AFP: Albania to shut down TikTok in coming days. “Albanian authorities said Thursday they were moving to shut down TikTok in the coming days, following through on a ban announced in December.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/23/afp-albania-to-shut-down-tiktok-in-coming-days-2/
The alarming dismantling of government functions under the Trump administration raises critical concerns. Recent efforts to eliminate agencies, coupled with legal challenges and increasing judicial intimidation, signal a troubling democratic backslide in the U.S. As foreign policy shifts and military engagements take unexpected turns, Congress and the public must assert greater oversight to protect constitutional norms. Dive deeper into this pressing issue to learn more. [Source](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-20-2025) #TrumpAdministration #Democracy #RuleOfLaw #GovernmentOversight
Deutsche Welle: India: Musk’s X sues Modi’s government in censorship battle. “Elon Musk’s social network X filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, arguing that the country’s IT Ministry has unlawfully expanded its censorship powers to allow the easier removal of online content. In the court filing dated March 5 but only reported by media on Thursday, the social network alleged that the […]
The Verge: Google Search charged with breaking EU antitrust rules. “Google is breaking European antitrust laws by favoring its own Shopping, Hotels, and Flights search services over rival comparison providers, according to the European Commission. The EU announced in its preliminary ruling today that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, had also violated anti-steering rules under the Digital […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/20/the-verge-google-search-charged-with-breaking-eu-antitrust-rules/
The Diplomat: India Needs to De-weaponize Misinformation. “Indian law needs to fix the meaning of fake news and misinformation and needs to be tied to the public interest rather than to the interest of the state.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/18/the-diplomat-india-needs-to-de-weaponize-misinformation/
The Register: China announces plan to label all AI-generated content with watermarks and metadata. “Chinese authorities last week announced “identification measures” for AI-generated content that will require it to be labelled with human and machine-readable notifications. The new regulations require images, videos, audio and ‘virtual scenes’ to include metadata that explains they’re […]
The Register: FTC’s $25.5M scam refund treats victims to $34 each. “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is distributing over $25.5 million in refunds to consumers deceived by tech support scammers, averaging about $34 per person. The refunds relate to a case last year in which two Cyprus-based companies, Restoro and Reimage, were accused of deceiving consumers through misleading computer […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/17/the-register-ftcs-25-5m-scam-refund-treats-victims-to-34-each/
Reuters: China to crack down on stock market fake news as AI spurs misinformation, says state media. “China’s securities watchdog will step up monitoring fake information in the stock market and work with the police and cyberspace regulators to crack down on those who disseminate false news, which is being made easier by AI, official media reported on Saturday.”
MISA Zimbabwe: Proposed new law to govern social media platforms will over-regulate the digital space. “The Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, has stated that the government is formulating a new law to regulate social media platforms to tackle the increasing challenges of unregulated usage. During a recent Ministers Meet the Media meeting, the […]
Search Engine Journal: U.S. DOJ Antitrust Filing Proposes 4 Ways To Break Google’s Monopoly. “The plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit against Google filed a revised proposed final judgment for the judge in the case to consider. The proposal comes after a previous ruling where the court determined that Google broke antitrust laws by illegally maintaining its monopoly. The legal filing by the […]
AFP: Albania to shut down TikTok in coming days . “Albanian authorities said Thursday they were moving to shut down TikTok in the coming days, following through on a ban announced in December…. Prime Minister Edi Rama first announced the ban months ago, after a confrontation that started on social media led to the killing of a 14-year-old student and another being injured in a fight near a […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/11/afp-albania-to-shut-down-tiktok-in-coming-days/
Tubefilter: Washington’s attempted ban is helping TikTok Shop become big business in Mexico. “The increasing interest in the Mexican version of TikTok Shop — which launched last month amid TikTok’s regulatory turmoil — is both a sound investment and a hedge against volatility in the U.S. creator economy. Latin American ecommerce will approach $200 billion in annual sales this year, […]
Associated Press: UK watchdog drops competition review of Microsoft’s OpenAI deal. “Britain’s competition watchdog said Wednesday it has dropped its review of Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, saying it’s satisfied that the deal doesn’t need a closer investigation under the country’s merger rules.”
Gothamist: New Yorkers are reporting a lot of internet fraud (and these other scams, cons and concerns). “More than 3,700 New Yorkers reported instances of internet fraud or made other complaints about online issues in 2024 — a 44% spike from the year before, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office.”
Unseen Japan: Japan Cancels Billion-Yen AI Child Abuse Detection System After Failed Tests . “The Agency trained the system on 5,000 cases of confirmed child abuse. Based on information provided on new cases, the system was supposed to judge the likelihood of abuse based on 91 data points, including injuries found on the child and the parents’ attitude, using a scoring system of 0 to 100. […]
Las Vegas Review-Journal: FTC withdrawing request for MGM cyberattack information. “The Federal Trade Commission’s dispute with MGM Resorts International over providing information about 2023’s costly cyberattack against the company may be coming to a resolution. The FTC has told MGM it plans to withdraw its civil investigative demand regarding the incident that cost the company an estimated […]
ICO (UK): Investigations announced into how social media and video sharing platforms use UK children’s personal information. “We are today announcing three investigations looking into how TikTok, Reddit and Imgur protect the privacy of their child users in the UK. Our investigation into TikTok is considering how the platform uses personal information of 13–17-year-olds in the UK to make […]
Discovered on LinkedIn: Global AI Regulation Tracker. From the front page: “An interactive world map that tracks AI law, regulatory and policy developments around the world. Click on a region (or use the search bar) to view its profile. Other features are also available to support your research of AI regulation (including an AI governance library, country comparison tool, live AI newsfeed and […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/04/global-ai-regulation-tracker/
BBC: Covid inquiry turns to PPE deals and the ‘VIP lane’. “The Covid public inquiry has started four weeks of hearings, looking into the purchase and distribution of billions of pounds’ worth of medical equipment during the pandemic. In total, it’s thought £48bn was spent on personal protective equipment (PPE), the test-and-trace programme, hospital supplies and the vaccine rollout.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/04/bbc-covid-inquiry-turns-to-ppe-deals-and-the-vip-lane/
Unseen Japan: As Celebrity Online Casino Scandals Mount, Japan Considers Blocking Sites Entirely. “One huge risk with online casinos as opposed to in-country gambling is that you have no idea who’s running a given site and whether it’s fair or a scam. Indeed, some reports indicate the popularity of online gambling sites has already attracted state actors. South Korea’s National […]
