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Jon Keegan
1/17/25

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban in 9-0 decision

In a unanimous 9-0 decision, the US Supreme Court upheld the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which would ban the distribution of TikTok.

The law is slated to go into effect as of January 19, the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration. According to The New York Times, TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be attending the inauguration. The decision finds that TikTok’s First Amendment rights are not violated by the law, and let a lower-court decision stand.

“For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the challenged provisions do not violate petitioners’ First Amendment rights. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is affirmed. It is so ordered.

The Washington Post reports that Trump may be considering an executive order to delay enforcement of the ban.

The stock of TikTok competitors Meta, Snap, and Google don’t appear to be seeing any boost in response to the news, with Snap actually down on the day.

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The DOJ is suing Uber, alleging the company discriminates against passengers with disabilities

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Uber on Thursday, alleging that the company routinely and illegally discriminates against passengers with physical disabilities.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Uber’s drivers regularly refuse service to passengers with service animals and stowable wheelchairs. Some passengers are charged cleaning fees for service animals and cancellation fees after being refused a ride, the lawsuit alleges. According to the complaint, others are insulted or denied requests like sitting in the front seat due to mobility issues.

“Ubers discriminatory conduct has caused significant economic, emotional, and physical harm to individuals with disabilities,” the lawsuit reads.

A survey last year by the organization Guide Dogs for the Blind found that more than 83% of people who are blind or visually impaired said they’ve been denied ride-share service.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Uber disagreed with the lawsuit, saying it has a “zero-tolerance policy for confirmed service denials.”

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Draft Senate bill gives AI companies a two-year pass on federal regulation, Bloomberg reports

Bloomberg reports that a draft bill from Senator Ted Cruz would give AI companies a two-year pass from any federal regulation when they apply to be part of a White House-controlled “regulatory sandbox.” Such a regulatory framework frees participating companies from federal agency oversight while simultaneously handing President Trump broad powers to shape a still nascent and increasingly powerful industry.

The draft bill allows companies approved for the waiver to request renewals for up to eight years, according to the report.

The fast-moving generative-AI boom that took the tech world by storm was kicked off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT less than three years ago. A potential decade free of federal regulations would be a huge win for companies like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon.

In July, the US Senate voted 99-1 to kill a planned provision from President Trump’s massive tax bill that would have prevented any state from regulating AI for 10 years.

The fast-moving generative-AI boom that took the tech world by storm was kicked off by the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT less than three years ago. A potential decade free of federal regulations would be a huge win for companies like Meta, Google, OpenAI, and Amazon.

In July, the US Senate voted 99-1 to kill a planned provision from President Trump’s massive tax bill that would have prevented any state from regulating AI for 10 years.

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Airbus faces a 10-day strike from UK workers, mirroring Boeing’s labor strife

Thousands of UK union Airbus workers plan to strike for 10 days in September amid a contract dispute.

The union workers build wings for Airbus’ commercial jets, threatening a production slowdown for the European plane maker.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

As Airbus’ labor tension builds, rival Boeing’s has already boiled over: earlier this month, more than 3,000 Boeing workers who build military aircraft started a strike that remains ongoing. The action came less than a year after the company faced a two-month stoppage from a machinist strike.

Airbus, for now, says it doesn’t see the strikes affecting full-year deliveries.

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