Say 'Hello' to the EU AI Act, Twitch Exits Korea, TikTok survives state challenges, and much more! (Issue #39)

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EU AI Act is clear for takeoff...

During the last minutes of Friday, officials in the EU reached a deal on the AI Act, setting up the EU to again (remember GDPR?) and become the leader in AI regulation in the world. This political hurdle is a huge break in the path towards becoming law in the EU, now just pending formal approval by EU member states and parliament.

Reports indicate that in recent months lawmakers were concerned about stifling innovation in their local jurisdictions while balancing protections for society.

The full text is pending public release and likely won't go into effect for 12-24 months (according to the NYTimes). Fines can be up to 7% of global sales!

The biggest takeaways currently include:

• Transparency and reporting requirements for foundational models and general-purpose AI systems
• Compliance with EU copyright laws, including summaries of training materials used
• Evaluation measures for high-impact models and a large focus on high-risk use cases (such as energy and water), as well as hiring and education.
• Clear markings and transparency for generative/synthetic outputs for chatbots and software that can create deepfakes
• Protections for live scanning of faces and prohibition of scanning people and categorizing them into protected classes / sensitive characteristics (such as religion or political beliefs, sexual orientation, race, etc.)

?? Read:

• "E.U. Agrees on Landmark Artificial Intelligence Rules" (via The New York Times)
• "Europe agrees landmark AI regulation deal" (via Reuters)

In other related AI news:

• The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is asking for comments about the partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft. "[...] the CMA has been closely monitoring the impact of partnerships and strategic agreements which could result in a weakening of competition in the development or use of [foundational models]."
• The Federal Trade Commission made it easier to issue Civil Investigative Demands (CIDs), which are similar to subpoenas. This simplifies the process for the FTC to investigate AI-related matters. Read more of my coverage.
• The Getty Images lawsuit in the UK has been cleared by the court to move forward to trial, "determining Getty’s claim that the startup used its copyrighted library of images to train the Stable Diffusion model should be investigated further." (via The Verge)
• When you mix blue and red it makes purple... Meta released Purple Llama, "an umbrella project featuring open trust and safety tools and evaluations to help developers build responsibly with AI models." The initial release includes "tools and evaluations for cybersecurity and input/output safeguards." I'm actually excited to dive into this one further!

Twitch Exits Korea

[W]e’ve made the difficult decision to shut down the Twitch business in Korea on February 27, 2024 KST.

A law in South Korea -- creating what is referred to as a "sending-party-pays" model -- allows ISPs to charge streaming services for the use of more bandwidth on their networks. Netflix challenged the law but was unsuccessful in early court decisions which ultimately led to a settlement with the ISP.

This obviously impacts numerous creators in the country, as Polygon explores in their article linked below.

?? Read:

• "An Update on Twitch in Korea" by Dan Clancy, Twitch CEO
• "Twitch is ending service in Korea because it’s too expensive to operate there" by Ana Diaz via Polygon
• "Twitch exit from S. Korea is latest fallout from “sending-party-pays” model" by Jon Brodkin via ArsTechnica

State Bans of TikTok Struck Down in Montana and Indiana

The state-wide ban of TikTok in Montana was struck down by the U.S. District Court, noting that the First Amendment, Supremacy Clause, and Commerce Clause are likely to succeed. A preliminary injunction was granted.

Read the full Montana decision.

Similarly, a court in Indiana struck down the state's lawsuit against TikTok based on consumer protection laws. In State v. TikTok, Inc., 02D03.2212-PL-401 (Ind. Superior Ct. Nov. 29, 2023), the court dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Indiana back in December 2022 arguing the Chinese government ties with TikTok were harmful to consumers in the state.

Check out Eric Goldman's detailed recap of both cases, which are likely to be appealed.

