Press Freedom Under Pressure: A Kansas town will pay $850,000 to settle a former reporter’s federal lawsuit over a 2023 raid on her weekly newspaper’s offices, a case that spotlighted searches of journalists’ materials and the chilling effect on local news. Platform Accountability: Australia’s government tabled a “News Bargaining Incentive” plan to force big tech to pay for Australian journalism—or pay a charge—aiming to close loopholes in the earlier bargaining code. AI vs. News Business Models: France’s newspaper alliance APIG filed a competition complaint against Google over AI-generated summaries, arguing publishers’ content is being used without fair remuneration. Bots vs. Publishers: A new bipartisan “Stealth Bot Prohibition Act” would require bad bots to disclose identity and purpose, targeting the crawl traffic that slows sites and strains licensing markets. Regulation Watch: Germany’s cabinet approved sweeping intelligence-law changes that would expand digital intrusion and disruption powers, drawing warnings from press-freedom groups about source protection. Streaming & Rights: Disney secured global Formula E streaming rights for Disney+ (plus ESPN/ESPN+ in the US), underscoring live sports as a subscription driver. Copyright Crackdown: South Korea shut down three North Africa-based piracy sites and arrested the operator for distributing tens of thousands of pirated webtoons and web novels.