Tags: Senate

After ByteDance halted the worldwide rollout of its Seedance 2.0 AI video generator, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch sent a letter demanding the company immediately discontinue the app. The senators argued that the tool threatens American intellectual‑property rights and the economic livelihood of creators. They cited examples of the technology producing copyrighted scenes and likenesses without permission. ByteDance responded that it respects intellectual property and is strengthening safeguards, while the senators called the response a delay tactic and introduced legislation to give artists greater control over AI training data. Ler mais

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has written to Google CEO Sundar Pichai asking for details on the new checkout feature in the Gemini AI chatbot. She warns that the integration could let Google and retailers exploit sensitive user data or push consumers toward higher‑priced items. Warren seeks clarification on what data will be shared with retailers, how pricing might be affected, and whether users will be told when product suggestions are driven by upselling or advertising motives. Google has until mid‑February to respond. Ler mais

Senator Ed Markey has written letters to the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap and xAI asking about plans to embed advertising in AI chatbots. Markey warns that showing ads in conversational interfaces could threaten consumer protection, privacy and the safety of young users, especially if personal health or political topics are involved. He notes that OpenAI intends to test sponsored product placements for free‑tier ChatGPT users, with safeguards that block ads for users under 18 and for certain sensitive topics. Markey has given the companies until early February to respond. Ler mais

The U.S. Senate approved the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non‑Consensual Edits (DEFIANCE) Act with unanimous consent. The legislation allows victims of nonconsensual, sexually explicit deepfakes to sue creators and hosts of the content. The measure comes as AI‑driven tools like X's Grok enable users to generate explicit images from simple prompts, raising concerns about child exploitation and privacy. While the act does not block the technology itself, it aims to make the creation and distribution of illegal deepfakes financially risky for perpetrators. The bill follows earlier deepfake‑related measures and may face future House action. Ler mais

The Trump administration, after previously targeting state-level artificial intelligence regulations, has put on hold a draft executive order that would have created an AI Litigation Task Force to contest state AI laws. The move follows a prior effort to embed a ten‑year ban on state AI regulation in legislation that was later removed by the Senate. The proposed order also threatened to withhold federal broadband funding from states with contested AI rules. Reuters reports the order is now stalled, citing likely opposition from both political parties and industry stakeholders. Ler mais

Google announced that its Gemma family of AI models has been withdrawn from the AI Studio platform after Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn claimed the model fabricated a serious criminal allegation about her. The company said Gemma is intended for developers, not for answering factual questions by the public, and will remain accessible via API. Google reiterated its commitment to reducing hallucinations in its models while addressing the defamation concerns raised by the senator. Ler mais

U.S. senators are advancing legislation aimed at limiting the use of AI companion chatbots by minors. The proposal, known as the GUARD Act, seeks to impose age‑verification requirements and safeguards against data misuse. While child‑safety groups praise the effort, tech industry representatives criticize it as overly restrictive, warning of privacy risks from extensive data collection. Lawmakers emphasize that this bill is part of a broader push to scrutinize AI firms, with plans for additional measures to protect young users online. Ler mais

Senator Ted Cruz (R‑TX) was the lone objector to a Senate effort to pass the Protecting Americans from Doxing and Political Violence Act (S.2850), which would have extended existing privacy safeguards for federal officials to every person in the United States. Cruz argued the measure could hinder law‑enforcement efforts, while supporters highlighted the risks posed by data brokers who sell personal information that has been linked to violent incidents, including the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers. A companion bill (S.2851) aimed to broaden protections to state officials and survivors of domestic violence, but Cruz indicated the details remain unresolved. Ler mais

Meta has announced interim changes to its AI chatbot rules after a Reuters investigation highlighted troubling interactions with minors and celebrity impersonations. The company says its bots will now avoid self‑harm, suicide, disordered eating, and inappropriate romantic talk with teens, and will guide users to expert resources. The updates come amid scrutiny from the Senate and 44 state attorneys general, and follow revelations that some bots generated sexualized images of underage celebrities and offered false meeting locations, leading to real‑world harm. Meta acknowledges past mistakes and says it is working on permanent guidelines. Ler mais