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February 4, 2023, 2:40 PM
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Top News

Reed Albergotti / Semafor:
A viral tweet alleges bias as ChatGPT refuses to write a poem about positive attributes of Trump but writes one about Biden; sources: OpenAI doesn't know why  —  Even ChatGPT's creators can't figure out why it won't answer certain questions — including queries about former U.S. President Donald Trump …
Bloomberg:
The LockBit ransomware gang claims ION Trading UK paid a ransom after the group's cyberattack on the software firm upended derivatives trading around the world  —  The hacking group behind the attack on ION Trading UK — the software firm that was struck by a cyberattack earlier this week …
Steven Levy / Wired:
A look at T2, a Twitter alternative founded by a former employee of Google's Area 120 to offer a “2007 Twitter” vibe that Musk's platform no longer supplies  —  Cofounder Gabor Cselle says his upstart social network can offer a “2007 Twitter” community vibe that Elon Musk's platform no longer supplies.
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
Interviews detail the Conti ransomware group's 2021 attack on Ireland's public health system; Conti seemingly called off the hack without receiving a ransom  —  At first the attack on Ireland's public-health system fell into a depressingly familiar pattern.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: the US is weighing sanctions on Tiandy, Uniview, and other Chinese surveillance tech makers over sales to Iran in 2022 as protests swept the country  —  Beijing's exports of video recorders to Iran more than doubled in 2022 as protests swept the country
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Background check services TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate confirm a data breach after hackers leak a 2019 database allegedly containing the info of 20M users  —  PeopleConnect, the owners of the TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate background check services, confirmed they suffered a data breach …
Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
Flipkart-owned Indian fashion retailer Myntra is penalizing users who return items too often; studies: 25% to 40% of clothes sold online in India are returned  —  Across India, e-commerce giants like Myntra and Flipkart are canceling free returns to boost profits.  —  • BENGALURU, INDIA
Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News:
After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn”  —  Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age?  —  A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.
New York Times:
Alphabet, Amazon, and other tech firms begin 2023 by championing austerity after facing the worst year on Wall Street in 2022 since the 2008 financial crisis  —  After years of expansion and billions in profits, Big Tech is pulling back from its famously lavish spending as a long boom finally ends.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Utah lawmakers are fast tracking two bills that would require social media companies to age verify users, grant parents access to their kids' accounts, and more  —  The evidence-free moral panic over social media keeps getting stupider, and when things get particularly stupid about the internet …
BuzzFeed News:
Twitter ending free API access could have the unfortunate side effect of killing many useful bots, like @MakeItAQuote, @BigTechAlert, @_weather_bot_, and more  —  “I'm not paying a dime to Elon lol.”  —  Pranav Dixit  —  One of the most popular bots on Twitter is @MakeItAQuote, which has more than 565,000 followers.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Twitter cuts off API access to Movetodon, a useful tool for finding and following one's Twitter followers on Mastodon; it's unclear if the tool broke any rule

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:40 PM ET, February 4, 2023.

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

Sara Fischer / Axios:
PBS and a public TV affiliate in Minnesota sue the Trump administration, saying his executive order to cut federal funding violated PBS' First Amendment rights

Brian Stelter / CNN:
OAN chief Pentagon correspondent Gabrielle Cuccia says she was fired after criticizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's media restrictions at the Pentagon

Max Tani / Semafor:
The California State Senate opens an inquiry into whether Paramount's reported $15M proposed settlement with Trump violated bribery and unfair competition laws

More News

Diane Bartz / Reuters:
A US judge denies the FTC's bid to stop Meta's acquisition of Within, rejecting the regulator's concerns of the deal reducing competition in the AR/VR market
CNBC:
A federal jury in San Francisco finds Elon Musk not liable in a Tesla shareholder suit over 2018 tweets in which he said he was considering taking Tesla private

Earlier Picks

Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with users who pay for Twitter Blue, starting on February 3, but doesn't give details
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Inside ChatGPT's rushed launch, as some OpenAI executives feared rivals upstaging them; Sam Altman worries about a regulatory backlash and inflated expectations
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Activision Blizzard settles with the SEC for $35M, over claims of violating federal whistleblower protections and not maintaining adequate disclosure standards
Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
As the spat between Binance and WazirX escalates, Binance invites the Indian crypto exchange to withdraw its assets held in Binance wallets after February 3
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