Australia became the first country to ban children from social media platforms in late 2025. The move was driven by growing concerns over the negative effects of social media on young users. Key risks cited include cyberbullying, addictive platform design, and exposure to online predators. The legislation reflects a broader global conversation about protecting minors in digital spaces.
OpenAI has come forward to claim responsibility for the Hugging Face breach, saying it was the result of internal testing gone awry.
Scientists and engineers are developing machines capable of detecting smells, drawing inspiration from dogs' highly sensitive sense of smell. The technology aims to replicate the biological ability to identify and distinguish a wide range of odours. Researchers are training AI systems to recognise specific scent signatures with increasing accuracy. Such machines could have practical applications across industries including healthcare, food safety, and security. The development marks a significant step toward giving artificial systems one of the last human and animal senses yet to be widely digitised.
Sony has released the last official trailer for its upcoming film Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The teaser includes a notable line of dialogue hinting at themes of isolation and personal burden. The trailer marks the final promotional push before the film's anticipated release. Brand New Day is one of Sony's upcoming entries in its Spider-Man film universe.
Twitter and Square co-founder Jack Dorsey has unveiled Buzz, a new group chat platform designed for workplace teams. The platform positions itself as a direct competitor to established tools like Slack. Buzz is built around the idea of placing human employees and their AI agents within shared conversations. The product reflects a growing trend of integrating AI assistants directly into team collaboration workflows.
For much of the past decade, streaming services built their dominance by focusing on a single content format, such as music, video, or podcasts. Advances in artificial intelligence are now making it easier to create, curate, and recommend content across multiple formats. As a result, the boundaries between these specialized platforms are beginning to blur. Major players like Spotify, Netflix, YouTube, and TikTok are increasingly moving toward becoming broad, all-purpose entertainment destinations.
Taylor Farms remains the primary focus of an ongoing diarrhea outbreak investigation. The company has created confusion by raising questions around FDA testing related to the outbreak. Taylor Farms also issued a recall list that was criticized for being vague and lacking clarity. Health and regulatory authorities continue to scrutinize the company as the investigation unfolds.
Battery materials startup Sila has raised $300 million in a new funding round. The capital will be used to expand its manufacturing capacity for silicon-carbon anode material. The company aims to produce enough of the material to power over 100,000 electric vehicles. The raise comes at a time when the broader EV industry has been experiencing a notable slowdown in growth.
Substack has introduced a new tool that allows readers to check whether content on the platform may have been written or assisted by AI. The feature, powered by AI detection company Pangram, can scan posts, notes, replies, and comments for signs of AI-generated text. Users can access it via the three-dot menu on any post containing more than 100 words by selecting 'Scan for AI text.' The tool is currently available on the web and iOS, with an Android version expected to follow shortly.
Nintendo has told a court that customers who purchased the Switch console have no legal right to seek refunds related to tariffs. The company contends that buyers received exactly what they paid for and that no legal basis exists for compensation. Nintendo is urging the judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought against it. The case centers on whether tariff costs imposed on imported goods can give consumers grounds for legal action against the seller.
Swedish electric trucking company Einride has agreed to acquire Flipturn, an EV charging firm, for $38 million paid entirely in stock. The deal signals Einride's strategic push to expand its charging infrastructure as it scales its electric trucking operations. By bringing charging capabilities in-house, Einride aims to strengthen its end-to-end electric freight network. The acquisition reflects growing industry momentum toward vertically integrated electric trucking solutions.
Apple has announced a partnership with buy-now-pay-later firm Klarna to introduce a new lease-to-own program for its hardware products. The initiative covers key Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers. This marks a significant shift in how Apple approaches consumer financing for its product lineup. The move comes at a time when Apple is reportedly planning to raise prices on several of its products.
National Geographic has released a new documentary titled 'Pompeii: Out of Time,' narrated by actor Tom Hiddleston. The film focuses on the last 24 hours of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii before its destruction. It blends established historical facts with imaginative reconstruction to depict life in the city during its final day. The documentary aims to bring the doomed city's story to a modern audience in an engaging and informative way.
Peak Design has launched its new Field Bracket system on Kickstarter, with early bird pricing starting at $150. The modular accessory is designed to solve the common problem of awkwardly attaching finder tags like AirTags to cameras. Currently, many photographers resort to hanging tracker tags from camera straps, which can be bulky and interfere with shooting. The Field Bracket integrates the finder tag directly into its design, offering a cleaner and more practical solution for camera tracking.
Data centers are expected to consume four times more electricity by 2035 than they do today. New facilities built through 2033 alone could collectively draw power equivalent to India's entire current national electricity consumption. The surge is being driven by rapid expansion in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. This growing energy demand raises significant concerns about grid capacity and sustainability goals worldwide.
Tesla has begun robotaxi pilot programs in Orlando and Tampa, Florida, marking an early step in its autonomous ride-hailing ambitions. The company has not disclosed how many vehicles are operating in each city. The rollout comes ahead of Tesla's second-quarter earnings report. The expansion has proceeded far more cautiously than CEO Elon Musk had previously indicated, with the company taking a measured approach to scaling the network.
Scientists have discovered that naked mole-rat queens use a single chemical signal to maintain their dominant reproductive status within a colony. This chemical suppresses the fertility of other female mole-rats, preventing rivals from reproducing. The finding sheds light on how the strict social hierarchy of naked mole-rat colonies is chemically enforced. Naked mole-rats are known for their highly organized, queen-led social structures, similar in some ways to those of bees and ants. The research offers new insight into the biological mechanisms behind social order in animal colonies.
A $1.5 billion copyright settlement between AI company Anthropic and a group of authors has received court approval. The deal resolves claims that Anthropic used authors' written works without permission to train its AI systems. Only around 350 authors chose to opt out of the settlement rather than participate in the payout. Notably, Anthropic moved to block some authors from opting out at a late stage in the proceedings.
Best Buy is offering significant discounts on almost the entire Amazon Kindle lineup as part of its Black Friday in July promotion. The popular Kindle Paperwhite (12th-gen) has dropped to its all-time low of $124.99, a $35 reduction, while the Kindle Kids is available for $99.99 after a $30 discount. Readers interested in color displays can pick up the Kindle Colorsoft starting at $159.99, down $90 from its regular price. For those seeking a combined e-reader and digital notebook, the Kindle Scribe and Kindle Scribe Colorsoft are on sale for $379.99 and $479.99, saving buyers $120 and $150 respectively. The deals are available now at both Best Buy and Target.
Sales of Valve's Steam Deck handheld gaming device have fallen sharply since a price hike introduced in May 2025. Analysis of bestseller chart data reveals an approximately 80 percent decline in sales compared to earlier 2025 performance. The drop suggests consumers have reacted negatively to the increased pricing. The Steam Deck had previously maintained strong sales momentum, making the downturn a notable shift for the product line.
