Google won’t add fact-checking despite new European Union law: Report
Google is pushing back against the European Union by refusing to add fact-checking, despite the requirements of a new European Union law. Axios obtained a letter that Google Global Affairs President Ken Walker sent to Renate Nikolay, the deputy director general of content and technology at the EU.
In the letter, Walker said Google would “pull out of all fact-checking commitments in the code” before the rules become law and called it not “appropriate” or “effective” for their services.
Google has never included fact-checking as part of its content moderation practices, while the proposed code would obligate Google to display fact-check results alongside its search results and YouTube videos and incorporate fact-checking into its ranking algorithms.
According to Axios, Walker defended Google’s existing content moderation strategy in the letter, citing its effectiveness during the “unprecedented cycle of global elections.”
He also mentioned a new feature on YouTube that enables some users to add notes to videos, which is similar to X’s community notes feature and a new program Meta announced last week.
X, previously known as Twitter, also signed the code but reversed course after Elon Musk bought the platform.
It’s not clear whether all the code’s requirements will be formalized into official rules under Europe’s Digital Services Act, which regulates digital platforms and services.
But EU lawmakers have been discussing with the companies that signed about the commitments they’ll agree to follow.
Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from TikTok on US ban in January
The U.S. Supreme Court said on Wednesday, Dec. 18, it will hear an appeal from TikTok challenging a U.S. law that could end up banning the social media app next month. The court’s announcement comes after an appeal by TikTok this week.
The Supreme Court justices will hear oral arguments on Jan. 10 before deciding on the law’s fate. Currently, the app used by millions of people is set to be banned in the U.S. come Jan. 19, unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, sells the company.
Earlier this year, Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed, a law that requires the China-based company to divest the app over national security concerns.
In an emergency filing, TikTok’s lawyers argued the law violated the First Amendment by banning the company’s right to free speech.
A lower court upheld the law earlier in December, siding with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), over concerns about Chinese influence on the company.
As Straight Arrow News previously reported, U.S. lawmakers recently sent a letter to Google and Apple that warns the tech giants to prepare to remove the platform from their app stores.
Some lawmakers say the social media app is a threat to the country’s security, noting laws in Beijing that require social media platforms to work with the Chinese government when asked.
The DOJ also warns the app could be used by China to spy on Americans and steal sensitive information. Other U.S. officials have voiced support for the app.
For instance, President-elect Donald Trump said following a meeting with TikTok’s CEO he has a “warm spot” in his heart for the platform, despite efforts during his first term to ban the app.
Trump said, “You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points, and there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with that. So, I have a little bit of a warm spot in my heart, I’ll be honest.”
Enormous demand for AI could lead to US and Canada blackouts
Growing demand for artificial intelligence could lead to blackouts across the United States and Canada as soon as next year. The warning on Tuesday, Dec. 17, came from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), an industry watchdog.
NERC predicts that electrical consumption will increase by 15% over the next decade. The report comes as AI resources like ChatGPT and Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers expect to see data center power usage double in just the next four years.
Electricity regulators are concerned that the U.S. and Canada’s power grids won’t be able to keep up with demand, saying “the shortfall” could lead to “blackouts during peak demand periods” in the United States and Canada in 2025.
The watchdog’s prediction comes as the U.S. is currently facing challenges with a slowly growing renewable energy market and as the country tries to cut its reliance on fossil fuels.
Expanding the grid to make room for expanding AI data centers has reportedly been a national security priority for the outgoing Biden administration. The White House says that it is pushing to get clean energy deployed quickly so it can meet the enormous energy needs of AI.
Industry experts say they expect a surge of new data centers with the incoming Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to cut regulations on fossil fuel energy, which would boost the tech sector, and as the surge in AI demand continues, some AI companies have turned to nuclear energy to power their expanding operations.
Mexico’s president refutes Trump’s claim she promised to close the border
President-elect Donald Trump said Mexico has agreed to stem the tide of migrants flowing into the United States, but Mexico’s president is now saying that’s not quite accurate. And Amazon workers are using Black Friday to make a statement about their labor situation. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
Mexico’s president refutes Trump’s claim she promised to close the border
As President-elect Donald Trump gets ready to return to office, he’s already making moves to follow through on some of his biggest campaign promises. After announcing this week his plans to impose tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico, he turned his attention to another hot-button issue: immigration.
It’s a bit of a case of “he said, she said” after Trump had a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday, Nov. 27. President-elect Trump posted on his Truth Social platform after the call saying Sheinbaum agreed to stop migration into the U.S. through Mexico, “effectively closing our southern border.”
Sheinbaum appeared to contradict Trump in a post of her own on X, saying in part, “Mexico’s position is not to close borders…”
She did, however, lay out Mexico’s “comprehensive strategy” for addressing the migration issue. In a separate post on X, Sheinbaum said during the call, she told President-elect Trump, “No caravans are arriving at the border because they are being attended to in Mexico.”
En nuestra conversación con el presidente Trump, le expuse la estrategia integral que ha seguido México para atender el fenómeno migratorio, respetando los derechos humanos. Gracias a ello se atiende a las personas migrantes y a las caravanas previo a que lleguen a la frontera.…
The two leaders also talked about how they’re addressing the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
The call was scheduled after Trump unveiled plans to slap 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico to the U.S. as part of the effort to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. through Mexico.
Not only would that impact the prices of avocados and agave — both very popular in the U.S. — Mexico’s economy secretary said Wednesday 88% of all North American pickup trucks come from Mexico. Sheinbaum then suggested Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own.
“I hope he rethinks it,” Biden said. “I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do. You know, one of the things you’ve heard me say before is that we are – we have an unusual situation in America. We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.”
Economists forecast Trump’s planned tariffs would increase prices for American shoppers, costing the average U.S. household about $2,600 per year, according to an estimate from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Israel and Hezbollah both claim ceasefire violations
Barely three days into a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, both sides are claiming violations.
Yesterday, Hezbollah had a precision-guided missile manufacturing site—today, they don’t.
Hezbollah’s largest precision-guided missiles manufacturing site, 1.4km wide and 70m underground, was struck and dismantled by IAF fighter jets yesterday.
Lebanese authorities also said two people, who were trying to return to southern Lebanon, were shot and wounded by Israeli forces. Lebanon’s health ministry said they were civilians, but the IDF claimed they were suspected of violating terms of the truce.
The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month ceasefire during which Hezbollah militants will withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.
Thousands of Amazon workers to strike from Black Friday to Cyber Monday
Amazon workers in more than 20 countries, including the U.S., are on strike on some of the busiest pre-Christmas shopping days across the world. It started on Black Friday, Nov. 29, a day for bargain hunters to score some of the biggest discounts from stores across the country as holiday shopping kicks into high gear.
Organizers told the United Nations the so-called “days of resistance” are to hold Amazon accountable for alleged labor abuses, as well as “environmental degradation and threats to democracy.” According to ABC News, the strike could delay holiday deliveries.
The organizers said this is their fifth year of labor action against Amazon during the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
In a statement, Amazon said the group that organized the strikes is being “intentionally misleading” and promoting a “false narrative.” Management said the company offers great pay and benefits.
Canada sues Google over control of online ads
Canada’s antitrust watchdog said it is suing Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in the company’s online advertising business. They’re calling for Google to sell off two of its ad tech services and pay a penalty.
The Competition Bureau said it’s necessary because an investigation into Google found the company “unlawfully” tied together its ad tech tools to maintain its dominant market position. Google insists the online advertising market is a highly competitive sector and is fighting the allegations.
This comes just a week after the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser, saying it continues to crush the competition through its dominant search engine.
America facing a live Christmas tree shortage again
As millions of Americans get ready to begin their search for the perfect Christmas tree, growers are having historic challenges getting them to sale lots, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The day after Thanksgiving is usually the biggest day for live tree sales, but since Thanksgiving came so late this year, it’s a very short selling season. On top of that, a nationwide shortage is expected thanks to severe weather across the country this year, such as a northeastern drought and North Carolina floods caused by Hurricane Helene. North Carolina is the second-biggest supplier of Christmas trees in the country.
Shoppers bought roughly 21.6 million real Christmas trees in the U.S. last year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The Department of Agriculture said the number of trees harvested in the U.S. has declined 30% since 2002, while the American population has grown 16% over the same period.
