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February 21, 2025, 7:05 AM
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memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| 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, Tech in Asia, Japan Today, The Gateway Pundit, MediaPost, PYMNTS.com, Fox Business, MLex, TechCrunch, The Daily Caller, and Business Insider
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
| 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, WinBuzzer, and MarkTechPost
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
| 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: TechCrunch, TechSpot, Meta, TechIssuesToday.com, PhoneArena, and Tech in Asia
| 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, Cryptopolitan, Financial Express, Proactive, Benzinga, and Business Insider
Forums: r/news, r/Layoffs, r/antiwork, and r/technology
| 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| 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 Independent, Agence France-Presse, The Hill, Al Jazeera, Social Media Today, Engadget, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, Mirror, The Sun, Twitchy, and NDTV
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, @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, @lefterisjp, and @ike_saul. Forums: r/BlockedAndReported
| 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, Thurrott, TechRadar, Verdict, Business Insider, Reuters, PYMNTS.com, and Chain Store Age
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
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
OpenAI launches Operator in the UK, Japan, and most ChatGPT regions, and says it's working to expand to the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland — OpenAI said on Friday that it is rolling out Operator, its so-called AI agent that can perform tasks on behalf of users … | 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
| 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, UploadVR, and Android Central
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 … | 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, StateScoop, Politico, and Associated Press
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
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| Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: |
More: Ars Technica, Engadget, Gizmodo, Tubefilter, Passionfruit, TechCrunch, TOS.gg, Dexerto, Cord Cutters News, Android Headlines, and Twitch
Bluesky: @quinnypig.com. X: @twitchsupport, @helloitskolo, @realcouri, @ravsy_, @shiftposting, @notenglishben, @thefiz_, @zisteau, @amaliasolaris, @iateyourp1e, @scifichicktv, and @metalman_20
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Bluesky: @theopriestley.com. Mastodon: @mloxton@med-mastodon.com. X: @elevenlabsio. LinkedIn: Anders Larsen and Dustin Blank
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
More: Amazon, Amazon Appstore Developer Blog, Moneycontrol, 9to5Google, Ace of Spades HQ, Thurrott, Gizchina.com, GSMArena.com, Ars Technica, The Economic Times, GamingonPhone, The Indian Express, SammyGuru, Android Central, How-To Geek, WebProNews, Engadget, iPhone in Canada Blog, PCMag, PYMNTS.com, Trusted Reviews, AFTVnews, Liliputing, PocketGamer.biz, XDA Developers, The Verge, Droid Life, Digital Trends, PhoneArena, BetaNews, Mirror, HotHardware, Mobilegamer.biz, The Sun, Android Headlines, Neowin, Android Police, Android Authority, TechIssuesToday.com, and Good e-Reader
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