Techmeme
January 14, 2025, 9:05 PM

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 …
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.
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.
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:
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.
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
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 …
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.
Dan Primack / Axios:
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  —  Rollout of upgraded voice assistant hit by delays as Big Tech group toils to overcome technical hurdles
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  —  Toward the end of 2023, an Israeli security researcher from Tel Aviv said that he was approached on LinkedIn with an opportunity to work abroad with “good pay.”
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  —  A coalition of news organizations led by The New York Times claim the exploitation of their online news stories …

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 9:05 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.

More News

Hannah Miller / Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Reece Rogers / Wired:
Financial Times:
Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asia:
Richard Nieva / Forbes:
Financial Times: