Category: Tech News Feed

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s law requiring children under 16 to get parental consent to use social media apps must be restored, a divided panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

The decision comes as a blow to NetChoice, which has won court victories against identical digital identification laws in other states, including Arkansas, Louisiana and Georgia. The trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta and other major tech companies said the Ohio decision went against “clear national consensus” and that it intended to keep fighting.

“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” said Paul Taske, director of the NetChoice Litigation Center.

Netchoice brought suit against Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.

The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel disagreed. In a 2-1 decision, it found that the law was not unconstitutional and sent it back to a lower court to have a block on the law’s enforcement vacated.

“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote in the lead opinion. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”

Judge Alice Batchelder concurred, writing that “a statute is not vague just because it has a wide berth.”

Known as the Social Media Parental Notification Act, the Ohio law was part of an $86.1 billion state budget bill that Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law in July 2023.

The administration pushed the measure as a way to protect children’s mental health, with then-Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, now a U.S. senator, saying at the time that social media was “intentionally addictive” and harmful to kids.

The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.

Republican Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson called Thursday’s ruling “a win for Ohio families.”

“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Thursday ordered regional grid operators to help large energy users connect more quickly to the nation’s inefficient and aging electric transmission system, a step they said is needed to accommodate surging demand from power-hungry artificial intelligence data centers.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright had urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to act in an effort to help the United States better compete with China for superiority in the fast-growing AI sector.

Tech companies and data center developers welcomed the chance to connect faster to the country’s power supply for the biggest energy users ever built in the United States, including some that consume more electricity than a small city.

Utilities, states and regional grid operators had worried that the Republican administration’s plan would remove their authority to manage the process, but FERC said the order leaves states in control of retail electric rates, terms and conditions. Clean energy advocates have urged regulators not to undermine state-level efforts to require the use of renewable energies.

The commission’s actions come as a backlash grows against data centers over concerns about the massive amounts of energy and water they use and fears about noise and air pollution, water shortages and a loss of open space or farmland.

Unanimous vote and affordability

FERC members voted unanimously to direct six regional grid operators to ensure that AI data centers and other large power users are “able to connect to the transmission system in a timely and orderly manner.”

Laura Swett, an appointee of President Donald Trump who chairs the commission, called the vote “historic” and said it would push the country’s electricity market into the future while respecting states’ rights, protecting reliable electric service and shielding ratepayers from shouldering the costs of connecting big power users to the grid.

“I know that Americans across the country are concerned about affordability, and so are we,” Swett said, referring to the five-member commission. As chair, “I am taking extremely seriously the mission that Congress has entrusted us to ensure that rates are reasonable,” she said.

The vote comes eight months after Wright asked the independent agency to take more control over ensuring that the vast network of massive computing warehouses needed to power AI are connected quickly to high-voltage transmission lines.

Wright hailed the commission’s action, saying it would “remove barriers, accelerate development and ensure America has the affordable, reliable and secure energy needed to power a new era of prosperity.”

Data centers would pay the full cost of any grid upgrades needed for their connection, under the commission order. But that order can do little to address the tightening energy supplies that are driving up electricity bills in some areas and raising warnings of blackouts as the construction of data centers outpaces the speed of new power plants coming online to serve them.

Robert Montejo, a lawyer who represents data centers, said the most important message from FERC’s action is that AI “has fundamentally changed the electricity landscape. The grid and prior policy were not built for the pace and scale of demand we’re seeing from AI infrastructure, and FERC is signaling that standing still is no longer an option.”

The six regional grid operators under the order serve 200 million Americans, or two-thirds of FERC’s jurisdiction. FERC, meanwhile, invited utilities that handle their regional transmission systems to also participate and analysts said the agency could eventually pressure them, too.

A search for power

Tech giants are scrambling to find enough power for their data centers and report that, in some places, it will take years to connect to the electric grid.

The Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned electric utilities, said FERC’s order builds on regional and state processes already underway while “supporting flexibility and innovation.”

Besides power bottlenecks, the tech industry is running into widespread opposition from communities where residents don’t want to live next to or near a data center.

More than 4,000 data centers now operate in the U.S., according to one estimate, with an additional 3,000 planned or under construction.

Trump has tried to deflect public concerns about AI, seeing the fast-evolving technology as crucial for the U.S. to attract foreign investment and maintain its economic and military prowess. He signed an executive order this month establishing a framework for the federal government to vet the national security risks of the most advanced AI systems for up to a month before their public release.

In December, FERC took an earlier step to help data center operators get electricity quickly, voting to allow tech companies to effectively plug a data center directly into a power plant and Thursday’s order sought to ensure that option is accessible around the country.

Power demands from data centers

FERC told grid operators to respond within 30 days on how they will ensure there is adequate power supplies for new and future data centers, and within 60 days on plans to integrate large power users in line with the new guidelines. Swett told reporters after the meeting that she hoped faster connection processes are in effect in “as little time as possible.” She didn’t set an exact timeline.

Jeff Dennis, executive director of the Electricity Customer Alliance, said FERC’s order is responsive in particular to big power users and state regulators.

Tech giants are confronting unclear rules to connect data centers to high-voltage transmission systems, while states need more clarity on who should bear the cost of regional transmission projects approved at the federal level, he said.

Rob Gramlich, a Washington-based energy consultant, said states should quickly develop rules to accommodate large power users and prevent cost shifts to residential and business customers. FERC could assert broader jurisdiction over interconnection issues if states don’t act quickly, he said.

Data from the Electric Power Research Institute shows that data centers now account for about 5% of U.S. electricity demand, but could triple by 2035.

Tech companies have continued to raise their spending on building and equipping data centers, but there is evidence that construction is lagging and projects are hitting roadblocks, including permitting delays, growing local opposition or bottlenecks around gas turbines, transformers and skilled labor.

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pa.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday urged the world’s wealthy democracies to work together on regulating advanced artificial intelligence systems, speaking at a high-level meeting that included top AI executives.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman issued a similar plea at the Group of Seven summit of major industrialized nations in France, saying an “international forum” is needed for countries to draw up AI guardrails. He said the task of AI safety should not be left to tech companies.

Overshadowing the discussion on AI was President Donald Trump’s administration’s directive last week, preventing foreign nationals from using Anthropic’s newest and most powerful artificial intelligence models.

Macron said it was a “good thing” that U.S. officials recognize that so-called frontier AI models could be dangerous, but he also criticized it as a “strictly nationalist” reaction.

The remarks followed a G7 working lunch that brought together AI industry figures, including leaders of three of the most powerful AI companies — Altman, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei — on the theme of “ensuring a safe, rapid and effective deployment of artificial intelligence.”

Trump’s feud with Anthropic has unsettled many outside the US

Ahead of the meeting, the White House’s dispute with Anthropic fueled distrust in Europe about American dominance of AI and tech ecosystems.

The company was forced on Friday to take its latest artificial intelligence models, known as Fable 5 and Mythos 5, offline to comply with the directive. The AI giant said it did not believe the steps taken by the government were warranted by the concern it flagged about a potential security issue.

When asked by a reporter whether France and other G7 countries had asked Trump to permit access to Anthropic’s latest AI models, Macron said he made a forceful plea for the U.S. not to keep cutting-edge AI to itself.

Macron warned of a possible drop in value for U.S. firms pioneering the disruptive technology if they switch off access like a light switch. Macron backed his appeal for partnership among key democracies with an insurance policy: France, he said, will boost funding for its own AI industry, so it’s not left behind if international cooperation breaks down.

Democratic countries ultimately want to prevent authoritarian regimes from getting access to advanced AI systems, Macron said.

“So let us move forward together,” he said. “Our relevant agencies must first cooperate so that, in the areas of security and cybersecurity, we have a smooth government-to-government relationship.”

Altman said in his lunch speech, attended by the G7 leaders and more than a dozen AI bosses, that the technology’s future must be shaped by people, democratic institutions and society as a whole, “not just by the companies building the most capable systems.”

“We need an international forum for discussion that establishes globally accepted standards for testing, provides expert and impartial analysis of capabilities and risks, and serves as a venue for cooperation among nations,” he said.

Europeans have sought checks on American AI dominance

Even before the Anthropic episode, there was growing distrust of American companies dominating AI and other tech ecosystems. In Brussels, the European Commission unveiled a tech sovereignty package this month with plans to boost homegrown AI, and at the Vatican, the pope last month called for robust regulation of artificial intelligence.

Trump’s intervention with Anthropic highlighted how Europe, Canada or other countries “can be put in an extremely vulnerable position” if they are cut off from advanced AI models, said Zach Meyers, director of research at CERRE, a Brussels-based think tank.

“There is a general anxiety about the state of Europe, the fact that we’re relying on other countries for quite important strategic infrastructure and a desire to do something about it, whatever that is,” Meyers said.

At the G7, Aidan Gomez, CEO of Canada’s Cohere AI, said a “number of proposals” were discussed on working together on AI governance and regulation.

“I think the consensus was we need something,” he told The Associated Press.

He said he told the gathering that democracies should focus their efforts on making sure the G7 “doesn’t just produce the most capable AI, but also the second most capable AI,” a reference to the U.S. and China being the world’s only two major AI powers.

Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, also attended the meeting, along with the heads of smaller AI labs, including France’s Mistral, Germany’s Black Forest Labs, Italy’s Domyn, Sakana AI of Japan and United Kingdom-based Synthesia.

The G7 comprises France, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. Brazil, India, Kenya and South Korea were among guest nations invited to participate in some discussions.

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Chan reported from London.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As artificial intelligence companies reshape the economy and race toward trillion-dollar valuations, Sen. Bernie Sanders is proposing a sweeping transfer of wealth and power from the industry to the American public.

The legislation, shown first to The Associated Press, would create a sovereign wealth fund overseen by an independent commission and financed through a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the largest AI companies. Sanders estimates that the tax would create a nearly $7 trillion fund that would generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually in direct payments to Americans and programs such as health care, education and housing.

“The benefits cannot simply go to the handful of wealthy corporations. They will be shared by the American people,” the independent Vermont senator said in an interview Wednesday.

The idea of giving the public a stake in AI has recently drawn interest from figures as ideologically diverse as President Donald Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. But Sanders’ proposal goes much further, calling for public ownership of half of the largest AI companies and direct influence over corporate decision-making.

“The public has got to have a significant seat at the table to make sure that terrible things do not happen to ordinary people, and that in fact, AI benefits ordinary people, not hurts them,” Sanders said.

How the fund would work

Sanders has previously proposed the sovereign wealth fund, but the bill summary obtained by the AP is the first legislative attempt to make it a reality.

The 50% tax would apply to AI companies that reach $200 million in annual AI sales. Any new AI company that reaches that benchmark would also be subject to the tax.

It would create a sovereign wealth fund — similar to those used by countries around the world and some U.S. states — that Sanders estimates would be worth around $7 trillion.

Unlike a traditional tax, the proposal would require companies to transfer stock rather than cash, effectively making the American public a major shareholder in the country’s largest AI firms.

A seven-person independent commission — nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate — would manage the fund and use its voting shares “to block decisions that hurt the American people and to push for policies that help them,” the bill summary says.

Sanders proposes that a 5% annual dividend from the fund would provide direct payments of more than $1,000 to every American. If companies grow, the gains would be used for public goods such as education, housing and health care.

Sanders argues taxpayers would not bear the losses if AI company valuations decline.

“We’re not going to lose any money, even if there is a bust in the bubble,” Sanders said.

The commission would be directed to “to block decisions that hurt the American people and to push for policies that help them,” according to the summary.

Sanders emphasized that the proposal is just a start.

“We think this is the best that we could do at the moment, and it’s certainly a major, major, major step forward from giving unilateral and total power to a handful of multi-billionaires,” Sanders said.

The idea has supporters in the White House and Silicon Valley

Sanders is not alone in pushing for a public stake in the companies that develop AI.

Trump, who recently signed an order to have new AI models voluntarily vetted by the government, has also mused about the government owning a stake in the companies that develop AI, saying “there’s something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public.”

