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January 21, 2025, 5:15 PM
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Top News

Washington Post:
Legal experts and lawmakers: Trump's EO halting the TikTok ban may not protect companies that host or distribute the app, as Trump cannot overturn Congress' law  —  Measure directs Justice Department to not enforce the law for 75 days while administration determines “the appropriate course forward.”
Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Trump signs an EO seeking to pause the TikTok ban for 75 days, in a bid to give him time to negotiate a resolution and protect TikTok's providers from liability  —  President Trump signed an executive order on Monday seeking to hit pause on a law banning TikTok and to provide a liability shield …
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Card game Marvel Snap, published by ByteDance's Nuverse, is back online in the US; developer Second Dinner plans to find a new publisher to avoid future bans
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
ByteDance-owned video editing app CapCut is now working in the US, but is still not in app stores, after Trump signed an EO attempting to pause the TikTok ban
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to $10.2B and 301.6M global subs, adding 18.9M subs, more than doubling Wall Street estimates; NFLX jumps 13%+ after hours  —  - Netflix is raising subscription prices in its biggest market  — Report marks the end of regular quarterly customer updates
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3 will turn on Apple Intelligence automatically on compatible devices; users can opt out later  —  When installing macOS Sequoia 15.3, iOS 18.3, or iPadOS 18.3, Apple Intelligence will be turned on automatically on compatible devices …
Radhika Rajkumar / ZDNET:
DeepSeek's new MIT-licensed AI models can be accessed via DeepSeek's API at a fraction of the cost of comparable OpenAI models but there are censorship concerns  —  Open-source artificial intelligence (AI) has reached another milestone — and the cost differences it represents could shake up the industry.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Trump signs an EO renaming the US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service, directing agency heads to form “DOGE Teams” of at least four employees within 30 days  —  The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an advisory commission spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk recommending deep cuts …
New York Times:
Sources: Elon Musk is likely to get a West Wing office, putting him close to Donald Trump, after Musk had for many days been asking about his level of access
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
The SEC launches a “Crypto 2.0” task force led by SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, to create a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets”  —  The Trump administration took its firs steps Tuesday toward an expected lowering of regulatory barriers for cryptocurrency.
Anna Gross / Financial Times:
The UK debuts digital driving licenses and veteran ID cards, launching in 2025 via the GOV.UK Wallet, and AI tools, nicknamed “Humphrey”, to help civil servants  —  New app will also include documents showing criminal record checks and proof of eligibility for state benefits
Counterpoint Research:
Chinese smartphone sales fell 3.2% YoY in Q4 2024, the only negative quarter in 2024; Apple fell 18.2% to a 17.1% share and Huawei rose 15.5% to an 18.1% share  —  - During the quarter, Huawei secured the top spot, followed by Xiaomi.  Huawei's sales grew 15.5% YoY, supported by the release of the Mate 70 series in early December.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Meta will soon let users link WhatsApp accounts with Instagram and Facebook, allowing cross posts of WhatsApp Statuses as Stories on Instagram and Facebook  —  Meta announced on Tuesday that users will soon be able to add their WhatsApp account to their Accounts Center …
James Hunt / The Block:
MicroStrategy bought 11K bitcoin for ~$1.1B from January 13 to 20, at an average of $101,191 per BTC, taking its holding to 461K, worth $48B+, or 2%+ of supply  —  - MicroStrategy has purchased another 11,000 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion at an average price of $101,191 per bitcoin.
Max Goldbart / Deadline:
Parrot Analytics estimates Severance season 1 earned $200M+, with ~50% coming in the year following the finale; Ted Lasso generated $609.4M from Q3'20 to Q3'24  —  Parrot came to these figures via its Content Valuation methodology, which uses a formula to correlate audience demand with subscribers and therefore revenue.
The Information:
Source: Meta is offering creators with large TikTok followings bonuses ranging from $10K to $50K per month to post on Instagram Reels before other platforms

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:15 PM ET, January 21, 2025.

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.

