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February 20, 2025, 9:50 PM
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| Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg: |
FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson announces an inquiry into “Big Tech censorship”, which he says is “un-American” and “potentially illegal” — - FTC Chair Ferguson invites public comment about tech platforms — Conservatives claim ideas, affiliations have been censored
More: Federal Trade Commission, Reuters, Platformer, SiliconANGLE, Agence France-Presse, Ars Technica, The Hill, The Information, New York Post, The Wrap, Fox Business, PYMNTS.com, The Gateway Pundit, MLex, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and The Daily Caller
Bluesky: @caseynewton, @mmasnick, @leahnylen, @leahnylen, @leahnylen, and @zero-to-hero
X: @afergusonftc, @mholyoakftc, @afergusonftc, @ambermarieduke, @nathanleamerdc, @andyjungtech, @randyebarnett, @zephyrteachout, @wendyndavis, @castrotech, @ftc, @sayssimonson, @josephvconiglio, @nicoperrino, @mikebenzcyber, @adamkovac, @josephvconiglio, @benremaly, @realjdenton, @afergusonftc, @robmcgravytrain, @benbrodydc, @allumbokhari, @ryangrim, and @wesghodges
| Kate Rooney / CNBC: |
OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap says ChatGPT crossed 400M weekly active users in February 2025, up 33% from 300M in December 2024, and 2M paying enterprise customers — OpenAI appears to be growing quickly despite increasing competition. — The San Francisco-based tech company …
More: TechCrunch, Engadget, SiliconANGLE, PYMNTS.com, Digital Trends, Analytics India Magazine, San Francisco Business Times, eWeek, TVNewsCheck, Seeking Alpha, The Wrap, and VentureBeat
| Sarah Wynn / The Block: |
The US SEC announces the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit to protect investors from bad actors in crypto and AI, replacing the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit — - The agency announced the new unit on Thursday, calling it the Cyber and Emerging Technologies Unit, or CETU.
More: US Securities …, The Record, CyberScoop, CoinGape, Decrypt, crypto.news, CoinJournal, PYMNTS.com, Cryptopolitan, Blockchain News, CryptoSlate, Law360, The Daily Hodl, and The Crypto Times
X: @eleanorterrett, @jchervinsky, @campbelljaustin, @0xaporia, @nickilsanders, @moonoverlord, @austin_federa, @digitalartchick, @kookcapitalllc, @byzgeneral, @themisterfrog, @valueandtime, @digitalartchick, @gainzy222, @cryptojellenl, @stoolpresidente, @adamscochran, @cryptodonalt, @tier10k, @lpcapitalchi, @tradermercury, @iamkadense, and @sunil_trades
LinkedIn: Howard Fischer and Madiha Zuberi
| Matt Novak / Gizmodo: |
Elon Musk says he will “fix” Community Notes as they are “increasingly being gamed by governments & legacy media”, after disagreeing with notes about Ukraine — The billionaire has a history of manipulating X to fit his far-right worldview.
More: Washington Examiner, Engadget, Social Media Today, Mediaite, The Hill, and The Independent
Bluesky: @quinnypig.com, @gordonmoat, @mantzarlis.com, @onto2028, @zackhouse, @runtcpip, @wilkos, @justbcause, @rawveggies, @creatrixpj, @sweet-jesus, and @paleofuture
X: @ike_saul, @page_eco, @stankutcher, @ike_saul, @lefterisjp, @levyantoine, @theabridgedzach, @alexandrosm, @rothschildmd, @billybinion, @gummibear737, @philipdbunn, @billybinion, @rorystewartuk, @ibd_ecarson, @piersmorgan, @angry_staffer, @alanlevinovitz, @spencerfernando, @walshfreedom, @jseyff, @byzgeneral, @charliepick, @eyeslasho, @christogrozev, @oalexanderdk, @matthewberman, @youranoncentral, @tekbog, @shayan86, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @amuse, @ike_saul, @shayan86, and @kareemrifai. Forums: r/BlockedAndReported
| Ian Carlos Campbell / Engadget: |
Meta says US users over 18 can now sign up to be a Community Notes contributor on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads; notes will have a 500-character limit — The company is replacing third-party fact-checking with Community Notes on Threads, Instagram and Facebook.
More: Meta, Meta, TechCrunch, and PhoneArena
| Dominic Preston / The Verge: |
Oppo launches the Find N5, the world's thinnest foldable at 8.93mm closed and 4.21mm open, with IPX6, X8, and X9 ratings, in Europe and Asia for ~$1,870 — Oppo's Find N5 is the thinnest book-style foldable yet, and it's launching worldwide — but it's another foldable the US just won't get.
More: Mrwhosetheboss on YouTube, OPPO on YouTube, Android Authority, Android Headlines, OPPO on YouTube, OPPO on YouTube, Marques Brownlee on YouTube, BGR, OPPO on YouTube, Android Police, The Verge, ben's gadget reviews on YouTube, The Verge, Pocket-lint, PetaPixel, Beebom, Forbes, TechEBlog, Phandroid, MacRumors, Xiaomiui.Net, Digital Trends, Multicore, and CNBC
| MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC: |
Block reports Q4 revenue up 4.5% YoY to $6.03B vs. $6.29B est., gross profit up 14% to $2.31B, Cash App gross profit up 16% to $1.38B; XYZ drops 6%+ after hours — Block reported fourth-quarter results on Thursday that fell short of Wall Street expectations. The stock dropped more than 7% in extended trading.
More: Capital Brief, Investor's Business Daily, SiliconANGLE, Investing.com, Reuters, Benzinga, and Yahoo Finance. X: @buccocapital
| Bloomberg: |
Alibaba reports Q3 revenue up 8% YoY to ~$38.6B, vs. ~$38B est., its fastest pace of growth in over a year, and a ~$6.7B net income; BABA closes up 8.09% — - Revenue beats estimates thanks to strong growth in cloud arm — Alibaba is staging a comeback as AI initiatives bear fruit| Ashley Carman / Bloomberg: |
YouTube plans to add a “premium lite” tier, a source says for the US, Australia, Germany, and Thailand, offering podcasts without ads and music videos with ads — - The service will continue to put ads in music videos — The tier will launch in areas that include the US, Australia| New York Times: |
Sources: the Trump administration targets officials fighting foreign interference in US elections, focused on those combating cyberattacks and false content — The Trump administration has reassigned or forced out several dozen government employees who had been working to fight foreign interference …
More: Default and StateScoop
Bluesky: @daphnek, @noupside, @noupside, @lawfare, and @noupside. Mastodon: @metacurity@infosec.exchange
Forums: r/technology and r/politics
| Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: |
Twitch plans to implement a 100-hour storage cap for Highlights and Uploads from April 19, automatically deleting content from streamers who exceed the limit — Streamers who have exceeded this limit will have their content automatically deleted until it meets the threshold.
More: Ars Technica, Engadget, Gizmodo, Passionfruit, Game Rant, TechCrunch, Android Headlines, Dexerto, Tubefilter, TOS.gg, and Cord Cutters News
Bluesky: @quinnypig.com. X: @twitchsupport, @scifichicktv, @helloitskolo, @metalman_20, @notenglishben, @thefiz_, @zisteau, @amaliasolaris, @iateyourp1e, @realcouri, @shiftposting, and @ravsy_
Forums: r/technology, Slashdot, and Ars OpenForum
| Jess Weatherbed / The Verge: |
Spotify begins accepting AI-narrated audiobooks recorded using ElevenLabs' software; Spotify already allows AI-recorded audiobooks, with several restrictions — A new ElevenLabs partnership aims to help authors bring AI-narrated audiobooks to Spotify listeners.
More: Spotify, Agence France-Presse, Pocket-lint, Digital Trends, iPhone in Canada Blog, TechCrunch, and The Decoder
Bluesky: @theopriestley.com. Mastodon: @mloxton@med-mastodon.com. X: @elevenlabsio. LinkedIn: Anders Larsen and Dustin Blank
| Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch: |
Amazon plans to discontinue its Appstore for Android and its Coins program on August 20, 2025, but keep its Appstore on its devices like Fire TV and Fire Tablet — Amazon will discontinue its app store for Android on August 20 this year. The company sent a notice to developers indicating …
More: Amazon, Amazon Appstore Developer Blog, 9to5Google, Ars Technica, GSMArena.com, How-To Geek, BetaNews, Trusted Reviews, iPhone in Canada Blog, PCMag, The Verge, PYMNTS.com, XDA Developers, Digital Trends, MakeUseOf, Engadget, Android Headlines, The Sun, HotHardware, Android Central, Liliputing, WebProNews, Mobilegamer.biz, Droid Life, and AFTVnews
X: @rizbituk, @timsweeneyepic, @arstechnica, @zhuinden, @superzomgbbq, @superzomgbbq, and @videogamedeals
Forums: r/technology and r/Games
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Amazon plans to end support for its videoconferencing tool Chime on February 20, 2026; report: Amazon is adopting Zoom as its standard app for internal meetings — Amazon Chime, the tech giant's underwhelming alternative to Zoom and Google Meet, is shutting down for good.
More: Amazon Web Services, Business Insider, GeekWire, Thurrott, Entrepreneur, and MakeUseOf
Bluesky: @emilprotalinski, @aleph1.underground.org, and @itspatrickpl. Mastodon: @harrymccracken@mastodon …
X: @eugenekim222, @frichette_n, @rickasaurus, and @rekdt
LinkedIn: Milo Fels, David Victoria, Dhaval Nagar, Iqbal Javaid, and Derek Pando
| Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: |
CISA and the FBI: attackers deploying Ghost ransomware breached victims from multiple industry sectors across 70+ countries, including critical infrastructure — CISA and the FBI said attackers deploying Ghost ransomware have breached victims from multiple industry sectors across over 70 countries … | Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac: |
Kuo: all iPhone 17 models will have Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chips, enhancing connectivity and cutting costs; only the slim iPhone 17 will have the C1 modem chip — Apple just launched its brand new C1 modem yesterday with the iPhone 16e. But there's another new Apple-designed chip coming soon … | Benj Edwards / Ars Technica: |
Microsoft researchers introduce Magma, an AI foundation model that combines visual and language processing to control software interfaces and robotic systems — On Wednesday, Microsoft Research introduced Magma, an integrated AI foundation model that combines visual and language processing … | Jonathan Vanian / CNBC: |
Filing: Meta approves raising executives' annual bonuses to 200% of base salary, up from 75%, as most employees' annual stock options are reportedly cut by ~10% — Executives at Meta stand to get bigger bonuses this year. — The company said in a corporate filing Thursday that it had approved …
More: Reuters, Financial Times, and Business Insider
Bluesky: @quinnypig.com and @lorak
Forums: r/news, r/Layoffs, and r/technology
| Mobile EDR Security: |
iVerify's iOS app detected a Pegasus infection in 11 new cases in December 2024, and about half of them did not receive Threat Notifications from Apple — In December, we published our groundbreaking investigation into mobile device threats. The public didn't just read the report … | Wired: |
Investigation: Google's Display & Video 360 ad platform openly serves up sensitive information about Americans, despite Google's rules against such practices — Google enables marketers to target people with serious illnesses and crushing debt—against its policies …
More: The Record, Pluralistic, and Mostly signs
Bluesky: @dell, @evacide, @glynmoody, @karlbode.com, and @couts
Forums: r/TrueReddit, r/technews, and r/technology
| Ben Lang / Road to VR: |
Meta announces a $50M creator fund for Horizon Worlds; CTO Andrew Bosworth reportedly told staff that 2025 is a make-or-break year for Meta's XR ambitions — Meta today announced a $50 million fund to incentivize the creation of new and improved content in Horizon Worlds, the company's first-party social gaming platform.
More: UploadVR, Meta, and Android Central
Threads: @schultzdavidg. X: @slhamlet, @brandonjla, @kentbye, @gwanatu, @nathievr, @gwanatu, and @azadux
| Annie Palmer / CNBC: |
Amazon surpassed Walmart in quarterly sales for the first time during the most recent quarter, with revenue of $187.8B compared to Walmart's $180.5B — Amazon has dethroned Walmart in quarterly revenue for the first time ever. — Amazon said earlier this month that it brought in $187.8 billion in revenue during the fourth quarter.
More: PYMNTS.com, MediaPost, Quartz, Fortune, Investor's Business Daily, Fast Company, and RetailWire. Forums: Slashdot
| Gergely Orosz / The Pragmatic Engineer: |
A look at the potential reasons why software developer job listings on Indeed hit a five-year low in January, down 35% from 2020, including the impact of AI — Hi, this is Gergely with a bonus issue of the Pragmatic Engineer Newsletter. In every issue, I cover topics related to Big Tech … Sponsor Posts
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Bluesky: @tomwarren.co.uk. Mastodon: @mads@fedi.mvpgame.dev. X: @xboxwire, @reach_vb, @lukasschaefer96, @katjahofmann, @natureportfolio, @alacremeox, @mustafasuleyman, @protosphinx, @coreybrickley, @yacinemtb, @teknium1, @satyanadella, @tomwarren, @tomwarren, @peteratmsr, @rowancheung, @theturingpost, @msftresearch, @wario64, @rowancheung, @azed_ai, @peteratmsr, @howfxr, @knoebelbroet, @rowancheung, and @rowancheung
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