into one streaming service shortly after completing the acquisition of AT&T’s entertainment spinoff WarnerMedia. The news was shared by Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, speaking Monday at Deutsche Bank’s 30th Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference. Wiedenfels said that the transition will likely take “several months” but “an interim solution” will be introduced “in the meantime.” “Building one very, very strong combined direct-to-consumer product and platform, that’s going to take a while,” he said. Continue reading HBO Max, Discovery+ Will Be Combined into a Single Service

Alphabet has agreed to purchase cybersecurity firm Mandiant in a deal valued at nearly $5.4 billion. Mandiant — which services global enterprises, governments and law enforcement agencies — brings expertise that will fortify Alphabet’s Google Cloud with increased security at a time when businesses worldwide are focused on preventing cyberattacks. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close later this year. The fact that Mandiant complements, rather than expands, Google’s sphere of influence should prove beneficial as Alphabet faces antitrust lawsuits from the Justice Department and U.S. states. Continue reading Google to Spend $5.4 Billion for Cybersecurity Firm Mandiant