Tech News

1. Cybersecurity / Vulnerabilities:

   • Microsoft's December 2025 Patch Tuesday fixes 56 vulnerabilities, including three zero-days and one actively exploited flaw (CVE-2025-62221), affecting Windows OS and supported software. 👉 msrc.microsoft.com^$
   • Fortinet, Ivanti, and SAP issue urgent patches for critical authentication and code execution flaws in their products. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • North Korea-linked actors exploit the React2Shell vulnerability to deploy new EtherRAT malware, targeting blockchain and Web3 developers. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Storm-0249 escalates ransomware attacks with advanced tactics like domain spoofing, DLL side-loading, and fileless PowerShell execution. 👉 thehackernews.com
   • Critical React2Shell flaw in React Server Components (RSC) allows unauthenticated remote code execution and continues to be heavily exploited. 👉 thehackernews.com

2. Privacy / Surveillance:

   • The US CBP proposes vetting five years of social media history for travelers from countries like the UK, France, and Germany. 👉 nytimes.com^$
   • Australia’s ban on under-16 social media users takes effect, affecting platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and others. 👉 theguardian.com

3. Artificial Intelligence:

   • Adobe integrates Photoshop, Express, and Acrobat directly into ChatGPT, allowing users to edit photos, design graphics, and tweak PDFs through the chatbot. 👉 theverge.com
   • Meta’s newly recruited AI "superstars" have developed internal friction over company goals, focusing on catching up to OpenAI and Google rather than improving Meta's core businesses. 👉 nytimes.com^$
   • Google rolls out Preferred Sources globally, letting users customize “top stories” in Search and launches highlighted links from users’ news subscriptions. 👉 searchengineland.com
   • Google unveils Emergency Live Video, a feature allowing US Android users to share live video with 911 responders. 👉 theverge.com
   • OpenAI warns that upcoming AI models are likely to pose a "high" cybersecurity risk. 👉 axios.com

4. Economy / Business:

   • McDonald's Netherlands pulls an AI-generated Christmas commercial after backlash, citing it as "AI slop." 👉 futurism.com
   • Amazon plans to invest $35 billion in India’s cloud and AI sector by 2030, aiming to create 1 million more jobs. 👉 cnbc.com
   • Wells Fargo expects more job cuts and higher severance costs in Q4 2025, with CEO Charlie Scharf betting on AI to drive further workforce reduction. 👉 charlotteobserver.com

5. Geopolitics / Diplomacy:

   • India proposes a framework requiring AI companies to pay royalties for training on copyrighted works, creating a new collecting body for rights holders. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, is reportedly using smuggled Nvidia Blackwell chips to develop its next major model, despite export restrictions. 👉 theinformation.com
   • Nvidia has developed location verification technology to determine the country its AI chips are operating in, potentially helping address chip smuggling concerns. 👉 reuters.com

6. Technology / Software:

   • Canonical announces that ROCm libraries for AI/ML and HPC will be packaged directly into the Ubuntu Universe archive, making installation and maintenance easier. 👉 canonical.com
   • YouTube TV plans to launch over 10 genre-specific, cheaper subscription plans in early 2026, including a Sports Plan featuring ESPN Unlimited. 👉 variety.com
   • Spotify will begin testing a feature that lets users write a prompt for a playlist and receive a unique set of songs based on their behavior. 👉 techcrunch.com
   • Qualcomm acquires RISC-V startup Ventana to strengthen its CPU ambitions beyond mobile. 👉 qualcomm.com

7. Education / Social Media:

   • A study finds that shoppers using Instacart are often charged different prices for identical products at the same store, even when selecting in-store pickup. 👉 nytimes.com^$
   • Instagram launches "Your Algorithm" feature, allowing users to influence their Reels feed by picking topics they want to see more or less of. 👉 wired.com
   • Reddit starts a limited test of verified profiles, placing a gray checkmark beside notable users' usernames. 👉 techcrunch.com

8. Legal / Compliance:

   • The EU's General Court reduces a 2023 EU antitrust fine on Intel to €237.1M, down from €376.36M. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
   • US lawmakers warn that a future Democratic Congress could try to unravel or block any Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal. 👉 semafor.com
   • The US CBP proposes a new rule requiring travelers from 42 visa-waiver countries to disclose five years of social media history. 👉 nytimes.com^$

9. Healthcare / Finance:

   • A Pew Research survey reveals that 64% of US teens use AI chatbots, with 28% using them daily. 👉 pewresearch.org
   • Oracle reports Q2 revenue up 14% YoY to $16.06B, but shares drop after hours due to mixed earnings and high capital expenditures. 👉 cnbc.com

10. Media / Entertainment:

    • McDonald's AI-generated Christmas commercial is pulled after widespread backlash. 👉 futurism.com
    • TikTok launches a podcast series called "TikTok in the Mix," featuring live episodes with notable guests. 👉 variety.com

11. Energy / Environment:

    • Geothermal energy company Fervo raises $462M to accelerate geothermal development and meet energy demands with clean power. 👉 wsj.com^$
    • Starcloud trains the first AI model in space using Nvidia H100 hardware, running Google's Gemma model in orbit. 👉 cnbc.com

12. Social Issues:

    • Australia’s under-16 social media ban is criticized for not covering platforms like Discord, GitHub, and Roblox, which some argue are equally risky. 👉 bloomberg.com^$
    • A study reveals that Black and Hispanic teens are twice as addicted to TikTok and YouTube compared to their peers. 👉 trtworld.com

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