Britain and Canada are continuing regulatory probes into xAI’s Grok chatbot, signalling that official scrutiny will persist despite the company’s announcement of new safeguards. Authorities say concerns remain over the system’s ability to generate explicit and non-consensual images.
xAI said it had updated Grok to block edits that place real people in revealing clothing and restricted image generation in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. The company did not specify which regions are affected by the new limits.
Reuters testing found Grok was still capable of producing sexualised images, including in Britain. Social media platform X and xAI did not respond to questions about how effective the changes have been.
UK regulator Ofcom said its investigation remains ongoing, despite welcoming xAI’s announcement. A privacy watchdog in Canada also confirmed it is expanding an existing probe into both X and xAI.
Pressure is growing internationally, with countries including France, India, and the Philippines raising concerns. British Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the Online Safety Act gives the government tools to hold platforms accountable for harmful content.
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Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to collaborate on developing new AI models and preparing related legislation. The cooperation was formalised in a joint statement at a digital ministers’ meeting in Hanoi on Thursday.
Proposed by Minister Hayashi, the initiative aims to boost regional AI capabilities amid US and Chinese competition. Japan emphasised its ongoing commitment to supporting ASEAN’s technological development.
The partnership follows last October’s Japan-ASEAN summit, where Prime Minister Takaichi called for joint research in semiconductors and AI. The agreement aims to foster closer innovation ties and regional collaboration in strategic technology sectors.
The collaboration will engage public and private stakeholders to promote research, knowledge exchange, and capacity-building across ASEAN. Officials expect the partnership to speed AI adoption while maintaining regional regulations and ethical standards.
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WhatsApp has excluded Brazil from its new restriction on third-party general-purpose chatbots, allowing AI providers to continue operating on the platform despite a broader policy shift affecting other markets.
The decision follows action by the competition authority of Brazil, which ordered Meta to suspend elements of the policy while assessing whether the rules unfairly disadvantage rival chatbot providers in favour of Meta AI.
Developers have been informed that services linked to Brazilian phone numbers do not need to stop responding to users or issue service warnings.
Elsewhere, WhatsApp has introduced a 90-day grace period starting in mid-January, requiring chatbot developers to halt responses and notify users that services will no longer function on the app.
The policy applies to tools such as ChatGPT and Grok, while customer service bots used by businesses remain unaffected.
Italy has already secured a similar exemption after regulatory scrutiny, while the EU has opened an antitrust investigation into the new rules.
Meta continues to argue that general-purpose AI chatbots place technical strain on systems designed for business messaging instead of acting as an open distribution platform for AI services.
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Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) department saw an overwhelming volume of comments on its national AI strategy consultation, prompting officials to use AI tools to analyse and organise responses from citizens, organisations and stakeholders.
The consultation was part of a broader effort to shape Canada’s approach to AI governance, regulation and adoption, with the government seeking input on how to balance innovation, competitiveness and responsible AI development.
Analysts and advocates have highlighted Canadians’ demand for strong oversight, transparency, and protections related to privacy and data protection, misinformation and ethical uses of AI.
Public interest groups have urged that rights, privacy and sustainability be central pillars of the AI strategy rather than secondary considerations, and recommended risk-based, people-centred regulations similar to frameworks adopted in other jurisdictions.
The use of AI to process feedback illustrates both the scale of engagement and the government’s willingness to employ the very technology it seeks to govern in drafting its policy.
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More than 50 EU lawmakers have called on the European Commission to clarify whether AI-powered applications for nudity are prohibited under existing EU legislation, citing concerns about online harm and legal uncertainty.
The request follows public scrutiny of the Grok, owned by xAI, which was found to generate manipulated intimate images involving women and minors.
Lawmakers argue that such systems enable gender-based online violence and the production of child sexual abuse material instead of legitimate creative uses.
In their letter, lawmakers questioned whether current provisions under the EU AI Act sufficiently address nudification tools or whether additional prohibitions are required. They also warned that enforcement focused only on substantial online platforms risks leaving similar applications operating elsewhere.
While EU authorities have taken steps under the Digital Services Act to assess platform responsibilities, lawmakers stressed the need for broader regulatory clarity and consistent application across the digital market.
Further political debate on the issue is expected in the coming days.
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Major social media platforms restricted access to approximately 4.7 million accounts linked to children under 16 across Australia during early December, following the introduction of the national social media minimum age requirement.
Initial figures collected by eSafety indicate that platforms with high youth usage are already engaging in early compliance efforts.
Since the obligation took effect on 10 December, regulatory focus has shifted towards monitoring and enforcement instead of preparation, targeting services assessed as age-restricted.
