Digital business models Archives | Page 29 of 566

EU considers stronger child protection in Digital Fairness Act

Capitals across the EU are being asked to discuss how stronger child protection measures should be incorporated into the upcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA).

The initiative comes as policymakers attempt to address growing concerns about how online platforms expose minors to harmful content, manipulative design practices, and unsafe digital environments.

According to a document circulated during Cyprus’s Council presidency of the European Union, member states are expected to debate which concrete safeguards should be introduced as part of the broader consumer protection framework.

Officials are exploring whether new rules should require platforms to adopt stricter safeguards when designing digital services used by children.

The discussions are part of the European Union’s broader effort to strengthen digital governance and consumer protection across online platforms. Policymakers are increasingly focusing on how platform design, recommendation algorithms, and monetisation models may affect younger users.

The proposals could complement existing EU regulations targeting large digital platforms, while expanding protections specifically focused on minors.

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Australia introduces strict online child safety rules covering AI chatbots

New Age-Restricted Material Codes have begun to be enforced in Australia, requiring online platforms to introduce stronger protections to prevent children from accessing harmful digital content.

The rules apply across a wide range of services, including social media, app stores, gaming platforms, search engines, pornography websites, and AI chatbots.

Under the framework, companies must implement age-assurance systems before allowing access to content involving pornography, high-impact violence, self-harm material, or other age-restricted topics.

These measures also extend to AI companions and chatbots, which must prevent sexually explicit or self-harm-related conversations with minors.

The rules form part of Australia’s broader online safety framework overseen by the eSafety Commissioner, which will monitor compliance and enforce the codes.

Companies that fail to comply may face penalties of up to $49.5 million per breach.

The policy aims to shift responsibility toward technology companies by requiring them to build protections directly into their platforms.

Officials in Australia argue the measures mirror long-standing offline safeguards designed to prevent children from accessing adult environments or harmful material.

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AI legal advice case asks whether ChatGPT crosses legal boundaries

A newly filed lawsuit against OpenAI raises a key issue: Does allowing generative AI systems like ChatGPT to provide legal advice violate laws that bar the unauthorised practice of law (UPL)? UPL means providing legal services, such as drafting filings or giving advice, without the required legal qualifications or a state licence.

The case claims an individual used ChatGPT to prepare legal filings in a dispute with Nippon Life Insurance, prompting the company to argue OpenAI should be held responsible for the outcome.

The lawsuit claims ChatGPT helped the user challenge a settled legal dispute. As a result, the company had to spend additional time and resources responding to filings produced with ChatGPT. The claim alleges tortious interference with a contract, which is the unlawful disruption of an existing agreement between two parties by causing one of the parties to breach or alter it.

Ultimately, this disrupted another party’s contractual relationship. The suit also claims unauthorised practice of law and abuse of the judicial process, which means using the legal system improperly to gain an advantage. It argues OpenAI should be liable because ChatGPT operates under its control. The dispute centres on whether AI systems should analyse disputes and offer legal advice like a lawyer.

Advocates argue the tools could widen access to legal advice. They could make legal support more accessible and affordable for those who cannot easily hire a lawyer. However, US legal frameworks restrict the provision of legal advice to licensed lawyers. The rules are designed to protect consumers and ensure professional accountability.

Critics argue that limiting legal advice to licensed lawyers preserves an expensive monopoly and hinders access to justice. AI-driven legal tools highlight this tension over the future of legal services.

The outcome of this lawsuit will likely hinge on whether AI-generated responses constitute intentional legal advice and if OpenAI can be held liable for such outputs. Even if it fails, the case foregrounds the broader debate about granting generative AI a legitimate role in legal guidance.

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ChatGPT ‘adult mode’ launch delayed as OpenAI focuses on core improvements

OpenAI has postponed the launch of ChatGPT’s ‘adult mode’, a feature designed to let verified adult users access erotica and other mature content.

Teams are focusing on improving intelligence, personality and proactive behaviour instead of releasing the feature immediately.

A feature that was first announced by Sam Altman in October, with an initial December rollout, aiming to allow adults more freedom while maintaining safety for younger users.

The project faced an earlier delay as internal teams prioritised the core ChatGPT experience.

OpenAI stated it still supports the principle of treating adults like adults but warned that achieving the right experience will require more time. No new release date has been provided.

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The EU faces growing AI copyright disputes

Courts across Europe are examining how copyright law applies to AI systems trained on large datasets. Judges in Europe are reviewing whether existing rules allow AI developers to use copyrighted books, music and journalism without permission.

One closely watched dispute in Luxembourg involves a publisher challenging Google over summaries produced by its Gemini chatbot. The case before the EU court in Luxembourg could test how press publishers’ rights apply to AI-generated outputs.

Legal experts warn the ruling in Luxembourg may not resolve wider questions about AI training data. Many disputes in Europe focus on the EU copyright directive and its text and data mining exception.

Additional lawsuits across Europe involving music rights group GEMA and OpenAI are expected to continue for years. Policymakers in Europe are also considering updates to copyright rules as AI technology expands.

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Pentagon AI dispute raises concerns for startups

A dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon in the US has raised questions about whether startups will hesitate to pursue defence contracts. Negotiations over the use of Anthropic’s Claude AI technology collapsed, prompting the US administration to label the company a supply chain risk.

