| Here's a look at today's tech briefing: - Meta removes accounts of Iran’s Supreme Leader.
- Biden administration announces $5B for semiconductor research center.
- Groups challenge U.S. government survey on crypto mining power usage.
- Ex-Apple engineer sentenced for stealing trade secrets.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Meta has deactivated the Instagram and Facebook accounts of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following his calls to "wipe Israel off the map." Meta, without specifying details, said it deleted the accounts for repeated violations of its Dangerous Organizations and Individuals policy. More: - The policy bans people and organizations that promote "a violent mission or are engaged in violence," including U.S.-designated terrorists.
- Meta has permanently disabled Khamenei's accounts, including his main Instagram page, which had over 5 million followers.
- While Facebook, Instagram, and X are all blocked in Iran, Khamenei kept the accounts active for international audiences.
- X, previously Twitter, has not yet deactivated Khamenei's account.
Zoom out: - The accounts were removed after they included posts praising the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which sparked the Gaza war that has killed over 27,000 Palestinians.
- Iran provides financial and arms support to Hamas.
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| 2 | | The Biden administration has officially launched the $5B National Semiconductor Technology Center focused on R&D of cutting-edge semiconductor technology. The federal funding comes from the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which aims to boost the domestic computer chip sector and position the U.S. as a world leader in semiconductor manufacturing. 
Background: The CHIPS Act, signed on August 9, 2022, aims to enhance U.S. competitiveness, innovation, and security by boosting domestic chip manufacturing and cutting-edge technologies. It provides $52.7B in subsidies for U.S. semiconductor production, research, and workforce development, along with $200B for R&D and commercialization and $24B in chip production tax credits. What's new: The Act also creates the National Semiconductor Technology Center, a public-private consortium that will design and prototype new chips, fund semiconductor companies, and train workers for the industry. The Workforce Center of Excellence, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars, will link job seekers to high-tech semiconductor roles and meet growing workforce demands as R&D and chip fabs expand in the coming years. Quotable: "We need to be building for the future and that means making investments in R&D," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Why it matters: According to the White House, the investment aims to bolster U.S. leadership in semiconductor R&D, cut down on commercialization time and costs, improve national security, and help workers secure semiconductor jobs. A 2023 study projects a shortfall of 67,000 skilled workers in the U.S. semiconductor industry by 2030, with job growth expected to reach 460,000, up from the current 345,000. | | | |
| 3 | | The Texas Blockchain Council and the Chamber of Digital Commerce are challenging the U.S. Energy Department's new survey that requires some Bitcoin miners to disclose their power usage. The department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an analysis estimating that 0.6% to 2.3% of U.S. electricity consumption comes from cryptocurrency mining. More: - After gaining emergency clearance last month, the EIA has started collecting monthly cryptocurrency energy use data from "identified" commercial miners in the U.S.
- The survey, ongoing until July, has faced criticism from the mining sector for being excessively burdensome, with concerns over steep fines for non-compliance.
- The Texas Blockchain Council and the Chamber of Digital Commerce have argued the survey represents federal overreach with wide-ranging implications, labeling it a politically motivated effort to support the White House's greenhouse gas reduction goals.
- The EIA said it hopes to collaborate with cryptocurrency companies to clarify energy use, noting its experience conducting surveys with energy stakeholders for decades.
Zoom out: - The EIA analysis was able to identify 137 cryptocurrency mining facilities in the U.S.
- Of those, electricity use was determined for 101 facilities, estimated at 10,275 MW.
- This is 2.3% of the average annual power demand of about 450,000 MW in the U.S.
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| 4 | | A former Apple engineer was sentenced to 120 days in prison for stealing trade secrets from Apple's autonomous car project. Xiaolang Zhang was arrested in 2018 at San Jose International Airport before flying to China. After initially pleading not guilty, he admitted in 2022 to stealing Apple trade secrets. More: - Apple first hired Zhang in 2015 for its ongoing self-driving car project, known as Project Titan.
- As a hardware engineer, he had access to Apple's confidential internal databases.
- In 2018, Zhang resigned from Apple to work for Chinese EV manufacturer XPeng.
- Before leaving, prosecutors claimed Zhang transferred proprietary Apple vehicle schematics and technical manuals to his wife's computer.
- The Northern District of California Court sentenced Zhang to 120 days in prison and three years of supervised release. The court also ordered him to pay $146,984 in restitution
Zoom out: - A recent Bloomberg report claims Apple could launch a downgraded version of its first self-driving electric vehicle as early as 2028.
- Apple reportedly scaled back the "Titan" electric car project from Level 4 (full automation in certain scenarios) to Level 2+ (partial automation), making the EV more like Tesla's Autopilot-equipped cars.
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| 5 | | TikTok owner ByteDance will have to comply with Europe's new digital antitrust law while its appeal is pending, an EU court has ruled. ByteDance is contesting its "gatekeeper" status under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which takes effect in March, imposing stricter regulations on Big Tech companies. More: - China's ByteDance had sought an interim measure to suspend its status under the DMA while it awaits the appeal outcome.
- However, the EU's General Court ruled on Friday that the company "failed to demonstrate the urgency required for an interim order in order to avoid serious and irreparable damage."
- Under the DMA, companies with 45 million+ monthly active users and a €75B ($81B) market cap are deemed "gatekeepers" of core tech services.
- This means they must make their messaging apps work with competitors and allow users to choose which apps to install on their devices, among other rules.
- ByteDance appealed TikTok's gatekeeper status in November, stressing its role as a newer competitor in the social media space.
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| 6 | | Brilliant Labs, founded by a former Apple executive, unveiled lightweight AR glasses with a built-in AI assistant. Frame's AI assistant, called Noa, supports voice commands, visual processing, image generation, real-time speech recognition, and translation. More: - The Frame AI glasses integrate several technologies: OpenAI's text generator GPT-4; Stability AI's image generator, Stable Diffusion; Perplexity AI's conversational search engine; and speech recognition system Whisper.
- Users can prompt Noa with real-world inputs such as sight, sound, and location at any moment.
- Noa, which has a micro OLED display and front-facing camera, can project answers in text onto the lenses and display photos and videos.
- The $349 glasses, which require a phone tether, will ship in April.
Zoom out: - Singapore-based Brilliant Labs, led by former Apple program lead Bobak Tavangar, has raised $6M in funding to date.
- Investors also include John Hanke, CEO of Pokémon GO creator Niantic; Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe; and Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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