Techmeme
January 10, 2025, 11:20 AM

Top News

Casey Newton / Platformer:
Meta's new policies for contractors and staff moderating Facebook and Instagram allow dehumanizing speech, like “a trans person isn't a he or she, it's an it”  —  “A trans person isn't a he or she, it's an it,” reads a new guideline telling moderators what is now allowed on Facebook and Instagram
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
A look at Meta's convoluted or contradictory hate speech examples for user content moderators, allowing derogatory remarks about races, nationalities, and more  —  Meta is now granting its users new freedom to post a wide array of derogatory remarks about races, nationalities, ethnic groups …
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Colby Hall / Mediaite:
More: The National Pulse, Salon, Gizmodo, and The Hill
Bluesky: @noupside, @noupside, and @noupsideThreads: @aaron.ruparX: @bennyjohnson
Joseph Cox / Wired:
A hack of data company Gravy reveals Candy Crush, Tinder, and thousands of other apps are used to collect user location data; app developers may not even know  —  A hack of location data company Gravy Analytics has revealed which apps are—knowingly or not—being used to collect your information behind the scenes.
Kevin Purdy / Ars Technica:
The Linux Foundation launches an initiative to fund developing Chromium projects in a “neutral space”, with support from Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Opera  —  But it's really a “neutral space” for funding and support, corralling together some big names with a stake in the future of Chrome's open source roots, Chromium.
Wired:
Live blog: The US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in TikTok's appeal against the divest-or-ban law  —  We're tuning in live as the justices consider what could be one of the most consequential First Amendment rulings of the past several decades.  —  The US Supreme Court is expected …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture and will focus on existing products and distribution channels  —  The sports-focused streaming service will not move forward, the companies said Friday.  —  Venu is dead.
CNBC:
Politico:
In a weird X Spaces chat, Elon Musk and Alice Weidel, a co-chair of the German far-right party AfD, pushed disinformation about Hitler, migrants, war, and more  —  God!  Martians!  A “communist” Hitler!  It was heavy on oddness and light on policy as the X owner and the AfD co-leader hit it off.
Financial Times:
Automattic:
Automattic plans to cut its WordPress contributions to ~45 hours per week “due to the lawsuits from WP Engine”, focusing mostly on security and critical updates  —  Automattic has always been deeply committed to the success of WordPress, dedicating significant resources and talent to its development for almost two decades.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Court docs: Mark Zuckerberg approved the Meta team that trains AI Llama models to use data from LibGen, a “links aggregator” to pirated, copyrighted material  —  Counsel for plaintiffs in a copyright lawsuit filed against Meta allege that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the green light …
John Gapper / Financial Times:
A look at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, RELX's largest division, which accounts for ~35% of RELX's revenue and holds 9B device records and 3B digital identities  —  Company once known as Reed Elsevier has moved from legal and scientific publishing into AI fraud detection

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Featured Podcasts

Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Ring's Jamie Siminoff thinks AI can reduce crime
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Grit:
Synthetic Data and the Future of AI | Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The Godmother of AI on jobs, robots & why world models are next | Dr. Fei-Fei Li
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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Big Technology Podcast:
Inside The AI Bubble: Debt, Depreciation, and Losses — With Gil Luria
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Data Centers in Space + A.I. Policy on the Right + A Gemini History Mystery
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Great Chat:
Turns out, there's still a line (don't mock the pope)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
 

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More News

Nikkei Asia:

Earlier Picks

Heather Landi / Fierce Healthcare:
George Hammond / Financial Times:
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Richard Lawler / The Verge: