Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill into law on Wednesday banning TikTok within the entire state, all-but-ensuring a legal, political, and sheer logistical battle over the popular social media platform’s usage and accessibility. In a tweet on Wednesday, Gianforte claimed the new law is an effort to “protect Montanans’ personal and private data from […]
The FTC wants your help fighting AI vocal cloning scams
The Federal Trade Commission is on the hunt for creative ideas tackling one of scam artists’ most cutting edge tools, and will dole out as much as $25,000 for the most promising pitch. First announced last fall, submissions are now officially open for the FTC’s Voice Cloning Challenge. The contest is looking for ideas for […]
Rite Aid can’t use facial recognition technology for the next five years
Rite Aid is banned from utilizing facial recognition programs within any of its stores for the next five years. The pharmacy retail chain agreed to the ban as part of a Federal Trade Commission settlement regarding “reckless use” of the surveillance technology which “left its customers facing humiliation and other harms,” according to Samuel Levine, […]
Default end-to-end encryption is finally coming to Messenger and Facebook
Years after plans were first announced, end-to-end encryption (E2EE) is finally the default communications option for Messenger and Facebook. Meta’s security update arrives following years of mounting pressure from digital privacy rights advocates, who argue the feature is necessary to protect users’ communications. A complete E2EE rollout will take a “number of months” due to […]
US crypto firms might soon pay taxes for exorbitant energy use
The Biden administration wants cryptocurrency miners to pay up if they intend to continue consuming more electricity than every television in the US combined each year. On Tuesday, the White House announced its 2024 proposed budget featuring the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax, which aims to slap a 30 percent surcharge on crypto firms’ […]
AI should never be able to launch nukes, US legislators say
Last week, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) introduced the Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act alongside Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and numerous other bipartisan co-sponsors. The bill’s objective is as straightforward as its name: ensuring AI will never have a final say in American nuclear strategy. “While we all try to grapple with the […]