The Obtain: Yahoo’s misdeeds in China, and AI Act takeaways


Once you consider Huge Tech lately, Yahoo might be not high of thoughts. However for Chinese language dissident Xu Wanping, the corporate nonetheless looms giant—and has for almost 20 years.   

In 2005, Xu was arrested for signing on-line petitions regarding anti-Japanese protests. He didn’t use his actual title, however he did use his Yahoo e mail tackle. Yahoo China violated its customers’ belief—offering data on sure e mail accounts to Chinese language legislation enforcement, which in flip allowed the federal government to establish and arrest some customers. 

Xu was one in every of them; he would serve 9 years in jail. Now, he and 5 different Chinese language former political prisoners are suing Yahoo and a slate of co-defendants—not due to the corporate’s information-sharing (which was the main target of an earlier lawsuit filed by different plaintiffs), however quite due to what got here after. Learn the total story.

—Eileen Guo

5 issues it is advisable know in regards to the EU’s new AI Act

Two and a half years after it was first launched—after months of lobbying and political arm-wrestling, plus grueling remaining negotiations—EU lawmakers have reached a deal over the AI Act. It is going to be the world’s first sweeping AI legislation.

The AI Act was conceived as a landmark invoice that may mitigate hurt in areas the place utilizing AI poses the most important danger to our rights, in addition to banning makes use of that pose an “unacceptable danger.”

The brand new laws ought to introduce necessary guidelines and enforcement mechanisms to a sector that’s presently a Wild West. Melissa Heikkilä, our senior AI reporter, has 5 key takeaways—examine them out

This story is from The Algorithm, our weekly publication supplying you with the within monitor on all issues AI. Join to obtain it in your inbox each Monday.