EU Fines Apple & Meta, Intel Layoffs, WhatsApp Privacy, YouTube Milestones

EU Digital Markets Act Fines

• 🇪🇺 The European Union has fined Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million under the Digital Markets Act.
• 🍎 Apple was fined for restricting alternative payment options in its app store.
• 📱 Meta was fined for forcing users to accept personalized ads.
• ⚖️ Both companies plan to appeal these decisions, citing unfair rules.

Tech Company Updates

• 👓 Meta is rolling out live translations for its Ray-Ban smart glasses, with offline capabilities and new AI features.
• 📉 Intel is reportedly preparing to lay off over 21,000 employees (20% of its workforce) to streamline management and refocus on engineering.
• 🔒 WhatsApp is rolling out an advanced chat privacy feature to prevent chat export, media auto-download, and AI integrations.
• 📺 YouTube celebrated its 20th anniversary with milestones like 20 trillion uploads and announced new features including 4x playback and customizable multi-view on YouTube TV.
• 🍪 Google is reversing its plan to phase out third-party cookies in Chrome, citing mixed industry feedback and regulatory scrutiny.

AI and Antitrust

• 🤝 Google is paying Samsung a monthly fee and a cut of ad revenue to pre-install its Gemini AI app on Galaxy S25 devices.
• ⚖️ The US Department of Justice argues that Google's practices warrant stricter penalties, potentially including breaking up parts of its business.

Teen Social Media Impact

• 📊 A Pew Research study found that 48% of teens believe social media negatively impacts their peers, though only 14% feel personally affected.
• 😟 55% of parents are concerned about teen mental health, with 44% identifying social media as the biggest threat.