From Mediagazer

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
CBS News and The Free Press announce Things That Matter, a series of town halls and debates, starting in early 2026, with Sam Altman, J.D. Vance, and others

John Rogers / Associated Press:
Peter Arnett, a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent who covered the Vietnam War for the AP and the first Gulf War for CNN, has died at 91

Financial Times:
Sources: Standard General hedge fund founder Soo Kim has been in talks with a major WBD shareholder over potentially buying or investing in the WBD TV networks

More News

Krisztian Sandor / CoinDesk:
Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, acquired Hashnote; rwa.xyz data: Hashnote's USYC token last year become the largest tokenized US Treasury product
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Amazon's IMDb says founder Col Needham will step down as CEO and move to executive chair, and appoints COO Nikki Santoro as CEO; Needham launched IMDb in 1990
Noah Smith / Noahpinion:
How purchasing Trump's memecoin, of which he reportedly holds $50B+ at January 19 prices, could be used to buy favors without actually transferring him funds

Earlier Picks

Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Brendan Carr becomes FCC chair, and plans to focus on tech and media regulation, combating China, spectrum licenses, infrastructure, the space economy, and more
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
Donald Trump signs an EO ending “federal censorship” of online platforms, and directs the AG to investigate if the Biden admin censored US citizens' free speech
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Trump revokes Biden's 2023 executive order that sought to reduce the risks that AI poses to consumers, workers, and national security, fulfilling a GOP pledge
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
During a speech after Donald Trump's inauguration, Elon Musk delivered what many saw as two “Nazi salutes”; Musk posted a three-minute video of his speech to X
More: The Guardian, Wired, Associated Press, Raw Story, Global News, Rolling Stone, One America News Network, Digital Journal, Time, BBC, Sandra Rose, Blood in the Machine, Republic World, The Root, New York Times, The Independent, Boing Boing, 9News, Raw Story, WUSA, The Mirror, New York Daily News, AS USA, Newsweek, Times of India, The Forward, Hindustan Times, The Daily Beast, NZ Herald, The Economic Times, The Wrap, Jerusalem Post, The Atlantic, The Daily Caller, and Deadline
Bluesky: @karlbode.com, @karlbode.com, @jeffjarvis, @katie-drummond, @ahjohnson, @walkerbragman, @ahjohnson, @fredericl, @miasato, @cameronwilson, @cameronwilson, @marypcbuk, @rmac, @edbott.com, @grumpyzeus, @wademinter.com, @waxmonkey, @supremebeing504, @davidcolarusso.com, @mnateshyamalan, @thedailyshow.com, @thedextriarchy, @joshtpm, @marisakabas, @emptywheel, @joshsternberg.com, @rachelgilmore, @stevecooke.org, @stevanzetti, @stevanzetti, @mgsiegler.com, @davekarpf, @paleofuture, @jesseltaylor, @evansutton, @ericajoy.astrel.la, @timdickinson, @mattgarrahan, and @atrupar.com
Threads: @yannlecun, @shabazzstuart, @benjamin_goggin_, @theheatherashley, @realjuddlegum, @_disparition_, @kenpopehat, @sharon.a.life, @aaron.rupar, @parkert, @fathernathan, @theheatherashley, @vocino, @pstomlinson, and @yasharali
X: @adl, @aoc, @rpsagainsttrump, @coribush, @pinko69420, @rpsagainsttrump, @elonmusk, @nikitabier, @esjesjesj, @gianmarcosoresi, @atrupar, @elonmusk, @emmavigeland, @tszzl, @bungarsargon, @loudmouthjulia, @lrozen, @devahaz, @elonmusk, @naval, @aidancramer, @andyorin, @nkulw, @dougboneparth, @gfodor, @yoda, @nkulw, @silvermanjacob, @jake_hanrahan, @shashj, @libsoftiktok, @yoda, @nkulw, @jphilllllll, and @sawyerhackett
Forums: Hacker News, r/InternationalNews, r/popculturechat, r/centrist, r/the_everything_bubble, r/Republican_misdeeds, r/AuthoritarianNewsHub, r/IHateElonHub, r/ParlerWatch, r/politics, r/politics, r/millenials, r/RealTesla, r/interestingasfuck, r/europe, r/politics, r/interestingasfuck, r/pics, r/gifs, r/MurderedByWords, r/EnoughMuskSpam, r/AnythingGoesNews, r/politics, r/CivPolitics, r/EnoughMuskSpam, and r/EnoughMuskSpam
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