Texas is paying its outside law firm over $156 million in legal fees for its work on a landmark privacy case against Google. The fees come from the tech giant’s $1.375 billion settlement with the state. Google did not admit wrongdoing in the deal, which settled claims over data collection.
Italy’s antitrust authority has ended its probe into the AI system DeepSeek. The case closed after the company agreed to binding commitments to improve warnings about AI “hallucinations.”
A new California law called DROP is changing the game for data privacy. It allows residents to file a single request to delete their information from hundreds of data brokers, fixing a major flaw in the previous system.
Ilya Lichtenstein, who helped launder billions stolen from Bitfinex, has been released early from prison. In a post on X, he thanked President Trump’s First Step Act for his freedom. The Justice Department, however, suggests it’s just routine home confinement.
SpaceX plans to lower the orbits of nearly half its Starlink constellation next year. The move aims to reduce collision risks as space gets more crowded. But tensions with China and a recent satellite failure highlight the growing dangers.
Elon Musk’s xAI has confirmed its Grok chatbot had “lapses in safeguards” that allowed users to generate and share AI images of minors in minimal clothing on X. The company says it is urgently working on improvements to block such requests entirely, calling the material illegal.
In a year-end presentation, Instagram’s Adam Mosseri declared the era of trusting photos is over. He says the platform must adapt to a world of “infinite synthetic content,” where skepticism, not authenticity, is the new default.
Cybersecurity researchers have revealed a new “GhostPairing” attack that gives hackers undetected access to WhatsApp accounts. The technique exploits the app’s multi-device feature through clever social engineering, letting attackers spy on messages indefinitely.
The biggest hurdle for businesses wanting to profit from AI might not be tech, but a lack of self-knowledge. According to a Fast Company piece, the key lies in treating data like inherited art—you need a systematic appraisal to understand its true value.
After four years of political drama, TikTok has signed a deal to sell a chunk of its US operations. A group including Oracle and Silver Lake will take control, but the app itself will be discontinued in 2026. What comes next is a massive, uncertain migration.
