YouTube has added new rules requiring those uploading realistic-looking videos that are “made with altered or synthetic media, including generative AI” to label them using a new tool in Creator Studio. The new labeling “is meant to strengthen transparency with viewers and build trust between creators and their audience,” YouTube says, listing examples of content that require disclosure as “likeness of a realistic person” including voice as well as image, “altering footage of real events or places” and “generating realistic scenes” of fictional major events, “like a tornado moving toward a real town.” Continue reading YouTube Adds GenAI Labeling Requirement for Realistic Video

Google is rolling out a suite of AI-powered marketing tools designed to help small businesses make the most of the holiday sales season. Merchants can add a “small business” attribute to their Search and Maps results and generate advertising and promotional materials using something called Product Studio. “Eighty-four percent of people say supporting local and/or small businesses is important to them, so we’re making it easier to find them on Google,” the company writes. Products and businesses with the “small business” label “will make it easier for shoppers to narrow down their searches and be intentional about shopping.” Continue reading Google Debuts Generative AI Tools Aimed to Help Merchants

Adobe is building out its AI infrastructure with three new generative AI models to augment Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express and other tools. In all, Adobe released over 100 major new AI features and updates across Creative Cloud flagship applications at Adobe MAX 2023. The three-day Los Angeles event saw Adobe debut three new Firefly models — Firefly Image 2, Firefly Vector and Firefly Design — each designed to generate content that is cleared for commercial use. The Firefly Image 2 image generator offers improved detailing for things like skin texture, hair and foliage. Continue reading Adobe Debuts Three New Firefly Models and Adds AI Labels

As creators embrace artificial intelligence to juice creativity, TikTok is launching a tool that helps them label their AI-generated content while also beginning to test “ways to label AI-generated content automatically.” “AI enables incredible creative opportunities, but can potentially confuse or mislead viewers,” TikTok said in announcing labels that can apply to “any content that has been completely generated or significantly edited by AI,” including video, photographs, music and more. The platform also touted a policy that “requires people to label AI-generated content that contains realistic images, audio or video, in order to help viewers contextualize.” Continue reading TikTok Creates New Tools for Labeling Content Created by AI

Launched two years ago, C2PA is an open-source Internet protocol that cryptographically encodes origin metadata into content. The protocol, a more secure form of watermarking, is being put forth as a way of disclosing when material has been created wholly or in part using artificial intelligence, something the White House has said it wants companies to do. Impending European Union regulations will also mandate that some tech platforms label images, audio, and video generated by artificial intelligence using “prominent markings.” More than 1,500 companies are involved with C2PA through the Content Authenticity Initiative, making it a viable solution. Continue reading Cryptographic C2PA Protocol Pursues Labeling of AI Content

The European Union wants deepfakes and other AI-generated content labeled, and is pressing signatories to its Code of Practice on Online Disinformation to adopt technology that will clearly identify output that is generated or manipulated by machines. “The new AI technologies can be a force for good” that offers “new avenues for increased efficiency and creative expression. But, as always, we have to mention the dark side,” EU values and transparency commissioner Vera Jourova said, citing “new risks and the potential for negative consequences for society.” Continue reading EU Urges Tech Companies to Label All AI-Generated Content

Twitter has reversed its decision to label public broadcasters as “government funded” or “state affiliated” — designations that under previous ownership were reserved for propaganda arms. The Friday move came after NPR and Canada’s CBC paused their Twitter accounts in protest. The BBC was also hit with a state-sponsored appellation. Outlets that challenged the state-sponsored appellation say only part of their funding comes from the government, and stress their terms include editorial independence. The reversal came one day after Twitter began removing the blue verification check marks from the accounts of thousands of non-paying users. Continue reading Backlash Prompts Twitter to Drop State-Affiliated Media Label

Twitter did not implement the check mark purge set for April 1, when it said it would remove the blue verification symbols from the accounts of celebrities, influencers and politicians who were not paying $8 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription. The weekend came and went with the status of so-called “legacy verifications” largely unchanged. Twitter’s owner and CEO, Elon Musk, says he still plans to monetize verifications, and that U.S. businesses and governments will be charged $1,000 monthly to retain their checkmarks — gold for businesses and gray for governments. Continue reading Changes to Twitter’s Legacy Verifications Lead to Confusion

In a move to heighten transparency, TikTok will begin using its “state-controlled media” label in more than 40 new territories, including China and the U.S. Launched as a pilot program last year, the program identifies videos produced under government influence. Conceding there is no one-size-fits-all definition, TikTok says it considers media “state-controlled” when “there is evidence of clear editorial control and decision-making by members of the state.” The label was launched after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, flagging state-controlled media in those countries and Belarus. Russian outlets TASS, Sputnik and the English-language RT are among those labeled. Continue reading China and U.S. to Carry TikTok State-Controlled Media Labels

The Federal Communications Commission has unveiled specifics for new labels that clarify hidden fees and surprise rate hikes on consumer broadband services. Broadband providers will be required to display, at the point of sale, labels that show key information about prices, speeds, fees, data allowances, and other key information using a format that resembles the familiar “nutrition labels” that appear on food products. Emphasizing broadband as “an essential service, for everyone, everywhere,” FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the labeling rules apply to both wired and wireless services. Continue reading FCC Rules Require ISPs Provide Broadband Nutrition Labels

To battle the increasing challenges that music labels have experienced with selling albums, some independent labels and their artists have decided to embrace streaming. Drip.fm, a two-year-old subscription streaming and download service, has partnered with Sub Pop Records to provide subscribers with the label’s albums, singles and special exclusives for $10 per month. The idea is to cultivate and monetize the most loyal fans as streaming continues to popularize. Continue reading Indie Labels Adjust to Growing Popularity of Music Streaming

Streaming is the new face of digital music consumption, according to Nielsen’s 2014 Mid-Year Music Industry Report. In the U.S., on-demand streaming was up 42 percent from last year with over 70 billion songs (audio and video) streamed in the first half of 2014. Digital track downloads fell 13 percent to 593.6 million, compared with 682.2 million last year. The entire music industry’s sales, including albums, streaming, and downloads, dropped 3.3 percent. Continue reading Music Streaming Up 42 Percent While Digital Downloads Fall

A full 32-page version of YouTube’s contract for its upcoming premium music subscription service has been leaked online through the blog Digital Music News. So far, the most controversial clause included in the contract concerns the ability of major labels to agree upon lowered rates and therefore influence the rate of royalties paid to independent labels. The leaked contract was drafted to send to these independent labels, but is not a reflection of the actual signed deals.  Continue reading Contract for YouTube Premium Music Service Leaked Online

Amazon continues to expand into the entertainment realm with its delivery of movies and TV via Amazon Prime, the launch of Amazon Studios, its recent acquisition of video game developer Double Helix, and now, the possibility of a streaming music service that would likely be bundled into its Prime delivery option. Amazon has been hiring executives with digital music experience in recent years, and has reportedly been in talks with major music labels for the past few months. Continue reading Amazon Discusses New Streaming Service with Music Labels

Google unveiled its All Access streaming music service at this week’s I/O developers conference in San Francisco. The service, viewed as a potential competitor to Spotify, also has some musicians concerned about a future in which music listeners choose subscriptions to access music libraries rather than paying to download individual songs. Industry execs, labels and artists are debating the pros and cons of cloud-based music distribution. Continue reading Google All Access: Potential Impact of Another Music Service