Daily Tech Headlines

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iranian strikes damage AWS data center in Dubai, Qualcomm introduces Wi-Fi 8 chip, ByteDance’s Pico unveils Project Swan headset.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI music startup Suno claims 2M paid subscribers, Ultrahuman launches third-gen Ring Pro, HoloLens headsets get repurposed for military cargo inspections.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show Notes.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The FTC Offers COPPA Enforcement Exemption for Companies Using Age Verification, Gemini AI Introduces Task Automation on Pixel 10, Galaxy S26, and Instagram Rolls Out New Suicide and Self-Harm Search Alerts for Parents.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Panasonic Hands Over Global TV Business to China's Skyworth, Meta Strikes Major Deal with AMD for Instinct GPUs, and Discord Ends UK Age Verification Test Amid Privacy Concerns.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The U.S. government launches “Tech Corps”, Anthropic launches Claude Code Security, Amazon surpasses Walmart as world’s largest company.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Pentagon Cybersecurity Rules Spur Small Defense Suppliers to Quit Military Work, Major Tech Companies Ban Experimental Agentic AI Tool, OpenClaw, and Iranian Nationals Indicted for Trade Secret Theft from Google and Other Tech Companies.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The European Commission wants to stop Meta blocking WhatsApp 3rd-party AI assistants, Google rolls out paywall for YouTube Music lyrics, SpaceX shifts focus from Mars to “self-growing city” on the Moon.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waymo uses DeepMind’s Genie 3 AI model to train on simulated scenes, DoJ probes possible Netflix anticompetitive tactics pre-WBD sale, AI.com domain sells for about $70 million.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EU Warns TikTok Over Addictive Feed, Citing Risks to Children Under DSA, NASA to Allow Astronauts to Use Personal Smartphones on Missions, and Apple faces iPhone pricing challenge due to chip shortage and rising costs.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AMD-Powered Xbox Console Targeting 2027 Launch, Earlier Than Expected, Meta Faces Senate Scrutiny Over Alleged Delay of Child Safety Protections to Prioritize Engagement, and Russia's 'Luch' Satellites Escalate 'Hybrid Warfare' by Shadowing and Intercepting European Communications.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Epic plans to overhaul Games Store, AMD and Uber earnings disappoint, Egypt moves to ban Roblox. Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Firefox Adds 'Kill Switch' to Disable All AI Features in Response to User Skepticism, PayPal Replaces CEO Alex Chriss with Enrique Lores Amidst Performance Concerns and Stock Drop, and Paris Prosecutors Raid X Offices, Summon Musk and Yaccarino in Escalating Probe.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Researchers disclose one-click remote code execution exploit in OpenClaw, nonprofit coalition asks U.S. government to suspend Grok’s use across federal agencies, Alibaba to spend 3 billion yuan during Lunar New Year to promote its Qwen AI app.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US gas projects tied to data centers surge, videogame stocks dive after Google unveils “Project Genie”, Belkin shuts down cloud services for most Wemo smart home devices.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OpenAI Speeds Up IPO Plans for Potential 2026 Listing, AI-Assisted Screening Cuts Late-Stage Breast Cancer Diagnoses by 12%, and Project Genie, Google's $250/Month AI World Model, Goes Live.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google Offers $135M Settlement in Android Data Collection Lawsuit, Meta to charge Italian developers for non-template WhatsApp AI chatbot messages, Honda and DriveOhio Pilot AI System to Detect Road Damage.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chromium bug report reveals Google’s desktop Android interface? Autonomous trucking company Waabi signs new deal with Uber, Snap spins AR glasses unit into standalone Specs Inc.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EU's DMA Forces Google to Open Android and Search Data Access for AI Competition, Google Photos AI Expands with Text-to-Video Prompts and Enhanced Sharing, and France Moves to Ban Social Media for Under-15s Over Mental Health ConcernsLink to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EC opens Digital Services Act investigation into X over Grok, Microsoft unveils Maia 200 AI chip, Nvidia announces three new Earth-2 AI weather models.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google Photos adding generative feature “Me Meme”, Amazon brings Alexa+ early access to Mexico, Tesla puts Autosteer behind paywall for new Model 3 & Y owners.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Netflix's All-Cash WBD Studio Bid Confident as Peters Dismisses Paramount's 'Debt-Heavy' Offer, and Intel Prioritizes AI Chips, Causing Low-End PC Constraints Amid Foundry LossesLink to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

