GoKawiil
Tech News
WIRED's Leah Feiger and Zoë Schiffer discuss Elon Musk's renewed political spending through America PAC heading into the midterm elections, following his major financial involvement in the 2024 cycle. They note this spending pattern is echoed by other Silicon Valley tech leaders and their own PACs, who are similarly active this election cycle.
New York City's click-to-cancel rule went into effect October 1, requiring businesses to let consumers cancel subscriptions as easily as they sign up. The city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection will enforce the rule, with violations carrying civil penalties starting at $525 and potential refunds for consumers. The city also launched a new online portal, built with NYC Office of Technology, for residents to file complaints about subscription services.
California and other states that had sued to block Paramount Skydance's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery reached a settlement allowing the deal to proceed, according to multiple reports. The agreement reportedly relies on behavioral commitments from the companies rather than blocking the merger outright, and comes after four states that initially resisted California's proposed terms dropped their objections over the weekend.
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan argued on X that regulators don't need new legislation to rein in AI companies, pointing to decades-old consumer protection and antitrust statutes as tools to hold firms and executives accountable. She cited product liability and unfair competition laws as grounds to prosecute companies releasing unvetted or defective AI systems, or engaging in risky behavior that pressures rivals to match it.
Former FTC Chair Lina Khan argues that regulators do not need new legislation to hold AI company executives accountable, pointing to established legal precedent such as a 1934 Supreme Court ruling that barred a competitive 'race to the bottom' among companies. Her comments push back on the idea that AI's novelty exempts its leaders from existing corporate and antitrust law.