News in brief: TikTok to Block Certain Beauty Filters for Under 18s; Google Sends Subpoenas to OpenAI, Perplexity and Microsoft; OpenAI Shuts Down Video Tool After Artists Protest

TikTok to Block Certain Beauty Filters for Under 18s 

As more attention is increasingly brought to the debate around protecting children from the dangers of social media, TikTok has announced it will be blocking certain beauty fillers for those under 18 years of age within the coming weeks. The damaging filters in question include those which make users’ skin smoother, eyes larger, and lips plumper, among other features. These features have been criticised for contributing to unattainable beauty standards for girls and young women in particular.

Restriction for under 18s will not be guaranteed under these plans, however. The measure will not be enforced beyond detecting the date of birth entered by a user when having signed up to the platform, and many in this age group do not use social media platforms under their real age. Meanwhile, TikTok opposes Australia’s total social media ban for under 16s. 

Google Sends Subpoenas to OpenAI, Perplexity and Microsoft

As usual, Google also makes its way into the top industry news: according to Digiday, the tech giant has send subpoenas to OpenAI, Perplexity and Microsoft in the remedies for its search monopoly case. The subpoenas were made public this week through all of the companies’ legal filings. Google appears to be attempting to gather information to demonstrate that its search monopoly does not include the AI-powered search sector.

Google is asking OpenAI to provide usage data for ChatGPT, its distribution agreements with third parties and its plans regarding search distribution and advertising strategies, among other documents. Google wants Perplexity to share details including its content licensing agreements, monetisation strategy and advertiser pitch decks, as well as plans to integrate ads around user queries. Content licensing agreements have been requested from Microsoft too, along with details revealing how it provides search results to third-party AI tools and search tools like ChatGPT. 

OpenAI Shuts Down Video Tool After Artists Protest 

In addition to the various legal troubles OpenAI is entangled in, it has also found itself in a predicament over Sora, its generative-AI video tool. The company had granted around 300 visual artists and filmmakers early access to the tool with the aim of obtaining feedback.

On Tuesday, a group of those with access released a version of the tool publicly, alongside an open letter voicing their criticism. The open letter calls OpenAI out for being exploitative, with hundreds of artists contributing unpaid labour to the testing and feedback programme. The group of artists behind the letter believe they are being lured into “art washing” to deliver the message that the tool is useful for artists. With every output needing to be approved by the OpenAI team before being shared, the letter describes the early access programme “to be less about creative expression and critique, and more about PR and advertisement.” OpenAI has responded by cutting off access to the tool.