Techmeme
January 2, 2025, 12:50 PM

Top News

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Telegram rolls out a new account verification method powered by third-parties, new search filters for private chats, and the ability to turn gifts into NFTs  —  Telegram has rolled out its first update of the year, adding a new account verification method powered by third-parties …
Washington Post:
Sources: Chinese government hackers breached the US Treasury Department's OFAC, which administers economic sanctions, and two other Treasury offices  —  Treasury's sanctions office hacked by Chinese government, officials say A troubling series of breaches of U.S. firms and agencies …
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Apple agrees to pay $95M to settle a lawsuit claiming it recorded private conversations after Siri was unintentionally activated and shared the data with others  —  Apple (AAPL.O) agreed to pay $95 million in cash to settle a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated Siri assistant violated users' privacy.
Samantha Cole / 404 Media:
Pornhub now blocks users in 17 US states, including almost all of the South, after blocking Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina due to age verification laws  —  Almost two years ago, Louisiana passed a law that started a wave that's since spread across the entire U.S. south …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Asus, Samsung, and MSI separately unveil the world's first 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitors, offering 4K OLED at 240Hz, without sharing release dates or pricing  —  27-inch 4K OLED 240Hz monitors seem to be like buses: you wait ages for one and then three turn up at once.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
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Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Enhancements to Zoho Writer's automation flow designer: New PDF operations, password protection, and more  —  Once we rolled out the automation flow designer in Zoho Writer's merge templates …
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

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2025 In Review, 2026 Predictions — With Reed Albergotti
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Channels with Peter Kafka:
Podcast Pioneer PJ Vogt's Second Act: Less Budget, More Control
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.
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BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
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Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
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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.
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More News

Earlier Picks

John Herrman / New York Magazine:
Gerrit De Vynck / Washington Post:
Matt Simons / Courthouse News Service:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: