White House Unveils A.I. Policy Aimed at Blocking State Laws; The New York Times, March 20, 2026

 Cecilia Kang, The New York Times; White House Unveils A.I. Policy Aimed at Blocking State Laws

The Trump administration on Friday released new guidelines for federal legislation on the technology, recommending some safeguards for children and consumer protections for energy costs.

"The White House on Friday released policy guidelines that called for blocking state laws regulating artificial intelligence, while also recommending some safeguards for children and consumer protections for energy costs.

Dozens of states have passed laws in recent months to regulate A.I., which has created concerns about the technology’s potential to steal jobs, push up energy prices and threaten national security. But President Trump has made clear U.S. companies should have mostly free rein in a global race to dominate the technology.

On Friday, the White House called on Congress to pass federal A.I. legislation to override the state laws. Among the Trump administration’s suggested measures, Congress would streamline the process for building data centers, the warehouses full of computers that power A.I. The framework also proposed guardrails to prevent the government from using the technology for censorship, as well as mandating A.I.-related work force training."

OpenAI shutters AI video generator Sora in abrupt announcement; The Guardian, March 24, 2026

 Dara Kerr, The Guardian; OpenAI shutters AI video generator Sora in abrupt announcement

Tech firm ‘says goodbye’ to Sora, made publicly available in 2024, just six months after its launch of a stand-alone app

"In an abrupt announcement on Tuesday, OpenAI said it was “saying goodbye” to its AI video generator Sora. The move comes just six months after the company’s splashy launch of a stand-alone app with which people could make and share hyper-realistic AI videos in a scrolling social feed."

Is Big Tech Facing a Big Tobacco Moment?; The New York Times, March 26, 2026

 Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Niko Gallogly,Brian O’Keefe and Ian Mount, The New York Times; Is Big Tech Facing a Big Tobacco Moment?

Back-to-back courtroom losses have put technology giants, including Meta and Google, in uncertain territory as they face lawsuits and bans on teen users.

"Andrew here. Back in 2018, I moderated a panel at the World Economic Forum that included Marc Benioff of Salesforce. It was then that he essentially declared that Facebook was the modern-day equivalent of cigarettes, and that it and other social media companies should be regulated as such.

Well, Meta’s loss in court on Wednesday, in a case about whether its platforms were designed to be addictive to adolescents, may be a watershed. Investors don’t seem to be fazed — the company’s shares hardly moved after the verdict came out — but the decision could change the conversation around the company yet again. More below...

Some legal experts wonder if Big Tech is staring at a Big Tobacco moment, a reference to how cigarette makers had to overhaul their businesses — at a huge expense — after courts ruled that some of their products were addictive and harmful.

“We’re in a new era, a digital era, where we have to rethink definitions for products based on which entities might have superior information to prevent these injuries and accidents,” Catherine Sharkey, a professor of law at N.Y.U., told The Times. She added that the “implications” of those verdicts were “very, very big.”

“This has potentially large impacts on other areas in tech, A.I. and beyond that,” Jessica Nall, a San Francisco lawyer who represents tech companies and executives, told The Wall Street Journal. “The floodgates are already open.”

Meta and Google plan to appeal. The companies have signaled that they will fight efforts to make them drastically redesign their products and algorithms."

We're All Copyright Owners. Welcome to the Mess That AI Has Created; CNET, March 23, 2026

 

Katelyn Chedraoui , CNET; We're All Copyright Owners. Welcome to the Mess That AI Has Created

Copyright is one of the most important legal issues in the age of AI. And yes, it affects you.

"You probably rarely, if ever, think about copyright law. But if you want to understand why there are so many lawsuits being filed against AI companies, knowing a bit about copyright law is key. And whether you know it or not, these issues affect you.

If you've ever written a blog post, taken a photo or created an original video, you're a copyright owner. That's most of us, which means that copyright law -- its protections, limitations and application -- is more relevant to you than you might've thought. Sadly, copyright in the age of generative AI is something of a mess."

Juries Take the Lead in the Push for Child Online Safety; The New York Times, March 26, 2026

 Cecilia Kang, The New York Times; Juries Take the Lead in the Push for Child Online Safety

A pair of verdicts held social media companies accountable for harming young users, highlighting a growing backlash as Congress struggles to pass legislation.

"But this week, two juries held social media companies accountable for harming young users.

