Tech is reshaping the world — and not always for the better. Whether it’s the rules for Apple’s App Store or Facebook’s plan for fighting misinformation, tech platform policies can have enormous ripple effects on the rest of society. They’re so powerful that, increasingly, companies aren’t setting them alone but sharing the fight with government regulators, civil society groups, and internal standards bodies like Meta’s Oversight Board. The result is an ongoing political struggle over harassment, free speech, copyright, and dozens of other issues, all mediated through some of the largest and most chaotic electronic spaces the world has ever seen.
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Vocal tech and crypto leaders are increasingly coming out in support of another Trump presidency — felonies be damned.
In a new interview with The Financial Times, Jonathan Kanter says regulators may need to act urgently to keep AI from being controlled by already-dominant tech companies. Kanter has been leading the antitrust charge against tech intermediaries that are “more powerful than the products and services or the entities they intermediate.”
Dorsey donated 14 Bitcoins to Nostr’s anonymous founder in 2022. That founder is Giovanni Torres Parra, according to Business Insider. Parra is a devotee of “far-right conspiracy theorist Olavo de Carvalho,” who “claimed that Pepsi-Cola was flavored with stem cells of aborted fetuses.”
It took 30 years for the US to lose almost its entire bike manufacturing industry. Can the most bike friendly member of Congress fix that?
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force in March, resulting in the launch of the following new third-party iOS app marketplaces:
• AltStore Pal (hands-on)
• SetApp Mobile (hands-on)
• Aptoide game store (hands-on)
• Mobivention (hands-on)
Each has its own pros and cons but none has been able to upset the balance of power in Europe.
Aptoide is the fourth third-party iOS marketplace to launch in Europe. Will its unique model find success where others have struggled?
It’s a police-operated drone. WIRED took a deep look into how one California city is using the aerial devices to collect information before responding in-person to some incidents. After analyzing 10,000 flight records over a two-year period, WIRED found poorer residents had more contact with the drones. But most Chula Vista residents interviewed said they supported the program.
The state legislature is expected to vote this week on a bill preventing social media companies from using the recommendation tools to serve kids content, unless parents give the OK, according to The Wall Street Journal. States across the country have implemented a range of safeguards from limiting data collection to imposing age verification requirements.
[Twitter]
That’s according to a report from Forbes, which says privacy chief Keith Enright is departing Google after 13 years. Meanwhile, Matthew Bye, who headed up competition law at Google, is also leaving after 15 years.
Google spokesperson Jenn Crider confirmed to Forbes that the company doesn’t plan on replacing either executive.
A few years ago, Facebook accused Epoch Media Group of laundering pro-Trump posts using networks of fake accounts. Today, prosecutors announced the arrest of The Epoch Times CFO Bill Guan and accused him of laundering at least $67 million for himself and the company using gift cards and crypto.
The “media company” allegedly claimed the money came from donations, profits, or subscriptions, as NBC News reported last year.
Keith Gill, the same Redditor who sparked a frenzy in 2021 has returned, and the stock is spiking again. The WSJ reports that in addition to E*Trade’s discussions, SEC officials are having “internal discussions” about whether the new posts amount to manipulation.
Meanwhile, Gill posted another screenshot this afternoon showing an account with shares and options now worth $260 million.
The former President, who once attempted to ban the platform, posted his first video to it yesterday under his usual handle of @realdonaldtrump.
As Politico notes, Trump reversed his stance earlier this year after momentum behind the ban abruptly rekindled and President Biden signed it into law.
As Drake attempts to flip taunts by Kendrick Lamar, Rick Ross, and Metro Boomin on Sexyy Red’s “U My Everything,” the beat transitions into a sample of the AI-generated song “BBL Drizzy.”
While the Udio-generated master recording is public domain, creator King Willonious’ lyrics are copyright protected, so he could get paid for a writer credit, as Billboard reporter Kristin Robinson explains.
After launching a pilot for the 2024 tax season, the IRS has announced that it will make Direct File available in all states that want to use it next year. It’s also working to cover more tax situations through the service.
In case you need the chance to scream, cry, breathe, or just go to the bathroom during the presidential debate, CNN will offer commercial breaks during the June 27 event, two sources told Variety. That’s a break from tradition for presidential debates, but then again, so is plenty about this presidential debate.
People who participated in Gemini’s lending program, which suspended withdrawals in the wake of the FTX collapse, will get “approximately 97 percent” of their money. Perhaps predictably, the Earn program also had some legal issues.