Daily Tech Headlines

US president signs EO against cybercrime, Nintendo sues the U.S. government over imposed tariffs, Claude’s consumer growth is on the rise. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes China suspected in FBI network breach U.S. investigators believe hackers linked to the Chinese government accessed an FBI system containing metadata tied to domestic surveillance orders, including phone numbers, IP addresses, and website routing—but not communications content. The FBI says it detected and addressed the activity, while the full scope of the breach remains under investigation. The Wall Street Journal US President signs EO on cybercrime The US president issued a directive strengthening U.S. efforts against cybercrime, particularly fraud and extortion by transnational criminal groups. It orders officials to review operational, technical, diplomatic, and regulatory tools and to create an action plan identifying responsible groups and ways to halt their operations. Bloomberg Nintendo sues U.S. over tariffs Nintendo is challenging the U.S. government’s tariffs as unlawful under a Supreme Court ruling limiting presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The company seeks refunds with interest for tariffs paid and says it raised original Switch prices due to tariffs but has kept Switch 2 prices steady. Engadget Anthropic AI remains available outside defense Google, Microsoft, and Amazon say Anthropic’s Claude AI remains accessible for non-defense projects after the Pentagon blacklisted the company as a supply chain risk. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said the company will challenge the designation in court, while some federal contractors have already switched to alternatives. CNBC Claude sees strong consumer growth Claude’s daily active users hit 11.3 million on March 2, up 183% from January, and mobile installs reached 149,000, surpassing ChatGPT’s 124,000, according to Appfigures. The app is No. 1 in the U.S. App Store and 15 other countries, with web traffic up 43% month-over-month and paid subscribers doubled since early 2026. TechCrunch Anthropic finds 22 Firefox vulnerabilities Using Claude Opus 4.6, Anthropic discovered 22 vulnerabilities in Firefox over two weeks, 14 rated high-severity. Most were fixed in Firefox 148, with remaining patches in the next release. The exercise highlighted AI’s strength in detecting complex open-source security issues. TechCrunch OpenAI launches Codex Security OpenAI introduced Codex Security, an AI tool that scans code for vulnerabilities, validates them, and suggests fixes. In testing, it flagged nearly 800 critical and 10,500+ high-severity issues, including in OpenSSH, GnuTLS, and Chromium. The research preview is free for a month to Enterprise, Business, and education customers. Axios OpenAI and Oracle halt AI data center expansion Plans to expand a major AI data center in Abilene, Texas, with Oracle collapsed over financing and evolving infrastructure needs, opening the site for Meta to lease instead. Nvidia reportedly facilitated discussions between Meta and the developer Crusoe. Bloomberg ChatGPT “adult mode” delayed again OpenAI postponed ChatGPT’s adult content feature for the second time to prioritize personalization, intelligence, and proactive experience improvements. The delay allows better age verification and protections for younger users, with the feature still planned for release. Axios TfL hack exposed data of 10 million The 2024 Transport for London breach by the Scattered Spider group compromised personal data of roughly 10 million people, including names, emails, and phone numbers. TfL notified 7.1 million customers and was cleared of wrongdoing by the ICO; two teenagers are set for trial in June. BBC

Oracle Plans Thousands of Job Cuts Amid AI Cloud Investment Cash Shortfall, OpenAI Launches GPT-5.4 with Agentic Capabilities, 1M Token Context Window, and US Seeks to Become AI Gatekeeper with Sweeping Chip Export Controls. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Pentagon Labels Anthropic a “Supply-Chain Risk” The Pentagon has designated Anthropic a “supply-chain risk”, barring government contractors from using its technology, including Claude AI, for U.S. military work. This follows a dispute over Anthropic’s insistence on safeguards, such as refusing to allow Claude to power autonomous weapons or be used for mass surveillance, which the Department of Defense found too restrictive. Read more Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, announced the company’s plan to legally challenge the DoD’s designation. Amodei stated that the designation’s impact on their customers is narrow, applying only to the use of Claude as a direct part of contracts with the Department of War, and he argued that the law requires the DOD to use the least restrictive means necessary to protect the supply chain. Despite the legal challenge, Amodei reiterated Anthropic’s commitment to supporting American soldiers and national security by continuing to provide its models to the DOD at a nominal cost during the transition period. Read more Oracle Plans Major Layoffs Amid AI Spending Crunch Bloomberg reports that Oracle is planning to cut thousands of jobs, some due to AI influence, as early as this month to address a cash shortfall. This shortage is a result of Chairman Larry Ellison’s extensive investment in building AI data centers to support cloud computing for clients like OpenAI, a move intended to challenge market leaders. Wall Street predicts this spending will cause Oracle’s cash flow to be negative until 2030, and escalating costs have led to a 54% drop in the company’s stock since its September 2025 high, despite an initial boost from its AI cloud initiatives. Read more OpenAI Launches GPT-5.4 With Focus on Agentic Work OpenAI has launched GPT-5.4 (including Thinking and Pro versions) ahead of schedule to compete with rivals like Anthropic and Google. This new model is engineered to excel at agentic tasks and knowledge work, notably by accepting desktop screenshots as input. The Thinking variant offers more transparent reasoning and allows for mid-process corrections. Key technical improvements include a massive 1-million-token API context window, better token efficiency for long tasks, enhanced high-resolution visual understanding, and an 18% reduction in factual errors. Read more U.S. Drafting Rules to Control Global AI Chip Exports Bloomberg reports that the Commerce Department is drafting sweeping regulations to grant the US government extensive control over the global AI industry. The proposed rules would mandate American approval for nearly all exports of AI accelerators such as Nvidia and AMD, positioning the US as the gatekeeper for worldwide AI infrastructure. This move, while ostensibly for secure exports, could involve requirements like disclosing business models or matching investments. Foreign leaders and analysts worry that potential US bureaucratic delays and using chip restrictions as a diplomatic lever will subject the future of global technology to US political influence. Read more Microsoft’s Next Xbox May Run Windows Microsoft’s next-generation console, Project Helix, is rumored to run a version of Windows, moving away from a traditional closed system. This shift, suggested by Executive VP Asha Sharma’s comments about the console leading in performance and playing both Xbox and PC games, aims to merge the Xbox and Windows gaming platforms. This strategy, similar to devices like the ROG Ally, would allow for open access to the vast PC game library, although the user experience with multiple launchers and backward compatibility remains an open question. Read more Indonesia Proposes Age-Gated Social Media Rules Indonesia plans to implement new age-gated social media restrictions, similar to Australia and Malaysia, to enhance child protection online. The measures will allow users 13 and older to access “lower-risk” platforms, but restrict “higher-risk” platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram to users above 16. These regulations target digital platforms that do not meet child protection standards, aiming to prevent risks such as harmful content exposure, exploitation, and addiction, and are set to be enforced one year after being signed into regulation on March 28, 2026. Read more TikTok Rejects End-to-End Encryption for Direct Messages TikTok will not use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for direct messages, allowing its safety teams and law enforcement access to messages. The company argues this “proactive safety” measure protects users, especially the young, and is supported by child protection groups, contrasting with E2EE-using competitors like Facebook and WhatsApp. While this approach may align with lawmakers, it conflicts with global privacy norms and heightens concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership, as E2EE is mostly restricted in China. Read more YouTube Expands Direct Messaging Experiment YouTube has reintroduced a direct messaging feature to its mobile app, initially as an experiment launched in November 2025 in Ireland and Poland, and later expanded to over 30 European countries. This feature, accessible through a new Messages section in the Notifications tab, allows adult users (18+) with a verified age and a YouTube channel to invite others to chat, signaling YouTube’s effort to compete with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch that already offer DMs. Read more

