Techmeme
January 4, 2025, 12:40 AM

Top News

Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
After backlash, Meta says newly viral AI profiles on Facebook and Instagram were created in 2023 in “an early experiment”, and it is deleting the profiles  —  Earlier this week, Meta executive Connor Hayes told the Financial Times that the company is going to roll out AI character profiles …
Mike Allen / Axios:
Sources: Tim Cook will personally donate $1M to President-elect Trump's inaugural committee in the spirit of unity; Apple is not expected to donate  —  The company is not expected to give.  — Cook, with a consistent presence in Washington, has made it clear over the years that he believes …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Microsoft says it expects to spend $80B in FY 2025 on the construction of data centers that can handle AI workloads, with 50%+ of the spending in the US  —  Microsoft expects to spend $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on the construction of data centers that can handle artificial intelligence workloads, the company said in a Friday blog post.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Samsung and Google plan to bring Eclipsa Audio, a new open-source 3D audio standard, to some YouTube videos later this year on Samsung's 2025 TVs and soundbars  —  Samsung and Google are ready to push a new standard, Eclipsa Audio. … Over the years, Samsung notably hasn't supported Dolby Vision HDR …
Max Woolf / Max Woolf's Blog:
In a test, asking Claude 3.5 Sonnet to “write better code” iteratively improved the code's features and speed, but more aggressive prompt engineering added bugs  —  In November 2023, after OpenAI added the ability for ChatGPT to generate images from DALL-E 3 within the ChatGPT web interface …
Carly Page / TechCrunch:
The US sanctions Beijing-based cybersecurity company Integrity Technology over its alleged links to China-backed hacking group Flax Typhoon  —  The U.S. government has sanctioned a Beijing-based cybersecurity company over its alleged links to a China government-backed hacking group, tracked as Flax Typhoon.
Alexandra S. Levine / Bloomberg:
An unredacted lawsuit from Utah's AG claims TikTok has long known that TikTok Live promoted sexual content streams to minors and facilitated money laundering  —  - Unredacted lawsuit claims TikTok knew about teen safety issues  — Lawsuit also alleges company facilitated money laundering
Bloomberg:
Sources: Getty Images is exploring a merger with rival Shutterstock; Getty jumped 13% for a $983M market value, Shutterstock rose 7.9% for a $1.1B market value  —  - Getty weighing how to structure combo with stock-photo rival … Getty has been weighing how to structure a combination …
More: Reuters and The Information
Bluesky: @siscoX: @davidclinchnews and @unusual_whalesLinkedIn: Paul MelcherForums: Slashdot
Aroon Deep / The Hindu:
India releases the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, aimed at enforcing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, for public comments  —  The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, lay out the tentative terms of enforcing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which was passed in Parliament in 2023
Molly White / Citation Needed:
An in-depth look at Elon Musk's criticisms of Wikipedia, as he joins a growing chorus of right-wing voices attacking information sources outside their control  —  The world's richest man has joined a growing chorus of right-wing voices attacking Wikipedia as part of an intensifying campaign against free and open access information.

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
Are you ready for the era of agentic AI?  —  Tech leaders are always talking about what's next, and right now, agentic AI is dominating the discourse.  Equip yourself with the info you need in this recorded webinar.
Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
Zoho:
5 reasons why digital signatures are a must-have for small and medium enterprises  —  Every morning, Hazel stops by her favorite corner cafe, where the barista already knows her order—a double espresso, no sugar.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
Mooooaaar Models!
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
How Trump's tariffs actually work on the ground
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Great Chat:
Imposter syndrome is due for a rebrand
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
How to make money in Washington, with Punchbowl's Jake Sherman
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.
Spotlight On:
*RSA Preview* 1Password's Jeff Shiner on balancing B2B and B2C customers in a rapidly evolving tech landscape
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Neil Mehta - Finding Future S&P 500 Companies
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:40 AM ET, January 4, 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

Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Dave Lee / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Katie Deighton / Wall Street Journal:
Victoria Song / The Verge:
Reuters:
Bob Van Voris / Bloomberg:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: