Techmeme
February 4, 2025, 12:55 PM

Top News

Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge:
Wired:
Sources: Marko Elez, a 25-year-old Elon Musk-linked engineer, has admin privileges over Treasury Department code that controls Social Security payments and more  —  The Bureau of the Fiscal Service is a sleepy part of the Treasury Department.  It's also where, sources say …
Makena Kelly / Wired:
Sources: Thomas Shedd, GSA's new Technology Transformation Services director and Elon Musk ally, told GSA workers the agency will pursue an “AI-first strategy”  —  Sources say the former Tesla engineer now in charge of the Technology Transformation Services wants an agency that operates like a “startup software company.”
Evan Weinberger / Bloomberg Law:
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent orders the CFPB to stop activities, like rulemaking, communications, and litigation; in November, Musk said to “delete CFPB”  —  Search by Topic  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has shut down a wide variety of operations inside …
Caleb Ecarma / Musk Watch:
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple debuts Invites, an app to help plan events like birthdays, graduations, and more, with Image Playground and Writing Tools tie-ins, for iCloud+ subscribers  —  Apple today announced the launch of a new app called “Invites,” which is designed to allow users to plan events like birthday parties …
Josh Xiao / Bloomberg:
China's State Administration for Market Regulation says it will probe Google for alleged antitrust violations, moments after Trump put tariffs on Chinese goods  —  China announced an investigation into Google and imposed new tariffs on a range of US products moments after President Donald Trump slapped …
Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Opera launches Opera Air, a free browser focused on mindfulness and mental well-being, including break reminders and ambient soundscapes, for Windows and macOS  —  Opera Air offers break reminders, ambient soundscapes, and breathing exercises, all in your browser.
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Ofcom drops an investigation into whether OnlyFans-owner Fenix International is letting under-18s access adult content, but keeps another part of the probe open  —  Adult streaming site had been accused of setting age verification settings too low  —  British media watchdog Ofcom has dropped …
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
ByteDance researchers demo OmniHuman-1, an AI system that is “easily heads and shoulders above previous deepfake techniques”, if ByteDance's clips are accurate  —  Researchers from TikTok owner ByteDance have demoed a new AI system, OmniHuman-1, that can generate perhaps the most realistic deepfake videos to date.
More: The DecoderForums: Hacker News
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe adds “contract intelligence capabilities” to Acrobat's $4.99 per month AI Assistant, letting the PDF manager summarize complicated contract language  —  The new contract surfaces key terms and dates within complex agreements.  —  The new contract surfaces key terms and dates within complex agreements.
Bloomberg:
Nintendo reports Q3 revenue down ~33% YoY to ~$2.8B, net profit down ~33% YoY to ~$831M, both below est, 4.8M Switch sales, and cuts Switch and profit forecasts  —  The Kyoto-based company now expects ¥280 billion ($1.8 billion) in operating income in the fiscal year to March, slashing more than a fifth from its prior forecast.
Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify reports Q4 revenue up 16% YoY to €4.2B, MAUs up 12% YoY to 675M, subscribers up 11% YoY to 263M, and €1.14B in 2024 net income, vs. a €532M loss in 2023  —  Price increases, cost discipline help audio-streaming giant pivot from heavy spending on growth to sustained profits

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More News

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Earlier Picks

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Umar Shakir / The Verge:
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Andrew Orr / AppleInsider:
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