The situation in the US escalated as OpenAI secured its own agreement with the Pentagon. The development sparked backlash online, with reports of a surge in ChatGPT uninstalls after the defence partnership announcement.

Technology analysts in the US say the controversy highlights the unusual scrutiny facing high-profile AI firms. Companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic attract intense public attention because widely used AI products place their defence partnerships in the spotlight.

Startup founders in the US are now debating the risks of government contracts, particularly with the Pentagon. Industry observers in the US warn that defence authorities’ contract changes could make government collaboration more uncertain.

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Cursor launches tool to automate agentic coding workflows

Cursor has launched a new tool called Automations, designed to help software engineers manage the growing complexity of overseeing multiple AI coding agents at once.

Rather than requiring a human to initiate each task, the system allows agents to launch automatically in response to events such as a new code addition, a Slack message, or a scheduled timer.

The shift is significant because it breaks the ‘prompt-and-monitor’ model that currently defines most AI-assisted engineering.

As Cursor’s engineering lead for asynchronous agents, Jonas Nelle put it, humans are no longer always the ones initiating; they are called in at the right moments, rather than tracking dozens of processes simultaneously.

Early applications include automated bug reviews, security audits, PagerDuty incident response, and weekly codebase summaries delivered to Slack.

The launch comes as competition in the agentic coding space intensifies, with both OpenAI and Anthropic releasing major updates to their tools in recent weeks. Cursor’s annual recurring revenue has nonetheless doubled over the past three months to more than $2 billion.

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Europe risks falling behind in the global robotics race

China’s dominance in humanoid robotics was on full display at the start of 2026, with Hangzhou-based Unitree at the forefront of innovation and 87% of all humanoid robots delivered in 2025 were made in China.

Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz witnessed a live display of robots dancing and doing backflips during a visit to Hangzhou, returning home to warn that Germany was ‘simply no longer productive enough.’

European robotics startups face a stark funding gap compared to their US and Chinese rivals. Rodion Shishkov, founder of the London-based construction technology company All3, described having to ‘literally fight’ for tens of millions of euros, whilst similarly positioned American counterparts could secure billions of dollars with the same effort.

Barclays’ research suggests the global humanoid robotics market, currently worth $2–3 billion, could reach $200 billion by 2035, making the stakes of falling behind significant.

Andrei Danescu, CEO of the logistics robotics startup Dexory, warned that Europe should not confuse a strong industrial tradition with genuine momentum. He called on European regulators to set clearer standards, establish liability frameworks for autonomous systems, and align public investment levels with the strategic ambitions of other global players.

One industry analyst noted that achieving hardware independence from Chinese supply chains in robotics would be ‘naive’ to expect, but argued that Europe still has significant ground to claim on the intelligence and data side of the sector.

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EU and Canada begin negotiations on a digital trade agreement

The European Commission and Canada have launched negotiations on a new Digital Trade Agreement to strengthen the rules governing cross-border digital commerce.

The initiative was announced in Toronto by the EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.

An agreement that will expand the digital dimension of the existing Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, which has already increased trade in goods and services between the two partners.

Officials say the new negotiations aim to create clearer rules for businesses and consumers engaging in cross-border digital transactions.

Proposals under discussion include promoting paperless trade systems, recognising electronic signatures and digital contracts, and prohibiting customs duties on electronic transmissions.

The agreement between the EU and Canada will also seek to prevent protectionist practices such as unjustified data localisation requirements or forced transfers of software source code.

European officials argue that the negotiations reflect a broader effort to develop international standards for digital trade governance while preserving governments’ ability to regulate emerging challenges in the digital economy.

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Data breach hits fintech lender Figure exposing nearly 1 million accounts

Fintech lender Figure Technology Solutions has disclosed a data breach after hackers exposed personal information from nearly one million accounts. Details from 967,200 accounts, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, and dates of birth, were compromised.

Figure Technology Solutions, founded in 2018, operates a blockchain-based lending platform built on the Provenance blockchain. The company says it has facilitated more than $22 billion in home equity transactions through partnerships with banks, credit unions, and fintech firms. Despite blockchain security claims, attackers reportedly gained access by manipulating a staff member rather than breaking the underlying technology.

‘We recently identified that an employee was socially engineered, and that allowed an actor to download a limited number of files through their account,’ a company spokesperson said. ‘We acted quickly to block the activity and retained a forensic firm to investigate what files were affected. We understand the importance of these matters and are communicating with partners and those impacted as appropriate.’

Security researchers say the data breach follows a pattern used by groups such as ShinyHunters, who impersonate IT support staff and pressure employees into revealing login credentials through convincing phishing portals.

Once access to corporate single sign-on systems, which allow users to log in to multiple internal applications with a single set of credentials, is obtained, attackers can move across multiple internal platforms, often including services linked to major providers such as Microsoft and Google.

Experts warn that the data breach highlights a wider cybersecurity problem: even advanced technologies such as blockchain cannot prevent attacks that target human behaviour. Criminals can use exposed personal information to launch convincing phishing campaigns or financial scams, reinforcing the need for stronger employee training and security awareness.

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