Naomi Nix
@naominix.bsky.social
I am a senior technology correspondent for @TIME.com
New: How the fight to rein in AI is already dividing Washington: time.com/article/2026...
The Fight to Rein In AI Is Dividing Washington
As pressure mounts for Congress to address the risks of artificial intelligence, lawmakers are finding little agreement on what action to take.
time.com
Jacob Coxon's resignation set off a worldwide debate over whether to constrain AI, as some experts warn it could wipe out humanity. In our latest cover story, we break down what could happen next in the frontier AI labs, Washington and across the Pacific. by Billy Perrigo, Harry Booth & me.
So Meta may have settled with states yesterday for $18B but what happens next for teens on instagram, youth safety regulations, and the tech industry is unclear. The devil, as they say, is in the details: time.com/article/2026...
3 Big Questions After Meta’s $18 Billion Teen Safety Settlement
The company agreed to pay nearly $18 billion and pledged to impose new safety controls on Facebook and Instagram.
time.com
And if you want to help me, please send tips, questions and hot takes to naomi.nix@time.com or naominixwrites.66 on Signal.
Naomi Nix@naominix.bsky.social · 2mo agoSome news (personal? professional? both?): This week, I started a new role as a senior technology correspondent for @time.com magazine. I am thrilled to be joining such an important media outlet at a time when AI has become THE most fascinating – and often terrifying — story to watch.
Some news (personal? professional? both?): This week, I started a new role as a senior technology correspondent for @time.com magazine. I am thrilled to be joining such an important media outlet at a time when AI has become THE most fascinating – and often terrifying — story to watch.
So if you are a current or former tech employee with information on how a company's product or practices is affecting young people, I want to hear from you. Reach out to naomi.nix.writes1@gmail.com or cell/signal on a non-company device: 571-882-3412.
Naomi Nix@naominix.bsky.social · 7mo agoThis kind of journalism will remain crucial as regulators try to figure out which laws will effectively keep kids safe (a complicated topic!). It will also be critical if plaintiffs, especially state AGs, continue to win and they are able to force platform design changes.
There are so many takeaways from the LA and New Mexico rulings but I'll highlight three. 1) The academic research, which has limited experimental designs, has been mixed on the connection between mental distress and social media. The companies own docs were crucial to the case.
New: I take you inside the Trump administration’s campaign against the Digital Services Act to fight what it considers to be Europe's censorship of speech online. (Side note: this was the last story I filed before WaPo's cuts): www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Inside the Trump administration’s campaign to counter content bans in Europe
The president has expanded efforts to fight what he sees as censorship overseas, using the State Department to target European governments.
washingtonpost.com
After almost four years at The Washington Post, my role was eliminated this week along with hundreds of other talented journalists. It’s a cliche to say but this job was a dream come true. Thanks to my brilliant reporter friends and talented editors who made the stories stronger and banter funnier.
What’s it like to be a whistleblower? @naominix.bsky.social talks with tech whistleblowers, including @yaeleisenstat.bsky.social, about what life looks like after speaking truth to power. In our latest newsletter 👇 citizensreunited.substack.com/p/new-year-n...
washingtonpost.com
New: Instagram pursued a yearslong strategy to win teens back even after critics said it wasn’t safe, according to records recently reviewed by the Washington Post. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Leaked documents show Instagram’s plan to win back teens
Instagram has pursued a yearslong strategy to win teens back to the app after its critics said the platform wasn’t safe for them, documents obtained by The Post show.
washingtonpost.com
New: After exposing the harms of Big Tech, many whistleblowers say they faced poorer job prospects and professional exile in Silicon Valley. They have no regrets. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
She blew the whistle at Meta. Then her career fell apart.
After exposing the harms of Big Tech, many whistleblowers say they faced poor job prospects and isolation in Silicon Valley. They have no regrets.
washingtonpost.com
New: To compete with OpenAI's Pulse, Meta is testing a new product that would give Facebook users a personalized, AI-powered information briefing www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Meta is building an AI-powered morning brief in push to compete with ChatGPT
Meta is testing a new product that would give Facebook users a personalized, AI-powered briefing of information relevant to their daily lives.
washingtonpost.com
New: TikTok posts on Israel-Gaza war are overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian but that doesn't mean they get more traction online. Analysis @whiskeyocelot.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
TikTok posts on Israel-Gaza war are overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian
A new report finds 17 pro-Palestinian posts for every pro-Israeli one, but they tend to get the same amount of traction online.
washingtonpost.com
Both Republicans and Democrats have long sought to "work the refs" at social media companies that decide which speech should stay up or be taken down. See this oldie but goodie on jawboning /w @cqzakrz.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Ted Cruz, Joe Biden and other politicians ask social media companies to remove posts
The Supreme Court is set to decide whether government demands to remove social media posts violate the First Amendment.
washingtonpost.com
A teen told Meta researchers his brother, then under 10, had been sexually propositioned through Meta's VR headsets multiple times. Their boss told them to delete the evidence, they said. That's one example in our new investigation about Meta's crack down on internal research.
