Stories from Abroad

British Telecom is buying TalkTalk Telecommunications and its subsidiary PlatformX Communications for about $540 million. BT said it’s buying the companies to “keep them out of administration,” which is a U.K. process similar to bankruptcy in the U.S. BT said that by buying the companies it is protecting services for 1.5 million TalkTalk residential broadband customers along with 1 million wholesale customers. TalkTalk and PlatformX were taken private by Toscafund in 2021 and subsequently backed by major creditor Ares Management. TalkTalk is not an infrastructure-based broadband provider.

Ofcom opened an investigation into whether Meta has failed to comply with its duties under the UK’s Online Safety Act, by not adequately assessing the risks posed by Instagram Instants before it launched. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, tech firms must assess and mitigate the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content, and platforms likely to be accessed by children must also assess and mitigate the risk of under

As social media platforms have become an important part of the information environment around the world, the view that social media is harming democracy has become more common. A new 37-nation Pew Research Center survey finds that in most countries where trend data is available, the share of the public who believes social media is bad for democracy has increased significantly from 2022 or 2023 to now. Views about social media’s impact are particularly negative in the United States, where 64% of adults say it is bad for democracy.

Many governments struggle to get a handle on a technology that has rapidly outpaced their ability to respond. A.I. is evolving so quickly that laws passed two years ago are having limited effect, proposed bills to regulate the technology are stalling without a vote and international summits to discuss what to do are being swiftly forgotten. A.I. has made the gap between policymaking and technology one of the widest ever, according to more than 20 interviews with lawmakers, technologists and policy experts. Many governments are torn between wanting to harness A.I. and fearing its risks.

Leaders of several major artificial intelligence companies told United Nations members that robust international efforts to regulate the technology are required amid escalating concern that AI could pose a significant risk to humanity. Sam Altman, the chief executive of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, addressed leaders in the U.N.

Recently, warnings from researchers inside the world’s largest artificial intelligence labs about the rapid pace of development have led to panic about the 

The Trump administration used the G20 innovation summit to draw a bright line between U.S.

Trump administration officials came to this week's G20 innovation summit to project a united front on U.S. 

Four principles have guided much of the United States’ approach to communications policy and have helped to enable the vibrant and prosperous digital ecosystem we benefit from today

Europe's landmark AI law has moved from an idea to enforcement. A major enforcement deadline