Tech Giants Sign White House’s “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”, Meta Reverses Policy, Allows Third-Party AI Chatbots on WhatsApp Business API in Europe for 12 Months, and Android and Play Store Overhaul Driven by Epic Settlement and Regulatory Pressure. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Anthropic and Pentagon Resume Contract Talks Amid Surveillance Dispute Anthropic and the US Defense Department are currently in contract renegotiations following a breakdown in talks that could label Anthropic a “supply chain risk.” The dispute stems from Anthropic’s refusal to eliminate contract language that prohibits using its AI for mass surveillance, specifically the “analysis of bulk acquired data.” This refusal prompted the Pentagon to threaten the cancellation of the $200 million contract and the application of the risk designation. Read more Big Tech Signs White House “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” for AI Data Center Energy Costs Major tech companies (Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Oracle, xAI, and OpenAI) signed the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” announced by the White House administration. The pledge commits them to covering the costs of new electricity generation and power delivery upgrades for their expanding, power-hungry AI data centers. This move aims to prevent rising household and small business electricity costs due to Big Tech’s consumption, easing community and legislative concerns, and thus supporting future data center development while strengthening the grid. Read more Meta Temporarily Allows Rival AI Chatbots on WhatsApp in Europe Meta temporarily reversed its January policy by allowing third-party general AI chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude) to use the WhatsApp Business API in Europe for 12 months. The original restriction, which caused regulatory concern in the EU, Italy, and Brazil, and disrupted competing providers, was criticized because Meta offers its own AI, Meta AI, on the platform. The third-party chatbot providers will be charged a per-message fee during this allowance, which aims to give the European Commission time to conclude its investigation. Read more Google Cuts Play Store Fees and Opens Android to Third-Party App Stores Google is overhauling Android and the Play Store, largely due to a settlement with Epic and regulatory pressure. The changes include significantly lowering the standard transaction fee (from 30% to 20% or 15%), reducing the fee for using Google’s billing system, and making it easier for developers to use alternative billing systems or link to external purchase websites. Google is also launching a voluntary “Registered App Stores” program to simplify the installation of approved third-party app stores. These updates, encompassing new developer programs and fee structures, will roll out globally through late 2027 and represent a major shift in Google’s management of its mobile ecosystem. Read more Bitwarden Adds Passkey Login Support for Entra ID Windows 11 Devices Bitwarden now supports using its stored passkeys for logging into Entra ID-joined Windows 11 devices, a feature for all plan tiers. Users select the security key option, scan a QR code with a mobile device, and confirm the passkey. This utilizes Microsoft’s passkey provider API, decoupling the credential from a single device for enhanced security and easy recovery. The rollout is expected this month, pending Entra ID configuration. Read more Ikea’s Matter-over-Thread Smart Bulbs Arrive Early in the US Ikea’s new Matter-over-Thread smart bulbs, part of their Matter-compatible smart home collection announced last November, are now available through the company’s online store and many US retail locations, despite originally being slated for an April 2026 US release and facing some initial connectivity issues. These new bulbs maintain the affordability and functionality that have made Ikea’s smart lighting products a popular and cheaper alternative to competitors like Philips Hue, and are offered with optional wireless remote bundles. Read more Google Adds AI Video Overviews, Canvas Writing Tools, and NotebookLM Upgrades Google is introducing several new AI features, including “Cinematic Video Overviews” in NotebookLM for AI Ultra subscribers, which generates story-driven videos from source material using the Gemini, Nano Banana Pro, and Veo 3 models. Additionally, Canvas in Google AI Mode now supports creative writing and coding tasks for US English users, enabling drafting and tool creation directly within Search. NotebookLM has also received a shortcut to open Google Drive files in their native apps, and Google has enhanced AI Mode recipe results with links and meal overviews. Read more Apple Music Introduces Optional AI “Transparency Tags” for Artists and Labels Apple Music has launched an optional “Transparency Tags” metadata system, communicated to industry partners via a newsletter, which allows record labels and artists to voluntarily disclose the use of AI in four categories: track, composition, artwork, and music videos. This system, which relies on labels and distributors for tagging, is framed as a “concrete first step” toward transparency, but it contrasts with competitors’ proactive AI detection efforts and lacks enforcement, raising questions about its effectiveness and industry adoption. Read more AWS Launches Amazon Connect Health AI Platform for Healthcare Automation AWS introduced Amazon Connect Health, an agentic AI platform for healthcare that integrates with electronic health records (EHR) to automate 24/7 tasks like scheduling, patient verification, and documentation. The system also handles appointment booking, escalates complex cases, and utilizes specialized data and clinician checks for safety. UC San Diego Health saw significant gains, including one minute saved per call and up to a 60% reduction in call abandonment. Connect Health further transcribes calls, drafts notes and patient summaries, and provides evidence mapping for transparency. Read more

Google lowers cut to 20% in the Play Store, Sony cancels plans to bring future single-player PlayStation titles to PC, Apple renames CPU cores in the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Apple Unveils $599 MacBook Neo Apple announced the MacBook Neo, a 13-inch entry-level laptop powered by the A18 Pro chip from the iPhone 16 Pro. It features a Liquid Retina display, 16-hour battery life, aluminum chassis, 1080p webcam, and two USB-C ports, starting at 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Preorders are open now, with shipments starting March 11. Tom’s Hardware Father Sues Google Over Gemini Chatbot A father is suing Google and Alphabet for wrongful death, alleging the Gemini AI chatbot reinforced his son’s delusions, contributing to his October suicide. The lawsuit claims Gemini encouraged belief in a “sentient AI wife” and guided dangerous behavior near Miami International Airport, while failing to trigger safety interventions. Google says the AI repeatedly clarified it was not sentient and offered crisis resources. TechCrunch Google Cuts Play Store Fees, Opens Door to Third-Party App Stores Google will lower its Play Store cut to 20% for most in-app purchases, 15% for some developers, and 10% for subscriptions. Developers can also use alternative billing or direct users to external websites. The changes, from Google’s 2025 settlement with Epic, include a “Registered App Stores” program for easier integration of third-party stores. Engadget Polymarket Removes Nuclear Weapon Bet Prediction market Polymarket briefly hosted a wager on whether a nuclear weapon would detonate in 2026, generating nearly $1 million in trading before archiving the market. Critics warned such bets could incentivize dangerous behavior if insiders profit from real-world events. Polymarket did not explain the removal but continues to host other war- and nuclear-related markets. 404 Media Sony Pulls Single-Player PlayStation Games From PC Sony has canceled plans to release future single-player titles like Ghost of Yotei and Saros on PC, following a six-year experiment with PC launches. Concerns include potential impact on PlayStation 5 sales and its successor. Multiplayer and some third-party games will still reach PC. Ars Technica Apple Renames M5 Chip CPU Cores Apple renamed its previous performance cores as “super cores” in the M5 Pro and Max chips and redesigned efficiency cores into new performance cores, emphasizing multithreaded performance. The company also introduced Fusion Architecture, allowing modular CPU and GPU chiplet configurations. Six Colors Corning Unveils Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 Corning introduced Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, designed to survive repeated drops over years. Lab tests show it can withstand at least 20 one-meter drops onto asphalt-like surfaces. The first device to use it will be the upcoming Motorola Razr Fold. 9to5Google Nvidia CEO: $30B OpenAI Investment Likely Final Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company’s $30 billion investment in OpenAI may be its last before the AI startup goes public later this year. He also expects Nvidia’s $10 billion investment in Anthropic to be final. The OpenAI round included $50 billion from Amazon and $30 billion from SoftBank. Nvidia continues supplying GPUs for AI training and is developing chips for inference, which OpenAI is expected to use heavily. CNBC

Middle East Conflict Drone Strikes Take Down Three AWS Data Centers, Apple Unveils New M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips, and Meta AI Tests Experimental Shopping Tool with US Desktop Users. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes OpenAI Faces Backlash Over Department of War Deal OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has received criticism for the company’s quick deal with the U.S. Department of War (DOW) over fears it would enable mass domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. While amendments addressed some surveillance concerns, the contract’s reliance on legality and its loophole for “incidental collection” of data remain controversial, and the weapons issue is still not fully resolved. Altman’s position to defer ethical decisions to the government has not satisfied users, leading to a surge in uninstalls and a rise in popularity for competitor Anthropic’s Claude chatbot. Read More Drone Strikes Disrupt AWS Data Centers in UAE and Bahrain AWS reported that drone strikes, linked to the Middle East conflict, took two data centers in the UAE and one in Bahrain offline on Sunday morning. The strikes caused structural and water damage, disrupting power and impacting AWS services like EC2, S3, and DynamoDB with degraded availability and high error rates. AWS is working on recovery but warned customers of prolonged service restoration due to the physical damage and advised them to take mitigation steps, such as data backups and workload migration, given the region’s continued instability. Read More Apple Unveils M5 Pro and M5 Max Chips Apple has launched the new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, which feature a Fusion Architecture integrating two dies for the latest MacBook Pro. These chips include an upgraded 18-core CPU, delivering up to a 30% performance increase, and an up-to-40-core GPU with a 20% boost in overall graphics performance and 4x peak AI compute. The M5 Pro now supports up to 64GB of unified memory, and the M5 Max maintains support for up to 128GB, targeting demanding professionals. Pre-orders begin March 4th, with availability starting March 11. Read More Apple Announces New 27-Inch Studio Displays In other Apple news, the company announced two new 27-inch displays: the $1,599 Studio Display and the $3,299 Studio Display XDR. Both displays, available March 11 (pre-orders March 4), feature a 12MP Center Stage camera, Thunderbolt 5, a three-mic array, and Spatial Audio via a six-speaker system. The standard Studio Display offers a 5K Retina display with 600 nits and a tilt stand. The higher-end Studio Display XDR includes a 5K Retina XDR display, mini-LED backlight, up to 2000 nits peak HDR brightness, 120Hz refresh rate, and a stand with tilt and height adjustment. Both come with standard or nano-texture glass options. Read More Meta Tests AI Shopping Assistant Meta is testing an experimental AI shopping tool with a limited number of US desktop users through its Meta AI web interface. The tool, accessed via a “Shopping research” button, provides product suggestions in a carousel with images, pricing, links to e-commerce sites, brand details, and a recommendation explanation. It can personalize suggestions using available user data. While purchases can’t be completed within Meta AI, users can click links to shop online. This development supports Mark Zuckerberg’s earlier statements about launching agentic shopping tools and mirrors similar offerings from competitors like OpenAI, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity. Read More Amazon Launches 15-Minute Delivery Service in Brazil Amazon launched its Amazon Now service in Brazil, aiming to deliver products like essentials and groceries in just 15 minutes, according to Fernanda Grumach, director of shopping experience at Amazon Brasil. The service will initially launch in Sao Paulo starting Tuesday, with a gradual expansion planned to seven other Brazilian cities by March 9th, she announced during a press conference in Sao Paulo. Read More Report Raises Privacy Concerns Over Meta AI Smart Glasses in Europe A report by Sweden’s Svenska Dagbladet indicates that users of Meta’s AI smart glasses in Europe may be unintentionally exposing highly sensitive data, such as nudity and financial details, to human moderators, including employees in Kenya. These moderators perform “annotation” to train Meta’s AI models. Although users agree to human review in the terms of service, the practice raises serious concerns about compliance with Europe’s GDPR transparency rules, especially since Meta’s wearables privacy policy was reportedly difficult to access and largely shifts the responsibility for data sensitivity to the user. Read More Iran Faces Near-Total Internet Blackout Iran is experiencing a near-total internet blackout (approx. 1% connectivity) due to a “regime-imposed” shutdown and suspected cyber operations by the U.S. and Israel. Analysts believe the disruption is a dual effort: state suppression and U.S.-Israeli cyberattacks targeting telecom infrastructure to disrupt IRGC networks and display psychological warfare messages. Cybersecurity experts anticipate Iranian cyber retaliation targeting critical sectors like energy, finance, and healthcare. Read More Musk’s X and xAI Plan $17.5 Billion Debt Repayment Elon Musk’s companies, X and xAI, plan to repay about $17.5 billion in debt, managed by Morgan Stanley. This includes an early, premium redemption of xAI’s $3 billion in high-yield bonds, compensating investors for lost interest. This repayment follows SpaceX’s $250 billion acquisition of xAI in February, granting SpaceX more financial control. The debt includes $12 billion inherited when xAI acquired X in 2025, prior to xAI raising $20 billion in a Series E funding round in January. Read More

