Techmeme
July 26, 2025, 8:40 PM

Top News

Washington Post:
Sources: DOGE has built an AI tool aiming to cut 50% of federal regulations, or around 100,000 rules, by the first anniversary of Trump's inauguration  —  An internal proposal suggests how the Trump administration is planning to slash federal regulations, but obstacles loom.
Jackson Chen / Engadget:
Some users are circumventing UK's age checks by using VPNs, providing fake AI-generated photo IDs, or using images of high-fidelity video game characters  —  As of Friday, anyone trying to watch porn online in the UK will need to subject themselves to an awkward selfie or get their photo ID ready.
Wired:
The UK starts enforcing new online child safety laws, requiring websites that host porn, self-harm, suicide, and eating disorder content to verify users' age  —  Starting today, UK adults will have to prove their age to access porn online.  Experts warn that a global wave of age-check laws threatens …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
US insurance giant Allianz Life says hackers stole the personal information of the “majority” of its customers, staffers, and employees, in a mid-July breach  —  U.S. insurance giant Allianz Life has confirmed to TechCrunch that hackers stole the personal information of the …
Jonathan Greig / The Record:
A US judge sentences an Arizona woman to 8.5 years in prison for running a “laptop farm” that enabled North Korean workers to secure IT jobs at 309 US companies  —  A U.S. District Court judge sentenced an Arizona woman to eight and a half years in prison for running a laptop farm used …
Evan Ratliff / Bloomberg:
Christina Marie Chapman, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison for aiding a North Korean remote IT worker scheme, details her time as a “laptop farmer”  —  Thousands of undercover agents feed Kim Jong Un's rocket program with millions from the likes of Google and Amazon.
Ellie Wolfe / The Baltimore Banner:
The Johns Hopkins University Press will license its authors' books to train AI models, citing concerns that “the window may be closing” for making AI deals  —  The Johns Hopkins University will license its books to train proprietary large language models, an advanced form …
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Source: India orders ISPs and app stores to block 25 streaming services, like Ullu and ALTT with millions of downloads, for allegedly promoting obscene content  —  India has ordered the blocking of 25 streaming services — many with millions of viewers and even paying subscribers …

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Earlier Picks

NBC News:
Ina Fried / Axios: