News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. August 27(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic, the latest turn in the Claude maker's high-stakes fight with the military over AI safety on the battlefield. Anthropic's lawsuit in California federal court alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk, a label the government can apply to companies that expose military systems to potential infiltration or sabotage by adversaries. Hegseth's unprecedented move, which followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use AI chatbot Claude for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons, blocked Anthropic from certain military contracts. Anthropic executives have said it could cost the company billions of dollars in lost business and reputational harm. Anthropic says that AI models are not reliable enough to be safely used in autonomous weapons and that it opposes domestic surveillance as a violation of rights, but the Pentagon says private companies should not be able to constrain military action. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, made the ruling in a 59-page order where she found that the Pentagon's decision was "illegal and baseless." "The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," she wrote. Anthropic's designation was the first time a U.S. company has been publicly designated a supply-chain risk under an obscure government-procurement statute aimed at protecting military systems from foreign sabotage. In its March 9 lawsuit, Anthropic alleged the government violated its right to free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution by retaliating against its views on AI safety. The company said it was not given a chance to dispute the designation, in violation of its Fifth Amendment right to due process. The lawsuit says the decision was unlawful, unsupported by facts and inconsistent with the military's past praise of Claude. The Justice Department countered that Anthropic's refusal to lift the restrictions could cause uncertainty in the Pentagon over how it could use Claude and risk disabling military systems during operations, according to a court filing. The government said the designation stemmed from Anthropic's refusal to accept contractual terms, not its views on AI safety. Anthropic has a second lawsuit pending in Washington, D.C., over a separate Pentagon supply-chain risk designation that could lead to its exclusion from civilian government contracts. (Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis)
US judge blocks Pentagon's Anthropic blacklisting
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. August 27(Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon's blacklisting of Anthropic, the latest turn in the Claude maker's high-stakes fight with the military over AI safety on the battlefield. Anthropic's lawsuit in California federal court alleges that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overstepped his authority when he designated Anthropic a national security supply-chain risk, a label the government can apply to companies that expose military systems to potential infiltration or sabotage by adversaries. Hegseth's unprecedented move, which followed Anthropic's refusal to allow the military to use AI chatbot Claude for U.S. surveillance or autonomous weapons, blocked Anthropic from certain military contracts. Anthropic executives have said it could cost the company billions of dollars in lost business and reputational harm. Anthropic says that AI models are not reliable enough to be safely used in autonomous weapons and that it opposes domestic surveillance as a violation of rights, but the Pentagon says private companies should not be able to constrain military action. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, made the ruling in a 59-page order where she found that the Pentagon's decision was "illegal and baseless." "The empty invocation of national security is not a blank check to punish and retaliate against government critics," she wrote. Anthropic's designation was the first time a U.S. company has been publicly designated a supply-chain risk under an obscure government-procurement statute aimed at protecting military systems from foreign sabotage. In its March 9 lawsuit, Anthropic alleged the government violated its right to free speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution by retaliating against its views on AI safety. The company said it was not given a chance to dispute the designation, in violation of its Fifth Amendment right to due process. The lawsuit says the decision was unlawful, unsupported by facts and inconsistent with the military's past praise of Claude. The Justice Department countered that Anthropic's refusal to lift the restrictions could cause uncertainty in the Pentagon over how it could use Claude and risk disabling military systems during operations, according to a court filing. The government said the designation stemmed from Anthropic's refusal to accept contractual terms, not its views on AI safety. Anthropic has a second lawsuit pending in Washington, D.C., over a separate Pentagon supply-chain risk designation that could lead to its exclusion from civilian government contracts. (Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Matthew Lewis)
Brazil sues Discord for $100 mn in child safety case
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a statement sent to AFP, the platform expressed regret over the legal action and said it had "consistently and in good faith" maintained dialogue with the authorities. "We believe there is a better way and remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to reach a solution that strengthens safety on the platform while allowing Brazilians to continue using Discord," it stated. - 'Powerful signal' - Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to link their accounts to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it called a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in the coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Brazil sues Discord for $100 mn in child safety case
