American tech giant behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more.
Meta has begun globally expanding its AI age-estimation system to place users who appear to be teens into Teen Accounts on Instagram and Facebook, with stricter safeguards and time limits. The rollout follows settlements with US states over alleged harm to minors and adds enforcement through context clues, visual cues, and Apple-age checks in some regions.
A series of incidents in the Baltic and Irish regions shows ships linked to Russia damaging or threatening subsea cables. Finland has convicted crew of the Russian ship Fitburg for aggravated sabotage, while Ireland edges toward stronger maritime monitoring amid concerns over undersea infrastructure.
Retailers are embracing AI agents to shop on customers’ behalf while clashing with platforms that restrict or block agent use. Walmart leads with agent gateways and profiles; Amazon blocks Muse on its site, pushing a broader debate about security, privacy, and consumer choice. Home Depot and Target are testing openness and in-house AI, signaling a fragmented landscape for AI-assisted shopping.
Ofcom reports nine months after the Online Safety Act’s safety duties began that harmful content exposure among children is unchanged, with personalised feeds driving much of the risk; regulators warn enforcement must tighten to protect youngsters.
TikTok is launching a standalone commerce app in Southeast Asia featuring live streams, short-form video shopping, in-app checkout and exclusive offers. The move aligns TikTok Shop with a broader push toward a super-app model, competing with Amazon, Temu, Yelp and Google Maps while expanding beyond the main platform.
Tech giants are pouring billions into AI infrastructure as data-centre investments surge. Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta report rising capital outlays to power AI tools, while profits slip due to costs and debt. Anthropic prepares to go public amid a liquidity-fuelled AI race.
Instagram is testing long-form video through Features, allowing up to 90 minutes, and is exploring monetization paths as it competes with YouTube. The move follows a broader overhaul of video formats and signals a shift to keep creators on Instagram as revenue questions loom.
Independent groups and super PACs have spent near-record sums in the 2026 US midterms, with OpenSecrets projecting about $11.9bn in total independent spending and dark‑money likely topping $1.5bn. Billionaires including Elon Musk have pumped hundreds of millions into Republican-aligned outside groups while Democrats continue to out-raise Republicans in candidate-level grassroots donations.
The cloud of AI is reshaping software engineering as engineers adapt to AI-assisted workflows. Industry leaders have issued memos and predictions, stressing that human judgment remains central and that long-term customer impact will guide performance. The shift has sparked debate on how to hire, assess, and enable engineers in this new era.
Brazil’s leftist president has reversed a first‑round setback, led by a massive online mobilization called “Lula’s Army.” Under the guidance of Congressman André Janones, the campaign has leveraged WhatsApp and viral content to energize supporters, boost turnout and shift momentum in the runoff.
Tech giants are pouring billions into AI infrastructure. Investors are worried that heavy capex outpaces revenue growth, free cash flow is turning negative for several leaders, and monetization remains uncertain as Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft push into AI builds. The sector faces a delayed payoff as data centers and compute power scale up.
Amazon has reinforced its AI-driven investment plan, forecasting more capital outlays in 2027 as it pushes AWS and AI infrastructure. Third-quarter results show AWS growth powering revenue while free cash flow remains negative amid heavy capex.
Eight months after Brazil’s runoff, Flávio Bolsonaro has arrived in the United States with his family. He faces multiple investigations and a passport seizure, while U.S. officials say his entry is allowed but not directly facilitated. The move widens a regional tension as Bolsonaro and allies push back against Lula’s government amid mounting legal scrutiny.
Courts have seen settlements with Meta, TikTok and YouTube in youth-social media litigation. Snap’s California trial proceeds, with ongoing concerns about how platforms’ features affect teens' mental health.
AMD has reported better-than-expected earnings driven by data center demand, with revenue up 45% year over year and data center sales nearly doubling. The company forecasts fourth-quarter revenue around $17 billion, with a gross margin near 55%. Analyst concern centers on demand trends and Intel’s guidance, as the AI chip race accelerates.
DoorDash has disclosed that third‑party AI agents have generated only several hundred orders so far, far below the company’s billion‑order scale in 2026. The company is expanding its internal AI tools and testing an MCP connector for third‑party integrations, while stressing that most orders still come through the app itself.
Taiwanese memory makers Winbond and Macronix see record earnings as demand grows for specialized chips. Yet supply constraints persist, with lead times for critical tools exceeding two years and new capacity not online until 2029-2030. China’s CXMT advances its DRAM roadmap as US restrictions bite, while global tungsten supply disruptions ripple through AI hardware chains.
