AI that claims to close policy gaps, YouTube goes on health kick and Jordanian speech law criticised

Hello and welcome to Everything in Moderation, your guide to the policies, products, platforms and people shaping the future of online speech and the internet. It's written by me, Ben Whitelaw and supported by members like you.

If there's a thread that runs between the items in today's newsletter, it's promise; both the sense of hope that comes from new developments (see OpenAI and YouTube) and the risk that such assurances might not be kept (in the case of Sama and possibly Jordan).

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Here's everything in moderation from the last seven days — BW

Policies

New and emerging internet policy and online speech regulation

Human rights organisations have criticised Jordan after the King ratified a bill to penalise a variety of online speech, according to reports. King Abdullah II passed the bill last Saturday, meaning that users found guilty to be "spreading false news" — defined as anything affecting "social peace and national security" — are liable to a penalty of three months in prison and fines of up to 20,000 Jordanian dollars (around $28,000).

Human Rights Watch and Access Now previously warned that it would "pave the way for an alarming surge in online censorship" although the Jordanian prime minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said it was "completely open to any form of criticism".