In Los Angeles on Wednesday, a jury decided in favor of a plaintiff who had claimed that Meta and YouTube hooked her with addictive features — a verdict validating a novel legal strategy holding the companies accountable for personal injury. And a day earlier in New Mexico, a jury found Meta liable for violating state law by failing to safeguard users of its apps from child predators.

The landmark decisions highlight a growing backlash against social media and its effects on young people, including criticism from parents and policymakers around the globe that it is contributing to a youth mental health crisis. And they show that the push for change may finally be gaining steam.

U.S. lawmakers said on Wednesday that the verdicts underscored the need for child safety legislation. Senators Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, and Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, called for legislators to pass their bill, the Kids Online Safety Act.

Federal momentum would build on laws in more than 30 states banning phones in schools. Globally, Australia in December banned social media for those under 16. Spain, Denmark, France, Malaysia and Indonesia are considering similar restrictions."

Supreme Court tosses $1B copyright verdict in record companies' battle over illegal internet downloads; Fox News, March 25, 2026

 Eric Mack, Fox News ; Supreme Court tosses $1B copyright verdict in record companies' battle over illegal internet downloads

"The Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday that internet providers are not liable for copyright infringement by their users, delivering an opinion in Cox v. Sony and tossing a $1 billion verdict."

Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider in Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music; The New York Times, March 25, 2026

 Ann E. Marimow, The New York Times ; Supreme Court Sides With Internet Provider in Copyright Fight Over Pirated Music

Leading music labels sued Cox Communications for failing to terminate accounts of subscribers flagged for distributing copyrighted music.

"The Supreme Court unanimously said on Wednesday that a major internet provider could not be held liable for the piracy of thousands of songs online in a closely watched copyright clash."

Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case; The New York Times, March 25, 2026

 Cecilia Kang, Ryan Mac and Eli Tan, The New York Times ; Meta and YouTube Found Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Case

A jury found the companies negligent in their app designs, harming a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress.

"The social media company Meta and the video streaming service YouTube harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress, a jury found on Wednesday, a landmark decision that could open social media companies to more lawsuits over users’ well-being.

Meta and YouTube must pay $3 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering and other financial burdens. Meta is responsible for 70 percent of that cost and YouTube for the remainder.

The bellwether case, which was brought by a now 20-year-old woman identified as K.G.M., had accused social media companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos. K.G.M. sued Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, and Google’s YouTube over features like infinite scroll and algorithmic recommendations that she claimed led to anxiety and depression.

The jury of seven women and five men will deliberate further to decide what punitive damages the companies should pay for malice or fraud."

Boston University Pulls Pride Flags, Raising Free Speech Worries; The New York Times, March 23, 2026

 Alan Blinder , The New York Times; Boston University Pulls Pride Flags, Raising Free Speech Worries

The university said the flags broke a rule against hanging signs, a policy embraced by other campuses that cracked down on protests. Professors and others say such rules chill speech.

"Boston University removed Pride flags that were displayed in campus buildings this month, angering professors who believe school leaders may be suppressing expression because they fear the Trump administration.

University officials have suggested the displays could imply the school endorses them, violating its pledge to be evenhanded with its standards around speech.

The university’s decision is a new skirmish in academia about campus expression, and it comes after more schools across the country embraced so-called neutrality policies, curbing the views they express publicly. Universities have also imposed more stringent limits on protests in the years since demonstrations over the war in Gaza rocked campuses."

Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment; SCOTUSblog, March 25, 2026

  SCOTUSblog; Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment

"Holding: Internet service provider Cox Communications neither induced its users’ infringement of copyrighted works nor provided a service tailored to infringement, and accordingly Cox is not contributorily liable for the infringement of Sony’s copyrights.

Judgment: Reversed and remanded, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Thomas on March 25, 2026. Justice Sotomayor wrote an opinion concurring in the judgment, joined by Justice Jackson."

Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education; Iowa Public Radio, March 20, 2026

 

Ben Kieffer, 

Samantha McIntosh

 , Iowa Public Radio; Fostering ethical use of AI in K-12 education

"The use of artificial intelligence in school has become more common since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022. Today, a majority of U.S. teens say they use AI chatbots for school work, according to the Pew Research Center. 

On this episode of River to River, two Iowa-based educators who are working together in advancing ethical and human-centered approaches to artificial intelligence across K-12 education share their experiences. Iowa State University professor Evrim Baran is the project director of the Critical AI in Education Pathways Initiative, which launched a micro-credential course this month for educators. Chad Sussex founded the Winterset Community School District's AI task force, and has recently expanded into consulting for other school districts around the state.

Then we talk with Rebecca Winthrop, who coauthored a recent report that shares of the potential negative risks that generative AI poses to students, and what can be done to prevent them while maximizing the potential benefits of AI.

Guests:

• Evrim Baran, ISU professor of educational technology and human-computer interaction and Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair, College of Health and Human Sciences
• Chad Sussex, grades 7-12 assistant principal and AI task force leader, Winterset Community School District
• Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and director of the Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution"

Chicken Soup for the Soul Sues AI Firms for Copyright Infringement; Publishers Weekly, March 20, 2026

  Ed Nawotka , Publishers Weekly; Chicken Soup for the Soul Sues AI Firms for Copyright Infringement

"Chicken Soup for the Soul is suing tech companies OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI, Perplexity, Apple, and Nvidia for copyright infringement. The suit, filed March 17 in the Northern District of California, alleges that hundreds of its copyrighted works were ingested without authorization or compensation to train large language models...

Much like the complaint filed in December by author John Carreyrou and others against many of the same defendants, this filing also aims to challenge the class-action model that has dominated AI copyright litigation.

Pointing to the pending Anthropic settlement in the Northern District of California, the suit notes that the framework would pay rights holders approximately $3,000 per work—"just 2% of the Copyright Act's statutory ceiling of $150,000 per willfully infringed work." The complaint states that such settlements "seem to serve Defendants, not creators."

Chicken Soup for the Soul is instead seeking individualized statutory damages determined by a jury. The law firms behind the suit say more than 1,000 authors representing more than 5,000 works have signed on to the same approach."

The dictionaries are suing OpenAI for ‘massive’ copyright infringement, and say ChatGPT is starving publishers of revenue; Fortune, March 21, 2026

Jake Angelo, Fortune; The dictionaries are suing OpenAI for ‘massive’ copyright infringement, and say ChatGPT is starving publishers of revenue

"In a filing submitted to the Southern District of New York, the companies accuse OpenAI of cannibalizing the traffic and ad revenue that publishers depend on to survive. “ChatGPT starves web publishers, like [the] Plaintiffs, of revenue,” the complaint reads. Where a traditional search engine sends users to a publisher’s website, Britannica and Merriam-Webster allege ChatGPT instead absorbs the content and delivers a polished answer. It also alleges the AI company fed its LLM with researched and fact-checked work of the companies’ hundreds of human writers and editors...

In an apt example, the complaint describes a prompt asking “How does Merriam-Webster define plagiarize?” to which the model reportedly responded with a definition identical to the one found in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The complaint adds that the dictionary has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office."

Judge Rules Pentagon Restrictions on Press Are Unconstitutional; The New York Times, March 20, 2026

 Erik Wemple , The New York Times; Judge Rules Pentagon Restrictions on Press Are Unconstitutional

A federal judge tossed parts of the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets, saying they violated the First Amendment, in a lawsuit brought by The New York Times.

"A federal judge ruled on Friday that the Pentagon’s restrictions on news outlets violate the First Amendment and issued an order tossing parts of the Defense Department’s policy, handing a victory to The New York Times, which filed suit in December over the restrictions.

Judge Paul Friedman, of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also ordered the Pentagon to restore the press passes of seven journalists for The Times. They had surrendered those passes in October instead of signing the policy, which empowered the Pentagon to declare journalists “security risks” and revoke their press passes if they engaged in any conduct that the Pentagon believed threatened national security.

In his 40-page ruling, Judge Friedman wrote that the Pentagon’s policy rewarded reporters who were “willing to publish only stories that are favorable to or spoon-fed by department leadership.”

Siding with an argument advanced by The Times, Judge Friedman added that the Pentagon had given itself too much power to enforce its new rules. The policy also violates journalists’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment, he said, writing that it “provides no way for journalists to know how they may do their jobs without losing their credentials.”

UK reverses course on AI copyright position after backlash; Engadget, March 18, 2026

 Will Shanklin , Engadget; UK reverses course on AI copyright position after backlash

"halk up a win for creative artists against AI companies. On Wednesday, the UK government abandoned its previous position on copyrighted works. It’s currently working on a data bill that, if unaltered, would have allowed AI companies like Google and OpenAI to train models on copyrighted materials without consent. Artists and other copyright holders would only have been offered a mere opt-out clause.

After significant backlash, the UK backed off from that position. "We have listened," Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said on Wednesday. However, the government’s new stance is, well, not a stance at all. It currently "no longer has a preferred option" about how to handle the issue.

Still, backpedaling from its previous position is viewed as a win for artists. UK Music CEO Tom Kiehl described the decision as "a major victory," while promising to work with the government on the next steps."

Organizations Warn Fast-Track of Bill to Separate Copyright Office from Library of Congress Would Be a ‘Grave Mistake’; IP Watchdog, March 18, 2026

 EILEEN MCDERMOTT, IP Watchdog; Organizations Warn Fast-Track of Bill to Separate Copyright Office from Library of Congress Would Be a ‘Grave Mistake'

"Spurred by reports that House leaders are trying to fast-track a bill to separate the U.S. Copyright Office from the Library of Congress, a coalition of consumer rights, industry, open internet and library groups has again sent a letter to the House Committee on Administration urging it to consider the bill on the regular timeline to avoid “unintended consequences.” A full committee markup of the bill is scheduled for tomorrow, March 18,

H.R. 6028, the Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act, would change the procedures for appointing and removing the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO), and the Register of Copyrights. Instead of being appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, the Librarian and Director of the GPO would be appointed by a “bipartisan congressional commission” and could only be removed from office by a majority vote of the majority and minority leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate."

Now OpenAI is getting sued by the dictionary; Quartz, March 17, 2026

 Quartz Staff, Quartz; Now OpenAI is getting sued by the dictionary

Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster sued the ChatGPT maker, accusing it of copying almost 100,000 articles to train its AI models

"Encyclopedia Britannica and its subsidiary Merriam-Webster have filed suit against OpenAI, alleging that the ChatGPT maker copied their copyrighted content without authorization to train its large language models,

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court last week, alleges that OpenAI used close to 100,000 Britannica articles to train its models, and that ChatGPT responses frequently reproduce or closely paraphrase Britannica's reference content, including encyclopedia articles and dictionary entries. The complaint also alleges OpenAI uses a retrieval-augmented generation system to pull from Britannica's content in real time when generating responses."

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog; The Guardian, March 17, 2026

 Martin Gelin, The Guardian; ‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog

"The US is no longer a democracy. One of the most credible global sources on the health of democratic nations now says this outright. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University reaches the alarming conclusion in its annual report, that the US is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than Hungary and Turkey.

“Our data on the USA goes back to 1789. What we’re seeing now is the most severe magnitude of democratic backsliding ever in the country,” says Staffan Lindberg, founder of the institute.

Since 2012, Lindberg has led his small group of researchers in Sweden to become the world’s leading source for analysis of the health of global democracy. In their latest report, published on Tuesday, they conclude that the US, for the first time in more than half a century, has lost its long-term status as a liberal democracy. The country is now going through a rapid process of what the report’s authors call “autocratisation”...

A record 41% (3.4 billion) of the world’s population currently resides in countries where democracy is deteriorating, the report claims, adding that Washington is leading this global turn away from democracy.

The researchers use 48 different metrics to assess democratic health, such as the freedom of expression and the media, the quality of elections and the observance of the rule of law. The resulting “liberal democracy index” shows that the speed with which US democracy is being dismantled is unprecedented in modern history. The main factor is a “rapid and aggressive concentration of powers in the presidency”, Lindberg says. Congress has been marginalised, jeopardising the “checks and balances” (judicial and legislative constraints on the executive) so crucial to US democracy. At the same time, civil rights have been rapidly declining and freedom of expression is now at its lowest level since the 1940s."

Senators tell ByteDance to ‘immediately shut down’ Seedance AI video app; CNBC, March 17, 2026

 Emily Wilkins, CNBC ;  Senators tell ByteDance to ‘immediately shut down’ Seedance AI video app

"Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch are calling for a halt to the new version of ByteDance’s artificial intelligence app, Seedance, which generates videos of real people and licensed characters, raising copyright and intellectual property concerns. 

Seedance 2.0 “is the most glaring example of copyright infringement from a ByteDance product to date, and you must immediately shut down Seedance and implement meaningful safeguards to prevent further infringing outputs,” Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Welch, D-Vt., wrote in a letter to ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo that was first obtained by CNBC.

Their letter is a sign of growing concerns on Capitol Hill about how AI companies are developing and using their models and whether proper protections are in place for those who generate the materials the models train from."

How Trump Drove a Wedge Between Florida Republicans Over A.I.; The New York Times, March 16, 2026

 David McCabe and Patricia Mazzei , The New York Times; How Trump Drove a Wedge Between Florida Republicans Over A.I.

A Florida bill that would have regulated artificial intelligence, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, failed to gain traction after President Trump made it clear he did not want states to rein in the technology.

"Florida lawmakers failed to pass a sweeping bill aimed at reining in the power of artificial intelligence by the time their annual legislative session wrapped up Friday.

The legislation, known as an A.I. Bill of Rights, flopped even though Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, had spent months championing it. The bill would have forced companies to disclose when they use A.I. chatbots to interact with consumers and forbidden the technology’s use in licensed mental health counseling, among other measures.

But Republicans in the Florida House of Representatives refused to take up the bill because of President Trump. Mr. Trump has visibly positioned himself as pro-A.I., signing executive orders to protect the tech industry and threatening states that try to regulate the technology. In recent weeks, the White House has communicated to state legislators around the country that it is wary of states regulating A.I., while Mr. Trump has reiterated his support for the technology in public."

The dictionary sues OpenAI; TechCrunch, March 16, 2026

 Amanda Silberling, TechCrunch; The dictionary sues OpenAI

"Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging in its complaint that the AI giant has committed “massive copyright infringement.”

Britannica, which owns Merriam-Webster, retains the copyright to nearly 100,000 online articles, which have been scraped and used to train OpenAI’s LLMs without permission, the publisher alleges in the lawsuit.

Britannica also accuses OpenAI of violating copyright laws when it generates outputs that contain “full or partial verbatim reproductions” of its content and when the AI lab uses its articles in ChatGPT’s RAG (retrieval augmented generation) workflow. OpenAI’s RAG tool is how the LLM scans the web or other databases for newly updated information when responding to a query. Britannica also alleges that OpenAI violates the Lanham Act, a trademark statute, when it generates made-up hallucinations and attributes them falsely to the publisher."

This Bill Would Force AI Companies to Disclose Copyrighted Works; PetaPixel, March 16, 2026

Pesala Bandara, PetaPixel; This Bill Would Force AI Companies to Disclose Copyrighted Works

"U.S. Senators Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, and John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, have introduced the Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act, known as the CLEAR Act. The proposed legislation would require companies developing AI models to report when copyrighted material is used to train those systems.

If passed, the legislation could increase transparency around the material used to train generative AI systems, including copyrighted photographs."

Trump fundraising email uses photo of March 7 dignified transfer of deceased soldier; Army Times, March 14, 2026

 J.D. Simkins, Army Times; Trump fundraising email uses photo of March 7 dignified transfer of deceased soldier

"A fundraising email distributed Thursday by a political action committee linked to President Donald Trump included a photo of a March 7 dignified transfer of a U.S. soldier killed by an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. 

The email, which was signed “President Donald J. Trump“ and paid for by Never Surrender Inc., promises to make donors part of a ”National Security Briefing Membership.” It was first pointed out on X by Patriot Takes.

The embedded photo of the dignified transfer, taken by White House photographer Daniel Torok, is included in the email and bracketed by icons featuring the text, “CLAIM YOUR SPOT,” which can be clicked on to donate. 

In the photo, Trump, wearing a white USA baseball hat, salutes as a flag-draped casket of a fallen soldier is transferred by an Army carry team. The casket included the remains of one of six soldiers returned to U.S. soil that day, the first American casualties of Operation Epic Fury."

Teen, 14, Diagnosed with Rare Cancer, Used His Single Make-A-Wish Gift Not for Himself, but Others in His Community; People, March 14, 2026

 Toria Sheffield, People; Teen, 14, Diagnosed with Rare Cancer, Used His Single Make-A-Wish Gift Not for Himself, but Others in His Community

"A Georgia teen used his single Make-A-Wish gift to help others in his community.

Jude Baker was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that affects bone or surrounding tissue, when he was 12 years old, according to local outlet 11 Alive.

Baker, now 14, soon began chemotherapy after his diagnosis. He said it was even more painful than the reality that he could succumb to the illness...

Because of his diagnosis, Baker qualified for a wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit that grants "wishes" to children ages 3 to 17 who are diagnosed with critical illnesses.

And while most kids will ask for things like a fun trip or meeting a celebrity, Baker instead asked for something different: to help the homeless in his area...

Make-A-Wish collected sleeping bags, packed backpacks full of supplies and prepared hot meals for homeless individuals in the area for one day.

Over 300 people ultimately received assistance because of Baker's Make-A-Wish, per 11 Alive.

The teenager, who is now in remission, said he hopes his wish helped remind others that there are always opportunities to assist those in need."