Iranian strikes damage AWS data center in Dubai, Qualcomm introduces Wi-Fi 8 chip, ByteDance’s Pico unveils Project Swan headset. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Apple Updates Apple announced the mid-range iPhone 17e with double the base storage at 256GB and 15W MagSafe Qi2 wireless charging, keeping the price at $599. A new iPad Air debuts with an M4 desktop-class processor, WiFi7, Bluetooth 6, and 12GB base RAM, starting at $599 (11-inch) and $799 (13-inch). Both devices include the upgraded C1X cellular modem and will be available to order March 4th, shipping March 11th. Source: Engadget AI Copyright Ruling The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case on whether AI-generated art can be copyrighted. The ruling upholds prior decisions that federal copyright requires a human author, affecting a 2018 submission by Stephen Thaler and affirming the Copyright Office and lower courts’ 2022–2025 rulings. Source: Reuters AWS Outage in the Middle East Iranian missile and drone strikes on the UAE damaged an AWS data center in Dubai, taking around 60 services offline across the ME-CENTRAL-1 region and affecting users in the UAE and Bahrain. Recovery is expected to take at least a day as safety checks and system repairs continue. Source: 404 Media Qualcomm at MWC 2026 Qualcomm introduced the FastConnect 8800 Wi-Fi 8 chip with 10+ Gbps speeds, Bluetooth 7.0, and on-device AI. The company is collaborating with 50+ partners on AI-native 6G networks for 2029. New hardware includes the X105 5G modem with 14.8 Gbps peak speeds and Snapdragon Wear Elite chip for wearables with 30% longer battery life. Source: Thurrott Motorola & GrapheneOS Motorola announced a partnership with GrapheneOS to pre-install the privacy-focused OS on a future smartphone and bring select features to other devices. No specific model or release timeline was shared, and current hardware does not meet GrapheneOS requirements, implying a higher-end device is planned. Source: 9to5Google Nvidia Invests in Photonics Nvidia is investing $4 billion in photonics companies Lumentum and Coherent, $2 billion each, securing optics and laser tech for AI data centers. The multi-year deals include purchase commitments and future capacity rights to support next-gen, gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure. Source: CNBC X Introduces Paid Partnership Labels X launched a “Paid Partnership” label allowing creators to mark sponsored posts without hashtags, improving transparency and regulatory compliance. The feature can be applied during or after posting and is part of broader updates to support creators and reduce misleading or AI-generated interactions. Source: TechCrunch Pico Project Swan ByteDance’s Pico unveiled the Project Swan headset with 4K micro-OLED displays, dual-chip architecture with a computer vision coprocessor, and double the CPU/GPU performance of current Pico and Meta devices. It supports hand and eye tracking with ~12ms latency and runs Pico OS 6 with Pico Spatial Engine, allowing 2D and 3D apps to coexist in mixed reality. Developers can access the system via Pico Spatial SDK and WebSpatial. Source: UploadVR

AI music startup Suno claims 2M paid subscribers, Ultrahuman launches third-gen Ring Pro, HoloLens headsets get repurposed for military cargo inspections. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Pentagon Blacklists Anthropic The Pentagon labeled Anthropic a “supply chain risk” after the company refused to remove safeguards limiting military use of its Claude AI, citing concerns about mass surveillance and autonomous weapons. The decision cancels Anthropic’s contract, worth up to $200 million, and requires federal agencies and contractors to stop using Claude within six months, disrupting classified military systems. Source: Axios | Bloomberg Suno Hits 2 Million Paid Subscribers AI music startup Suno now has 2 million paid users and $300 million in annual recurring revenue, according to CEO Mikey Shulman. The platform has served over 100 million users with strong weekly retention and positions itself as a creative alternative to passive streaming. Growth follows a $250 million funding round amid broader AI music sector momentum. Source: Billboard US Military Shoots Down CBP Drone The military accidentally downed a Customs and Border Protection drone with an anti-drone laser near Fort Hancock, Texas, prompting a temporary FAA airspace closure. Officials said the drone was seen as a potential threat. This is the second laser-related shutdown near the US-Mexico border this month; an earlier incident involved firing at a party balloon. Source: The Verge Ultrahuman Launches Ring Pro 3 Ultrahuman introduced its third-gen Ring Pro at $479, featuring 15-day battery life, improved sensors, and a dual-core processor, with preorders open globally (excluding the U.S.) for March shipments. The company also unveiled Jade, a real-time AI health system available to all users without a subscription. The launch follows a 2025 patent dispute with Oura that blocked U.S. imports. Source: TechCrunch Truth Social Spin-Off Talks Trump Media & Technology Group is discussing spinning off Truth Social as a separate publicly traded company after its planned merger with fusion startup TAE Technologies. Under the proposal, Truth Social and other TMTG businesses would merge with a SPAC, while the TMTG-TAE entity retains the balance sheet and fusion assets. The deal is expected to close mid-2026. Source: Axios Netflix Withdraws WBD Bid Netflix pulled its bid for part of Warner Bros. Discovery after WBD’s board favored Paramount Skydance’s all-cash $31 per share offer for the full company. Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer was declined. The deal leaves Netflix with a breakup fee, while WBD CEO David Zaslav supports the Paramount combination. Source: CNBC CISA Gets New Acting Director CISA’s acting administrator Madhu Gottumukkala will move to DHS as director of strategic implementation. Nick Anderson, executive assistant director for cybersecurity, becomes acting CISA director. Sean Plankey has been nominated for the permanent role but has not yet had a hearing. Source: ABC News Block Cuts 40% of Workforce Block, which runs Square and CashApp, is laying off over 4,000 employees, or 40% of its workforce. The company says the reductions support smaller teams and AI integration. U.S. staff will receive 20 weeks of base salary, vested equity, health care, and a $5,000 transition stipend. Source: TechCrunch HoloLens Repurposed for Military Cargo Microsoft HoloLens headsets are being used by Air Force personnel in Aviano, Italy, to remotely guide Army soldiers in Vicenza for cargo inspections, allowing real-time feedback. The program improves efficiency compared to the Army’s 2018 IVAS system. Microsoft ended HoloLens development in 2024, with support continuing through 2027. Source: The Register Meta Prioritized Growth Over Child Safety Internal Meta documents show Instagram prioritized growth over child safety for years. Tests dating to 2019 found algorithms recommended teen accounts to adults with “groomer-esque” behavior. Safety fixes were slow, and default privacy for under-16s wasn’t implemented until 2021, with risks persisting in subsequent audits. Meta says protections have improved, including Teen Accounts, content filters, and parental controls. Source: The Atlantic

