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Meta Ordered to Pay Record $25 Billion Privacy Penalty
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay a record $25 billion penalty for violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act by misleading residents about user data privacy in connection with the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The ruling stems from a jury finding 43 million violations, with the awarded funds designated specifically for New Mexico’s school system. Meanwhile, Meta is pursuing an appeal challenging the calculation of violations, which was based on potential user exposure rather than proven viewership, and arguing that the fine violates constitutional protections against excessive punishment.
DeepSeek Reportedly Raises $15 Billion Despite U.S. Restrictions
Despite recent U.S. security restrictions, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has raised approximately $15 billion from major domestic investors like CATL and Tencent to expand its AI infrastructure and open models. Founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek gained global prominence with its open-weight reasoning model and joins a broader wave of massive capital investments in China’s AI industry alongside rivals like Moonshot AI, Zhipu AI, and MiniMax.
Source: TechCrunch
Fortnite Returns to Apple’s App Store in Australia
Epic Games announced that “Fortnite” will return to Apple’s App Store in Australia after a court ruled Apple violated competition law. Apple plans to appeal to protect its platform security. Meanwhile, Google has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze a ruling requiring major changes to the Google Play store in a separate lawsuit brought by Epic, arguing the order would cause significant harm.
Source: Reuters
Comcast Reports Steep Subscriber Losses as Peacock Gains Momentum
Comcast reported steep third-quarter subscriber losses in its broadband and cable-TV units, exceeding Wall Street estimates and prompting reports of planned job cuts, even as adjusted earnings beat expectations. While the company faces intense market competition for high-speed internet and is using mobile bundling strategies to retain users, its NBCUniversal media operations showed strong momentum, led by Peacock subscriber growth and profitability alongside historic box office results for Universal films, offsetting softer performance in its theme parks division.
Source: Bloomberg
Meta’s Muse AI App Surpasses 10 Million Users
During its Q3 earnings call, Meta reported that its AI app Muse has reached over 10 million users, with strong daily retention and an unexpected high average purchase size for agentic shopping via Plaid. CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted popular use cases like personal productivity, underpinned by new security features, and outlined plans to scale the agent, integrate it with smart glasses, launch a collaborative “Muse network,” and monetize through transaction fees and premium tiers while driving down compute costs by 10x to achieve profitability.
Source: TechCrunch
Roku Launches Pro Series LX OLED TVs Starting at $1,300
Roku has launched its Pro Series LX OLED TVs exclusively on Amazon in 55-inch ($1,300) and 65-inch ($1,600) models. Positioned as Roku’s most advanced TVs yet, the LX series features a 144Hz variable refresh rate, higher brightness, wider color range, anti-reflective polarizer, and a rechargeable hands-free voice remote. Designed with ultra-thin metal bezels, these Roku OS-powered displays also support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Dolby Atmos.
Source: Engadget
1Password Expands Secure Credential Access for AI Agents
1Password has expanded its integration platform with 1Password for Agents, enabling AI models, including Meta’s Muse, OpenAI’s Dots, and SpaceXAI’s Grok Bot, to perform tasks like booking reservations and making purchases without ever viewing sensitive vault credentials. By requiring user approval for each session and injecting login details and MFA codes via a secure channel outside the model’s view, the system aims to serve as a trust layer for AI automation, though users are still advised to exercise caution given the potential for AI operational errors.
Source: Engadget
Anthropic Introduces Claude Duet AI Agent
Anthropic has introduced Claude Duet, a new AI agent research preview powered by Claude Opus 5.5 and designed to assist professionals and small business owners with daily briefs, administrative tasks, and complex workflows across connected apps. Available as a standalone app on iOS and Android as well as on the web, Duet uses a virtual machine with a browser, built-in memory, and dedicated safety classifiers requiring user approval for major actions, though access is currently limited to Pro and Max subscribers in the US via a waitlist.
Source: The Verge
Hugging Face Releases Carbon-X AI Model for DNA Research
Hugging Face has released Carbon-X, a new 14-billion-parameter open AI model developed with researchers in China and Italy that allows users to chat with DNA in natural language. Designed to assist with drug discovery, genetic therapy design, and interpreting genetic mutations, the model runs locally on a user’s hardware to protect sensitive genomic data and was deliberately trained without viral DNA to mitigate biosecurity risks.
Source: Wired
Electronic Arts Shuts Down BioWare and Cancels Next Mass Effect
Electronic Arts is shutting down BioWare, the studio behind Mass Effect, Baldur’s Gate, and Dragon Age, to focus on fewer large-scale projects. Founded in 1995, BioWare pioneered modern RPGs with branching narratives and inclusive customization, earning awards and selling over 12 million copies of Dragon Age: Inquisition. However, recent struggles with Anthem and Dragon Age: The Veilguard led to the closure of its Edmonton office and the cancellation of the next Mass Effect game, sparking widespread regret.
Source: Washington Post