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January 14, 2025, 11:20 PM
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Top News

Nicola M White / Bloomberg:
The SEC sues Elon Musk, claiming he failed to timely disclose a major purchase of Twitter shares ahead of his takeover of the social media platform in 2022  —  - Agency alleges billionaire ignored disclosure deadline in 2022  — Musk's lawyer says he did ‘nothing wrong’ and SEC has no case
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Sources and docs: Meta has dismantled its system that identified viral hoaxes and limited their reach, and told content-ranking teams to stop penalizing misinfo  —  The company built effective systems to reduce the reach of fake news.  Last week, it shut them down  —  I.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Decentralized Instagram alternative Pixelfed debuts iOS and Android apps; its Android app is the top Social app on Google Play in some markets, including the US  —  Pixelfed, a decentralized alternative to Instagram, has launched its official mobile apps.  The service today runs …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Email: Sonos CPO Maxime Bouvat-Merlin is leaving; some employees say he shares a significant amount of blame for the brand damage after the botched app revamp  —  A day after Sonos announced a CEO transition, the company is making more moves.  Chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin will also be leaving his position.
Riley Griffin / Bloomberg:
Internal memo: Meta is cutting roughly 5% of its staff through performance-based terminations and plans to hire new people to fill their roles this year  —  Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to cut about 5% of its lowest performers with the intent of backfilling their roles this year, according to an internal memo sent to employees.
Justine Calma / The Verge:
Biden signs an EO that directs the DOD and DOE to lease land to companies building gigawatt-scale AI data centers and clean power facilities, and more  —  President Biden issued an executive order today aimed at speeding the development of AI data centers in the US.
Bloomberg:
The Biden admin finalizes a rule banning the import or sale of connected vehicles with hardware or software that have a “sufficient nexus” to China or Russia
Kylie Robison / The Verge:
OpenAI launches Tasks, rolling out in beta to ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Pro subscribers, to let users schedule reminders, with up to ten active at any given time  —  OpenAI is launching a new beta feature in ChatGPT called Tasks that lets users schedule future actions and reminders.
Elliptic:
Huione Guarantee, a Telegram marketplace that facilitates “pig butchering” and other scams, recently launched several crypto products, including a stablecoin  —  - Huione Guarantee is a Telegram-based marketplace serving fraudsters in South East Asia, including those responsible for so-called “pig butchering” scams.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
DJI removes its geofence around US “No-Fly Zones”, replacing it with a warning, saying the update “aligns” with FAA rules and follows similar changes in the EU  —  For over a decade, you couldn't easily fly a DJI drone over restricted areas in the United States.
More: ViewPoints, Android Police, and BGR
Bluesky: @matthewstoller.  X: @dronelaws, @geiger_capital, and @mickwest.  Forums: Beehaw
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
The US says the FBI hacked ~4.2K devices in the US to delete PlugX, malware used by China-backed hackers since 2014, after obtaining warrants in August 2024  —  U.S. authorities have confirmed that they disrupted the operations of a Chinese state-backing hacking group, which infiltrated millions …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Intel Capital plans to split off from its parent into a standalone fund with a new name in H2 2025; Intel Capital has invested $20B+ into over 1,800 companies  —  - It was founded in 1991, and has invested more than $20 billion into over 1,800 companies.
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
The UK CMA opens an investigation into whether Google has “strategic market status” in search and how it impacts consumers, advertisers, publishers, and rivals  —  LONDON — Britain's competition watchdog on Tuesday said that it's opening a formal antitrust investigation into Google's search and search advertising services.
Reuters:
Apple and Amazon fight off a UK lawsuit filed on behalf of ~36M consumers alleging they colluded to bar most resellers of Apple and Beats products on Amazon  —  Apple (AAPL.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) have successfully fought off a mass lawsuit in Britain over alleged collusion between the tech giants …
More: PYMNTS.com
CyberScoop:
Experts say Donald Trump and others pushing for stronger US cyber offense must clarify if escalation is a proper response to recent Chinese cyber breaches  —  Learn more.  —  In recent months, incoming Trump administration national security adviser Mike Waltz and some lawmakers have suggested …
Steven Vaughan-Nichols / ZDNET:
Red Hat acquires Neural Magic, which has built tools to boost generative AI inference workloads and raised $50M from a16z and others, for an undisclosed sum  —  Red Hat, the IBM-owned open-source software giant, has completed its acquisition of Neural Magic, a pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) optimization startup.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:20 PM ET, January 14, 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

Alex Ritman / Variety:
The BBC confirms a “strategic partnership” with YouTube to produce exclusive content, including news and kids shows, a landmark deal for the UK broadcaster

Todd Spangler / Variety:
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

Charlotte Tobitt / Press Gazette:
WAN-IFRA: news publications globally had an estimated combined revenue of $125.7B in 2025, down 0.01% YoY; print still accounted for 65% of total revenue

More News

Josh Russell / Courthouse News Service:
In federal court, lawyers for Microsoft and OpenAI defended the scraping of news stories to train LLMs and urged the dismissal of news outlets' copyright claims
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Sources and business records detail how Barcelona has emerged as an unlikely hub for spyware companies, raising concerns from digital rights groups
Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:
DirecTV launches MySports, a sports streamer featuring games from NFL and other major leagues, and access to 40 channels, in 24 US metro areas for $70/month

Earlier Picks

Reece Rogers / Wired:
How Cleo AI and Bright, personalized AI chatbots offering financial advice, often function as a way to sell high-interest loans and cash advances to young users
Financial Times:
Amazon's AGI team lead Rohit Prasad says Alexa will relaunch as an AI agent, as Amazon works to address the challenges that have dogged the system's AI overhaul
Financial Times:
Sources: the EU is reviewing its DMA probes into US tech giants from March 2024, as US groups urge Trump to intervene; the EU says “there is no such review”
Richard Nieva / Forbes:
Free Our Feeds, backed by Jimmy Wales and others, aims to raise $30M by 2028 to billionaire-proof the AT Protocol by making it easier for Bluesky users to leave
Financial Times:
The Biden admin unveils a new chip export rule that gives 18 key allies full AI chips access while requiring licenses from most other countries, including China
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