Apple's Parental Controls, UK Surveillance, and Trump's AI Order

This week Apple announced new parental control features to be introduced in a software update in the fall. Notably it includes a new “Ask to Browse” feature (for Safari) to complement the existing “Ask to Buy” (for the App Store). Apple’s Communication Safety tool will also blur gore and violence in addition to nudity in Messages and Facetime. The controls will work across all App devices.

• 🎙️ Apple’s press release was the same day UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pressured tech companies “to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving sexually ​explicit images” with a mention of future legislation or fines for enforcement.

Signal, an encrypted messaging platform, released a statement in response to the UK arguing, “once in place, there will be an inevitable authoritarian expansion of the kind of content and people these technologies will be expected to surveil.”

• 🎙️ Signal makes a fair point as the UK has a questionable record on monitoring online communication. Online safety is unquestionably important, but as we’ve stated before, legislation will at best only minimize exposure.

Two weeks ago Meta revealed that a “bug” in their AI support tool allowed hackers to gain access to over 20,000 Instagram accounts. Affected users did not have multi-factor authentication in place.

• 🎙️ From questionable standards for minor safety to breaches like this, Meta AI makes the news for the wrong reasons. Secure your online accounts with multi-factor authentication and explore alternatives to Meta AI.

Another wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against OpenAI by a Canadian parent alleging ChatGPT “encouraged suicidal behavior” with their adult child. The state of Florida and family members of victims of February’s Tumbler Ridge shooting in Canada have also filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI this year addressing safety issues.

• 🎙️ As politicians and AI safety advocates help shape AI’s future, AI literacy for the general public is key. AI chatbots are predictive output, not sentient beings.

President Trump released an executive order on June 2nd that promotes “advanced artificial intelligence innovation and security.” It balances innovation and safety/security by encouraging a voluntary level of government oversight for consistent benchmarks across AI models.

• 🎙️ The EO is a welcomed step forward for the transparency and accountability that tech companies need. Transparency is one of our key principles in Driver’s Training for the Online World. We have an entire module devoted to AI, transparency, and real-world application. Buy for 25% off or test drive the entire first module for free.