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FTC delays enforcement of click-to-cancel rule

The Federal Trade Commission voted Friday to delay enforcement of the Negative Option Rule — known widely as the “click-to-cancel” rule requiring that companies make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up. The rule, which was first proposed in 2023, took aim at businesses selling physical and digital subscriptions […]
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Google will pay Texas $1.4 billion to settle privacy lawsuits

Google has agreed to pay the state of Texas $1.375 billion to settle two lawsuits accusing the company of tracking users’ personal location, incognito searches, and voice and facial data without their permission. The lawsuits were brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2022. Facebook’s parent company Meta agreed to pay a similar amount […]
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Is Duolingo the face of an AI jobs crisis?

Duolingo announced plans this week to replace contractors with AI and become an “AI-first” company — a move that journalist Brian Merchant pointed to as a sign that the AI jobs crisis “is here, now.” In fact, Merchant spoke to a former Duolingo contractor who said this isn’t even a new policy. The company cut […]
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Trump says he’s willing to delay TikTok ban again

President Donald Trump has already delayed a TikTok ban twice, and he said Sunday that he’s willing to do it again. Axios reports that during an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Trump said that if a deal isn’t made to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations to American owners before the current June 19 deadline, he […]
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Residents of SpaceX’s Starbase launch site vote to incorporate as a city

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is getting its own official company town. Residents of an area around SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in southern Texas voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to incorporate as a city — also named Starbase. According to results posted online by the Cameron County Elections Department, there were 212 votes in favor and only six […]
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Temu stops shipping products from China to the U.S.

Chinese retailer Temu has shifted strategy in the face of U.S. tariffs. Through executive order, President Donald Trump has ended the so-called de minimis rule, which allowed goods worth $800 or less to enter the country without tariffs. He’s also increasing tariffs on Chinese goods by more than 100%, forcing both Chinese companies like Shein […]
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Google’s Gemini has beaten Pokémon Blue (with a little help)

Google’s most expensive AI model seems to have crossed a major milestone: Beating a 29-year-old video game. Last night, Google CEO Sundar Pichai posted triumphantly on X, “What a finish! Gemini 2.5 Pro just completed Pokémon Blue!” To be clear, the Gemini Plays Pokemon livestream was created by (in his own words) “a 30 year […]
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Amazon’s big book sale just happens to overlap with Independent Bookstore Day

Amazon is raising eyebrows with the timing of its big book sale for 2025, which runs from April 23 to 28 — which means it’s competing directly with Independent Bookstore Day. As writer Maris Kreisman explained in Lit Hub, Independent Bookstore Day is an annual event organized by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), with events, […]
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Apple’s ‘Mythic Quest’ is ending with an updated Season 4 finale

“Mythic Quest,” the Apple TV+ workplace comedy about the making of a popular online roleplaying game, is ending after four seasons. A new version of the show’s fourth season finale — first aired on March 26, and now the de facto series finale — will premiere on Apple TV+ next week, with a new ending. […]
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OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence reportedly valued at $32B

Safe Superintelligence (SSI), the AI startup led by OpenAI’s co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, has raised an additional $2 billion in funding at a $32 billion valuation, according to the Financial Times. The startup had already raised $1 billion, and there were reports that an additional $1 billion round was in the works. […]
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