Image by Inkredo Designer, from Unsplash
Fortnite’s AI Darth Vader Draws Legal Fire From Actor Union
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Epic Games is in hot water with SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents actors, after it used artificial intelligence to voice Darth Vader in Fortnite without talking to the union first.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- The AI version of Darth Vader can respond to players in-game.
- The complaint targets AI use to voice Darth Vader in Fortnite.
- Epic used AI to mimic James Earl Jones without union negotiation.
The issue centers around a new non-player character (NPC) in Fortnite that looks and sounds like Darth Vader. The voice wasn’t recorded by a human actor but generated by AI trained to sound like the late James Earl Jones, as reported by The Verge.
The AI version can talk back to players using natural voice responses, but it’s landed Epic in legal trouble, as reported by The Register .
SAG-AFTRA filed a complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, accusing Epic’s production company, Llama Productions, of failing to “bargain in good faith.” They say Epic made big changes—like swapping out actors for AI—without notifying or negotiating with the union.
“Fortnite’s signatory company, Llama Productions, chose to replace the work of human performers with AI technology,” the union wrote . “Unfortunately, they did so without providing any notice of their intent to do this and without bargaining with us over appropriate terms,” as reported by The Verge.
SAG-AFTRA isn’t against using AI , as long as there are protections. The union has already signed deals allowing actors to work with AI under certain conditions. But in this case, they say Epic didn’t follow the rules, as noted by The Register.
Meanwhile, James Earl Jones’ family said he supported keeping the Darth Vader voice alive through AI. “We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character,” they said, as reported by the BBC .
Still, the AI didn’t launch smoothly. Players quickly taught Darth Vader’s voice to swear, forcing Epic to release a patch, as previously reported by WIRED . Talks between the union and major game studios have been stalled since last year, with AI being the main sticking point.
Image by Christian Wiediger, from Unsplash
Telegram Shared Data On 22,000+ Users
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
Telegram shared user data with authorities over 22,000 times in early 2025, sparking political tension and transparency concerns across multiple countries.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Telegram shared user data on 22,777 accounts in early 2025.
- This is nearly 4x more than in early 2024.
- France filed 668 requests, up from just 4 the year before.
The messaging app Telegram provided user data to authorities more than 22,000 times during the initial three months of 2025, according to 404 Media . The company processed four times more requests during this period than it did during the same time in the previous year.
404 Media says that the GitHub repository containing Telegram reports indicates the company processed 13,600 official requests during January through March 2025. The disclosure of user data affected 22,777 users through these requests. The U.S. government issued 576 requests which led to the disclosure of data from 1,664 users.
The messaging application Telegram operated by Pavel Durov maintained resistance against government cooperation. The company shifted its stance after CEO Pavel Durov faced arrest in France because Telegram failed to cooperate with a child abuse investigation.
The company has become more willing to fulfill data requests from authorities. The platform operates a bot system which provides users with information about incoming requests along with the number of users who received data disclosure. 404 Media reports that human Rights Watch technologist Tek made the data accessible .
The report demonstrates that France submitted significantly more data requests to Telegram during this period. The French government initiated only four requests in early 2024 which impacted 17 users, reports 404 Media.
The number of requests from France increased to 668 this year while the affected user base expanded to 1,425 people. The number of requests from Romania increased to 37 in 2024 which affected 88 users An error occurred while processing your request. Please try again, as reported by 404 Media.
Durov, recently released from France and now in Dubai, took to social media to accuse France of trying to interfere with Romanian elections.
“A Western European government approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today’s presidential elections. I flatly refused,” he said, as reported by 404 Media.
He later named France and its intelligence chief, Nicolas Lerner, directly. The French government has denied the claim.
