📱 Apple’s EU Fight, TikTok Ban in Court, GPS Data Leak
Good morning. It’s Thursday, December 19. Today we are covering:
EU Escalates Pressure on Apple to Open Up Features to Rivals
Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban
Tracker firm Hapn spilling names of thousands of GPS tracking customers
Data center company Switch plans to buy 12 GW of nuclear power from SMR company Oklo
What happens when the internet disappears?
Let’s dive in
EU Escalates Pressure on Apple to Open Up Features to Rivals
By Samuel Stolton via Bloomberg
EU's European Commission has instructed Apple Inc. to rework its iOS operating system to ensure compatibility with devices from competitors, including smartwatches and earbuds.
Apple argues that granting access to Meta Platforms Inc. could compromise user privacy, highlighting concerns over data security.
The regulatory push is part of the EU's broader effort to ensure fair competition in the tech ecosystem.
𝕏: The EU’s European Commission has pressed Apple Inc. to further open up the iPhone operating system to rivals, prompting the company to complain about requests from Meta Platforms Inc. that it says will undermine privacy. - Mark Gurman (@markgurman)
Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban
By Melissa Quinn via CBS News
U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a legal challenge regarding the nationwide TikTok ban.
The case could set a precedent for how the government regulates foreign-owned tech platforms in the U.S.
The decision comes amid ongoing debates about national security and data privacy linked to TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
𝕏: The Supreme Court will hear TikTok's First Amendment challenge on an accelerated timeline. Just 23 days. The same Court took almost two months after it granted review to hear Trump's presidential immunity case - Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1)
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Tracker firm Hapn spilling names of thousands of GPS tracking customers
By Zack Whittaker via TechCrunch
Hapn, formerly known as Spytec, is exposing names and business affiliations of thousands of GPS tracking customers due to a website bug.
The breach includes over 8,600 GPS trackers, revealing device IMEI numbers but not real-time location data.
Hapn’s CEO and its support channels have failed to respond to multiple inquiries, leaving sensitive customer data publicly accessible.
𝕏: New: GPS tracking firm Hapn is exposing the names of thousands of its customers due to a website bug. The data includes thousands of records that contain the names and business affiliations of customers who own, or are tracked by, the GPS trackers. - Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb)
Data center company Switch plans to buy 12 GW of nuclear power from SMR company Oklo
By Katie Fehrenbacher via Axios
Switch, a data center company, has signed a non-binding agreement to buy 12 GW of nuclear power from Oklo, marking one of the largest clean energy deals to date.
Oklo, backed by Sam Altman, plans to deploy modular nuclear reactors between 50 MW and 100 MW, with initial units at 15 MW each, targeting completion by 2044.
The deal reflects the tech industry’s push for advanced nuclear power to support energy-hungry AI data centers, with companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon also exploring similar initiatives.
𝕏: “one of the largest deals for clean energy to date,” @DCVC-backed @Oklo will sell a whopping *12 GW* of power to data center co. @Switch (clients incl. @Google, @NVIDIA, @Cisco). The nuclear renaissance rolls on! - Zachary Bogue (@zackbogue)
What happens when the internet disappears?
By s.e. Smith via The Verge
Digital decay is erasing vast amounts of online content due to vanishing websites, broken links, and insufficient archival efforts, leaving cultural and historical records incomplete.
The rise of AI-driven content generation threatens creative industries by consuming and replicating original works, often without consent, while contributing to misinformation and environmental damage.
The disappearance of online content raises critical questions about digital preservation, ownership, and cultural memory, emphasizing the need for intentional archiving and equitable control of the internet's historical record.
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