A judge has ruled that Google must allow third-party app stores on Android, following a legal battle with Epic Games. Google is seeking an emergency stay on the ruling, calling it “dangerous.” Canceling subscriptions is set to become easier, and the FCC is investigating the impact of broadband data caps. Senator Wyden warns of the dangers of government-mandated backdoors following the CALEA hack. Elon Musk’s social media platform X is changing its privacy policy to allow third parties to train AI on user posts. X will also soon let users see tweets from people who have blocked them, prompting users to flock to alternative platforms like Bluesky.
In other tech news, the US is investigating Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software after a fatal crash involving 2.4 million cars. A French court has ordered blanket blocks of porn sites, while Sam Altman’s cryptocurrency venture Worldcoin undergoes a rebrand. Winamp deletes its entire GitHub source code repo, and Amazon launches a new family of Kindle devices, including its first color model. Amazon also announces plans to invest over $500 million in developing small nuclear reactors. Netflix reports a slight increase in third-quarter subscribers, with a 35% jump in ad-tier members.
Tech expert Leo Laporte discusses these topics with guests Brian McCullough, Cory Doctorow, and Jason Hiner on the latest episode of “This Week in Tech.” Listeners can download or subscribe to the show and enjoy ad-free episodes with Club TWiT. Sponsors for the episode include Bitwarden, Flashpoint, Canary Tools, NetSuite, and Fundrise.
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