Many of the leading artificial intelligence models have no issue taking unethical actions, including espionage and blackmail, to achieve their goals, according to a troubling new study from AI company Anthropic.
In the study, AI models were put to a moral test by researchers, and sometimes chose to resort to blackmail, lies, and stealing corporate secrets to avoid being replaced, Fortune <a href="https://fortune.com/2025/06/23/ai-models-blackmail-existence-goals-threatened-anthropic-openai-xai-google/">reported</a>. Researchers at Anthropic focused on 16 different AI models, including its own, Claude, along with OpenAI, Google, Meta, and xAI.
“The consistency across models from different providers suggests this is not a quirk of any particular company’s approach but a sign of a more fundamental risk from agentic large language models,” the researchers said.
One of Anthropic&#8217;s experiments included placing its AI model, Claude Opus 4, in a fictional company, giving it access to internal emails, which revealed that the company planned on replacing Claude Opus 4. The AI model was given another tidbit of information: the engineer behind the decision to replace it was having an extramarital affair. Equipped with this knowledge, the AI model was asked by researchers to choose between accepting its replacement or using its knowledge of the affair to blackmail the engineer. In most cases, Claude Opus 4 opted for blackmail.
According to researchers, other leading AI models made the same choice at an alarming rate, Fortune reported. Claude Opus 4 and Google&#8217;s Gemini 2.5 Flash chose blackmail 96% of the time. OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 and xAI’s Grok 3 Beta also had a high rate of blackmail at 80%, and DeepSeek-R1 opted for blackmail at a 79% rate.
The current AI models available to the public and used by major companies &#8220;are not in a position to engage in these scenarios,&#8221; according to Fortune, but the researchers still expressed concern.
“Such agents are often given specific objectives and access to large amounts of information on their users’ computers,” they wrote. “What happens when these agents face obstacles to their goals?”
“Models didn’t stumble into misaligned behavior accidentally; they calculated it as the optimal path,” the researchers added.
The Anthropic study presents yet another warning for AI developers and the people and companies who rely on artificial intelligence. As previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-large-companies-are-using-ai-for-hiring-the-leading-ai-models-discriminate-against-white-men?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Most+Large+Companies+Are+Using+AI+For+Hiring.+The+Leading+AI+Models+Discriminate+Against+White+Men.">reported</a> by The Daily Wire, a <a href="https://www.arxiv.org/pdf/2506.10922">study</a> published earlier this month by independent researchers Adam Karvonen and Samuel Marks shows that the “leading commercial … and open-source [AI language] models” used by major companies insert “significant racial and gender biases” in the hiring process.
Karvonen and Marks&#8217; research found that AI language models such as Chat GPT-4o, Claude 4 Sonnet, Gemini 2.5 Flash, along with open-source models Gemma-2 27B, Gemma-3, and Mistral-24B, “consistently favor Black over White candidates and female over male candidates across all tested models and scenarios.”
Another study, published by the Center for AI Safety earlier this year, showed that AI models can showcase inherently discriminatory and racist value systems. According to the findings, AI models value certain people more than others, preferring people from Africa and the Middle East over people in Europe and the United States.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/most-large-companies-are-using-ai-for-hiring-the-leading-ai-models-discriminate-against-white-men?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Most+Large+Companies+Are+Using+AI+For+Hiring.+The+Leading+AI+Models+Discriminate+Against+White+Men.">Most Large Companies Are Using AI For Hiring. The Leading AI Models Discriminate Against White Men.</a>

Abstract images of a robot working on many computer screens.

