TikTok goes dark in the US
TikTok has gone dark in the US, the result of a federal law banning the popular social media app for millions of Americans — at least for now. TikTok users started receiving messages about the ban around 10:30pm Eastern. As of Saturday afternoon, the app was also unavailable on Apple's app store. "Sorry, TikTok is currently unavailable," the message...
How PowerSchool data breach victims helped each other investigate ‘massive’ hack
On January 7, at 11:10 a.m. in Dubai, Romy Backus received an email from education technology giant PowerSchool informing her that the school she worked for was one of the victims of a data breach discovered by the company on December 28. PowerSchool says hackers. have accessed cloud systems containing personal student and teacher information, including Social Security numbers,...
TikTok says it will go dark on Sunday unless Biden offers ‘definitive statement’
It was unclear whether TikTok would still be available in the United States on Sunday, with the company saying that President Joe Biden's administration would have to provide "certain" assurances that it would not impose a ban. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld legislation that would have effectively banned TikTok in the US if the app's owner, ByteDance, did...
The DOJ confirmed that the detained US Army soldiers were connected to the AT&T and Verizon hacks
US prosecutors have formally linked the arrest of a US Army soldier in December to the theft of US phone records from AT&T and Verizon last year. Authorities arrested Cameron John Wagenius, a US Army communications specialist, in Texas on December 20 following a two-page grand jury indictment charging the US serviceman with two counts of illegally transmitting secret...
After high-flying proptech startups Divvy Homes and EasyKnock are the latest to struggle
Many proptech startups, born and funded in the heyday of low interest rates, are struggling. With investment in US-based real estate startups falling from $11.1 billion in 2021 to $3.7 billion last year, according to PitchBook data, some are selling themselves, while others are closing up shop. Two recent examples are the latest victims of a challenging interest rate...
The FTC says partnerships like Microsoft-OpenAI raise antitrust concerns
The Federal Trade Commission said in a staff report published Friday that there are potential competitive issues in partnerships between large technology companies and generative AI developers - specifically, Microsoft's support of OpenAI and Amazon and Alphabet / Google's partnership with Anthropic. "The FTC's report explains how partnerships with big tech companies can create lock-ins, reduce key AI input...
Perplexity AI posted an offer to join TikTok
With the impending ban on TikTok in the United States, Perplexity AI is the latest bidder hoping to give the video app a new corporate home. CNBC first reported on Perplexity's interest. A source with knowledge of the deal confirmed to TechCrunch that Perplexity (CEO Aravind Srinivas pictured above) has submitted an offer to join TikTok US. The source...
Who knows about the ban on TikTok
Welcome to the Week in Review. This week, we look at the impact of the TikTok ban in the US, including "TikTok refugees" moving to the Chinese app RedNote, a surge of English speakers learning Mandarin on Duolingo, and more! Let's get to it. The Supreme Court has upheld a law that will ban TikTok effective tomorrow. The decision...
6 Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks (2025), Tested and Reviewed
If you don't feel rested when the alarm goes off, the problem may be the alarm clock itself. Waking up to a loud alarm isn't a fun way to start the day, and the annoying jolts may fail to tell your body it's time to wake up. I'm an extreme snooze button kind of gal, and I find sunrise...
Want To Avoid AI Scams? Try These Tips From Our Experts
Good luck! Thank you to everyone who reads WIRED's AI Unlocked newsletter for listening to the latest conversations about money and artificial intelligence scams. I really enjoy interacting with readers and answering other questions directly. If you missed the broadcast, the full recording is available here for you to watch whenever you want, and the previous two livestreams from...