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The Brazilian government on Wednesday said it was suing the Discord messaging platform for nearly $100 million in damages over its alleged failure to protect children from harmful content and demanded it adopt stronger safeguards. Brazil's National Data Protection Agency (ANPD) ordered Discord to suspend livestreams earlier this month after a 13-year-old girl was goaded into killing herself during a livestream. A government statement said the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the capital, Brasilia, was brought after failed negotiations with Discord, whose proposals were "deemed insufficient to eliminate the identified risks." "The lawsuit seeks to compel the Discord platform to adopt effective measures to protect children, adolescents, and women in the digital environment," said the statement. "It also requests that the company be ordered to pay R$ 500 million ($97 million) in compensation for collective moral damages." The messaging platform, with over 90 million active daily users, agreed to suspend livestreaming in Brazil on August 17, assuring it was working "to make Discord safer for teens." However, Brasilia said it "continues to exhibit flaws in its age verification and user protection mechanisms," exposing users to serious risks, such as those that resulted in the girl's death in July. Five teenagers and an adult have been arrested in connection with the suicide in a small town in central-western Brazil. Over 45 minutes, the teens allegedly encouraged the girl to kill an animal, and when she failed to do so, they encouraged her to kill herself, according to an official with the Justice Ministry's Ciberlab intelligence unit. One of the teens arrested was just 14. Brazil is demanding that Discord implement stricter parental controls, cooperate more closely with the authorities and implement systems capable of detecting and preventing situations that put minors at risk. In a statement sent to AFP, the platform expressed regret over the legal action and said it had "consistently and in good faith" maintained dialogue with the authorities. "We believe there is a better way and remain committed to working with the relevant authorities to reach a solution that strengthens safety on the platform while allowing Brazilians to continue using Discord," it stated. - 'Powerful signal' - Brazil has taken a tough stance against social media platforms, cracking down on disinformation and requiring users under 16 to link their accounts to those of their parents. On Tuesday, the ANPD fined TikTok nearly $30 million for failing to implement child safety measures in what it called a "powerful signal" to social media companies. ANPD director Lorena Giuberti Coutinho said the agency last week initiated proceedings to verify the compliance of 22 social media networks and platforms with a law passed this year to protect children and teens online. "I think we can expect much stronger enforcement action" in the coming months, she said. Brazil's Supreme Court has also locked horns with Big Tech, specifically Elon Musk's X, over online disinformation. Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been accused by the Brazilian and American right of censorship for, among other things, blocking access to X for 40 days in 2024.
Polymarket has favorites for Time's Person of the Year. They are all Trump foes
Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. In a few months, TIME will announce its annual Person of the Year. If prediction markets are to be believed, Donald Trump will be disappointed with the results. On both Kalshi and Polymarket, the Republican, who has won Person of the Year twice, ranks a distant third. Making matters worse, the top two picks on both sites -- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Pope Leo XIV -- have feuded with the president. The president has had an up-and-down relationship with Mamdani, the top pick on both sites. At various points, Trump has attacked his fellow New Yorker as a "communist," though a relatively friendly November meeting between the two sparked speculation they might forge an unlikely "bromance." "I think you're going to have, hopefully, a really great mayor -- the better he does, the happier I am," Trump said at the time. They met again in February, and Mamdani emphasized that he hoped he could work with Trump on issues such as housing, bringing a mock-up newspaper front page touting the fruits of their potential collaboration and Trump's starring role. Hopes for a true alliance between the two were quickly dashed, however. By April, Trump accused Mamdani, who has pushed for a tax on luxury second-homes, of "destroying" New York with his tax policies. In June, the Trump administration's border czar threatened to flood New York with ICE agents in response to the state passing a new package of sanctuary provisions. Mamdani, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized the Trump administration's immigration policies. The president's relationship with Pope Leo has been ever more fraught. Leo, the first American pope, infuriated the White House on multiple occasions, including for criticizing what he said were the administration's "inhumane" immigration policies and for speaking out about Trump's threats to wipe out the Iranian civilization. The pope also took issue with administration claims that the Iran conflict was a righteous holy war. "Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs," Leo wrote on social media in April. These comments further angered the administration, with Vice President JD Vance, himself a high-profile Catholic convert, warning the pope to "be careful" when opining on matters of theology. President Trump, meanwhile, has accused the Pope of being "weak" on crime and "terrible" on foreign policy. Despite the Trump administration's strong support from Christians in the U.S., its immigration policies have driven a wedge between it and the Catholic Church, which is heavily involved in refugee resettlement work and has numerous members in the U.S. with immigrant backgrounds. In April, for instance, the Trump administration ended an $11 million federal contract with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, a charity that has provided housing and assistance to migrant children for 60 years.