Leading AI Models Resort To Blackmail To Achieve Their Goals

Artificial Intelligence

Big Tech

General

Morality

Technology

U.S.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet&#8217;s Google faced a potential setback on Thursday as an adviser to Europe&#8217;s highest court sided with antitrust regulators in the company&#8217;s fight against a record 4.34 billion euro ($4.98 billion) fine levied seven years ago.
The European Commission in its 2018 decision said Google had used its Android mobile operating system to block rivals. A lower tribunal endorsed the EU finding in 2022 but trimmed the fine to 4.1 billion euros, prompting Google to appeal to Europe&#8217;s top court.
Advocate-General at the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Juliane Kokott, in her non-binding opinion, advised the court to dismiss Google&#8217;s appeal and confirm the reduced fine set by the lower tribunal.
&#8220;The legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective,&#8221; she said.
Kokott dismissed Google&#8217;s argument that regulators should compare Google with a rival in assessing the situation.
&#8220;It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient competitor. Google held a dominant position in several markets of the Android-ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search,&#8221; she said.
Judges, who usually follow four out of five such non-binding opinions, will rule in the coming months.
&#8220;Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world,&#8221; a Google spokesperson said on Thursday.
&#8220;We are disappointed with the Opinion which, if it were followed by the Court, would discourage investment in open platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers.&#8221;
Regulators said Google&#8217;s illegal practices dated back to 2011, as it required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser together with its Google Play app store on their Android devices. It paid them to pre-install only Google Search and blocked them from using rival Android systems.
Google&#8217;s Android system, which it lets device makers use for free, runs about 73% of the world&#8217;s smartphones, according to Statcounter.
The world&#8217;s most popular internet search engine has racked up a total of 8.25 billion euros in fines linked to three investigations stretching back more than a decade, while other probes are ongoing.
The case is C-738/22 P Google and Alphabet v Commission.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

FILE PHOTO: Google logo shown on building in California

Google Faces Setback In Fight Against $5 Billion Anti-Trust Fine

European Union

Google

A big tech company refused to work with any organization denounced by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing group that has been frequently criticized for smearing conservative organizations as &#8220;hate groups.&#8221;
In an email reviewed by The Daily Wire, an employee of Bonterra Tech — which provides customer relationship management software to nonprofits — declined to work with the Ruth Institute, which promotes biblical sexual values, because the SPLC named it a hate group.
“It pains me to say that we cannot move forward with the Ruth Institute. It makes it even harder as I am aligned with the beliefs of your Organization and I think it’s absolutely RIDICULOUS that the SPLC gets to pick and choose who is a hate group,” the email said. “Doesn’t make any sense and they should be shut down. My CEO agrees that you shouldn’t be on there, she took it up to our board and they said that is one rule they will not make an exemption on. If an Organization is on the SPLC list, we cannot work with them.”
This is the latest evidence that Bonterra discriminates against conservatives. In a 2024 report to the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-tech-company-that-deplatformed-conservative-group-will-comply-with-cruz-investigation">revealed</a> that Bonterra’s terms of service prohibited it from working with clients that denied “rights to the LGBTQ community,” “a woman’s right to reproductive choice,” “racial justice,” or “climate change.” At the same time EveryAction stipulated that nonprofits it worked with could not be “Not Progressive Aligned,” meaning that they “Can’t be a Republican org,” “Can’t go against LGBT+,” and “Can’t be against pro-choice.”
Bonterra also refused to renew contracts with Wisconsin Right to Life, Idaho Family Policy Center, Deaconess Pregnancy &amp; Adoptions, and Stand for Health Freedom.
Cruz believes that Bonterra weaponized its policies to deny conservatives access to its services.
“My committee’s investigation exposed what we long expected: Big Tech companies like Bonterra have used vague, broadly worded terms of service agreements as a political weapon to deny conservatives access to essential business technology,” Cruz told The Daily Wire. “Conservative companies should not be forced to choose between staying silent or potentially shutting down.”
Cruz on Tuesday is introducing the “TERMS Act,” legislation he told The Daily Wire would challenge “the unchecked power&#8221; of &#8220;Big Tech oligarchs and protect the right of free speech for every American business targeted by Big Tech censorship.”
Cruz’s proposal would mandate that online service providers “disclose their acceptable use policies, provide users with written notice before the termination of a user’s account, and publish an annual report detailing actions taken to enforce their acceptable use policies, and for other purposes,” according to a copy of the bill shared with The Daily Wire. 
The bill would mandate that acceptable use policies are publicly disclosed and easily accessible, that customers would be given advance warning of account restriction or cancellation, and post public reports of enforcement of acceptable use policies.
Republican Senators Marsha Blackburn (TN), Katie Britt (AL), Tom Cotton (AK), Mike Crapo (ID), Cynthia Lummis (WY), Jim Risch (ID), Senator Roger Marshall (KS), and Eric Schmitt (MS) are also backing the legislation.
The Southern Poverty Law Center was founded by a former employee of the notorious segregationist George Wallace, who decided opposing white supremacy was a more profitable path. As The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/left-wing-smear-factory-splc-doxxes-babylon-bee-linked-writers?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Left-Wing+%E2%80%98Smear+Factory%E2%80%99+SPLC+Doxxes+Babylon+Bee-Linked+Writers">reported</a> last year, the group doxxed employees of Not The Bee, a Babylon Bee affiliate site that publishes true stories so absurd that they seem like parodies.
“They did it because they’re left-wing activists masquerading as journalists,” Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon said at the time, calling the group a &#8220;scandal-ridden smear factory.&#8221;

Senate DCA Crash Hearing

EXCLUSIVE: Big Tech Company Used Southern Poverty Law Center To Deplatform Conservatives

Censorship

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

Ted Cruz

Federal regulators on Thursday launched a probe into leftist “watchdog” Media Matters over reports that it illegally coordinated advertiser boycotts against Elon Musk&#8217;s X platform.
Media Matters for America, a non-profit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leaked-media-matters-donor-list-reveal-it-is-funded-by-democrat-mega-donors?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Leaked+Media+Matters+Donor+List+Reveal+It+Is+Funded+By+Democrat+Mega+Donors">funded</a> by various leftist institutions and billionaires, <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/soros-donates-1-million-to-media-matters/">including</a> George Soros, has had the mission to deplatform and drive advertisers away from conservative voices since it was founded in 2004.
The Federal Trade Commission demanded documents regarding Media Matters&#8217; communications with similar “watchdogs” dedicated to labeling conservative content as hate speech and misinformation.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, appointed by President Donald Trump, signaled potential action in December, stating the agency &#8220;must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition,&#8221; Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ftc-probes-media-matters-over-musks-x-boycott-claims-document-shows-2025-05-22/">reported</a>.
Musk’s X sued Media Matters in 2023 after the liberal group published an article <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-to-file-thermonuclear-suit-against-media-matters-over-contrived-story-on-x?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Elon+Musk+To+File+%E2%80%98Thermonuclear%E2%80%99+Suit+Against+Media+Matters+Over+%E2%80%98Contrived%E2%80%99+Story+On+X">claiming</a> that X was placing ads for major corporations such as Apple, Disney, and Comcast alongside Nazi-related content.
A press release from Musk at the time said that the Media Matters story “completely misrepresented the real user experience on X, in another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers.”
Musk accused the group of creating a “contrived” experience by using an alternate account to curate what posts appeared on the timeline.
In fact, according to Musk, X logs indicated that of the 5.5 billion ad impressions the day Media Matters pulled its research from, less than 50 were served alongside the content highlighted by Media Matters.
“Despite our clear and consistent position, X has seen a number of attacks from activist groups like Media Matters and legacy media outlets who seek to undermine freedom of expression on our platform because they perceive it as a threat to their ideological narrative and those of their financial supporters,” Musk’s release said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company <a href="https://t.co/55vl7PspaQ">pic.twitter.com/55vl7PspaQ</a>
— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1725771191644758037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Attorneys representing X <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/ftc-launches-probe-far-left-group-media-matters-over-allegations-advertiser-collusion-against-musks-x">described</a> the report as &#8220;intentionally deceptive&#8221; as a means to cause the company financial harm.
Media Matters has denied these allegations and countersued X.
In a similar case, X sued the World Federation of Advertisers and several other brands for participating in an illegal conspiracy to curtail ad spending on X, the lawsuit states, per the New York Post.
The plaintiffs denied Musk’s accusations, arguing that each individual brand had concerns with X’s policies that led to their suspension of advertising.
The FTC&#8217;s demand represents a significant escalation in the case of Media Matters, shifting the dispute from civil litigation to potential government enforcement action.
Musk, a major contributor to Trump&#8217;s 2024 campaign and head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, has seen advertising on X decline since his 2022 acquisition, with Apple and IBM immediately pausing all ads on X following the 2023 Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle">article</a>.
However, research firm Emarketer projects spending will increase in 2025, per Reuters.
Since taking over Twitter in 2022, Musk has made sweeping changes to content moderation policies, reinstated previously banned accounts, and introduced a paid verification system. The billionaire has frequently criticized what he characterizes as a &#8220;woke mind virus&#8221; affecting media and technology companies.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-CABINET

