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Happy Friday! It's August already? Time for the weekly roundup. On the podcast this week: More on Tea, a women’s dating safety app that was breached multiple times, and how a new UK law about age verification is impacting peoples’ ability to see footage about current events. In the subscribers-only section: LeBron James is not in fact pregnant. Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.
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Breaking Tech News, Before It’s Everywhere. Semafor Tech dives deep into the people, policy, and money shaping the future of the tech industry. Penned by Reed Albergotti, each issue includes scoops on the latest on AI, machine learning, tech startups, and more — subscribe for free.
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Okay, here's what you may have missed this week.  Screenshot from @rachelthecatlovers on TikTok BUT I WANT THEM TO BE REALA generation who thought they were immune from being fooled by AI has been tricked by a video of bunnies jumping on a trampoline. The video currently has 183 million views on TikTok and it is at first glance extremely adorable. The caption says “Just checked the home security cam and… I think we’ve got guest performers out back! @Ring” Unfortunately, the bunnies are not real.  Collage via 404 Media MODS?A former content moderator for Chaturbate is suing the live-streaming porn platform for psychological trauma he claims he suffered after being exposed to “extreme, violent, graphic, and sexually explicit content” every day without industry-standard safeguards, according to a new lawsuit. The lawsuit claimed that those companies “knowingly and intentionally failed to provide their content moderators with industry-standard mental health protections, such as content filters, wellness breaks, trauma-informed counseling, or peer support systems.”  Image: Tea's website SPILLING THE TEAA second, major security issue with women’s dating safety app Tea has exposed much more user data than the first breach we first reported last week, with an independent security researcher now finding it was possible for hackers to access messages between users discussing abortions, cheating partners, and phone numbers they sent to one another. Despite Tea’s initial statement that “the incident involved a legacy data storage system containing information from over two years ago,” the second issue impacting a separate database is much more recent, affecting messages up until last week, according to the researcher’s findings that 404 Media verified.  View from a balcony in the apartment block next to the Tesla diner. Photo: 404 Media INCREDIBLE VIEWSOne of the big unanswered questions at last week’s grand opening of Hollywood’s Tesla Diner was how its neighbors were feeling about the new, four-story tall movie screen placed directly outside their apartment building. Turns out, many of them are not liking it, or the general chaos that the diner has brought. One former resident moved out in January of this year, which they said was “absolutely, 100 percent” because of the diner. “We were living through active construction six days a week from 7 a.m. to like 8 or 9 p.m. Often that construction was starting at like 4 a.m. illegally.” We visited one of the apartments to find out more from the inside. 'VOLUNTARY' OR ELSESpotify is requiring users in the UK to verify they’re over 18 to view "certain age restricted content," and users are reporting seeing a popup on Spotify to verify their ages following the enactment of the UK's Online Safety Act last week, which forced platforms to verify the ages of everyone who tries to access certain kinds of content deemed harmful to children. If you fail the checks, or if the age verification system can’t accurately determine your age—which involves getting your face scanned through your device’s camera to determine your age, or uploading your license or passport if that doesn’t work—your Spotify account will be deleted. A recommendation from the editors: The Persistent is an independent media organization that puts women at the center of the story — on topics ranging from how parents are using chatbots, why AI skews beautiful, and the Navajo women who made the landing possible. The Persistent brings you smart storytelling, sharp analysis, and perspectives you won’t find anywhere else. Subscribe now to get The Persistent’s twice-weekly newsletter for free. READ MORELots of really good points happening in the comments to Living Next To Tesla Diner Is 'Absolute Hell,' Neighbors Say, Alice writes: “Why did this need to be in the middle of a residential neighborhood? There’s plenty of places in LA where they could’ve built this not next door to an apartment building.”
And Nicholas Santos replied: “My exact thoughts. For all the very understandable frustration with Tesla itself, this is also a major failure of the city. Zoning is supposed to protect against this kind of challenging mix of land uses. Having a space for a diner next door and zoning for that isn't the same as having a space for a diner that shows movies until 11:00 p.m. with a four-story tall screen that has huge traffic impacts too. How did this get permitted?”
And Sarah Duda added: “Apparently Elon can get a permit for a high traffic club in LA but they can't build enough affordable housing for normal people. Why even have zoning rules if this setup can be moved in right next to a big apartment building? The noise alone must be absolutely miserable.”
BEHIND THE BLOGThis is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss messy Tea and our first livestreamed event. SAM: We had an awesome time hanging out with a couple hundred of our Angeleno friends at Rip.Space on Wednesday! The full live podcast is here (start around 1:45) and it’ll be in your feeds soon, too. The first portion of the livestream is partially us testing that it worked, but then an impromptu panel happened with the Rip.Space folks that’s extremely worth a watch.
Read the rest of Sam's Behind the Blog, as well as Emanuel's, by becoming a paid subscriber.
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