Author: Diane Bartz
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Meta’s Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids – US states’ lawsuit
By Jonathan Stempel, Diane Bartz and Nate Raymond (Reuters) – Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms and its Instagram unit, accusing them of fueling a youth mental health crisis by making their social media platforms addictive. In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the attorneys general of 33 states including California and New York…
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US argues Google wants too much information kept secret in antitrust trial
By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department on Monday objected to removing the public from the court during some discussions of how Google prices online advertising, one of the issues at the heart of the antitrust trial under way in Washington. The government is seeking to show that Alphabet’s Google broke antitrust law…
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Microsoft chief says deep fakes are biggest AI concern
By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Microsoft President Brad Smith said Thursday that his biggest concern around artificial intelligence was deep fakes, realistic looking but false content. In a speech in Washington aimed at addressing the issue of how best to regulate AI, which went from wonky to widespread with the arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Smith…
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JetBlue sees ‘high likelihood’ of U.S. lawsuit to block Spirit deal
By Diane Bartz and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -JetBlue Airways said Monday it believes the U.S. Justice Department has a “high likelihood” of filing an antitrust lawsuit this week to block its $3.8 billion takeover of low-cost rival Spirit Airlines Inc. “We have always accounted for that in our timeline to close the transaction in…
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Sen. Hawley wants to ban TikTok nationwide
WASHINGTON • Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican and China hawk, said on Tuesday that he would introduce a bill to ban the short video app TikTok in the United States. TikTok, whose parent is the Chinese company ByteDance, already faces a ban that would stop federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices.…
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U.S. sues Google on digital ad business dominance, joined by eight states
By Diane Bartz and David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Alphabet’s Google on Tuesday over allegations that the company abused its dominance of the digital advertising business, according to a court document. “Google has used anticompetitive, exclusionary, and unlawful means to eliminate or severely diminish any threat to…
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U.S. FTC asks Twitter if it has resources to comply with consent decree
By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which enforces rules against deceptive practices, has contacted Twitter to ask if the company still has the resources to comply with a privacy consent decree, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Upheaval and mass layoffs at Twitter since its takeover by Elon…
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Congress to hold hearing on Ticketmaster problems after Taylor Swift debacle
By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. Senate antitrust panel will hold a hearing on the lack of competition in the ticketing industry after Ticketmaster’s problems last week managing the sale of Taylor Swift tickets, Senator Amy Klobuchar, chair of the panel, said on Tuesday. Senators Klobuchar and Mike Lee, the top Republican on the…
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Senator thinks Twitter and Facebook may need a license to operate
WASHINGTON • U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham, a Republican critic of social media companies like Meta’s Facebook and Twitter, said Tuesday that he wants create a way to regulate, and perhaps license, social media companies. Graham said that he was working on a measure — he did not say what form it would take — with…
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Senate panel approves update of children’s online privacy bill
WASHINGTON • The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted Wednesday to approve a measure that would raise the age children are given special online privacy protections to 16 and bar targeted advertising to children by companies like TikTok and Snapchat without consent. The bill, which was adopted by voice vote, will now go to the full…