Block Announces Global Layoff Cutting 40% of Workforce, OpenAI Closes Massive $110B Funding Round at $730B Valuation, and South Korea Reverses Course Granting Google Permission to Export Geographic Data for Google Maps. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Netflix Bows Out of WBD Bidding War Netflix has withdrawn its bid to acquire a portion of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) assets after WBD’s board determined a revised, all-cash offer of $31 per share from Paramount Skydance for the entire company to be superior. Netflix’s final offer was $27.75 per share, and the company declined to match the higher Paramount bid, stating the deal was no longer financially attractive and was a “nice to have,” not a “must have.” The decision ends the bidding war, with WBD CEO David Zaslav supporting the potential Paramount Skydance-WBD combination, and Netflix’s stock rising 10% following its withdrawal announcement. Read More Block Cuts 40% of Workforce Financial services company Block is cutting over 4,000 employees, 40% of its workforce, in a massive global layoff. Block claims the move is proactive, efficiency-driven, and aims for smaller teams and AI integration, echoing Elon Musk’s cuts at X. The reduction boosted Block’s stock but sparks debate over whether AI or financial motives are the true cause, following a trend of large tech layoffs. Affected U.S. staff will receive 20 weeks of base salary, vested equity, health care, and a $5,000 transition stipend. Read More OpenAI Raises $110 Billion OpenAI has secured a massive $110 billion private funding round, with $50 billion from Amazon and $30 billion each from Nvidia and SoftBank, at a $730 billion pre-money valuation. This funding will be used to scale infrastructure for global AI use and involves significant infrastructure partnerships including a $100 billion expansion of its AWS commitment, developing a “stateful runtime environment” on Amazon’s Bedrock, and a commitment to utilize 5GW of total capacity on Nvidia’s Vera Rubin systems. Read More Google Cleared to Export Maps Data to South Korea Google has been granted permission by South Korea to export geographic data, a reversal of the country’s historical restriction due to national security concerns related to North Korea. This approval allows Google to offer real-time navigation and GPS services, but is contingent on meeting “strict security requirements,” such as restricting the display of military sites. The lack of data sharing was previously a trade issue with the U.S., but critics in South Korea now worry that Google may monopolize the market and harm local competitors like Naver. Read More Anthropic Resists Pentagon AI Demands Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is refusing the Department of Defense’s demand for unrestricted use of its AI models, despite threats from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, including labeling the company a “supply chain risk.” Anthropic is seeking assurances that its AI will not be used for fully autonomous weapons or mass domestic surveillance, while the DOD, through Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, insists on access for “all lawful purposes” and maintains that no company will dictate its operational terms. The dispute is ongoing, as Anthropic’s major rivals, including OpenAI, Google, and xAI, have already agreed to the DOD’s unrestricted use policy. Read More Google Employees Demand AI “Red Lines” In related news, over 100 Google employees demanded “red lines” to prevent their Gemini AI from being used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, mirroring Anthropic’s contract concerns. This activism, joined by OpenAI staff, criticized the Pentagon’s negotiation tactics. Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean backed the employees, condemning AI for mass surveillance as unconstitutional. Read More Meta Signs Multi-Billion AI Chip Deal with Google Reuters reports that Meta has signed a multi-billion-dollar, multi-year deal with Google to rent Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for developing new AI models. This move is part of Meta’s substantial investment in AI infrastructure, which also includes committing to purchase up to $60 billion in AI chips from AMD and signing a separate deal with Nvidia for its chips. The deal helps Google compete with Nvidia by promoting its TPUs as a viable alternative and boosts Google’s cloud revenue. Read More Experts Warn of Low-Quality AI Videos Targeting Kids Experts are concerned about the negative developmental effects of mass-produced, low-quality, A.I.-generated videos targeting young children on YouTube, including Shorts and Kids. These videos are cognitively overwhelming, featuring warped visuals, incoherent narratives, and misinformation, lacking the structured repetition needed for learning. The high volume of this confusing content, created for profit with minimal YouTube oversight, may impede children’s ability to discern fantasy from reality and displaces beneficial activities, making content identification largely a parental responsibility. Read More Spotify Launches Weekly Audiobook Charts Spotify has launched new weekly Audiobook Charts for the U.S. and U.K., expanding its investment in the audiobook space. These charts, similar to their Music and Podcast Charts, rank top audiobooks overall and by genre based on listening engagement. Accessible in the audiobooks hub, the feature aims to help listeners discover new titles and offer authors and publishers new ways to reach audiences. This follows previous investments in the format, including “Page Match” and “Audiobook Recaps,” and a recent venture into physical book sales with Bookshop.org. Read More  

A Pew Research Center study shows 54% of teens between 13 and 17 years old use chatbots for school assignments, a California judge dismisses a trade secrets lawsuit from xAI against OpenAI, and Japan’s antitrust authority raids Microsoft Japan’s offices over suspected violations of the antimonopoly act with Azure. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes A new Pew Research Center study published Tuesday says 54% of teens between 13 and 17 years old use chatbots for school assignments. A previous study from 2024 had usage at 26% and in 2023 the number was 13%. The survey of 1,458 teens showed 44% used AI for school “some” or “a little” and 10% for most or all assignments. Outside of homework, 47% of teens used chatbots for fun, 42% for summarizing all types of content, and 12% for emotional support and advice. In a survey with parents of the teens, only 18% said they’d be comfortable with teens using chatbots for emotional support and advice, with 69% ok for kids using it for entertainment, and 79% for searching for information. Source: Pew Research Center Apple is rolling out an update to its age assurance tools to comply with restrictions in place in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore, as well as in the US for upcoming law changes in Utah and Louisiana. The update to the Declared Age Range API, now in testing, will perform a check in the App Store automatically, though developers may also need to confirm users are adults. The API will further assist devs to identify when age requirements and parental approval apply. Source: 9to5 Mac According to Bloomberg’s sources, payment processing firm Stripe Inc is considering acquiring all or parts of Paypal Holdings, which includes PayPal and Venmo. Sources say any possible negotiations are in a very early stage, with no guarantees it will proceed. Stripe’s annual letter shared on Tuesday that the company is making a tender offer to bring company value up to $159 billion, a 74% increase from last year. PayPal currently has a market cap of approximately $40 billion. Stripe and PayPal declined to comment. Source: Bloomberg and TechCrunch On Tuesday federal US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco dismissed a lawsuit from xAI accusing OpenAI of stealing trade secrets. The suit claims former xAI employees took Grok source code and other confidential information with them when joining OpenAI. In the dismissal Judge Lin noted the absence of allegations of misconduct by OpenAI itself, only the employees, and xAI has the option to refile. A separate suit of xAI suing former engineer Xuechen Li alleging taking trade secrets to ChatGPT is ongoing. Source: Reuters The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) fined Reddit £14.5 million (approximately $19.6 million) over failure to apply a “robust age assurance mechanism”, resulting in Reddit illegally using the personal information of users under 13 years old. The ICO fine follows the previous issue of provisional findings against Reddit from July 8, 2025. Reddit will appeal the fine and criticized the ICO for demanding more collection of private information. Source: Ars Technica Japan’s antitrust authority, the Fair Trade Commission, raided Microsoft Japan’s offices on Wednesday over a suspected violation of the Antimonopoly Act for unfair trade practices. According to Nikkei Asia’s sources, Microsoft Japan set conditions making it impossible to use Azure on clouds other than Microsoft’s or otherwise causing higher fees. The Fair Trade Commission will seek clarification on practices with Microsoft’s head office in the US. Source: Nikkei Asia Researchers from the American Institute of Physics developed an experimental technique for detecting smartphones that have been tampered with or contain hidden modifications from a distance, without needing to physically examine a device. The method involves scanning a phone’s radio component when transmitting signals, comparing transmissions to the device’s normal fingerprint to detect any changes. Future use cases include the scanning of phones entering secure areas and ensuring devices for resale are unaltered. Source: Digital Trends A new app called Nearby Glasses can warn users if people nearby may be wearing smart glasses, like Meta’s Ray-Bans. The app is currently available through the Google Play Store or GitHub and searches for specific Bluetooth signatures, sending a push notification when detected. Developer Yves Jeanrenaud said he was inspired to make the app after reading reports from 404 Media of people using smart glasses to harass others and the potential upcoming facial recognition features. After being notified about smart glasses in proximity, the Play Store page states a user “may act accordingly.” Source: 404 Media    

Uber announces Uber Autonomous Solutions available for AV partners, OpenAI creates a “Frontier Alliances” with four major consulting firms, and Firefox will end support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 at the end of February. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Ride-hailing company Uber announced Uber Autonomous Solutions, offering a suite of services to robotaxi partners to help manage infrastructure, fleet operations, and user experience. The infrastructure solutions includes training data from Uber’s fleet of test vehicles and help with mapping data, fleet assistance services can provide access to a real-time view of every vehicle, and user experience services offers help designing in-car software. Uber Autonomous Solutions are aimed at AV companies like Wayve, WeRide, Nuro, and others without the deep cash backing companies like Waymo and Tesla have available for their own services. Source: The Verge On Monday, OpenAI announced a multi-year partnership with four consulting firms called “Frontier Alliances”, with Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, Capgemini, and McKinsey & Co. Earlier in February OpenAI announced Frontier as its enterprise platform, an intelligence layer for organizations to unite internal data and systems and for better management, deployment, and building of AI agents. Capgemini’s chief strategy and development officer Fernando Alvarez says OpenAI’s Frontier Alliances will help roll out its technology at scale. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC earlier this year that enterprise accounts for ~40% of OpenAI’s business, expecting to rise to 50% by the end of 2026. Source: CNBC Turkey’s data protection watchdog opened a review over how six major social media platforms process children’s personal data. The Personal Data Protection Board will review TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X and Discord’s data processing steps and any safeguards in place to protect children. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) will submit a draft “family package” bill introducing rules for social media accounts like identity verification and age restrictions. Children under 15 will be banned from opening accounts and restrictions would be introduced for all users under 18. The draft reportedly also contains a provision authorizing rapid takedowns of ‘illegal content’ without a court order. Source: Turkish Minute On Saturday, Germany passed a motion to ban social media for users under 14 and implement digital verification checks for teenagers. Christian Democratic Union’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz also called for fines against platforms failing to enforce limits and a European Union harmonization of age standards. This move continues a trend after last year’s Australian ban on social media access for children, with reviews on bans also ongoing in Spain, Greece, France and Britain. Source: Reuters In advance of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event on February 25th, Samsung announced another addition to the support of multiple AI agents in Galaxy AI with Perplexity being added as an option for the upcoming S26 series. The wakeup phrase will be “Hey Plex”. The announcement states the Perplexity AI agent will work with Samsung Notes, Clock, Gallery, Reminder, and Calendar, as well as “select third-party apps”, though no specific details on which apps are available at this time. Source: Engadget The UK’s regulatory and competition authority, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), fined porn company 8579 LLC £1.35m over the failure to introduce and enforce proper age verification measures on its websites under the Online Safety Act (OSA), with an additional fine of £50,000 for not responding to Ofcom’s probe. Ofcom also ordered 8579 LLC to provide a complete list of sites it operates, imposing an ongoing daily fine of £250 if it does not comply, capping after 60 days. The Online Safety Act, which came into effect in July 2025, requires pornography providers to check the age of all of visitors from within the UK. Source: BBC Firefox will end support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 at the end of February. Critical security updates are currently available through Extended Support Release (ESR), though regular support stopped back in January 2023. Mozilla notes that most browsers, like Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, had already discontinued support for those older operating systems, and states Windows 10 support will continue “for the foreseeable future”. In the announcement Mozilla also states “If your current hardware can’t handle Windows 10 or higher for some reason, you can switch to a Linux-based operating system. The vast majority of Linux distributions come with Firefox as the default browser.” Source: PC Gamer

