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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.

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From Mediagazer

Washington Post:
The USAGM has severed contracts for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, in addition to the VOA cuts

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
Trump praises Jeff Bezos for changes at WaPo, says he doesn't think media's treatment of him has changed so far, but he sees a shift among tech giants

Ben Smith / Semafor:
How Breitbart became “legacy” MAGA media, as Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow says the outlet is “trying to be the historical record of the Trump administration”

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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