Google has agreed to pay $1.375 billion to settle two major privacy lawsuits filed by the state of Texas, marking one of the largest legal recoveries from the tech giant in a state-level data privacy case.

Allegations of Unlawful Data Collection

The lawsuits, originally filed in 2022 by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, accused Google of illegally collecting and storing users’ personal data, including: location, tracking private “incognito” mode searches, and capturing voice and facial recognition data—all without proper user consent.

“For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services,”

Paxton said in a statement.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law. I fought back and won.”

Paxton’s office called the resolution the largest recovery nationwide by any state attorney general for enforcement of privacy laws against Google.

No Admission of Wrongdoing

Google is settling the lawsuits without admitting any wrongdoing or liability and without making changes to its current products or services. In a statement, spokesperson José Castañeda said the cases involved outdated policies.

“This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,”

Castañeda said.

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”

Legal Context and Background

The litigation is part of a broader wave of privacy and antitrust scrutiny against Big Tech. The Texas case echoes a similar lawsuit settled last year by Meta—Facebook’s parent company—for its use of facial recognition technology, also led by Paxton’s office.

Google has previously pushed back against the Texas suits. In one instance, an appeals court found the company lacked sufficient ties to Texas to be sued there. Google also argued that its products had been mischaracterized, stating, for example, that Google Photos only scans users’ faces to group similar images and does not use that data for advertising.

The settlement also follows a string of high-profile antitrust rulings against Google. U.S. courts recently found that the company had illegally maintained monopolies in web search and advertising technology, with remedies under consideration—including a possible divestment of its Chrome browser business. Google has said it intends to appeal both decisions.

Image: Freepik

President Donald Trump has dismissed Shira Perlmutter, the Register of Copyrights and head of the U.S. Copyright Office, in a move that is drawing sharp criticism from lawmakers and legal observers. The firing, first reported by CBS News and Politico, was effectively confirmed through a statement by Representative Joe Morelle, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.

A Sudden Dismissal with AI Implications

“This is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis,”

Morelle said in response to the firing. He suggested that the decision came directly in retaliation to Perlmutter’s refusal to endorse Elon Musk’s attempts to use copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence models.

Perlmutter, who assumed the position in 2020 during Trump’s first term, was appointed by Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, who was also reportedly dismissed by Trump earlier this week.

The news comes amid heightened tensions surrounding the use of copyrighted content to train generative AI systems—an issue at the heart of a growing number of legal and policy battles.

The Copyright Office’s Position on AI and Fair Use

The firing coincided with the pre-release of Part III of a comprehensive report from the U.S. Copyright Office examining the intersection of copyright and artificial intelligence. While the report does not explicitly reference Elon Musk or his companies, it offers detailed commentary on the legal boundaries of training AI systems using copyrighted works.

According to the report, although certain uses such as research and analysis may fall under the legal doctrine of fair use, “making commercial use of vast troves of copyrighted works to produce expressive content that competes with them in existing markets” likely falls outside of fair use protections—especially if the content was accessed illegally.

The Office ultimately concludes that government regulation would be “premature” at this stage but supports the continued development of licensing markets. It also recommends considering “alternative approaches such as extended collective licensing” to address potential market failures.

Musk’s Role and Broader Tech Tensions

The situation is further complicated by the involvement of Elon Musk, a longtime Trump ally and a co-founder of both OpenAI and rival startup xAI, which is being integrated into X (formerly Twitter). Musk has voiced support for Jack Dorsey’s provocative call to “delete all IP law,” a sentiment that has stirred controversy in tech and legal circles alike.

While Musk has not publicly commented on Perlmutter’s firing, Trump acknowledged the story by “ReTruthing” a post from conservative attorney Mike Davis, who ironically appeared to disapprove of the move:

“Now tech bros are going to attempt to steal creators’ copyrights for AI profits.”

Meanwhile, OpenAI and other AI companies are currently facing multiple lawsuits alleging copyright infringement. The company has publicly advocated for legislative clarity that would allow AI developers to operate under expanded fair use protections—a move likely to face resistance from artists, authors, and lawmakers concerned about creative rights.

Looking Ahead

As generative AI continues to reshape the media, tech, and legal landscapes, the abrupt removal of the nation’s top copyright official underscores the growing political and economic stakes. With Perlmutter’s departure and the Copyright Office’s critical report now in circulation, the question of how U.S. law should adapt to the AI era is more urgent than ever.

Image Credit: 

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America

Microsoft has announced a series of significant updates to the Microsoft 365 Developer Program, aiming to provide developers with a more robust, secure, and accessible environment. These enhancements, shaped by community feedback, are set to roll out over the coming months.

Streamlined Tenant Provisioning

A new and improved tenant provisioning flow will become the default for all new qualified members of the Microsoft 365 Developer Program. These tenants are commercially enabled with add-on options. Existing members will have the option to transition by expiring their current tenant and provisioning a new one.​

Support for Commercial Add-ons

Later this year, members will be able to purchase additional subscriptions on their development tenants provisioned through the new experience, including Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.​

Improved Tenant Ownership and Management

Microsoft is enabling clearer identification of tenant owners, making it easier for developers to manage and secure their environments.​

Option to Transition to Paid Subscriptions

Developers wishing to move beyond the Developer Program will have the ability to convert their development tenant into a standard paid Microsoft 365 subscription.​

Future Improvements on the Horizon

Microsoft is exploring additional ways to make the Microsoft 365 Developer Program more inclusive, flexible, and valuable for a broader global developer base. These improvements are currently in planning, with more details to be shared as the roadmap is finalized.​

What’s Next

A comprehensive update detailing the next wave of changes is expected by September 2025. Currently, no other changes are planned for existing Developer Program members beyond the enhancements mentioned.

Meta announced new steps to expand protections for teen users across its platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger. The update, shared via a company blog post, reflects Meta’s ongoing efforts to create safer, more age-appropriate experiences for younger users and to support parental involvement in their digital lives.

Scaling Up the Teen Accounts Experience

Since the initial launch of Instagram Teen Accounts last year, Meta has introduced a range of built-in safeguards. These include limitations on who can contact teen users, restrictions on sensitive content, and tools to help manage screen time. Teen users are automatically placed into these protective settings, and those under the age of 16 require parental or guardian approval to make changes.

As of April 2025, the company reports more than 54 million active Teen Accounts globally, with an impressive 97% of teens aged 13–15 choosing to remain under these default protections. The experience has since been extended to Facebook and Messenger, broadening the reach of these initiatives across Meta’s ecosystem.

Positive Feedback from Families

According to Meta, both teens and parents have responded favorably to these changes. In surveys conducted by the company, over 90% of parents said the Teen Account features were helpful in supporting their children’s online experiences.

Despite these encouraging numbers, Meta acknowledges the ongoing challenges parents face in navigating the digital world with their teens. “The internet can be overwhelming,” the company notes, emphasizing its commitment to continue evolving its tools in collaboration with parents and experts.

A New Call to Action for Parents

Beginning this week, Meta will roll out in-app notifications to parents on Instagram, encouraging discussions around digital safety and the importance of accurately representing age online. These notifications will include expert advice, such as guidance from Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart, a pediatric psychologist, on how to initiate age-related conversations with teens.

This effort is part of a broader push to ensure that teens are not only protected by default settings, but also understand the importance of truthful age disclosure in online environments.

AI-Driven Age Detection Now in Testing

To further strengthen its teen safety efforts, Meta is testing a new AI system in the United States designed to detect accounts that may belong to teens—even if the listed birthdate suggests otherwise. Once identified, these accounts will be automatically placed in Teen Account settings.

While Meta has previously used artificial intelligence to estimate user age, this marks a more proactive use of the technology. The company states that it is taking care to ensure accuracy in identifying teens and is providing users with the option to update their settings if errors occur.

More details about this AI approach and Meta’s broader age verification initiatives can be found here.

Looking Ahead

Meta acknowledges that determining the age of users online remains a complex, industry-wide challenge. The company emphasizes that while AI and in-app protections play a critical role, parental verification and age confirmation at the app store level remain among the most effective tools for ensuring safe, age-appropriate digital environments.

The Washington Post has announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI to enhance access to reliable journalism within ChatGPT, the popular conversational AI platform. Through this collaboration, users will now see summaries, key quotes, and direct links to The Post’s original reporting when querying relevant topics.

A Shared Vision for Accessible, High-Quality Information

The integration underscores a joint mission to make factual, well-sourced reporting easier to access—particularly on fast-moving or nuanced issues. ChatGPT will now surface journalism from The Post on subjects including politics, global affairs, business, and technology, ensuring clear attribution and direct links to full articles for users seeking deeper insights.

“We’re all in on meeting our audiences where they are,” said Peter Elkins-Williams, Head of Global Partnerships at The Washington Post. “Ensuring ChatGPT users have our impactful reporting at their fingertips builds on our commitment to provide access where, how and when our audiences want it.”

Varun Shetty, Head of Media Partnerships at OpenAI, emphasized the importance of journalistic integrity in AI responses: “More than 500 million people use ChatGPT each week to get answers to all kinds of questions. By investing in high-quality journalism by partners like The Washington Post, we’re helping ensure our users get timely, trustworthy information when they need it.”

Expanding Media Partnerships in the AI Era

This collaboration builds on OpenAI’s broader efforts to integrate trusted news content into its tools. To date, the company has established partnerships with more than 20 publishers, expanding access to over 160 news outlets and hundreds of content brands across more than 20 languages.

AI at the Heart of The Post’s Digital Evolution

The Washington Post has increasingly embraced artificial intelligence as a tool to improve news accessibility and audience engagement. Recent innovations include Ask The Post AI, Climate Answers, and newsroom tools like Haystacker, all developed to leverage generative AI for journalistic purposes. The organization has also introduced AI-powered article summaries and audio formats to expand how readers consume news.

The Machiavellian Approach in Tech Leadership

Machiavellian leaders operate with a results-oriented mindset, focusing on long-term gains, often at the expense of short-term relationships. This approach is marked by key traits such as:

• Tactical Influence

The ability to influence employees, competitors, and investors to achieve their objectives.

• Pragmatic Decision-Making

Prioritizing efficiency and effectiveness over conventional ethics.

• Control and Power Consolidation

Ensuring that they maintain control over their company’s direction by eliminating potential threats or competition.

• Visionary Disruption

Using bold, sometimes controversial strategies to revolutionize industries.

Notable Tech Leaders with Machiavellian Traits

Several high-profile tech leaders exhibit qualities associated with Machiavellianism, helping them build empires while also attracting scrutiny for their methods.

Steve Jobs (Apple)

Steve Jobs was known for his intense focus, perfectionism, and an unyielding demand for excellence. His ability to manipulate situations, fire employees who didn’t meet his expectations, and cultivate a cult-like following around Apple products exemplified Machiavellian leadership. One of the most famous examples of his strategic approach was his ousting from Apple in 1985, only to return in 1997, orchestrating a dramatic comeback that redefined the company. Jobs also reportedly used a “reality distortion field” to push employees beyond their perceived limits.

Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, X)

Elon Musk’s leadership is marked by his relentless pursuit of ambitious goals, sometimes pushing employees to extreme limits. He is known for making bold claims, disrupting industries, and strategically using social media to manipulate markets and public perception. A prime example was his infamous 2018 tweet: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”—which led to an SEC lawsuit and a $40 million settlement. His abrupt decisions, such as mass layoffs at Twitter (now X) after acquiring it, demonstrate his cutthroat approach to leadership.

Jeff Bezos (Amazon)

Bezos transformed Amazon from an online bookstore into a global e-commerce and cloud computing giant through calculated strategy and unwavering ambition. His intense focus on efficiency, cost-cutting, and leveraging data-driven insights to dominate markets showcases a pragmatic and results-driven leadership style. One example of his strategic control was Amazon’s aggressive pricing tactics to undercut competitors, leading to market dominance and antitrust scrutiny. Bezos also famously enforced a “two-pizza rule” for meetings to maximize efficiency and productivity. This rule states that no meeting should have more attendees than two pizzas can feed, typically around six to eight people. The idea is to keep discussions focused, decision-making streamlined, and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy—hallmarks of Amazon’s data-driven and highly efficient culture.

Discover Your Leadership Style in the Tech Industry – Are you a modern-day Machiavelli… ?

Mark Zuckerberg (Meta, formerly Facebook)

Zuckerberg’s rise to power involved strategic acquisitions, aggressive competitive tactics, and a relentless pursuit of growth. His ability to navigate regulatory scrutiny, outmaneuver rivals, and retain control over Meta despite challenges from investors and government agencies illustrates his mastery of power dynamics and strategic manipulation. A notable example is Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, moves that eliminated key competition and solidified Meta’s dominance. Additionally, the Cambridge Analytica scandal showcased how Facebook prioritized growth over user privacy.

Travis Kalanick (Uber)

Kalanick, the co-founder and former CEO of Uber, epitomized Machiavellian leadership with his aggressive expansion strategies, disregard for traditional regulations, and a workplace culture that prioritized rapid growth over ethical considerations. His approach included launching Uber in cities without regulatory approval, using “Greyball” software to evade authorities, and fostering a cutthroat internal culture. His leadership ultimately led to controversy, and he was forced to resign in 2017 after a series of scandals.

The Ethical Dilemma and Potential Balance of Machiavellian Leadership

While Machiavellian leaders drive innovation and industry disruption, their leadership style raises ethical concerns. Their focus on results often comes at the cost of employee well-being, ethical business practices, and, in some cases, regulatory compliance. However, certain elements of Machiavellian leadership—such as discipline, strategic decision-making, and setting clear boundaries—can be beneficial when used to maintain organizational structure and efficiency. When combined with leadership styles that prioritize employee well-being, such as transformational or servant leadership, Machiavellian elements can create a balanced approach that fosters both innovation and a supportive work culture.

The question remains: Is the Machiavellian approach a necessary evil in the tech world, or does it set a dangerous precedent for future leaders?

“Images in ChatGPT are wayyyy more popular than we expected (and we had pretty high expectations),” Altman wrote.

GPT-4o’s Image Tools Initially Reserved for Paid Users

The delay comes just one day after OpenAI introduced its new GPT-4o model, which includes native support for image generation and editing. The update allows users to upload, modify, and interact with images directly within ChatGPT.

In a blog post published Tuesday, OpenAI said these new features would roll out to all ChatGPT users “soon.” However, as of Wednesday, the capabilities remain limited to paying subscribers—specifically those on ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Teams plans.

Ongoing Capacity Challenges at OpenAI

This isn’t the first time OpenAI has scaled back or delayed product rollouts due to infrastructure limitations. The company has repeatedly cited insufficient compute capacity as a bottleneck for launching new features.

Earlier this year, OpenAI faced a similar issue following the debut of its text-to-video model Sora. Signups for the product were temporarily paused just days after launch due to demand.

Looking ahead, OpenAI is betting big on infrastructure to address these recurring issues. The company is reportedly planning a $500 billion initiative, dubbed Stargate, to build one of the largest data centers in the world in partnership with Microsoft. The project is aimed at dramatically increasing the compute power available for AI workloads.

Image: OpenAI

Meta is taking a step back to its roots by reintroducing more personal, connection-focused features to Facebook. In a move designed to bring back the platform’s original spirit of social networking, the company has launched a revamped Friends tab, rolling out first in the United States and Canada.

The update was announced via a blog post, with Meta outlining a broader plan to reintroduce several classic “OG” Facebook experiences throughout 2024.

A Return to Facebook’s Social Core

Facebook began as a platform built around personal connections. Over the years, it expanded into a multi-faceted social network encompassing features like Groups, Video, Marketplace, and more. While these tools offer utility and scale, many users feel that the platform’s original emphasis on friendships has taken a back seat.

To address this, Facebook is introducing a new Friends tab aimed at making content from real-life connections more visible and accessible.

What’s New in the Friends Tab?

The redesigned Friends tab serves as a centralized feed focused exclusively on your Facebook friends. Unlike the main feed—which mixes posts from groups, pages, ads, and suggested content—the Friends tab filters out the noise, surfacing only:

• Stories and Reels from friends
• Traditional posts (text, photo, video)
• Birthday reminders
• Friend requests

Previously, the Friends tab was primarily used to manage friend requests and view People You May Know suggestions. With this update, it becomes a more dynamic space dedicated to real-time social interaction.

The new Facebook Friends tab that makes it easier to connect with your friends

How to Access and Pin the Friends Tab

Initially, users can find the new Friends tab through the navigation bar on their home feed. It will also be available in the Bookmarks section of the app. For easier access, users can pin the tab by following these steps:

1. Tap your profile picture in the Home feed
2. Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Tab Bar
3. Customize the bar and select Friends to pin it

What’s Next?

Meta says this is just the beginning. As part of its broader effort to make Facebook “feel more social,” the company plans to introduce additional features throughout the year that focus on fun, simplicity, and real connection.

The move reflects a growing trend among social platforms to re-emphasize authentic, friend-based interactions in a landscape increasingly dominated by algorithmic discovery and viral content.

The funding news was shared in an unconventional post on WunderGraph’s official blog, reflecting the team’s transparent and developer-first culture. In parallel, the company issued an official statement to TechCrunch offering additional insight into the strategic partnership with eBay and the broader vision for the product.

“Our investment in WunderGraph’s highly performant open source platform will help boost eBay’s API ecosystem and enable our teams to work faster and smarter in building products that help our sellers thrive,” said Bryan Woodruff, VP of Seller Experience Engineering at eBay.

Founded in 2020 by CTO Dustin Deus, CEO Jens Neuse, COO Björn Schwenzer, and CCO Stefan Avram, WunderGraph has maintained its U.S. incorporation from the outset. While most of the founding team is based in Germany, Miami-based Avram joined in 2022 to provide local leadership in the U.S.

Tackling API Sprawl With GraphQL

GraphQL, initially developed by Meta (then Facebook) in 2012 and open sourced in 2015, is a data query language for APIs designed to make data fetching more efficient. Rather than over-fetching or under-fetching data as is common with traditional REST APIs, GraphQL allows clients to request precisely the data they need. This efficiency has made it a cornerstone of modern software architecture, especially as companies adopt microservices.

However, with the proliferation of APIs, managing and orchestrating them at scale becomes increasingly complex. That’s where WunderGraph steps in. The company originally offered a software development kit (SDK) to help unify disparate APIs—including REST, SOAP, and databases like MySQL. In 2023, it secured a $3 million seed round to build what it dubbed a “GitHub for APIs,” a collaborative platform for discovering and sharing APIs.

At the same time, Apollo was making significant headway in GraphQL Federation, an approach to help multiple development teams collaborate on large, distributed applications. But Apollo’s shift in late 2021 from an open source MIT license to a proprietary Elastic License created an opening for competition.

“Our data showed that some people were really looking for an open source alternative to Apollo Federation,” Neuse told TechCrunch. “We figured our current approach is not working, so let’s just put out an open source alternative to Apollo Federation.”

In response, WunderGraph launched Cosmo in late 2023—a fully open source GraphQL federation platform.

Strategic Alignment With eBay

WunderGraph serves as the main maintainer of Cosmo and offers services like hosting, premium support, and integration assistance for analytics, authentication, and observability. While large enterprises can build their own in-house solutions, many prefer to rely on externally supported products like Cosmo, backed by service-level agreements (SLAs).

This is where the collaboration with eBay becomes pivotal. eBay gains the customization and openness of a flexible GraphQL federation solution, while WunderGraph benefits from eBay’s real-world design input and use case validation.

“I would say we are experts in federation, but we don’t have experience in eBay-scale problems,” Neuse explained. “By having this very close relationship, they taught us everything in terms of how we need to build our product so that it can be integrated into companies like eBay.”

This includes making Cosmo modular enough for companies to adopt only the components they need—something that aligns with enterprise concerns about vendor lock-in. According to Neuse, open source is the only viable path forward for widespread adoption:

“This market needs to be as wide as possible. How can we attract everybody? It must be open source. We cannot limit how people use it.”

Looking Ahead

With $7.5 million in fresh capital, WunderGraph aims to expand its 20-person team and enhance its open source GraphQL federation with tools tailored for collaboration and governance—critical for supporting distributed teams at enterprise scale.

“Open source is the future of API management, and enterprises are demanding transparency, flexibility, and control,” said co-founder Stefan Avram. “We’re building the essential plumbing for the world’s biggest platforms, and this funding allows us to scale while keeping our commitment to open source development.”

Financial technology giant Block, Inc., the parent company of Cash App and Square, has laid off 931 employees—approximately 8% of its global workforce—according to a leaked internal message obtained and published by TechCrunch. The announcement was made in an email sent to employees by co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday.

In the email, Dorsey outlined that the layoffs are part of broader organizational changes and not tied to financial issues or AI-driven automation. Rather, the move is aimed at streamlining the company’s structure, accelerating performance standards, and aligning with new strategic priorities.

Breakdown of Layoffs

According to Dorsey’s message, the job cuts fall into three categories:

• Strategy: 391 employees are being let go as part of strategic shifts within the company.
• Performance: The largest group—460 employees—are being cut due to underperformance or a trend toward underperformance based on internal metrics.
• Management Restructuring: 80 managerial roles have been eliminated to flatten the company’s hierarchy to what Dorsey calls “innercore+4,” meaning his direct reports and four levels below them. Additionally, 193 managers are being reassigned to individual contributor roles.

The company is also closing 748 open positions, with exceptions made for roles that are in the final stages of the hiring process or deemed critical to operations and leadership.

Not the First Cut

This is not the first significant round of layoffs at Block in recent months. In January 2024, the company reduced its workforce by about 1,000 employees. As of its most recent filing in December 2024, Block reported having roughly 11,300 employees globally.

Despite the magnitude of the layoffs, Dorsey emphasized that they are part of an effort to make the organization more agile and performance-focused.

“We are raising the bar and acting faster on performance,”

he wrote in the internal message, published by the leading tech media.

The full text of Jack Dorsey’s leaked email can be read in TechCrunch’s original publication here.

Block has not yet issued a public comment on the matter, TechCrunch reported.

Image by Mark Warner is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Source: TechCrunch