Techmeme
June 16, 2025, 5:45 PM

Top News

New York Times:
WhatsApp rolls out ads in its Updates tab, a first for the app, and Meta will collect some data to target the ads, but says it has no plans to put ads in chats  —  They will appear in only one part of the Meta-owned messaging service, it said.  The move is potentially lucrative, while raising questions about user privacy.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
The Trump Organization teases the $499 “T1 Phone”, a gold phone “designed and built” in the US, and Trump Mobile, an MVNO that uses AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile  —  President Trump and his family are getting into the wireless business, in partnership with the three major U.S. carriers.
More: Trump Organization, The Verge, 404 Media, CNBC, Ars Technica, CNET, The Register, The Verge, Reuters, Engadget, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, BBC, The Guardian, Inc, Mashable, Wired, theJasmineBRAND, nextpit, Bloomberg, NERDS.xyz, Washingtonian, Tom's Guide, Pocket-lint, Deadline, Techstrong IT, DatacenterDynamics, GSMArena.com, People, Quartz, Fast Company, Global News, CBS News, New York Sun, Android Authority, Proactive, UPI, CNN, Apple Must, RCR Wireless News, Neowin, Axios, Hollywood Life, PhoneArena, Gulf News, Moneycontrol, Blaze Media, iPhone in Canada, Rolling Stone, PCMag, NBC News, Cryptopolitan, al.com, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Financial Express, Business Insider, Just Jared, Redmond Pie, Yahoo Finance, The Federalist, Salon, Mediaite, IJR, and tippinsights
Berber Jin / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: OpenAI and Microsoft talks have become so fraught that OpenAI execs discussed accusing Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior before federal regulators  —  The startup, growing frustrated with its partner, has discussed making antitrust complaints to regulators
Financial Times:
Digital asset platform Tron plans to go public via a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment, after the US paused a probe into founder Justin Sun  —  Deal involving Justin Sun's digital asset venture orchestrated by investment bank linked to Trump's sons
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Europol, Germany, and more dismantle Archetyp Market, a darknet drug marketplace active since May 2020 with 612K users processing €250M+ in Monero transactions  —  Law enforcement authorities from six countries took down the Archetyp Market, an infamous darknet drug marketplace that has been operating since May 2020.
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Amazon Ads and Roku sign an ad initiative that will give media buyers access to 80%+ of US connected-TV households, set to launch by Q4 2025, using Amazon's DSP  —  In a milestone agreement, Amazon Ads and Roku are teaming on a new advertising initiative that will give media buyers access …
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
TikTok rolls out new AI ad features as part of its Symphony ad suite, including the ability for marketers to use text or images to generate five-second videos  —  TikTok is rolling out a set of new artificial intelligence-powered advertising features, including the ability for marketers …
Oliver Knight / CoinDesk:
Trump Media and Technology Group files an S-1 with the US SEC to launch a spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF, allocating 75% to bitcoin and 25% to ether  —  The move follows registration for a standalone Truth Social bitcoin ETF earlier this month.  —  What to know:
Carl Benedikt Frey / Financial Times:
AI is just another productivity tool and the productivity gains will be limited; for lasting economic expansion, AI must catalyze new industries and initiatives  —  Economic miracles stem from discovery, not repeating tasks at greater speed  —  The writer is author of 'How Progress Ends …
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Patreon plans to consolidate its Pro and Premium plans starting August 5, taking a 10% commission, rather than the current 8% for Pro and 12% for Premium users  —  You have until August 4th to sign up and lock in the current rates instead. … Patreon has announced an update to its pricing …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Threads plans to let users hide text or images that spoil a piece of entertainment, blurring the text or image that has been marked as a spoiler  —  The text-based app from Meta is launching a tool that lets users hide spoilers in text or images, to encourage discussion of TV shows and films on the platform.

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Featured Podcasts

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Qualcomm's CEO on the coming AI phone supercycle
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Michael Goodier / The Guardian: