The Brutalist Report

Techmeme

• Massachusetts formally recognizes the App Drivers Union, which says it represents ~70,000 workers and is the first state-certified rideshare union in the US (Bryan Hecht/The Boston Globe) [49d]
• The FTC settles with Cox, MindSift, and 1010 Digital Works for $930K over claims they falsely said they could use phone mics to spy on users for ad targeting (Adi Robertson/The Verge) [49d]
• X says it is cracking down on large accounts that have been gaming its revenue-sharing program by "programmatically reuploading content from smaller accounts" (Lakshmi Varanasi/Business Insider) [49d]
• Iranian state media reports that President Masoud Pezeshkian has issued an order to reopen international internet access after a near-90-day blackout (Reuters) [49d]
• Report: the EU plans to fine Google a high triple-digit million euro amount as part of a 2025 probe over concerns it favors its own services in search results (Reuters) [49d]
• A look at the UK's AI Safety Institute, whose researchers probe AI models for safety gaps, as its work becomes a blueprint for other governments' AI policies (New York Times) [50d]
• Study: rate of fabricated references in biomedical papers has grown 12x+ since 2023; in early 2026, one in 277 papers had at least one non-existent reference (Tristan Bove/Fortune) [50d]
• How Iranian threat actor Nimbus Manticore used techniques like AI-assisted malware development and SEO poisoning to target companies during the US-Iran war (Check Point Research) [50d]
• SoftBank stock jumped 4.6% to a record high on Monday, spurred by hopes of big returns from the company's stakes in OpenAI and SB Energy Corp if they go public (Bloomberg) [50d]
• Star Citizen, a video game in development since 2012, has reached $1B in lifetime funding; it remains in alpha and does not have a confirmed release date (Jennifer Maas/Variety) [50d]