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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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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:55 AM ET, January 21, 2026.

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

Liz Hoffman / Semafor:
Sources: the FCC is moving toward a review of Disney's broadcast licenses, putting pressure on the ABC owner as it faces scrutiny over Jimmy Kimmel's monologue

Todd Spangler / Variety:
FCC filing: Paramount says the merged Paramount-WBD will be 49.5% owned by foreign investors, with ~38.5% of the equity held by a trio of Middle Eastern funds

Reuters:
Bertelsmann agrees to combine BMG with Concord in a cash-and-stock deal giving it a 67% stake; Concord shareholders will receive a 33% stake and $1.16B in cash

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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