Open Links In New Tab
Mobile Archives Advertise
Techmeme
February 12, 2025, 1:25 PM
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Get our daily newsletter and never miss a story!   ⓧ Newsletter

Top News

Foreign Policy:
DOGE accessing Treasury systems and classified data breaks a fundamental security principle and could help US adversaries steal data and install backdoors  —  The U.S. government has experienced what may be the most consequential security breach in its history.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe launches Generate Video in public beta via its redesigned Firefly web app, alongside new image generation, translation, and AI credit subscription tiers  —  Generate Video is now in public beta, allowing anyone to generate five-second video clips at 1080p.
Caroline Igo / CNET:
Apple partners with Brigham and Women's Hospital to launch a voluntary, virtual five-year Apple Health Study in its Research app, open to iPhone users in the US  —  I got the inside scoop on Apple Health's new five-year research study.  All Apple users can participate starting today.
Bloomberg:
White House document: President Trump plans to nominate Brian Quintenz, a16z Crypto's head of policy and a former GOP commissioner at the CFTC, to lead the CFTC  —  - Trump to tap Jonathan Gould as Comptroller of the Currency  — Trump also set to nominate Jonathan McKernan as CFPB director
Wired:
A letter to Sen. Ron Wyden claimed Datastream, which sold US military location data, got the data from Lithuanian ad tech company Eskimi, but Eskimi denies this  —  In a letter to a US senator, a Florida-based data broker says it obtained sensitive data on US military members in Germany …
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Source: the Trump administration is releasing cybercriminal Alexander Vinnik to Russia in exchange for the US retrieving the American schoolteacher Marc Fogel  —  Where Things Stand  — Final hurdle for Gabbard: The Senate on Wednesday is expected to vote on the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard …
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 …
Euractiv:
After the AI Action Summit, the EU Commission says it will withdraw the AI Liability Directive, a strategic move to show goodwill to the Trump administration  —  The Commission justified its removal by saying it could see “no foreseeable agreement” on the directive.  —  This article is exceptionally available for free!
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researcher Johann Rehberger shows a hack to override Gemini's prompt injection defenses, letting an attacker plant long-term memories for all future sessions  —  In the nascent field of AI hacking, indirect prompt injection has become a basic building block for inducing chatbots …
Kate Knibbs / Wired:
Thomson Reuters wins the first major US AI copyright ruling against fair use, in a case filed in May 2020 against legal research AI startup Ross Intelligence  —  The Thomson Reuters decision has big implications for the battle between generative AI companies and rights holders.
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Google rolls out AI image remixing tool Whisk to 100+ countries, letting users upload three images for subject, scene, and style to remix, powered by Imagen 3  —  Google keeps releasing experimental products built with its AI models to give users a taste of its capabilities.
More: Neowin
Katarina Hoije / Bloomberg:
Central African Republic, the first African country to adopt BTC as legal tender, launches CAR MEME on Solana, trading at $0.03 on February 11, down nearly 90%  —  - CAR Meme is second cryptocurrency launched by the country  — Nation first in Africa to adopt Bitcoin as tender in 2022
The Logic:
Internal message: Shopify's general counsel 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 …
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
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.
Jeran Wittenstein / Bloomberg:
In Q4, Meta tweaked its depreciation accounting for AI infrastructure, extending it from 4-5 to 5.5 years, cutting expenses by $2.9B in 2025 and boosting profit  —  - Facebook owner recently extended useful life on computing gear  — Change will significantly reduce depreciation expense in 2025

Sponsor Posts

TELUS Digital:
The brand supporting the biggest brands in tech  —  Deliver memorable experiences throughout the customer journey with customer experience support from TELUS Digital.  Scale quickly, automate efficiently and win decisively.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
Gamification: A simple way to enjoy getting more work done  —  Work doesn't have to be boring.  Gamification transforms everyday tasks into exciting challenges, making employees feel more engaged and motivated.
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.
Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
 Europe Wants To Ween Itself Off Silicon Valley
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Sponsor this podcast
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
 How Trump's tariff chaos is already changing global trade
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Grit:
 From Bootstrapped to $12B: Mailchimp's Ben Chestnut on Life After the Exit
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
 The hidden power of introverts: How to thrive without changing who you are | Susan Cain (author of "Quiet")
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
 Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Breaks Down the Global Impact of Trump's New Tariffs
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Add your postcast here
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:25 PM 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:
A source says “most” Voice of America journalists were put on administrative leave, a day after President Trump signed an EO aimed at eliminating the USAGM

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

Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
Groq says Saudi Arabia has committed $1.5B over the course of 2025, to expand the delivery of the US startup's AI inference chips for LLMs to the country

Earlier Picks

Emma Goldberg / New York Times:
A look at ACTS 17 Collective, a nonprofit devoted to introducing Christianity to technologists by asking Peter Thiel and other executives to discuss their faith
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
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
Mediagazer memeorandum WeSmirch
Home River Leaderboards About Events Newsletter