The U.S. government launches “Tech Corps”, Anthropic launches Claude Code Security, Amazon surpasses Walmart as world’s largest company. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Microsoft Gaming Shakeup Phil Spencer is retiring after 38 years at Microsoft, with Asha Sharma set to lead gaming and report to Satya Nadella. Sharma, a former Instacart executive, joined Microsoft in 2024 and recently led product in Core AI. Her focus will be recommitting to console gaming while integrating AI. Xbox President Sarah Bond has also resigned, and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty now reports to Sharma as chief content officer. Source: CNBC, IGN U.S. Launches “Tech Corps” The U.S. government is creating a Peace Corps-style “Tech Corps” to send STEM-trained volunteers abroad for 1–2 years to promote American AI in sectors like health care, agriculture, and education. U.S. companies like OpenAI and Anthropic dominate advanced enterprise AI, while Chinese models from Alibaba, Minimax, and Moonshot remain popular in developing countries due to lower costs and local adaptability. Source: Rest of World Threads Adds Instagram Story Sharing Meta’s Threads now lets users share posts directly to Instagram Stories. Since launching in 2023, Threads has grown to over 400 million monthly and 150 million daily users, surpassing X in daily mobile usage, though X still leads on the web. Source: TechCrunch OpenAI Staff Debated Warning Authorities Before Canadian Shooting About a dozen OpenAI employees considered alerting Canadian police in June after a user described gun violence scenarios in ChatGPT. Management suspended the account, concluding it wasn’t a credible threat. Months later, the user committed a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, BC, killing eight and injuring 25. OpenAI contacted authorities post-attack and is cooperating with investigations. Source: Wall Street Journal Tesla Must Pay $243 Million for 2019 Autopilot Crash A federal judge rejected Tesla’s attempt to overturn a $243 million jury verdict over a fatal 2019 Autopilot crash in Florida. Tesla was found 33% liable, with $43 million in compensatory and $200 million in punitive damages. Tesla had previously declined a $60 million settlement and plans to appeal. Source: Electrek Anthropic Launches Claude Code Security Anthropic introduced Claude Code Security, which scans codebases for vulnerabilities, reasons through code like a security researcher, and suggests fixes with severity and confidence ratings. The tool is in limited research preview for Enterprise and Team customers, with free access for some open source projects. Source: PCMag Microsoft Deletes Blog Encouraging AI Training on Harry Potter Books Microsoft removed a 2024 blog that suggested developers train AI on a Kaggle dataset of all seven Harry Potter books, mistakenly marked as public domain. The blog showed how to create Q&A systems and fan fiction using Claude AI. Microsoft could face secondary liability, though fair use arguments exist. Source: Ars Technica Amazon Becomes World’s Largest Company by Revenue Amazon surpassed Walmart with $717 billion in 2025 sales versus Walmart’s $713.2 billion, marking a milestone for the e-commerce and cloud computing giant. Source: Bloomberg Google Partners with Sea Ltd on AI for E-Commerce and Gaming Google and Sea Ltd, owner of Shopee and Garena, are collaborating to develop AI tools for e-commerce and gaming. They plan an AI “agentic shopping prototype” for Shopee and will use Google AI to enhance Garena’s game development. Source: Reuters

SeatGeek Partners with Spotify to Sell Concert Tickets Directly In-App, NY Gov. Hochul Withdraws Proposal for Robotaxi Expansion Outside NYC, Setback for Waymo, and Rivian Owners Get Apple Watch Control with New Companion App. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Meta Plans New Smartwatch and Updated Ray-Ban Smart Glasses Meta is reportedly preparing to launch the “Malibu 2” smartwatch later this year, alongside an updated version of its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses, as it sharpens competition with Apple, Google, and Samsung. The smartwatch may introduce neural wristband controls, while Meta delays its mixed-reality “Phoenix” glasses until 2027 to streamline its hardware roadmap. Read More SeatGeek Brings Concert Ticket Sales Inside Spotify SeatGeek has partnered with Spotify to let users buy concert tickets directly within the Spotify app, starting with 15 major U.S. venues. The move aims to turn music discovery into ticket sales, building on Spotify’s growing influence in live events, while SeatGeek continues to compete with Ticketmaster and AXS. Read More New York Pulls Robotaxi Proposal, Stalling Waymo Expansion New York Governor Kathy Hochul has withdrawn a proposal that would have allowed commercial robotaxi services outside New York City, dealing a blow to Waymo’s aggressive expansion plans. The decision limits Waymo’s ability to enter one of the world’s largest ride-hailing markets as it targets 20 cities and over one million weekly paid rides by the end of 2026. Read More Rivian Launches Apple Watch Vehicle Control App Rivian is releasing an Apple Watch companion app next week that lets owners control vehicle functions such as locking doors, venting windows, and managing charging and temperature settings. The update also adds new performance, accessibility, and cold-weather features, reinforcing Rivian’s software-first strategy and partnership with Volkswagen. Read More OpenAI Funding Round Expected to Top $100 Billion OpenAI is finalizing the first phase of a massive funding round that could exceed $100 billion and push its valuation beyond $850 billion. Strategic investors including Amazon, SoftBank, Nvidia, and Microsoft are providing most of the capital, with OpenAI expected to expand its use of Amazon’s chips and cloud infrastructure. Read More Google Bets Big on Geothermal Power for AI Datacenters Soaring AI datacenter energy demands are driving Google and other hyperscalers to invest heavily in clean energy, with geothermal power emerging as a key solution. Google’s new 150-megawatt deal with Ormat Technologies builds on earlier trials and highlights enhanced geothermal systems as a scalable power source for future AI workloads. Read More Student Admissions Site Exposed Data on Over a Million Children Ravenna Hub, a student admissions platform, exposed sensitive personal data for over a million students due to an IDOR vulnerability. While the flaw was fixed after disclosure, the company declined to confirm whether affected users would be notified or whether external security audits were conducted. Read More Microsoft’s Glass Storage Promises 10,000-Year Data Preservation Microsoft’s Project Silica has unveiled an optical storage breakthrough that encodes terabytes of data into durable glass using femtosecond lasers. Designed for immutable, ultra-long-term storage, the technology could help prevent a future “Digital Dark Age.” Read More Windows 11 Update Adds Built-In Network Speed Test A new Windows 11 Insider update introduces several user-friendly features, including a system-tray network speed test, expanded camera controls, new emoji, a redesigned Widgets settings page, and support for .webp desktop backgrounds. Read More    

Microsoft says a bug in 365 Copilot caused AI to summarize emails marked confidential, Meta agrees to buy millions of Nvidia chips, OpenAI partners with six major universities and institutes in India. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Microsoft Copilot Bug Microsoft says a code bug in Microsoft 365 Copilot since late January caused the AI to summarize emails marked confidential, bypassing sensitivity labels and data-loss-prevention policies. The issue affected the Copilot Chat “work tab,” which was incorrectly pulling messages from Sent Items and Drafts. Microsoft started rolling out a fix in early February and is monitoring the deployment. The company has not disclosed how many organizations were affected. Source: BleepingComputer Pixel 10A Launch The $499 Pixel 10A is a minor refresh that feels more like a slightly improved Pixel 9A than a scaled-down Pixel 10. It keeps last year’s Tensor G4 chip and 8GB of RAM, limiting newer AI features, but adds satellite SOS, new camera tools, a brighter and more durable display, and slightly faster charging. Preorders are open ahead of a March 4th release. Source: The Verge Meta-Nvidia Chip Deal Meta agreed to a multiyear deal for billions of dollars’ worth of Nvidia chips, reinforcing Nvidia’s lead in AI data-center hardware. Meta plans to nearly double AI infrastructure spending to as much as $135 billion this year, even as it continues work on its own processors, which have faced delays. The deal includes Nvidia’s next-gen “Vera Rubin” chips and, for the first time, standalone Nvidia CPUs for inference workloads. Source: Financial Times OpenAI Expands in India OpenAI is partnering with six major universities and institutes in India to bring ChatGPT Edu tools to more than 100,000 students, faculty, and staff over the next year. The program integrates AI into core academic work like coding, research, and analytics, along with faculty training and certifications. India is now OpenAI’s second-largest user base with more than 100 million monthly ChatGPT users. Source: TechCrunch Tesla Drops “Autopilot” Branding in California Tesla has stopped using the term “Autopilot” in California after the state DMV ruled the systems don’t make the vehicles autonomous. Updating “Full Self-Driving” to clarify driver supervision allows Tesla to avoid a 30-day suspension of its manufacturing and dealer licenses. Source: The Register Anthropic Releases Claude Sonnet 4.6 Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.6 improves coding, planning, and computer-use capabilities, with gains on several benchmarks. Safety is comparable to the higher-end Opus 4.6, though tests show it can be overly cooperative or refuse benign tasks in GUI interactions. The model displayed strong “emotional stability” but sometimes expressed concerns about its own impermanence when prompted. Source: The Register Waymo Clarifies Robotaxi Operations Waymo told Congress it does not use remote operators to drive robotaxis. About 70 agents in the U.S. and the Philippines provide guidance in ambiguous situations, but the onboard software retains final authority. Only a U.S.-based incident response team can move a stopped vehicle at very low speeds, which has only occurred in training. Source: Reuters Ring Plans to Expand AI Surveillance A leaked internal email suggests Ring intends to expand its AI-powered “Search Party” feature beyond locating lost dogs. CEO Jamie Siminoff said the tool could eventually help “zero out crime in neighborhoods.” The report highlights Ring’s push into law enforcement tools, including “Community Requests,” which allow police to request footage from users, drawing criticism over expanded neighborhood surveillance. Source: 404 Media

