Ten stories, eight jurisdictions, one question running under all of them: who gets to consent, and who gets to say no? Here's the week in tech policy from around the world, followed by what it means.
Meta disclosed on August 26 it will pay up to $16.68 billion to resolve claims from 29 states that it designed Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to minors. It must now roll out daily time caps, overnight restrictions, and stronger age verification nationwide.
As of August 2, AI systems must disclose when a user is talking to a machine and label deepfakes as artificial. But the Act's toughest rules — covering biometrics, employment, and essential services — were pushed back to December 2027.
Nigeria's competition authority opened an investigation into Meta, Alphabet, and X — plus unnamed generative AI platforms — over uncompensated use of copyrighted news content, as its data protection regulator signals it will intensify enforcement.
China's new framework treating AI agents as a distinct legal category took effect July 15. Within the first week of enforcing its companion-AI rules, regulators fined 12 companies a combined 4.2 million RMB.
Brazil's data authority began formally monitoring 22 platforms and AI tools — including Instagram, TikTok, and major chatbots — for compliance with children's data protections, part of a 2026–27 plan that includes 20 targeted AI-practice inspections.
An amendment cleared committee with bipartisan support that would let companies use personal data to train AI beyond its original collection purpose — without the person's consent — if the privacy regulator approves. A floor vote was expected as early as mid-August.
Public feedback on the Digital India Act has closed, and reporting indicates a statutory framework establishing legal liability for AI-related harms is being finalized ahead of the fall parliamentary session — a notable step for the world's most populous country.
A Gallup poll found 70% opposition to new AI data centers in respondents' own neighborhoods — more than oppose a nuclear plant nearby. Pennsylvania's governor signed an executive order tightening data center development standards as water use and electricity prices become flashpoints.
Negotiators concluded an upgraded free trade agreement with a dedicated digital trade chapter, guaranteeing cross-border data flows and prohibiting unjustified data localization requirements.
The FTC's case accusing Zillow and Redfin of colluding on rental advertising went to trial on August 21 — one of several fronts testing how far competition law reaches into platform-driven markets, alongside Australia's parallel case against Meta opening September 1.
