European Union regulators on Thursday ratcheted up scrutiny of big tech companies including Google, Facebook and TikTok with requests for information on how they're dealing with risks from generative artificial intelligence, such as the viral spread of deepfakes.

The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has sent questionnaires about the ways that eight platforms and search engines — including Microsoft's Bing, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and X, formerly Twitter — are curbing the risks of generative AI.

TikTok once again finds itself in a precarious position as lawmakers in Washington move forward with a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on the platform.

The House on Wednesday passed legislation that would ban TikTok if its China-based owner ByteDance doesn't sell its stakes in the popular social media platform within six months of the bill's enactment.

At first glance, images circulating online showing former President Donald Trump surrounded by groups of Black people smiling and laughing seem nothing out of the ordinary, but a look closer is telling.

Odd lighting and too-perfect details provide clues to the fact they were all generated using artificial intelligence. The photos, which have not been linked to the Trump campaign, emerged as Trump seeks to win over Black voters who polls show remain loyal to President Joe Biden.

Beirut has long been renowned for its pivotal educational role in the Middle East. It stands as the city where the most prominent Arab rulers pursued their education, and it has always been home to a great number of schools and universities. The Lebanese, known for their profound love of knowledge, consistently invest everything they can to provide their children with a quality education.

Today, Beirut, as we like to call it “the classroom of the Middle East”, is hosting the second edition of SchoolTec, “The National Trade Fair for Educational Supplies and Solutions”, drawing hundreds of attendees, including principals, coordinators, teachers, academic and non-academic staff members, IT managers, procurers, and parents, eager to gain knowledge about the most prominent educational solutions, technologies, and services.

The EU on Monday announced a formal investigation into TikTok over alleged breaches of its obligations to protect minors online, under a landmark new law on policing digital content.

What would it mean if Russia used nuclear warheads to destroy U.S. satellites? Your home's electrical and water systems could fail. Aviation, rail and car traffic could come to a halt. Your cellphone could stop working.

These are among the reasons why there was alarm this week over reports that Russia may be pursuing nuclear weapons in space.

The Kremlin on Monday rejected Ukraine's claims that Russian troops fighting on the frontline were using Starlink terminals.

Kyiv's GUR military intelligence agency said it had evidence that Starlink internet terminals were being used on a "systematic" basis by Russian troops, accusing Moscow of "smuggling" them into the country.

The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday it is paying $1.5 billion for a stake in "Fortnite" maker Epic Games, working with the game developer to create a "games and entertainment universe" that will feature games, shows and characters from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and more.

"This marks Disney's biggest entry ever into the world of games and offers significant opportunities for growth and expansion," Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.

Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what's real and not.

Meta said Tuesday it's working with industry partners on technical standards that will make it easier to identify images and eventually video and audio generated by artificial intelligence tools.

When Mark Zuckerberg turned at a Senate hearing to address the parents of children exploited, bullied or driven to self harm via social media, it felt like a time-worn convention had sprung back to life.

"I'm sorry for everything you've been through," the Meta CEO said Wednesday. "No one should go through what you and your families have suffered." Then he returned to corporate mode, noting Meta's continued investments in "industrywide" efforts to protect children.