Leading web‑scraping companies say their bots only collect publicly available information, despite lawsuits from major platforms. Executives from Bright Data, ScrapingBee and Oxylabs stress compliance with open‑web principles and note legitimate uses such as cybersecurity and investigative journalism. The growing demand for AI‑trained data has spurred a new market, with over 40 firms offering bots for AI training and a nascent marketing approach called generative engine optimization. Industry leaders predict this trend will intensify through 2026, creating both opportunities and challenges for publishers and regulators. Read more →

Britain’s data protection watchdog has opened a formal investigation into X and its subsidiary xAI after reports that the Grok chatbot generated millions of sexually explicit AI images, including many that appear to depict minors. The inquiry focuses on possible breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation, examining whether the companies failed to implement adequate safeguards to prevent the creation and distribution of non‑consensual deepfakes. Officials warn that violations could trigger fines of up to £17.5 million or 4 % of global turnover, and lawmakers are calling for stronger AI legislation. Read more →

OpenAI is planning to charge roughly $60 per 1,000 views for ads on ChatGPT, about three times the rate Meta typically charges. Early advertisers will receive only high‑level metrics such as total views and clicks, without detailed user‑action data. The first ads are slated to appear in the coming weeks for users on the free and lower‑tier Go plans, with exclusions for users under 18 and conversations about mental health or politics. OpenAI maintains that it will not sell user data to advertisers and will keep conversations private. Read more →

Apps such as Cheaterbuster and CheatEye allow users to upload a name or a photo and, using facial‑recognition technology and public data, locate a person's dating profile on services like Tinder. The services charge a fee per search and have been shown to locate profiles accurately in tests. Privacy experts warn that the practice violates user consent, may be inaccurate, and raises concerns about bias and data protection laws such as GDPR. Tinder has not commented, and lawmakers are being urged to address the growing surveillance trend. Read more →

A Deloitte survey of U.S. consumers shows that while more than half are experimenting with or regularly using generative AI, a majority also express strong worries about privacy and security. About four in ten respondents pay for AI services, yet concerns about data misuse, inaccurate results, and companies’ focus on competition over problem solving persist. Users increasingly verify AI outputs and remain reluctant to share personal data, highlighting a trust gap that tech firms must address. Read more →

Slack is testing a redesigned Slackbot that leverages generative AI to help users with common work tasks. The new bot can draft project plans, highlight daily priorities, analyze reports, and retrieve information across integrated services such as Google Drive, Salesforce, and OneDrive. Available as a beta to tens of thousands of users, the feature is slated for a broader release later this year. Slack also notes that the AI can generate channel recaps, thread summaries, and writing assistance in Canvas, while allowing organizations to opt out of using chat data for model training. Read more →

Google Gemini is positioning itself as a direct competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT by offering deep integration across Google services, real‑time information access, and native support for files, images, and audio. The assistant operates within Chrome, Android, Workspace, and other Google products, allowing users to ask questions about PDFs, Docs, images, and short audio clips without extra steps. Gemini also taps into Google’s vast data ecosystem, offers image generation through the Nano Banana model, and can orchestrate tasks across Maps, messaging, and calendars. While praised for its polished design and multimodal capabilities, some users voice concerns about data privacy. Visits to Gemini have risen sharply, indicating growing interest. Read more →

Anthropic announced that it will begin using user conversations and coding sessions from its Claude chatbot to train future large language models, unless users actively opt out. The policy change, detailed in an updated privacy notice, also extends data retention from thirty days to five years. New users encounter an opt‑in toggle during sign‑up, while existing users see a pop‑up prompting a choice. Users can manage the setting at any time under Privacy Settings by disabling the “Help improve Claude” switch. Commercial‑tier accounts remain exempt from the new training policy. Read more →

OpenAI is rolling out a suite of parental safety tools for teenagers using ChatGPT. The new features let parents receive notifications if a teen discusses self‑harm or suicide, restrict exposure to graphic or mature content, set usage time windows, and opt out of data training. These measures arrive amid lawsuits alleging the chatbot contributed to a teen's death and follow a similar tragedy involving another AI platform. OpenAI says the updates aim to provide age‑appropriate experiences while balancing teen privacy, and the company expects other AI firms to adopt comparable safeguards. Read more →

OpenAI has launched parental controls for ChatGPT, allowing parents to link their accounts with teen accounts to set safeguards. Features include default reduction of sensitive content, the ability to limit memory retention, quiet hours, and the option to disable voice and image generation. Parents can also decide whether a teen's chats are used to improve future models. Account linking requires mutual consent, and parents do not gain direct access to chat content except in rare safety‑risk situations. The rollout aims to provide stronger safety measures for younger users while preserving user privacy. Read more →

ChatGPT excels at drafting questions, translating jargon, and offering basic explanations, but it falls short when asked to diagnose health conditions, provide mental‑health support, make emergency safety decisions, handle personalized finance or tax planning, process confidential data, or create legally binding documents. The model also cannot be trusted for cheating‑related tasks, real‑time news monitoring, gambling advice, or original artistic creation. Users are urged to treat the AI as a supplemental tool rather than a replacement for professionals in these high‑risk areas. Read more →

A recent Arctic Wolf study shows that three in four organizations have integrated AI into their cybersecurity strategies, with nearly all decision‑makers expecting AI to shape future purchases. AI is praised for boosting speed, accuracy, and round‑the‑clock protection, yet human oversight is deemed critical. Companies continue to voice concerns over data privacy, cost, and the technology’s ability to meet business needs. Many firms plan to upskill staff, and off‑the‑shelf AI solutions are highlighted as a way to avoid deep technical expertise requirements. Read more →

The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal inquiry into several major developers of AI companion chatbots. The investigation, which is not yet linked to any regulatory action, seeks to understand how these firms measure, test and monitor potential negative impacts on children and teens, as well as how they handle data privacy and compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Seven companies—including Alphabet, Character Technologies, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and X.AI—have been asked to provide detailed information about their AI character development, monetization practices and safeguards for underage users. Read more →

U.S. and Chinese officials announced an ownership agreement for TikTok, ending a months‑long debate over a potential ban. The deal, confirmed during a trade meeting in Madrid, pushes back the deadline that was set for September 17 for TikTok to divest or face prohibition. President Donald Trump is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 19 to discuss the agreement, while reports suggest Oracle could play a role in the transaction. The resolution aims to address national‑security concerns while preserving access for the platform’s 170 million U.S. users. Read more →

Medical AI tools are expanding their reach, but experts warn they may downplay symptoms in women and ethnic minorities and raise privacy concerns. Google says it treats model bias seriously and is developing techniques to protect sensitive data. Open Evidence, used by hundreds of thousands of doctors, relies on citations from medical journals and regulatory sources. Research projects such as UCL and King’s College London’s Foresight model, trained on anonymized data from millions, aim to predict health outcomes, while European Delphi-2M predicts disease susceptibility. The NHS paused Foresight after a data‑protection complaint, highlighting the tension between innovation and patient privacy. Read more →

A recent Arctic Wolf study shows that three in four organizations have integrated AI into their cybersecurity strategies, with nearly all decision‑makers expecting AI to shape future purchases. AI is praised for boosting speed, accuracy, and round‑the‑clock protection, yet human oversight is deemed critical. Companies continue to voice concerns over data privacy, cost, and the technology’s ability to meet business needs. Many firms plan to upskill staff, and off‑the‑shelf AI solutions are highlighted as a way to avoid deep technical expertise requirements. Read more →

A recent Arctic Wolf study shows that three in four organizations have integrated AI into their cybersecurity strategies, with nearly all decision‑makers expecting AI to shape future purchases. AI is praised for boosting speed, accuracy, and round‑the‑clock protection, yet human oversight is deemed critical. Companies continue to voice concerns over data privacy, cost, and the technology’s ability to meet business needs. Many firms plan to upskill staff, and off‑the‑shelf AI solutions are highlighted as a way to avoid deep technical expertise requirements. Read more →

The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal inquiry into several major developers of AI companion chatbots. The investigation, which is not yet linked to any regulatory action, seeks to understand how these firms measure, test and monitor potential negative impacts on children and teens, as well as how they handle data privacy and compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Seven companies—including Alphabet, Character Technologies, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and X.AI—have been asked to provide detailed information about their AI character development, monetization practices and safeguards for underage users. Read more →

The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal inquiry into several major developers of AI companion chatbots. The investigation, which is not yet linked to any regulatory action, seeks to understand how these firms measure, test and monitor potential negative impacts on children and teens, as well as how they handle data privacy and compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Seven companies—including Alphabet, Character Technologies, Meta, OpenAI, Snap and X.AI—have been asked to provide detailed information about their AI character development, monetization practices and safeguards for underage users. Read more →

U.S. and Chinese officials announced an ownership agreement for TikTok, ending a months‑long debate over a potential ban. The deal, confirmed during a trade meeting in Madrid, pushes back the deadline that was set for September 17 for TikTok to divest or face prohibition. President Donald Trump is slated to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 19 to discuss the agreement, while reports suggest Oracle could play a role in the transaction. The resolution aims to address national‑security concerns while preserving access for the platform’s 170 million U.S. users. Read more →