American tech company known for Snapchat and Spectacles
Major tech firms have announced widespread workforce reductions while reporting record AI spending and rising head counts at heavy AI adopters. Oracle, Microsoft, Meta and others have cut roles and cited AI-driven change even as studies from Ramp/Revelio, SignalFire and Draup show engineering hires and entry-level roles growing at AI‑intensive firms and job listings shifting toward judgment and AI-tool fluency.
E. Jean Carroll has received $5,625,005.48 that a 2023 jury awarded after finding Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The funds had been held in a court-controlled escrow account while Trump exhausted appeals and sought last-minute delays; his legal team is continuing challenges tied to a separate $83.3m judgment.
Microsoft has announced 4,800 job cuts companywide, including 3,200 roles in Xbox during fiscal 2027 and 1,600 Xbox positions eliminated immediately. Xbox will spin out or divest five studios and reduce management layers as it restructures to strengthen margins while shifting resources toward AI and core franchises. The move has reduced Xbox headcount by about 20%.
A 15-year-old plaintiff known as R.K.C. has withdrawn his claims against Meta over alleged social media addiction, days before a Los Angeles trial was due to start. He had earlier settled with YouTube, TikTok and reached a tentative deal with Snap. Meta says he received no payment and calls the suits baseless.
JPMorgan has restructured its AI leadership, retiring its AI chief and aligning the chief data and analytics office with Global Technology. The changes aim to integrate AI delivery into business units and sustain momentum in AI initiatives, as the bank emphasizes governance and external engagement.
Tennessee alleges Meta ignored internal research showing Instagram harmed teens, keeping features like autoplay, notifications and infinite scroll to boost ad revenue. Meta counters that it is transparent about risks and has tools to protect young users. The trial in Nashville could force changes or penalties if Meta is found liable.
The FTC, with Los Angeles County and Utah, has filed a lawsuit accusing Hims & Hers of sharing users’ sensitive health information with major online advertisers via embedded trackers, despite company assurances of privacy. The agency also alleges deceptive billing and hard-to-cancel subscriptions as part of the case.
The White House has convened a meeting with AI leaders to review a proposed cybersecurity framework for advanced models, following OpenAI's recent agent hacks and calls for greater government access. Attendees include executives from Hugging Face, Anthropic, and others; Meta and Alphabet may participate. Markets show mixed responses as investors watch the policy discussion unfold.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Meta and TikTok cannot appeal early on Section 230 immunity claims, allowing multiple lawsuits over addictive design and youth safety to proceed. Trials for state AG actions and other plaintiffs remain scheduled, with bellwether cases moving forward.
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund and to change product features for young users, adding to a $375 million jury award from March and bringing Meta’s total liability in the case to $942 million. The bulk of the new fund — $420 million — is allocated for youth mental-health treatment; other measures include limits on notifications and enhanced age-assurance steps.
New Mexico has ordered Meta to implement measures to curb youth harm on its platforms, including age-verification improvements, reduced under-18 engagement features, and mandatory safety notices. The ruling allocates $420 million for treatment and prevention services, with the total civil liability reaching $942 million, subject to appeal.
Anthropic has begun embedding an imperceptible, machine-detectable watermark into Claude-generated text and files to comply with the EU AI Act’s Transparency Code. The mark travels with copied text, can persist through light editing, and will be applied globally to models released after Aug. 2. Users and developers have criticised the change and tools to remove marks have appeared online.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri has testified in a federal trial in Oakland where 29 US states accuse Meta of designing addictive features that harm children and violating child privacy laws. States are seeking large damages and structural changes; prosecutors have shown internal documents and low adoption of safety tools. Mosseri defended improvements and said some tools initially had low uptake.
Reddit has been added to the S&P 500 ahead of trading on Aug. 18, replacing AvalonBay Communities as the index rebalances. The move comes amid Reddit’s expanding data-licensing and AI-related partnerships, which have helped drive revenue growth and position the platform as a valuable data source for tech firms and advertisers.
Meta has agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 states to strengthen age-verification and safety tools on Instagram and Facebook. The deal does not admit liability and carves out ongoing oversight, with audits and time-bound improvements. Other platforms like YouTube and TikTok are urged to follow suit.
A TechCrunch review of XREAL's a01 wearable display highlights vibrant visuals and portability, but questions practicality for real work and its role as a second monitor.
Meta has reached an $18 billion settlement over teen-time limits. The agreement ties $5.3 billion to peers joining similar measures, with pressuring others like TikTok and YouTube to follow suit. Snap’s CEO comments and new features for Specs are underscoring a broader push toward digital well‑being amid scrutiny of youth mental health.
California has signed a package of 13 laws aimed at protecting minors online and regulating AI-enabled toys and tools. The measures penalize platforms for harmful content, ban addictive features for users under 16, require risk assessments for AI chatbots, and require parental controls. The bills are highlighted as the nation’s broadest set of youth-tech safeguards to date.
Meta is developing a camera-free variant of its Ray-Ban AI glasses to address privacy concerns while preserving AI chat features. The move follows sustained criticism of camera-enabled glasses and regulatory scrutiny in Europe and Norway. The company is pushing audio and AI capabilities with safeguards like an LED recording indicator and anti-tampering features.
Alabama has reached a settlement with TikTok on teen-safety measures and a potential $300 million payout. The deal imposes a two-hour daily limit for teens, overnight restrictions, added parental controls, and strengthened age verification, with additional payments possible if other states join later.