San Diego sues AppLovin over explicit ads on kids’ devices, Bloomberg reports
San Diego sues AppLovin over explicit ads on kids’ devices, Bloomberg reports

San Diego County has sued AppLovin, a mobile advertising technology company. The county alleges that AppLovin bypassed parental controls to serve ads for adult dating services, alcohol, vaping and graphic sexual content in games played by children. The…

OpenAI starts watermarking ChatGPT and Codex text in the EU
OpenAI starts watermarking ChatGPT and Codex text in the EU

OpenAI will add an invisible watermark to text from ChatGPT and Codex in the EU over the coming weeks. The change covers eligible users on all plans, but only in the EU, the company said in a blog post on Monday. OpenAI said it is acting in response to…

US judge rules a police Flock search was unconstitutional mass surveillance
US judge rules a police Flock search was unconstitutional mass surveillance

A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that a deputy’s warrantless search of Flock’s licence plate reader network broke the US Constitution. In an order dated 1 October, Judge Sara Hill called the system “a type of indiscriminate mass surveillance”. Jas…

Dutch eyewear chain Hans Anders stops selling Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses
Dutch eyewear chain Hans Anders stops selling Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses

Hans Anders, one of the largest Dutch eyewear chains, has stopped selling Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses in the Netherlands and Belgium. The chain told Reuters on Friday that privacy concerns were behind the move. Dutch online retailer Wehkamp has also p…

Apple adds new Full Disk Access controls on Macs because of AI agents
Apple adds new Full Disk Access controls on Macs because of AI agents

Apple will add new controls to Full Disk Access on the Mac. Users will only be able to give an app that level of access “with very explicit user action”. The company announced the change on its developer news site on Friday and said AI agents were the …

Sanders introduces bill to ban the federal government from using Flock

The proposed legislation would extend to all automotica license plate readers.

Meta’s Muse reportedly passes 3 million weekly users and 5m downloads
Meta’s Muse reportedly passes 3 million weekly users and 5m downloads

More than 3 million people prompt Meta’s Muse at least once a week, according to internal data reviewed by The Information. More than 1 million send the AI agent a prompt every day, Jyoti Mann reported. The weekly figure is part of a wider group. More …

Newsom signs 13 AI bills, including a ban on AI-only firings
Newsom signs 13 AI bills, including a ban on AI-only firings

In California, an AI system will no longer be able to fire or discipline a worker on its own. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the No Robo Bosses Act on Wednesday, his office said. It was one of 13 AI bills he signed that day. The law, SB 947, bars employe…

Welcome to Opt Out October: It’s Time to Ditch Unwanted Subscriptions and AI Spies

It’s a good month to reassess old accounts and retake control of your data and privacy.

McDonald’s and Walmart Are Part of the Widening Fray Over Surveillance Pricing

The Federal Trade Commission has urged companies to be transparent about their pricing, but that may not be enough.