Meta
33 briefs
Meta Is Giving Rival AI Chatbots Free WhatsApp Access for One Month to Avoid a Fine It Cannot Afford Politically
The EU's DMA is forcing Meta to open the messaging platform it spent years locking down -- but a one-month free trial is not interoperability, it is a negotiating tactic.
Von der Leyen Wants to Delay Children's Access to Social Media. The Question Is Delay It Until When.
The EU is proposing a 'social media delay' for kids, backed by an age-verification app that is ready to deploy. Ten member states already have different rules. A summer legal proposal could unify them. Or not.
Meta Locks In Two Chip Partners in One Week. Nvidia Is Still at the Table.
Meta announced multi-year deals with both Broadcom and Nvidia for custom silicon and infrastructure. The catch: it needs Broadcom to escape Nvidia dependency and needs Nvidia because the escape route isn't ready yet.
New Mexico Wants to Redesign Instagram. Meta Says It Will Leave the State First.
A judge who calls himself a reluctant legislator must now decide whether a state AG can force a global platform to change its algorithm. The answer will determine whether courts can regulate what Congress won't.
Meta Killed Instagram's Encryption. The Reason It Gave Is the Cover Story.
Meta quietly removed end-to-end encryption from Instagram DMs today, citing low user adoption. The timing, the UK regulator fight, and the silence make the real reason obvious.
Every Government Is Banning Children from Social Media. None of Them Know If It Works.
The UK has now passed mandatory social media restrictions for under-16s. Canada, California, and Sri Lanka are following. The policy is running ahead of the evidence.
China Retroactively Killed a $2 Billion AI Deal. The Founders Can't Leave.
Beijing blocked Meta's acquisition of AI startup Manus ten weeks after it was announced, ordered the parties to unwind it, and restricted the Chinese co-founders' ability to travel. The move draws a permanent line: Chinese-origin AI does not get sold to Americans.
Australia's Teen Social Media Ban Is Five Months Old. 61% of Affected Kids Still Have Accounts.
Meta's AI enforcement tools are a compliance performance, not a solution. The gap between the ban's ambition and its mechanics is now evidence.
Norway, Indonesia, and Australia Are Banning Social Media for Under-16s. Meta Is Threatening to Leave States That Try It.
A global wave of age restriction laws is converging on the same question New Mexico is testing in court: can a government force a platform to redesign itself, or does it have to accept the platform leaving instead?
New Mexico Wants to Redesign Instagram. Meta Wants to Leave the State Instead.
Phase two of the landmark child safety trial isn't about money. It's about whether a state judge can restructure a global platform's core product.
AI Writes 80% of Code. Now What Happens to the People Who Used to?
OpenAI's president put a number on something everyone in tech already knew but wasn't saying: the software engineering workforce is being automated faster than any other profession in history.
Meta Threatens to Shut Down in New Mexico Rather Than Protect Kids
The trial starting Monday isn't about a fine. It's about whether a state court can order structural changes to a platform used by 2 billion people.
Instagram Removed 7% of Reported Extremist Content. Meta Says That Is a Trade-Off.
A new ADL study found white supremacist networks, terror-group supporters, and Nazi merchandise vendors thriving on Instagram after Meta gutted its moderation team. Zuckerberg called it a trade-off. He is technically correct, and that is the problem.
Big Tech Earns More, Spends More on AI. Meta Investors Revolt.
Alphabet's 63% cloud growth and 30% profit surge contrast sharply with Meta's share drop after raising AI capex to $145 billion with no clear payoff plan.
Instagram Cracks Down on Reposts the Same Week ADL Finds It Fails to Remove 93% of Hate Content
Meta is enforcing its content rules selectively: original creators get protection, extremist networks get a pass.
The EU Charged Meta With Letting Children Onto Instagram. Meta Said It Uses Self-Declared Birthdays.
European regulators say Meta violated the Digital Services Act by relying on birthdate fields that anyone can fill in with any date. This is the first major DSA enforcement action against a social media company.
The Tax That Has No Escape Hatch
Australia's new news levy charges Google, Meta, and TikTok for journalism whether they carry it or not. Meta already tried removing news to avoid paying. This time, that does not work.
Beijing's New Veto Power Over American AI
China just blocked Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus. The founders cannot leave the country. The deal was already done. Beijing is showing it can retroactively unwind US tech acquisitions of Chinese-origin startups.
The Surveillance App That Knows When You Are Pregnant
A popular period tracking app has been selling users' health data to Meta. In states where abortion is now a criminal matter, this is not a privacy violation. It is evidence collection.
The Enforcement Problem No One Wants to Name
The UK, Norway, and Manitoba all committed to restricting social media for under-16s this week. Australia, which did it first in December, has found that 70% of affected children still have access.
China Vetoes Manus: What Happens When the Startup You Bought Can't Leave
Beijing blocked Meta's $2B acquisition of the agentic AI startup Manus. The founders are under exit bans. The employees are in Meta's Singapore offices. No one knows who owns what.
The World Is Copying Australia's Teen Social Media Ban. Australia's Is Already Failing.
Four months after Australia became the first country to ban social media for under-16s, 61% of affected teens are still on the platforms, and Turkey, Norway, Manitoba, and a dozen US states are lining up to enact the same policy.
Meta Bets Billions on AWS Chips While Cutting 8,000 Jobs
The agentic AI era needs CPUs more than GPUs, and that changes who controls the infrastructure of artificial intelligence.
The Big Tobacco Moment That Isn't
Two landmark verdicts against Meta and Google have parents lobbying Congress. The companies will appeal. The real question is whether the courtroom victory can survive Section 230 and the First Amendment.
Meta Is Firing Workers to Pay for the Machines That Will Replace Them
8,000 jobs cut, $135 billion in AI spending. The math is not a coincidence. It is a confession.
The Kids App Ban That Big Tech Will Actually Win
Norway and Turkey both moved today to block children from social media. The courts found Meta liable last month. The laws will pass. The platforms will comply on paper and change almost nothing.
A Jury Said Meta and Google Addicted a Child. Congress Is About to Try to Help.
The $6 million verdict in KGM v. Meta cracked Section 230 on product design. Now Britt and Fetterman are pushing Senate bills that have been stalled for a year. The courts may move faster than Congress.
A Federal Judge Blocked Arkansas's Social Media Age Law. This Is the Third Time.
NetChoice keeps winning in court. States keep passing new versions of the same law. Neither side is trying to resolve the constitutional question. They are trying to outlast each other.
Parliament Voted Down the Ban. Starmer Called Tech CEOs Into Downing Street Anyway.
The UK government rejected an immediate social media ban for under-16s while simultaneously signaling it might do exactly that. The question is not whether it happens but who has to take the credit.
The Ban That Moves Children Underground
Australia's under-16 social media ban has failed: two-thirds of affected teens are still on banned platforms. The UK and Massachusetts are about to copy the same approach.
Designed to Hook
A California jury found Meta and YouTube liable for building addictive platforms that harmed a child. The verdict targets architecture, not content.
The Under-16 Consensus
The US House, Canada's Liberal Party, Australia's eSafety regulator, and Massachusetts have all moved this week to restrict or ban children's social media use. The policy idea has gone global. The implementation gap is enormous.
Meta's AI Mulligan
A 'ground-up overhaul' with Muse Spark reveals how far behind Meta fell in the AI race. and how desperate they are to catch up.