Content Policy

Law curbs AI use in mental health services across US state

A new law in a US state has banned the use of AI for delivering mental health care, drawing a firm line between digital tools and licensed professionals. The legislation limits AI systems to administrative tasks such as note-taking and scheduling, explicitly prohibiting them from offering therapy or clinical advice.

The move comes as concerns grow over the use of AI chatbots in sensitive care roles. Lawmakers in the midwestern state of Illinois approved the measure, citing the need to protect residents from potentially harmful or misleading AI-generated responses.

Fines of up to $10,000 may be imposed on companies or individuals who violate the ban. Officials stressed that AI lacks the empathy, accountability and clinical oversight necessary to ensure safe and ethical mental health treatment.

One infamous case saw an AI-powered chatbot suggest drug use to a fictional recovering addict, a warning signal, experts say, of what can go wrong without strict safeguards. The law is named the Wellness and Oversight for Psychological Resources Act.

Other parts of the United States are considering similar steps. Florida’s governor recently described AI as ‘the biggest issue’ facing modern society and pledged new state-level regulations within months.

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New malware steals 200,000 passwords and credit card details through fake software

Hackers are now using fake versions of familiar software and documents to spread a new info-stealing malware known as PXA Stealer.

First discovered by Cisco Talos, the malware campaign is believed to be operated by Vietnamese-speaking cybercriminals and has already compromised more than 4,000 unique IP addresses across 62 countries.

Instead of targeting businesses alone, the attackers are now focusing on ordinary users in countries including the US, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

PXA Stealer is written in Python and designed to collect passwords, credit card data, cookies, autofill information, and even crypto wallet details from infected systems.

It spreads by sideloading malware into files like Microsoft Word executables or ZIP archives that also contain legitimate-looking programs such as Haihaisoft PDF Reader.

The malware uses malicious DLL files to gain persistence through the Windows Registry and downloads additional harmful files via Dropbox. After infection, it uses Telegram to exfiltrate stolen data, which is then sold on the dark web.

Once activated, the malware even attempts to open a fake PDF in Microsoft Edge, though the file fails to launch and shows an error message — by that point, it has already done the damage.

To avoid infection, users should avoid clicking unknown email links and should not open attachments from unfamiliar senders. Instead of saving passwords and card details in browsers, a trusted password manager is a safer choice.

Although antivirus software remains helpful, hackers in the campaign have used sophisticated methods to bypass detection, making careful online behaviour more important than ever.

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X challenges India’s expanded social media censorship in court

Tensions have escalated between Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, and the Indian government over extensive online content censorship measures.

Triggered by a seemingly harmless post describing a senior politician as ‘useless,’ the incident quickly spiralled into a significant legal confrontation.

X has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of overstepping constitutional bounds by empowering numerous government bodies to issue content-removal orders, significantly expanding the scope of India’s digital censorship.

At the heart of the dispute lies India’s increased social media content regulation since 2023, including launching the Sahyog platform, a centralised portal facilitating direct content-removal orders from officials to tech firms.

X rejected participating in Sahyog, labelling it a ‘censorship portal,’ and subsequently filed a lawsuit in Karnataka High Court earlier this year, contesting the legality of India’s directives and website, which it claims undermine free speech.

Indian authorities justify their intensified oversight by pointing to the need to control misinformation, safeguard national security, and prevent societal discord. They argue that the measures have broad support within the tech community. Indeed, major players like Google and Meta have reportedly complied without public protest, though both companies have declined to comment on their stance.

However, the court documents reveal that the scope of India’s censorship requests extends far beyond misinformation.

Authorities have reportedly targeted satirical cartoons depicting politicians unfavorably, criticism regarding government preparedness for natural disasters, and even media coverage of serious public incidents like a deadly stampede at a railway station.

While Musk and Prime Minister Modi maintain an outwardly amicable relationship, the conflict presents significant implications for X’s operations in India, one of its largest user bases.

Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech advocate, finds himself at a critical juncture, navigating between principles and the imperative to expand his business ventures within India’s substantial market.

Source: Reuters

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Cloudflare claims Perplexity circumvented website scraping blocks

Cloudflare has accused AI startup Perplexity of ignoring explicit website instructions not to scrape their content.

