TechCrunch

TikTok has agreed to pay at least $100 million to settle a lawsuit with the US state of Alabama. The settlement marks another legal and financial setback for the company in the United States, where it faces ongoing scrutiny from state attorneys general and federal regulators over its operations and practices.

Insurers are claiming that artificial intelligence is already increasing healthcare costs, according to a TechCrunch report. The claim runs counter to the common expectation that AI would reduce medical expenses through efficiency, and it raises questions about who bears the added costs. The specifics of how AI is driving costs up were not detailed.

Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr, has formed a new board of directors following an unsuccessful attempt to place its chief executive on leave. The move signals internal governance upheaval at the company, which has faced scrutiny in recent years over leadership disputes and its relationship with the broader WordPress open-source community. Details about the board's new members and the reasons behind the failed leave attempt remain limited.

Meta says it will now accept advertisements for a documentary about Elon Musk, reversing an earlier refusal. The decision, reported by TechCrunch, matters because ad rejections involving Musk draw scrutiny of Meta's content moderation and platform policies. Critics and supporters of the company are weighing in on whether the reversal reflects public pressure or an internal policy correction.

Automattic has appointed a new board of directors after an attempt to place CEO Matt Mullenweg on leave failed. Mullenweg reportedly wrote that, for purposes of Delaware law, he is the company's CEO, President, Treasurer, and Secretary, and said the attempted removal had also brought in many new supporters. The internal power struggle at the company behind WordPress.com is drawing attention across the tech industry.

Meta and YouTube have reversed course and will now run advertising for the documentary about Elon Musk, according to a report by TechCrunch. The platforms had previously declined to carry ads promoting the film, a decision that drew criticism from the filmmakers and their supporters. The update was shared by Flipboard's Culture Desk, and discussion has centred on whether the earlier refusals amounted to censorship of a documentary about one of tech's most polarising figures.

TikTok has agreed to pay at least $100 million to settle a dispute with the state of Alabama. The deal was reported by TechCrunch and is circulating widely on tech news forums. Details of what the settlement covers have not been spelled out in the reports shared so far, and neither TikTok nor Alabama officials have issued detailed public statements in the snippets available.

Google is piloting the ability to purchase products from Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce platform owned by Walmart, directly through its Gemini AI assistant and AI Mode in Search. The test, reported in India, would let users complete purchases without leaving Google's AI interfaces, deepening the company's push into AI-powered commerce and tightening its ties with Flipkart.

Meta is reportedly throwing its weight behind Muse, an AI application that is seeing rapid growth. According to TechCrunch, the company is backing the app as it takes off, though the exact form of Meta's involvement—investment, partnership, or integration—remains unclear from initial coverage.

Meta has opened an early access program for new features in Muse, its AI offering. The move lets selected users try the tools before a wider release. News of the program spread quickly among technology and startup watchers, who are discussing what the features do, who gets in first, and what the rollout signals about Meta's broader AI plans.