X's Global Government Affairs team says it uncovered a network of roughly 200,000 accounts, suspected to be linked to Chinese operators, with about 200 of them actively posting content meant to sway American discourse on AI and energy policy. The flagged accounts used American-sounding names and shared legitimate news alongside inflammatory commentary and AI-generated images claiming data centers drive up electricity bills and strain the power grid.
A WIRED journalist filed data access requests with more than 100 companies under the California Consumer Privacy Act, seeking to see what personal information had been collected. Instead of providing the requested data, many firms sent deletion confirmations the reporter never asked for, or refused to honor the contact method listed in their own privacy policies. McDonald's, notably, returned a 515-page file detailing app usage and predictive behavioral profiling.
A writer describes turning to an AI chatbot for guidance after prescribed pain medication failed to relieve nighttime back pain from an injury, and reports that the AI's suggestions offered relief. The account reflects a broader trend of millions of people consulting chatbots for medical advice, according to physicians who say the tools can be helpful but come with important caveats.
NIST has responded to a surge in vulnerability disclosures by reclassifying about 30,000 CVEs published before March 2026 as 'Not Scheduled,' effectively deprioritizing their enrichment. The move comes as Action1's 2026 report shows disclosed vulnerabilities in enterprise software jumped 92% in 2025, with critical and high-severity flaws each up 103% and remote-code-execution bugs up 128%.
South Korea has launched a national program giving every citizen free access to AI chatbots developed domestically. The initiative is designed to widen public exposure to homegrown AI tools rather than relying on foreign systems.
X's Global Government Affairs team says it identified roughly 200,000 accounts tied to a Chinese bot network, with about 200 of them dedicated to spreading posts critical of AI data centers. The posts claimed the facilities were raising household electricity bills and straining power grids, echoing similar findings OpenAI reported in June about ChatGPT users seeking ways to sway American opinion on data centers.
Stripe and private equity firm Advent have dropped their pursuit of acquiring PayPal, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg. The pair had reportedly offered around $53 billion in July when PayPal shares were depressed, but PayPal rejected the bid and was said to be awaiting a higher offer before the talks collapsed.
More than 80 performers, including Matt Lucas, Hugh Bonneville, Siobhán McSweeney and singer Sandi Thom, have signed a letter urging the UK government to introduce legislation protecting performers from unauthorised AI voice cloning. The signatories argue current law fails to safeguard an artist's voice, face and identity as AI technology advances. The letter follows earlier warnings from legal experts that existing UK rules are outdated and cannot fully protect personal likeness or voice.
OpenAI has begun showing advertisements to users on its free tier and the 399-rupee ($4) Go plan in India, one of its biggest markets by user activity. The feature, already active in 38 countries including the US, Japan, South Korea and much of Europe, excludes users who are or are predicted to be under 18.
Proton's new report examined VPN apps available in the US and found that 64 are linked to Chinese companies, many collecting device IDs, network data, carrier information and even user location. These apps were downloaded more than 13 million times in June alone, and 31 relied on shell companies in places like Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK to obscure ownership. About a quarter of the flagged apps were found actively tracking location data.
Bluesky launched a new account-level privacy setting letting users opt out of appearing in the app's algorithmic Discover feed for people who don't already follow them. The toggle, found in privacy settings, applies to all posts at once rather than individual posts, and doesn't make accounts private since Bluesky has no private-account option.
Google, OpenAI and more than 100 other companies signed a joint letter warning that AI-powered cyberattacks are set to grow more common in the near future. The letter calls on governments and industry to take stronger action to prepare for and counter this rising threat.
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