His custom cancer therapy is in an NIH freezer. He may not get it in time. How a metastatic cancer patient became collateral damage in federal workforce cuts www.washingtonpost.com/science/2025...
His custom cancer therapy is in an NIH freezer. He may not get it in time.
The purge of probationary federal workers included skilled lab personnel who would have finalized a customized cell immunotherapy for cancer patients.
washingtonpost.com
New(ish): Meta agreed to pay $14.8B for a 49% stake in the artificial intelligence data firm Scale AI, per person familiar. We are confirming reports in NYT, Bloomberg and The Information. Deal could be announced as soon as today. /w @nitasha.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Meta takes $15 billion stake in Scale AI in bid to catch competitors
Meta agreed to pay $14.8 billion for a 49 percent stake in the AI data firm Scale AI, which will give the company access to talent and data services.
washingtonpost.com
As the Trump administration posts through its mass deportation push, viral images from protests and raids are amping up outrage on both sides. W @drewharwell.com and @naominix.bsky.social
Drew Harwell@drewharwell.com · last yr.New: A week before the ICE raid on day workers outside a Home Depot ignited the L.A. protests, the White House posted video from a similar bust, calling it an "EPIC Takedown." Commenters called it "disturbing": this "isn't a reality show." But the messaging war had just begun 🧵 wapo.st/4l2fK2A
New: A tighter job market for tech and lower corporate tolerance for employee activism have stifled the once boisterous worker-led movements in Silicon Valley on everything from AI safety to the Israel-Gaza war. /w @nitasha.bsky.social & Trisha Thadani www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Big Tech takes a harder line against worker activism, political dissent
A tighter labor market and lower corporate tolerance have stifled employee input on controversies over company policy, AI safety and the Israel-Gaza war.
washingtonpost.com
Pulitzer winner @anntelnaes.bsky.social "resigned in early January after a top editor rejected one of her cartoons — a depiction of Post owner Jeff Bezos, along with other business moguls, bowing before a statue of Trump, offering up bags of money" www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/...
The Post wins Pulitzers for Trump rally shooting stories, editorial cartoons
The Washington Post was recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and political cartoons by Ann Telnaes.
washingtonpost.com
the coverage was led by our climate team's @bradydennis.bsky.social, brianna sacks and @byscottdance.com on the ground in NC, w/ assists from @samueloakford.bsky.social in visual forensics and my tech colleagues @gerritd.bsky.social & @jeremybmerrill.com et al www.washingtonpost.com/weather/inte...
In North Carolina, there was before Helene. This is the after.
“A hundred years from now, they will be talking about this flood,” said one resident in Western North Carolina, where the extent of the disaster is only beginning to emerge.
washingtonpost.com
not a big Prize Guy but proud to have played a role on the @washingtonpost.com team that was named a Pulitzer finalist in National Reporting today for our coverage of Hurricane Helene, including the social media-fueled storm of lies that followed in its wake www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2024...
How a conspiracy-fueled group got a foothold in this hurricane-battered town
Over the course of 11 days, a supermarket parking lot became a snapshot of the chaos that can unfold in some corners of post-disaster America.
washingtonpost.com
A belated thank you to everyone who is putting up with Media Tour Faiz this week. I assure you regular programming will resume soon. But as a special treat, you may now see the cover of the Italian edition, which is out now!!
This post appeared under this Techmeme headline:
Naomi Nix@naominix.bsky.social · last yr.The OSB was scheduled to release this ruling along with several others NEXT WEEK. After I reached out to OSB for comment on the story on Friday (including the outcome of ruling), I was told they would get back to me by EOD Tues. Instead, they pushed up the release of their rulings to this morning.
You may have seen a lot of headlines this morning about Meta's @oversightboard.bsky.social latest rulings but there was one officials there clearly didn't want you to read
Exclusive: Following President Donald Trump’s new tariffs on China, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the potential impact of the tariffs on iPhone prices.
How Tim Cook helped Apple out of Trump’s tariff storm — for now
Apple’s CEO Tim Cook spoke to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick last week about the potential impact of the tariffs on iPhone prices.
wapo.st
A few takeaways from Zuck so far: -FTC lawyer Daniel Matheson has really pressed Zuck on the main goal of Facebook, using his own words and company documents. He argues that Facebook has always been about connecting friends and family. -Zuck says the goal is also to entertain and inform.
Naomi Nix@naominix.bsky.social · last yr.He has on a suit but the hair is still curly.
We'll be continuously updating our coverage of today's hearing of FTC's landmark antitrust case. Opening arguments largely followed their legal briefs www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
FTC says Meta bought up its rivals instead of competing with them
Opening arguments are expected from the FTC and social media giant Meta as the first big antitrust trial of Trump’s second term gets underway in Judge James E. Boasberg’s courtroom.
washingtonpost.com