According to the internet infrastructure company, Perplexity has allegedly disguised its identity and used technical workarounds to bypass restrictions set out in Robots.txt files, which tell bots which pages they may or may not access.

The behaviour was reportedly detected after multiple Cloudflare customers complained about unauthorised scraping attempts.

Instead of respecting these rules, Cloudflare claims Perplexity altered its bots’ user agent to appear as a Google Chrome browser on macOS and switched its network identifiers to avoid detection.

The company says these tactics were seen across tens of thousands of domains and millions of daily requests, and that it used machine learning and network analysis to identify the activity.

Perplexity has denied the allegations, calling Cloudflare’s report a ‘sales pitch’ and disputing that the bot named in the findings belongs to the company. Cloudflare has since removed Perplexity’s bots from its verified list and introduced new blocking measures.

The dispute arises as Cloudflare intensifies its efforts to grant website owners greater control over AI crawlers. Last month, it launched a marketplace enabling publishers to charge AI firms for scraping, alongside free tools to block unauthorised data collection.

Perplexity has previously faced criticism over content use, with outlets such as Wired accusing it of plagiarism in 2024.

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Hackers infiltrate Southeast Asian telecom networks

A cyber group breached telecoms across Southeast Asia, deploying advanced tracking tools instead of stealing data. Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 assesses the activity as ‘associated with a nation-state nexus’.

A hacking group gained covert access to telecom networks across Southeast Asia, most likely to track users’ locations, according to cybersecurity analysts at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42.

The campaign lasted from February to November 2024.

Instead of stealing data or directly communicating with mobile devices, the hackers deployed custom tools such as CordScan, designed to intercept mobile network protocols like SGSN. These methods suggest the attackers focused on tracking rather than data theft.

Unite42 assessed the activity ‘with high confidence’ as ‘associated with a nation state nexus’. The Unit notes that ‘this cluster heavily overlaps with activity attributed to Liminal Panda, a nation state adversary tracked by CrowdStrike’; according to CrowdStrike, Liminal Panda is considered to be a ‘likely China-nexus adversary’. It further states that ‘while this cluster significantly overlaps with Liminal Panda, we have also observed overlaps in attacker tooling with other reported groups and activity clusters, including Light Basin, UNC3886, UNC2891 and UNC1945.’

The attackers initially gained access by brute-forcing SSH credentials using login details specific to telecom equipment.

Once inside, they installed new malware, including a backdoor named NoDepDNS, which tunnels malicious data through port 53 — typically used for DNS traffic — in order to avoid detection.

To maintain stealth, the group disguised malware, altered file timestamps, disabled system security features and wiped authentication logs.

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Google AI Mode raises fears over control of news

Google’s AI Mode has quietly launched in the UK, reshaping how users access news by summarising information directly in search results.

By paraphrasing content gathered across the internet, the tool offers instant answers while reducing the need to visit original news sites.

Critics argue that the technology monopolises UK information by filtering what users see, based on algorithms rather than editorial judgement. Concerns have grown over transparency, fairness and the future of independent journalism.

Publishers are not compensated for content used by AI Mode, and most users rarely click through to the sources. Newsrooms fear pressure to adapt their output to align with Google’s preferences or risk being buried online.

While AI may streamline convenience, it lacks accountability. Regulated journalism must operate under legal frameworks, whereas AI faces no such scrutiny even when errors have real consequences.

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Creative industries raise concerns over the EU AI Act

Organisations representing creative sectors have issued a joint statement expressing concerns over the current implementation of the EU AI Act, particularly its provisions for general-purpose AI systems.

The response focuses on recent documents, including the General Purpose AI Code of Practice, accompanying guidelines, and the template for training data disclosure under Article 53.

The signatories, drawn from music and broader creative industries, said they had engaged extensively throughout the consultation process. They now argue that the outcomes do not fully reflect the issues raised during those discussions.

According to the statement, the result does not provide the level of intellectual property protection that some had expected from the regulation.

The group has called on the European Commission to reconsider the implementation package and is encouraging the European Parliament and member states to review the process.

