Apple removes Advanced Data Protection in the UK for new users, pulling the optional E2EE feature rather than complying with the UK's order to build a backdoor
- Company removes Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users — “We never will” build backdoor to user data, iPhone maker says
Coinbase says the US SEC agreed “in principle” to drop its 2023 case against the company, calling it “righting a major wrong” and a “huge day” for crypto
- CNBC Councils — CNBC on Peacock — Join the CNBC Panel — Supply Chain Values
ZachXBT: crypto exchange Bybit has experienced $1.46B worth of “suspicious outflows”; Bybit CEO confirms hacker took control of a cold ETH wallet
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit has experienced $1.46 billion worth of “suspicious outflows,” according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT.
Microsoft researchers introduce Magma, an AI foundation model that combines visual and language processing to control software interfaces and robotic systems
On Wednesday, Microsoft Research introduced Magma, an integrated AI foundation model that combines visual and language processing …
DeepSeek plans to open source five of its code repositories next week, letting anyone download, build on, or improve the code behind its well-regarded AI models
- The startup will begin making technology available next week — DeepSeek is pushing harder on its open-source approach
Sources: the US NHTSA is losing ~10% of its workforce via firings and buyout offers, including nearly half of a small team that regulates autonomous vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is losing about 10 percent of its workforce through firings and buyout offers, according to people briefed on the cuts.
SEC filing: Meta raises executives' annual bonuses from 75% to 200% of their base salary, after reportedly cutting most employees' annual stock options by ~10%
Executives at Meta stand to get bigger bonuses this year. — The company said in a corporate filing Thursday that it had approved …
OpenAI launches Operator in the UK, Japan, and most ChatGPT regions, and says it's working to expand to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland
OpenAI said on Friday that it is rolling out Operator, its so-called AI agent that can perform tasks on behalf of users …
A look at the potential reasons why software developer job listings on Indeed hit a five-year low in January, down 35% from January 2020, including AI's impact
Hi, this is Gergely with a bonus issue of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. In every issue, I cover topics related to Big Tech … Bluesky: @kakurady.ca . X: @gergelyorosz and @gergelyorosz Forums: Ha...
On Alibaba's Q3 earnings call, CEO Eddie Wu calls the pursuit of AGI the company's “primary objective”, saying “our first and foremost goal is to pursue AGI”
“Our first and foremost goal is to pursue AGI,” Eddie Wu told investors on a call after the company reported results that surpassed analyst estimates.
Sources: GameStop CEO and activist investor Ryan Cohen has grown his Alibaba stake to ~7M shares, worth ~$1B, in recent months, showing his bullishness on China
Wall Street Journal :
How Breeze Liu, an advocate for digital abuse victims, got Microsoft to scrub 142 nonconsensual explicit images of herself from Azure after months of struggle
Breeze Liu has been a prominent advocate for victims. But even she struggled to scrub nonconsensual intimate images and videos of herself from the web.
Kuo: all iPhone 17 models will have Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chips, enhancing connectivity and cutting costs; only the slim iPhone 17 will have the C1 modem chip
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac :
Software engineers, academics, and analysts say AI coding tools will likely start an evolution rather than an extinction, pushing developers to learn new skills
A.I. tools from Microsoft and other companies are helping write code, placing software engineers at the forefront of the technology's potential to disrupt the work force.
Elon Musk says he will “fix” Community Notes as they are “increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media”, after disagreeing with notes about Ukraine
which often gets the facts wrong. Worthy mission. But X is dominated by more lies & often deranged bigotry. It's disappointing. Senator Stan Kutcher / @stankutcher : Trying to have a rational and cons...
US FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson announces an inquiry into “Big Tech censorship”, which he calls “un-American” and “potentially illegal”, and seeks public comment
including ‘shadow banning’ Sean Burch / The Wrap : Trump-Appointed FTC Chair Launches Big Tech Inquiry for ‘Bullying’ and Censorship Sean Burch / TVNewsCheck : Trump-Appointed FTC Chair Launches Big T...
