Techmeme
February 21, 2025, 10:10 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple removes Advanced Data Protection for iCloud in the UK after the government ordered it to build a backdoor, something the company says it will never do  —  - Company removes Advanced Data Protection feature for UK users  — “We never will” build backdoor to user data, iPhone maker says
More: BBC, TechCrunch, Washington Post, The Verge, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Tech Policy Press, PCMag, Bloomberg, USA Today, Daring Fireball, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Financial Times, Six Colors, Redmond Pie, MacTrast, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, Sky News, PhoneArena, Wall Street Journal, Android Headlines, Digital Trends, SiliconANGLE, The Standard, Boing Boing, TechRadar, Neowin, mobilenewscwp.co.uk, Silicon UK, PetaPixel, Channel NewsAsia, BGR, UPI, Cult of Mac, The Apple Post, mjtsai.com, Gizmodo, Engadget, CyberInsider, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, and ZeroHedge News
Bloomberg:
Crypto exchange Bybit says a hacker took control of one of its cold Ethereum wallets, resulting in what analysts estimate was the loss of ~$1.5B worth of tokens  —  - North Korean group Lazarus suspected by industry researchers  — Prices of Ether, Bitcoin and other tokens decline after theft
More: TechCrunch, BleepingComputer, The Block, PCMag, PYMNTS.com, DL News, Associated Press, NBC News, 10x Market Updates, Bitcoin Insider, Yahoo Finance, CoinDesk, Wall Street Journal, TheStreet, Forbes, TheStreet, Cointelegraph, Cointelegraph, Forbes, The Crypto Times, CoinGape, Cryptopolitan, crypto.news, CryptoPotato, CryptoSlate, Protos, USA Insurance News …, Coinpedia Fintech News, The Crypto Times, Finextra, The Record, Fortune, Crypto Briefing, Watcher Guru, Financial Times, Reuters, CoinJournal, Bitcoinist.com, Cryptopolitan, Engadget, NFTgators, Hackread, Decrypt, NewsBTC, DL News, The Block, Web3 is Going Just Great, Blockchain News, Bloomberg, The Block, Benzinga, Blockworks, SlashGear, The Coin Republic, ZeroHedge News, CoinGape, and Bitcoin Insider
Forums: r/technology, r/news, and Slashdot
RT Watson / The Block:
Arkham says ZachXBT submitted proof that North Korea's Lazarus Group is behind Bybit's $1.5B hack, which is the largest single theft in crypto history  —  - Arkham Intelligence said Lazarus Group hacked Bybit for over $1.5 billion, citing information provided by online sleuth ZachXBT.
Jesse Pound / CNBC:
Muyao Shen / Bloomberg Tax:
Cade Metz / New York Times:
OpenAI says it found evidence of an AI-powered surveillance tool used by a Chinese security operation to identify anti-China posts on social media in the West  —  The company said a Chinese operation had built the tool to identify anti-Chinese posts on social media services in Western countries.
Ricardo Brito / Reuters:
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes orders the immediate and full suspension of Rumble in the country due to noncompliance with court orders  —  Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered U.S. video-sharing platform Rumble (RUM.O) immediate and full suspension …
David Heaney / UploadVR:
Apple releases visionOS 2.4 developer beta, adding Apple Intelligence, a guest mode, a Spatial Gallery app, an iPhone app for remote installs, and more  —  visionOS 2.4 will bring Apple Intelligence to Vision Pro, a Spatial Gallery app, an iPhone app for remote installs, and a new iPhone/iPad-driven guest flow.
Bloomberg:
Trump says Tim Cook told him that Apple “stopped two plants in Mexico” and will build products in the US instead, a move Apple hasn't publicly discussed  —  - President says tariff threat prompted move from planned plants  — Cook, Trump held private meeting Thursday at the White House
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
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
Bloomberg:
NetEase CEO William Ding has cut hundreds of jobs, closed game studios, and reduced international investment as he refocuses on a smaller portfolio of titles  —  - Hundreds of staffers and about a dozen games have been cut  — Founder William Ding sets elevated expectations for results
The Information:
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.
More: TechCrunch, Healthcare Brew, and Seeking Alpha
Bluesky: @garymarcusX: @steph_palazzoloLinkedIn: Anissa G.Forums: Slashdot
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
Block shares closed down 17.69% on February 21, their steepest drop since 2020, after Q4 earnings missed est. and guidance for 2025 failed to reassure investors  —  Block shares plunged 18% on Friday, their steepest drop since 2020, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings …

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Earlier Picks

Ian Duncan / Washington Post:
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac: