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February 12, 2025, 4:00 AM
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Top News

Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Thomson Reuters wins the first major US AI copyright ruling against fair use, in a case filed in May 2020 again legal research AI startup Ross Intelligence  —  The Thomson Reuters decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rights holders.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple now lets users migrate apps, music, books, shows, and movies between Apple accounts, but the feature isn't available to users in the EU, the UK, or India  —  If you have two Apple Accounts with multiple digital purchases between them, Apple now has a way for you to consolidate the accounts …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google schedules I/O 2025 for May 20 to 21 in Mountain View, with the main keynote on May 20 at 10am PT; Gemini, Android 16, and more announcements are expected  —  Following the “Prism Shift” puzzle this morning, Google has announced that I/O 2025 is taking place Tuesday, May 20
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
Sources: Sam Altman told staff that OpenAI's board has not received an offer from Elon Musk and other investors, but if it happens the board plans to reject it  —  OpenAI's CEO claims the company has yet to receive an official offer from Elon Musk's team, sources say.
The Hill:
In response to Elon Musk's $97.4B OpenAI bid, Sam Altman says on X “no thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want”; Musk replies “swindler”
The Logic:
Internal message: Shopify's general council said the company closed Ye's store since the swastika shirt listed for sale “brought with it the real risk of fraud”  —  TORONTO — Shopify's general counsel said the company took down musician Kanye West's online store because of the potential …
Patrick Smith / NBC News:
Shopify shuts down Ye's store, which began selling swastika shirts and used a Super Bowl ad to boost traffic to the website, saying it violated Shopify's ToS
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple is renaming the Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in Apple Maps, following Google, first for users in the US and soon for all users globally  —  - Change to occur for US users and then roll out globally later  — Move follows Google; Microsoft and MapQuest haven't made shift
Katarina Hoije / Bloomberg:
Central African Republic, the first in Africa to adopt bitcoin as tender, launches CAR MEME on Solana, trading at $0.03 on February 11, down ~90% since launch  —  - CAR Meme is second cryptocurrency launched by the country  — Nation first in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as tender in 2022
The Information:
Source: Apple and Alibaba submitted their co-developed AI features for approval by China's cyberspace regulator; Apple considered but rejected DeepSeek's models  —  Apple has recently started working with Chinese internet and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to roll out artificial intelligence features …
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Annual letter: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says the TV has overtaken mobile as the “primary device for YouTube viewing in the US”, indicating YouTube is “the new TV”  —  YouTube CEO Neal Mohan released his annual letter Tuesday morning, outlining his priorities for the video platform.
Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
A look at ACTS 17, a nonprofit devoted to introducing Christianity to technologists by inviting Peter Thiel and other tech executives to talk about their faith  —  Everything clicked when Peter Thiel gave the speech about God.  —  The occasion was a 40th birthday party for Trae Stephens …
Bloomberg:
A White House document sent to Capitol Hill shows President Trump plans to nominate Brian Quintenz, a16z Crypto's head of policy, to lead the CFTC  —  - Trump to tap Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency  — Trump also set to nominate Jonathan McKernan as CFPB director
Anthony Capaccio / Bloomberg:
Anduril plans to assume the management and eventual manufacturing of the US Army's infantry goggles from Microsoft, in a $20B+ deal that the Army must approve  —  It expands the previously announced role of the defense technology startup in a project that could be valued at more than $20 billion …
New York Times:
How Elon Musk's six companies, facing 32+ ongoing probes, pending complaints, or enforcement actions from 11+ US agencies, score benefits from Trump shake-ups  —  Elon Musk controls six companies, including Tesla.  Mr. Musk's companies secured $13 billion in federal contracts …
Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
US chip startup Groq says it has secured a $1.5B commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its AI chips to the country over the course of this year  —  U.S. semiconductor startup Groq said on Monday it has secured a $1.5 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to expand the delivery of its advanced AI chips to the country.
Melissa Heikkilä / Financial Times:
At the AI Action Summit, Eric Schmidt urged the West to focus on open-source AI or risk losing to China while calling for AI safety collaboration with China  —  Former Google chief's caution comes following Chinese start-up DeepSeek's breakthrough  —  Former Google chief Eric Schmidt …
Liv McMahon / BBC:
The US and the UK refuse to join France, China, India, and 57 other countries in signing the international agreement in Paris promoting “transparent”, “safe” AI
Dylan Butts / CNBC:
SoftBank posts a surprise Q3 net loss of ~$2.4B on ~$12.04B revenue, vs. $12.1B est., as the Vision Fund, after two profitable quarters, reports a ~$2.04B loss  —  SoftBank Group posted a surprise quarterly loss Wednesday as investments under its Vision Funds fell into red.
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researcher Johann Rehberger shows a hack to override Gemini's prompt injection defenses, letting long-term memories be permanently planted for future sessions  —  In the nascent field of AI hacking, indirect prompt injection has become a basic building block for inducing chatbots …

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 4:00 AM ET, February 12, 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.

From Mediagazer

Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Source says “most” journalists at Voice of America were put on administrative leave, a day after Trump signed an EO aimed at eliminating the USAGM

The Times:
An investigation into the unsolved 1977 murder of The Sunday Times foreign correspondent David Holden in Egypt suggests he doubled as a KGB spy and had CIA ties

Kayla Gogarty / Media Matters for America:
An analysis of popular podcasts, streams, and other long-form audio and video content with political leanings indicates that right-leaning outlets dominate

More News

Earlier Picks

Reuters:
Filing: Binance and the US SEC jointly asked a federal judge to stay the regulator's lawsuit against the crypto exchange for 60 days, citing Trump's task force
John Kang / Forbes:
Sources: Meta is in talks to acquire South Korean AI chip startup FuriosaAI, which has raised ~$115M since its 2017 founding; the deal could close this month
Eric Slivka / MacRumors:
Apple debuts the $250 Powerbeats Pro 2 with heart rate monitoring, an H2 chip, ANC, IPX4 water resistance, and a 20% lighter design than the previous generation
Gloria Li / Financial Times:
Chinese EV maker BYD unveils a “God's Eye” self-driving system and aims to install it on its entire lineup, including its ~$9,600 Seagull hatchback
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