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February 21, 2025, 5:30 AM
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| Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg: |
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson announces an inquiry into “Big Tech censorship”, which he says is “un-American” and “potentially illegal” — - FTC Chair Ferguson invites public comment about tech platforms — Conservatives claim ideas, affiliations have been censored
More: Federal Trade Commission, Platformer, Ars Technica, Reuters, The Information, Wall Street Journal, SiliconANGLE, The Hill, New York Post, The Wrap, TVNewsCheck, Japan Today, The Gateway Pundit, PYMNTS.com, MediaPost, Fox Business, MLex, Tech in Asia, TechCrunch, and The Daily Caller
Bluesky: @caseynewton, @zero-to-hero, @mmasnick, @leahnylen, @leahnylen, and @leahnylen
X: @afergusonftc, @mholyoakftc, @nathanleamerdc, @andyjungtech, @zephyrteachout, @josephvconiglio, @nicoperrino, @josephvconiglio, @benremaly, @realjdenton, @robmcgravytrain, @benbrodydc, @allumbokhari, @ryangrim, @afergusonftc, @ambermarieduke, @randyebarnett, @wendyndavis, @castrotech, @ftc, @sayssimonson, @mikebenzcyber, @adamkovac, @afergusonftc, and @wesghodges. Forums: r/Conservative
| Benj Edwards / Ars Technica: |
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 …
More: Microsoft Research and WinBuzzer
X: @5000hui, @azeem, and @jw2yang4ai
Forums: Hacker News and Ars OpenForum
| MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC: |
Block reports Q4 revenue up 4.5% YoY to $6.03B vs. $6.29B est., gross profit up 14% to $2.31B, Cash App gross profit up 16% to $1.38B; XYZ drops 6%+ after hours — Block reported fourth-quarter results on Thursday that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The stock dropped more than 7% in extended trading.| Bloomberg: |
Alibaba 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.
More: Fortune, Alibaba Group, PYMNTS.com, Alibaba Group, and South China Morning Post
| Jonathan Vanian / CNBC: |
Filing: Meta approves raising executives' annual bonuses to 200% of base salary, up from 75%, as most employees' annual stock options are reportedly cut by ~10% — Executives at Meta stand to get bigger bonuses this year. — The company said in a corporate filing Thursday that it had approved …
More: Financial Times, Proactive, Benzinga, Financial Express, and Business Insider
Forums: r/news, r/Layoffs, and r/technology
| Ian Carlos Campbell / Engadget: |
Meta says 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 — The company is replacing third-party fact-checking with Community Notes on Threads, Instagram and Facebook.
More: TechSpot, TechIssuesToday.com, Meta, TechCrunch, PhoneArena, and Tech in Asia
| Matt Novak / Gizmodo: |
Elon Musk says he will “fix” Community Notes as they are “increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media”, after disagreeing with notes about Ukraine — The billionaire has a history of manipulating X to fit his far-right worldview.
More: Moneycontrol, The Hill, The Independent, Agence France-Presse, Social Media Today, Al Jazeera, Engadget, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, and Twitchy
Bluesky: @mantzarlis.com, @runtcpip, @gordonmoat, @quinnypig.com, @sweet-jesus, @wilkos, @onto2028, @rawveggies, @justbcause, @zackhouse, @creatrixpj, and @paleofuture
X: @elonmusk, @ike_saul, @ibd_ecarson, @oalexanderdk, @youranoncentral, @alexandrosm, @ike_saul, @levyantoine, @jseyff, @rothschildmd, @spencerfernando, @billybinion, @stankutcher, @gummibear737, @elonmusk, @philipdbunn, @elonmusk, @christogrozev, @shayan86, @rorystewartuk, @elonmusk, @charliepick, @matthewberman, @walshfreedom, @amuse, @eyeslasho, @page_eco, @alanlevinovitz, @tekbog, @piersmorgan, @billybinion, @shayan86, @theabridgedzach, @ike_saul, @byzgeneral, @angry_staffer, @kareemrifai, and @lefterisjp. Forums: r/BlockedAndReported
| Ashley Carman / Bloomberg: |
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 — - The service will continue to put ads in music videos — The tier will launch in areas that include the US, Australia| Wired: |
How Breeze Liu, an advocate for digital abuse victims, got Microsoft to scrub 142 nonconsensual explicit images of her hosted on 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.
Bluesky: @wired.com and @mattburgess1
| New York Times: |
Sources: the Trump administration targets officials fighting foreign interference in US elections, focused on those combating cyberattacks and false content — The Trump administration has reassigned or forced out several dozen government employees who had been working to fight foreign interference …
More: Default and StateScoop
Bluesky: @noupside, @noupside, @daphnek, @noupside, and @lawfare. Mastodon: @metacurity@infosec.exchange
Forums: r/nytimes, r/technology, r/Intelligence, r/news, r/law, and r/politics
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
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 — Amazon Chime, the tech giant's underwhelming alternative to Zoom and Google Meet, is shutting down for good.
More: Amazon Web Services, MakeUseOf, Entrepreneur, GeekWire, and Thurrott
Bluesky: @aleph1.underground.org, @emilprotalinski, and @itspatrickpl. Mastodon: @harrymccracken@mastodon …
X: @frichette_n, @rickasaurus, @rekdt, and @eugenekim222
LinkedIn: Derek Pando, Milo Fels, David Victoria, Dhaval Nagar, and Iqbal Javaid
| Ben Lang / Road to VR: |
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 — Meta today announced a $50 million fund to incentivize the creation of new and improved content in Horizon Worlds, the company's first-party social gaming platform.
More: Meta, Digital Music News, Android Central, and UploadVR
Bluesky: @jawnpaulsarte. Threads: @schultzdavidg. X: @brandonjla, @kentbye, @gwanatu, @azadux, @nathievr, @gwanatu, and @slhamlet
| Mobile EDR Security: |
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 — In December, we published our groundbreaking investigation into mobile device threats. The public didn't just read the report … | Sarah Wynn / The Block: |
The US SEC announces the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit to protect investors from bad actors in crypto and AI, replacing the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit — - The agency announced the new unit on Thursday, calling it the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, or CETU.
More: US Securities …, The Record, CryptoPotato, Blockhead, Bitcoin Insider, Law360, CyberScoop, Cryptopolitan, Benzinga, The Daily Hodl, CoinJournal, Blockchain News, The Coin Republic, The Crypto Times, Decrypt, crypto.news, CoinGape, and CoinDesk
X: @eleanorterrett, @digitalartchick, @cryptojellenl, @kookcapitalllc, @campbelljaustin, @nickilsanders, @adamscochran, @cryptodonalt, @themisterfrog, @iamkadense, @austin_federa, @sunil_trades, @0xaporia, @moonoverlord, @jchervinsky, @stoolpresidente, @byzgeneral, @tier10k, @lpcapitalchi, @tradermercury, @valueandtime, @digitalartchick, and @gainzy222
LinkedIn: Madiha Zuberi and Howard Fischer
| Gergely Orosz / The Pragmatic Engineer: |
A look at the potential reasons why software developer job listings on Indeed hit a five-year low in January, down 35% from 2020, including the impact of AI — Hi, this is Gergely with a bonus issue of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. In every issue, I cover topics related to Big Tech … | Hannah Murphy / Financial Times: |
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 — Independent body searches for ways to hold social media group to account over content moderation and hate speech changes| Steve Lohr / New York Times: |
Software engineers, academics, and others say AI coding tools will likely prompt an evolution rather than 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.
Forums: Hacker News
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Bluesky: @quinnypig.com. X: @twitchsupport, @helloitskolo, @realcouri, @ravsy_, @shiftposting, @notenglishben, @thefiz_, @zisteau, @amaliasolaris, @iateyourp1e, @scifichicktv, and @metalman_20
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Bluesky: @evacide, @karlbode.com, @dell, @glynmoody, and @couts
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Bluesky: @justinbaragona, @mims, and @paularmstrongtbd
X: @johngramlich, @sr_lazarus, @johngramlich, @brianstelter, and @maxwelltani. Forums: r/EnoughMuskSpam
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