@Techmeme@techhub.socialQ&A with NYC mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani on social media, tech leaders, Trump, fame, Apple's and Google's "wrong decision" to remove ICEBlock, and more (Katie Drummond/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/the-big-interview-podcast-zohran-mamd…
@servelan@newsie.socialBig Tech sues Texas, says age-verification law is “broad censorship regime” - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/10/big-tech-sues-texas-says-age-verification-law-is-broad-censorship-regime/
@anneroth@systemli.socialIn acht Tagen spreche ich im #39C3 Sendezentrum im c’t uplink Podcast mit @… und anderen Gästen über #DigitaleSouveränität.
Habt Ihr dazu in letzter Z…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAn overview of macro tech trends for 2026, as "AI eats the world": bubbles, the AI platform shift, Big Tech FOMO, capex, Nvidia, US power backlogs, and more (Benedict Evans)
https://www.ben-evans.com/presentations
@tokensane@mastodon.me.ukYet it comes with a big risk. That is, the incredible dependence of US stock market growth on the performance of a handful of tech giants. The Magnificent 7 - Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla - collectively comprise one third of the valuation of America's entire S&P 500.
BBC News - The Silicon Valley 'AI factory' at the heart of the tech race - BBC News
@catsalad@infosec.exchangeWhich big tech service is going down next?
@publicvoit@graz.socialUnsere #Politiker machen Lippenbekenntnisse zu #digitaleSouveränität aber wenn's ums Entscheiden geht, dann verstehen sie die Rolle von #FOSS offenbar überhaupt nicht:
Analyse zum Di…
@trochee@dair-community.socialCheck out the nifty article from my (younger, wiser) brother about the oligopoly on smartphones, and what you can do about it.
https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/app-store-oligopoly
@cdarwin@c.imSenator Marsha Blackburn said
“I look forward to introducing the
"TRUMP AMERICA AI Act"
in the new year to create one federal rulebook for AI
to protect children, creators, conservatives, and communities"
Combats the consistent pattern of bias against conservative figures demonstrated by Big Tech and AI systems by requiring:
Audits of high-risk AI systems to undergo regular bias evaluations to prevent discrimination based on protected characte…
@kubikpixel@chaos.socialDoxers Posing as Cops Are Tricking Big Tech Firms Into Sharing People’s Private Data
A spoofed email address and an easily faked document is all it takes for major tech companies to hand over your most personal information.
👉 https://www.wired.com/stor…
@Mediagazer@mstdn.socialThe National Association of Broadcasters launches a campaign to support live sports on free broadcast channels as more big games move to streaming services (George Winslow/TV Tech)
https://www.tvtechnology.com/platform/broadcast/n…
@digitalnaiv@mastodon.socialARD und ZDF vertrauen bei der Verbreitung digitaler Inhalte zunehmend auf die wenigen Big-Tech-Plattformen. Sie geben also Schritt für Schritt, Sendemast für Sendemast, die unabhängige Verbreitung auf - und begeben sich gleichzeitig in ein Ökosystem, dessen Regeln andere festlegen. "Wer die Infrastruktur beherrscht, beherrscht auch die Information und Meinung", schreibt Björn Staschen - epd medien #Medien
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.ioThank you all for 3,000 followers on here! Here’s a photo of Danny to celebrate the occasion ☺️
3 years into being part of Mastodon, I continue to be impressed with how wonderful the people here are and how much this social network actually FEELS social. People replying to one another, having conversations, learning things, sharing moments of joy, making friends.
Mastodon brought my business clients, helped me gain confidence in my own voice, freed me from dependence on big tech and algorithms, rekindled my interests, introduced me to incredible people and projects, and served as a source of hope in humanity in the times when cynicism and nihilism felt all but inevitable.
I love our little corner of the internet, and am so glad that it’s still here despite everyone who professed it was doomed to fade into irrelevance.
Thank you to everyone reading these words for being here on the Fedi. The world is a little better thanks to your choice to support an independent web.
@gedankenstuecke@scholar.socialHere's my (probably not complete) list of #FLOSS projects I've donated to or financially supported over the year - and especially now in the holiday season.
If you've recently started moving away from big tech and replaced their tools with FLOSS alternatives, maybe consider sharing a bit of your savings with the people that make the tools you now rely on 🙏
Which tools would that be for you?
#opensource
https://tzovar.as/supporting-floss/
@marcel@waldvogel.familyWenn ihr Mitarbeiter einstellt, mit denen ihr noch nie persönlich interagiert habt und wahrscheinlich auch nicht mal regelmässig per Videokonferenz, dann kann es gut sein, dass sie gar nicht sind, wen sie vorgeben zu sein.
