Meta to face legal scrutiny over the use of copyright protected works to train AI models
Meta’s approach to data gathering to power its generative AI projects could result in significant penalties for the company, and might also set a new legal precedent for such use.
A federal judge in the US ruled that a case brought against Meta by a group of authors will be allowed to proceed.
The authors were able to show that these AI models were capable of reproducing their work in highly accurate form, which they claim demonstrates that both Meta and OpenAI used their legally protected material without consent.
The lawsuit also alleges that both Meta and OpenAI removed the copyright information from their books to hide this infringement.
Read more here.
Trump says TikTok deal ‘coming soon’
With 25 days to go to arrange a US sell off deal under the current extension agreement, TikTok is seemingly getting closer to securing a U.S.-based partner to keep it in operation in the region.
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump was asked about the state of the TikTok sell-off deal.
As reported by Reuters:
“US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his administration was in touch with four different groups about the sale of Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok, and that all options were good.“
Read more here.
Meta brings facial recognition tools to spot celeb scam adverts to the UK
Facial recognition technology used by Meta to spot scam adverts featuring celebrities is to be introduced in the UK and the EU for the first time.
The social media giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, first began testing the technology in other parts of the world late last year. They then confirmed that after working with regulators it was now expanding its use.
The technology works by spotting an advert it believes to be a scam, and contains an image of a public figure the platform has identified as at risk from so-called ‘celeb-bait’, before using facial recognition tools to compare faces in the ad against images from the public figure’s official profiles.
Read more here.
Google expands AI shopping elements
Google is adding some more generative AI sampling tools to its shopping options, which will give consumers more ways to virtually try on items, and find exactly what they’re looking for online.
First off, Google is adding a new process for trying on make-up, which will enable more users to test out what they look like with different products.
Google’s also expanding access to its generative AI product search option, which lets you first use AI to create a depiction of the item that you want, then finds relevant product matches.
Read more here.
Almost half of young people ‘trust’ social media about politics, despite the rise of fake news
A survey of 2,500 11 to 25-year-olds by the Electoral Commission found 44 per cent think social media is trustworthy when it comes to learning about politics.
In addition, half said they get their political news from social media, the second-most common source after television.
It comes amid an explosion of fake news, conspiracy theories and extreme content on social media platforms. Researchers said the need for youngsters to be properly informed is becoming more urgent amid Labour plans to give the vote to those aged 16 and above.
The report notes: ‘Young people come across political content in many places, but they can’t always be sure it’s reliable.’Read more here.