House Bill Seeks to Block Nvidia AI Chip Sales to China, Mandating Congressional Review, Anthropic Releases 80-Page Revision of Claude's Constitution, and Ubisoft Cancels Six Games, Delays Seven, and Closes Studios in 'Major Reset' After Share DropLink to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Snap settles a social media addiction suit days before trial set to begin in Los Angeles, OpenAI begins global age verification roll out ahead of a planned "adult mode" feature, and Adobe Acrobat Studio adds the ability to generate an AI podcast from documents.Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sony Spins Off TV Hardware in Major Joint Venture with TCL, Adobe Supercharges Premiere Pro and After Effects with Major AI and Workflow Updates, and Meta Oversight Board Reviews Permanent Ban for Persistent Hate SpeechLink to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Asus pauses phone production, new OpenAI hostnames reference “Sonata”, Anna’s Archive faces new pressure in the U.S.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada strikes deal with China to cut tariffs on electric vehicles, TikTok prepares new age-detection tech across Europe, Netflix assures WBD movies will keep a 45-day theatrical window post-acquisition.Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ASUS Retracts Statement on RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and 5070 Ti Discontinuation, U.S. Finalizes Taiwan Trade Deal to Boost Domestic Semiconductor Production, and Netflix Extends Theatrical Window to 45 Days Amid WBD Acquisition Controversy.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spotify Raises Premium Prices for Third Time Since 2023, Google's "Glic" Brings Agentic Gemini AI to Chrome for Android, and Cerebras Secures $10 Billion Deal with OpenAI for 750MW of Computing Power.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US government provides conditional clearance for Nvidia to export H200 chips to China, sources say Chinese authorities instructed customs officials to block the entry of H200 chips with limited exemptions, and Roblox faces issues with age-verification rollout.Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apple has launched the new Creator Studio subscription bundle, Meta Shifts Reality Labs Focus, Cuts 1,000+ Jobs to Prioritize AI Wearables Over Metaverse, and FCC Revokes Rule Requiring Verizon to Unlock Phones After 60 DaysLink to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthropic announced new health and life sciences features called Claude for Healthcare, Cloudflare threatens to withdraw services from Italy following a fine from AGCOM, and Meta closes approximately 550,000 accounts in compliance with Australia's social media ban for under-16s.Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amazon plans new 229,000-square-foot “mega store”, Indonesia temporarily blocks access to X's Grok chatbot, Lego opens preorders for first Smart Play Star Wars sets. Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EU Considering 'Very Large Platform' Status for WhatsApp, FCC to Vote on New "Geofenced Variable Power" Wireless Devices for 6 GHz Wi-Fi, and Internet connectivity in Iran experienced a near-total collapse on Thursday.Link to Show NotesSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ChatGPT adds a new tab specifically for health, Google and Character.AI are finalizing settlement agreements with families over harms caused by chatbots, and the European Commission orders X to retain data related to Grok. Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Universal Music Group partnered with Nvidia to responsibly collaborate on Music Flamingo AI, mandatory age verification for chatting on Roblox rolls out globally, and Discord reportedly confidentially filed for IPO.Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nvidia, Intel, and AMD Unveil New Chip Details at CES 2026, Meta pauses roll out of Ray-Ban Display smart glasses internationally, and Lego announced the Lego Play Engine with new SMART Bricks, tags, and Minifigs.Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An OpenAI report claims over 40 million Americans use ChatGPT for health information, Switchbot's new household robot can fold laundry, and a DoorDash driver gets caught using AI-generated images to fake deliveries. Check out the show notes here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/dth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.