Japan’s main newspaper association has renewed its demand that generative AI companies seek permission before using journalistic content to train their models, warning that current practices amount to “free-riding” and threaten the sustainability of the country’s news industry. In a statement issued this week, the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association raised fresh concerns about the unauthorised use of news content by AI developers. It pointed to Article 30-4 of Japan’s Copyright Law, which permits the use of copyrighted material for machine learning without prior consent, provided the use does not “unreasonably prejudice the interests of the copyright owner.” But…

Platform accuses chatbot developer of breaching its terms and unfairly profiting from user-generated content. Reddit has filed a lawsuit against the AI firm Anthropic, accusing it of illegally scraping user comments to train its chatbot, Claude. The case, brought in California Superior Court, opens a new front in the growing legal battle against AI firms accused of harvesting online data without consent. According to the filing, Anthropic used automated bots to extract Reddit content in breach of the platform’s terms of use. Reddit’s chief legal officer, Ben Lee, said AI developers must be held accountable for how they gather and…

Around 10,000 Hungarians staged a silent protest on Budapest’s Freedom Bridge to oppose a government bill permitting the monitoring and potential banning of foreign-funded media. Thousands of Hungarians gathered in Budapest this weekend to protest against a proposed law widely seen as a threat to media freedom and civil liberties. Around 10,000 people joined a silent demonstration on the city’s Freedom Bridge, holding signs demanding the withdrawal of the bill put forward by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party. The legislation would allow the government to monitor, sanction and potentially ban media outlets and non-governmental organisations that receive foreign…

The move aims to address tax inequalities, protect media diversity and ensure these corporations contribute fairly to public finances. Germany is preparing to introduce a new platform solidarity levy on global tech giants such as Google and Meta, according to Wolfram Weimer, the culture minister. The 10 percent levy – modelled on a similar system in Austria – is designed to address what the government sees as unfair tax advantages and to strengthen media diversity by rebalancing competition between platforms and publishers. “These corporations benefit enormously from the media and cultural achievements as well as the infrastructure of our country,”…

The country is moving forward with a new AI bill that embraces self-regulation and collaboration over punitive measures. Japan is moving to establish a formal AI regulatory framework designed to promote innovation through self-regulation and minimal enforcement – part of a wider effort to position the country as the world’s most “AI-friendly” economy. The bill, already approved by the House of Representatives and expected to pass in the upper house where the ruling coalition holds a majority, emphasises collaboration over control. Rather than setting binding rules, it encourages AI developers to act responsibly, promising support from the government and proposing guidance,…

The 76th WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress starts this weekend. This Sunday, media leaders from across the globe will converge in Krakow for the start of the 76th edition of WAN-IFRA’s World News Media Congress – an event that arrives at a pivotal time for the journalism industry. Hosted from 4-6 May, this year’s Congress promises to tackle the urgent challenges facing publishers today, under the theme Mastering Media’s New Playbook. As newsrooms contend with the twin pressures of technological disruption and shifting audience behaviours, the Congress offers a forum for publishers to explore fresh strategies and hear directly from…

New rules mandated by the Cyberspace Administration aim to promote transparency and combat misinformation from AI-generated materials. China has established new regulations concerning internet content created by artificial intelligence technologies, which require all content produced by AI to be clearly labelled as such. The regulations, which will come into effect on September 1, are intended to encourage the healthy growth of the AI sector while simultaneously aiding users in discerning misinformation as AI-generated materials proliferate online. The guidelines were announced by the Cyberspace Administration of China, among other pertinent authorities, as reported by Xinhua News Agency. The rapid expansion of…

Payments have started to flow to Canadian media under a $100 million initiative aimed at supporting journalism in the face of digital disruption. Payments have begun being distributed to Canadian media outlets under the terms of the Online News Act, which aims to financially support journalism in a rapidly changing digital landscape. The Canadian Journalism Collective reported last week that they have begun to disburse the first tranche of funding, totalling $17.25 million, from a $100 million agreement secured with Google. This funding initiative is designed to provide compensation to news organisations in exchange for an exemption from certain provisions…

The Canadian Privacy Commissioner launches an investigation into X following allegations of improper use of personal data for AI training. Elon Musk’s social media platform X is being investigated by Canada’s privacy commissioner over allegations that it is using personal data from Canadians to train AI models, which may contravene national privacy laws. The Canadian Privacy Commissioner announced the investigation on Thursday, highlighting concerns regarding the potential violations of the federal Privacy Act. In its statement, the office emphasised that the investigation would specifically examine the collection, use and disclosure of personal data by X for AI training purposes. However,…

OpenAI has introduced a new AI tool that can generate comprehensive reports in minutes with implications for the publishing industry. OpenAI has unveiled a new AI tool named “deep research” that it claims can generate reports comparable to the output of human research analysts. This announcement highlights the company’s continued push to deploy systems capable of autonomously carrying out complex tasks. The new tool, announced shortly after OpenAI pledged to accelerate its product releases due to competition from Chinese rival DeepSeek, is designed to perform extensive research efficiently. According to the company, deep research can accomplish in merely 10 minutes…