The new law takes effect in 2026 and targets smartphone use during class in elementary and middle schools, adding South Korea to a growing list of countries that have imposed similar restrictions on the tech:
Other countries that impose various levels of restriction on smartphone use at school include France, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and China.
[The New York Times]
Raphaël Graven, a 46-year-old French influencer known by his streaming handle, Jeanpormanove, died in his sleep during a live broadcast on Kick earlier this week after being “humiliated and mistreated for months” on the platform, according to French technology minister Clara Chappaz. A judicial investigation into his death is underway.
Musk’s ‘antitrust’ tantrum takes on a new target.
‘There are two Teslas,’ attorney Brett Schreiber told us. ‘There’s Tesla in the showroom and then there’s Tesla in the courtroom.’
Politico reports that the courts’ case filing system was accessed. The breach was discovered last month, but its full extent is still unknown — one fear is that hackers may have accessed the identities of confidential informants, while a source told Politico that court dockets may have been tampered with.
[politico.com]
Despite police stats showing violent crime in Washington D.C. is down 26 percent from last year, after dropping by 35 percent compared to the year before, the president has continued to insist that crime in the city is “totally out of control,” in posts and comments to reporters.
The latest comments from Trump and Elon Musk pushing to federalize the city follow a report that DOGE affiliate Edward Coristine and another person were attacked in a carjacking attempt that occurred between 3 and 4AM on August 3rd.
As legal wrangling over generative AI and copyright continues, ElevenLabs has launched its latest AI audio product with Eleven Music. There are many AI music generators out there, but the company claims this one “is cleared for nearly all commercial uses, from film and television to podcasts and social media videos, and from advertisements to gaming.”
However, except for podcasts, most of those uses are banned for most listed service plans.
In the Washington Post, Joseph Menn reports on a 25th anniversary reunion for some of the people behind Napster, as they reflected on how it all played out, and the impact it’s had on tech companies dealing with the threat of regulation.
Lawyer and venture capitalist Hank Barry, Napster’s former CEO, recalled famed music executive Quincy Jones asking him whether a particular Dizzy Gillespie track he had sought for years was available over Napster. Amazed that it was, Jones brokered peace talks with the industry, though they didn’t work out.
