Author: GT

Meta, X, and Snap are celebrating a new Utah law that will require Apple and Google to take responsibility for verifying users’ ages on their app stores and obtain parental consent for minors. The tech giants have been battling to determine which party should be responsible for age verification on the app stores. Companies like Meta believe the app stores themselves should verify users’ ages because these entities host and distribute the apps. The app stores, however, argue that companies making the apps should bear the responsibility as they’re the ones offering the product to end users. Utah isn’t the…

Over the past five years, shares of Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) are up by a whopping 3,000%. It continues to be one of the hottest stocks on the market, with a gain of 80% over the past 12 months. And year to date, it’s up by a robust 15%, despite the broader market’s slide. And the best may be yet to become. That’s because Strategy — until recently known as MicroStrategy — remains resolute in pursuing its Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) buying mission. If the price of Bitcoin goes parabolic, as many expect it to do, then the stock could go parabolic…

The encrypted messaging app Signal is getting some unexpected attention this week. High-ranking officials in the Trump administration, including Vice President J. D. Vance and Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth, communicated the plans for an attack on the Yemeni Houthis via a potentially unauthorized group chat on Signal. However, Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to the group chat, giving him access to these highly sensitive discussions, which he later published. The Signal app itself did not malfunction or operate in an unintended way. Rather, it is user error to accidentally add a journalist to a chat about U.S.…

Cybercriminals have launched a sophisticated attack campaign leveraging Google’s sponsored search results to target users searching for DeepSeek, the increasingly popular AI platform. The attack uses convincingly crafted fake advertisements that appear at the top of Google search results, mimicking legitimate DeepSeek ads but redirecting victims to malicious websites designed to distribute malware. This campaign represents a growing trend of threat actors exploiting trusted digital advertising platforms to deliver malicious payloads to unsuspecting users. The attack begins when users search for DeepSeek on Google and encounter sponsored results that appear authentic at first glance. The malicious ads direct users to…

EBERSWALDE, Germany (AP) — A company that specializes in early wildfire detection has developed a new, AI-based drone it says will help speed up the detection, location and monitoring of fires.The Silvaguard drone by Dryard Networks was presented Thursday in Eberswalde outside of Berlin as wildfires driven by extreme heat and climate change are becoming a more common, often deadly phenomenon around the globe.The drone will deliver infrared images, among other things, and works in combination with a fire detection system that the company developed earlier and that’s already being used in several countries. The fire detection system, called Silvanet,…

TikTok is set to expand its TikTok Shop e-commerce platform to users in France, Germany, and Italy on Monday, Reuters reports. TikTok Shop has been available in the United Kingdom since 2021, and now the company is ready to expand farther into Europe. While TikTok Shop is also available in the United States and saw strong sales over the holiday season, TikTok’s fate in the country remains uncertain. Reuters states that TikTok has been looking to onboard more Europe-based sellers onto TikTok Shop, as many sellers on the platform sell products directly from China. “In France, Germany, and Italy, we…

Shares of GameStop (GME), the embattled video game retailer turned memestock darling, plunged 25% on Thursday, more than erasing all the gains since the company earlier this week announced it will add bitcoin (BTC) as a treasury reserve asset. GME fell to just above $21 during the session, trading at its lowest price since October and down over 28% from its Wednesday peak of nearly $30. The price action happened after the company unveiled plans late Wednesday for a $1.3 billion, 0% convertible note offering to raise money for its BTC acquisition plan. After an initial wave of euphoria among…

When Twin came out of stealth in January 2024, AI agents were more of a theoretical concept than a reality. Today, the Paris-based company is releasing an automation agent in partnership with Qonto, the fintech startup that offers business bank accounts to more than 500,000 customers across Europe. If you want to automate repetitive tasks, there are already several ways to tackle these problems. Some companies use API-based, no-code or low-code automation products like Zapier. Others rely on RPA software, such as UiPath. With its team of nine people, Twin thinks there’s a much more efficient way to handle automation.…

GameStop shares sunk Thursday after its plan to sell debt in an effort to fund purchases of bitcoin raised some questions on Wall Street. The video game retailer announced a private offering of $1.3 billion in debt. The company said earlier this week that it plans to purchase bitcoin as a reserve asset. It will use proceeds from this debt offering to buy the cryptocurrency. The stock slumped 22.1%, marking a sharp reversal from Tuesday’s 11.7% gain. Trading in GameStop’s stock, which is often included with other so-called “meme” stocks, can be volatile. The debt offering comes at a big…

After teasing a return to “OG Facebook” earlier this year, the social network on Thursday announced an update that will give users a simple way to connect with friends. The company is introducing a new Facebook Friends tab that will only showcase updates from friends, without any other recommended content. Meta explains in a blog post that the idea is to bring back features focused on Facebook’s original mission of connecting people with friends through a social networking experience. The tab, which is initially available only in the U.S. and Canada, will feature friends’ content, including their posts, Reels, stories,…