Enshittification illo.jpg

How Silicon Valley enshittified the internet

Hello, and welcome to Decoder. This is Sarah Jeong, features editor at The Verge. I’m standing in for Nilay for one final Thursday episode here as he settles back into full-time hosting duties. Today, we’ve got a fun one. I’m talking to Cory Doctorow, prolific author, internet activist, and arguably one of the fiercest tech…

Read More
Gettyimages 2243898515.jpg

Trump says US will restart nuclear weapons testing 

President Donald Trump says he has instructed the Pentagon to immediately start testing nuclear weapons, citing a need to match “other countries [sic] testing programs.” Trump’s post on Truth Social included very few details on the nature of the tests, but says the “process will begin immediately.” It’s not clear whether Trump is referring to…

Read More
Stk481 stk432 congress government civrginia c.jpg

Meta repents again to Republicans in hearing over moderation, while Google stands its ground

At a Senate hearing Wednesday on government censorship of tech platforms, a Meta executive expressed regret to Republican lawmakers for failing to speak out more against the Biden administration’s requests that it remove health and election misinformation, including satire. Google, meanwhile, held firm in its stance, saying that evaluating — and often rejecting — government…

Read More
Gettyimages 2215434051.jpg

OpenAI completed its for-profit restructuring — and struck a new deal with Microsoft

OpenAI’s controversial for-profit restructuring is finally complete, along with a new deal with Microsoft. The company’s for-profit arm is now a public benefit corporation, dubbed OpenAI Group PBC. The nonprofit is now called the OpenAI Foundation and “holds equity in the for-profit currently valued at approximately $130 billion” — it will begin with a $25…

Read More
258003 leica m ev1 camera adibenedetto 0009.jpg

The government shutdown is delaying new gadgets

Tech products that are packaged and ready for sale aren’t launching in the US as planned right now, thanks to the government shutdown. Earlier this month, Leica delayed its M EV1 camera due to holdups on approval from the partially shuttered Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The WiiM Sound audiophile speaker, currently shipping in international markets,…

Read More