Alaska native air drops Thanksgiving turkeys to families in remote areas
In the most remote parts of Alaska a Thanksgiving turkey is hard to come by. So, one woman made sure families in roadless parts of the state had their holiday feast.
Pilot Esther Keim calls it “Alaska Turkey Bomb.” She flies in a small plane to off-the-grid homes and air drops frozen turkeys for families to enjoy for Thanksgiving.
Keim said it’s a tribute to a family friend who did the same thing for her family when she was growing up.
She started the tradition in 2022 after somebody that she knew told her they did not have much of a holiday dinner — and no turkey at all. Since then, she has delivered 30 to 40 turkeys every year to families living in remote areas of Alaska.
Ex-Google CEO puts out warning about creating ‘perfect’ AI girlfriends
Google’s former CEO is warning about the dangers of using artificial intelligence to create a romantic partner. Eric Schmidt said chatbots can increase loneliness, specifically among teenage boys who prefer AI-powered “perfect girlfriends.”
He added the potential for them to fall in love and become obsessed with their AI partners is a growing problem.
“This is a good example of an unexpected problem of existing technology,” Schmidt said on “The Prof G Show” podcast Sunday, Nov. 24.
“Parents are going to have to be more involved for all the obvious reasons, but at the end of the day, parents can only control what their sons and daughters are doing within reason,” Schmidt added.
According to research by TRG Datacenters, people search the term “AI girlfriend,” on average, about 1.6 million times each year on Google as of 2024.
The same company reported that users searched the term only 1,200 times in 2021.
In comparison, users search the term “AI boyfriend” about 180,000 times a year.
Schmidt said young men are particularly vulnerable. According to a Pew Research study, on average, they aren’t as educated as young women. The study found U.S. women outpaced men in graduating college.
“Because of the social media algorithms they find like-minded people who ultimately radicalize them, either in a horrific way, like terrorism, or in the kind of way you’re describing — they’re just maladjusted,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt added that regulatory laws like Section 230 should be reformed. It protects tech giants from being held liable for the content on their platforms. The reforms would allow for liability in the worst possible cases.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Federal Trade Commission chair, Brendan Carr, has argued for restrictions for Section 230. He plans on adding protections prohibiting companies from censoring posts.
More than 1,000 fake news websites removed in Google’s latest crackdown
Google removed hundreds of fake news websites linked to a pro-China influence operation called Glassbridge. The sites posed as independent news outlets but published propaganda aligned with Beijing’s political interests.
The tech giant’s Threat Analysis Group identified four companies, Shanghai Haixun Technology, Haimai, DURINBRIDGE and Shenzhen Bowen Media, responsible for creating and operating these fake domains. Since 2022, Google has blocked more than 1,000 websites and domains from appearing in its search results, including Google News and Google Discover, for violating policies against deceptive behavior and lack of editorial transparency.
Shanghai Haixun Technology was the most prolific offender, operating over 600 policy-violating domains targeting audiences in countries such as Brazil, India, Kenya and Vietnam. The sites often republished articles from Chinese state media or included politically charged content on topics like the South China Sea, Taiwan, Xinjiang and COVID-19.
Getty Images
Other companies involved targeted specific regions and audiences. Paperwall operated more than 100 websites masquerading as local outlets across 30 countries, while DURINBRIDGE managed over 200 domains. Shenzhen Bowen Media focused on presenting pro-China narratives in localized contexts.
Google noted these operations leveraged PR firms to obscure their connections to the Chinese government, allowing the actors behind the campaigns to maintain plausible deniability. Researchers also highlighted similarities to influence campaigns linked to Russia and Iran.
The use of fake news websites and repurposed content marks a shift in information operations, which have traditionally relied on social media platforms. Google warned that the rise of AI-generated content poses growing challenges in combating misinformation.
Biden’s DOJ wants to break up Google, here’s where Trump stands
The U.S. government under President Joe Biden wants to break up Google. But will the same hold true when the White House changes hands in January?
Back in August, a federal judge ruled Google illegally maintained a monopoly in internet search. This gave the Department of Justice a major antitrust victory in a case that actually started during the first Trump administration.
Now, the Biden DOJ says competition cannot be restored unless Google is forced to sell off Chrome, its dominant web browser. Judge Amit Mehta set a two-week hearing on remedies for April 2025, when President-elect Donald Trump will be back in charge of the DOJ.
“The new administration could come forward and say, ‘We mentioned a breakup – we don’t have the enthusiasm for it that we did before. Of course, Judge, if you thought it was appropriate, that’s your call, it’s not ours; you are ultimately the decision maker about remedy. But our view is that it’s no longer required and we’re not asking for it,’” former FTC Chair Bill Kovacic proposed as one possibility in an interview with SAN.
While Trump is no fan of Big Tech or Google, he has so far sidestepped calling for a breakup. In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump said Google was “rigged” but stopped short of saying he’d break them up.
“He said that he might not be fond of a breakup, that Google’s an important company, don’t want to injure them in some way,” Kovacic said.
However, he pointed out that prominent figures in Trump’s campaign, including his running mate, JD Vance, have made comments in support of breaking up Google.
“It seems within the upper echelon of the Trump brain trust that there’s a lot of enthusiasm for going through with the structural remedy,” Kovacic said.
Google said it is appealing the August ruling.
“The DOJ continues to push a radical agenda that goes far beyond the legal issues in this case,” Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland told SAN in a statement. “The government putting its thumb on the scale in these ways would harm consumers, developers and American technological leadership at precisely the moment it is most needed.”
“We haven’t had something like this in ages, that is, to have the elaborate discussion of what antitrust law should do after a finding of liability in this kind of setting,” Kovacic said, “Google has the opportunity to come forward and say, ‘You wanted an extraordinary form of intervention. We have something that is much better, equally effective and not as disruptive.’”
In other words, while Google is appealing the monopoly ruling, it can still suggest less extreme remedies as the case proceeds.
The last time antitrust officials tried to break up a Big Tech company of this magnitude was Microsoft in the late ’90s and early 2000s. In the end, through a convoluted appeals process, the DOJ eventually backed off its call to break up Microsoft and settled for a lesser antitrust penalty.
“A big part of the task of the Justice Department in the coming months, if they want a breakup, is to give the judge assurances that it’s worth doing,” Kovacic said. “A number of judges in the past have said, ‘I’m a single unelected official bearing the burden of determining the future of an important sector. That makes me nervous. I’m willing to travel the path that the government suggests, but I want assurances that it is the right path.’”
News behind paywalls: People reject it, media depend on it in digital shift
A revolution appears to be unfolding in the news industry, driven by a mix of mistrust, a decline in traditional TV viewership and revenue, and a world increasingly plugged into phones rather than televisions. As a result, news companies are shifting strategies and targeting the digital news consumer.
However, the news business model is still struggling to find a way to generate revenue in this new landscape. Many media groups are transitioning from TV advertising to online paywalls.
A recent survey found that only 12% of voters have paid to subscribe to at least one news source. Despite this low number of paid subscribers, several prominent news outlets are betting on that figure growing.
In its announcement, CNN acknowledged the challenge of shifting from cable TV to digital revenue, noting, “For brands like CNN that make most of their money from cable television, the challenge is clear: to develop new digital revenue streams that can offset declines in legacy TV.”
Reuters followed, activating its paywall last month. The company stated, “This new subscription plan ensures Reuters can expand the reach of its award-winning coverage at an affordable price, while allowing us to further invest in our reporting and products for subscribers.”
Reuters and CNN join a crowded field. A study from the Reuters Institute found 75% of America’s leading newspapers and magazines are behind paywalls. That same report found 30% of all news sites use paywalls.
However, the study also revealed that 80% of Americans aren’t interested in paying for news.
This year, the BBC announced it would cut 500 full-time positions. Disney’s ABC TV stations laid off 3% of its news division.
CNN also reduced its workforce by 3%, the LA Times cut 20% of its newsroom and The Associated Press announced an 8% staff reduction.
The AP stated, “Our customers — both who they are and what they need from us — are changing rapidly. This is why we’ve focused on delivering a digital-first news report. We now need to accelerate on this path. Doing so will require making some difficult changes so we can invest more fully in our future.”
Some media analysts suggest the move toward charging consumers for news could also harm the quality of news as people search for trustworthy, free content.
"Only 12% of voters pay for news." 📰
Keep this in mind when you're wondering why misinformation spreads so rapidly, while the articles/posts that debunk it can't seem to make a dent. https://t.co/Kf28VTvEwH
Pollster and Straight Arrow News opinion contributor Frank Luntz posted on X, “Only 12 percent of voters pay for news. Keep this in mind when you’re wondering why misinformation spreads so rapidly, while the articles and posts that debunk it can’t seem to make a dent.”
The Atlantic, a left-leaning news organization, also wrote about the decline of credible news consumption in a world where much of the news is locked behind paywalls. The article, titled “Democracy Dies Behind Paywalls,” was itself behind a paywall.
Claire Wardle is the founder of the nonprofit First Draft, which focuses on misinformation. She told Boston’s NPR station people aren’t paying for news. She also claimed this business model is pushing them further away from traditional news sources.
“When people go and search on Google, they’re just not able to open the link at sites that have fact-checked information,” Wardle said. “There’s now this ‘like what’s the point?’ feeling. So we know that people are turning to one another for information, spending more time on social media platforms where there are other people giving that information for free. They’re spending more time listening to podcasts and relying on these closed sources of people who look like them, sound like them, and give them information that reinforces their worldviews.”
This comes after a landmark ruling earlier this year found Google violated U.S. antitrust law to maintain an abusive monopoly over the past decade.
In a 23-page document, the Justice Department also called for tighter restrictions to prevent Android from favoring Google’s search engine. Justice lawyers also asked the judge to allow websites to opt out of having data trained by Google’s AI models.
“The playing field is not level because of Google’s conduct, and Google’s quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired,” the Justice Department wrote in its filing.
Google has promised to appeal. It had previously called the Justice Department’s proposals “staggering.”
“DOJ’s approach would result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small businesses — and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment it’s needed most,” Google said in a statement earlier Wednesday.
Bloomberg reported that if the move is approved by a judge, Chrome could sell for as much as $20 billion.
How Trump 2.0 could change the landscape of Big Tech antitrust
With two months until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, his policy plans are clear in many areas. But what do the next four years of antitrust regulation look like after the Biden administration’s aggressive enforcement?
Unlike trade, immigration and energy policy, it’s not expected that Trump’s goal is to undo the previous administration’s work. And a lot has happened over the past four years. But when it comes to Big Tech, experts point out that there’s no love lost between Trump and Silicon Valley.
“It’s a sector he doesn’t particularly like,” former Federal Trade Commission Chair William Kovacic told Straight Arrow News. “So my general intuition is that in that area, he says, ‘Carry on.’”
When it comes to Khan, her term as chair and commissioner expired in September 2024.
“My instinct would be that on the day of the inauguration, that evening or the next day, President Trump will sign a letter that designates one of the two Republicans on the commission to be the chair, probably as acting chair,” Kovacic said.
Even after the incoming president replaces Khan as chair, she could remain a commissioner until her replacement clears the confirmation process.
“The speed with which she departs the commission will depend on her own personal preferences,” Kovacic said. “Does she want to stay as part of a loyal opposition, maintaining a three-vote bloc that could operate to retard a rollback of her program?”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice recently won a landmark case against Google when a judge ruled it monopolized the search space. The government is now asking the judge to force Google to sell off Chrome as the most severe remedy. The DOJ started the case under Trump’s first administration.
In the specific case of Google, Kovacic doesn’t believe the Trump administration will stand in the way of any action.
“I think at a minimum that means that DOJ will have a pretty broad remit to proceed with wrapping up the case as it sees fit, without the White House jumping in and saying, ‘Don’t do that,’” he said.
With a new administration set to take charge of antitrust, Kovacic said the antitrust legacy under Biden won’t disappear, especially when it comes to Khan, who has received support from incoming Vice President JD Vance.
“What she leaves behind, in part, is a renewed debate about what antitrust should be all about, and that’s going to be durable,” Kovacic said.
