News

Alabama officials are grappling with the negative consequences of artificial intelligence and social media platforms that can lead some users to isolation, addiction, abuse and self-harm. The Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Internet Safety heard presentations Wednesday on ways to regulate algorithms and legislation to help stem the proliferation of AI-generated images that victimize real people.

Measuring Risk II finds that Snap and YouTube have internal capabilities to measure risk and evaluate safety interventions, yet their public risk assessments provide little evidence that their safety mitigations reach users or work in practice.

A landmark case is forcing Brussels to decide whether opening Google’s search data to rivals can boost competition without undermining Europeans’ privacy.

Europe’s pro-competition proposals could see Google Search and Android systems opened up. The company claims there are serious privacy flaws.

In June 2026, KGI welcomed Claire McCrea as Operations Associate. Claire provides operational support to KGI, the Center for Digital Ethics, and the Institute for Technology Law & Policy.

Google’s dominance in search is increasingly under scrutiny as regulators on both sides of the Atlantic consider whether new rules could reshape competition in the AI-driven search era. Against this backdrop, earlier this year, the European Commission initiated specification proceedings regarding Google’s noncompliance with Article 6(11) of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which requires the company to share ranking, query, click, and view data with its rivals.

Jury verdicts against technology juggernauts like Meta Platforms Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. are spotlighting the role complex litigation plays in shaping tech policy in the absence of comprehensive legislation. Bellwether trial losses and settlements in cases over social media and ride-share platform safety have become important pressure points in creating substantive design limits.

A landmark New Mexico case, which alleges that Meta failed to protect children online, has entered a pivotal new phase—one that will test whether courts can require changes that make social media safe for young users.

A new framework from the Knight-Georgetown Institute, Tech Justice Law, and the USC Marshall School Neely Center provides a practical, evidence-based guide to help litigators, courts, and policymakers craft effective, enforceable remedies for harms linked to social media and generative AI chatbot companies, as lawsuits expand across the United States.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez won a historic sum of $375 million in a landmark child safety case against Meta earlier this year. But the next stage of the fight could be even more consequential for Meta and the social media industry at large.

This week’s verdicts against Meta and YouTube in landmark social media trials in the US underscore the real harms users link to social media design – including addiction, lasting mental health impacts, and exposure to predators – and highlight the need for these companies to overhaul design choices that prioritize engagement over safety.

As the 2025-2026 legislative session in Minnesota progresses, KGI is encouraged by support in both the State House and Senate for legislation promoting algorithmic feeds that prioritize users’ long-term interests over short-term attention maximization.