Eigentlich keine überraschende Erkenntnis. Ausser für Big-Tech-Firmen.
https://www.<…
@kctipton@mas.toUS may owe $1 trillion in refunds if SCOTUS cancels Trump tariffs - Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/11/tariff-refunds-may-get-messy-if-trump-loses-supreme-court-fight/
@Techmeme@techhub.socialSimilarweb: TikTok had 183M US MAUs on iOS and Android in August 2025, up 16% YoY, vs. Instagram's 169M, Facebook's 157M, Pinterest's 100M, and Snapchat's 70M (Rani Molla/Sherwood News)
https://sherwood.news/tech/by-some-mea
@stevefoerster@social.fossdle.orgThe Plan Is to Make the Internet Worse. Forever.
https://novaramedia.com/2025/12/07/the-plan-is-to-make-the-internet-worse-and-big-tech-rich/
An interesting interview with Cory Doctorow.
@neuhaus@mastodon.acm.orgDer #39C3 naht fast so schnell wie Weihnachten. 🎅
Ich bin gespannt auf die dortige c‘t Uplink #podcast Episode zum Thema #DigitaleSouveränität, bei der ich auch dabei sein w…
@metacurity@infosec.exchange
@stargazer@woof.tech#WritersCoffeeClub
10. What have you recently learned which will have a big impact on your work?
11. How accessible is your work?
12. How can writers ensure the focus is on the work and not the writer? Or should they?
---
10. That's a hard question.
I fear I've reached a plateau where nothing freshly learned can do that.
11. It consists of words.
@digitalnaiv@mastodon.socialAgora Digitale Transformation fordert: mehr Geld & Strategie für offene Plattformen – von Fediverse bis Bluesky (??). Europas digitale Öffentlichkeit darf nicht länger an BigTech hängen. Souveränität heißt: offene Infrastruktur statt Abhängigkeit. 1-Prinzip jetzt konsequent umsetzen!
#DigitaleSouveränität
@bencurthoys@mastodon.socialRE: https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115569820207257167
This is why all the big tech bosses you have heard of are insane: because the sane people filter themselves out. There is no sane version of Mark Zuckerman, because if Mark Zuckerman was sane, he woul…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comHochul Caves to Big Tech on AI Safety Bill (David Dayen/American Prospect)
https://prospect.org/2025/12/11/hochul-caves-big-tech-ai-safety-bill-new-york/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251211/p117#a251211p117
@hex@kolektiva.socialPart of why #Trump has always been so hard to pin down politically is that he was always representing highly conflicting interests. Now, as that eats him alive, the GOP is fracturing in to two main groups: the Pinochet/Franco wing and the Hitler wing.
The Pinochet/Franco wing (let's call them PF) are lead by Vance. PF are also a coalition with some competing interests, but basically it's evangelical leaders, Opus Dei (fascist catholics), tech fascists (Yarvinites), pharma, and the other normal big republican donors. They support Israel, some because apartheid is extremely profitable and some because they support the genocide of Palestinian in order to bring the end of the world. They are split between extremely antisemitic evangelicals and Zionists, wanting similar things for completely different reasons. PF wants strong immigration enforcement because it lets them exploit immigrants, they don't want actual ethnic cleansing (just the constant threat). They want H1B visas because they want to a precarious tech work force. They want to end tariffs because they support free trade and don't actually care about things being made here.
The Hitler wing are lead by Nick Fuentes. I think they're a more unified group, but they're going to try to pull together a coalition that I don't think can really work. They're against Israel because they believe in some bat shit antisemitic conspiracy theory (which they are trying to inject along side legitimate criticism of Israel). They are focused on release of the #EpsteinFiles because they believe that it shows that Epstein worked for Mossad. They don't think that the ICE raids are going far enough, they oppose H1Bs because they are racists. They want a full ethnic cleansing of the US where everyone who isn't "white" is either enslaved for menial labor, deported, or dead. But they're also critical of big business (partially because of conspiracy theories but also) because they think their best option is to push for a white socialism (red/brown alliance).
Both of them want to sink Trump because they see him as standing in the way of their objectives. Both see #Epstein as an opportunity. Both of them have absolutely terrifying visions of authoritarian dictatorships, but they're different dictatorships.with opposing interests. Even within these there may be opportunities to fracture these more.