The original EU AI Act was widely acknowledged as a landmark regulation, with technology firms and creative industries closely watching its rollout across member countries.

Google confirmed that it will sign the General Purpose Code of Practice elsewhere. The company said the latest version supports Europe’s broader innovation goals more effectively than earlier drafts, but it also noted ongoing concerns.

These include the potential impact of specific requirements on competitiveness and handling trade secrets.

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US federal appeals court renews scrutiny in child exploitation suit against Musk’s X

A federal appeals court in San Francisco has reinstated critical parts of a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, regarding child exploitation content. 

While recognising that X holds significant legal protections against liability for content posted by users, the 9th Circuit panel determined that the platform must address allegations of negligence stemming from delays in reporting explicit material involving minors to authorities.

The troubling case revolves around two minors who were tricked via SnapChat into providing explicit images, which were later compiled and widely disseminated on Twitter. 

Despite being alerted to the content, Twitter reportedly took nine days to remove it and notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, during which the disturbing video received over 167,000 views. 

The court emphasised that once the platform was informed, it had a clear responsibility to act swiftly, separating this obligation from typical protections granted by the Communications Decency Act.

The ruling additionally criticised X for having an infrastructure that allegedly impeded users’ ability to report child exploitation effectively. 

However, the court upheld the dismissal of other claims, including allegations that Twitter knowingly benefited from sex trafficking or deliberately amplified illicit content. 

Advocates for the victims welcomed the decision as a step toward accountability, setting the stage for further legal scrutiny and potential trial proceedings.

Source: Reuters

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UK Online Safety Act under fire amid free speech and privacy concerns

The UK’s Online Safety Act, aimed at protecting children and eliminating illegal content online, is stirring a strong debate due to its stringent requirements on social media platforms and websites hosting adult content.

Critics argue that the act’s broad application could unintentionally suppress free speech, as highlighted by social media platform X.

X claims the act results in the censorship of lawful content, reflecting concerns shared by politicians, free-speech campaigners, and content creators.

Moreover, public unease is evident, with over 468,000 individuals signing a petition for the act’s repeal, citing privacy concerns over mandatory age checks requiring personal data on adult content sites.

Despite mounting criticism, the UK government is resolute in its commitment to the legislation. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle equates opposition to siding with online predators, emphasising child protection.

The government asserts that the act also mandates platforms to uphold freedom of expression alongside child safety obligations.

While X criticises both the broad scope and the tight compliance timelines of the act, warning of pressures towards over-censorship, it calls for significant statutory revisions to protect personal freedoms while safeguarding children.

The government rebuffs claims that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech, with assurances that the law equally protects freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, has initiated investigations into the compliance of several companies managing pornography sites, highlighting the rigorous enforcement.

Source: Reuters

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Rod Stewart honours Ozzy Osbourne with AI fantasy

At a recent Atlanta concert, Rod Stewart honoured the late Ozzy Osbourne in a strikingly unconventional way, by showing an AI-generated video of Ozzy taking selfies in heaven with late music icons. The tribute played on a giant screen behind Stewart as he performed ‘Forever Young,’ depicting a cartoonish Ozzy grinning alongside legends like Kurt Cobain, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Bob Marley, all united by a floating selfie stick among the clouds.

The video, originally captured by a concertgoer on TikTok, featured Ozzy smiling and posing with other departed stars like Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury, turning heaven into an eternal celebrity photo op. Instead of a traditional photo montage, Stewart’s new approach created a digital afterlife where jam sessions and selfies with rock’s finest never end, implying perhaps that Ozzy has already joined them.

That marks a notable shift from Stewart’s earlier tributes to Osbourne, which relied on simple archival photographs. The AI animation, however strange, seems to reflect a deeper attempt to celebrate Ozzy’s spirit in a uniquely modern way, courtesy, presumably, of a tech-savvy relative.

Following Ozzy’s death on 22 July, Stewart shared a heartfelt farewell on Instagram: ‘Bye, Ozzy. Sleep well, my friend. I’ll see you up there, later rather than sooner.’ Judging by this tribute, he’s already imagining what that reunion might look like.

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