Meta has settled with Texas over the use of facial recognition on Facebook…to the tune of $1.4 billion. Reuters.com reports that the huge fine resolves a lawsuit dating from 2022 that claimed that the “Tag Suggestions” feature on photos uploaded to Facebook violated the state’s Capture or Use of Biometric Identifier Act and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It’s the largest settlement ever resulting from an action brought by a single state, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Meta admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. 

Automakers continue to sell your driving data, and some Congressmen have complained to the Federal Trade Commission about the practice. According to mashable.com, Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey sent a letter to the FTC, asking the commission to investigate the continued practice of car manufacturers collecting and then selling the driving data of its customers — which includes information like the exact time, distance, speed, and braking behavior of every auto trip. This data is then offered to insurance companies. So if your insurance mysteriously went up with no tickets or accidents, this could be why. the Senators said in their letter that “Companies should not be selling Americans’ data without their consent, period. But it is particularly insulting for automakers that are selling cars for tens of thousands of dollars to then squeeze out a few additional pennies of profit with consumers’ private data,”

Twitch is getting a new look that looks a lot like TikTok. Theverge.com says the new app is rolling out on Android and iOS. The main change is that it will now open on a feed of content you might like, instead of on the ‘Following’ tab. This is also what Threads and others have done to try to drive people to their algorithm based feeds. More than 50% of Twitch users ‘primarily’ watch on their phones. The app is supposed to make it quote “easy to find streamers that you already love while also exploring and discovering new streamers.”

Soon, if you send a direct message to a big Instagram creator, you may hear back from an AI bot they have made. Engadget.com reports that Meta is rolling out its AI Studio, and the tool box will allow Instagram creators to make an AI persona that can answer questions and chat with their followers and fans on their behalf. Meta says the new creator AIs are meant to address a long-running issue for Instagram users with large followings: it can be nearly impossible for the service’s most popular users to keep up with the flood of messages they receive every day. Meta claims that the creators’ AI will function as ‘an extension of themselves.’

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.