Five TikTok users in Montana have filed a lawsuit against US state legislation set to ban the video-sharing app from 1 January 2022. The plaintiffs, all Montana residents, argue that the law violates their constitutional right to free speech under the First Amendment. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed off the legislation on 12 May. The proposed ban comes amid ongoing concerns over the potential for Chinese government influence over social media platforms. The lawsuit is assigned to Judge Donald Molloy, who was appointed by Democrat President Bill Clinton in 1995.
Five users of short video app TikTok are challenging Montana's move to block the platform in the US state, with a lawsuit arguing that the ban violates their constitutional rights. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed a bill on 5 May to make it unlawful for the app stores run by Apple and Google to offer the Chinese-owned app in the state from 1 January 2022. The lawsuit, brought by the five Montana residents, drew parallels with the proposed ban of The Wall Street Journal because of its owners, saying "Montana can no more ban its residents from viewing or posting to TikTok".
Twitter has accused Microsoft of violating an agreement over data usage, saying the company used Twitter's data without authorization. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Twitter owner Elon Musk, alleged that the tech giant had shared data with government agencies without permission. Spiro wrote to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella asking the company to conduct an audit of its Twitter content use. A spokesperson for Microsoft confirmed that it had received questions from a law firm representing Twitter and would respond appropriately.
Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has been named as a participant at Russia's flagship economic forum in St Petersburg, according to a draft programme seen by the Financial Times. However, some listed on the document said they had no intention of attending, with Kremlin efforts to attract foreign investment hindered by its toxic brandability amid western allegations of war and invasion in Ukraine. A lack of confirmed western names, including Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson and Stanford professor Ilya Strebulaev, has cast further doubt on Russia's ability to attract global business leaders.
Policy-makers are facing a dilemma in regulating artificial intelligence (AI) systems, according to an op-ed in the Financial Times. Generative AI, which autonomously produces text or images, is difficult to regulate because it is uncontrollable. Regulators have previously focused on controlling the high-risk applications of the technology, such as in healthcare. But, with all-purpose AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s GPT-3 looming, the consensus is shifting to regulate AI models themselves. Experts are debating how to separate benign from harmful uses without hobbling innovation. Possibilities range from limiting the most powerful versions of the technology for restricted uses to subjecting large language models (LLMs) to direct regulatory oversight.
George Soros' funding of Alvin Bragg's Manhattan District Attorney campaign is being misrepresented by Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, says a Fox News opinion piece. While Kessler gave claims that Soros had "funded" Bragg three out of four Pinocchios, he admits that Bragg was Soros-backed - but is still misleading. Fox accuses Kessler of ignoring Soros' own op-ed explaining his support of prosecutors such as Bragg, which they claim can be difficult to trace as they are often funneled through various organisations. Soros has directly contributed over $40m to campaigns and candidates over the past decade, and has additionally contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to organisations that support the progressive prosecutor movement.
Kessler and other fact-checkers have been criticized by some for what they claim is inaccurately judging which side’s arguments are correct. In particular, some conservative media organisations feel that fact-checkers tend to have a left-leaning bias. Launched in 2019, the MediaWise Voter Project aims to teach American first-time voters to determine what information is trustworthy in time for the 2020 presidential elections. It would appear that many media outlets see the need to educate their viewers on how to really discern facts - however, some will always find fault with fact-checking overall, calling it a political ploy.
Chinese social media app TikTok poses a significant threat to privacy and national security for Americans, says Matt M. Matthews, writing for The Heritage Foundation. The app's parent company, ByteDance, is subject to Chinese laws which could allow the Chinese Communist Party access to the data TikTok collects on its users worldwide. Reporting also found Chinese propaganda is laundered to US audiences via the platform and that China-based employees could switch between Chinese and US user data with "nothing more than the click of a button". Matthews' report argues for immediate policy intervention to protect American user data.
A Telegraph poll of over 32,000 readers revealed that 71% of respondents believe the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is happening too fast. While some readers were optimistic, stating that the technology is a “freedom-enabling technology”, others were more sceptical, with one fearing that AI development could create a new era of highly skilled, highly paid elites and offer fewer employment opportunities for those without specialist, technical skills. Others worried there could be a job loss crisis, impacting particularly on young people.
A recent article in Sydney Morning Herald extols the pleasures and vitality of stews and notes that they are coming back into vogue as people search for dishes that connect them to their grandmothers and the past. With more time available these days to cook hearty dishes, stews have been rediscovered as an essential part of the household culinary mix. Stews are also seen as a way to use less expensive cuts of meat. The article recalled the writer's recent trip through some of Europe's most charming smaller cities where she researched the local stews, including the carbonnade in Brussels cooked in the local beer and the waterzooi in Ghent, which comprises a chicken stew studded with carrots, leeks and potatoes in a creamy sauce thickened with egg yolks. At a time of year when cold and flu risk is heightened, stews are seen as a valuable addition to the menu, with their reputation as an immune-boosting comfort food.
Stephanie Louise Bennett, who stole the identity of a pilot killed in a helicopter crash in a bid to dodge a traffic ticket, has had her fine increased in court. Bennett pleaded guilty to fraud by dishonestly inducing a person to act along with obtaining or dealing with another’s identity to commit an indictable offence. The mother of two had been caught using her mobile phone while driving and she could not afford the $1,078 fine she faced and the four demerit points, which would leave her without a licence. Bennett scoured obituaries to find details to use to pay the fine and after several failed attempts, she chose the identity of Ashley Jenkinson, who was killed in a helicopter collision on 2 January.
