Tech is reshaping the world — and not always for the better. Whether it’s the rules for Apple’s App Store or Facebook’s plan for fighting misinformation, tech platform policies can have enormous ripple effects on the rest of society. They’re so powerful that, increasingly, companies aren’t setting them alone but sharing the fight with government regulators, civil society groups, and internal standards bodies like Meta’s Oversight Board. The result is an ongoing political struggle over harassment, free speech, copyright, and dozens of other issues, all mediated through some of the largest and most chaotic electronic spaces the world has ever seen.
Public-facing workers are being filmed, harassed, and creeped out by AI-powered smart glasses.
The company’s lawyers are telling the judge in Epic Games v. Google that developers need around 10 more days to make the fixes he ordered. Judge Donato was not happy with the original way it looked, calling out Google for adding unnecessary “anticompetitive friction”.
The glasses “could unintentionally capture, record or transmit sensitive information, potentially compromising privacy and legal protections,” ICE acting director David Venturella said in a memo to staff, according to The New York Times. Staffers can’t wear the glasses in the “federal workspace.”
[The New York Times]
The company responded to Apple’s new App Store policies in a post on X, claiming the updated fees “do nothing to open up the mobile app ecosystem to competition” and “deliberately violate” the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
The company laid out its defense in the trial against a coalition of state AGs, previewing that it will call on their own public health officials to combat claims of social media addiction, and claiming that the states have pulled public statements out of context to claim it misled parents.
In an opening statement, California deputy AG Megan O’Neill accused Meta of doing “too little, too late” to curb teens’ problematic usage of Facebook and Instagram, while misleading the public. She also laid out the states allegations that Meta knew — but didn’t remove – many kids under 13 on its platforms.
File this under “Brendan Carr is a dummy” part… well, who knows at this point. (Buy the official Verge t-shirt!) The FCC said in response to today’s First Amendment lawsuit that ABC has conducted an “ongoing campaign of disinformation.” It would be funny were it not so sad, considering the suit clearly lays out all of the constitutionally problematic public statements from Trump and Carr.
We go to them to commune with our ancestors. To get away from the ever-present eyes and noise of daily life. To appreciate the bounty of beauty and peace that nature has to offer. Now some of these places have Flock surveillance.
Beginning at 11 AM Eastern, you can stream opening arguments in a trial where 29 attorneys general allege Meta harmed consumers through addictive design. Meta denies this, and warned damages could reach $1.4 trillion — nearing its market cap. The AGs say they’d likely be closer to $200 billion.
According to Bloomberg, a “nearly year-old investigation” is looking into the possibility that a16z “investment partners are improperly serving on the boards of competing artificial intelligence companies.” Co-founder Ben Horowitz is on the board of Databricks, while partner Martin Casado was on the board of dbt labs before it was acquired by Fivetran, where he now holds a seat.
The US has one of the most advanced “smart” surveillance apparatuses in the world. So why does this administration insist on building environmentally destructive, physical walls?
Andy Burnham exchanged messages with somebody posing as White House chief of staff Susie Wiles (whose phone was hacked last year) before becoming suspicious that the contact was an impersonation, Politico reports. The incident has since been reported to the White House, and the undisclosed message contents are reportedly “of no significance.”
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved the $34.5 billion deal with some conditions, as reported by Fierce Network. However, the approval comes with some conditions, including that the combined company must have affordable broadband offerings “for low-income Californians” for five years and invest “at least $275 million to upgrade the company’s California network.”
The deal is expected to close next week. It has already been approved by the FCC.
Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro, speaking today with CNBC, reinforced the company’s allegation that the FCC has violated its First Amendment rights by attacking ABC’s broadcast license. “We’re very principled on this,” D’Amaro said. “We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic integrity. And we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business.”
“Roblox appears to prioritize revenue and engagement metrics over the safety and well-being of our children, and the alleged criminal activity on Roblox warrants congressional scrutiny,” Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote in a letter to Roblox CEO David Baszucki.
The online gaming platform has also been subject to state lawsuits regarding alleged child safety issues. Roblox has settled some of those lawsuits, and it recently launched dedicated accounts for younger users.
[Josh Hawley, U.S. Senator for Missouri]
A preliminary injunction issued Wednesday finds the prediction market has likely broken state laws against running an illegal gambling operation.
The order requires Kalshi to stop offering, accepting, or facilitating wagers on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, or mentions in Washington. Kalshi must implement an IP address and residency based geofence by August 19 and a multi-source geofencing solution by September 2.
This does not include all the wagers offered on Kalshi, but it includes a substantial part of their business, which in recent years has been increasingly driven by sports wagers.
The New York Times reports that Mangione, who is accused of murdering healthcare executive Brian Thompson, may plead guilty on Friday in the federal case against him. Mangione is also facing New York state charges in a trial that is scheduled to start in just a few weeks. His legal team could argue that the New York charges amount to double jeopardy if Mangione takes a plea in the federal case.
[NYTimes.com]
The end of USAID, which Elon Musk fed “into the wood chipper”, will cause an extra 14 million deaths through 2030, including 4.5 million in children under the age of 5. SpaceX shares are $141.10 as of this writing, above their IPO price of $135.
Correction: A previous version of this post referred to the journal article’s estimates as “new.” It was published in 2025.
As Flock reckons with a scandal over cops misusing data, Wired reports separately today that CBP personnel have “allegedly used government databases to spy on exes, crushes, and colleagues.” We’ve apparently learned nothing since we found out NSA agents were eavesdropping on love interests in 2013. I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Edward Snowden is being incubated somewhere in the government.
In the months since Australia’s social media ban, Meta says it has blocked 462,000 Instagram accounts and 294,000 Facebook accounts that appeared to belong to users under 16, according to Bloomberg.
Australia’s prime minister ramped up penalties for social media platforms in June after a study found that four in five teens under 16 in Australia were still using them.
The group says that while changes like more limited data retention is welcomed, the devil is in the details. “Transforming an exceptionally dangerous mass surveillance system into one that is fully protective of civil rights and civil liberties is a difficult, if not impossible task,” it writes.
[American Civil Liberties Union]
AI data center projects are continuing to pop up across the US, with frequent opposition from locals concerned about their impact. Here are a few recent articles about the projects:
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Intercept Media claim Truth Social’s up to $100,000 /month subscription is “profoundly corrupt” and “unconstitutional,” alleging Trump is illegally “profiting by selling government information.” The Intercept and FPT are asking the court to block the Truth Social subscription.
The drivers won the right to unionize last year after Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill enabling gig workers to unionize. The ridehail drivers would remain independent contractors but would be able to negotiate with the companies for better pay and benefits. The state is the second to allow ridehail drivers to unionize, after Massachusetts. Illinois is also considering its own legislation.
Empty offices. Bald-faced lies. No real consequences. Our investigation suggests it’s cheap and easy to dodge the US drone ban — but at least the FCC is revoking Odyssey Robot’s authorizations after we made the agency aware. The FCC’s order doesn’t begin to explore whether Odyssey might be DJI in disguise.
On Monday, FlightAware filed a lawsuit claiming Kalshi used its flight-tracking data without permission to “run gambling markets on flight cancellations.” FlightAware has since dismissed its lawsuit without prejudice, though it’s unclear why.