CNBC and other outlets show how AI tools are enabling tiny firms to scale without large staffs, with Larridin’s measurement platform and solopreneur models illustrating rising AI-driven productivity and revenue channels.
Developers and executives have faced scrutiny after public statements about AI in daily life. The discourse spans dystopian fears and optimistic GDP gains, with critics urging tighter safeguards. The conversation is unfolding as policymakers weigh how to regulate AI risk.
Tech names face renewed selling as investors reassess the AI buildout. CNBC and Insider UK report that AI-related equities have entered a regime of tighter cash flows and slower capital expenditure, with hyperscalers signaling a potential peak in compute demand. The pullback follows earlier rallies and comes amid higher yields and political headwinds.
With votes tallied, California has rejected Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on residents worth over $1 billion. Opposition led by Gov. Gavin Newsom and major tech donors, including Sergey Brin, has outspent supporters and pushed rival ballot measures that neutralised the proposal. Backers framed the measure as a $100bn fix for federal healthcare cuts.
Palantir has reported $2.31 billion in Q3 revenue, with US commercial revenue eclipsing government revenue for the first time. The company has raised full-year guidance as enterprise AI adoption accelerates, while indicating shorter-term, renewable contracts in the enterprise segment.
Voters nationwide are rejecting most data-center measures in 2026, with Ohio emerging as a focal point in the data-center policy debate. Harwood, North Dakota, is the lone exception where a measure is defeated; energy costs and local infrastructure shape outcomes as campaigns frame data centers within broader economic concerns.
Google has drawn criticism after reports that K–12 students were able to use its Gemini chatbot and Search AI in school accounts. The company has rolled out controls that turn Gemini, Gemini Notebook and Search AI off by default for student accounts, but critics say schools that fully opt out will lose Google Search access and that Google is pressuring districts.
Tencent Cloud is broadening its enterprise AI offerings with Hy4 and Hy4 Flash models while expanding WorkBuddy, its AI productivity agent. The company is targeting international markets, including the Middle East, and is building a large ecosystem of developers and partners as cloud regions grow to 25 with 70 availability zones.
A wave of AI agents is shifting shopping, work automation, and robotics. Retailers tailor product pages for bot discovery, firms test multi-agent collaboration, and startups push synthetic data for training physical AI models. The pace of change is accelerating as companies experiment with autonomous agents and human-in-the-loop safety measures.
US stock markets have extended their retreat after Democrats’ midterm wins, with data-center and AI-related equities leading losses as investors anticipate tighter regulation and slower capex. The Nasdaq and Dow are retreating from recent highs, while volatility surges on concerns over regulatory pushback and weaker AI infrastructure spending.
California’s new law restricting addictive features on youth social media platforms has sparked lawsuits from Google, Meta and TikTok. The companies contend it violates First Amendment rights and Section 230, arguing the law oversteps government power and blocks parental control. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and follows settlements over teen online health concerns.
The European Commission has issued preliminary findings that TikTok's 'For You' recommender feed breaches the Digital Services Act by repeatedly serving users similar videos that push them into harmful 'rabbit holes' on topics such as body image and isolation. Brussels has asked TikTok to change the feed design and given the company a chance to respond before a final decision that could include fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
President Trump has offered Dana White, the UFC chief, the role of White House press secretary in a Truth Social post and has said White will meet him at the White House on Monday. Trump has described White as a "violent Fighter and Warrior" and suggested several prominent fighters as press aides; White has not publicly accepted.
Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang has acknowledged an extramarital relationship amid a U.S. federal probe into potential foreign influence. Nvidia has launched an independent board-led review to assess security implications, while lawmakers consider upcoming hearings. The company’s stock has wavered as investors weigh regulatory and geopolitical risks in the U.S.–China tech competition.
California voters have rejected Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax targeting billionaires with assets over $1 billion. The measure, aimed at funding healthcare and other programs, faced a multimillion-dollar opposition led by Silicon Valley figures like Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt. Supporters argued the tax would replace lost Medi-Cal funding; opponents warned of economic harm. The vote is decisive as of today, with affected residents potentially facing future tax debates.
A wave of new rules and political pressure is reshaping where and how AI data centers can be built. CNBC reports water use and cooling methods are under scrutiny; Politico describes a blueprint for cost-sharing and grid safeguards; TechCrunch notes voters’ and lawmakers’ pushback may slow expansion. The crosscurrents signal a tighter, more local-driven path for AI infrastructure.