Meta may be violating the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to address deceptive advertising and political content, the European Commission said Tuesday. The EC is also concerned about Meta's decision, before the June European Parliament elections, to reduce use of CrowdTangle. The tool enables researchers, journalists and civil society to conduct real-time election monitoring. Meta did not announce a replacement for CrowdTangle. The EC also suspects that Meta's mechanism for flagging illegal content on Facebook and Instagram, and its user redress and internal complaint systems, don't comply with the DSA. Meta, Facebook and Instagram were designated Very Large Online Platforms as they have more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU (see 2311100001). Meta has "a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms," said a spokesperson. The company will give the EC more details, he added. Opening formal investigations into Facebook and Instagram's compliance with the DSA, and the April 29 designation of Apple's iPadOS as a gatekeeper under the Digital Markets Act are good news, Agustin Reyna, European Consumer Organisation director-legal and economic affairs, said in an email. These decisive EC actions show that the measures "must be complied with in an effective way."

The public can comment through June 2 on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s continued efforts to improve the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced Monday. NIST issued four draft documents in support of President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI. The first draft document seeks comment on mitigating risks related to generative AI. This includes AI tools for accessing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. The agency is interested in risks associated with cybersecurity attacks and AI-driven hate speech. NIST is gathering feedback for a second draft document analyzing how data is used to train AI systems, particularly when technology is used for malicious purposes such as the perpetuation of human bias. The agency is studying technical approaches for identifying AI-created fake content. Detection methods include digital watermarking and metadata recording. A fourth NIST document outlines approaches for global development and implementation of AI standards for detecting AI content. NIST is “working hard to research and develop the guidance needed to safely harness the potential of AI, while minimizing the risks associated with it,” said Raimondo.

The White House doesn’t want a TikTok ban, its goal is protecting the privacy of American users, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday. She and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a news briefing on the foreign aid package President Joe Biden signed into law Wednesday (see 2404240060). “This is not a ban” of the popular Chinese-owned social media app, Jean-Pierre said. "This is about divestment. This is about our national security. We are not saying that ... we do not want Americans to use TikTok. ... We want to make sure that Americans are protected.” Sullivan was asked if Biden’s campaign or other political entities should use TikTok. He said the administration is focused on implementing the new law in a manner consistent with its national security justification. “I'm going to let campaigns decide for themselves what they're going to do.”

The New York legislature agreed to spend $275 million over 10 years to develop an AI computing center at the University of Buffalo, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced as part of the fiscal 2025 budget, as expected (see 2401080047). Private partners pledged an additional $125 million. “Whoever is at the forefront of artificial intelligence will dominate the next chapter of human history – and I’m committed to seizing that opportunity here in New York,” said Hochul.

Two formal proceedings against TikTok demonstrate the EU's priority for protecting minors online under the Digital Services Act, EC officials said Monday during a briefing. TikTok, which the EC designated a Very Large Online Platform under the DSA, must submit a risk assessment report, including mitigation measures for potential systemic risks, before launching apps that are likely to affect those risks, the EC noted. In February, it opened a first DSA noncompliance case against the Chinese company that owns TikTok to gauge whether it breached the law in areas linked to protection of minors, advertising transparency, data access for researchers and risk management of addictive design and harmful content; that probe continues. On Monday, it filed a second proceeding, this one to determine whether the company violated the act when it launched TikTok Lite in France and Spain in March. The issue, EC officials said, is that TikTok Lite creates a financial incentive for users, particularly minors and vulnerable people, to spend extra time on the site. An EC request for an explanation of what TikTok was doing before it launched the app went unanswered, and the required risk assessment wasn't filed. The platform has until today (April 23) to provide the risk assessment and until May 3 to send additional information requested. TikTok's reward program appears to amount to prima facie infringement of the DSA and a threat to users' mental health, the EC said. The "task and reward" system lets users earn points as they view more content, invite friends and like content, for example. After accumulating points, they can convert them into vouchers. The system is designed to keep users on the service as long as possible, EC officials said. The EC ordered TikTok to suspend the Lite rewards program in the EU. The suspension, which could take place as early as Thursday, will go into effect if warranted after the company has had 48 hours to exercise its right of defense under the DSA. The two proceedings are the first to take advantage of enforcement tools available under the DSA, officials noted. DSA authorities in France, Spain and Ireland conducted the investigation. Ireland is TikTok's European headquarters. The penalty for failure to respond to the EC request for information is up to 1% of total annual income; the fine for failing to suspend TikTok Lite is up to 6% of total annual income. "We are disappointed with this decision," emailed a TikTok spokesperson. "The TikTok Lite rewards hub is not available to under 18s, and there is a daily limit on video watch tasks." The company will continue talks with the EC, the spokesperson added.

