The European Union has ordered TikTok to change its "addictive design" or face significant fines, following an investigation that found the video-sharing platform had breached online safety rules. The EU's findings, announced recently, cited concerns about features like autoplay and their potential harm to users, including children, according to BBC Technology.
The European Commission launched its investigation in February 2024. The Commission's preliminary findings indicated that TikTok did not adequately assess the risks associated with its design features and failed to implement sufficient measures to mitigate them. A TikTok spokesperson, however, told the BBC that the findings presented a "categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform" and that the company planned to challenge them.
In other technology-related news, Google is facing pressure from its employees over the company's ties to U.S. immigration enforcement. Nearly 900 Google employees signed an open letter demanding more transparency regarding how the company's technology is being used within the U.S. government, according to BBC Business. Google provides cloud services to federal agencies and has links to work being done on immigration enforcement. One Google employee of seven years found it "mind-boggling" that the company was maintaining these ties.
Meanwhile, YouTube's revenue for 2025 was revealed to be over $60 billion, a figure that includes advertising revenue and paid subscriptions. This surpasses the $45 billion in revenue generated by streaming rival Netflix, according to BBC Business. This is the first time Google has individually highlighted its video platform's yearly revenue since acquiring it in 2006. Midia Research senior analyst Hanna Kahlert noted that while it was a big announcement, it was "perhaps not a surprising one," given YouTube's prevalence among digital natives.
In legal news, Uber was ordered by a U.S. court to pay $8.5 million to a woman who claimed she was raped by an Uber driver. The jury found Uber responsible for the driver's behavior, although the company intends to appeal the verdict, according to BBC Business. The plaintiff, Jaylynn Dean, said she was sexually assaulted in the car.
Finally, in infrastructure news, reports revealed that many smart motorways are failing to deliver the expected value for money. Two schemes, involving sections of the M25 and the M6, were found to be offering "very poor" value, according to National Highways, as reported by BBC Business. The AA, representing motorists, described the schemes as a "catastrophic waste of time, money and effort."
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