Techmeme
May 16, 2024, 1:40 PM

Top News

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:
The EU opens a formal DSA investigation into Meta, to assess if Facebook, Instagram, and its other apps were reinforcing “rabbit hole” effects and other issues  —  Facebook and Instagram owner to be investigated on whether it does enough to protect mental health of young users
Jez Corden / Windows Central:
Microsoft's decisions, like Start Menu ads, closing studios, porting AAA games to PS5, and seemingly pulling back on Surface show a short-term financial focus  —  Microsoft has made a range of baffling decisions and awful mis-steps recently.  You can trace everything back to insatiable desire for money.
Wall Street Journal:
Source: Microsoft is asking about 700 to 800 employees involved in its China-based AI and cloud computing operations to consider relocating to other countries  —  Request comes as Biden administration toughens controls on China's access to cutting-edge American technology
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Meta starts testing TweetDeck-style customizable feeds on Threads that are stacked in a column interface on the web, available to selected users  —  Meta is starting to test a TweetDeck-like experience for Threads today.  It will allow Threads users to create customizable feeds that are stacked …
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Google releases an emergency Chrome update to patch the third zero-day vulnerability exploited within a week, and the seventh zero-day fix in 2024 so far  —  Google has released a new emergency Chrome security update to address the third zero-day vulnerability exploited in attacks within a week.
Daniel Zuidijk / Bloomberg:
Ubisoft falls ~15% after warning that Q1 net bookings will be ~€275M, below €376M est., and reporting a €401M adjusted operating income in FY 2024  —  Ubisoft Entertainment SA shares fell the most in 16 months on Thursday after the French video game publisher warned bookings …
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sony Music sends letters to 700+ AI companies, developers, and music streaming platforms warning over the “unauthorized use” of Sony's content in training AI  —  Music group representing Adele and Beyoncé contacts more than 700 companies to prohibit use of content
Bloomberg:
Microsoft's carbon emissions grew 29.1% from 2020 to 2023, as its push to be the global leader in AI puts its goal to be carbon negative by 2030 in peril  —  The company's goal to be carbon negative by 2030 is harder to reach, but President Brad Smith says the good AI can do for the world will outweigh its environmental impact.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney, Fox, and WBD unveil the name of their sports streaming venture: Venu Sports, which is set to debut in fall 2024  —  “We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem …
Kylie Robison / The Verge:
Hugging Face, which is “profitable, or close to profitable”, commits $10M in free shared GPUs to help small developers, academics, and others create AI apps  —  Hugging Face, one of the biggest names in machine learning, is committing $10 million in free shared GPUs to help developers create new AI technologies.
Ashlee Vance / Bloomberg:
A profile of Noland Arbaugh, who was paralyzed after an accident in mid-2016 and became the first person to receive Neuralink's brain implant in January 2024  —  For the first time, Noland Arbaugh explains how Elon Musk's brain implant, which allows him to control a computer with his thoughts, has changed his life.
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
An interview with Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus on the new iPad lineup, the M4 chip, why the iPad and Mac both matter, the iPad as an “AI PC”, and more  —  Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus on the new iPad lineup, why the iPad and Mac both matter, the iPad as an ‘AI PC,’ and more.
Jessica Mathews / Fortune:
How GM is scrambling to save Cruise, which has become a liability after one of its automated vehicles hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet in October 2023  —  October 2 was a quiet night on the streets of San Francisco.  It was moderately cloudy, and Fleet Week activities had just begun at Sunset Library.
Sheena Vasani / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the Proteus Controller, a $299 modular game controller kit for disabled Xbox and PC gamers by peripheral company ByoWave, shipping in the fall  —  On Wednesday, Microsoft announced the Proteus Controller, a $299 modular video game controller kit that lets Xbox gamers with disabilities customize their controllers.
Bloomberg:
Blackstone agrees to buy a majority stake in Israeli enterprise software company Priority Software, which has 17K clients and 500+ staff, at an $800M valuation  —  - Deal values enterprise software company at $800 million  — Transaction is latest in a string of Israeli tech deals
Brendan I. Koerner / Wired:
An undercover investigation details working as a rotating cast of low-wage workers hired to pretend to be influencer girlfriends on OnlyFans  —  Your online influencer girlfriend is actually a rotating cast of low-wage workers.  I became one of them.  —  Because I have a deep and childish fear …
Associated Press:
Senate hearing: US DNI Avril Haines says foreign adversaries will again seek to influence the upcoming elections, harnessing AI to spread disinformation  —  America's foreign adversaries will again seek to influence the upcoming U.S. elections, top security officials warned members of the Senate Wednesday …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
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.
IDrive:
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.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:40 PM ET, May 16, 2024.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Susie Violet Ward / Forbes:
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Kristin Robinson / Billboard:
Todd Shields / Bloomberg:
Jordan Novet / CNBC: