How Meta’s antitrust case could dampen AI development

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4 weeks ago

April 17, 2025

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How Meta’s antitrust case could dampen AI development

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, is facing antitrust proceedings that could limit its ability to develop AI amid a field of competitors.

First filed in 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that Meta’s strategy of absorbing firms — rather than competing with them — violates antitrust laws. If the court rules against Meta, it could be forced to spin out its various messenger services and social media sites into independent companies.

The loss of its stable of social media companies could harm Facebook’s competitiveness not only in the social media industry but also in its ability to train and develop its proprietary Llama AI models with data from those sites.

The trial could take anywhere from a couple of months to a year, but the outcome will have lasting consequences on Meta’s standing in the AI race.

Meta’s antitrust case and its effect on AI

The FTC first opened its complaint against Meta in 2020 when the firm was still operating as Facebook. The agency’s amended complaint a year later alleges that Meta (then Facebook) used an illegal “buy-or-bury” scheme on more creative competitors after its “failed attempts to develop innovative mobile features for its network.” This resulted in a monopoly of the “friends and family” social media market.

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had the chance to address these allegations on April 14, the first day of the official FTC v. Meta trial. He testified that only 20% of user content on Facebook and some 10% on Instagram was generated by users’ friends. The nature of social media has changed, Zuckerberg claimed.

“People just kept on engaging with more and more stuff that wasn’t what their friends were doing,” he said — meaning that the nature of Meta’s social media holdings was sufficiently diverse.

At the time of the FTC’s initial complaint, Meta called the allegations “revisionist history,” a claim it repeated on April 13 when it stated the agency was “ignoring reality.” The company has argued that the purchases of Instagram and WhatsApp have benefited users and that competition has appeared in the form of YouTube and TikTok.

If the District of Columbia Circuit Court rules against Meta, the global social media giant will be forced to unwind these services into independent firms. Jasmine Enberg, vice president and principal analyst at eMarketer, told the Los Angeles Times that such a ruling could cost Meta its competitive edge in the social media market.

“Instagram really is its biggest growth driver, in the sense that it has been picking up the slack for Facebook for a long time, especially on the user front when it comes to young people,” said Enberg. “Facebook hasn’t been where the cool college kids hang out for a long time.”

Such a ruling would also affect the pool of data from which Meta can draw to train its AI models. In July 2024, Meta halted the rollout of AI models in the European Union, citing “regulatory uncertainty.”

The pause came after privacy advocacy group None of Your Business filed complaints in 11 European countries against Meta’s use of public data from its platforms to train its AI models. The Irish Data Protection Commission subsequently ordered a pause on the practice until it could conduct a review.

On April 14, Meta got the go-ahead to use public data — i.e., posts and comments from adult users across all of its platforms — to train the model. If these firms dissolved into separate companies, with their own organizational structures and data protection policies and practices, Meta would be cut off from an ocean of data and human communication with which its AI could be improved.

Andrew Rossow, a cyberspace attorney with Minc Law and CEO of AR Media Consulting, told Cointelegraph that in such an event, “companies would most likely control their own user data, and Meta would be restricted from using it unless new data-sharing agreements were negotiated, which would be subject to regulatory scrutiny and user/consumer privacy laws.”

However, Rossow noted that it wouldn’t be a total loss for Meta. Zuckerberg’s firm would retain the wealth of data from Facebook and Messenger. It could continue to use “opt-in” data from consumers who allow their posts to be used for AI training, and it could also employ synthetic data sets as well as third-party and open data.

Meta, the AI race and data protections

The race to unseat OpenAI and its ChatGPT model from AI dominance has grown more competitive in the last year as DeepSeek joined the fray and Meta launched the fourth iteration of its open-source Llama model.

In addition to training new models, major AI development firms are investing billions in new data centers to accommodate new iterations. In January 2025, Meta announced the construction of a 2-gigawatt data center with more than 1.3 million Nvidia AI graphics processing units.

Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Threads, “This will be a defining year for AI. In 2025, I expect Meta AI will be the leading assistant serving more than 1 billion people […] To power this, Meta is building a 2GW+ datacenter that is so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan.”

His announcement followed the $500-billion Stargate project, which would see massive investment in AI development led by OpenAI and SoftBank, with Microsoft and Oracle as equity partners.

Amid this competition, AI firms are looking for broader and more varied sources of data to train their AI models — and have turned to dubious practices in order to get the data they need. In order to stay competitive with OpenAI when developing its Llama 3 model, Meta harvested thousands of pirated books from the site LibGen. According to court documents in a case pending against Meta, Llama developers harvested data from pirated books because licensing them from sources like Scribd seemed “unreasonably expensive.”

Time was another perceived motivator for using pirated works. “They take like 4+ weeks to deliver data,” one engineer wrote about services through which they could purchase book licenses.

The practice is not limited to Meta. OpenAI has also been accused of mining data from pirated work hosted on LibGen.

Rossow suggested that, “to ensure lasting impact — beyond short-term profit,” Meta would do well to “prioritize investment in advanced data collection, rigorous auditing and the implementation of privacy-preserving and encryption-based technologies.”

By focusing on transparency and responsible practices, “Meta can continue to genuinely advance AI capabilities, rebuild and nurture long-term user trust, and adapt to evolving legal and ethical standards, regardless of changes to its platform portfolio.”

What a ruling for the FTC would mean

Litigation is now hitting tech firms from all sides as they face allegations of privacy violations, copyright law infringement and stifling competition. Major cases like those facing Google, Amazon and Meta that have yet to play out will decide how and whether these firms can proceed as they have, defining the guardrails for AI development as well.

Rossow said that the current antitrust case against Meta could decide how courts interpret antitrust law for tech firms, spanning tech mergers, data usage and market competition. It would also signal that courts are “willing to break up tech conglomerates” when issues of smothering competition are involved, while at the same time, “taking current precedent a step further in harmonizing it with the laws of cyberspace.”

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New English language and UK citizenship requirements for migrants as part of government crackdown

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2 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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New English language and UK citizenship requirements for migrants as part of government crackdown

Migrants will have to live in the UK for a decade before they can apply for citizenship under plans to reduce reliance on foreign workers.

The change from five to 10 years will come with exceptions for people who make a “high contribution” to the economy or society, who will able to be fast-tracked for permanent settlement rights.

It comes on top of new English language requirements across every visa route, which will extend to adult dependents for the first time.

The measures will be announced by Sir Keir Starmer today ahead of the Immigration White Paper, which will set out further reforms to bring net migration down.

At a press conference later, the prime minister will say: “This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right.

“And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language.

“Lower net migration, higher skills and backing British workers – that is what this White Paper will deliver.”

Net migration – the difference between the number of people immigrating and emigrating to a country – soared when the UK left the EU in January 2020.

It reached 903,000 in the year to June 2023 before falling to 728,000 in mid-2024. But that is still well above its pre-Brexit high of 329,000 in the year up to June 2015.

The government is under pressure to tackle legal migration, as well as illegal immigration, amid Reform UK’s surge in the polls.

However, experts have questioned whether some of the changes announced by Sir Keir today will have much of an impact, at least in the short term.

Currently, migrants have to live in the UK for five years to get indefinite leave to remain, or “settled status” if they are from the EU. They can then use this to apply for British citizenship, usually 12 months after settlement.

There were 162,000 grants of settlement in 2024, up 35% from 2023, and 270,000 grants of citizenship in 2024, up nearly a third on the previous year.

‘Contributions-based’ citizenship model

The new “contributions-based model” means people must spend a decade in the UK before applying to stay, unless they can show a “real and lasting contribution to the economy and society”.

The Home Office said this will include “high-skilled” and “high-contributing” individuals like nurses, doctors, engineers and AI leaders.

The details are still being fleshed out and will be put to consultation later this year rather than in the white paper, Sky News understands.

However, the thinking is that those who pay higher taxes or who work in a priority sector will be eligible to be fast-tracked. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is also keen for discounts to apply to those who make an “outstanding contribution” to society, such as community leaders, it is understood.

English language requirements

The government also plans to raise English language requirements across every immigration route, so foreign workers speak a higher standard of English.

For the first time, this will also extend to all adult dependents by requiring them to demonstrate a basic understanding of English, which the government says will help people integrate and find employment.

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Dr Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, told Sky News that extending the amount of time people need to be in the UK to get permanent settlement rights is unlikely to significantly affect migration levels, as there is “no evidence” this affects their decision about whether to migrate.

Any impact would be seen in five to ten years, “when people get to that point of the visa journey”, she said, adding that the main effect of this policy would be to “bring in more visa-fee revenue to the Home Office” and “to make it harder for migrants to settle in”.

She said that language requirements “are more likely to have an impact on the number of visas granted”, as more than half of skilled worker visas over the past couple of years have gone to dependents.

“However, there’s no data on how many of them would have passed a language test so it is hard to say how big,” Dr Sumption added.

The Home Office has not put a figure on what sort of reduction these policies could achieve, with Ms Cooper to give more details in parliament on Monday afternoon.

On Sunday, she told Sky News’s Trevor Phillips that plans to close the care worker visa route and change the skilled visa threshold to require a graduate qualification would cut the number of overseas workers by about 50,000 this year.

However, she refused to put a target on the overall levels of net migration the government is aiming for, saying that approach “failed” under the Conservatives.

The Tories have admitted making mistakes in office, but are still calling for a binding immigration cap and want to repeal the Human Rights Act for immigration issues.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said Labour has “overseen the worst ever start to a year for illegal immigrants crossing the channel” adding: “The idea that Starmer is tough on immigration is a joke.”

Politics

Stablecoin bill gets second chance with Northern Mariana lawmakers

Published

5 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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Stablecoin bill gets second chance with Northern Mariana lawmakers

Tinian, a small island in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands, could get a second chance at launching a stablecoin after the territory’s Senate voted to override the governor’s earlier veto of its stablecoin bill.

On May 9, the Northern Mariana Islands Senate voted 7-1 to override Governor Arnold Palacios’ April 11 veto of the bill, which would allow the Tinian local government to issue licenses to internet casinos and includes a provision for the Tinian treasurer to issue, manage and redeem a “Tinian Stable Token.”

The bill will now head to the 20-member Northern Mariana Islands House, which will need a two-thirds majority vote to override the veto and pass the bill into law.

If the House is quick to pass the bill, the Tinian government could be in the lead for the first US public entity to issue a stablecoin. It’s in a race against the state of Wyoming, which is aiming to issue a stablecoin by July.

Tinian is governed by the local government, the Municipality of Tinian and Aguiguan, and is one of four municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a small US territory in the Pacific north of Guam.

Tinian has just over 2,000 residents, and its economy heavily relies on tourism.

Senators push “much-needed” bill despite “deep concerns”

Governor Palacios said in his letter last month that he vetoed the bill as it “presents several legal issues and may be unconstitutional” and would regulate an activity that could not “be clearly restricted” to Tinian.

Democrat Senator Celina Babauta, the only one to vote against overriding the veto, said before the vote that she had “deep concerns with respect to the lack of resources, the lack of manpower” to enforce the gambling law and police use of the stablecoin.

“We are restricted by federal statutes and must comply with that,” she added.

“We struggle with trying to find creative and innovative ways to diversify our economy and our industries,” Babauta said. “I don’t believe that gambling is the only thing that we can be looking forward to every single time there’s an investor that comes in.”

However, Republican Senator Karl King-Nabors, who represents Tinian and co-authored the bill, said it was “a far more stringent and efficient way to oversee the online gaming aspect.”

“This stablecoin is tracked through software, and if anything, it allows for more transparency when it comes to the Tinian Casino Gaming Control Commission,” he added.

King-Nabors said the bill aligned with “much-needed” economic diversification measures, as the local economy was yet to bounce back from a COVID-19 pandemic-induced slump.

“This legislation stands at a time where we’re going through so much economic hardships,” King-Nabors added. “I find it difficult that we’re constantly having to step over obstacles when we’re trying to incentivize and look for ways to bring in revenue that don’t affect our environment, that don’t require a brick and mortar, that don’t impact our land.”

Tinian bids for fully-backed stablecoin

Republican Senator for Tinian, Jude Hofschneider, led the introduction of the bill in February, which aims to amend a local Tinian law to allow internet-only casino licenses, along with allowing the island to launch a fully backed US dollar-pegged stablecoin.

A four-member Tinian delegation to the Marianas legislature, which includes Hofschneider and King-Nabors, had passed the bill to Governor Palacios in a unanimous vote on March 12.

Statements shared with Cointelegraph in March said the stablecoin is called the Marianas US Dollar (MUSD) and will be backed by cash and US Treasury bills held in reserve by the Tinian Municipal Treasury.

The Tinian government chose tech services firm Marianas Rai Corporation, based in the Northern Mariana Islands’ capital of Saipan, as the exclusive infrastructure provider to issue and redeem MUSD.

MUSD is built on the eCash blockchain, a network that rebranded from Bitcoin Cash ABC in 2021 and is a fork of Bitcoin Cash, a blockchain that split off from Bitcoin in 2017.

Marianas Rai Corp. co-founder and technology chief Vin Armani told Cointelegraph in April that it was “in active discussions with potential partners” about launching the token after Governor Palacios’ veto and was “poised to act quickly” as US Congress is looking to pass stablecoin laws.

In the US, one stablecoin bill, the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, has since stalled in Congress after Senate Democrats pulled support for the bill due to concerns about President Donald Trump’s sprawling crypto ventures.

Another stablecoin-regulating bill in the House, the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy (STABLE) Act, has also lost Democrat support due to Trump’s crypto tie-ups.

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Politics

‘More people should be given this chance’: The probation centres transforming offenders’ lives

Published

5 hours ago

May 12, 2025

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'More people should be given this chance': The probation centres transforming offenders' lives

The combination of full prisons and tight public finances has forced the government to urgently rethink its approach.

Top of the agenda for an overhaul are short sentences, which look set to give way to more community rehabilitation.

The cost argument is clear – prison is expensive. It’s around £60,000 per person per year compared to community sentences at roughly £4,500 a year.

But it’s not just saving money that is driving the change.

Research shows short custodial terms, especially for first-time offenders, can do more harm than good, compounding criminal behaviour rather than acting as a deterrent.

This is certainly the case for Charlie, who describes herself as a former “junkie, shoplifter from Leeds” and spoke to Sky News at Preston probation centre.

She was first sent down as a teenager and has been in and out of prison ever since. She says her experience behind bars exacerbated her drug use.

“In prison, I would never get clean. It’s easy, to be honest, I used to take them in myself,” she says. “I was just in a cycle of getting released, homeless, and going straight back into trap houses, drug houses, and that cycle needs to be broken.”

Eventually, she turned her life around after a court offered her drug treatment at a rehab facility.

She says that after decades of addiction and criminality, one judge’s decision was the turning point.

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“That was the moment that changed my life and I just want more judges to give more people that chance.”

Also at Preston probation centre, but on the other side of the process, is probation officer Bex, who is also sceptical about short sentences.

“They disrupt people’s lives,” she says. “So, people might lose housing because they’ve gone to prison… they come out homeless and may return to drug use and reoffending.”

Bex has seen first-hand the value of alternative routes out of crime.

“A lot of the people we work with have had really disjointed lives. It takes a long time for them to trust someone, and there’s some really brilliant work that goes on every single day here that changes lives.”

It’s people like Bex and Charlie, and places like Preston probation centre, that are at the heart of the government’s change in direction.