Author: Frank Salvato

In a high-stakes civil trial unfolding in Los Angeles Superior Court, legal teams for Google’s YouTube pushed back on allegations that the platform functions as addictive social media and harms children’s mental health, arguing YouTube is fundamentally different from platforms like Instagram or TikTok and does not cause addiction, even as plaintiff attorneys maintain the tech giants engineered features that ensnare young users in compulsive, damaging use. Attorneys for YouTube told jurors the video service is a video-streaming platform rather than social media — and pointed to testimony and data suggesting a 19-year-old plaintiff’s average YouTube use was modest —…

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant, was questioned in the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee by One Nation Senator Tyron Whitten on Feb. 11 regarding whether the broad online safety crackdown — including recent actions to restrict social media access for under-16s and strengthen enforcement of online content laws — could harm ties between the United States and Australia, as some U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern about the commissioner’s enforcement of online safety measures and their perceived impact on Big Tech operations. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/senator-questions-whether-esafety-crackdown-could-strain-us-australia-ties-5983936https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/senator-questions-whether-esafety-crackdown-could-strain-us-australia-ties-5983936https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Safety_Amendment_%28Social_Media_Minimum_Age%29_Act_2024 Key Takeaways • A sitting Australian senator queried whether expansive online safety enforcement might affect diplomatic…

The Federal Trade Commission has formally warned Apple that its Apple News app may be showing political bias by favoring left-leaning sources and excluding conservative outlets, saying such practices could violate U.S. consumer-protection law if they mislead users or contradict Apple’s own policies; the FTC’s letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook cites recent reports and studies alleging the curated content appears to boost left-wing media while suppressing right-wing perspectives, and urges a comprehensive review to ensure the platform’s operations align with the FTC Act and consumer expectations. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/tech/ftc-warns-apple-over-alleged-political-bias-in-apple-news-5984490https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-ftc-raises-concerns-over-accusations-apple-news-favors-articles-left-wing-2026-02-12/https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-ftc-sends-letter-apple-over-alleged-political-bias-its-news-app Key Takeaways • The FTC has issued a formal warning to…

Instagram’s head executive, Adam Mosseri, testified in a high-profile trial in Los Angeles that he does not believe users can be clinically addicted to Instagram or other social media, drawing a distinction between clinical addiction and what he described as “problematic use,” amid plaintiffs’ claims that platforms were purposefully designed to hook young people; Mosseri told jurors that spending more time on the app than someone feels good about does not equate to clinical addiction and emphasized that addiction is a medical diagnosis beyond his company’s purview, while opposing lawyers challenged that position with internal communications and broader mental-health concerns…

Alphabet’s recent issuance of a rare 100-year bond — part of a massive debt fundraising effort exceeding $30 billion to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure — marks a notable shift in how major technology firms are funding their AI buildouts, moving from heavy reliance on strong cash flows toward significant borrowing; the long-dated century note, unprecedented in the tech sector since the late 1990s, drew robust investor demand and underscores both confidence in Alphabet’s long-term prospects and broader concerns about rising corporate debt tied to costly AI capital expenditures. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/alphabets-century-bond-may-signal-big-tech-relying-more-on-debt-to-fund-ai-buildout-5984640https://www.reuters.com/business/alphabet-sells-bonds-worth-20-billion-to-fund-ai-spending-2026-02-10/https://www.heygotrade.com/en/news/alphabet-issues-100-year-bonds-for-ai-spending-spree Key Takeaways • Alphabet’s issuance of a 100-year bond and…

Russian authorities have confirmed a full block of the Meta-owned WhatsApp messaging service inside the country after citing what they describe as noncompliance with domestic law, coming on the heels of stepped-up restrictions on Telegram; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move aims to push users toward the state-endorsed messenger app MAX, with WhatsApp warning that isolating over 100 million users from secure communications represents a backward step for personal privacy and safety. Sources https://www.theepochtimes.com/tech/whatsapp-blocked-in-russia-following-telegram-restrictions-5984631https://www.reuters.com/technology/whatsapp-complains-about-restrictions-russia-after-reported-slowdown-2025-12-23/https://www.ft.com/content/468ebeec-3d38-4f8c-8513-97f533d8f43b Key Takeaways • Russian regulators have fully blocked access to WhatsApp, citing the messaging app’s failure to comply with Russian legal requirements.• The ban follows…

Amazon’s eero brand has rolled out a new device called the eero Signal that’s designed to keep users’ home Wi-Fi networks online when traditional broadband service fails by automatically switching over to a cellular connection and then reverting to normal when service returns, providing peace of mind for remote workers, security systems, and other connected devices that rely on steady internet—while requiring an annual subscription for cellular backup data and support for Wi-Fi 6 or later compatible eero routers. Sources https://blog.eero.com/eero-signal-calm-cool-and-connected/https://tech.yahoo.com/home/articles/amazon-eero-signal-keeps-connected-193014714.htmlhttps://digg.com/technology/1iUROfA/amazons-new-eero-signal-keeps-you Key Takeaways • The eero Signal device automatically detects broadband outages and switches the network to cellular backup to…

An AI safety researcher at Anthropic named Mrinank Sharma publicly resigned, posting a letter on X (formerly Twitter) that warned the “world is in peril” from a broad set of global crises — not just artificial intelligence — and suggested that organizations, including those in the AI field, struggle to align their actions with their stated safety values. In his note, Sharma said he had led a team focused on AI safeguards, including research into AI sycophancy and defenses against AI-assisted bioterrorism, but cited internal pressures that he felt undermined core principles; he also indicated plans to pursue other interests…

Microsoft has confirmed that multiple critical “zero-day” security vulnerabilities in its widely used Windows operating system and Office productivity software are being actively exploited by hackers in the wild, prompting an urgent push for patches and updates; these zero-day flaws, including security feature bypass and remote code execution bugs, can be triggered with minimal user interaction such as clicking a malicious link or opening a tainted document, and security experts warn that successfully exploited vulnerabilities can lead to malware installation, ransomware deployment, or broader system compromise, underscoring the importance of installing the latest Patch Tuesday fixes and maintaining up-to-date defenses…

Amazon is reportedly preparing to create a digital marketplace that would let media publishers license and sell their original content directly to companies building artificial intelligence products, a move aimed at addressing ongoing legal disputes and revenue loss tied to AI scraping and summarizing news without compensation; according to reports, Amazon has shared internal slides with publishing executives about the proposed platform ahead of an AWS event and is exploring how such a marketplace could operate alongside its existing AI infrastructure, positioning itself to compete with offerings like Microsoft’s Publisher Content Marketplace while giving publishers a structured way to monetize…