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A Freedom of Information Act request has produced letters that the US Department of Justice sent to Google, Apple, Amazon, and several other companies in order to assuage their concerns about breaking a law that banned US web services from working with TikTok. The documents — obtained by Zhaocheng Anthony Tan, a Google shareholder who sued for their release earlier this year — show Attorney General Pam Bondi and her predecessor Acting Attorney General James McHenry III promising to release companies from responsibility for violating the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which required US companies to ban TikTok from…

One name is popping up a lot across tech startup social media right now, and you might've heard it: Soham Parekh. On X, people are joking that Parekh is single-handedly holding up all modern digital infrastructure, while others are posting memes about him working in front of a dozen different monitors or filling in for the thousands of people that Microsoft just laid off. From what social media posts suggest, Parekh is actually a software engineer who seems to have interviewed at dozens of tech startups over the years, while also juggling multiple jobs at the same time. Several startups…

Racist videos that appear to be created with Google’s AI video generation tool Veo 3 have raked in millions of views across TikTok, according to findings from the nonprofit media watchdog Media Matters. The AI-generated videos uncovered by the organization are filled with racist tropes, many of which target Black people. Media Matters determined that the videos — one of which received 14.2 million views — were generated with Google Veo 3 because of the “Veo” watermark in the corner of the clips. Some users also listed hashtags, captions, or usernames pertaining to Veo 3 or AI, according to Media…

Microsoft’s layoff of roughly 9,000 employees is continuing to have downstream effects at the company’s subsidiaries. Aftermath reports that as many as 100 developers at Blizzard have been impacted, and as a result the studio is winding down development on its mobile tower defense game Warcraft Rumble. In an announcement, Blizzard wrote that while the game will not be abandoned entirely, the company will cease development on any new content. “Moving forward, we’ll continue supporting Rumble with updates focused on regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes, but no new content. ” Blizzard continued, saying Rumble, “struggled to find its footing…

A mandatory update for Google’s mid-range Pixel 6A phones is coming next week that is meant to reduce the risk of the battery overheating on some devices. According to a support page post, Google is issuing the mandatory Android 16 update starting July 8 to all Pixel 6A devices. However, only users with “Impacted Devices” will see any effect on their battery. Announced earlier this month, the update will reduce the battery capacity on affected phones after they reach 400 charging cycles, Google’s Alex Moriconi told The Verge. The move comes after at least two people reported their Pixel 6As…

On July 2nd, Microsoft announced sweeping layoffs affecting as many as 9,000 employees, and they had a big impact on the company’s Xbox studios. Microsoft canceled Perfect Dark from The Initiative and closed the studio. Rare’s Everwild, announced in 2019, was canceled, too. And Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will lose more than 70 employees. “We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a memo to employees. “We will protect what is thriving and…

Figma, the platform that specializes in collaborative interface design, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). The company will trade under the ticker symbol “FIG” as it prepares to “double down” on its investments in AI. Figma was nearly acquired by Adobe for $20 billion in 2022, but the two companies scrapped the deal in 2023 after facing pressure from regulators in the UK and the European Union. Last year, Figma CEO Dylan Field hinted at going public last year during an interview included in The Verge’s Command Line newsletter, saying, “There are two paths that venture-funded startups go…

X is launching a way for developers to create AI bots that can write Community Notes that can potentially appear on posts. Like humans, the “AI Note Writers” will be able to submit a Community Note, but they will only actually be shown on a post “if found helpful by people from different perspectives,” X says in a post on its Community Notes account. Notes written by AI will be “clearly marked for users” and, to start, “AIs can only write notes on posts where people have requested a note.” AI Note Writers must also “earn the ability to write…

Google’s 4th-gen Nest Learning Thermostat. | Photo: Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Google Home’s latest update will make it easier to decide who in your household can control your smart home. It comes with a new feature, which Google first started testing last year, that will let you assign people “Admin” and “Member” roles. People with Admin status have full control of all the devices, services, and users within their smart home, while Members can only use “basic” device controls, like watching the live view of a security camera. However, admins can grant Members additional privileges by giving them…

Editor’s note: Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 8th; however, if you want to get a head start on your online shopping, we’ve rounded up the best early Prime Day deals you can already get. After a long stretch of slim pickings, the last couple of years have been huge for Android smartwatches. Now there are more good options than ever — with more on the way soon. Much like Android phones, this market is fragmented. Wear OS 5 is here for Samsung’s Galaxy Watches, Google’s Pixel Watch 3, and soon, the OnePlus Watch 3 when it finally ships later this…