August 21, 2024
Federal Agencies Aim to Rein in Social Media Disinformation
The struggle over information is intensifying as U.S. elections draw closer. Federal agencies are resuming coordination with social media companies to combat foreign disinformation, following a Supreme Court ruling last June. The news comes on the heels of confirmation by intelligence officials that the Trump campaign had been breached by Iranian hackers.
As AI ascends and misinformation magnifies, new concerns are permeating across the political landscape. To combat disinformation, voters must be more skeptical when consuming digital news. Digital doubt is more important as major social media companies retreat from regulation. This month, Meta announced it would shut down its CrowdTangle tool, which had been vital for tracking disinformation across Facebook and Instagram.
Another U.S. Judge Blocks FTC’s Noncompete Ban
The back-and-forth battle between labor and business continues. This week, a U.S. judge struck down the FTC’s recent rule to ban noncompete agreements. The temporary block is the latest challenge to the decision made last spring to lift the restrictive rules impacting 30 million workers. In July, a federal judge also partially blocked the FTC’s ruling, following intense lobbying by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Media industries continue to adjust to changing norms in business and labor. TIME magazine announced new staff cuts following reductions in advertising budgets. Paramount Global has begun long-planned layoffs that will reduce its workforce by 15%. In PR, a new report shows 44% of professionals left the profession this year due to job burnout.
AI Advertising Boosts Meta’s Profit Margins
The emergence of AI is dramatically altering the world of advertising. After steep cuts and heavy AI investment, Meta is seeing a boom in its ad business. The company’s new tools leverage AI to optimize ad campaigns based on specific business objectives. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized AI across its advertising services during a recent earnings call.
As regulators look to ramp up AI regulation, business interests are expressing broad opposition. California legislators are set to vote on a bill that would impose regulations on AI development. The legislation would impose mandatory safety testing and the requirement for a kill switch—a safeguard that would shut down or deactivate AI models that operate unpredictably or cause harm.
Sequence Summaries: Digital Deception, Labor Lockdown, and AI Advertising
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