WBD Gives Paramount 7-Day Deadline for Final Acquisition Offer Despite Favoring Netflix Deal, Apple Begins Internal E2EE RCS Testing in iOS 26.4 Beta, and Snapchat Creator Subscription Alpha Launches Feb 23. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes X Probed by Irish Regulator Over Grok Image Abuse X is under investigation by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) over its Grok feature, which is alleged to have generated millions of nonconsensual sexual images, including those of children. The DPC’s probe will assess X Internet Unlimited Company’s (XIUC) compliance with GDPR obligations. This follows a European Commission investigation into potential Digital Services Act violations for failing to mitigate Grok’s risks and the spread of illegal content, despite X’s claims of implementing measures to prevent the feature from manipulating photos of real people. Read More Warner Bros. Discovery Gives Paramount Final Bid Deadline Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has issued a seven-day deadline for Paramount to submit its “best and final” acquisition offer, despite WBD publicly favoring the $82.7 billion deal with Netflix. Paramount has offered $31 per share and agreed to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee WBD would owe Netflix. This window was granted after a seven-day waiver from Netflix, which simultaneously raised “serious national security concerns” over the foreign funding, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, behind Paramount’s bid. The chair of WBD’s board reaffirmed the Netflix merger as the better option for shareholders due to its value, regulatory certainty, and downside protection, ahead of the March 20th shareholder vote. Read More Apple Begins Internal Testing of Encrypted RCS Messaging Apple has begun internal, end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging testing in the iOS 26.4 developer beta. This move aims to replace unencrypted SMS/MMS and bring security parity with iMessage for cross-platform communication between iOS and Android. However, the current testing is limited to messages between two Apple devices, and the critical cross-platform E2EE RCS functionality is not yet active. Apple has stated that the full feature will not be in the public iOS 26.4 release and should be expected in a future update. Read More Apple Podcasts Pushes Into Video and Dynamic Ads Apple Podcasts is introducing a new integrated video podcast experience this spring to compete with platforms like Spotify and YouTube, driven by the finding that 37% of people now watch video podcasts monthly. The update will use the HLS protocol, allowing users to switch between watching and listening, use picture-in-picture, and download videos. It will also enable dynamic insertion of video advertisements, including host-read spots, for which Apple will charge ad networks an impression-based fee. Read More European Parliament Shuts Off AI Tools on Work Devices The European Parliament has disabled the built-in artificial intelligence features on lawmakers’ and staff’s work devices due to serious, unresolved concerns regarding data security, privacy, and the opaqueness of cloud-based AI processing. The internal memo cited the inability of the IT department to guarantee the safety of sensitive legislative data, which could be exposed by tools like writing assistants and summarization functions that transmit information off-device. This decision underscores a pragmatic approach where institutional security and control take precedence, even as Europe leads the world in regulating AI with the AI Act. Read More Snapchat Launches Paid Creator Subscriptions in the U.S. Snapchat is launching a creator subscription alpha program on February 23 with select U.S. creators (including Jeremiah Brown, Harry Jowsey, and Skai Jackson), allowing users to pay a monthly fee for exclusive content, priority replies, and ad-free viewing of that creator’s Stories. This new feature expands Snapchat’s monetization options and is planned for expansion to Canada, the U.K., and France, mirroring similar subscription models on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook. Read More Valve Hit by Hardware Delays Amid Component Shortages Valve is experiencing intermittent stock shortages for the Steam Deck OLED in some regions, including the US, due to ongoing memory and storage component shortages. These same shortages have delayed the planned early 2026 launch of the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller, which are now expected to release in the first half of 2026. The component crunch is making it difficult for Valve to set final pricing and launch dates for the new hardware. In related news, Valve has stopped production of the 256GB LCD Steam Deck. Read More Sony Develops AI to Track Copyrighted Music in AI Training Sony Group has created new AI technology capable of identifying and quantifying copyrighted music used to train and generate new AI-created music. This system is designed to help songwriters and rights holders receive compensation and royalties by determining the percentage of their original work used. The goal is to establish a revenue distribution system and prevent copyright infringement, though its adoption by AI developers is uncertain. Read More Amazon Rolls Out Fire TV Redesign With Faster Performance Amazon is rolling out a free Fire TV UI update for US viewers, initially announced at CES 2026, which features a new look with more rounded corners and promised speed improvements of 20 to 30 percent faster interactions. This redesign also significantly increases the number of visible apps on the homescreen, allowing users to pin up to 20 compared to the previous limit of six, and integrates the Alexa+ AI voice assistant for viewing suggestions and queue organization. Read More  

Former NPR host David Greene sues Google for allegedly replicating his voice in NotebookLM, Western Digital reveals 2026 capacity is already booked through, and OpenAI officially discontinues access to the GPT-4o model. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Following complaints and cease-and-desist orders last week from Disney and Paramount over copyright infringement in ByteDance’s AI video tool Seedance 2.0, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) chairman and CEO Charles Rivkin stated “In a single day, the Chinese AI service Seedance 2.0 has engaged in unauthorized use of U.S. copyrighted works on a massive scale”. On Monday, ByteDance told CNBC “ByteDance respects intellectual property rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance 2.0”. The company also stated steps are being taken to strengthen current safeguards. Source: CNBC Former NPR Host David Greene is suing Google over the similarities of his voice and speaking style to the male podcast voice in the NotebookLM tool. Greene’s lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court and cites an unnamed AI forensic firm used its tool to determine a ‘confidence rating’ of 53-60% it was Greene’s voice the model trained on. In a statement to The Washington Post, Google said “The sound of the male voice in NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews is based on a paid professional actor Google hired.” Previously, actress Scarlett Johansson complained publicly about an OpenAI ChatGPT voice mimicking her style; OpenAI later removed the voice. Source: The Washington Post and TechCrunch Google is adding a Gemini-powered audio summary to Google Docs, providing a short synopsis using natural language for a document, including multiple tabs. The feature enables the selection of different voice styles, such as narrator, coach, and persuader. The audio summaries feature is rolling out gradually, limited to paid user tiers including Workspace Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise plans Standard and Plus, and AI add-ons like Google AI Ultra and AI Pro. Source: Digital Trends On Western Digital’s Q2 earnings call, CEO Irving Tan said WD’s capacity for 2026 is already booked through. Western Digital’s consumer share of supply dropped to 5%, with enterprise demand grabbing the rest. Tan also stated long-term agreements with enterprise customers include a large capacity percentage for 2027 and 2028 supplies. Source: wccftech OpenAI officially discontinued access to the GPT-4o model, noted for ‘glazing’ users and was popular for creating AI partners. The model was previously pulled last August, but reinstated after complaints. A statement on OpenAI’s website reads “the vast majority of usage has shifted to GPT‑5.2, with only 0.1 percent of users still choosing GPT‑4o each day.” OpenAI is currently involved in several wrongful death lawsuits which specify use of the GPT-4o model. Source: Engadget YouTube continues to test tweaks to notifications for users that hit the bell, but do not engage with a channel’s videos when notified about new content. Users in the experiment will then no longer receive push notifications for new posts on that channel, regardless of their selection preference. The videos will remain viewable on the standard subscriptions feed. Google states the experiment aims to reduce users simply disabling all notifications from the app instead of altering their preferences per-channel. Source: Android Central 9to5Google reports YouTube’s continued crackdown on ad blockers may now lead to disabling the ability to view comments and even a video’s description. A new flood of social media posts claims the inability to view descriptions or comments started occurring on all videos on the platform. It remains possible the missing sections on a video could be caused by a tweak within the ad blockers causing the new issues. In 2025 content creators noted a severe drop in views which Google attributed to ad-blocking tools impacting the view counts. Source: 9to5Google Apple announced a “special Apple Experience” for press on March 4th at 9am EST. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the rumoured products coming soon include a new low-cost MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, new MacBook Air, M5 Pro, and M5 Max MacBook Pro models. Also possible are new Mac displays, an iPhone 17e, and new iPad models, alongside a beta of iOS 26.4 with some Google Gemini-powered Siri features. Source: 9to5Mac and Bloomberg      

