Texas leads on app age verification
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has lifted a block on Texas' App Store Accountability Act, allowing the state to enforce age verification requirements on app stores. The law requires platforms like Apple's App Store and Google Play to verify user ages and limit minors' access to content deemed inappropriate.
The ruling marks a win for state-level efforts to regulate children's online safety. Similar laws are being considered in several other states and in Congress. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the data collection required for age verification.
Microsoft 365 Copilot gets a speed boost
Microsoft has rolled out a update to its 365 Copilot AI assistant that delivers faster response times and a cleaner interface. The productivity-focused assistant now provides more structured responses, according to Microsoft.
The update is part of Microsoft's broader push to integrate AI across its Office suite. The company faces competition from Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude in the enterprise AI space.
Amazon employees caught 'toxenmaxxing' AI usage
Amazon has shut down an internal leaderboard that tracked how often employees used AI agents, after some workers reportedly assigned autonomous bots to carry out needless tasks just to climb the rankings.
The practice, dubbed 'toxenmaxxing' by employees, increased computing costs at Amazon. An executive warned staff not to 'use AI just for the sake of using AI,' highlighting the challenges companies face as they deploy AI tools across their workforces.