Congress should pass legislation to allow media companies to negotiate to force Big Tech to pay to carry news content, a group of Democrat state attorneys general wrote Tuesday. They wrote to Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in support of their Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (S. 1094) (see 2303310047). Signing were AGs from Washington, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont. They called S. 1094 an “important and necessary step to addressing the challenges affecting local news organizations across the country.” Big Tech opposed similar measures advancing at the state level and in Canada and Australia (see 2306010073).

Online platforms must do more to counter fake information, European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova said Monday after meeting with signatories to the voluntary EU code of practice on disinformation. The Russian war in Ukraine opened a new chapter, as disinformation began when Russia annexed Crimea, she said. "This is not business as usual" since Russia is trying to subvert and undermine support for Ukraine and lower citizens' trust in democratic institutions: The code, however, is helping to support Ukraine to win the war. Jourova said she now wants code signers to develop a plan to implement the provisions of the Digital Services Act (DSA) when it takes effect Jan. 1, since there's interplay between the legislation and the code. She said she also expects companies, especially major online platforms, to do more to address Russian and pro-Kremlin disinformation; invest significantly more in fact-checking, particularly in smaller EU countries and in all EU languages; and give researchers better access to data because it's of "strategic importance" to policymakers. Jourova also asked signers to create a separate track to discuss what they plan to do about ChatGPT and similar services, because the current agreement doesn't cover generative AI. Those talks should address how businesses that incorporate generative AI into their service will build necessary safeguards to prevent it from being used by bad actors; and how companies that provide such services can put in place mechanisms to recognize such content and label it for users. Jourova said it's a mistake for Twitter to drop out of the code because doing so will attract attention and supervision from the EU. Moreover, she said, as a very large platform, it will still have to comply with the DSA. The code now has 44 signatories, including Facebook, and YouTube, she noted.

The California State Assembly voted 46-6 Thursday to advance legislation to require Big Tech to pay media companies usage fees when carrying news content on platforms (see 2305310069). Introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D), the California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA) (AB-886) is expected to pass the Senate. Meta said it would remove news content from Facebook and Instagram if the bill ultimately passes. The CJPA requires news publishers to invest 70% of the profits into hiring journalists. The News/Media Alliance is “extremely encouraged to see this progress at the state level, which shows that Americans understand the importance and value of journalism to keeping their communities safe and informed and holding those in power to account,” said CEO Danielle Coffey. The Computer & Communications Industry Association supports “a thriving news media, but cannot support a link tax,” said President Matt Schruers. “Taxes on sending internet traffic from one site to another is not a sustainable business model for any party involved, and sets a dangerous precedent for governments and carriers to impose fees on users navigating the open internet.”

If California passes legislation forcing social media companies to pay for news content, Meta will remove news from Facebook and Instagram in the state, the company said in a statement Wednesday. State legislators are considering the California Journalism Preservation Bill, which passed at the committee level. Meta isn’t going to pay into a “slush fund that primarily benefits big, out-of-state media under the guise of aiding California publishers,” the company said. Legislators fail to recognize that publishers have willfully posted news content on their platforms and that consolidation in the California news industry happened more than 15 years ago, before Facebook was widely used, the company said.

The U.S. and the EU are committed to limiting risks of artificial intelligence and promoting “universal human rights and shared democratic values,” officials said in a joint statement Wednesday. The Trade and Technology Council held its fourth ministerial meeting in Lulea, Sweden, Wednesday, co-chaired by European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, EC Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. European Commissioner Thierry Breton also joined. The officials said they're “committed to deepening our cooperation on technology issues, including on artificial intelligence (AI), 6G, online platforms and quantum. We are committed to make the most of the potential of emerging technologies, while at the same time limiting the challenges they pose to universal human rights and shared democratic values.” Officials will cooperate through implementation of the Joint Roadmap on Evaluation and Measurement Tools for Trustworthy AI and Risk Management, they said.

Expect significant consumer confusion about the two emerging Wi-Fi 7 variants -- one with 6 GHz compatibility, one without, ABI Research said Tuesday. It said some ISPs plan to deploy Wi-Fi 7 equipment that supports the legacy 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums only because large numbers of 6 GHz-enabled devices won't be available to consumers until later in the decade. It said the emergence of the Wi-Fi 7 standard and new Wi-Fi consumer premises equipment product types should drive big growth in CPE equipment shipments in coming years -- from 266.9 million in 2022 to 397.4 million by 2028.

No shareholder proposals received the votes needed to pass, Amazon said Wednesday at its annual shareholder meeting. Among the 18 shareholder proposals were recommendations that the company's board give more detailed disclosures on content and product restrictions on Amazon.com due to governments' requests, and that the board commission a report on whether the company's Amazon Web Services products have surveillance capabilities that contribute to human rights violations (see 2304260032).

Better harmonization of cross-border data protection enforcement is needed, the European Commission said Wednesday. There have been over 2,000 cross-border cases since the general data protection regulation (GDPR) took effect five years ago, with over $2.7 billion in fines imposed by national data protection authorities (DPAs) for breaches, the EC statement said. "Thorough application" of the regulation remains a top priority, so the EC will "soon" propose new legislation to standardize some procedures of cooperation between DPAs in cross-border cases. "At the heart of the GDPR lies trust," said Values and Transparency Vice President Vera Jourova and Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders. "Looking back, we have successfully created a modern data protection culture in Europe, which has been a source of inspiration also in other parts of the world." They cited "more and more appetite" internationally to raise privacy standards and, in that way, to facilitate free, safe data flows. GDPR enforcement over the past five years "has had major flaws and today it is still very much work in progress," emailed Ursula Pachl, deputy director-general, European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). For example, BEUC launched a coordinated campaign against Google's widespread tracking of consumers' data in November 2018 "and we are still waiting for the final decision from the Irish data protection authority." EC plans to harmonize cross-border rules "could deliver some real improvements."

The Biden administration is committed to investing in artificial intelligence that “promotes responsible American innovation,” the White House said Tuesday. The Office of Science and Technology Policy released a new strategic plan for national AI R&D, a document last updated in 2019. The plan doesn’t list a specific dollar amount for R&D, but the administration said it’s focused on protecting human rights and safety and upholding democratic values. AI innovation and risks have been a focal point for legislators on Capitol Hill and the FTC in recent weeks (see 2305180050). OSTP is issuing a request for information seeking input on “national priorities for mitigating AI risks, protecting individuals’ rights and safety, and harnessing AI to improve lives,” it said. Public comments are due July 7. The White House hosted a listening session Tuesday with workers to “hear firsthand experiences with employers’ use of automated technologies for surveillance, monitoring, evaluation, and management.”

The federal government doesn’t have “enough evidence” to say social media is “sufficiently safe” for children and adolescents, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Tuesday in a new advisory. Researchers need to explore social media’s impact on youth mental health and well-being, including risks associated with sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety and body image. The report notes up to 95% of users ages 13 to 17 report using social media, and more than a third say they use it “almost constantly.” The U.S. “must acknowledge the growing body of research about potential harms, increase our collective understanding of the risks associated with social media use, and urgently take action to create safe and healthy digital environments that minimize harm and safeguard children’s and adolescents’ mental health and well-being during critical stages of development,” said Murthy.