The FTC, DOJ and California attorney general should investigate whether Google violated antitrust or copyright law last week when it blocked news websites in the state, the News/Media Alliance wrote in a letter to enforcers Tuesday. Google temporarily limited access to news websites, “retaliating” against the California Journalism Preservation Act (see 2307060034), a legislative proposal that would require platforms to pay news publishers for use of their content, the letter said. Google may have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, the FTC Act or the Lanham Act, it said. The California News Publishers Association joined the alliance in its letter to California AG Rob Bonta (D). The letter's “baseless claims deflect” from the real issues with the legislation, Google said in a statement Wednesday: “This bill is unworkable and will hurt small, local publishers to benefit large, out-of-state hedge funds. We have proposed reasonable alternatives to CJPA that would increase our support for the California news ecosystem and support Californians' access to news.” Offices for the FTC, DOJ and Bonta didn’t comment Wednesday.

The Senate plans to vote Thursday on reauthorization of the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Wednesday (see 2404120044). The upper chamber “must come to an agreement” before Friday’s deadline for reauthorization, said Schumer: “Otherwise, this very important tool for ensuring our national security is going to lapse, and that would be unacceptable.” The House hasn’t made the Senate’s job “any easier” with its “bogus impeachment trial,” but FISA needs to be extended, he said. The Senate on Wednesday rejected articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., spoke on the floor Wednesday and urged lawmakers to renew Section 702 of FISA. About 60% of items in the president’s daily intelligence brief are sourced from information gathered using Section 702, he said. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Tuesday asked colleagues to reject the House proposal, saying it “gives the government unchecked authority to order millions of Americans to spy on behalf of the government.” He argued the proposal expands Section 702, citing bill language saying the government can compel information from any “service provider who has access to equipment that is being or may be used to transmit or store wire or electronic communications.” The House was scheduled to vote at 5 p.m. Wednesday on the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act. The bill would ban intelligence agencies from buying consumer data from brokers without a warrant. The White House opposes the legislation (see 2404160064). “If the government wants to track a suspect today, they could go through the trouble of establishing probable cause and getting a warrant,” House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who co-wrote the legislation, said on the House floor Wednesday.

The Consumer Technology Association looks forward to working with congressional committees to pass a federal privacy law, CEO Gary Shapiro said in a statement Monday. CTA “appreciates” the American Privacy Rights Act, a “bipartisan, bicameral effort to pass a federal data privacy law to protect consumers’ personal information,” he said. The organization supports a “national privacy standard that preempts state laws, providing legal clarity for companies to operate and consistent protections across state borders for consumers.” CTA didn’t address the bill’s private right of action provision. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has said he won’t “support any data privacy bill that empowers trial lawyers” and that the APRA has “no chance” of passing (see 2404080062 and 2404150059). Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., are moving forward with committee deliberation. A House Commerce Committee legislative hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. It’s “possible” Senate Commerce will hold a legislative hearing, but there will definitely be a markup “at some point,” Cantwell’s senior counsel on the committee, Shannon Smith, said Monday. Cantwell and Rodgers began negotiating in late December, said Smith. The senator didn’t support the House Commerce Committee’s previous privacy bill, the American Data Privacy Protection Act, largely because its private right of action provision allowed companies to address claims through arbitration, said Smith. It was important for Cantwell to prohibit forced arbitration in the APRA, she said.

The Biden administration “strongly opposes” legislation that would ban intelligence agencies from buying consumer data from brokers without a warrant, the White House said in a statement Tuesday. The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (HR-4639) would block law enforcement from accessing commercially available information but wouldn’t prevent foreign enemies or the private sector from buying the same data, the administration said: That means the legislation jeopardizes national security but doesn’t protect privacy. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week, after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., agreed to bring it to the floor during debate on reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (see 2404120044). Responsible use of commercially available data is vital to investigations related to China, illegal drug sales, cyberthreats, child exploitation and terrorist activity, the White House said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday urged Democrats and Republicans to work together to pass FISA reauthorization so surveillance authorities don’t lapse on April 19. Schumer filed cloture on the motion to proceed to House-passed legislation Tuesday. “If we don’t cooperate, FISA will expire, so we must be ready to cooperate,” he said.

Consumer protection, anti-discrimination and data privacy laws apply to AI systems, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D) said Tuesday in an advisory to AI developers, suppliers and users. AI’s benefits, including innovation and market efficiency, don’t outweigh the technology’s “real” risks like bias and lack of transparency, said Campbell in a statement. AI use is becoming more common, and laws apply to the technology as they would in other contexts, she said: “My office intends to enforce these laws accordingly.” She highlighted a list of unfair and deceptive practices that can be prosecuted under state law, including false advertising, performance misrepresentation and deceptive content.