by | Jul 26, 2024 | The Hill
{beacon}
TikTok ramps up lobbying push
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TikTok is a new technology, but it’s using an old playbook to make inroads in Washington. The social media network has launched a massive advertising campaign and an army of lobbyists to win friends and influence people as it races to block federal efforts to force its divestment from its Chinese parent company.
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The company has spent more than $4.8 million on advertisements touting the benefits its app brings to users. It is backing a lawsuit brought by content creators seeking to block the law President Biden signed that would force its divestiture, and it’s brought on a heavyweight Supreme Court litigator in anticipation of a showdown before the justices.
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TikTok’s troubles have been a golden opportunity for K Street. The firm spent $6 million on 47 outside lobbyists in the first half of 2024, including former U.S. Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), Jeff Denham (R-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). After all, billions are at stake, so what’s a few million spent on a good old fashioned lobbying fight? Read more at Bloomberg.
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Welcome to Tech Friday, a joint project of The Hill and Pluribus News covering tech policy across government.
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Online safety bill headed for Senate vote
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The U.S. Senate voted 86-1 on Thursday to end debate on the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The bills appear likely to win passage next week, despite opposition from the tech industry. Read more at
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Vice President Kamala Harris launched her own TikTok account on Thursday, attracting more than 1.6 million followers in her first 16 hours on the platform. TikTok has been awash in Harris-related memes since she became the Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting earlier this week. Read more at
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FCC advances AI disclosure rule
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The Federal Communications Commission is advancing a proposal to require makers of political ads to disclose the use of artificial intelligence. The proposal faces a 45-day public comment period before FCC commissioners give it a final approval. Read more at
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OpenAI chief wants U.S. to lead on AI
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called for the United States to take a leadership role on artificial intelligence to ensure “open access” to the technology’s benefits. Altman pointed to international agencies like the IAEA as potential models for a global governing body. Read more at
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Apple adopts Biden-backed AI safeguards
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Apple is the latest company to agree to AI safeguards laid out by the Biden administration, alongside competitors OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta. The move comes as the company prepares to roll out Apple Intelligence across its platforms in September. Read more at
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CrowdStrike offers gift cards
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The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is offering partners a $10 UberEats gift card to apologize for last week’s massive outage. The company did not extend an offer to clients or customers. Read more at
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Magnificent Seven performance this week
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AAPL -4.2%. MSFT -4.1%. NVDA -6.2%. TSLA -11.3%. GOOG -7.9%. META -4.7%. AMZN -1.9%. NASDAQ-100 Tech Sector index: -4.4%.
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California court upholds gig worker law
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California’s highest court ruled Thursday that a 2020 law characterizing gig workers as independent contractors is constitutional, a major win for Uber, Lyft and other firms that funded the ballot measure. That law gives drivers and delivery workers a guaranteed minimum wage and access to benefits.
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States extend booze delivery
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Six states have enacted laws this year allowing restaurants to serve alcoholic drinks through delivery services, permanently adopting a pandemic-era relaxation of booze-laws. To date, 29 states and the District of Columbia have adopted permanent delivery laws, though only 16 of those states allow third party delivery services to provide drinks. Read more at
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July 30: Microsoft, PayPal and Electronic Arts announce second quarter earnings. A Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs subcommittee hears testimony on noncompete clauses.
July 31: Meta, Samsung and eBay announce second quarter earnings.
August 1: Apple, Amazon, DoorDash, SnapChat and Roku announce second quarter earnings.
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The James Webb Space Telescope celebrates its second birthday this month. Scientists have used the groundbreaking telescope to find the most distant galaxies ever, discover the formation of black holes and solar systems that have three major belts, one more than our solar system’s two belts. Read more at
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NASA is warning it may have to permanent mothball its Chandra X-Ray Observatory after 25 years as the agency faces a billion-dollar budget shortfall. A budget deal between Congress and the Biden administration means dozens of NASA scientists on the project will lose their jobs by the end of September if Washington can’t reach a solution. Read more at
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You’re all caught up! See you next week.
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by | Jul 26, 2024 | The Hill
Apple has
to a set of AI safety guidelines outlined by the Biden administration in an executive order released nine months ago. By doing so, Apple joins 15 leading U.S. AI companies committing to responsible AI innovation.
Apple announced their own suite of AI technology earlier this year — Apple Intelligence.
A whole suite of AI features will be released with the next IOS update, including ChatGPT integration, art creation, and transcription services. As they gear up to release the technology, the guidelines are intended to ensure public safety, security, and trust with advanced AI systems.
Ahead of the executive order, the White House
voluntary commitments from several companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Open AI, and IBM.
The commitment means AI developers agree to a broad swath of regulations from the executive branch — from allowing the government to view the results of safety tests when developing models that could pose a threat to national security to improving watermarking for AI-generated content.
The White House release also updated that federal agencies have completed all of the 270-day actions outlined in the executive order.
These measures include a “plan for U.S. engagement abroad on AI standards” from the Department of Commerce and vulnerability assessments in “critical government systems and software” from the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
“President Biden believes that we have an obligation to harness the power of AI for good, while protecting people from its potentially profound risks,” a senior administration official told reporters in October when the executive order was initially announced.
President Biden himself has gone on the record to demand that AI companies “earn” the trust of the American public.
“Artificial intelligence and the companies that wield its possibilities are going to transform the lives of people around the world — there’s no doubt about that,” Biden
back in May. “But first, they must earn our trust.”
As the November elections approach, concerns are floating over the use of generative AI to misinform voters. In January, a
using Biden’s voice circulated in New Hampshire urging residents not to vote.
“I commit to do everything in my power to promote and demand safe, secure, trustworthy, and responsible innovation — that includes the use of AI-generated audio,” the president continued. “I ask that AI companies join me in that commitment.”