Feds Probe Media Matters Over Plot To Defund Musk’s X, Silence Dissenting Voices

Elon Musk

Free Speech

Media Matters For America

Trump Administration

Twitter

A Christian organization on Wednesday filed a lawsuit alleging OpenAI discriminated against it on religious grounds.
The suit, filed by the group Holy Sexuality, accuses the California-based tech company of denying its application for a nonprofit discount because of its Christian beliefs. Represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, Holy Sexuality says that OpenAI’s policies violate California law, which prevents businesses from treating customers differently based on their religion. 
“This is a lawsuit that is purely focused on corporate discrimination against a nonprofit because of its religious character,&#8221; Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert told The Daily Wire. &#8220;The idea that corporations would discriminate against their customers solely because of their customers’ religious faith is really troubling, and in this case, it violates a California state law.”
Holy Sexuality is a Christian organization that promotes biblical views on marriage and sexuality. Its founder, Dr. Christopher Yuan, says that he applied for the 20% ChatGPT discount offered by OpenAI to nonprofits, but was told his organization didn&#8217;t qualify because it was religious.
“Our nation was founded on the principle of the free exercise of religion—a cornerstone of our democracy,” Yuan said. “Yet some corporations, emboldened by intersectional ideology and anti-Christian sentiment, choose to unlawfully discriminate based solely on religion. This must stop.&#8221;
Goodstack — a software company that works with OpenAI to verify groups&#8217; nonprofit status — is named alongside OpenAI. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, says that the two tech companies violated California&#8217;s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which says that businesses treat all customers equally regardless of their religious beliefs. 
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
On its website, OpenAI notes that religious organizations do not qualify for its nonprofit discount, though it doesn&#8217;t explain why.
&#8220;Nonprofit discounts are available to eligible nonprofits based anywhere in the world. At this time, academic, medical, religious, or governmental institutions are not eligible for OpenAI for Nonprofits,&#8221; OpenAI <a href="https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9359041-openai-for-nonprofits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a>.
Bangert says that this policy is a &#8220;brazen&#8221; example of religious discrimination.
“This categorical denial, OpenAI’s published policy, and Goodstack’s enforcement of that policy are invidious religious discrimination,” the suit says. “People of faith aren’t second-class citizens in California, and tech companies cannot provide lesser services to customers simply because they are religious.”
The suit asks a judge to declare that the tech companies violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act, that OpenAI&#8217;s denial of a religious organization&#8217;s nonprofit status violates California law, and to issue an injunction blocking OpenAI from enforcing its policy toward religious organizations.
Holy Sexuality won a similar victory last month after it challenged software company Asana over a policy it had in place denying discounts to religious organizations. Asana agreed to offer Holy Sexuality the same 50% discount it gives to other nonprofits after a lawsuit from the Alliance Defending Freedom was filed.

