AI Regulation & Policy

Today's Stories

1. 1

   Judge Rules AI Training on Books Legal, Fines Anthropic $1.5B for Piracy

   A federal judge ruled that Anthropic's use of copyrighted books to train its AI models was lawful under copyright law, but ordered the company to pay $1.5 billion for obtaining those books from illegal online shadow libraries rather than licensed sources. The ruling treats AI training like reading rather than copying—a distinction that favors AI companies. Copyright law has not been updated since 1976, leaving judges to interpret decades-old guidelines for novel technologies. The case hinges on whether AI training counts as "fair use," a legal doctrine that allows copyrighted material to be used without permission if the purpose is transformative and non-competing.

   Most AI companies remain in pending litigation over copyright issues, so no definitive legal standard exists yet. Courts are inconsistent: one judge found that training on Thomson Reuters' content to build a competing platform was not fair use, while the Anthropic ruling suggests that training is permissible if not directly competitive. Future rulings may overturn or reinforce these decisions.

2. 2

   Americans' trust in AI and its leaders plummets to historic lows

   A Pew Research study found that 52% of Americans are now more concerned than excited about AI's growing presence in daily life, up sharply from 37% in 2021. A CNBC Generation Lab poll of 1,088 respondents found that a majority distrusted all nine prominent industry leaders surveyed — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at 65% distrust, Palantir CEO Alex Karp at 81%, and Anthropic's Dario Amodei and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai both at around 75%. For the first time, a majority of Americans under 30 (55%) are more concerned than excited about AI. Only 9% of all Americans feel more excited than concerned. The distrust extends beyond the technology itself to those building it, even as these leaders shape AI's development and deployment.

   In Europe, the picture differs: 55% of EU citizens expect AI to shape daily life positively over the next 20 years, and 62% view AI's presence at work favorably. However, 84% of Europeans agree that AI and robots need careful management, and 66% of the broader public believe AI will ultimately destroy more jobs than it creates.

3. 3

   Twitch users can now opt out of Amazon AI training

   Twitch announced today that users can opt out of allowing Amazon to use their streams, VODs, clips, chats, and channel images to train Amazon's generative AI models. The opt-out is available in account security settings at www.twitch.tv/settings/security. Users are automatically enrolled in AI training by default. Amazon has been using Twitch content for AI training for at least a couple of years without offering an opt-out, according to Twitch's then-chief monetization officer Mike Minton, who confirmed the practice in 2024. The delayed opt-out gives users control over whether their content contributes to AI systems that could improve captions, speech-to-text, and other content generation across Amazon's services.

   Users who wish to prevent their content from being used must manually opt out; the default setting keeps training enabled. The support page notes that opting in allows content to be used for "future Gen AI model improvements" and gives an example of audio being used to refine speech-to-text models.

4. 4

   Uber's AI system charges higher fares, study finds

   A report examines how Uber's artificial intelligence pricing algorithms set fares for riders, finding that the system charges different prices to different users. Dynamic pricing powered by AI is now central to how Uber and similar platforms determine what customers pay, raising questions about fairness and transparency in algorithmic price-setting.

   The report's findings may draw regulatory scrutiny on how ride-hailing companies use AI to optimize pricing and customer behavior.

5. 5

   Northampton weighs AI data center rules as Coca-Cola plant closes

   Northampton City Council is considering a committee to study AI data centers and draft municipal policy, prompted by residents' concerns that a facility could be built at the closing Coca-Cola plant site on Industrial Drive by year-end. Nearby communities including Easthampton, Greenfield, Westfield, Shutesbury, and Holyoke are taking varied approaches—some imposing temporary moratoriums, others outright bans. Data centers consume large amounts of energy and water; according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, large facilities can consume up to 5 million gallons of water in a single day—equivalent to daily usage for a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people. Environmental experts warn of pollution risks, heat release, and property value depletion, yet developers often frame projects as beneficial community additions.

   Council Vice President Deborah Klemer and Ward 1 Councilor Gwenevra Nabad have raised the possibility of a moratorium on data centers while study is underway, to prevent a company from obtaining permits before the city completes its analysis. The council is expected to discuss the issue again at its September meeting.

6. 6

   Twitch streamers sue Amazon over unpaid AI training

   A Connecticut-based Twitch streamer, Warren Pandiscia, filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California on Thursday against Twitch and parent company Amazon, claiming they harvested millions of creator videos without permission to train Amazon's generative AI models. Twitch confirmed on Aug. 12 that it uses creators' content for AI training and added an opt-out setting, but channels are automatically enrolled unless users manually disable the feature. Pandiscia argues that because Amazon's AI products are commercialized, the company had financial incentive to acquire training data at scale without negotiating licenses or seeking permission. He claims the practice violates creators' implied contracts with Twitch and state unfair competition law, and that content scraped as early as 2024 cannot be recovered. Twitch's own former Chief Monetization Officer Mike Minton acknowledged in 2024 that Twitch content was already being used for AI development, though he characterized it as prototyping rather than production scale.

   Pandiscia seeks injunctive relief, damages, restitution, and disgorgement of profits. The lawsuit highlights that Twitch's opt-out approach means content from users who opt out may still be used if they engage on opted-in channels—a design flaw Pandiscia argues makes true consent impossible. The case also raises questions about whether Twitch disclosed the AI training practice and opt-out setting transparently to creators before updating its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy on Aug. 12.