OpenAI — led by Altman — in April proposed to “create a public wealth fund that provides every citizen — including those not invested in financial markets — with a stake in AI-driven economic growth.”

Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s top competitors and recently valued at $965 billion, has been open to similar ideas, with CEO Dario Amodei writing recently that “universal basic income could be financed through taxes on relevant companies.”

Trump on Wednesday attended a session focused on AI at the G7 summit in France with top industry leaders, including Altman and Amodei.

Still, Sanders’ push is much more aggressive than any of these. In Sanders’ meeting with Altman, they remained far apart on how large of a stake the public would get, according to those in the room.

“I think people like Sam Altman and Trump (who) may be sympathetic to this are saying: ‘Okay, look, we’re making zillions of dollars so we’re going to be nice guys and maybe we’ll buy off the public. We will give 5% of our profits back into the government,’” said Sanders.

“That’s not what we’re talking about. What we’re talking about are two very different things.”

Taking the fight to voters

Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour drew massive crowds across the country last year as he appeared with high-profile lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Asked whether he plans to make AI ownership and wealth inequality part of that message on the campaign trail, Sanders responded, “Absolutely.”

It’s a message other candidates are using ahead of the midterms as they tap into voters’ angst about the technology. Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow unveiled a plan to “protect workers in the age of AI,” while New York Democratic House candidate Alex Bores has also made AI regulation a campaign issue.

Data center projects across the country have drawn opposition from residents concerned about electricity demand, water consumption and environmental impacts. Some states once eager to attract the facilities, including Ohio and Virginia, have moved to reconsider tax incentives.

On college campuses, commencement speakers have been interrupted by boos when discussing artificial intelligence. About 70% of college students see AI as a threat to their job prospects, according to a 2025 poll by the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Workers will be thrown out of their jobs while billionaires, multi-billionaires become even richer,” Sanders said. “The American people are aware of that and don’t want to see it happen.”

SHERMAN, Texas (AP) — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang — whose work helped propel artificial intelligence — stressed in an Associated Press interview Tuesday that society needs to change with the advent of AI, arguing that a fuller embrace of the technology would improve people’s lives.

Huang has been optimistic about AI’s potential to rapidly transform society, creating faster economic growth and more scientific breakthroughs. But as the head of a computer chip company now developing AI systems, he and others are confronting a public increasingly concerned about the potential harm the technology might bring. Huang has felt obligated to respond to critics who warn of job losses and threats to humanity itself.

“We need to create new social norms,” Huang said in an interview. “I would advocate that everybody use AI. Just go engage it.”

Huang made his case as AI has emerged as a political flashpoint, with objections to plans to build more data centers and fears that the speed with which it’s being adopted could spur the layoffs of workers who might not have a safety net. Such questions have threatened public support of the technology at a time when a race has kicked off with China, a contest Huang believes can best be won by a U.S. that is open to competing globally in AI.

His close relationship with President Donald Trump also has been a source of criticism among Democrats, even as he emphasized that the computing power created by AI is vital to adding the factory jobs that have been promised for decades without much enduring success. It was an argument delivered by a 63-year-old man who has watched the technology develop and described himself as “boring” because his own life revolves mainly around work and his family.

Huang disclosed during the interview some personal details, saying his favorite movie is “Kingdom of Heaven,” the 2005 epic about the 12th century Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. He said he had watched the movie “Project Hail Mary” three or four times and “I think we might watch it again this weekend.”

Huang said the ability of AI to design a website, analyze complex documents, guide advanced research or even plan a kitchen remodeling has helped to close the technological divide in America. People can now do advanced work on computers without having to know how to program or write software, he added.

Huang contended that there is a need for some government regulation and safety standards for AI, emphasizing that national security also needed to be a priority for the technology that has been powering stock market gains and U.S. economic growth in recent years.

Huang said society will adapt to AI just as it did to automobiles. He said cars were once portrayed as killing children, but the world changed its norms by having sidewalks and crosswalks and stopping kids from playing in the streets.

Huang skeptical of what government ownership of AI companies would achieve

With a market capitalization of roughly $5 trillion, Nvidia has soared in valuation in recent years to become the world’s most valuable company. AI modeling companies OpenAI and Anthropic are potentially set to also clear the $1 trillion mark once their stocks are publicly traded.

That explosive surge in wealth concentrated in AI companies has prompted renewed worries about economic inequality. Trump has tried to defuse those concerns, recently musing about the prospect that the U.S. government could own some shares in AI firms, so any windfalls would be more broadly shared with the public. That idea has also been advanced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Huang expressed skepticism about the idea, saying he expects the country will already benefit broadly from AI advancements.

“I’m not exactly sure what they’re trying to achieve,” he said regarding government ownership. “I haven’t had a dialogue with them about that. But just remember that these are American companies. Their success benefits the stock price, of which many Americans are investors in. It generates taxes, which helps many Americans. It creates a lot of jobs.”

He noted that AI companies could also lead to higher profits for energy, construction and hardware technology firms.

“Americans have a stake in American companies already, naturally, in a whole lot of different ways,” Huang said.

Huang says national security needs to be a priority on AI

The Trump administration has recently reversed course from using a light touch on regulating AI to taking a heavier hand.

It placed export controls on the AI company Anthropic’s latest models, leading the company on Friday to shutter all public access to those models over security concerns. Trump, a Republican, also signed an order to have new AI models voluntarily screened by the government before their release.

Huang said the government was properly focused on national security issues, but it was important to provide clear guidance.

“National security should always be the top concern of all technologies,” Huang said. “But having said that, you know, you have to be very specific about the risk that you’re concerned about, before setting up policies for export controls.”

During the Biden administration, Nvidia pushed back against export controls that were designed to restrict its ability to sell chips to China, rejecting the administration’s premise that a ban would preserve an American edge on AI. Huang had warned that the export controls might limit America’s ability to develop the world’s AI ecosystem, as China would respond with its own advanced chips.

Huang says energy is key problem for America’s AI development

Huang stressed that the U.S. is vulnerable because of its deficient energy supply. The data centers performing the computations used in AI are creating a huge demand for electricity, which could be a strain on the power grid.

Some data centers will be constructed with their own electricity sources, but Huang said the U.S. is starting from a disadvantage on energy. And without more energy, it can be harder to play to American strengths in its AI infrastructure, models and computer chip development.

“The United States is woefully behind in energy production,” Huang said. “We just suffocated energy production for too long.”

Huang complimented Trump on his approach to generating more energy in the U.S.. The president has aggressively supported the use of oil, coal and natural gas, but he has scorned the use of solar and wind power.

The Nvidia CEO was not commenting on Trump’s opposition to climate-friendlier energy sources. But the gap he identified goes to some of the fears that U.S. households have about AI increasing their utility bills.

Huang was speaking Tuesday in Sherman, Texas, at an expansion of the Coherent factory to develop a laser for transmitting data among chips, which could cut power use by AI systems by up to 50%.

Trump’s fondness for Huang started at a Mar-a-Lago dinner

Trump, not known for technological expertise, quickly developed a friendship with Huang. The president has called him “smart” and “amazing,” insisting that Huang accompany him on foreign trips. Most recently, Trump had Air Force One pick up the leather-jacketed CEO in Alaska while en route to his state visit to China.

Their relationship started last year with an invitation to dinner at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home and private club in Florida. Huang was in the area to receive the Edison Achievement Award for his AI work.

“He says drop by for dinner, and so I did,” Huang said. He went with his wife, Lori.

“He was incredibly engaging, incredibly charismatic, conversational, asked a lot of questions,” Huang recalled. “From the moment that I met him, the only thing that he’s ever talked to me about is creating more jobs, reindustrializing the United States, protecting national security, winning.” He added that Trump “calls me in the middle of the night and wants to talk about one of these topics.”

But his proximity to Trump has also led to criticism from Democratic lawmakers. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., objected to Huang not testifying before a Senate committee even as “he has time to attend a $1 million-a-head dinner at Mar-a-Lago.”

Huang said he wants the U.S. president and other officials — regardless of party — to succeed. “We could differ with politics, but we should want him to succeed,” he said. “Because when President Trump succeeds, our country succeeds.”