• The Commerce Department put out a formal request for comment on accountability measures for artificial intelligence tools, including asking whether new AI models should be required to go through a certification process before being released to the public. The request for comments, which will be open for 60 days and will help to shape policy, could be the first step toward regulation of the sector. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The Cyberspace Administration of China proposed new security checks that would apply to generative AI models, including mandating new tools to be submitted for security review before receiving public release and requiring platforms to verify users’ identities and allow usage to be tracked. The draft of the proposal was issued just hours after Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced the launch of its ChatGPT-style chatbot. (Financial Times)
• Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), the chair of a congressional committee on China, said he is concerned about Tesla Inc.’s dependency on China following an announcement the electric car company would open a battery factory in Shanghai. While Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk refuted the public criticism on Twitter, Gallagher said he wants to know how Musk balances accepting federal tax breaks from the U.S. government with expanding operations in China. (Reuters)
• Democratic Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said at a conference in Salt Lake City that independent contractors who work for platforms like Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. are not prohibited by antitrust laws from collectively seeking better pay and work conditions. The remarks signify a shift in the agency’s approach to the issue, as the FTC previously said it would oppose laws allowing Uber and Lyft drivers to collectively bargain by saying such efforts violated antitrust laws. (Bloomberg)

Happening today: 

• The annual Startup Grind Conference kicks off in Redwood City, Calif., for two days of connecting and networking between startups, investors and industry leaders. Speakers at this year’s event include Notion Labs Inc. CEO Ivan Zhao, Substack Inc. co-founder Hamish McKenzie and Andreessen Horowitz general partner Connie Chan.
• The Federal Communications Commission will host a public launch event for the agency’s new Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs, featuring Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and others discussing goals for the new office.
• The American Enterprise Institute will host an event titled “The Future of Medical Device Regulation: The Final Frontier” that will focus on how technology innovation will shape the future of medical care. Speakers include Jesse M. Ehrenfeld, president-elect of the American Medical Association; and Jeff Shuren, director of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the Food and Drug Administration.

PC market faces another inflection point

Axios

Katie Cotton, Who Led Apple’s Media Strategy for 18 Years, Dies

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg

Katie Cotton, a longtime Apple Inc. communications chief who served as a steward for the company’s iconic brand during the Steve Jobs era and beyond, has died.

Amazon Starts Charging for Some UPS Store Returns

Theo Wayt, The Information

Amazon has started charging fees to make some returns at UPS Stores, marking the latest effort by the e-commerce giant to cut down on costs associated with customers sending back items.

VHA’s $8.5M Emergency Comms System Largely Inoperable, OIG Finds

Edward Graham, Nextgov

An audit conducted by VA’s Office of Inspector General found that an estimated 80% of the emergency communications systems deployed at 184 VA medical facilities are “not fully operational.”

GSA announces Presidential Innovation Fellows for 2023 

John Hewitt Jones, FedScoop

The General Services Administration has revealed 20 senior private sector technology and innovation experts that have been picked for the 2023 cohort of Presidential Innovation Fellows.

South Korea Fines Google $32 Million for Squeezing Local Rival

Heejin Kim, Bloomberg

South Korea fined Alphabet Inc.’s Google 42.1 billion won ($32 million) for using its clout in the mobile app market to squeeze out a local rival, the latest sign of intensifying scrutiny on the US tech firm as it seeks to expand overseas.

FTC orders supplement maker to pay $600K in first case involving hijacked Amazon reviews

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has approved a final consent order in its first-ever enforcement action over a case involving “review hijacking,” or when a marketer steals consumer reviews of another product to boost the sales of its own.

Elon Musk is moving forward with a new generative-AI project at Twitter after purchasing thousands of GPUs

Kali Hays, Insider Premium

Elon Musk is said to be moving forward with an artificial-intelligence project within Twitter, despite recently signing an open letter calling for an industrywide halt to any AI training for several months.

When Will Cars Be Fully Self-Driving?

Bart Ziegler, The Wall Street Journal

The technology isn’t anywhere near where it needs to be to replace human drivers. Three experts weigh in on what the future holds for autonomous vehicles.

A.I. Is Coming for Lawyers, Again

Steve Lohr, The New York Times

Previous advances in A.I. inspired predictions that the law was the lucrative profession most likely to suffer job losses. It didn’t happen. Is this time different?

How AI and Facial Recognition Could Spot Stroke and Other Diseases

Eric Niiler, The Wall Street Journal

Researchers are training computer algorithms in efforts to quickly identify ailments and speed treatment.

With a wave of new LLMs, open-source AI is having a moment — and a red-hot debate

Sharon Goldman, VentureBeat

The open-source technology movement has been having a moment over the past few weeks thanks to AI — following a wave of recent large language model (LLM) releases and an effort by startups, collectives and academics to push back on the shift in AI to closed, proprietary LLMs. 

‘Claudia’ offers nude photos for pay. Experts say she’s an AI fake.

Drew Harwell, The Washington Post

The rapid advances in AI-image generators like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion have gained global attention in recent weeks for their inventive art pieces and impressive fakes of ex-presidents and popes. But Claudia’s case hints at the technology’s more explicit side: By allowing anyone to create images of fake people that look uncannily real, the tools are reshaping how porn is made and consumed.

Open access networks could give T-Mobile a seat at the fiber table

Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom

T-Mobile appears to be eyeing a serious move into the U.S. fiber market, confirming plans to offer service in two Colorado cities in addition to its original pilot market of New York City. Open access networks could offer the operator one of the fastest ways to expand its fiber reach.

FCC focuses on low-income housing for 2 ACP pilot programs

Linda Hardesty, Fierce Telecom

Even though plenty of people are worried about the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) running out of funds by the end of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving forward with two new pilot programs to help people sign up for ACP.

Android devices can now automatically archive little-used apps

Jess Weatherbed, The Verge

The new archiving feature automatically reduces app storage by up to 60 percent without fully removing the applications from your device.

FBI warns against using public phone charging stations

Rohan Goswami, CNBC

The FBI recently warned consumers against using free public charging stations, saying crooks have managed to hijack public chargers that can infect devices with malware, or software that can give hackers access to your phone, tablet or computer.

Lawsuit: Tesla must be punished for “tasteless” sharing of car-camera images

Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica

Tesla is facing a class-action complaint after it was revealed that employees used an internal messaging system to share sensitive videos and images of customers taken by car cameras. Plaintiff Henry Yeh, a California resident who owns a Model Y, sued Tesla on Friday on behalf of himself and all other people in the US who owned or leased a Tesla at any time in the past four years.

CISA orders govt agencies to update iPhones, Macs by May 1st

Sergiu Gatlan, Bleeping Computer

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) ordered federal agencies to patch two security vulnerabilities actively exploited in the wild to hack iPhones, Macs, and iPads.

Former Twitter Executives Sue Platform for Unpaid Fees

Alex Corse, The Wall Street Journal

Three former Twitter Inc. executives sued the social-media company, seeking reimbursement for more than $1 million in legal expenses tied to a shareholder lawsuit and inquiries including from federal authorities.

Meta Verified is under fire in sex work circles for revealing users’ legal names

Morgan Sung, TechCrunch

With Meta Verified, users can pay for an enviable blue check next to their name. But the feature also requires users to use their legal name as their profile display name without the option to change it, raising concerns among sex workers, trans creators and other privacy advocates. 

Justice Dept. Recently Looked Into Twitter, Lawsuit Says

Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, The New York Times

The focus of the inquiry was unclear, but several former executives said they had racked up more than $1 million in expenses dealing with it and other legal issues.

Social-Media Platform Discord Emerges at Center of Classified U.S. Documents Leak

Sarah E. Needleman, The Wall Street Journal

A federal investigation into a major leak of highly classified U.S. documents has cast a spotlight on a social-media outlet popularized by videogame enthusiasts. 

Twitter fails to report some political ads after promising transparency

Jessica Piper, Politico

Elon Musk took over Twitter last fall with a pledge of transparency for the social media giant — but so far political advertising on the platform has been anything but forthcoming.

Twitter Circle tweets are not that private anymore

Amanda Silberling, TechCrunch

Numerous Twitter users are reporting a bug in which Circle tweets — which are supposed to reach a select group, like an Instagram Close Friends story — are surfacing on the algorithmically generated For You timeline. 

TikTok Struggles to Enlist U.S. Merchants for Shopping Service

Juro Osawa et al., The Information

As TikTok tries to win over U.S. politicians, it may have kneecapped its shopping service, TikTok Shop. Relatively few U.S. merchants are showing interest in signing up for the nascent service, both because they’re more focused on expanding in bricks and mortar and because they’re concerned the app could be banned, merchants say.

Elon Musk tweets, then deletes DMs from Matt Taibbi over his Substack snit

Jay Peters, The Verge

Elon Musk and one of his “Twitter Files” writers, Matt Taibbi, don’t seem to be on great terms right now, and that situation probably isn’t getting any better after Musk posted then deleted a DM conversation between the two of them.

Trump pours money into digital ads ahead of 2024

Sara Fischer, Axios

Donald Trump has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Facebook and Google ads in recent weeks, leveraging the chaos around his indictment to fundraise and collect data ahead of his 2024 run.

Laid-Off Tech Workers Launch ‘Revenge Startups’ Just as Money Dries Up

Yuliya Chernova, The Wall Street Journal

Venture-capital investors, as recently as last year, used to seek out founders who were quitting their tech jobs to launch their own businesses. Now that mass layoffs are pushing many people down the entrepreneurial path, venture investors have grown stingier. 

Amazon’s return-to-office mandate, supposed to happen in May, was so rushed, many offices won’t be ready until September, including New York and Austin, leaked memo shows

Eugene Kim, Insider Premium

Amazon’s leadership has said they want all employees back in the office at least three times a week starting in May. But many of the company’s buildings won’t be ready to accommodate their full slate of employees for that level of use for months after the deadline.