OpenAI has launched an app giving users access to its AI-powered ChatGPT bot on the go. At launch, the app was only available in the US and on Apple iOS devices, but the firm said a global release and an Android version are coming soon. ChatGPT is aimed at programming use or to power other systems that require language capabilities but could be adopted more widely as it lets users quickly and easily query the AI. The ChatGPT app requires users to sign in with an OpenAI account and has no ads.
OpenAI has launched an app for iOS devices that provides access to its ChatGPT chatbot platform. While the platform has found widespread usage in programming and other systems requiring language capabilities, the app brings ChatGPT to a consumer audience. Although nothing new is added, the software makes ChatGPT more accessible, opens up mobile-specific features, like widgets, and synchronises chat histories across various devices. ChatGPT is available for free, like the app, but paying subscribers receive faster response times and priority access to newer model features. Chatbots are typically good for three things: answering queries that are otherwise awkward to Google; creating explanations or summaries that might require multiple searches; and acting as a sort of “personal assistant” or proofreader. However, chatbots have occasionally produced “hallucinatory” outputs, sometimes based on small amounts of information or even falsehoods.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is going to be a presidential candidate for the US Republican Party and will formally announce his campaign against Donald Trump next week. DeSantis is confident, with strong financial support and more $80m expected to be transferred from his state account to his Super PAC, which has already raised more than $30m, focusing on his legislative accomplishments. However, he was dealt another blow this week after Disney scrapped plans to build a $1bn office complex in Orlando that was expected to bring more than 2,000 jobs with an average salary of $120,000. Sources say Disney’s feud with Mr. DeSantis, which had escalated into a bitter fight over control of the entity that oversees Disney World, played a major factor. The Fox News commentator Dagen McDowell said on Thursday, “Ron DeSantis does not have an economic plan as of yet, and today Disney just pulled a $1 billion investment out of Florida.”
Lawyers for Google have managed to have a High Court claim thrown out on behalf of almost 1.6 million patients whose medical records were transferred to DeepMind by the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust for use in an app aiming to predict acute kidney disease. Patient Andrew Prismall had brought a claim against Google and DeepMind, alleging their use of the records was an invasion of privacy. A barrister for Mr Prismall argued records were not anonymised and shared without patient consent, but a judge has ruled that the case was “bound to fail” and has been struck out.
Samsung Electronics is reported to have suspended an internal review into replacing Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its smartphones, according to the Wall Street Journal. Google and Samsung currently have an agreement, estimated to be worth $3bn to Google annually, to be the default search engine on Samsung smartphones. The report of Samsung's potential move to Bing had caused Alphabet shares to fall, though share price is expected to recover on the news.
Montana has become the first US state to ban TikTok on all devices, even personal ones, triggering renewed doubts about the short-form video app’s future in the country. The state’s governor, Greg Gianforte, signed a bill into law that would fine TikTok and online app stores for making the service available to state residents. It takes effect next year. TikTok and other civil society groups warn that the law as written is unconstitutional. Even if the law is allowed to stand, the practicalities of the internet may make it impossible to keep TikTok out of the hands of users. Its vagueness could make it difficult to effectively implement and enforce. TikTok has said it is executing on a plan to store US user data on cloud servers owned by the US tech giant Oracle, and that when the initiative is complete, access to the data will be overseen by US employees. More than half of US states have announced some restrictions on TikTok affecting the app on government devices.
Five TikTok users in the US have filed a lawsuit against the state of Montana, claiming that the ban on the app is unconstitutional and suppresses free speech. Montana’s governor recently passed a law prohibiting people from downloading TikTok onto their personal phones, claiming that it was necessary to protect citizens’ personal data from Chinese data collection efforts. The lawsuit is significant for the wider debate about the app’s right to operate in the US, given that it marks the first time a Western territory has banned TikTok for personal use.
Ice cream parlours and gelaterias in Toronto are gearing up for the summer season with an array of new flavours and menu options. Ten of the best include Dairy Cream in Mississauga, which has been dishing out desserts and snacks since 1958, and is particularly celebrated for its funnel cakes. Meanwhile, Mizzica Gelateria & Cafe in Toronto is famed for its homemade gelato and fresh ingredients, such as pistachios imported from Sicily. In Markham, the menu at RuRu Baked features custard-based ice creams, taking in both Asian-inspired flavours and more conventional ice cream varieties, and there is also Dutch Dreams, in business for 40 years, offering new flavours each year such as the Toronto Traffic Jam, with caramel and chocolate dipped pretzels and salted caramel.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index (S&P 500) has risen by 9% on the back of increasing interest in artificial intelligence, with five stocks - Microsoft, Alphabet, Nvidia, Apple and Meta Platforms - responsible for all of the average's gains, according to DataTrek Research. The sector's impact on the S&P is so profound that a report by SocGen claimed that removing from the index 20 stocks with the biggest AI connections would leave the S&P in negative territory for the year. A Goldman Sachs report suggests generative AI could expand S&P 500 profit margins by 4 percentage points.
Artificial intelligence (AI) investment is still thriving despite sharp drops in other tech sectors, due in part to San Francisco-based OpenAI and its chatbot ChatGPT, according to the Lex Newsletter. Open-source AI experimentation is expensive, which could result in tech giants such as Google dominating the sector. SoftBank's halt on investment shows that AI is not benefiting the rest of the US tech start-up scene, while Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has been slow to recognise the rising popularity of online sales via short-form video platforms.
