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January 18, 2025, 12:10 AM
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Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS upholds the TikTok divest-or-ban law, saying free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the app creates a national-security risk  —  The Supreme Court upheld a law that threatens to shut down the wildly popular TikTok social media platform in the US as soon as Sunday …
More: Supreme Court of the United States, CNBC, Associated Press, The White House, The Verge, Wired, NPR, Tech Policy Press, Le Monde, New Scientist, BBC, Adweek, Hindustan Times, Asia's Premier News Agency, Politico, The Information, US Department of Justice, The Torment Nexus, Fox News, Ad Age, Times of India, Axios, Law Dork, Time, CBS News, Game Rant, SiliconANGLE, JURIST, USA Today, Common Dreams, PC Gamer, TucsonSentinel.com, New York Times, Deseret News, iPhone in Canada Blog, Search Engine Land, Technical.ly, Yahoo Finance, Inc, and Fast Company
Bluesky: @mmasnick, @cyberciti.biz, @mattdpearce.com, @timmarchman, @mattdpearce.com, @nytceciliakang, @makenakelly, @petersterne.com, @lucas.meyerperin.org, @zeyiyang, @trevor, @caseynewton, @authormattrouse.hookdm.com, @ebakerwhite, @menaganey, @willoremus.com, @thedextriarchy, @willoremus.com, @klonick, @christopherterry, @mjsdc, @mjsdc, and @mjsdc
Mastodon: @nixCraft@mastodon.social, @carnage4life@mas.to, and @Dhmspector@mastodon.social.  Threads: @chancehmiller
X: @pamelabrowncnn, @becauseculture, @armankhon, @thatmoni, @msuster, @mikeisaac, @rabois, @georgemonbiot, @senatorcantwell, @kyurieff, @danprimack, @fromedome, @committeeonccp, @willguyatt, @richlightshed, @jacobfisherdf, @pkafka, @saraeisen, @appcensorship, @matthewstoller, @mikesacksesq, @ali_lev, @senatorcantwell, @mgsiegler, @cremieuxrecueil, @danprimack, @mikesacksesq, @pkafka, @binarybits, @jkarl26, @pkafka, @adamkovac, @mikesacksesq, @trungtphan, @sentomcotton, @pkafka, @russwarne, @danprimack, @danprimack, @danielahanley, @amir, @kevinbankston, @craigcaplan, @geiger_capital, @timsweeneyepic, @tiktokpolicy, @dannyctkemp, @adrianweckler, @jason_kint, @senatorcantwell, @nikitabier, @ali_lev, @adamkovac, and @geoffreyfowler
LinkedIn: Emil Protalinski, Jon Adams, and Mark Lemley
Forums: r/China, r/technology, r/Music, r/RedditIPO, r/technology, r/democrats, r/NPR, r/politics, r/law, r/moderatepolitics, r/neoliberal, and r/scotus
See also Mediagazer
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
TikTok says it will go dark in the US on Sunday unless the Biden admin provides a “definitive statement” to critical service providers assuring non-enforcement  —  TikTok said its services will go dark on Sunday unless the Biden administration gives a definitive statement providing assurances …
CNN:
Donald Trump says he will “be making the decision” about TikTok and confirms he talked with Chinese President Xi Jinping about the app  —  The Supreme Court ruled Friday that a controversial ban on TikTok may take effect this weekend, rejecting an appeal from the popular app's owners …
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
After SCOTUS upheld the TikTok law, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeals to Donald Trump in a TikTok video to find a solution that keeps the app available in the US
NBC News:
Some US congressional leaders who championed the TikTok law now want to delay the ban from going into effect, showing how much politics has shifted on the issue
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Zuckerberg says there's a “bogus narrative saying I blamed Sheryl for a bunch of stuff” and he was just addressing the origin of “bring your whole self to work”  —  Well, specifically, they want me to know.  —  On Thursday, The New York Times published a lengthy story …
Bloomberg:
The FTC says Genshin Impact maker Cognosphere will pay $20M to settle claims that it deceived players about the cost of winning prizes and mishandled kids' data  —  - FTC said maker of Genshin Impact mishandled children's data  — Company also accused of deceiving players on cost of prizes
Bloomberg:
The US FTC releases a report saying Microsoft's $13B investment in OpenAI raises concerns that the company could extend its cloud computing dominance into AI  —  - Federal Trade Commission probed big tech, AI relationships  — Agency opened inquiry into tech investments last year
Sarah Wynn / The Block:
Digital Currency Group agrees to settle and pay $38.5M in civil penalties to the US SEC over charges that it misled investors via crypto lender Genesis Global  —  - The SEC said that one of Genesis' largest borrowers was asset hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and said on June 13 that the fund “failed to meet a margin call.”
Caitlin Webber / Reuters:
The US sanctions a China-based cybersecurity company involved in the Salt Typhoon hacks and a Shanghai-based hacker involved in the recent US Treasury breach  —  The U.S. Treasury department on Friday issued cyber-related sanctions related to the Salt Typhoon hack on Singaporean Yin Kechen …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese hackers breached US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's computer and accessed fewer than 50 unclassified files; two deputies were also hacked
New York Times:
Sources: Instagram and YouTube gear up to welcome TikTok users; two Meta employees say execs discussed resource allocation on January 15 to handle TikTok users
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Google has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript to use Google Search, to “better protect” the service against malicious activity, such as bots and spam  —  Google says it has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript, the widely-used programming language to make web pages interactive, in order to use Google Search.
Financial Times:
The EU expands its X probe, asking for internal docs about X's recommendation algorithm, after complaints from German politicians about X boosting the far right  —  Move follows complaints from German politicians ahead of election next month  —  Brussels has ordered Elon Musk …
Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:
OpenAI worked with Retro Biosciences to develop GPT-4b micro, an AI model that it says can engineer proteins capable of turning regular cells into stem cells  —  When you think of AI's contributions to science, you probably think of AlphaFold, the Google DeepMind protein-folding program that earned its creator a Nobel Prize last year.
Dana Wollman / Bloomberg:
Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will return to the company as CEO in mid-March, replacing current CEO Lidiane Jones, who is departing for “personal reasons”  —  She will replace the current chief executive, Lidiane Jones, who is departing for “personal reasons,” the firm said.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Bluesky 2024 moderation report: Bluesky gained 23M+ users, its moderation team grew to ~100, and its moderation service received 6.48M reports, up 17x from 2023  —  Bluesky on Friday published its moderation report for the past year, noting the sizable growth the social network experienced …
Brady Dale / Axios:
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong endorses a US bitcoin strategic reserve in a blog post on “economic freedom” that calls on world leaders to embrace crypto  —  - This is the first time Coinbase has specifically addressed the idea of a strategic bitcoin reserve, doing …
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Instagram adds a new tab in the Reels feed that will show videos that a user's friends have liked or added commentary to  —  Instagram is bringing back one of its more chaotic features, now reworked for the short-form video era.  —  A new tab in the Reels feed will serve up videos …