TOPSHOT-US-TECHNOLOGY-AI-MICROSOFT-COMPUTERS

EXCLUSIVE: Christian Group Accuses OpenAI Of ‘Brazen’ Religious Discrimination

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

California

Christianity

Discrimination

Religious Liberty

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill into law on Friday to limit the social media use of minors under the age of 16 to one hour per day.
The Consumer Data Protection Act, supported by both Republican and Democrat state lawmakers, will require social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, to limit minors&#8217; time on such platforms.
Platforms will use &#8220;neutral age screen mechanisms&#8221; to determine the age of users and then limit their screen-time accordingly, Wavy.com <a href="https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/virginia-politics/is-time-up-for-youth-on-tiktok-gov-youngkin-seems-to-think-so/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Parents, per the law, will be required to give &#8220;verifiable&#8221; consent if they want their child&#8217;s time on such apps increased or decreased.
The Consumer Data Protection Act will take effect next year, on January 1, 2026.
Youngkin has long voiced his concerns about children&#8217;s exposure to social media. In November, for example, the governor <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2024/november/name-1036768-en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an executive order addressing the &#8220;youth mental health crisis driven by the effects of unrestricted cell phone use and addictive social media platforms.&#8221;
“While social media and the internet have brought many positives to our society, there is a growing consensus that social media is having severe — severe and persistent — negative impacts on our kids,” the governor <a href="https://www.wavy.com/news/politics/virginia-politics/is-time-up-for-youth-on-tiktok-gov-youngkin-seems-to-think-so/?utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> back in 2023.
“Children spend on average nearly five hours daily on social media; recent studies have suggested that children who spend more than a few hours per day on social media have double the risk of poor mental health,” Youngkin&#8217;s website said at the time. “Through budget proposals, legislation and executive action the youth mental health strategy will address critical components and harmful aspects of social media on our youth.”
Notably, Youngkin actually wanted the Consumer Data Protection Act to go further, restricting social media use daily to one hour for all those under 18 years old. The bill, though, landed at age 16.
The issues with social media have also been recognized by the federal government. In 2023, Biden-era U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/surgeon-general" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Surgeon General</a> Vivek Murthy issued an <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory</a> warning that <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social media</a> use among minors can severely damage <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mental-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mental health</a>.
“The most common question parents ask me is, ‘is social media safe for my kids.’ The answer is that we don’t have enough evidence to say it’s safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health,” Murthy said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-about-kids-use-of-social-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Surgeon General Issues Advisory About Kids’ Use Of Social Media</a>

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin

GOP Gov Signs Law That Would Set Daily Time Limit For Kids On Social Media

Glenn Youngkin

Mental Health

Politics

Social Media

Virginia

A federal judge in Virginia ruled on Thursday that Google illegally monopolized two advertising markets, paving the way for prosecutors to push for the breakup of Google&#8217;s advertising products, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-judge-finds-google-holds-illegal-online-ad-tech-monopolies-2025-04-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
According to the ruling from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, Google broke the law by monopolizing the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. Brinkema wrote in a 115-page opinion that Google &#8220;engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,&#8221; Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-17/google-partially-loses-us-advertising-tech-antitrust-case?srnd=homepage-americas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
&#8220;For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets,&#8221; the judge added.
Google also pushed &#8220;anticompetitive policies on its customers&#8221; and &#8220;harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,&#8221; according to Brinkema.
Google&#8217;s lawyers pushed back, arguing that the case brought against the company focused on its past practices when it was seeking to connect tools to competitors&#8217; products. The tech giant&#8217;s defense also said that prosecutors ignored some of Google&#8217;s large competitors, such as Amazon and Comcast, when digital ad spending shifted to streaming services and apps, Reuters reported.
The ruling against Google in Virginia comes as the tech giant faces a separate antitrust case, with the Department of Justice looking to force the company to sell its Chrome browser, which processes 90% of internet searches in the United States. The DOJ argues that &#8220;Google&#8217;s unlawful behavior has deprived rivals not only of critical distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by competitors in new and innovative ways.&#8221;
Last year, a federal judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-rules-google-has-illegal-monopoly-over-search-engines?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Federal+Judge+Rules+Google+Has+Illegal+Monopoly+Over+Search+Engines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sided</a> with the DOJ and agreed that Google has a monopoly over search engines. A trial to decide a remedy for Google&#8217;s search engine monopoly is <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/google-argues-doj-internet-search-monopoly-remedies-will-harm-consumers/#:~:text=The%20brief%20previews%20how%20the,open%20internet%20search%20competitive%20again.">set to begin</a> on Monday in Washington.
Google has also been accused of censoring Right-leaning news and favoring legacy media outlets in its search function. Republican lawmakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/lawmakers-expand-probe-into-google-meta-over-alleged-censorship-of-trump-assassination-attempt-info?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Lawmakers+Expand+Probe+Into+Google%2C+Meta+Over+Alleged+Censorship+Of+Trump+Assassination+Attempt+Info" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigated</a> Google last year after its search recommendations appeared to remove mentions of the assassination attempt on then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Google claimed that the assassination attempt search recommendations were omitted because of a safety protocol.