While these fractures decrease the likelihood of either group getting enough people together, their vision is more clear and thus more likely to succeed if they can make that happen. Now is absolutely *not* the time to just enjoy the collapse, we need to keep up or accelerate anti-fascist efforts to avoid repeating some of the mistakes of history.
Edit:
I should not that this isn't *totally* original analysis. I'll link a video later when I have time to find it.
Here it is:
#USPol
@Techmeme@techhub.socialTech whistleblowers like Yaël Eisenstat say coming forward has unexpectedly derailed their lives and careers; Meta is in litigation with Sarah Wynn-Williams (Naomi Nix/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/15/big-tech-whist…
@nelson@tech.lgbtOnce again impressed by WiThings. Just bought a new Body Comp scale and it's a lovely new product experience. Their software quality is excellent. Just a great experience.
(And a big raspberry to InBody: did not like their comparable product.)
@tante@tldr.nettime.org"Don't be evil" is so far in the past, it's not even a memory anymore
(Original title: Google Has Chosen a Side in Trump's Mass Deportation Effort)
https://www.404media.co/google-has-chosen-a-side-in-trumps-mass-deportation-ef…
@stiefkind@mastodon.social»Tech companies are betting big on nuclear energy to meet AIs massive power demands and they're using that AI to speed up the construction of new nuclear power plants.«
What could possibly go wrong. Trust me, I'm an engineer. 🤦
Full story over at @…:
@alecsargent@social.linux.pizzaMade a post on how I got here in this Linux and FOSS journey. Big thank you to all the community.
#foss
@Techmeme@techhub.socialMeta's win over the US FTC may mean Meta, Google, Microsoft, and others can resume buying startups to stay ahead of the pack, after a slowdown under Lina Khan (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/technology/meta-ruling-silicon-valley…
@frankel@mastodon.top
@gwire@mastodon.socialTo be fair, if you costed out hardware 9 months ago, you probably couldn't account for changes to technology prices influenced by a) AI companies b) US policies. The price of RAM alone will force adjustments.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/16/ukgov_expan…
@heiseonline@social.heise.de
@kingconsult@berlin.social3/x
Ein Perspketivwechsel:
Das Fediverse ist keine Alternative zu #BigTech #SocialMedia, sondern der erste Versuch des Aufbaus eines dezentralen, demokratischen, öffentlichen Netzwerks. Big Tech-Plattformen sind dysfunktionale Alternativen zu einer öffentlichen Infrastruktur, die wir nicht haben. So gesehen geht es sehr gut voran, trotz mangelhafter Ressourcen:
• Anerkennung v. Mastodon als digitales öffentliches Gut
• #GrimmeOnlineAward für Mastodon/Fediverse
• …
@aral@mastodon.ar.alRegulating Big Tech is like regulating a malignant tumour. You don’t regulate a malignant tumour. You cut it out, with enough of a surgical margin to ensure you get every last putrid bit to avoid regrowth.
(This is moot, of course, as we’re not even regulating Big Tech, we’re feeding it with subsidies, government contracts, and access to national healthcare and other sensitive data while the folks who should be regulating them eye their next lucrative gig beyond the revolving doors of …
@Mediagazer@mstdn.socialAfter Big Tech implemented a blackout on political advertising in the EU following a new law, the European Commission says it's in talks with Big Tech (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-political-ad-rules-google-meta-microsoft-big-…
@castarco@hachyderm.ioWe are cooked.
We were always a problem for the ones above: we had the opportunity to enjoy high levels of education, access to relatively free & unpolluted knowledge, and welfare systems that worked relatively well for at least half of our lifes.
That was unacceptable, and "AI" is here to fix that.
Big Tech and their fascist friends have convinced many among our younger generations about the idea that "AI" (in its current form) is cool, amazing, necessary, and unstoppable.
We can resist all we want, except it's not our resistance that matters, but the resistance of the younger ones who haven't finished their formal studies yet.
Mozilla's CEO knows it... so he'll happily contribute to dumb us down as much as possible (before anyone has time to react) to ensure that we don't bother ever again the fragile sensibilites of his friends, our capitalist overlords.
