Tag: big tech

AI Regulation Ban Crumbles as Senators Rebel

Senator Marsha Blackburn has rescinded her backing for a proposed five-year pause on state and local artificial intelligence legislation, just a day after reaching the deal with Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz.

Blackburn’s decision places her alongside Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky, who have also voiced opposition to the measure.

In a statement released Tuesday, Blackburn emphasized, “While I appreciate Chairman Cruz’s efforts to find acceptable language that allows states to protect their citizens from the abuses of AI, the current language is not acceptable to those who need these protections the most.”

She further warned, “This provision could allow Big Tech to continue to exploit kids, creators, and conservatives. Until Congress passes federally preemptive legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act and an online privacy framework, we can’t block states from making laws that protect their citizens.”

The original compromise crafted by Blackburn and Cruz had been approved by the Senate parliamentarian.

On Monday, Senators Maria Cantwell of Washington and Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced an amendment to strip the AI moratorium from the larger bill.

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Canada hands big win to Trump, suspends U.S. tech firm tax that had roiled trade talks

Canada announced Sunday night it was suspending a tax on U.S. technology firms that had caused President Trump to suspend trade negotiations between the two nations, handing a major victory to the American president.

The Canadian government said it was suspending enforcement of the tax that was due to be collected starting Monday, saying the action was taken “in anticipation of a mutually beneficial comprehensive trade arrangement with the United States.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney informed the Trump administration of the decision, and the two sides plan to resume trade talks on or about July 21.

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Sun Valley 2025 Guest List: Who Is Invited to the ‘Billionaire Summer Camp?’

As summer kicks off, tech and media moguls around the world are preparing for a season of travel—but a select few are also getting ready to descend on the mountain resort town of Sun Valley, Idaho. Since the early 1980s, the annual Allen & Company conference—nicknamed “summer camp for billionaires“—has been held there, drawing the industry’s most powerful figures.

Despite its laid-back dress code and outdoor activities like hiking and biking, the gathering is anything but casual. Hosted by the investment bank Allen & Company, the invite-only event typically begins in the second week of July. It features high-level meetings and private lectures, all behind closed doors and largely off-limits to the press. It’s also a major hub for dealmaking, with past conferences setting the stage for transformative moves like Jeff Bezos’ purchase of The Washington Post and Disney’s merger with ABC.

This year’s guest list, reported by Variety and Puck, is packed with Silicon Valley power players. Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Andy Jassy and Sam Altman are all expected to attend.

Media titans are also well-represented. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, fresh off his decision to split the company in two, will be there alongside Rupert Murdoch—joined by son, Lachlan Murdoch, and ex-wife, Wendi Murdoch—as well as Netflix executives Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters and Reed Hastings. Disney CEO Bob Iger is once again on the list, likely appearing with top succession contenders Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Josh D’Amaro and Jimmy Pitaro.

Noticeably absent this year are Elon Musk, along with past regulars Warren Buffett, Shari Redstone and Oprah Winfrey. Buffett, 94, announced his retirement in May. Redstone was diagnosed with thyroid cancer this spring, the New York Times reported last week.

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State Department Confirms: Beijing Exploits U.S. Tech Platforms for Military Intelligence

A senior State Department official confirmed this week that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has supported, and continues to support, China’s military and intelligence operations. The case highlights Beijing’s broader strategy of using American technology platforms to advance its defense goals.

DeepSeek used Southeast Asian shell companies to bypass U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors, allowing it to operate within the U.S. tech ecosystem while maintaining ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The incident illustrates how China exploits U.S. openness to access critical technology and gather intelligence, an approach likely mirrored across other Chinese firms.

DeepSeek’s operations reflect a broader Chinese strategy of using commercial technology platforms for intelligence gathering. U.S. officials report that DeepSeek appears in procurement records for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) over 150 times and has provided services to PLA research institutions. With a global user base, the company gained access to vast amounts of user data, which it transmitted to China via infrastructure linked to China Mobile, a state-owned telecom provider.

Congressional analysis of DeepSeek’s privacy policies confirms this data flow. The platform collected user queries, data inputs, and usage patterns from millions worldwide, allowing China to profile U.S. research priorities, problem-solving methods, and technological capabilities. This is intelligence gathering at scale, made possible by users unknowingly feeding data into a system tied to a foreign military.

The episode exposes broader flaws in U.S. efforts to restrict China’s access to sensitive technology. Despite bans on sales of advanced AI chips to Chinese firms, DeepSeek reportedly acquired large volumes of Nvidia’s H100 processors by exploiting third-party shell companies and remote data center access. These methods highlight how Chinese firms bypass restrictions through indirect channels, suggesting systemic gaps in enforcement.

DeepSeek’s presence on major U.S. cloud platforms, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, further expanded China’s access to American infrastructure. This integration allowed Beijing to collect intelligence while posing as a commercial partner, gaining insight into cloud operations and user behavior.

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US Terminating All Trade Talks With Canada Over New Tax on US Tech Firms

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the United States is halting all trade negotiations with Canada due to Ottawa’s decision to implement a new tax on American tech companies.

“We have just been informed that Canada… has just announced that they are putting a Digital Services Tax on our American Technology Companies, which is a direct and blatant attack on our Country,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

“Based on this egregious Tax, we are hereby terminating ALL discussions on Trade with Canada, effective immediately,” the US president added.

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Marsha Blackburn Proposes Bipartisan Bill to Rein In Big Tech as ‘Unaccountable Gatekeepers’ over Apps

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and a group of bipartisan lawmakers this week introduced legislation that would prevent big tech from operating as “unaccountable gatekeepers” for the mobile app economy.

Sens. Blackburn, Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Open App Markets Act, a bill aimed at setting clear and enforceable rules of consumer protections within the app market.

“Big Tech giants have operated as unaccountable gatekeepers of the mobile app economy, forcing American consumers to use their app stores at the expense of innovative startups that threaten their bottom line,” Blackburn said in a statement.

“Our bipartisan Open App Markets Act would ensure a freer and fairer marketplace for consumers and small businesses by promoting competition in the app marketplace and opening the door to more choices and innovation,” she added.

With the advent of the smartphone, mobile devices have become a central aspect of the American consumers’ economic, social, and civic lives. The bipartisan group of lawmakers asserted that their legislation would break Apple and Google’s predominant “grip on the app economy.”

Blackburn’s press release about the legislation noted that consumers spent $92 billion on the Apple App Store and roughly $35.7 billion on the Google Play Store.

Apple has actively worked to prevent users from using third-party app stores on Apple devices, requiring app users and developers to use their Apple payment system.

The lawmakers stated that startups often face serious challenges because big tech can prioritize their own app to the disadvantage of smaller competitors.

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South Korean YouTube and “X” aggressively block access to alternative views on South Korean Election

While “X” has been largely liberated by Elon Musk inside the United States and Mark Zuckerberg has lifted his totalitarian thumb on YouTube inside of America a bit, South Korean variants have missed the memo on this topic.  The “Fact Checkers” and Global Elite Dis-Information cult is alive and well in South Korea – largely funded and directed by the Chinese Communist Party.

On June 24, 2025, a Press Conference was held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. while tens of thousands of South Koreans gathered in Seoul and other locations in South Korea at midnight Korea Standard Time to publicly watch the simulcast.

South Korean YouTube and “X” have blocked and removed replays of this Press Conference, while key persons like rising star and former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn has had his “X” account shut down.

Even the display of South Korea’s flag – well known throughout the world is being censored.  Just like the American Democrat Party, the South Korean Democrat Party despises their own National Flag.

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Germany Pressures Apple and Google to Ban Chinese AI App DeepSeek

Apple and Google are facing mounting pressure from German authorities to remove the Chinese AI app DeepSeek from their app stores in Germany over data privacy violations.

The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Meike Kamp, has flagged the app for transferring personal data to China without adhering to EU data protection standards.

Kamp’s office examined DeepSeek’s practices and found that the company failed to offer “convincing evidence” that user information is safeguarded as mandated by EU law.

She emphasized the risks linked to Chinese data governance, warning that “Chinese authorities have far-reaching access rights to personal data within the sphere of influence of Chinese companies.”

With this in mind, Apple and Google have been urged to evaluate the findings and consider whether to block the app in Germany.

Authorities in Berlin had already asked DeepSeek to either meet EU legal requirements for data transfers outside the bloc or remove its app from German availability.

DeepSeek did not take action to address these concerns, according to Kamp.

Germany’s move follows Italy’s earlier decision this year to block DeepSeek from local app stores, citing comparable concerns about data security and privacy.

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Nvidia Invests in Nuclear Energy Startup Founded by Creepy Bill Gates

Nvidia has joined a $650 million funding round for TerraPower LLC, a nuclear energy startup founded by creepy Bill Gates. The company plans to further develop its advanced reactor project in Wyoming, which could one day contribute to the insatiable power demands of AI datacenters full of Nvidia chips.

Bloomberg reports that TerraPower, a U.S.-based nuclear innovation company founded by creepy Bill Gates, has announced the successful closing of a $650 million funding round. The round saw participation from a mix of existing and new investors, most notably NVentures, the venture capital arm of technology giant Nvidia. This significant milestone for TerraPower comes as the company looks to capitalize on the growing domestic support for nuclear power to fuel AI datacenters.

Founded in 2006, TerraPower’s mission is to use advanced nuclear technology to provide affordable and abundant carbon-free energy to meet the increasing electricity needs required for economic growth while simultaneously decarbonizing industry and addressing challenges such as poverty. The company plans to use the capital raised in this round to finance the construction of its first Natrium plant, which will become the first commercial advanced nuclear power facility in the United States.

The Natrium system designed by TerraPower couples a sodium-cooled fast reactor with gigawatt-scale energy storage. This innovative design enables the plant to boost output when electricity demand peaks, allowing for seamless integration with more intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar power. TerraPower began non-nuclear construction on the Natrium demonstration project last year and anticipates receiving regulatory approval for the nuclear reactor in the coming year.

Chris Levesque, TerraPower’s President and CEO, expressed his enthusiasm for the successful funding round, stating, “TerraPower was founded on the idea that innovation in nuclear science could make positive, global impacts. This round further establishes that our technologies are the solutions that industry is looking for.”

Nvidia’s participation in the funding round is indicative of the growing interest from tech companies in nuclear energy and technology as a means to address the increasing emissions impact of their rapidly expanding data center footprints. In recent months, tech giants such as Google, Meta, and Amazon have also signed major nuclear deals, recognizing the potential of nuclear power in meeting their energy needs while minimizing their environmental impact.

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X Sues New York For Demanding Social Media Data To Censor Speech

Social media company X sued New York to challenge a state law that requires social media companies to submit semi-annual reports about how they are suppressing certain kinds of speech to the New York attorney general. According to the lawsuit, provisions in the “Stop Hiding Hate Act” violate social media companies’ First Amendment rights and threaten free speech.

The law, in part, outlines “terms of service reports” in which companies must disclose to the state whether the terms of service for each of their platforms define certain “categories,” including hate speech, racism, extremism, misinformation, harassment, and foreign political interference. If their terms of service do include these categories, the companies would also be required to include those definitions in the report. The reports would also require companies to disclose a “detailed description” of their “content moderation practices” regarding these categories. Failing to submit the report could engender $15,000 per day. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law in December, and it is set to go into effect this year.

X challenged the constitutionality of the “Content Category Report” portions of the law, arguing that they force companies to disclose “highly sensitive and controversial speech” protected under the Constitution. X also noted that content moderation “engenders considerable debate among reasonable people about where to draw the correct proverbial line,” and that “[t]his is not a role the government may play.”

Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” bought Twitter in 2022 to return the platform to “a digital town square” where ideas could be debated freely. He loosened the platform’s content moderation rules and readmitted suspended users, including President Donald Trump.

New York State Sen. Brad Holyman-Sigal and Assemblywoman Grace Lee, both Democrats, sponsored the law. In a letter that X quoted in the lawsuit, the two politicians said that X and Musk have a “disturbing record,” which “threatens the foundations of our democracy.” In a Tuesday statement responding to the lawsuit, the two lawmakers called social media companies, including X, “cesspools of hate speech,” and claimed the “Stop Hiding Hate Act” is necessary for “transparency.”

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