Sources: EU antitrust regulators are set to charge Google for breaching the DMA after proposed changes to its search results failed to address concerns
EU antitrust regulators are set to charge Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google with breaching EU rules aimed at checking the power of Big Tech …
YouTube plans to add a “premium lite” tier, a source says for the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand, offering podcasts without ads and music videos with ads
Ashley Carman / Bloomberg :
Meta says that US users over 18 can now sign up to be a Community Notes contributor on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads; notes will have a 500-character limit
#Meta X: Henry Rodgers / @henryrodgersdc : The launch of Community Notes for @Meta is right around the corner! A sneak peak here: @metanewsroom : Rolling out soon, Community Notes will be a new way fo...
Sources: Fluidstack, which wants to build a €10B AI data center in France as part of Macron's €109B data center pledge, is in talks to raise a ~$200M Series A
- UK company part of Macron's €109 billion data center pledge — Startup has ordered shipment of Nvidia's new Blackwell chips
OpenAI told investors that it expects revenue to more than triple in 2025, from $3.7B to over $12.5B; one-third of the revenue growth would come from SoftBank
New forecasts from OpenAI show the beginning of a dramatic shift in its alliances from Microsoft, its biggest shareholder, to SoftBank, its newest benefactor.
Source: AI search engine startup Genspark raised a $100M Series A at a $530M valuation and currently has over 2M MAUs; it raised a $60M seed in June 2024
Search startup Genspark has raised $100 million in a series A funding round, valuing the startup at $530 million …
Amazon plans to end support for its videoconferencing tool Chime on February 20, 2026; report: Amazon is adopting Zoom as its standard app for internal meetings
cc @quinnypig.com [embedded post] Emil Protalinski / @emilprotalinski : Amazon acquires Zoom in 3, 2, 1... [embedded post] Patrick / @itspatrickpl : Did not even know that this existed Mastodon: Harr...
iVerify's iOS app detected a Pegasus infection in 11 new cases in December 2024, and about half of them did not receive Threat Notifications from Apple
This number adds to seven other devices the company found infected with Pegasus throughout last year — iverify.io/blog/how-dem... @iverify : 🚨 Democratizing Threat Hunting is Changing Mobile Securit...
Meta announces a $50M creator fund for Horizon Worlds; CTO Andrew Bosworth reportedly told staff that 2025 is a make-or-break year for Meta's XR ambitions
they are making a long-term play. rather than put money into supporting VR for adults, productivity, etc. — they're investing in a generation that will have *grown up* with VR X: Wagner James Au / @s...
Block reports Q4 revenue up 4% YoY to $6.03B, vs. $6.29B est., gross profit up 14% YoY to $2.31B, and Cash App gross profit up 16% YoY to $1.38B; XYZ drops 10%+
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC :
Sensor Tower: Xiaohongshu's downloads fell 91% in five days after Apple and Google relisted TikTok on their US app stores on February 13, while TikTok's doubled
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg :
Chinese state media: Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei told Xi Jinping at a meeting that concerns about China lacking homegrown chips or operating systems had eased
Brenda Goh / Reuters :
Substack adds the ability to post videos from its app and lets creators monetize videos, and plans to add more video tools like trimming and enhanced analytics
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch :
Amazon surpassed Walmart in quarterly sales for the first time during the most recent quarter, with revenue of $187.8B compared to Walmart's $180.5B
Annie Palmer / CNBC :
Sources: Meta's oversight board got little notice of Zuckerberg's “free speech” overhaul, fueling tensions as it rushes to hold Meta accountable for the changes
Hannah Murphy / Financial Times :
Japanese officials and executives warn that China's export curbs on gallium, germanium, and other chip raw materials threaten global electronics supply chains
Harry Dempsey / Financial Times :
Chinese game giant NetEase reports Q4 net profit up 33% YoY to ~$1.2B, above ~$1.05B est., and revenue down 1.4%, a sign its gaming business is turning around
Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal :
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26
Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control
Picture this: It's Monday morning. You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data
Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.