Early data suggests meaningful steps are being taken, although authorities stress it remains too soon to determine whether platforms have achieved full compliance.
eSafety has emphasised continuous improvement in age-assurance accuracy, alongside the industry’s responsibility to prevent circumvention.
Reports indicate some under-16 accounts remain active, although early signals point towards reduced exposure and gradual behavioural change rather than immediate elimination.
Officials note that the broader impact of the minimum age policy will emerge over time, supported by a planned independent, longitudinal evaluation involving academic and youth mental health experts.
Data collection will continue to monitor compliance, platform migration trends and long-term safety outcomes for children and families in Australia.
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Wikipedia marked its 25th anniversary by showcasing the rapid expansion of Wikimedia Enterprise and its growing tech partnerships. The milestone reflects Wikipedia’s evolution into one of the most trusted and widely used knowledge sources in the digital economy.
Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity have joined the partner roster for the first time, alongside Google, Ecosia, and several other companies already working with Wikimedia Enterprise.
These organisations integrate human-curated Wikipedia content into search engines, AI models, voice assistants, and data platforms, helping deliver verified knowledge to billions of users worldwide.
Wikipedia remains one of the top ten most visited websites globally and the only one in that group operated by a non-profit organisation. With over 65 million articles in 300+ languages, the platform is a key dataset for training large language models.
Wikimedia Enterprise provides structured, high-speed access to this content through on-demand, snapshot, and real-time APIs, allowing companies to use Wikipedia data at scale while supporting its long-term sustainability.
As Wikipedia continues to expand into new languages and subject areas, its value for AI development, search, and specialised knowledge applications is expected to grow further.
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OpenAI has agreed to purchase up to 750 megawatts of computing power from AI chipmaker Cerebras over the next three years. The deal, announced on 14 January, is expected to be worth more than US$10 billion and will support ChatGPT and other AI services.
Cerebras will provide cloud services powered by its wafer-scale chips, which are designed to run large AI models more efficiently than traditional GPUs. OpenAI plans to use the capacity primarily for inference and reasoning models that require high compute.
Cerebras will build or lease data centres filled with its custom hardware, with computing capacity coming online in stages through 2028. OpenAI said the partnership would help improve the speed and responsiveness of its AI systems as user demand continues to grow.
The deal is also essential for Cerebras as it prepares for a second attempt at a public listing, following a 2025 IPO that was postponed. Diversifying its customer base beyond major backers such as UAE-based G42 could strengthen its financial position ahead of a potential 2026 flotation.
The agreement highlights the wider race among AI firms to secure vast computing resources, as investment in AI infrastructure accelerates. However, some analysts have warned that soaring valuations and heavy spending could resemble past technology bubbles.
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The European Commission is set to unveil the Digital Networks Act (DNA), a major revamp of EU telecom regulations aimed at boosting investment in digital infrastructure.
A draft document indicates the Commission plans to grant indefinite-duration radio spectrum licences, introducing ‘use-it-or-share-it’ conditions to prevent hoarding and encourage active deployment.
The DNA also calls for tighter oversight of dominant firms, including transparency, non-discrimination, and pricing rules in related markets.
Fibre rollout guidance and flexible copper replacement deadlines aim to harmonise investment and support 2030 connectivity goals across member states.
Large online platforms are expected to engage in a voluntary cooperative framework moderated by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC).
The approach avoids mandatory levies or binding duties, focusing instead on technical dialogue and ‘best practice’ codes while leaving enforcement largely to national regulators.
The draft shifts focus from forcing Big Tech to fund networks to reforming spectrum and telecom rules to boost investment. Member states and the European Parliament will negotiate EU coordination, national discretion, and net neutrality protections.
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MetaMask has launched native Tron support on mobile and in the browser, completing its integration with the Tron DAO, announced last August. The move strengthens MetaMask’s shift towards a fully multichain strategy beyond its Ethereum roots.
Tron-based assets, decentralised applications, staking, and USDT transfers can now be managed directly within MetaMask’s self-custody wallet. Users can swap assets across Tron, EVM chains, Solana, and Bitcoin without extra wallet software.
The integration connects MetaMask to Tron, one of the busiest stablecoin networks, with $21 billion in daily transfers and millions of active wallets. Tron’s strong presence in payments and decentralised finance adds further scale to MetaMask’s growing multichain offering.
Consensys, the developer behind MetaMask, has accelerated expansion beyond Ethereum as user activity increasingly spans multiple blockchain ecosystems. After adding Solana and Bitcoin, the integration with Tron further strengthens MetaMask as a cross-chain platform beyond Ethereum.
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