US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he will appoint a new AI adviser (an "AI czar") and create "AI forces," without giving details. It would be the second AI czar after David Sacks, who left in the spring. Trump again opposed additional AI regulation.
US President Donald Trump said he will appoint a special AI commissioner and urged tech companies to accelerate AI development despite growing safety concerns. He called AI safety risks a hoax.
The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on September 17, 2026, that border agents can manually search travelers' phones without a warrant or suspicion. The decision applies to all entry points in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont and covers messages, photos, financial data, and location history.
According to Axios, the USPTO and the US Copyright Office were surprised by the Department of Justice's brief supporting OpenAI and Microsoft in The New York Times copyright infringement lawsuit. The agencies were not notified of the DOJ's position in advance.
Germany unveiled its national EUDI Wallet 'd-you' with a launch on January 2, 2027, and around 40 partners. Cyprus allocated €9.8 million for EUDI integration, Moldova connected four banks to the EVO wallet, and Malawi launched the Nzika wallet. In the UK, pubs and shops began accepting digital IDs for age verification.
Judge Harold Kahn allowed three of Reddit's five claims against Anthropic to proceed: breach of contract, tortious interference, and violation of California's unfair competition law. Claims for unjust enrichment and trespass were dismissed with leave to amend by October 16. Reddit accuses Anthropic of scraping user comments to train Claude.
At US-China talks in New York, the US Treasury raised the issue of six Chinese AI companies accused by the NSA, FBI, and CISA of industrial model copying and bypassing chip export controls. A separate November 10 deadline on rare earth metals is also being discussed.
The debate over AI regulation has split the industry: Anthropic and OpenAI call for oversight, while Zuckerberg, Musk, and Jensen Huang thwarted the idea of an independent regulator. Trump calls AI fears a 'hoax' and opposes restrictions.
French authorities are investigating cases of smart glasses with cameras being used to secretly film women and distribute videos on social media. The investigation concerns consent for filming and responsibility for publishing such recordings.
CTIA published a report demanding exclusive licensed auctions for the 4.4 GHz band, while a cable operator coalition proposes automated frequency coordination without displacing federal agencies. The dispute will determine US 6G deployment and the country's position at WRC-27 in Shanghai.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) said Europol's internet surveillance tool cannot legally launch until oversight conditions are met. The requirements were set in January 2026 after Europol used unregulated data systems, including the secret Pressure Cooker tool. A planned EU reform could remove the oversight.
The Indian government is discussing with TRAI and operators cutting license and spectrum fees from 8% to 3-4% and pausing the 5% USO fund contribution. This would let Jio and Airtel cut tariffs by 10-15% after their July increase of 15-25%.
The Guardian examines how fears of China's AI superiority influence the stance of US tech companies and politicians. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei calls to 'slow the frontier' but only to a level where China cannot catch up to the US.
CEOs of OpenAI, Nvidia, and Apple will attend Trump's state dinner for Xi Jinping on September 24. In May, a Beijing meeting discussed AI safety but no agreements were signed and chip export controls were not addressed. Chinese customs still blocks Nvidia H200 shipments authorized by Washington.
An account linked to China Central Television said that changes to Anthropic's privacy policy increase risks to user data, claiming the company could transfer information to US intelligence agencies without legal procedures if it deems necessary.
India's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) plans to release guidelines and policies within 2–3 months to address Quality Control Orders issues faced by semiconductor and deeptech manufacturers. Deputy Minister Sumit Jarangal cited a company with about 1400 interchangeable components under BIS requirements.
European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra rejected calls to introduce an EU-wide digital services tax, stating that all possibilities for global taxation of tech companies must first be exhausted.
A judge in Los Angeles preliminarily rejected part of the US authorities' settlement with TikTok over claims of violating children's privacy. The deal amount is $400 million, and the decision prolongs uncertainty around the service's operation in the US.
India expanded its anti-spam regulation: caller ID and call-management apps must now share users' spam complaints with telecom operators. Truecaller criticized the requirement, calling the exchange one-way and anti-competitive.
Four consumers filed a class action in San Francisco court on September 18, 2026, accusing Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google of colluding to slow improvements to their frontier AI products in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The plaintiffs say the companies coordinated since July 2026 and together hold at least 80% of the paid AI assistant subscription market.
Gavin Newsom signed a California legislative package: SB 1119 (the Adam Act) requires independent child safety audits and annual risk assessments from AI companies, AB 1709 bans addictive features for users under 16, and AB 1043 introduces device-level age verification. Fines reach $50,000 for intentional violations and $25,000 for negligence per child. OpenAI and Common Sense Media supported the initiatives.
Thailand is preparing to abandon the subsidies that made it Southeast Asia's fastest-growing electric vehicle market and replace them with a tax structure that penalizes automakers for imports instead of local production.
Several initiatives were introduced in the US House: intelligence report on AI use under Section 702, limiting Flock license plate readers, AI in pediatric oncology, and NIST standards for AI agent control.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed an executive order and released a policy framework to regulate data centers. Measures address air quality, water use, clean energy, and transparency, including phasing out Tier II diesel generators and banning NDAs that hide impacts on communities.
Neil Chilson, head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute and former FTC chief technologist, said government-backed antitrust exemptions for AI labs could create a lasting 'cartel' that harms competition. He argued safety standards can be coordinated without suspending antitrust rules, and existing consumer protection laws already address AI harms.
The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, led by Josh Hawley, will hold a September 23 hearing titled 'Always Watching: Flock's Nationwide AI Surveillance Network.' CEOs of Flock Safety, Axon, Motorola Solutions and Verkada were invited; Verkada declined to participate.
In a declassified court document, publishers quote Microsoft and OpenAI executives acknowledging that training LLMs on copyrighted content is the “largest theft of labor in history” and that chatbots pose an “existential threat” to the press. The document was filed in consolidated lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, including suits by The New York Times and Ziff Davis.
At the All-In summit, Musk said companies should test each other’s models for safety issues before release rather than rely on regulators. According to WSJ, he, Jensen Huang and Zuckerberg advised Trump to oppose an industry AI regulator.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Order 22 on September 18, 2026, barring NDAs, requiring local approval for data centers above 25 MW, and ending subsidies and fast-track permitting. An AI task force will assess privacy, cybersecurity and job displacement risks.
The Guardian examines Europe's absence from AI safety debates: the continent lacks OpenAI- or Nvidia-scale giants, and slowing AI development is impossible without US and Chinese support. Lagarde and Vestager urge building domestic data centers and AI technology to cut dependence.
