Meta AI arrives in Threads DMs for all users worldwide
Meta AI arrives in Threads DMs for all users worldwide

Meta is rolling out Meta AI to Threads direct messages globally starting today. All users can now share posts, images, links, and videos with Meta AI in a one-on-one conversation, ask follow-up questions, and explore topics privately. The feature mirro…

Sam Altman deleted TikTok because he could not stop scrolling. OpenAI killed Sora for the same reason.
Sam Altman deleted TikTok because he could not stop scrolling. OpenAI killed Sora for the same reason.

Sam Altman deleted TikTok because he could not stop using it. The OpenAI CEO said on the “Relentless” podcast that he forced himself to learn the app while OpenAI was building Sora, its AI-generated video social network. “I made myself get addicted to …

Paramount’s Paused Merger Doesn’t Ease Creators’ Fears–But The ‘Obsession’ And ‘Backrooms’ Story Should

Paramount just paused its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Independent creators are scared, but after ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms,’ they have more ownership.

Discord and Meta are being sued as defective products, not as publishers
Discord and Meta are being sued as defective products, not as publishers

The complaint says out loud what most cases like it only imply. It exists, its authors write, to challenge how Discord and Meta misuse “section 230 of the Communications Decency Act as a shield against accountability”. That single sentence explains the…

The vertical video takeover is here
The vertical video takeover is here

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things vertical video, follow David Pierce. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started For a while, every social and media platform […]

The EU says TikTok still isn’t doing enough to protect kids

The European Commission says TikTok may be violating the Digital Services Act by failing to adequately protect minors’ accounts and privacy on the platform.

Patreon cut 20% of its staff. Its CEO insists AI isn’t replacing them.
Patreon cut 20% of its staff. Its CEO insists AI isn’t replacing them.

Patreon is cutting a fifth of its staff. Its founder wants you to know it is not because of AI. On Thursday the creator-payments company laid off 93 people, about 20% of its workforce, as 404 Media first reported. Chief executive Jack Conte called the …

Meta is banning the ‘pervert glasses’ creeps from Instagram
Meta is banning the ‘pervert glasses’ creeps from Instagram

Meta has a nickname problem. Its Ray-Ban smart glasses have earned an ugly label: “pervert glasses”. Men wear them to film women in the street. Pranksters wear them to ambush shop workers. Now Instagram is trying to scrub the evidence. The platform wil…

Facebook Has a New Marketplace App and Verification Checks for Everyone

In a curious move, the social network is siphoning off its most popular features into separate apps.

Facebook debuts Seller app for Marketplace and tests a TikTok-style video feed

Facebook is rolling out a standalone Seller app for Marketplace power users and testing a video-first home screen that mirrors TikTok’s format.