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Social Media

Locket's Celebrity Connection: Will It Drive Growth?

Locket, the photo-sharing app known for its home screen widgets, is introducing 'Celebrity Lockets' to boost user engagement. This feature allows artists like Suki Waterhouse and JVKE to share exclusive content with a limited number of fans directly on their home screens. Locket aims to replicate the intimacy of sharing with close friends while offering fans a unique connection with their favorite artists. While early feedback is positive, the success of this approach in driving user growth remains to be seen, especially considering similar mixed results with BeReal's celebrity feature.

Technology

Staan: European Search Engine Alliance Challenges Big Tech's Dominance

Qwant and Ecosia have launched Staan, a jointly developed search index aimed at providing a privacy-focused and cost-effective alternative to Google and Bing. The European Search Perspective (EUSP) joint venture plans to handle a significant portion of search queries in France and Germany by year's end. Staan is being integrated into Qwant's features like AI summaries and will soon enhance Ecosia's platform with AI capabilities. EUSP is also targeting chatbot integration, offering a cheaper alternative to existing search solutions. Highlighting the importance of European technological independence, EUSP aims to provide a privacy-centric search solution under European laws, contrasting with U.S. counterparts.

Data Breach

Google Confirms Data Theft via Salesforce Database Breach by ShinyHunters

Google has confirmed that customer data was stolen following a breach of its Salesforce database. The breach was executed by the hacking group ShinyHunters, also known as UNC6040. The stolen data included basic business information like business names and contact details.
ShinyHunters is known for using voice phishing techniques to gain access to cloud-based Salesforce databases. They are suspected of preparing a data leak site to extort victims. This breach is part of a series of attacks targeting Salesforce systems, following similar incidents at Cisco and Qantas.

Business & Healthcare

Yaccarino's Transition: From X to Healthcare Innovation at eMed

Linda Yaccarino, former CEO of X, has been appointed as the new CEO of eMed Population Health, an AI startup focused on building a tech platform for patients using GLP-1s. Despite lacking prior experience in health tech, eMed sought Yaccarino for her partnership negotiation skills and her increased visibility in the tech world. Yaccarino's previous role at X involved managing the social network's ad revenue, while eMed initially developed a platform for at-home COVID-19 tests before shifting focus to GLP-1s like Ozempic. Yaccarino expressed her commitment to leading eMed towards improving global healthcare outcomes through innovative services and platforms.

Technology

Ghost 6 Integrates with ActivityPub, Embracing Decentralized Social Networking

Ghost 6, the latest version of the newsletter platform, now allows publishers to share content natively with the open social web via ActivityPub. This integration connects Ghost with platforms like Mastodon, Threads, Flipboard, and WordPress.
Ghost also offers Bluesky compatibility through Bridgy Fed. Key features include native analytics to track performance and engagement, various payment methods, personalized content, and adjusted pricing plans.
This release positions Ghost as a strong competitor to Substack, particularly after Substack's recent controversy.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI Unveils GPT-OSS: New Open-Weight AI Reasoning Models

OpenAI has launched two open-weight AI reasoning models, gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, available on Hugging Face. These models aim to compete with other open-source AI models and are designed to be more accessible, with the smaller model capable of running on a consumer laptop.

While OpenAI had previously favored a closed-source approach, CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the company was on the wrong side of history regarding open sourcing. The release aligns with growing pressure from Chinese AI labs and encouragement from entities like the Trump Administration to promote AI aligned with democratic values.

The models excel at powering AI agents and calling tools like web search or Python code execution. They were trained using high-compute reinforcement learning, similar to OpenAI's proprietary models. However, they are text-only and cannot process images or audio.

OpenAI is releasing gpt-oss under the Apache 2.0 license, allowing enterprises to monetize the models without permission. While the models are state-of-the-art among open models, they hallucinate more than OpenAI's latest AI reasoning models, o3 and o4-mini. OpenAI delayed the release of its open models multiple times to address safety concerns, finding that gpt-oss may marginally increase biological capabilities but doesn't reach a high capability threshold for danger.

Technology Policy

Navigating the EU AI Act: A Comprehensive Overview

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) is designed to establish a uniform legal framework for AI across EU countries. It aims to ensure the free movement of AI-based goods and services while fostering trust and creating a level playing field. The Act adopts a risk-based approach, banning unacceptable uses, regulating high-risk applications, and setting lighter obligations for limited-risk scenarios.
The EU AI Act rollout began on August 1, 2024, with staggered compliance deadlines. As of August 2, 2025, it applies to general-purpose AI models with systemic risk (GPAI). Penalties for non-compliance can be significant, reaching up to €35 million or 7% of annual turnover for prohibited AI applications.
While some tech companies have expressed concerns about the Act potentially hindering AI development and deployment, others have engaged with the framework. The EU remains committed to its implementation timeline despite lobbying efforts for a pause.

Technology Ethics

AI Crawling Ethics: The Perplexity vs. Cloudflare Web Scraping Debate

Cloudflare accused Perplexity of stealthily scraping websites, leading to a debate about AI agent access. The core question is whether an AI agent accessing a website on behalf of a user should be treated like a bot or a human.

Cloudflare tested Perplexity by blocking its AI crawler on a new website and then asking Perplexity about the site's content, which Perplexity answered. Cloudflare CEO criticized Perplexity, comparing its behavior to North Korean hackers.

Defenders of Perplexity argue that accessing sites on behalf of users is acceptable, questioning why an LLM accessing a site for a user should be treated differently than a web browser. Perplexity defended itself, claiming the behavior was from a third-party service.

The debate highlights the broader issue of bot activity reshaping the internet, with bots now outstripping human activity. LLMs are impacting website traffic, raising questions about whether websites should block AI agents that could potentially drive business.

Technology

WhatsApp Enhances Security with New Anti-Scam Features and Account Takedowns

WhatsApp is rolling out new features to combat scams, including safety overviews for group chats and alerts for individual chats with unknown contacts. The company has also taken down over 6.8 million accounts linked to scam centers. The new group chat feature provides key information and safety tips when someone not in your contacts adds you to a group. For individual chats, WhatsApp is testing alerts to caution users when starting a conversation with someone not in their contacts. WhatsApp also collaborated with OpenAI to disrupt scam efforts originating from a scam center in Cambodia, where scammers used ChatGPT to generate initial messages.

WhatsApp advises users to verify the legitimacy of requests, question if they make sense, and confirm the identity of individuals claiming to be friends or family.

Technology Policy

EU AI Act: Balancing Innovation and Regulation in the Age of AI

The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act) is designed to establish a uniform legal framework for AI across EU countries, promoting the free movement of AI-based goods and services. It applies to both local and foreign companies involved in AI development and deployment.

The EU AI Act aims to foster trustworthy AI while protecting health, safety, fundamental rights, and environmental protection. It adopts a risk-based approach, banning unacceptable risk use cases, regulating high-risk uses, and applying lighter obligations to limited-risk scenarios.

The rollout of the EU AI Act began on August 1, 2024, with staggered compliance deadlines. As of August 2, 2025, it applies to general-purpose AI models with systemic risk (GPAI). Penalties for non-compliance can be significant, reaching up to €35 million or 7% of annual turnover for prohibited AI applications.

Some tech companies have expressed concerns about the EU AI Act, fearing it could hinder AI development and deployment in Europe. However, many companies, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, have signed the voluntary GPAI code of practice.