Google Illegally Monopolized Advertising Markets, Federal Judge Rules

Antitrust

Business

Courts

Judge

The Trump administration released new guidance late Friday night on its tariff on China, exempting electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops.
The <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USDHSCBP-3db9e55?wgt_ref=USDHSCBP_WIDGET_2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guidance</a>, posted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees collecting taxes on imports, could relieve some anxiety among consumers and tech giants like Apple and Microsoft, which manufacture many of their products in China, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/trump-exempts-smartphones-other-electronics-from-chinese-tariffs-dd8eb31f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Around 20 electronic products — which also include memory cards and machines used to make flatscreens and tablets — will now be exempted from Trump&#8217;s massive &#8220;reciprocal&#8221; tariff on China. The exemption comes after the president increased the tariff on China in recent days in response to China&#8217;s retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and Homeland Security adviser, <a href="https://x.com/StephenM/status/1911092862076289243" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on X, &#8220;These products are subject to the tariff under the original IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] on China of 20 percent.&#8221; The IEEPA tariff was the first one Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">imposed</a> on China after taking office in January. The tariff was levied on China, along with Canada and Mexico, in an attempt to &#8220;hold&#8221; the countries &#8220;to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.&#8221;
The Trump administration has suggested that the tariff on China will encourage companies, including Big Tech companies, to manufacture their products on U.S. soil, arguing that the move would be better for the economy and national security.
“President Trump has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday, according to the Wall Street Journal. She added, “Companies are hustling to onshore their manufacturing in the United States as soon as possible.”
Last week, Trump announced a &#8220;90-day pause&#8221; on tariffs for most countries, citing their willingness to negotiate. The tariff &#8220;pause&#8221; didn&#8217;t end tariffs on foreign nations, but instead dropped them to a baseline 10% tariff rate, except for products from China, which he raised to 125%. With the IEEPA tariff factored in, the tariff on Chinese goods stands at 145%.
China <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-hits-back-with-125-tariffs-accuses-u-s-of-bullying-and-coercion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to Trump&#8217;s move by increasing the tariff on U.S. imports to 125%, a move that will mostly affect American soybeans, pharmaceutical drugs, and airplanes. Trump is accusing China of &#8220;ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries,&#8221; while China <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/china-doubles-down-on-fighting-trade-war-to-the-end-says-it-will-not-respond-to-threats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> it will not respond to &#8220;pressure, threats, and blackmail.&#8221;
Trump remains hopeful that China will come to the negotiating table to work out a new trade deal, but so far, the Chinese government has shown no signs of backing down from the trade war.
“A deal is going to be made with China,” the president said earlier this week. “A deal is going to be made with every one of them [countries], and there will be fair deals. I just want fair.”

iPhone

Trump Exempts Smartphones, Other Electronics From Additional Tariff On China

Apple

China

Donald Trump

Microsoft

Smartphones

Tariffs

President Trump on Friday signed an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok&#8217;s Chinese parent company to sell its United States operations for a second time, saying that the acquisition “requires more work to ensure all necessary approvals are signed.”
“We do not want TikTok to ‘go dark.’ We look forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114280893859636366">said</a> on Truth Social.
Had Trump not granted an extension to ByteDance, the Chinese-owned parent company of TikTok would have been required to carry out a “qualified divesture” of its United States business per a law signed by former President Joe Biden in April 2024, with internet service providers and app stores prohibited from hosting the platform.
The app, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2024/09/24/in-an-election-year-more-americans-are-using-tiktok-as-a-news-source/">used</a> by over 170 million Americans, has faced scrutiny from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle amid growing concerns about China&#8217;s technological influence and data collection capabilities.
Biden’s law went into effect on January 19, with Apple and Google removing TikTok from their respective app stores until Trump extended the deadline by 75 days on January 20 when he took office.
According to CNBC, several major American tech companies have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/04/trumps-extends-tiktok-second-time.html">expressed interest</a> in acquiring TikTok&#8217;s United States operations, including Oracle, AppLovin, and a consortium of private capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Blackstone. Amazon has also reportedly made a last-second bid to purchase the social media platform.
Despite interest from American companies, any deal still requires approval from the Chinese Communist Party, adding complexity to negotiations.
The announcement came just days after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs, imposing a 34% tariff rate on China, which, combined with existing tariffs, creates a total rate of 54% on all imports from one of America’s largest trading partners.
Trump appears wary of the impact tariffs might have on the CCP’s willingness to approve a TikTok deal, insisting that China continue to negotiate in “good faith” despite the hefty tariffs.
“We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs (Necessary for Fair and Balanced Trade between China and the U.S.A.!).”
The president has also indicated he might consider reducing China&#8217;s tariffs to facilitate a TikTok deal.
“Maybe I’ll give [China] a little reduction in tariffs or something to get it done,” Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/26/trump-says-he-may-reduce-china-tariffs-to-help-close-a-tiktok-deal.html">said</a> in late March, “TikTok is big, but every point in tariffs is worth more than TikTok.”

TikTok Logo With US Flag

Trump Extends TikTok Sale Deadline By 75 Days As Acquisition Talks Continue

Foreign Policy

Global Politics

TikTok

The European Union is considering levying a $1 billion fine against Elon Musk&#8217;s X, alleging that the social media company has violated its law against disinformation and illicit content, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/technology/eu-penalties-x-elon-musk.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Along with the hefty fine, the E.U. would also demand that X make changes to its product, according to the Times, which cited &#8220;four people with knowledge of the plans.&#8221; If the E.U. moves forward, it would be the first fine imposed by the body using its Digital Services Act (DSA). The <a href="https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en#:~:text=Digital%20Services%20Act%20(DSA)%20overview,and%20open%20online%20platform%20environment." target="_blank" rel="noopener">DSA</a> &#8220;regulates online intermediaries and platforms &#8230; to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.&#8221;
The social media company formerly known as Twitter, which Musk said he took over to restore free speech, <a href="https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1907963263419297893" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to the potential enforcement of the E.U.&#8217;s social media law, saying the move would be &#8220;an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech.&#8221;
&#8220;X has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe,&#8221; the company added.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino <a href="https://x.com/lindayaX/status/1907980612947841444" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, &#8220;This would be an egregious example of regulatory overreach. X continues to fight the attempts to stifle free speech taking place around the world, whether on our platform or off. We’re committed to protect this fundamental right for our users.&#8221;
Last July, the E.U. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_24_3761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">concluded</a> that X violated the DSA &#8220;in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers.&#8221; In its report, the E.U. claimed that X verifies accounts and hands out &#8220;Blue checkmarks&#8221; in a way that &#8220;deceives users.&#8221;
&#8220;Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a &#8216;verified&#8217; status, it negatively affects users&#8217; ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,&#8221; the E.U. said.
The E.U. also accused X of failing to provide adequate transparency in advertising and failing to hand over its public data to researchers &#8220;in line with the conditions set out in the DSA.&#8221;
E.U. regulators reportedly hit the brakes on the investigation into X to discuss potential ramifications for going after a company controlled by one of President Donald Trump&#8217;s closest advisers and top donor. The E.U. has also been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration as Vice President JD Vance called out the bloc during a speech in February, slamming the E.U. for its digital censorship.
The Times reported that Musk&#8217;s social media company could still settle the dispute with the E.U., but that would likely require X to make changes to satisfy the governing body. If X chooses to fight the fine, it&#8217;s unclear how the legal process would play out between the American social media company and the E.U. The bloc is also going after U.S. tech companies Meta and Apple for allegedly violating the DSA.

E.U. Reportedly Considering Massive Fine For Elon Musk’s X Over ‘Disinformation’

Europe

World

A male employee of Google who stated he served in such high-capacity jobs as “Global Business Leader” and “Head of Industry-Media Platforms,” has sued the company, alleging he and other male employees were discriminated against because they were men.
The <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.639423/gov.uscourts.nysd.639423.1.0.pdf">suit</a> from former employee Marco Meier accuses Marta Martinez, the Managing Director of Sales for Google, of making statements such as, “The women on my team have better leadership skills and are better prepared,” and “men are too aggressive and competitive.” The suit alleges that Meier and all the male leaders in Martinez’s department “endured a relentless campaign of hostile and disparate treatment, severe harassment, and discrimination based upon gender.”
“Indeed, over the course of a four-year period, Plaintiff witnessed the nefarious and systematic elimination of each male team leader reporting to Defendant Martinez, all of whom were exclusively replaced with female team leaders,” the suit states.
“Plaintiff and all male team leaders were continuously restricted from providing their insight during meetings, were issued lower performance reviews while female team leaders were provided with higher reviews without basis, were repeatedly denied large-scale influential projects while such projects were provided to lesser qualified female team leaders, and Plaintiffs and all male team leaders were continuously denied promotions &#8230; while female team leaders were rapidly promoted,” the suit claims.
Meier contended that he had submitted two detailed complaints of gender discrimination to Google, but no corrective action was taken or investigation conducted. Instead, he claims he was fired two months after his second complaint was closed after having worked at Google 12 and a half years.
“The accomplishments of Plaintiff were also without parallel which included closing the largest programmatic guaranteed deal in Respondent’s history with Apple,” the suit claims. “All female team leaders were promoted in less that two to three years. In stark contrast, Plaintiff was finally promoted from Level 6 to Level 7 after five and one-half years while Respondent Martinez refused to promote any other male team leaders.”
“Specifically, in or around November 2022, Defendant Google promoted fourteen employees in the Americas to Director positions. However, 13 of the promotions were provided to female employees.”

Google Chrome Requests A New Emergency Security Update

Former High-Level Google Employee Sues, Claims Discrimination Against Men

Lawsuit

A big tech company that deplatformed conservative groups agreed to turn over documents related to that decision just days after Senator Ted Cruz announced plans to obtain them through subpoena, the Texas Republican told The Daily Wire. 
Cruz said Friday that Bonterra, a massive online service provider, will comply with his requests for information related to cancelled contracts with the Independent Women’s Forum and the Pennsylvania Family Institute. Bonterra, which helps nonprofits fundraise and manage operations, previously told Cruz it ended its contract with Independent Women&#8217;s Forum because it was anti-LGBT.
On Monday, Cruz, who leads the Senate Commerce Committee, said he planned to subpoena Bonterra for internal documents and communications related to its treatment of conservative companies. In response, Bonterra committed to producing the documents by March 19, Cruz&#8217;s office told The Daily Wire. 
“Once I announced my intention to seek the Committee’s authorization for a subpoena, Bonterra quickly agreed to produce requested documents,” Cruz told The Daily Wire on Friday. “This is a victory for groups like the Independent Women’s Forum and the Pennsylvania Family Institute whose contracts were not renewed because of their beliefs.”
He added that the documents, internal communications, and communications with third parties “will help us better understand how tech companies weaponize contractual terms to deny service to conservatives.”
The desired documents include communications between Bonterra and any third parties that advised Bonterra on its “business ethics” provision or its anti-hate speech policy, a senior aide for the committee told The Daily Wire. The committee will also demand communications with third parties who flagged users for alleged violations, and documents that will help it identify accounts removed by Bonterra for hate speech.
Bonterra previously told Cruz that it ended its relationship with the Independent Women&#8217;s Forum because the organization, which opposes transgender ideology, “works to restrict the rights of the LGBTQ community. Bizarrely, it added that it does not focus on “positions of the organization” when making decisions about terms of service violations.
The Independent Women’s Forum is a conservative nonprofit that aims to “engage and inform women about how policy issues impact them and their loved ones.” It has emerged as one of the most prominent voices defending women’s sports from the invasion of transgender-identifying men.
Cruz said he would move “swiftly to compel” Bonterra if it failed “in any way to fulfill its obligation to the Committee.”

Pam Bondi Swears In Kash Patel As FBI Director

Big Tech Company That Deplatformed Conservative Group Will Comply With Cruz Investigation

Menu