Techmeme
May 9, 2025, 8:20 PM

Top News

Ryan Autullo / Bloomberg Law:
Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4B to settle two lawsuits claiming it tracks Texans' personal location and maintains their facial recognition data without consent  —  Google will pay the state of Texas $1.375 billion to resolve two privacy lawsuits claiming the tech giant tracks Texans' personal location …
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
Epic Games says it has submitted Fortnite to the US App Store for review  —  Update: Epic Games says it has submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store for review.  The ball is now in Apple's court to approve the app submission.  —  If Fortnite does return to the U.S. App Store this week, it won't be before Friday.
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
How Apple's extraordinary measures to keep its App Store commissions after the Epic v. Apple trial led to a civil contempt ruling and weakened its credibility  —  Court documents show the company commissioned a sham report and lied on the stand to justify its actions, which will cast a shadow over future lawsuits.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Whoop sparks a backlash after asking its subscribers to pay to upgrade to 5.0, despite earlier promises of free hardware upgrades after six months of membership  —  Whoop promised members who'd been around at least six months would get free next-gen hardware.  Now, you'll have to pay.
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Danai Nesta Kupemba / BBC:
President Claudia Sheinbaum says Mexico is suing Google for ignoring requests not to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America on Google Maps in the US  —  Mexico is suing Google for ignoring repeated requests not to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America on Google Maps for US users, President Claudia Sheinbaum says.
Charles Rollet / TechCrunch:
Source: US DOL ended its probe into Scale AI's Fair Labor Standards Act compliance, after announcing a friendlier approach to classifying workers as contractors  —  The U.S. Department of Labor has dropped its investigation into Scale AI's compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act …
More: Reuters
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Rippling raised a $450M Series G at a $16.8B valuation, up from $13.4B during its $200M Series F in 2024; it is also conducting a $200M tender offer  —  HR tech startup Rippling has raised a $450 million Series G round at a $16.8 billion valuation, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Meta brings its Account Status feature to Threads, letting users see when the company has removed or demoted their posts or handed out other account penalties  —  Threads will finally start giving users more visibility into when their accounts are penalized for breaking its rules.
Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg:
Tech companies warn they may pull back from US investment pledges if Congress doesn't fully reinstate the R&D tax deduction pared back in Trump's 2017 tax bill  —  Major tech companies lobbying to salvage a tax deduction for research and development are warning they may pull …
Forums: Slashdot
Eli Tan / New York Times:
Pinterest agrees to pay $34.7M to settle a 2021 lawsuit from Christine Martinez, an early adviser who claimed she co-created the platform without compensation  —  Christine Martinez, who was a friend of two of Pinterest's three co-founders, sued the company in 2021 for breach of implied contract and other claims.

Sponsor Posts

Niantic Spatial:
World models need real-world data  —  Scaniverse is the gateway to spatial services — self-serve and built for AI and robotics.  Large-area 3D reconstruction from 360° cameras and precise localization, anywhere machines operate.
Zoho:
Meet Zoho Books MCP: Bring AI-powered accounting to your business  —  Isn't change the only constant?  And that holds true for accounting too.  For years, accounting software has helped businesses manage their finances …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Anuma:
The Private AI That Remembers  —  Anuma is the all-in-one AI platform with private, portable memory.  Chat, text, create, build, and solve across every model.

Featured Podcasts

Access:
What happens when AI runs a store
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
Why Blockbuster Failed
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Big Technology Podcast:
Mark Cuban: AI Hype vs. Reality, OpenAI's Wasting $1 Trillion, Lebron vs. Jordan
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Tarek Mansour from Kalshi
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
AI Can Make Software Now. That Changes Everything, with Paul Ford
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:20 PM ET, May 9, 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.

More News

Nancy Scola / Politico:
David K. Li / NBC News:

Earlier Picks

Coco Feng / South China Morning Post:
Scharon Harding / Ars Technica:
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Victoria Kennedy / Eurogamer.net: