Nolan McKendry | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Debate on age verification for internet apps exposed the growing scrutiny of outside influence on Louisiana policymaking.

Republican Sens. Jay Morris of West Monroe and Kim Carver of Bossier City are seeking the right language for Carver’s bill. In a Finance Committee hearing of the state Senate, Morris pressed to no avail the executive director of the Digital Childhood Alliance to disclose which tech companies fund the organization.

“There’s not enough attention on the real risks that these proposals create,” Kareem Ghanem, Google’s director of public policy, said in an interview with The Center Square. “These bills would do nothing to address people’s concerns. And in the process, they’re letting Zuckerberg and Meta off the hook by providing this false sense of security that no amount of age verification at an app store level can really solve.”

Casey Stefanski, in response to Morris, declined to provide specifics beyond naming the father of the Digital Childhood Alliance’s founder as its largest donor and acknowledging that Meta supports the legislation the group is promoting.

“I don’t feel comfortable with answering these questions,” Stefanski told the committee. “We’ve been working on this legislation prior to Meta even caring about it.”

Stefanski testified that her organization paid attorneys to draft the model legislation and has met with companies like Google in pursuit of broader industry support.

Pressing Stefanski for a yes-or-no answer on whether tech companies provide funding to the DCA, she eventually confirmed that they do but refused to name them.

When asked whether DCA is a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) organization, Stefanski responded that it is a 501(c)(4) − a nonprofit category that allows for political advocacy without disclosing donors.

“So, you’re not going to tell us who’s actually supporting it?” Morris asked.

“No,” Stefanski replied.

The moment prompted intervention from Carver seeking to clarify that the legislation’s intent is not to let any tech company off the hook for age verification requirements.

“I appreciate your line of questioning,” Carver told Morris. “And I want you to know as the bill’s author, I have not wanted to absolve any app − not Meta, not anyone − from doing age verification.”

Morris countered that Carver’s current amendment to the bill may have that effect, though Carver offered to work on clarifying the language.

Judge wrestles with far-reaching remedy proposals in US antitrust case against Google

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate and fortunes of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies is now in the hands of a U.S. judge wrestling with whether to impose far-reaching changes upon Google in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared  an illegal monopoly. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta heard closing arguments Friday from Justice Department lawyers who argued that a radical shake-up is needed to promote a free and fair market. Their proposed remedies include a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser.

Think your return to the office was rough? Musk faces some big challenges

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk is leaving Washington after a short but turbulent stint in government and getting back to his numerous businesses, each with their own set of issues for the billionaire to address. While how much Musk accomplished in his role as President Donald Trump’s chief cost-cutter is up for debate, it’s clear his association with right-wing politics damaged Tesla’s brand and tanked sales. Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, needs to rebuild its advertising base. His aerospace company SpaceX appears to be financially promising but has seen some recent setbacks. And it’s unclear if his satellite business Starlink can keep striking deals without Trump nearby.

States are rolling out red carpets for data centers. But some lawmakers are pushing back

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The explosive growth of the data centers needed to power America’s fast-rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing has spurred states to dangle incentives in hopes of landing an economic bonanza. It’s also eliciting pushback in places where an influx of data centers has caused friction with neighboring communities. Activity in state legislatures — and competition for data centers — has been brisk. Many states are offering financial incentives or tax breaks worth tens of millions of dollars. In some cases, those incentives are winning approval only after a fight or efforts to attach riders that require data centers to pay for their own electricity or meet energy efficiency standards.

US supercomputer named after Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna to power AI and scientific research

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — A new supercomputer named after a winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry will help power artificial intelligence technology and scientific discoveries from a perch in the hills above the University of California, Berkeley, federal officials said Thursday. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to announce the project Thursday alongside executives from computer maker Dell Technologies and chipmaker Nvidia. The new computing system at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will be called Doudna after Berkeley professor and biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who won a Nobel in 2020 for her work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR. It’s due to switch on next year.

Czech justice minister resigns over a donated bitcoin scandal

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Republic Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has resigned from his post over a bitcoin-related scandal. Blažek has been under fire from the opposition after his ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for about 1 billion Czech koruna or more than $45 million earlier this year. Blažek said Friday that he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing. The bitcoins were donated to the ministry by a person who was previously convicted of drug dealing and other crimes and it wasn’t clear where the bitcoins came from. The opposition has accused Blažek of possible money laundering. Police are investigating.

Crypto crime spills over from behind the screen to real-life violence

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An alleged kidnapping in New York is the latest instance in which authorities say cryptocurrency-related crimes have involved real-world violence. Kidnappings for ransom in France have rattled the crypto industry there, including one where a crypto entrepreneur’s father had a finger cut off. Experts believe the increase in violence could be linked to cryptocurrencies’ surging values, violent groups adding crypto thefts to their repertoire and the ease of shielding your identity in crypto transactions. “Things that might clearly be outside of social norms in other spaces — like robbing a bank — are somehow just part of the game here,” said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soared

NEW YORK (AP) — The typical compensation package for chief executives who run companies in the S&P 500 jumped nearly 10% in 2024 as the stock market enjoyed another banner year and corporate profits rose sharply. The increase for those who occupy the corner office again outpaced the wage gains for the median worker at their company. At half the companies in AP’s annual pay survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company’s pay scale 192 years to make what the CEO did in one. Rick Smith, the founder and CEO of Axon Enterprises, the maker of Tasers, topped the survey with a pay package valued at $164 million.

Elon Musk came to Washington wielding a chain saw. He leaves behind upheaval and unmet expectations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk arrived in the nation’s capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn’t solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. Now that’s over. Musk said this week that he’s leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan to curtail political donations and he criticized the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda. It’s a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he’s trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations.

Big Ocean breaks new ground as K-pop’s first deaf group

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Big Ocean, the world’s first K-pop group composed entirely of deaf and hard-of-hearing artists, is breaking barriers with high-tech tools and inclusive performances. Since debuting in 2024, the trio has toured Europe while promoting their second mini-album, “Underwater.” Using vibrating smartwatches, visual metronomes, and AI voice tech, they stay in sync while overcoming visual and audio challenges onstage. Their global fanbase, PADO, has embraced their mission—some even learning sign language to connect. The group hopes to collaborate with stars like Justin Bieber and continues to champion inclusion in K-pop.

Texas lawmakers fail to pass ban on social media for those under 18

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A push in Texas to ban children under 18 years old from social media platforms has failed at the state Capitol. Lawmakers on Wednesday night did not take a key vote on creating one of the nation’s toughest restrictions aimed at keeping minors off the platforms. The bill aimed to go further than Florida’s ban on social media for minors under 14. The bill was opposed by tech trade groups and critics who called it it an unconstitutional limit on free speech. The sponsor of the measure blamed pushback from unnamed “billionaires” as a key reason for its failure.

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By MICHAEL LIEDTKE and ALAN SUDERMAN, AP Technology Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate and fortunes of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies now sit in the hands of a U.S. judge wrestling with whether to impose far-reaching changes upon Google in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared an illegal monopoly.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta heard closing arguments Friday from Justice Department lawyers who argued that a radical shake-up is needed to promote a free and fair market. Their proposed remedies include a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser.

Google’s legal team argued that only minor concessions are needed and urged Mehta not to unduly punish the company with a harsh ruling that could squelch future innovations. Google also argued that upheaval triggered by advances in artificial intelligence already is reshaping the search landscape, as conversational search options are rolling out from AI startups that are hoping to use the Department of Justice’s four-and-half-year-old case to gain the upper hand in the next technological frontier.

It was an argument that Mehta appeared to give serious consideration as he marveled at the speed at which the AI industry was growing. He also indicated he was still undecided on how much AI’s potential to shake up the search market should be incorporated in his forthcoming ruling. “This is what I’ve been struggling with,” Mehta said.

Mehta spoke frequently at Friday’s hearing, often asking probing and pointed questions to lawyers for both sides, while hinting that he was seeking a middle ground between the two camps’ proposed remedies.

“We’re not looking to kneecap Google,” the judge said, adding that the goal was to “kickstart” competitors’ ability to challenge the search giant’s dominance.

Mehta will spend much of the summer mulling a decision that he plans to issue before Labor Day. Google has already vowed to appeal the ruling that branded its search engine as a monopoly, a step it can’t take until the judge orders a remedy.

Google’s attorney John Schmidtlein asked Mehta to put a 60-day delay on implementing any proposed changes, which Justice prosecutor David Dahlquist immediately objected to.

“We believe the market’s waited long enough,” Dahlquist said.

While both sides of this showdown agree that AI is an inflection point for the industry’s future, they have disparate views on how the shift will affect Google.

The Justice Department contends that AI technology by itself won’t rein in Google’s power, arguing additional legal restraints must be slapped on a search engine that’s the main reason its parent company, Alphabet Inc., is valued at $2 trillion.

Google has already been deploying AI to transform its search engine i nto an answer engine, an effort that has so far helped maintain its perch as the internet’s main gateway despite inroads being made by alternatives from the likes of OpenAI and Perplexity.

The Justice Department contends a divestiture of the Chrome browser that Google CEO Sundar Pichai helped build nearly 20 years ago would be among the most effective countermeasures against Google continuing to amass massive volumes of browser traffic and personal data that could be leveraged to retain its dominance in the AI era. Executives from both OpenAi and Perplexity testified last month that they would be eager bidders for the Chrome browser if Mehta orders its sale.

The debate over Google’s fate also has pulled in opinions from Apple, mobile app developers, legal scholars and startups.

Pirated streaming of premium television and sports content has reached levels of “industrial scale theft”, costing broadcasters and sports bodies billions of dollars annually, according to a new report by media analysts Enders.

The research found that pirated feeds account for a “double digit percentage” of all viewing of premium sports and television content.

Sport broadcasters are missing out on ‘billions’ due to pirated streams

PA

Amazon Fire Sticks have been identified as the primary enabler of this piracy epidemic.

According to 2025 data provided by Sky and cited in the Enders report, 59 per cent of people in the UK who admitted to using pirated feeds in the past 12 months via a physical device said they used an Amazon Fire device.

The devices, which are entirely legal in their original form, can be easily modified or “jailbroken” to access apps showing pirated sports content alongside legitimate services such as Netflix and BBC iPlayer.

Enders researchers described the Amazon Fire Stick as “a piracy enabler” that enables “billions of dollars in piracy” overall.

The Enders report accused major technology companies including Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft of “ambivalence and inertia” in addressing the piracy crisis.

Big Tech groups were criticised for “failing to engage decisively with content owners to shore up security architecture, while simultaneously steering consumers to illegal services in the other parts of their businesses”.

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The researchers highlighted the “continued depreciation” of Digital Rights Management systems, particularly Google’s Widevine and Microsoft’s PlayReady.

These security technologies, largely unchanged over twenty years, “are now compromised across various security levels” due to lack of maintenance by the tech giants, giving “piracy the upper hand by enabling theft of the highest quality content”.

Industry executives are demanding urgent action from government and major technology platforms to combat the escalating piracy crisis.

Nick Herm, Sky’s chief operating officer, said the report “highlights the significant scale and impact of piracy”.

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Modified Amazon fire sticks are seen as the primary enablers

PA

He added: “We’d like to see faster, more joined-up action from major tech platforms and government to address the problem and help protect the UK creative industries.”

Media analyst Claire Enders warned that “piracy is costing content originators, pay-TV and streaming companies, many billions globally”.

The report concluded that “combating piracy a formidable challenge, providing a direct threat to profitability for broadcasters and streamers”, with calls for a complete overhaul of technology architecture licensing.

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