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Techmeme
January 21, 2026, 12:55 AM
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Top News

Juby Babu / Reuters:
OpenAI rolls out age prediction on ChatGPT globally to identify users under 18 and apply automatic content protections as it prepares to introduce adult content  —  OpenAI on Tuesday said it is rolling out age prediction on ChatGPT globally, to determine whether an account is likely owned by a minor …
Alex Heath / Sources:
Demis Hassabis says there aren't “any plans” to put ads in Gemini and, in response to OpenAI testing ads, says “maybe they feel they need to make more revenue”  —  During our convo in Davos, Demis Hassabis and I chatted about ads in AI, Google's new deal with Apple, humanoids, and Gemini 4.
Lucas Ropek / TechCrunch:
X says it has open sourced its “core recommendation system” on GitHub and that the system “ranks everything using a Grok-based transformer model”  —  In 2023, the website then known as Twitter partially open sourced its algorithm for the first time.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Netflix reports Q4 revenue up 18% YoY to $12B vs. $11.97B est., 325M paid subs, 2025 revenue up 16% to $45.2B, plans to increase content spend by 10% in 2026  —  Netflix Inc. delivered fourth-quarter results that largely beat Wall Street estimates but issued a cautious forecast for the months ahead …
April Rubin / Axios:
The US DOJ says at least two DOGE employees accessed Social Security data that was off-limits under a court ruling and shared agency data on third-party servers  —  - At least two DOGE employees, the filing reveals, were in touch with a political advocacy group that asked them to analyze data …
Jody Godoy / Reuters:
The US FTC files a notice to appeal a November 2025 ruling that found Meta did not hold an illegal monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp  —  The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is seeking to revive its case accusing Facebook parent company Meta Platforms (META.O) of bolstering …
Yi-Ling Liu / Wired:
China's Cyberspace Administration requires firms to file their AI tools in a public algorithm registry, creating a detailed map of the country's AI ecosystem  —  How the Cyberspace Administration of China inadvertently made a guide to the country's homegrown AI revolution.
More: WebProNews
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Filings from Elon Musk's OpenAI lawsuit detail Microsoft's decade-long OpenAI relationship, like establishing a new subsidiary for Sam Altman while he was fired  —  The launch of the AI lab that would redefine Microsoft caught the tech giant by surprise.  —  “Did we get called to participate?”
More: Ars Technica and Engadget
X: @sama and @elonmusk.  LinkedIn: Dr. Augustine Fou
Forums: r/technology, r/musked, and Beehaw
Christina Kyriasoglou / Bloomberg:
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says selling AI chips to China is like “selling nuclear weapons to North Korea” and has “incredible national security implications”
Belle Lin / Wall Street Journal:
OpenAI and ServiceNow sign a three-year deal to integrate OpenAI's models into ServiceNow's business software, including using OpenAI's AI agents for IT tasks  —  The AI model maker and business-software provider signed a three-year pact that underscores how AI agents are increasingly being embedded in corporate software
The Information:
Sources: Applied Compute, which lets companies customize models with their own data, is in talks to raise funding at a $1.3B valuation, up from $500M in October  —  Applied Compute, a startup founded by three former OpenAI researchers that helps companies customize models with their own data …
Carmen Arroyo / Bloomberg:
xAI co-founder Greg Yang says he is stepping back from the startup into an informal advisory role to focus on his health after being diagnosed with Lyme disease  —  Greg Yang, one of the co-founders of Elon Musk's startup xAI, is stepping down from the company after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.
Bloomberg:
G42 CEO Peng Xiao says AI chip shipments from Nvidia, AMD, and Cerebras are set to arrive in the UAE within the next few months, as the UAE builds a 200MW hub  —  G42, the United Arab Emirates' leading artificial intelligence company, expects the first shipments of some of the world's …
Nate Raymond / Reuters:
A Massachusetts judge grants a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi from letting state residents bet on sports through its online platform  —  A Massachusetts judge on Tuesday ruled prediction-markets operator Kalshi cannot let state residents bet on sports through its online platform …
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Netflix adds a real-time voting feature with the premiere of its Star Search reboot, available on mobile, smart TVs, and streaming devices, but not in a browser  —  Netflix today is launching a new feature that will allow users to interact with live content through voting.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Outages affecting multiple Apple services, including Apple TV, the App Store, and iCloud, have been resolved after a nearly four-hour disruption on January 20  —  Apple's App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple TV service are experiencing an outage at the current time, according to Apple's System Status page.

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From Mediagazer

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:
Paramount completes its $110B acquisition of WBD, creating Skydance and putting David Ellison in control of Hollywood studios, streamers, and cable networks

Michael Schneider / Variety:
Amazon's Prime Video acquires exclusive global rights to the Primetime Emmys under a six-year deal from 2027; sources say Prime Video will pay ~$15M per year

New York Times:
Disney is seeking an injunction in US District Court to block the FCC from conducting an unusual, early review of eight ABC-owned station licenses

More News

Shona Ghosh / Bloomberg:
World Economic Forum panel: Palantir CEO Alex Karp says AI-driven job displacement will “make it hard to imagine why we should have large-scale immigration”
Tim Hardwick / MacRumors:
Setapp Mobile, one of the first alt iOS app stores launched in 2024 after the EU's DMA, plans to shut down, blaming “still-evolving and complex business terms”
More: TechCrunch, Daring Fireball, and The Verge
X: @mysk_co.  Bluesky: @kirb.me.  Mastodon: @stroughtonsmith ….  Forums: Slashdot

Earlier Picks

Cade Metz / New York Times:
Humans&, founded by ex-Anthropic, xAI, and Google staff to build collaborative AI, raised a $480M seed from Nvidia, Jeff Bezos, and others at a $4.48B valuation
Brian Stelter / CNN:
Netflix and WBD say Netflix revised its WBD offer to an all-cash deal for $27.75/share, with the same $82.7B value; its original bid had $59B in debt financing
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Sony and TCL sign a nonbinding deal to spin off Sony's TV and home audio hardware business into a joint venture, split 51% TCL and 49% Sony, by the end of March
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