@ingo@social.stuetzle.ccBig Tech and finance companies are telling H-1B employees to get to the US in under 24 hours https://www.businessinsider.com/big-tech-employees-h-1b-visa-travel-return-trump-eo-2025-9
@hakona@im.alstadheim.no
@ruth_mottram@fediscience.orgDuk op the Danish privacy focused and free of big tech event announcement platform is looking for volunteers to help refresh its UX 👇
https://dukop.dk/en/news/42/
@chpietsch@fedifreu.deIm @… von morgen erscheint ein schöner Artikel über die #BigBrotherAwards #bba25, der im Gegensatz zu anderen Medienberichten nicht…
@dhuyvetter@mastodon.socialI am so glad I am no longer working in the tech industry. It was kinda fun in the "princes of labor" era, but with all the layoffs and mow the AI race to the bottom I can’t imagine it being a good environment.
Big Tech joins the race to build the world's heaviest airplane
by @…
@pavelasamsonov@mastodon.socialBig tech is laying off user researchers in droves, because it believes that coercing its customers is more profitable than silly things like "making good products people want to buy."
But now the FAFO pendulum is coming around, with Amazon's $2.5B dark pattern settlement and #a11y lawsuits galore.
#UX
@cdarwin@c.imAs the Pentagon, particularly the Army, cozies up to Silicon Valley
four big tech executives with no military background, were directly commissioned to be lieutenant colonels, in the Army
-- and they will not recuse themselves from business dealings with the Department of Defense.
Earlier this month, the Army announced Detachment 201,
the name being a reference to HTTP code,
for the newly commissioned executives
from Palantir, Meta and OpenAI.
The ne…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAlibaba halves Qwen3-Max prices, from $0.861 to $0.459 per 1M input tokens and $3.441 to $1.836 per 1M output tokens for API users, amid China's AI price wars (Vincent Chow/South China Morning Post)
https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article
@ErikJonker@mastodon.social
@fgraver@hcommons.socialOh, FFS. And here I thought EU leaders might have grown a spine. Guess I was wrong. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/07/european-commission-ai-artificial-intelligence-act…
@thomasfuchs@hachyderm.ioSure would be cool if one of the big tech companies would give the Internet Archive money to make a full-text searchable index of the Wayback Machine.
@digitalnaiv@mastodon.socialDeutschland hängt in zentralen digitalen Infrastrukturen am Tropf der USA – und der Bundesregierung fällt nichts Besseres ein, als nach Deregulierung und Entbürokratisierung zu rufen. Sprich: Die Schutzrechte zurückbauen, die wir mal als Bollwerk gegen Big Tech erkämpft haben. - @…
Viel heiße Luft beim
@mapcar@mastodon.sdf.orgThe Vergecast of October 31. («God will be declared by a panel of experts») has a bit funny and very good discussion of the bizarre joint press release between Microsoft and OpenAI and the insanity of the panel that is to verify if AGI has been achieved or not.
A choice quote about the problems of finding people to put on such a panel:
“A bunch of the world's best drunks have verified that you made whiskey is not a thing that you can do.”
@markhburton@mstdn.socialA transatlantic warning. If #NigelTheStockbroker , No Cartoons Jenrick or BadEnoch came to power, this is a taste of what to expect.
"Google removed certain apps used to report sightings of ICE [migration paramilitaries] officials, and “then they immediately turned around and approved an app that helps the government unconstitutionally target an actual vulnerable group."…
@brichapman@mastodon.socialTropical islands are turning their biggest challenge into their greatest strength.
Vulnerable to climate change and dependent on expensive fossil fuels, island nations are proving that carbon neutrality by 2050 is economically viable. Solar PV is leading the charge, with innovative Solar-to-X tech converting sunshine into e-fuels and e-chemicals to power hard-to-decarbonize sectors.
@Mediagazer@mstdn.socialAustralia begins consultations with publishers and platforms on its News Bargaining Incentive, requiring Big Tech to pay local publishers or face new taxes (April Ossington/Channel News)
https://www.channelnews.com.au/australia-m
@carlos@social.perceptiveconstructs.com @carlos@perceptiveconstructs.com
@stefanlaser@social.tchncs.deDie Zeit berichtet vom #Luddite Meetup in Brooklyn – auf den Punkt, und auf die Barrikaden.
Ein good read, als Gift-Artikel: https://www.zeit.d…
@aredridel@kolektiva.socialhttps://www.theargumentmag.com/p/treat-big-tech-like-big-tobacco
I expected to hate this take but actually I think it's great. Curation should be speech, not hosting. Plan accordingly.
@villavelius@mastodon.onlineThey probably don't realise it (yet), but the problem American big tech companies have in Europe is that they are American. The fiscal and regulatory thumb screws ate tightening, and the flight from Microsoft, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Amazon, etc seems to accelerate, albeit not fast enough.
@memeorandum@universeodon.comKeep hitting US Big Tech with fines, Europe's Greens tell von der Leyen (Max Griera/Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/keep-hitting-us-big-tech-fines-europe-greens-tell-ursula-von-der-leyen/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251207/p28#a251207p28
@boris@cosocial.ca@… great meeting you at #IETF124
I shared Cyd with you https://cyd.social/ and yes, wo…
@kubikpixel@chaos.social»Quantenphysik und KI — Warum neue Technologien magisch wirken - und das #BigTech in die Hände spielt:
Während bei einem Kartentrick jeder den Zauber entlarven will, begegnen wir neuer #Technologie gerne mit ehrfürchtigem Staunen. Der Grund hat etwas mit einer ganz rudimentären Angst zu tun, mein…
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.ioHas anyone heard of this #writing #software before - Ellipsus?
I saw them in a YouTube sponsorship and was intrigued by their anti-AI stance. Seems like it could be a reasonable non-big-tech alternative to Google Docs with the same collaboration features.
#writingSoftware #writers
@ruth_mottram@fediscience.org"for the rest of us who don’t have the technical knowledge and time to follow his accomplishments, his advice is to “Never use your primary WiFi network for IoT devices” and to “Treat them as strangers in your home.” "
https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/big-tech/manufacturer-issues-remote-kill-command-to-nuke-smart-vacuum-after-engineer-blocks-it-from-collecting-data-user-revives-it-with-custom-hardware-and-python-scripts-to-run-offline
@cdarwin@c.imAt a time when the majority of Americans distrust big tech
and believe artificial intelligence will harm society,
Silicon Valley has built its own network of alternative media
where CEOs, founders and investors
are the unchallenged and beloved stars.
What was once the province of a few fawning podcasters
has grown into a fully fledged ecosystem of publications and shows
supported by some of the tech industry’s most powerful.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAfter Big Tech implemented a blackout on political advertising in the EU following a new law, the European Commission says it is in talks with Big Tech (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-political-ad-rules-google-meta-microsoft-big-tec…
@dhuyvetter@mastodon.socialBig Tech is neoliberalism's wet dream!
There's one thing EVERY government can do to shrink Big Tech: The path
to a post-American internet
by @…
https://
@aral@mastodon.ar.al @digitalnaiv@mastodon.socialWelcome to the Hotel California, aber mit Daten: Bei Big Tech einchecken? Kein Problem. Auschecken? Viel Glück. Europas Antwort: Digitale Souveränität – offene Standards, grüne Rechenzentren und der Euro-Stack. Damit wir selbst bestimmen, wann wir gehen. | @netzpolitik@chaos.social: Jenseits von Big Tech: #DigitaleSouveränität als Schlüssel für Nachhaltigkeit und Demokrati…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialInvestment in subsea cable projects is expected to reach $13B between 2025 and 2027, almost 2x the amount invested between 2022 and 2024, driven by AI buildout (Magdalena Petrova/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/11/08/big-tech-ai-underwater-cables.html
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTreat Big Tech like Big Tobacco (Joel Wertheimer/The Argument)
https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/treat-big-tech-like-big-tobacco
http://www.memeorandum.com/251021/p15#a251021p15
@cdarwin@c.im @Mediagazer@mstdn.socialA look at outlets in Belgium and France that are prioritizing independence from Big Tech and opting for open source or in-house software (Owen Huchon/Columbia Journalism Review)
https://www.cjr.org/tow_center/editorial-independence-means-technologic…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialBig Tech's EU lobbying hit €151M in 2025, up from €113M in 2023 and €97M in 2021; between January and June 2025, Big Tech had 146 meetings with EU officials (Corporate Europe Observatory)
https://corporateeurope.org/en/2025/10/big-tech-lobby-budgets-hit-re…
@aral@mastodon.ar.alHow could this happen in a country that *checks notes* has made itself entirely beholden to US Big Tech and Big Pharma?
#Ireland
@cdarwin@c.imEven before Microsoft Azure had a global failure this week,
Austria's Ministry of Economy had taken a decisive step toward digital sovereignty.
The Ministry is migrating 1,200 employees to a Nextcloud-based cloud and collaboration platform hosted on Austrian-based infrastructure
It's the latest move in a European trend to shift away from Big Tech.
European governments and agencies want to control sensitive data.
