Two members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency may have accessed and shared Social Security numbers in an effort to help an advocacy group “overturn election results in certain States” last year, according to court documents.  The revelation, which was first reported by Politico, comes as part of a series of corrections to previous testimony by top Social Security Administration officials related to legal battles over DOGE’s access to Social Security data.  Neither the two DOGE members, nor the advocacy group, are named in the court documents. In March 2025, a political advocacy group contacted two members of the…

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says consumers are beginning to see higher prices as sellers look to absorb added costs from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Jassy told CNBC that Amazon and many of its third-party sellers stocked up on inventory ahead of the tariffs to keep prices low, but most of that supply ran out last fall. “So you start to see some of the tariffs creep into some of the prices, some of the items, and you see some sellers are deciding that they’re passing on those higher costs to consumers in the form of higher prices, some are deciding…

ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has now become the No. 3 most-blocked account on Bluesky, after receiving its official verification on Friday, according to third-party trackers. Bluesky users, unsurprisingly, are angry about the government account being hosted on the platform. Many are recommending that others block the account directly or subscribe to a block list that includes all of the U.S. government’s official accounts. The blocklist was introduced after the White House and other government agencies under the Trump administration signed up for Bluesky last October to post messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown. The accounts that joined…

Grubhub parent company, Wonder, announced that it has acquired Claim, a restaurant rewards app. Founded in 2021, Claim offers cash-back rewards for local restaurants that users can redeem for dine-in or pickup orders. Restaurants partner with Claim to create promotions, boost foot traffic, and track performance insights through the Claim dashboard. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed; however, Claim raised a total of $20 million, it said, when it raised its $12 million Series A in October, 2024. PitchBook estimated its valuation at $62 million. Grubhub says the acquisition will give restaurants on its platform access to…

One of the more prominent alternative app stores that emerged in the EU as a result of the region’s Digital Markets Act is shutting down. The store, Setapp Mobile, from the Ukrainian-based developer MacPaw, first launched in September 2024, offering dozens of apps across categories like productivity, finance, video, photo, creativity, and more. Its model offered consumers access to all of Setapp’s mobile apps through a $9.99 monthly subscription, provided the user’s Apple ID was associated with an EU member state. Now, the company says all applications will be removed from Setapp Mobile by the end of the sunset date,…

Netflix today is launching a new feature that will allow users to interact with live content through voting. The streaming company said the option will be available with the premiere of its live-streamed talent show “Star Search” on January 20. Subscribers will be able to either pick a selection from a multiple-choice menu or rate someone’s performance on a scale of five stars. Votes can be cast using either a TV remote or the Netflix app. Netflix said that the feature will work globally, and on the backend, the platform will tally votes in real-time. Viewers will have a limited time…

In an effort to sweeten the pot for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shareholders, Netflix is now offering cash for shares of the company, revising the cash-and-stock deal it had struck with WBD’s board earlier. However, the streaming giant is still offering the same $27.75 the companies had agreed on for WBD’s movie studio and streaming assets, and the deal continues to value the company at $82.7 billion. The new offer serves to simplify the deal structure, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday, “provides greater certainty of value,” and speeds up the timeline for a shareholder vote. Netflix said…

Meta’s Oversight Board is tackling a case focused on Meta’s ability to permanently disable user accounts. Permanent bans are a drastic action, locking people out of their profiles, memories, friend connections, and, in the case of creators and businesses, their ability to market and communicate with fans and customers. This is the first time in the organization’s five-year history as a policy advisor that permanent account bans have been a subject of the Oversight Board’s focus, the organization notes. The case being reviewed isn’t exactly one of an everyday user. Instead, the case involves a high-profile Instagram user who repeatedly…

Private equity firm Everstone Capital is bringing together India’s Wingify — a company that helps businesses test different versions of their websites to improve sales and customer engagement — and France’s AB Tasty to build an over $100 million a digital experience optimization company with more than $100 million in annual revenue, just a year after it bought a controlling stake in Wingify for $200 million. The combined business will serve more than 4,000 customers globally and generate more than $100 million in annual revenue, with about 90% coming from the U.S. and Europe and teams spanning North America, Latin…

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield 200 is the flagship early-stage startup competition held at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, spotlighting the world’s most promising young companies. Each year, thousands of applicants from around the globe vie for one of 200 slots in the cohort, which provides unparalleled visibility, access to top-tier investors, and opportunities to grow.  Early-stage startups from around the world are joining the Startup Battlefield email list to be the first to know when applications open in mid-February. Don’t miss a beat if you’re ready to join the action.  What is Startup Battlefield?  Image Credits:Kimberly White / Getty Images Startup Battlefield 200 is a highly selective startup launch program designed to…