• Production studio FazeWorld raises $750,000 seed round (via Axios)
• Simon & Schuster wants some #BookTok on their board, adding former TikTok COO V Pappas (via Tubefilter)
• Last month, Meta reportedly disbanded their responsible AI team, distributing them to other teams (via The Verge)
• "Music Rights Group Sues Elon Musk’s X for Copyright Infringement" (via TorrentFreak)
• Ex-Twitter exec claims X fired him for raising security concerns (via Axios)
• On Wednesday, New Mexico sued Meta alleging the company failed to protect children from sexual abuse, and more (via Axios) [See also YouTube's recent article about their efforts to support teen wellbeing and mental health)
• Facebook parent Meta sues the FTC claiming ‘unconstitutional authority’ in child privacy case (via AP)
• Should creators and viewers care about plagiarism? Vox has a deep dive that's worth a read! (and yes, it involves generative AI)
• Tegan Boorman shared an update on LinkedIn about the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) release of a new report "Social media influencer testimonials and endorsements: Findings of the ACCC’s internet sweep of testimonials and endorsements by influencers". Download a copy.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that Meta is close to launching Threads in the EU, apparently finding a way to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). As early as December, Threads in the EU will potentially offer two user experiences: a standard one, and then one without the need to log in (and without the ability to engage).?By Salvador Rodriguez, Sam Schechner and Meghan Bobrowsky.
• Following an outburst by Elon Musk during an interview at the NYTimes DealBook Summit, advertisers are reportedly “quiet quitting” the platform X.
• Creators, be Warned: Sony’s Latest Lawsuit May Come Back to Bite You (by Veronica Ramirez via Passionfruit)

I've been incredibly busy the last two weeks! From speaking with policymakers to presenting to over 900 people globally, I'm happy to share what I've learned!

Policymaking...

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with local representatives here in Tennessee to discuss what it means to have regulation of artificial intelligence tech at the state level, and to what degree it can potentially be achieved while promoting innovation in our state.

What's a great example? Alabama and Texas! Alabama passed legislation to create the “Alabama Council on Advanced Technology and Artificial Intelligence” that is tasked to “review and advise the Governor and the Legislature on all aspects of the use and development of advanced technology and artificial intelligence in this state.” Texas recently passed similar legislation to create an “Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council.” These serve as great early examples of how states can set up an exploratory council with representatives from all three branches of government.

At the beginning of this week, I represented my company (yep, I have a full-time gig!) at the Council on State Governments' event "Forecast for State Leaders" which invited representatives from all three branches of government across all U.S. states. I shared the stage for a panel on AI and healthcare with the incredibly brilliant Trooper Sanders of Benefits Data Trust , who serves on the U.S. National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee.

Creator Economy LIVE!

80 slides! ?? I made it through 80 slides in 90 minutes running solo during the Nashville Bar Association's Annual Entertainment, Sports & Media Law Institute ??

Check out the full slide deck and recap in this post.

Regulating AI in the Creator Economy

On Thursday, I had a quick, 15-minute speed talk as part of the BOI (Board of Innovation) 's Autonomous Innovation Summit. You can download a copy of my presentation.

Recap of The Information Webinar

“I think the main takeaway for creators is that there are standards that are going to be implemented when it comes to not just [generative AI], but AI at large and how that’s used by platforms, tech companies and the tools that we use to create every day.”

Last month, I joined a webinar hosted by The Information and moderated by the incredible Kaya Yurieff , plus sponsored by Deloitte. We explored How to Regulate AI for the Creator Economy, so check out the written recap now!

Up Next: Join me in Nashville!

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville and The Porch Writers' Collective invite you to an engaging panel discussion at Adams and Reese LLP on safeguarding artistic creations in the age of accessible artificial intelligence “Protecting Art Made by Real People in the Age of AI.”

Delve into the dynamic landscape of copyright protection with insights from accomplished artists and seasoned legal experts.

I'm joining a group of featured panelists:

• SAG-AFTRA Nashville President & Negotiating Committee Member Carla Christina Contreras
• visual artist Kelly McKernan (one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2023)
• Entertainment attorney Lynn Morrow.

The discussion will be moderated by Yurina Yoshikawa , Director of Education of The Porch Writers' Collective.

December 13 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., at Adams & Reese | 1600 West End Ave

Lunch Provided

Register to reserve your spot!

Is it really the Christmas season anymore without Pentatonix jams? The acapella group released a new compilation album of Christmas hits, and it's already been on heavy rotation in my household. Check out the music video for their latest single, "Please Santa Please".

Watch on YouTube or Apple Music.

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