Friday, January 2, 2026

China’s EV King, Scam Ads and Open Science!

China’s EV King, Scam Ads and Open Science!

Laws, Phones and Platforms Clash Today

  • Meta accused of hiding, not killing, scam ads

    A fresh report claims Meta did not just remove scam ads, it also made them harder for regulators and journalists to track. The move makes its public safety promises look hollow and feeds the feeling that user trust ranks below ad cash on its list.

  • Apple finally lets real rival browsers into iOS

    In Japan, Apple will now allow iOS apps to use non‑WebKit browser engines, something users have begged for during years of tight control. It is limited to certain apps and one country, but it smells like regulators leaning on Apple and fans cheering from the sidelines.

  • California unleashes new rules on AI and deepfakes

    California rolls out a wave of 2026 laws targeting deepfake pornography, AI abuse and online child harm. The rules read like a direct shot at the worst parts of platform culture, and tech companies know that what starts in Sacramento often spreads everywhere.

  • State launches DROP, a big red privacy button

    The DROP platform lets Californians send one request to many data brokers to delete or stop selling their info. It is free, government‑backed, and feels like the first time privacy rights come with a simple tool instead of a stack of unread legal pages.

  • DHS says its own Real ID is not enough

    The DHS now admits Real ID cards, sold as super secure, are too weak to prove citizenship. After years of hassle at DMVs and airports, people are stunned to hear the magic ID is not magic at all, and critics say they saw this coming a mile away.

EV Kings, Hot Laptops and Space Data Drama

  • China’s BYD closes in on Tesla’s EV crown

    BYD is set to overtake Tesla as the world’s top EV seller, riding a mix of cheap plug‑in hybrids and aggressive pricing. Fans of Elon are clearly rattled, while others see this as proof that the center of car innovation has quietly moved to China.

  • BYD hits 4.6M sales and shrugs off doubts

    New numbers show BYD sold 4.6 million vehicles in 2025, meeting its revised target despite market jitters. The company looks less like a copycat and more like a juggernaut, forcing old car brands and Tesla alike to rethink who actually leads the battery race.

  • Windows laptop beats Linux and sparks noisy debate

    Benchmarks on an Intel Arrow Lake laptop show Windows 11 edging out Linux in a series of tests. The results poke a hornet’s nest of desktop loyalists, with some blaming young drivers and others saying raw speed matters less than control over your own machine.

  • Hackers claim 200GB after fresh ESA cyber hit

    Cybercriminals boast of stealing 200GB from the European Space Agency, including data tied to CI/CD systems and code repositories. ESA downplays the damage, but space fans are uneasy, and many wonder why even groups that launch rockets still struggle with basic security.

Hackers, Headphones and a Flood of Free Knowledge

  • ACM opens massive computing library to everyone

    The ACM turns its Digital Library into open access, freeing a mountain of computer science papers that were locked behind paywalls for decades. Students, indie devs and curious readers suddenly get first‑class seats, and the pay‑to‑read journal model looks a bit shakier.

  • Bluetooth headphones exposed as secret phone door key

    A flaw in Airoha Bluetooth chips, used by big brands like Sony, means attackers could use your wireless headphones as a key into your phone. It is the kind of quiet bug that makes people side‑eye every gadget, and many are asking why basic security failed again.

  • PS5 boot ROM keys leak, jailbreak dreams flare up

    Alleged PS5 BootROM keys leak online, hinting that full console jailbreaks might get much easier. Modding fans are thrilled at the thought of homebrew and backups, while Sony lawyers are surely circling, and everyone knows the cat is hard to put back in the bag.

  • Public Domain Day showers culture with free classics

    Public Domain Day 2026 pushes a new wave of books, films and news archives into the open, including forgotten gems from papers like the Manchester Guardian. Creators cheer the fresh remix fuel, and critics of endless copyright quietly say told you so.

  • Hot terminal Ghostty locks down its issue tracker

    The popular terminal Ghostty bans direct GitHub Issues, forcing users into Discussions first. Fans of the tool defend the move as sanity saving, while others see it as gatekeeping, and the debate neatly captures rising tension between tiny dev teams and loud user bases.

Top Stories

China's BYD Lines Up to Beat Tesla

Business & Technology

China’s EV giant BYD is about to knock Tesla off the top spot for global electric car sales. It signals a major power shift from Silicon Valley to Shenzhen in the future of cars.

ACM Throws Open the Research Vault

Technology & Science

One of the biggest computer science groups is making its huge library of papers free to read. For students, indie hackers and researchers, years of paywalled knowledge suddenly become open.

Apple Lets Rival Browsers Loose in Japan

Technology & Mobile

Apple will finally allow full alternative browser engines on iOS in Japan. It is another crack in the locked iPhone garden and a test case for how much control Apple can keep over the web on phones.

Meta Buries Scam Ads Instead of Killing Them

Technology & Regulation

A report says Meta did not simply delete scam ads, but made them harder for watchdogs to find. It feeds the belief that big ad money still wins over user safety on major platforms.

California Rewrites the Rules on AI and Abuse

Law & Technology

New California laws tackle deepfake porn, AI harms and child protection. The state is again acting as the de facto rulebook writer for how tech is allowed to treat people.

Bluetooth Headphones Become a Backdoor to Your Phone

Technology & Security

A flaw in popular Bluetooth chips means a stranger could abuse your headphones as a key into your phone. Suddenly that cheap wireless set looks a lot more expensive.

California Launches One-Stop Privacy Delete Button

Technology & Policy

California rolled out DROP, a free tool that lets residents tell data brokers to delete or stop selling their info. It turns privacy rights from paperwork into a big red button.

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