A federal jury in Phoenix has found Uber to be liable for the sexual assault of one of its passengers, potentially setting a precedent for more than 3,000 similar cases consolidated in US federal court. As part of the verdict, Uber has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages to the victim, Jaylynn Dean, […]
EU regulators have declared that TikTok’s “addictive design” may put it in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), in the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the social media app. If those findings are confirmed, TikTok could face a major fine and be required to “change the basic design of its service” in […]
When Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos entered the Senate office building on Tuesday, he got thrown a curveball. What started as a standard antitrust hearing relating to the Warner Bros. merger quickly devolved into a performative Republican attack about the spread of “woke” ideology on the streaming service. At the same time, arguably a much more […]
One day after The Wall Street Journal published a blockbuster story about Meta’s own dismal findings about teen girls’ mental health on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wondered whether Meta should change how it studies its platforms’ potential harms. “Recent events have made me consider whether we should change our approach to research and analytics around […]
Kamala Harris’ social media strategy in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election was filled with Gen Z dog whistles: viral branding based on pop music, memes, camo hats that were a double entendre. It was an effective way to get attention and news coverage, as well as a mountain of user generated content online. […]
After a federal judge ruled that Meta was not an illegal monopolist in a blow against the Federal Trade Commission, the agency issued what was in part a typical statement of disappointment. Another part of the statement was anything but: a political attack on the judge himself. “The deck was always stacked against us with […]
A group of senators has written a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking why his company delayed launching key protections for users under 18. The letter, signed by Brian Schatz (D-HI), Katie Britt (R-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), James Lankford (R-OK), and Christopher Coons (D-DE), cites court documents unsealed late last year that revealed claims […]
The mother of 20-year-old man who died after becoming trapped in his burning Tesla Model Y is suing the company over its electronic door handles. It’s the latest wrongful death case centering on Tesla’s door handles, which have triggered numerous customer complaints over the years and is now under investigation by the federal safety regulators. […]
Elon Musk’s “beast” arrives as federal support for EVs withers and rising power costs complicate his claim that it will be cheaper to run than diesel rigs.
During a two-hour hearing in the US Senate Wednesday, top executives from Waymo and Tesla urged lawmakers to take action on long-stalled legislation to speed the deployment of self-driving cars on public roads. But after two hours of Q&A around a number of hot-button topics, including robotaxi safety, legal liability, remote operation, and China, it […]