Discord begins to trial face scanning for age verification in the UK and Australia, and Anthony Spadafora from Tom's Guide shares his AR-driven productivity experience after getting rid of his laptop.
Starring Jason Howell, Huyen Tue Dao, and Anthony Spadafora.
JASON: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, April 17, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.
HUYEN: Today Anthony Spadafora tells us about his experience ditching the laptop and more from your emails. [19:58]
I’m Jason Howell,
I’m Huyen Tue Dao
JASON: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
BIG STORY
"Google Partially Loses US Advertising Tech Antitrust Case (GOOGL) – Bloomberg"
"Judge rules Google illegally monopolized adtech, opening door to potential breakup | TechCrunch"
JASON: A federal judge found that Google abused its dominant position in key markets in online ads technology. Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google had violated competition laws in the ad markets for ad exchanges and ad servers. These are technologies that help websites sell ad space and determine the placement of ads across the web.
The judge cited Google's practice of tightly integrating its ad server, DoubleClick for Publishers, with its ad exchange, AdX. Brinkema said this "enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets.”
Brinkema did not, however, find Google to be a monopolist in the market for tools that are used by advertisers to purchase display ads. This essentially means that Google isn't found guilty of dominating ads on the Open Web.
The court will consider penalties which may include forcing Google to divest its ad tech business, in part or in total.
HUYEN: DTNS is made possible by you the listener. Thanks to
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and Britt Thomas
JASON: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
BRIEFS
Zuckerberg underscores TikTok competition as Meta fights monopoly allegations
Google, Apple, and Snap aren’t happy about Meta’s poorly‑redacted slides
HUYEN: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in federal court Wednesday that TikTok remains his company's biggest competitive threat to date. His legal team argued that TikTok, Youtube, and other social media platforms, are posing strong competition to the company and internal emails demonstrated Meta executives expressing concerns over TikTok's rapid growth along with questions about whether Meta's products sufficiently compete.
Meanwhile, attorneys for Apple, Google, and Snap have criticized Meta for presenting courtroom slides without adequately redacting confidential information. Apple called these disclosures “egregious,” while Snap's attorney called out Meta's “cavalier approach and casual disregard” for the privacy of the other companies in the case.
Discord Begins Testing Facial Scans for Age Verification
JASON: Discord has begun testing a new age‑verification system in the UK and Australia that requires some users to scan their faces or upload a photo ID to access sensitive content. This is a response to new regulations in those countries that require stronger online protections against adult or potentially harmful material for minors. Discord emphasizes that both methods result in no data being retained by the company. Facial scans are processed locally on the user’s device without uploading biometric information, and any government‑issued ID uploaded for verification is deleted immediately after it is processed. Artificial intelligence is used to determine whether users meet the age requirement, and accounts found to be underage may be banned, with an option to appeal.
TikTok is adding Footnotes, its take on Community Notes
HUYEN: TikTok is launching a new feature called Footnotes, allowing select users to add relevant info and context to videos. The feature is similar to Community Notes on X and is aimed at crowdsourcing expertise on subjects so viewers can have a better understanding of the content they watch and more easily spot misinformation. TikTok will continue to work with more than 20 accredited fact‑checking organizations to adhere to its moderation policies. The feature is being tested in the US, and contributors can be users over the age of 18 with six months on the platform and no guideline violations.
OpenAI's new o3 and o4‑mini models are all about ‘thinking with images’
OpenAI debuts Codex CLI, an open‑source coding tool for terminals
JASON: OpenAI introduced two new AI models, o3 and o4‑mini, now available to ChatGPT Plus users. o3 is touted as OpenAI's most advanced reasoning model yet, excelling at coding, math, and science. o4‑mini offers a more affordable option with strong performance in the same areas. Both models allow for the ability to use and interpret images within the “thinking” process.
OpenAI is also launching Codex CLI, a new coding agent for developers, and has plans to release a more powerful o3‑pro model soon.
Temu and Shein are raising their US prices next week
HUYEN: Shein and Temu announced they will raise prices for US shoppers starting April 25, 2025, a response to the new US trade policies issued by the presidential administration. Imported goods from China are set to include a 145 % tariff beginning May 2, as well as the removal of the “de minimis” exemption allowing goods under $800 to enter the country duty‑free. Shein and Temu sites are using this deadline to convince US buyers to “shop now at today’s rates” ahead of the price increases.
Apple says zero‑day bugs exploited against ‘specific targeted individuals’ using iOS
JASON: Apple has released urgent software updates for iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and visionOS to patch two zero‑day vulnerabilities that were actively exploited in sophisticated attacks targeting specific individuals. One flaw was in the CoreAudio system that allowed attackers to execute malicious code by processing a specially crafted audio file. The other enabled attackers with read‑and‑write access to bypass pointer authentication designed to prevent memory‑based attacks. No word on who is behind the attacks, but Google’s Threat Analysis Group, also involved in the discovery, suggests possible links to state‑sponsored espionage and surveillance operations. Users are advised to install the latest updates immediately.
Patreon is getting livestreaming
HUYEN: Patreon is launching the ability to livestream content directly on the platform. This gives its creators an alternative to external services like Twitch or YouTube. Livestreams are ad‑free, can be run from mobile or desktop, are downloadable after the fact, and include features like real‑time chat, moderation tools, emoji reactions, and integrations with streaming software like OBS and Streamlabs. The new tool is currently in early access for select creators and will roll out more widely sometime this summer.
HUYEN: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper into the ongoing stories and follow up.
IN DEPTH
JASON: Anthony Spadafora from Tom's Guide recently wrote that he ditched his laptop in favor of a mini PC, AR glasses, and a portable battery. Tom sat down with him to get the details.
PROMO
HUYEN: If you have feedback about anything that gets brought up on the show… Get in touch with us on the socials. @DTNSshow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads!, Blue Sky, and Mastodon (mstdn.social). For TikTok and YouTube you can find us at Daily Tech News Show.
HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND
JASON: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today James asked a question that led us to a better understanding.
HUYEN: James wrote to us in response to Tuesday’s discussion with Bodie Grimm on five‑minute EV charging and asked how 1000 V EV architecture compares to others on the road—wondering if it’s marginally or significantly better, and whether voltage is even the right metric to focus on.
We reached out to both Bodie and Steve Sheridan and found out that 1000 V EV architecture provides several notable benefits compared to the more common 400 V systems found in many electric vehicles today. The higher voltage allows for significantly faster charging—potentially up to 2.5 times faster—assuming the charging infrastructure and the vehicle are designed to handle similar current levels. In addition to speed, higher‑voltage systems can reduce the size and weight of onboard components, such as wiring and power electronics, which can improve overall vehicle efficiency and performance.
Currently, most EVs use 400 V systems, though some newer models are adopting 800 V or higher platforms. Charging networks are beginning to support these higher voltages as well, but compatibility can vary. While voltage is a key factor in determining charging speed and system efficiency, it’s not the only one—current (amperage), battery design, and thermal management all play crucial roles too. So while 1000 V architecture has clear advantages, its real‑world benefits depend on how the entire system is engineered.
What are you thinking about? Got some insight into a story? Share it with us feedback@dailytechnewsshow.com
JASON: Thanks to Anthony Spadafora and James for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. The show is made possible by our patrons on patreon.com/dtns. Want music news in less than 5 minutes? Check out dailymusicheadlines.com. Talk to you tomorrow.