@Techmeme@techhub.socialUS investors are boosting Chinese AI-related tech stocks and adding cash to ETFs tracking China's tech sector, as US lawmakers push for tighter capital curbs (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/u-s-i…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialDealogic: 51 US tech IPOs raised $16.8B in 2025, driven by AI and crypto, above the past three-year average but far below 2021's 127 IPOs raising $74.4B (Valida Pau/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/ai-crypto-companies-dominat…
@cdarwin@c.imScaling up AI requires staggering amounts of power and water
— especially when considering that many areas are already dealing with strained grids or drought conditions.
Even when optimized, a single hyperscale facility can draw as muchpower as a mid-sized city
and millions of gallons of water annually.
Professor Romany Webb, deputy director of Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, explained the challenge:
"Data centers are incred…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialOpenAI raised concerns about anti-competitive conduct by "entrenched companies" in a September EU meeting; source: OpenAI targeted Google, Microsoft, and Apple (Samuel Stolton/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20
@cdarwin@c.imFlying drones used during the Ukraine war have changed land battle tactics for ever.
Now the same thing appears to be happening under the sea.
Navies around the world are racing to add autonomous submarines.
https://www.theguardian.com…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialFrench President Emmanuel Macron criticizes the EU for being too slow to act on probes into Big Tech companies, attributing the delay to US pressure against DSA (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-afraid-of-tackling-us-big-tech-em…
@cdarwin@c.imIreland has been every bit as important in exporting US Big Tech around the world as the US has been.
But Ireland has another key export, one that is confined to the European Union.
Because every tax haven must be a crime haven,
and because Big Tech's favorite crime is illegal surveillance,
Ireland has exported American tech spying to the whole European Union.
-- @…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialFrench lawmakers vote to raise France's digital services tax on US tech giants to 6%, up from 3%; the French government opposes the move, fearing US retaliation (Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/french-lawmakers-progress-tax…
@cdarwin@c.imTech Billionaire investor Marc Andreessen has long criticized the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
— calling it an impediment to fintech and crypto companies. 
Andreessen’s investment firm (Andreessen Horowitz aka A16Z) backed many fintech/crypto players that were under CFPB scrutiny,
Under the Trump administration, the CFPB’s enforcement efforts were sharply scaled back:
investigations suspended,
consumer-protection rule-makings shelved,
and …
@Techmeme@techhub.socialHow Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Google are managing the strain of AI's increased energy demand with their promises of net-zero carbon emissions (Emily Forgash/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/20
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAn investor group and AI developer Voltai plan to use AI to design, build, and run a 3GW data center in South Korea, set to cost up to $35B and open in 2028 (Jiyoung Sohn/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/a-…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialMeta expands its facial recognition tools to combat Facebook accounts impersonating public figures in Europe and South Korea, and plans an Instagram expansion (Andre Revilla/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-is-
@Techmeme@techhub.socialA profile of Aaron Greenspan, who has spent years on a crusade to expose what he believes are financial problems at Tesla and at big tech companies (Noam Scheiber/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/busines
@Techmeme@techhub.socialHow rising unemployment in computer-related fields in the US, where foreign nationals make up ~20% of 2.3M software devs, pushed the H-1B issue to the forefront (Noam Scheiber/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/bu…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAn interview with California state Senator Scott Wiener on his new AI safety bill SB 53, the bill's scope, his focus on AI safety bills, AI PACs, and more (Maxwell Zeff/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/23/scott-wiener-on-his-fi…
@Techmeme@techhub.social @Techmeme@techhub.socialFinancial stress from AI infrastructure spending, overhiring, and recession fears, rather than AI adoption, is likely driving layoffs in the tech sector (Fast Company)
https://www.fastcompany.com/91435192/chatgpt-llm-openai-jobs-amazon
@Techmeme@techhub.socialBig Tech's AI data center plans, which are set to need an estimated 44GW of additional capacity by 2028, face a power crunch that could deflate the AI "bubble" (Financial Times)
https://ig.ft.com/ai-power/
@Techmeme@techhub.socialIn their latest earnings reports, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon have announced plans to increase their AI spending in 2026 to a combined $400B (Meghan Bobrowsky/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/b…
@Techmeme@techhub.socialAt a three-day Intel event in Arizona, executives repeatedly asserted that 18A is the most advanced chip production tech developed and deployed in the US (Ian King/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20
@Techmeme@techhub.social @Techmeme@techhub.socialMemos: Amazon, which employs the most H-1B holders at 14K , and Microsoft advise H-1B staff to avoid travel and return to the US before 12:01am ET on Sept. 21 (Yun Li/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/20/trump-h-1b-visa-tech-foreign-governments.html