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From Mediagazer

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: WaPo officials told staffers a cyberattack compromised the email accounts of several journalists and was potentially the work of a foreign government

Ben Johansen / Politico:
Sources: USAGM told employees of VOA's Persian-language service who were placed on administrative leave to return to their roles amid the Iran-Israel conflict

Michael Savage / The Guardian:
Hamish McKenzie says WaPo approached Substack about hosting its writers, and there has been a “change in mindset” of traditional media about the platform

More News

Charles Rollet / TechCrunch:
Filing: ChatGPT's head of product, Nick Turley, will testify as a witness for the US DOJ in its antitrust case against Google, as a court decides penalties
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Q&A with Marc Andreessen on his political evolution from a “normie Democrat” to a Donald Trump supporter, and what he and others expect from the administration

Earlier Picks

Billy Perrigo / Time:
An in-depth look at the UK's AI Safety Institute, whose researchers test AI systems for risks and for capabilities that might become dangerous in the future
Bluesky: @billyperrigo.  Mastodon: @cigitalgem@sigmoid.social.  X: @billyperrigo and @robertwiblin.  LinkedIn: Billy Perrigo.  Forums: r/artificial
Kashmir Hill / New York Times:
The FTC bans GM from selling driver behavior and geolocation data to consumer reporting agencies for five years, after finding GM didn't properly inform drivers
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Nintendo teases the Switch 2, featuring a new kickstand design and backward compatibility for physical and digital games, with more details on April 2, 2025
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