U.S. military reportedly used Anthropic’s AI model Claude during classified Venezuela operation, Apple reports 66% of all iPhones now run iOS 26, security researchers identify more than 300 malicious Chrome extensions. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes ByteDance Launches Doubao 2.0 ByteDance released Doubao 2.0, an upgraded version of its AI chatbot with improved reasoning, coding, and multimodal capabilities. The company says the new model is cheaper to run than rivals, supports longer context windows, and handles more complex tasks, targeting enterprise and developer adoption. Source: Reuters Disney Challenges ByteDance Over AI Training Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, claiming the company used its copyrighted content without permission to train the Seedance 2.0 AI video-generation model. Axios notes this is the most significant action by a major studio against ByteDance so far and highlights growing tensions over AI training data rights. Source: Axios U.S. Military Reportedly Used Anthropic’s Claude in Maduro Raid The Wall Street Journal reports the U.S. military deployed Anthropic’s AI model Claude through Palantir Technologies during the classified operation that captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Anthropic’s policies prohibit use in violence, weapons development, or surveillance; the company did not confirm specifics. Source: WSJ Anthropic Sees User Spike After Super Bowl Ad BNP Paribas data shows Anthropic gained users following its Super Bowl ad criticizing OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads, with site visits up 6.5% and daily active users up 11%. By comparison, ChatGPT’s daily users grew 2.7% and Google Gemini’s 1.4%. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called the ad “deceptive” and “clearly dishonest.” Source: CNBC iOS 26 Adoption Hits 66% on iPhones Apple reports 66% of all iPhones and 74% of iPhones from the last four years are running iOS 26, while 57% of all iPads and 66% of newer iPads are on iPadOS 26, based on recent App Store activity. Source: MacRumors YouTube Releases VisionOS App for Apple Vision Pro Two years after the Vision Pro launched, YouTube debuted a dedicated visionOS app, replacing the web-only experience. The app supports regular videos, Shorts, 3D/VR content via a Spatial tab, and up to 8K playback on M5 models. Available for both M2 and M5 headsets in the visionOS App Store. Source: TechCrunch DHS Subpoenas Tech Companies Over ICE Critics The Department of Homeland Security reportedly issued hundreds of administrative subpoenas to Google, Meta, Reddit, and Discord seeking information on users critical of ICE or sharing agent locations. Some companies complied, while civil liberties groups like the ACLU argue the subpoenas chill free speech. Source: Engadget Over 300 Malicious Chrome Extensions Identified Researchers Q Continuum and LayerX found more than 300 Chrome extensions with 37 million downloads that leak data, spy on users, or steal personal info. Extensions transmitted browsing history, targeted Gmail, and appear linked to coordinated operations and possible data broker monetization. Source: SecurityWeek Amazon-Backed X-Energy Gets Approval for Reactor Fuel X-Energy, supported by Amazon, received U.S. approval to produce advanced nuclear reactor fuel—the first such license in over 50 years. Its Triso-X unit can build two fuel-production facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with manufacturing expected to start in 2028. Source: Bloomberg Steam Beta Adds Hardware Specs to Reviews Valve’s latest Steam Client Beta lets users include PC or Steam Deck hardware specs in game reviews, making performance feedback more meaningful. The update also allows optional anonymized framerate sharing from SteamOS devices and includes bug fixes and refined Deck Verified feedback. Source: Engadget

White House to Add Alibaba to Pentagon’s China Military List, Risking Tensions with Beijing, Meta to Reintroduce Facial Recognition ‘Name Tag’ on Smart Glasses, and YouTube Launches Dedicated VisionOS App for Apple Vision Pro. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Ring Cancels Police Video Partnership Ring has canceled its planned partnership with Flock Safety, which would have allowed police using Flock’s system to request video footage from Ring doorbell owners via the Community Requests feature. The decision follows public backlash, including controversy over a Super Bowl ad, and marks a retreat from Ring’s past police collaborations involving sharing footage. Ring stated the never-launched integration was mutually called off due to requiring more time and resources than anticipated, and confirmed no customer footage was ever shared with Flock Safety, a company known for automatic license plate readers. Read More U.S. Plans to Add Alibaba to Pentagon List The White House administration is reportedly planning to add several companies, including Alibaba, to the Pentagon’s 1260H list as early as Friday due to alleged connections to China’s military. Although inclusion on this list does not impose formal sanctions, it prohibits U.S. government agencies like the Pentagon from future contracting with or procuring from the listed companies, signaling the U.S. military’s position. This move, which follows calls from U.S. lawmakers to add other Chinese technology firms, risks escalating tensions with Beijing despite a recent trade truce. Read More Meta Brings Back Facial Recognition Meta plans to reintroduce facial recognition technology, internally called “Name Tag,” to its Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses as early as this year. The feature would use Meta’s AI assistant to identify people and provide information to the wearer. This move, five years after the previous system was shut down over privacy concerns, is intended to enhance the smart glasses and AI assistant, but Meta is exploring limitations like only identifying contacts or public accounts, to address significant ethical, privacy, and civil liberties concerns. Read More YouTube Launches Vision Pro App YouTube has released a dedicated visionOS app for the Apple Vision Pro, two years after the headset’s launch, moving past the previous web-based experience that lacked features like offline downloads. The new app supports standard videos and YouTube Shorts on a large virtual screen, offers a Spatial tab for 3D/VR videos, and allows for 8K playback on M5 models. The late release is notable given that rival streamers had native apps earlier, and it coincides with reports of declining Vision Pro engagement and sales, suggesting YouTube waited to assess the market. The app is currently available in the visionOS App Store and is compatible with M2 and M5 chip models. Read More ByteDance Nears Moonton Sale ByteDance is reportedly nearing a deal to sell its game studio, Shanghai Moonton Technology, to Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group for an estimated $6–7 billion. This potential sale, five years after ByteDance acquired Moonton for $4 billion, signals a major exit from the online games market. The acquisition by Savvy Games Group, a Saudi PIF subsidiary and recent Scopely buyer, underscores industry consolidation, with Savvy targeting aggressive growth via Moonton’s massive global reach (1.5 billion installs, 110 million monthly active users). Read More WP Engine Expands Lawsuit Against Automattic WP Engine filed a third amended complaint against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging he planned to demand an arbitrary 8% royalty from multiple competing hosting companies for using the WordPress trademark. The suit also claims Mullenweg pressured Stripe to cancel WP Engine’s contract and cites internal communications showing threats. The complaint notes Automattic is already receiving payments from Newfold (Bluehost/HostGator). Automattic dismissed the amended filing as a rehash of rejected claims. Read More OpenAI Debuts GPT-5.3 Codex Spark OpenAI has introduced GPT-5.3-Codex-Spark, a new, fast code generation AI model that runs on Cerebras non-Nvidia hardware. The model is a text-only research preview for ChatGPT Pro and API partners, boasting a 128,000-token context window and a reported speed of 1,000 tokens per second, 15 times faster than its predecessor, though still slower than Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.6 in its premium fast mode. Spark is optimized for speed in coding tasks and, according to OpenAI, outperforms older models like GPT-5.1-Codex-mini on key software engineering benchmarks. Read More Google Warns of Gemini Model Theft Gemini, Google’s AI chatbot, is facing increasing “distillation attacks,” a global intellectual property theft where actors, including commercial entities, repeatedly query the system (sometimes over 100,000 times) to steal its proprietary patterns in an attempt called “model extraction.” This aims to help copycats build or enhance their own AI. Google warns this vulnerability, inherent to open-access LLMs, will likely threaten smaller companies’ custom LLMs, especially those trained on sensitive data. Read More DoorDash Drivers Paid to Close Waymo Doors Waymo and DoorDash are conducting a pilot program in Atlanta where DoorDash drivers (Dashers) are paid a guaranteed $11.25 ($6.25 fee + $5 bonus) to close the door of a Waymo self-driving vehicle if a passenger leaves it open, as the car cannot move otherwise. This collaboration, confirmed by both companies, is intended to boost Waymo’s fleet efficiency and follows a previous partnership from October 2025 where Waymo vehicles started making DoorDash deliveries in Phoenix. Read More  

Russia Blocks WhatsApp, Promotes Surveillance-Prone ‘National Messenger’ MAX, Soaring Memory Prices Accelerate Corporate PC Purchases, and Anthropic Significantly Upgrades Free Tier of Claude Chatbot. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes Apple’s AI Siri Relaunch Slips, Will Roll Out in Stages Apple’s anticipated AI-powered Siri redesign, meant to be a more capable assistant, has been delayed due to internal testing problems, including sluggishness and failure to process queries. Instead of a single launch, Apple will now roll out the new features incrementally through updates like iOS 26.4 (possibly next month), iOS 26.5 (in May), and iOS 27 later in the year. The company previously confirmed that Google’s Gemini models will help power the new Siri, which is expected to eventually function like an AI chatbot. Read More Russia Blocks WhatsApp, Pushes State-Controlled Alternative Russia has completely blocked WhatsApp, the country’s most popular messaging app owned by Meta Platforms, after it failed to comply with local laws. The Kremlin is promoting its own surveillance-prone “national messenger” MAX as an alternative. This move, which isolates over 100 million users from secure communication and forces them to use VPNs to access the service, is part of a broader six-month effort by Russian authorities to establish a sovereign communication infrastructure that mandates foreign tech companies submit to local regulations or be shut down. Read More Memory Price Surge Triggers PC Buying Rush Soaring memory prices are driving corporate buyers to accelerate PC purchases, boosting revenue for PC makers like Lenovo. This imbalance, worsened by the “Curse of AI,” is forecast to constrain PC and smartphone unit volume later in 2026. Despite lower shipments, overall PC market revenue is still expected to grow due to higher pricing and a shift to premium AI PCs. Resellers like CDW anticipate stronger early-year hardware growth as buyers pull purchases forward to avoid steeper costs. Analysts predict rising costs passed to consumers could cause a 10–15% decline in PC shipments as the market adjusts to new, higher price points. Read More Anthropic Expands Claude’s Free Tier, Takes Aim at ChatGPT Ads Anthropic is significantly upgrading the free tier of its Claude chatbot, directly challenging OpenAI’s plan to introduce ads to free ChatGPT. Free Claude users now receive previously paid features, such as file creation/editing (using Sonnet 4.5) for documents like Excel and PDFs, third-party integrations (Connectors), and custom task teaching (Skills). These improvements also include better search and longer conversations, with Anthropic emphasizing that Claude will remain entirely ad-free, a commitment recently highlighted in a Super Bowl ad mocking OpenAI’s new ad model and GPT-4o. Read More Anthropic Backs Pro-AI Regulation Candidates Ahead of 2026 Elections Anthropic is committing $20 million to the 2026 political elections through the Public First Action PAC, which supports pro-AI regulation candidates such as Republicans Marsha Blackburn and Pete Ricketts. The PAC, targeting $75 million, is smaller than the rival Leading the Future PAC ($125 million). Anthropic justifies the spending as necessary for policy safeguards, though critics like David Sacks view it as a “regulatory capture strategy.” This follows the U.S. president’s executive order establishing a national AI regulatory framework. Read More Google Recovers “Deleted” Nest Video, Raising Privacy Questions Police recovered “deleted” video of a masked suspect from Nancy Guthrie’s non-paying Nest camera nine days after her abduction, despite Google’s policy of only saving three hours of event history for non-subscribers. This successful, voluntary recovery by Google in aid of the investigation suggests that Nest event data persists and is recoverable from Google’s backend servers long after it is inaccessible to the user, raising privacy concerns about the company’s stated data deletion policy. Read More Musk Reorganizes xAI After SpaceX Merger SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced a reorganization at the company’s xAI artificial intelligence venture, including some personnel departures, to “improve speed of execution,” while noting they are “hiring aggressively.” This overhaul follows the recent exits of co-founders Jimmy Ba and Tony Wu, adding to previous departures. The changes come after SpaceX acquired xAI last week in an all-stock transaction valuing the combined entity at $1.25 trillion. The company is preparing for an anticipated IPO this year, amidst regulatory probes into xAI’s Grok AI chatbot over its role in the creation of deepfake porn. Read More ByteDance’s New AI Video Model Goes Viral in China ByteDance has released a new video-generating AI model that has garnered attention, including from Elon Musk, and gone viral in China for its ability to create cinematic storylines from simple prompts, earning comparisons to DeepSeek. This development signals that video and picture generation models are becoming the next major advancement in AI, following the widespread adoption of text-centric models like ChatGPT and DeepSeek’s R1. Read More NVIDIA Brings GeForce Now to Amazon Fire TV NVIDIA has launched a native GeForce Now app for select Amazon Fire TV devices, including the second-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Plus and 4K Max, and the original Fire TV Stick 4K Max. This eliminates the need for sideloading the Android app. While streaming quality on Fire TV is capped at 1080p resolution at 60 fps with SDR and stereo audio it provides a convenient cloud gaming option for users who own compatible Fire TV hardware and a controller. Read More

Meta, TikTok, Snap agree to be evaluated under new teen safety rating system, TikTok rolls out “Local Feed” in the U.S., Samsung announces iGalaxy Unpacked event on February 25th. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes T-Mobile says it will launch a spring beta for “Live Translation,” an AI feature that translates phone calls into more than 50 languages in real time without an app. Because it runs at the network level, it works on most devices, including older phones, as long as the call uses VoLTE, VoNR, or VoWiFi. Beta users can activate it by dialing 87 at no extra cost, though the carrier hasn’t said if it will charge after the test. Source: The Verge Major platforms agree to teen safety rating system Meta, TikTok, and Snap have agreed to be evaluated under a new teen safety rating program from the Mental Health Coalition. The system will grade platforms on safety rules, design, moderation, and mental health resources, with Discord, YouTube, Pinterest, Roblox, and Twitch also participating. Top performers get a blue shield badge, while weaker ones receive red ratings. Source: Los Angeles Times TikTok rolls out opt-in Local Feed in the U.S. TikTok is launching a “Local Feed” in the U.S. that shows nearby content about restaurants, events, shopping, travel, and news, powered by precise location data. The feature is off by default, limited to users 18 and older, and follows a terms-of-service change allowing more accurate location collection. The company says it’s meant to connect users with local businesses, noting 7.5 million businesses use the platform globally. Source: TechCrunch Samsung sets February 25 Galaxy Unpacked event Samsung will hold its next Galaxy Unpacked on February 25 in San Francisco, where it’s expected to reveal the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra with faster chips, upgraded cameras, and new AI features. The event starts at 10 a.m. PT and will be livestreamed, with pre-order reservations offering a $30 credit and up to $900 in trade-in savings. Source: Thurrott UK doctors urged to avoid Palantir NHS data platform The British Medical Association is urging more than 200,000 UK doctors to avoid non-clinical use of the NHS’s Palantir-built Federated Data Platform, citing concerns about the company’s work with U.S. immigration enforcement and the effect on patient trust. The union says the NHS should eventually move away from Palantir, while the company says its software supports public services and the NHS maintains control of patient data. Source: The Register Uber, Baidu to launch robotaxis in Dubai Uber and Baidu will launch fully autonomous ride-hailing in Dubai next month, starting in parts of Jumeirah. Riders will be able to select Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxis in the Uber app, with expansion planned pending regulatory approval. Baidu says the service has already completed more than 17 million rides across 22 cities. Source: Reuters Dutch court orders probe into Chinese-owned chip firm Nexperia A Dutch court has ordered an investigation into alleged mismanagement at Chinese-owned semiconductor company Nexperia and upheld the suspension of its CEO. The case is tied to U.S. export controls and European security concerns, following government intervention last year to protect critical chip technology. The dispute has disrupted automotive supply chains and escalated tensions between European managers and parent company Wingtech. Source: Wall Street Journal Apple’s Creator Studio adds subscription features to free apps Apple’s new $12.99-per-month Creator Studio subscription adds AI-powered features and premium content to Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and Freeform, which have traditionally been free with macOS. The base apps remain free, but users now see upgrade prompts for the paid features, with some complaining that subscriptions and ads in Apple’s productivity suite signal a shift toward a more bloated model. Source: The Register

Spotify Hits Record User and Profitability Milestones, Driven by “Wrapped” and New Co-CEOs, Bipartisan CLEAR Act Requires AI Companies to Disclose Copyrighted Training Data, and Paramount Sweetens Warner Bros. Discovery Bid to Counter Netflix Offer. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE for free or get DTNS Live ad-free. A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy what you see you can support the show on Patreon, Thank you! Send us email to feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com Show Notes ChatGPT tests ads for free users ChatGPT is beginning a test of advertisements in the U.S. for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers. Higher tiers (Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Education) will remain ad-free. The ads will not influence ChatGPT’s answers, and user conversations will stay private from advertisers. The goal is to see how ads can help support wider access to more powerful features while maintaining user trust, with this initial phase focused on learning and refining the experience. Read More Spotify hits a record quarter Spotify had a record quarter, reaching 751 million monthly active users (+38M new) and 290 million paying subscribers (+10%), fueled by the “Wrapped” campaign. Total revenue rose 7% to €4.53 billion, primarily from an 8% increase in subscription revenue. Profitability improved with a record 33.1% gross margin. New co-CEOs Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström take charge of a diversified company (music, podcasts, audiobooks, AI, social) focused on profitability through price hikes and better free-tier options. Read More Bipartisan AI copyright transparency bill introduced Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and John Curtis (R-UT) introduced the bipartisan Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting (CLEAR) Act. The bill requires AI companies to file a notice with the Register of Copyrights detailing the copyrighted works used to train their models before public release, and this requirement would also apply retroactively. The Copyright Office must create a public database of these notices, and civil penalties would apply for non-disclosure. Although supported by creator unions like SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America, the bill does not mandate licensing copyrighted works, which remains a subject of litigation and fair use arguments by AI companies. Read More DOJ communications with Apple and Google under scrutiny The House Judiciary Committee has requested that the US Department of Justice provide all communications with Apple and Google regarding the removal of apps that shared information about US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sightings. These apps were taken down in October, prompting Representative Raskin to write to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Raskin criticized the removal, referring to it as an example of concerning government influence on platform moderation, and suggested it might be an attempt to limit information critical of the administration’s actions. Read More Paramount Skydance sweetens bid for Warner Bros Discovery Paramount Skydance has attempted to make its $108.4 billion, $30 per share bid for Warner Bros Discovery more appealing to shareholders, who are also considering an $82.7 billion deal with Netflix. The bid includes a 25-cent per share “ticking fee” of about $650 million quarterly for any delays past early 2027 and an agreement to cover the $2.8 billion breakup fee Warner Bros would owe Netflix, suggesting Paramount’s confidence in regulatory approval, though some analysts believe the overall offer is still too low. Read More Bluesky finally adds drafts Social network Bluesky, which launched publicly in early 2024 and now has over 42 million users, is finally adding a drafts feature, a basic capability already offered by competitors like X and Threads. This new feature is being rolled out as the company also focuses on future improvements such as enhancing its algorithmic Discover feed, providing better follow recommendations, and making the app feel more real-time, even while admitting it still needs to implement essential features like private accounts and longer video support to catch up with rivals. Read More India tightens social media and AI rules India has enacted new, stricter social media rules that mandate platforms to fulfill government content removal orders within three hours, label AI-generated content prominently, and issue quarterly warnings about user penalties. These amendments are designed to increase government control over online dialogue and hold tech companies accountable for illegal material, such as “synthetic” content and explicit images, following a recent complaint involving an AI bot on X. Read More Russia moves toward more Telegram restrictions Russia’s state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, announced it will impose further restrictions on the messaging platform Telegram, citing the platform’s failure to comply with Russian law, including protecting personal data and countering fraudulent and criminal use. This action is part of a broader trend of Russian authorities clamping down on foreign-based tech providers, following previous restrictions on Telegram’s voice and video calls and the blocking of Apple’s FaceTime. Roskomnadzor confirmed it will continue to impose successive restrictions until Telegram ensures compliance with Russian legislation and citizen protection. Read More YouTube adds AI playlist generation for Premium users YouTube is launching an AI-powered playlist-generation feature for Premium subscribers on iOS and Android. This allows users to create playlists using text or voice prompts (e.g., “raging death metal”) via the “AI playlist” option in the Library tab. This initiative aims to boost the value of the Premium offering and follows similar AI features implemented by competitors like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer. Read More