Latest posts

  • The US supreme court’s TikTok ruling is a scandal | Evelyn Douek and Jameel Jaffer

    The decision means TikTok now operates under the threat that it could be forced offline with a stroke of Trump’s pen Judicial opinions allowing the government to suppress speech in the name of national security rarely stand the test of time. But time has been unusually unkind to the US supreme court decision that upheld…

    Read more

  • Elon Musk’s X fined €120m by EU in first clash under new digital laws

    Ruling likely to put European Commission on collision course with billionaire, and possibly Donald Trump Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has been fined €120m (£105m) after it was found in breach of new EU digital laws, in a high-stakes ruling likely to put the European Commission on a collision course with the US billionaire…

    Read more

  • Foreign interference or opportunistic grifting: why are so many pro-Trump X accounts based in Asia?

    A new feature on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter allows users to see the location of other accounts. It has resulted in a firestorm of recriminations When X rolled out a new feature revealing the locations of popular accounts, the company was acting to boost transparency and clamp down on disinformation. The…

    Read more

  • Lies, damned lies and AI: the newest way to influence elections may be here to stay

    The use of AI-generated campaign videos – labeled or unlabeled – is likely to permeate future US elections The New York City mayoral election may be remembered for the remarkable win of a young democratic socialist, but it was also marked by something that is likely to permeate future elections: the use of AI-generated campaign…

    Read more

  • Elon Musk’s Grok AI briefly says Trump won 2020 presidential election

    Chatbot in the past made claims of a ‘white genocide’, pushed antisemitism and referred to itself as ‘MechaHitler’ Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot generated false claims this week that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election, posting election conspiracy theories and misleading information on X to justify its answer. The AI chatbot, which was created by…

    Read more

  • Meta could face millions in fines for not signing content deals in Australia

    Labor’s proposed media bargaining incentive to apply to platforms with Australian-derived revenue of at least $250m, according to Treasury Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Meta and other tech companies refusing to sign content deals with Australian news outlets face millions…

    Read more

  • US and China reach ‘final deal’ on TikTok sale, treasury secretary says

    Scott Bessent said plan was part of framework for trade deal but did not share details on transferring app’s ownership Murdoch, Ellison and China: what we know about the US’s TikTok deal US treasury secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Sunday that the US and China have finalized the details of a deal transferring TikTok’s US…

    Read more

  • Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist

    The political svengali and investor has been giving lectures on ‘an evil king or tyrant … who appears in the end times’ Peter Thiel’s off-the-record antichrist lectures reveal more about him than Armageddon Peter Thiel, the billionaire political svengali and tech investor, is worried about the antichrist. It could be the US. It could be…

    Read more

  • Is TikTok about to go full Maga? – podcast

    Investigative journalist Emily Baker-White on the deal to transfer TikTok’s US operations to Trump allies Last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order approving a proposed deal to keep TikTok operating in the US. The $14bn deal, if finalised, would see the transfer of TikTok’s US operation from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to a…

    Read more

  • Abu Dhabi royal family to take stake in TikTok US under Trump deal

    MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will take 15% stake, with social media firm valued at $14bn Trump signs executive order to transfer TikTok to US owners The Abu Dhabi royal family is to take a stake in TikTok’s US business after Donald Trump signed an executive order brokering a deal valuing…

    Read more