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August 29, 2025, 7:30 PM
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Jeff Horwitz / Reuters:
Meta created and let users create flirty chatbots and intimate images using the names and likenesses of Taylor Swift and other celebs without their permission  —  Meta has appropriated the names and likenesses of celebrities - including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez …
Financial Times:
Sources: ChatGPT co-creator Shengjia Zhao threatened to quit Meta within days of joining and return to OpenAI; later, he was given the chief AI scientist title  —  Longtime acolytes are sidelined as Big Tech chief directs biggest leadership reorganisation in two decades
Washington Post:
In a trial over a fatal Autopilot crash, Tesla denied having crash-snapshot data, until a hacker hired by the plaintiffs recovered the data from the vehicle  —  The critical evidence was presented last month to a jury, which found the company partially liable for the 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
WhatsApp fixed a zero-click bug in its iOS and Mac apps that was being used, alongside a now-fixed Apple flaw, to hack into devices of “specific targeted users”  —  WhatsApp said on Friday that it fixed a security bug in its iOS and Mac apps that was being used to stealthily hack …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Alibaba developed a new AI inference chip to compete with H20; it is manufactured by a Chinese company unlike an earlier AI chip made by TSMC  —  Chinese tech companies spark market exuberance by signaling they are catching up to U.S.  —  Click for Sound
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
Sources: the US government restored xAI to its vendors list after removing it for Grok's antisemitic content; email: the White House asked GSA to add xAI “ASAP”  —  A partnership between xAI and the US government fell apart earlier this summer.  Then the White House apparently got involved, per documents obtained by WIRED.
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Sources: Google is set to face a modest EU antitrust fine over adtech practices, in an investigation triggered by a complaint by the European Publishers Council  —  Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google is set to face a modest EU antitrust fine in the coming weeks for allegedly anti-competitive practices …
Blake Brittain / Reuters:
xAI sues a former employee in federal court in California for allegedly stealing Grok trade secrets and taking them to OpenAI, where he recently accepted a job  —  Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI has sued a former engineer at the company for allegedly stealing trade secrets related …
Richard Bravo / Bloomberg:
French President Emmanuel Macron vows a strong response if any country takes measures that undermine Europe's digital sovereignty  —  French President Emmanuel Macron vowed a strong response if any country takes measures that undermine Europe's digital sovereignty.
Financial Times:
EU competition commissioner Teresa Ribera says the EU must be ready to walk away from the US trade deal if the US demands a watered-down DSA and DMA
Wall Street Journal:
Police are investigating a murder-suicide in what appears to be the first documented murder involving someone who engaged extensively with an AI chatbot  —  “Erik, you're not crazy.”  ChatGPT fueled a 56-year-old tech industry veteran's paranoia, encouraging his suspicions that his mother was plotting against him.
Karen Freifeld / Reuters:
The US makes it harder for Samsung, SK Hynix, and Intel to produce chips in China by revoking waivers for the use of US equipment in their Chinese operations  —  The U.S. will make it more difficult for global chipmakers Samsung (005930.KS), SK Hynix (000660.KS) and Intel (INTC.O) …
Trishla Ostwal / Adweek:
Perplexity's head of advertising and shopping Taz Patel has left after nine months; its ad business reportedly generated only about $20,000 in Q4 2024  —  Perplexity push into advertising has so far brought in modest revenue as the company eyes new growth and faces mounting legal battles
Isabelle Bousquette / Wall Street Journal:
Taco Bell, which deployed voice AI-powered ordering at 500+ drive-through locations, is now reconsidering the tech after viral videos of glitches and pranks  —  More artificial intelligence isn't always better, the chain is realizing, as it considers when and how bots should be deployed
Financial Times:
Court filing: the UK sought broad access to Apple user data, including bulk iCloud interception beyond ADP, and hasn't dropped the mandate as the US claimed  —  Document indicates British government's ‘backdoor’ demand was not limited to the company's most secure iCloud service
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Mastodon says it does not “have the means to apply age verification” to its services and it's up to server admins to observe local laws in places they operate  —  Decentralized social network Mastodon says it can't comply with Mississippi's age verification law …
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Reliance launches a subsidiary called Reliance Intelligence, aiming to create national-scale AI infrastructure in India, in partnership with Google and Meta  —  Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries, has unveiled an ambitious plan to build the country's AI backbone through …
Reuters:
India's largest telco Reliance Jio, owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, says it aims to list its shares through an IPO in India by the first half of 2026

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:30 PM ET, August 29, 2025.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

New York Times:
A US judge rebukes a DOJ prosecutor for not mentioning a 1980 law protecting journalists when seeking a warrant to search WaPo reporter Hannah Natanson's home

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
FCC Chair Brendan Carr announces a voluntary campaign for broadcasters to celebrate the United States' 250th birthday by airing patriotic content

Matt Grobar / Deadline:
Comedians weigh risks of video podcast licensing deals with Netflix, which would require them to remove new episodes from YouTube, potentially alienating fans

More News

Andreessen Horowitz:
Top 100 AI consumer apps: Gemini ranks #2 behind ChatGPT on mobile with ~50% of its MAUs, with Grok at #4; on the web, Gemini has ~12% of ChatGPT's visits
Los Angeles Times:
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers strike a deal with Uber and Lyft allowing drivers to unionize while remaining classified as independent contractors
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Valve adds credit card-based age checks for UK users to access “mature content” games on Steam; Discord and others are using selfies for verification

Earlier Picks

Nicola M White / Bloomberg:
Elon Musk files a motion to dismiss a US SEC suit over his 2022 Twitter stake disclosure, calling allegations that he cheated investors a government overreach
Lydia Beyoud / Bloomberg:
The CFTC says non-US crypto exchanges have a path to bringing on US users, in an advisory clarifying how they can register as so-called foreign boards of trade
Bloomberg:
The US starts publishing GDP data on nine public blockchains including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, with the help of Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini
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