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Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge

A security researcher revealed a “catastrophic” vulnerability in the Arc browser that would have allowed attackers to insert arbitrary code into other users’ browser sessions with little than an easily findable user ID. The vulnerability was patched on August 26th and disclosed today in a blog post by security researcher xyz3va, as well as a statement from The Browser Company. The company says that its logs indicate no users were affected by the flaw.
The exploit, CVE-2024-45489, relied on a misconfiguration in The Browser Company’s implementation of Firebase, a “database-as-a-backend service,” for storage of user info, including Arc Boosts, a feature that lets users customize the appearance of websites they visit.
In its statement, The Browser Company writes:

Arc has a feature called Boosts that allows you to customize any website with custom CSS and Javascript. Since running arbitrary Javascript on websites has potential security concerns, we opted not to make Boosts with custom Javascript shareable across members, but we still synced them to our server so that your own Boosts are available across devices.
We use Firebase as the backend for certain Arc features (more on this below), and use it to persist Boosts for both sharing and syncing across devices. Unfortunately our Firebase ACLs (Access Control Lists, the way Firebase secures endpoints) were misconfigured, which allowed users Firebase requests to change the creatorID of a Boost after it had been created. This allowed any Boost to be assigned to any user (provided you had their userID), and thus activate it for them, leading to custom CSS or JS running on the website the boost was active on.

Or, in the words of xyz3va,

arc boosts can contain arbitrary javascript
arc boosts are stored in firestore
the arc browser gets which boosts to use via the creatorID field
we can arbitrarily change the creatorID field to any user id

You can get someone’s creatorID in several ways, including referral links, shared easels, and publicly shared Boosts. With that info, an attacker could have created a boost with arbitrary code in it and added it to the victim’s Arc account without any action on the victim’s part. That’s bad.
The Browser Company responded quickly — xyz3va reported the bug to cofounder Hursh Agrawal, demonstrated it within minutes, and was added to the company Slack within half an hour. The bug was patched the next day, and the company’s statement details a list of security improvements it says it’s implementing, including setting up a bug bounty program, moving off of Firebase, disabling custom Javascript on synced Boosts, and hiring additional security staff.

Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge

A security researcher revealed a “catastrophic” vulnerability in the Arc browser that would have allowed attackers to insert arbitrary code into other users’ browser sessions with little than an easily findable user ID. The vulnerability was patched on August 26th and disclosed today in a blog post by security researcher xyz3va, as well as a statement from The Browser Company. The company says that its logs indicate no users were affected by the flaw.

The exploit, CVE-2024-45489, relied on a misconfiguration in The Browser Company’s implementation of Firebase, a “database-as-a-backend service,” for storage of user info, including Arc Boosts, a feature that lets users customize the appearance of websites they visit.

In its statement, The Browser Company writes:

Arc has a feature called Boosts that allows you to customize any website with custom CSS and Javascript. Since running arbitrary Javascript on websites has potential security concerns, we opted not to make Boosts with custom Javascript shareable across members, but we still synced them to our server so that your own Boosts are available across devices.

We use Firebase as the backend for certain Arc features (more on this below), and use it to persist Boosts for both sharing and syncing across devices. Unfortunately our Firebase ACLs (Access Control Lists, the way Firebase secures endpoints) were misconfigured, which allowed users Firebase requests to change the creatorID of a Boost after it had been created. This allowed any Boost to be assigned to any user (provided you had their userID), and thus activate it for them, leading to custom CSS or JS running on the website the boost was active on.

Or, in the words of xyz3va,

arc boosts can contain arbitrary javascript

arc boosts are stored in firestore

the arc browser gets which boosts to use via the creatorID field

we can arbitrarily change the creatorID field to any user id

You can get someone’s creatorID in several ways, including referral links, shared easels, and publicly shared Boosts. With that info, an attacker could have created a boost with arbitrary code in it and added it to the victim’s Arc account without any action on the victim’s part. That’s bad.

The Browser Company responded quickly — xyz3va reported the bug to cofounder Hursh Agrawal, demonstrated it within minutes, and was added to the company Slack within half an hour. The bug was patched the next day, and the company’s statement details a list of security improvements it says it’s implementing, including setting up a bug bounty program, moving off of Firebase, disabling custom Javascript on synced Boosts, and hiring additional security staff.

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A worker demonstrates how lithium is recovered from brine at a Standard Lithium facility in El Dorado, Arkansas, US, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. | Photo: Getty Images

The US Department of Energy announced today plans to dole out more than $3 billion to over two dozen battery projects across 14 states. The money will go toward processing critical minerals, building batteries and their components, and recycling batteries. It’s part of the Biden administration’s push for more domestic manufacturing to support its climate goals.
Batteries are an increasingly hot commodity needed for electric vehicles and to store renewable energy from solar and wind projects. New battery facilities are cropping up all over the US thanks in part to federal support in the form of grants, loans, and tax incentives.
New battery facilities are cropping up all over the US
The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. The 25 projects announced today have been selected for awards, but will still need to go through a negotiation process with the Department of Energy (DOE) and complete an environmental review to receive any money. The DOE predicts the funding will create 12,000 jobs, 8,000 of which would be in construction.
Two projects chosen to potentially receive the largest sums of money are meant to produce lithium from brine, each tentatively earmarked to receive up to $225 million in funding. A joint project between Standard Lithium and Equinor in Lewisville, Arkansas is expected to produce up to 45,000 metric tons per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate over two decades.
The second project, led by TerraVolta Resources in the Texarkana region, is estimated to have the capacity to produce 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent each year once it’s operating. That’s enough lithium for some 500,000 EVs, according to the DOE project description.

Image: DOE

This is the second round of funding in a program led by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). The first round of funding, announced in 2022, funneled $1.82 billion into 14 battery material and manufacturing projects.

China still leads global battery production with nearly 85 percent of the world’s capacity to produce battery cells. It also processes more of the critical minerals used in batteries than any other country. The Biden administration recently announced higher tariffs on batteries and battery parts from China, raising tariffs rates from 7.5 to 25 percent. And the administration structured the EV tax credit so that it only applies to vehicles with batteries manufactured in the US.

A worker demonstrates how lithium is recovered from brine at a Standard Lithium facility in El Dorado, Arkansas, US, on Thursday, July 20, 2023. | Photo: Getty Images

The US Department of Energy announced today plans to dole out more than $3 billion to over two dozen battery projects across 14 states. The money will go toward processing critical minerals, building batteries and their components, and recycling batteries. It’s part of the Biden administration’s push for more domestic manufacturing to support its climate goals.

Batteries are an increasingly hot commodity needed for electric vehicles and to store renewable energy from solar and wind projects. New battery facilities are cropping up all over the US thanks in part to federal support in the form of grants, loans, and tax incentives.

The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021. The 25 projects announced today have been selected for awards, but will still need to go through a negotiation process with the Department of Energy (DOE) and complete an environmental review to receive any money. The DOE predicts the funding will create 12,000 jobs, 8,000 of which would be in construction.

Two projects chosen to potentially receive the largest sums of money are meant to produce lithium from brine, each tentatively earmarked to receive up to $225 million in funding. A joint project between Standard Lithium and Equinor in Lewisville, Arkansas is expected to produce up to 45,000 metric tons per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate over two decades.

The second project, led by TerraVolta Resources in the Texarkana region, is estimated to have the capacity to produce 25,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent each year once it’s operating. That’s enough lithium for some 500,000 EVs, according to the DOE project description.

Image: DOE

This is the second round of funding in a program led by the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC). The first round of funding, announced in 2022, funneled $1.82 billion into 14 battery material and manufacturing projects.

China still leads global battery production with nearly 85 percent of the world’s capacity to produce battery cells. It also processes more of the critical minerals used in batteries than any other country. The Biden administration recently announced higher tariffs on batteries and battery parts from China, raising tariffs rates from 7.5 to 25 percent. And the administration structured the EV tax credit so that it only applies to vehicles with batteries manufactured in the US.

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Image: Square Enix

On Friday morning, Sony released a system update for the PlayStation 5 that may help with graphical bugs and crashes reported by Final Fantasy XVI players after the last PS5 firmware update.
Sony says today’s update (version 24.06-10.01.00) simply improves “system software performance and stability” and doesn’t mention any specific fixes for the game. But a post shared on the official Final Fantasy XVI X account earlier today says it’s been released “in response to the crashes and graphical bugs” reported by players.

[Notice] PlayStation®5 version of FF16In response to the crashes and graphical bugs that were occurring on the PlayStation®5 version of FINAL FANTASY XVI, SIE have released a new system update. Please try downloading and installing this update.— FINAL FANTASY XVI (@finalfantasyxvi) September 20, 2024

Following the PS5 update released September 12th (24.06-10.00.00), people playing Final Fantasy XVI and some other games, like Star Wars Outlaws, Death Stranding, and Elden Ring, reported stutters and other issues. In Final Fantasy, players reported game crashes while loading save files or fast-traveling. Others experienced severe graphical issues, including black squares that would end up covering large portions of the screen, making the game unplayable.
At the time, Square Enix said it was working with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to determine what was causing the bugs and encouraged players to wait for further updates.

Image: Square Enix

On Friday morning, Sony released a system update for the PlayStation 5 that may help with graphical bugs and crashes reported by Final Fantasy XVI players after the last PS5 firmware update.

Sony says today’s update (version 24.06-10.01.00) simply improves “system software performance and stability” and doesn’t mention any specific fixes for the game. But a post shared on the official Final Fantasy XVI X account earlier today says it’s been released “in response to the crashes and graphical bugs” reported by players.

Following the PS5 update released September 12th (24.06-10.00.00), people playing Final Fantasy XVI and some other games, like Star Wars Outlaws, Death Stranding, and Elden Ring, reported stutters and other issues. In Final Fantasy, players reported game crashes while loading save files or fast-traveling. Others experienced severe graphical issues, including black squares that would end up covering large portions of the screen, making the game unplayable.

At the time, Square Enix said it was working with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to determine what was causing the bugs and encouraged players to wait for further updates.

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These can be all yours. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

We’ve got a new pair of our favorite noise-canceling headphones, and we’re giving them away to celebrate the recent relaunch — err, refresh? — of our weekly deals newsletter. All you have to do is sign up for the new and improved Verge Deals, which continues to serve as a free weekly summary of some of the best tech deals on the web.

The headphones we’re gifting are none other than the Sony WH-1000XM5 (a $399.99 value), which feature excellent active noise cancellation, a comfy fit for lengthy listening sessions, and detailed, balanced sound. Unsurprisingly, they have been a mainstay of our holiday gift guides since they launched in the middle of 2022, and they remain one of our top picks when it comes to noise-canceling headphones to this day. That’s partly due to their 30-hour battery life, as well as their improved call quality over prior models.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

To enter for a chance to win, simply subscribe to Verge Deals using the embedded widget below. Once signed up, you can submit an additional entry by following Verge Deals on X (@VergeDeals). The sweepstakes will begin at 11AM ET today, September 20th, and run through 11AM ET on Friday, October 18th. Good luck!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes begins at 11:00AM ET on 09/20/2024 and ends at 11AM ET on 10/18/2024. Open to legal residents of the United States (excluding territories and possessions), at least 18 years of age and have access to the internet, and a valid email address. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Subject to Official Rules, additional eligibility restrictions apply. Official Rules, which govern, can be viewed by clicking the following link. Sponsor Privacy Policy. Sponsor: Vox Media, 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036.

These can be all yours. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

We’ve got a new pair of our favorite noise-canceling headphones, and we’re giving them away to celebrate the recent relaunch — err, refresh? — of our weekly deals newsletter. All you have to do is sign up for the new and improved Verge Deals, which continues to serve as a free weekly summary of some of the best tech deals on the web.

The headphones we’re gifting are none other than the Sony WH-1000XM5 (a $399.99 value), which feature excellent active noise cancellation, a comfy fit for lengthy listening sessions, and detailed, balanced sound. Unsurprisingly, they have been a mainstay of our holiday gift guides since they launched in the middle of 2022, and they remain one of our top picks when it comes to noise-canceling headphones to this day. That’s partly due to their 30-hour battery life, as well as their improved call quality over prior models.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

To enter for a chance to win, simply subscribe to Verge Deals using the embedded widget below. Once signed up, you can submit an additional entry by following Verge Deals on X (@VergeDeals). The sweepstakes will begin at 11AM ET today, September 20th, and run through 11AM ET on Friday, October 18th. Good luck!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes begins at 11:00AM ET on 09/20/2024 and ends at 11AM ET on 10/18/2024. Open to legal residents of the United States (excluding territories and possessions), at least 18 years of age and have access to the internet, and a valid email address. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Subject to Official Rules, additional eligibility restrictions apply. Official Rules, which govern, can be viewed by clicking the following link. Sponsor Privacy Policy. Sponsor: Vox Media, 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036.

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There’s three motors inside this one. | Image: Rivian

Rivian is now shipping its electric trucks and SUVs with a tri-motor configuration, adding an extra power boost over the dual-motor version. The new 850 horsepower powertrain uses Rivian’s new in-house Enduro motors, with one in the front axle and two in the rear axle.
The new tri-motor setup underpins Rivian’s newly redesigned Gen 2 models, which launched earlier this year in just a dual-motor configuration.
As reported by Inside EVs, these 2025 Rivian models are the first from the company to get a tri-motor setup, as the previous generation only came in dual and quad-motor setups. Rivian will start shipping its Gen 2 quad-motor version early next year.

Image: Rivian
Rivian’s R1T lineup right now.

Image: Rivian
The R1S options today.

Between the front and rear motors sits Rivian’s new Max battery pack that’s capable of taking the vehicle up to 405 miles on a single charge in conserve mode or 371 miles for all-purpose driving. The R1T Ascend Tri-Max starts at $99,900.
Tesla’s Cybertruck, the top-selling all-electric truck right now, also has dual and tri-motor options. However, the latter “Cyberbeast” model has a higher starting price of $113,990 compared to the Rivian. The EV market has a year-over-year uptick in sales, but electric trucks are still just a drop in the bucket against EV cars and SUVs.
Rivian is adding more configurations in its quest to court more customers and sell more EVs. It needs cash flow to stay afloat in its lead-up to producing its lower-cost R2 SUV in 2026 and the stellar-looking R3 and R3X to follow. Rivian is getting some help from Volkswagen’s investment on that front.

There’s three motors inside this one. | Image: Rivian

Rivian is now shipping its electric trucks and SUVs with a tri-motor configuration, adding an extra power boost over the dual-motor version. The new 850 horsepower powertrain uses Rivian’s new in-house Enduro motors, with one in the front axle and two in the rear axle.

The new tri-motor setup underpins Rivian’s newly redesigned Gen 2 models, which launched earlier this year in just a dual-motor configuration.

As reported by Inside EVs, these 2025 Rivian models are the first from the company to get a tri-motor setup, as the previous generation only came in dual and quad-motor setups. Rivian will start shipping its Gen 2 quad-motor version early next year.

Image: Rivian
Rivian’s R1T lineup right now.

Image: Rivian
The R1S options today.

Between the front and rear motors sits Rivian’s new Max battery pack that’s capable of taking the vehicle up to 405 miles on a single charge in conserve mode or 371 miles for all-purpose driving. The R1T Ascend Tri-Max starts at $99,900.

Tesla’s Cybertruck, the top-selling all-electric truck right now, also has dual and tri-motor options. However, the latter “Cyberbeast” model has a higher starting price of $113,990 compared to the Rivian. The EV market has a year-over-year uptick in sales, but electric trucks are still just a drop in the bucket against EV cars and SUVs.

Rivian is adding more configurations in its quest to court more customers and sell more EVs. It needs cash flow to stay afloat in its lead-up to producing its lower-cost R2 SUV in 2026 and the stellar-looking R3 and R3X to follow. Rivian is getting some help from Volkswagen’s investment on that front.

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Anker is recalling three additional power banks, citing a manufacturing defect in their lithium-ion batteries. | Image: Anker

Anker has issued a recall notice for its Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K, model number A1642), Anker Power Bank (model number A1647), and Anker MagGo Power Bank (model number A1652). The company says a manufacturing defect can cause the power banks’ lithium-ion batteries to overheat and potentially cause a fire risk.
It’s the same issue that triggered a recall in June for another Anker power bank. The company says only a small number of batteries were affected by the defect but that it’s recalling all of the portable chargers “out of an abundance of caution.”

Image: Anker
The recalled power banks can be identified by looking for their name, model, and serial numbers on the back or bottom of each device.

The affected power banks can be identified by looking for their individual names and model numbers — A1642, A1647, and A1652 — printed in white text on the bottom or back. If you have one of the affected models, Anker says to stop using it immediately, store it in a safe location, and then verify the product’s serial number (located near the model number) before filling out a recall form to receive a replacement.
Anker says the affected power banks should not be thrown away due to the risk of fire but should instead be taken to facilities that can safely dispose of products featuring lithium-ion batteries. In the US, users can find locations that will recycle the power banks through the Environmental Protection Agency’s website or other organizations that specialize in handling e-waste.

Anker is recalling three additional power banks, citing a manufacturing defect in their lithium-ion batteries. | Image: Anker

Anker has issued a recall notice for its Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K, model number A1642), Anker Power Bank (model number A1647), and Anker MagGo Power Bank (model number A1652). The company says a manufacturing defect can cause the power banks’ lithium-ion batteries to overheat and potentially cause a fire risk.

It’s the same issue that triggered a recall in June for another Anker power bank. The company says only a small number of batteries were affected by the defect but that it’s recalling all of the portable chargers “out of an abundance of caution.”

Image: Anker
The recalled power banks can be identified by looking for their name, model, and serial numbers on the back or bottom of each device.

The affected power banks can be identified by looking for their individual names and model numbers — A1642, A1647, and A1652 — printed in white text on the bottom or back. If you have one of the affected models, Anker says to stop using it immediately, store it in a safe location, and then verify the product’s serial number (located near the model number) before filling out a recall form to receive a replacement.

Anker says the affected power banks should not be thrown away due to the risk of fire but should instead be taken to facilities that can safely dispose of products featuring lithium-ion batteries. In the US, users can find locations that will recycle the power banks through the Environmental Protection Agency’s website or other organizations that specialize in handling e-waste.

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The fifth-generation Snap Spectacles were described as “a disaster” by a developer who helped create them. | Photo by Nalani Hernandez-Melo for The Verge

Snap’s latest generation of augmented reality Spectacles have been lambasted by one of the engineers who helped to create them. The glasses, revealed earlier this week, were described as “a disaster” by Sterling Crispin, a former design engineer for Snap.
“I worked on these for about a year at Snap, and I have a million negative things to say about the experience and the device, but I think the product speaks for itself and is obviously bad,” Crispin said on X in response to the new Spectacles being unveiled. “I hate these things.”
While Crispin noted that AR and VR devices all face conflicting limitations around things like size, weight, performance, battery life, and production scale, he criticized the balance of features offered by Snap’s new Spectacles — but didn’t scrutinize any specific elements of the gadget. “This device is a set of very bad decisions that compounded, making them even worse,” Crispin said. “Everyone working on it knew the problems and who was making them.”
For its part, Snap doesn’t seem to be saying these glasses are ready for mass adoption by any stretch. The new Spectacles aren’t being sold to the public and are instead being made available to a limited number of Snapchat AR developers. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told The Verge that he doesn’t expect AR glasses to be a meaningful business until the end of this decade.
But they’re still expensive glasses, and the product is meant as a showcase to get developers excited about AR and Snap’s platform for it. Developers have to pay $99 per month to rent them, with a minimum term of at least one year. Meanwhile, people online across Reddit and X have been poking fun at the device’s limited 45-minute battery life and 46-degree field of view (up from 30 minutes and 26.3 degrees on the previous model.)
In his hands-on with the glasses, my colleague Alex Heath said that the hardware has improved for Snap’s fifth-generation Spectacles, but the software “still feels pretty basic for a standalone device.” He said the field of view fell far short of feeling like a regular pair of glasses and made “augmented reality considerably less engaging than the real world.”

The fifth-generation Snap Spectacles were described as “a disaster” by a developer who helped create them. | Photo by Nalani Hernandez-Melo for The Verge

Snap’s latest generation of augmented reality Spectacles have been lambasted by one of the engineers who helped to create them. The glasses, revealed earlier this week, were described as “a disaster” by Sterling Crispin, a former design engineer for Snap.

“I worked on these for about a year at Snap, and I have a million negative things to say about the experience and the device, but I think the product speaks for itself and is obviously bad,” Crispin said on X in response to the new Spectacles being unveiled. “I hate these things.”

While Crispin noted that AR and VR devices all face conflicting limitations around things like size, weight, performance, battery life, and production scale, he criticized the balance of features offered by Snap’s new Spectacles — but didn’t scrutinize any specific elements of the gadget. “This device is a set of very bad decisions that compounded, making them even worse,” Crispin said. “Everyone working on it knew the problems and who was making them.”

For its part, Snap doesn’t seem to be saying these glasses are ready for mass adoption by any stretch. The new Spectacles aren’t being sold to the public and are instead being made available to a limited number of Snapchat AR developers. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told The Verge that he doesn’t expect AR glasses to be a meaningful business until the end of this decade.

But they’re still expensive glasses, and the product is meant as a showcase to get developers excited about AR and Snap’s platform for it. Developers have to pay $99 per month to rent them, with a minimum term of at least one year. Meanwhile, people online across Reddit and X have been poking fun at the device’s limited 45-minute battery life and 46-degree field of view (up from 30 minutes and 26.3 degrees on the previous model.)

In his hands-on with the glasses, my colleague Alex Heath said that the hardware has improved for Snap’s fifth-generation Spectacles, but the software “still feels pretty basic for a standalone device.” He said the field of view fell far short of feeling like a regular pair of glasses and made “augmented reality considerably less engaging than the real world.”

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Image: Maira Erlich / Bloomberg via Getty Images

For more than two weeks, Brazilians have been without access to X. Brazil’s Supreme Court blocked the platform after Elon Musk failed to comply with court rulings. As X evades the ban and Musk’s companies work slowly toward a resolution, the real concern for many isn’t just the absence of social media. It’s Musk’s power play over the government as he backs Brazil’s far right.
X was banned on August 30th after months of back-and-forth between Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The conflict began in April when Musk publicized government requests for information and then removed all restrictions imposed on X profiles by Brazilian court orders. Moraes responded by including Musk in an investigation over organized political disinformation and subpoenaing X’s Brazilian legal representative. Musk abruptly shuttered its local operations, leading Moraes to ban it for violating local laws.
Since then, negotiations between both sides have proceeded gradually. The Supreme Court announced a transfer of R$ 18.3 million from X and Starlink to the national treasury, indirectly paying a fine for not removing content. Moraes subsequently ordered the unblocking of both companies’ bank accounts. Musk has reportedly met with Vanessa Souza, a Brazilian specialist in cyber law, and he’s appointed a pair of attorneys to represent X in Brazil — leading Moraes to ask if X has reopened operations, which could eventually clear the way for a lifted ban.
But Musk’s public response has largely been confrontational. In the past couple of weeks, he has criticized the Brazilian Supreme Court’s decision as well as the president, claiming the ban violates free speech and sets a dangerous precedent. He’s rallied public support, primarily from far-right influencers and politicians.
And this week, some Brazilians briefly got access to X again. According to the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (ABRINT), X made a “significant” update early on September 18th, changing its design to use IP addresses linked to Cloudflare and routing around service providers’ blocks. ABRINT said the update put providers in a “delicate situation” while regulators attempted to get it blocked again. X officially called the ban “inadvertent and temporary,” but Moraes levied extra fines against it for what he dubbed “willful, illegal and persistent” evasion, citing a Musk tweet that seemed to celebrate the move.
Musk’s defiance is part of a long flirtation with Brazil’s currently out-of-power far right. “He is not just an influencer of the far right, he is an activist,” says Camila Rocha, a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) and a political scientist. “The collaboration, the harmony between what is happening in Brazil and what is on the networks, is huge.” Whatever happens next in the X–Brazil saga, Musk could claim it’s a win.
A court is potentially clearing the way for X to come back; in the short term, it’s evaded its ban
Luiz Augusto D’Urso, a lawyer specializing in digital law, describes X’s closing of its Brazilian office as a dramatic gesture that forced Moraes’ hand. “It’s important to note that the Supreme Court’s initial ruling was never to block the platform. Things escalated,” D’Urso says. “The last decision before the ban required the platform to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which is a legal obligation. When Musk refused, the result was suspension.”
Musk wasted no time turning the issue into a political spectacle. On August 29th, he referred to Justice Moraes as “the tyrant, @Alexandre, dictator of Brazil” in a post about Starlink’s assets being frozen, saying “[Brazilian President] Lula is his lapdog.” Another post calls Moraes “a declared criminal of the worst kind, disguised as a judge.”
Brazil’s right wing has seized the moment, too, framing the X ban as a fight for freedom of speech. Musk has interacted with supporters of the far right using emoji of the Brazilian flag (in context, a symbol of the movement). He supported demonstrations on September 7th, or Brazilian Independence Day, by sharing Jair Bolsonaro-supporting profiles and calling on users to participate, and he posted a photo of himself alongside former President Bolsonaro.
Rocha notes that Musk’s support for Brazil’s far right has been obvious for years. The billionaire has become popular in parts of Brazil thanks to his Starlink satellite internet service, which operates across the country and particularly in the Amazon. Starlink also provides services to the Brazilian Armed Forces.
This activism tallies with his support of right-wing politics globally, including elsewhere in Latin America. Musk has an ongoing friendly relationship with Argentinian President Javier Milei, with whom he’s agreed on “the importance of technological development for the progress of humanity.” Milei has supported Musk throughout the conflict with the Brazilian Supreme Court, accusing it of wanting to “prohibit the space where citizens exchange ideas freely.”
Musk has even (perhaps jokingly) suggested that “we’ll coup whoever we want” in Latin America, responding to an accusation that the US government intervened against Bolivian President Evo Morales to secure lithium supplies for Tesla.
In Brazil, Musk — who despite his public commitment to free speech has blocked content at the behest of conservative governments — stands to gain by resolutely supporting Bolsonaro’s far right. “He presents himself as a defender of freedom, but he is exclusively business-oriented and has no commitment to democracy,” says Sérgio Soares Braga, a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD). The far right offers a clearer path to the “unregulated capitalism” Musk favors.
“He presents himself as a defender of freedom, but he is exclusively business-oriented”
But Musk’s resistance is also a direct fight over how and whether American tech (and particularly internet) companies can be regulated abroad. An open letter sent on September 17th, as translated by The Verge, called the ban part of an “evolving global conflict between digital corporations and those seeking to build a democratic, people-centered digital landscape focused on social and economic development.” It accused Musk of sabotaging “and operate against the public sector’s ability to create and maintain an independent digital agenda based on local values, needs and aspirations.” The letter was signed by more than 50 intellectuals, including economist Mariana Mazzucato and author Cory Doctorow.
“Musk wants to control a wide array of industries, from big tech to electric vehicles, which grants him significant economic power and geopolitical influence,” says Braga. But in Brazil, Braga argues, he’s overstepped his bounds. “He can’t abuse this power to interfere in a nation’s sovereignty.”
Musk is making sacrifices by keeping X offline. Competing social networks have reaped gains from the block — Bluesky, for instance, says it’s gained millions of new users largely from Brazil. “There are growing suspicions that Musk has ulterior motives,” says Rocha. “Why would he let X remain offline for so long? What does he stand to gain?”
One potential answer is that Musk doesn’t have much left to lose by shrinking Twitter’s base in Brazil. The platform has already reportedly lost at least 71 percent of its value since Musk acquired it, and it shows little sign of recovery. (By contrast, Musk’s Starlink eventually caved to demands that it block X, though it’s said it’s still pursuing legal action.) It’s more important to take a stand against Brazil’s policies — not out of idealism, but a pragmatic bid for more control.
But for D’Urso, Musk’s endgame is clear: he benefits either way. “If he backs down, he portrays himself as the man who stood up to the Supreme Court. If X remains banned, he becomes a martyr, claiming persecution. It’s a win-win situation for him.”

Image: Maira Erlich / Bloomberg via Getty Images

For more than two weeks, Brazilians have been without access to X. Brazil’s Supreme Court blocked the platform after Elon Musk failed to comply with court rulings. As X evades the ban and Musk’s companies work slowly toward a resolution, the real concern for many isn’t just the absence of social media. It’s Musk’s power play over the government as he backs Brazil’s far right.

X was banned on August 30th after months of back-and-forth between Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The conflict began in April when Musk publicized government requests for information and then removed all restrictions imposed on X profiles by Brazilian court orders. Moraes responded by including Musk in an investigation over organized political disinformation and subpoenaing X’s Brazilian legal representative. Musk abruptly shuttered its local operations, leading Moraes to ban it for violating local laws.

Since then, negotiations between both sides have proceeded gradually. The Supreme Court announced a transfer of R$ 18.3 million from X and Starlink to the national treasury, indirectly paying a fine for not removing content. Moraes subsequently ordered the unblocking of both companies’ bank accounts. Musk has reportedly met with Vanessa Souza, a Brazilian specialist in cyber law, and he’s appointed a pair of attorneys to represent X in Brazil — leading Moraes to ask if X has reopened operations, which could eventually clear the way for a lifted ban.

But Musk’s public response has largely been confrontational. In the past couple of weeks, he has criticized the Brazilian Supreme Court’s decision as well as the president, claiming the ban violates free speech and sets a dangerous precedent. He’s rallied public support, primarily from far-right influencers and politicians.

And this week, some Brazilians briefly got access to X again. According to the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (ABRINT), X made a “significant” update early on September 18th, changing its design to use IP addresses linked to Cloudflare and routing around service providers’ blocks. ABRINT said the update put providers in a “delicate situation” while regulators attempted to get it blocked again. X officially called the ban “inadvertent and temporary,” but Moraes levied extra fines against it for what he dubbed “willful, illegal and persistent” evasion, citing a Musk tweet that seemed to celebrate the move.

Musk’s defiance is part of a long flirtation with Brazil’s currently out-of-power far right. “He is not just an influencer of the far right, he is an activist,” says Camila Rocha, a researcher at the Brazilian Center of Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) and a political scientist. “The collaboration, the harmony between what is happening in Brazil and what is on the networks, is huge.” Whatever happens next in the X–Brazil saga, Musk could claim it’s a win.

Luiz Augusto D’Urso, a lawyer specializing in digital law, describes X’s closing of its Brazilian office as a dramatic gesture that forced Moraes’ hand. “It’s important to note that the Supreme Court’s initial ruling was never to block the platform. Things escalated,” D’Urso says. “The last decision before the ban required the platform to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which is a legal obligation. When Musk refused, the result was suspension.”

Musk wasted no time turning the issue into a political spectacle. On August 29th, he referred to Justice Moraes as “the tyrant, @Alexandre, dictator of Brazil” in a post about Starlink’s assets being frozen, saying “[Brazilian President] Lula is his lapdog.” Another post calls Moraes “a declared criminal of the worst kind, disguised as a judge.”

Brazil’s right wing has seized the moment, too, framing the X ban as a fight for freedom of speech. Musk has interacted with supporters of the far right using emoji of the Brazilian flag (in context, a symbol of the movement). He supported demonstrations on September 7th, or Brazilian Independence Day, by sharing Jair Bolsonaro-supporting profiles and calling on users to participate, and he posted a photo of himself alongside former President Bolsonaro.

Rocha notes that Musk’s support for Brazil’s far right has been obvious for years. The billionaire has become popular in parts of Brazil thanks to his Starlink satellite internet service, which operates across the country and particularly in the Amazon. Starlink also provides services to the Brazilian Armed Forces.

This activism tallies with his support of right-wing politics globally, including elsewhere in Latin America. Musk has an ongoing friendly relationship with Argentinian President Javier Milei, with whom he’s agreed on “the importance of technological development for the progress of humanity.” Milei has supported Musk throughout the conflict with the Brazilian Supreme Court, accusing it of wanting to “prohibit the space where citizens exchange ideas freely.”

Musk has even (perhaps jokingly) suggested that “we’ll coup whoever we want” in Latin America, responding to an accusation that the US government intervened against Bolivian President Evo Morales to secure lithium supplies for Tesla.

In Brazil, Musk — who despite his public commitment to free speech has blocked content at the behest of conservative governments — stands to gain by resolutely supporting Bolsonaro’s far right. “He presents himself as a defender of freedom, but he is exclusively business-oriented and has no commitment to democracy,” says Sérgio Soares Braga, a researcher at the National Institute of Science and Technology in Digital Democracy (INCT.DD). The far right offers a clearer path to the “unregulated capitalism” Musk favors.

But Musk’s resistance is also a direct fight over how and whether American tech (and particularly internet) companies can be regulated abroad. An open letter sent on September 17th, as translated by The Verge, called the ban part of an “evolving global conflict between digital corporations and those seeking to build a democratic, people-centered digital landscape focused on social and economic development.” It accused Musk of sabotaging “and operate against the public sector’s ability to create and maintain an independent digital agenda based on local values, needs and aspirations.” The letter was signed by more than 50 intellectuals, including economist Mariana Mazzucato and author Cory Doctorow.

“Musk wants to control a wide array of industries, from big tech to electric vehicles, which grants him significant economic power and geopolitical influence,” says Braga. But in Brazil, Braga argues, he’s overstepped his bounds. “He can’t abuse this power to interfere in a nation’s sovereignty.”

Musk is making sacrifices by keeping X offline. Competing social networks have reaped gains from the block — Bluesky, for instance, says it’s gained millions of new users largely from Brazil. “There are growing suspicions that Musk has ulterior motives,” says Rocha. “Why would he let X remain offline for so long? What does he stand to gain?”

One potential answer is that Musk doesn’t have much left to lose by shrinking Twitter’s base in Brazil. The platform has already reportedly lost at least 71 percent of its value since Musk acquired it, and it shows little sign of recovery. (By contrast, Musk’s Starlink eventually caved to demands that it block X, though it’s said it’s still pursuing legal action.) It’s more important to take a stand against Brazil’s policies — not out of idealism, but a pragmatic bid for more control.

But for D’Urso, Musk’s endgame is clear: he benefits either way. “If he backs down, he portrays himself as the man who stood up to the Supreme Court. If X remains banned, he becomes a martyr, claiming persecution. It’s a win-win situation for him.”

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Hey, folks! Every week for the past four years, the team behind Verge Deals has combed the web, looking for the best deals and discounts on the tech we love most at The Verge. We pride ourselves in having tried and tested every product we recommend — well, almost every product — and we continue to share those deals with our readers via our daily deal coverage and Verge Deals newsletter. That being said, everyone could use a little change every now and again.
No, Verge Deals is not going away — quite the contrary, actually. We’ve given our newsletter a fresh coat of virtual paint to reflect our new(ish) colors and design language, and we plan to continue to deliver a fresh batch of deals to your inbox every Friday afternoon. This time, though, we’re incorporating guest dispatches from the larger Verge staff, more personal gift recommendations, and more subscriber exclusives.
We’ll still highlight steep price drops on Verge-approved favorites like the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro and Sony’s WH-1000MX5 headphones, as well as other recs culled from our expert reviews and buying guides. We’ll even tell you how you can land limited-edition tech that’s likely to sell out — including Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation 5 Pro.
If you don’t already subscribe to Verge Deals, you can sign up for free using the box below. We’re going to keep the weekly cadence (for now), but you can expect bimonthly special sends in the run-up to Amazon’s next Prime Day event, Black Friday, and the holiday shopping season.
Keep an eye on your inbox this afternoon for the first issue of the new and improved Verge Deals, and if you’re curious about The Verge’s full slate of both free and premium newsletters, head over to our newsletter hub to sign up for Command Line, Installer, and Notepad. We’re excited about the changes in the coming months. We hope you are, too.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Hey, folks! Every week for the past four years, the team behind Verge Deals has combed the web, looking for the best deals and discounts on the tech we love most at The Verge. We pride ourselves in having tried and tested every product we recommend — well, almost every product — and we continue to share those deals with our readers via our daily deal coverage and Verge Deals newsletter. That being said, everyone could use a little change every now and again.

No, Verge Deals is not going away — quite the contrary, actually. We’ve given our newsletter a fresh coat of virtual paint to reflect our new(ish) colors and design language, and we plan to continue to deliver a fresh batch of deals to your inbox every Friday afternoon. This time, though, we’re incorporating guest dispatches from the larger Verge staff, more personal gift recommendations, and more subscriber exclusives.

We’ll still highlight steep price drops on Verge-approved favorites like the latest 13-inch MacBook Pro and Sony’s WH-1000MX5 headphones, as well as other recs culled from our expert reviews and buying guides. We’ll even tell you how you can land limited-edition tech that’s likely to sell out — including Sony’s forthcoming PlayStation 5 Pro.

If you don’t already subscribe to Verge Deals, you can sign up for free using the box below. We’re going to keep the weekly cadence (for now), but you can expect bimonthly special sends in the run-up to Amazon’s next Prime Day event, Black Friday, and the holiday shopping season.

Keep an eye on your inbox this afternoon for the first issue of the new and improved Verge Deals, and if you’re curious about The Verge’s full slate of both free and premium newsletters, head over to our newsletter hub to sign up for Command Line, Installer, and Notepad. We’re excited about the changes in the coming months. We hope you are, too.

Read More 

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

The iPhone 16 is great. But it’s great in pretty much exactly the ways you’d expect it to be great — gone, it seems, are the days of big new ideas about these slabs of glass we all use all day. And that’s basically okay! But it does make you wonder: could you just train an AI to tell you everything you need to know about the new iPhone?
On this episode of The Vergecast, we find out. Joanna Stern, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal and a forever friend of The Verge, comes on the show to tell us about her adventures building the Joannabot, an AI chatbot that knows a lot about iPhones and basically nothing about anything else. We ask Joannabot some questions; we take some of your questions and present them to the Joannabot (and a few to the real Joanna). The iPhone 16 may not have much AI yet, but there’s plenty of AI about the iPhone. And as it turns out, the Joannabot thinks you’re pretty great.

After that, we talk about some of the other gadget news of the week, most notably the new Snap Spectacles. We dissect the hardware, the software, the use cases, and the strategy, and try to figure out whether these fifth-generation AR glasses are a step in the right direction or just a weird-looking computer on your face.
Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about all of YouTube’s announcements at Made on YouTube this week, Lionsgate’s AI deal, Instagram’s new controls for teenage users, and the new social network where everyone but you is a bot.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the iPhone:

From The Wall Street Journal: Our iPhone 16 Review, Brought To You By a Joanna Stern AI Chatbot

Apple iPhone 16 and 16 Plus review: all caught up
Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference

And on Snap’s Spectacles:

Snap releases new Spectacles for AR developers
Snap announces “Simple Snapchat” redesign to compete with TikTok
Evan Spiegel explains why Snap is betting on Spectacles
Sterling Crispin’s X thread about the Spectacles
Meta extends its Ray-Ban smart glasses deal beyond 2030

And in the YouTube lightning round:

YouTube’s new Hype feature is a way to promote and discover smaller creators
YouTube integrates AI for creators through Veo and the Inspiration tab
YouTube Communities let fans and viewers chat and post with creators
YouTube confirms your pause screen is now fair game for ads
YouTube is adding ‘seasons’ to make your favorite channel more like Netflix

And in the other lightning round:

Alex Cranz’s pick: Lionsgate signs deal to train AI model on its movies and shows

Joanna Stern’s pick: Instagram is putting every teen into a more private and restrictive new account

Nilay Patel’s pick: SocialAI: we tried the Twitter clone where no other humans are allowed

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

The iPhone 16 is great. But it’s great in pretty much exactly the ways you’d expect it to be great — gone, it seems, are the days of big new ideas about these slabs of glass we all use all day. And that’s basically okay! But it does make you wonder: could you just train an AI to tell you everything you need to know about the new iPhone?

On this episode of The Vergecast, we find out. Joanna Stern, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal and a forever friend of The Verge, comes on the show to tell us about her adventures building the Joannabot, an AI chatbot that knows a lot about iPhones and basically nothing about anything else. We ask Joannabot some questions; we take some of your questions and present them to the Joannabot (and a few to the real Joanna). The iPhone 16 may not have much AI yet, but there’s plenty of AI about the iPhone. And as it turns out, the Joannabot thinks you’re pretty great.

After that, we talk about some of the other gadget news of the week, most notably the new Snap Spectacles. We dissect the hardware, the software, the use cases, and the strategy, and try to figure out whether these fifth-generation AR glasses are a step in the right direction or just a weird-looking computer on your face.

Finally, in the lightning round, we talk about all of YouTube’s announcements at Made on YouTube this week, Lionsgate’s AI deal, Instagram’s new controls for teenage users, and the new social network where everyone but you is a bot.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the iPhone:

From The Wall Street Journal: Our iPhone 16 Review, Brought To You By a Joanna Stern AI Chatbot

Apple iPhone 16 and 16 Plus review: all caught up
Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference

And on Snap’s Spectacles:

Snap releases new Spectacles for AR developers
Snap announces “Simple Snapchat” redesign to compete with TikTok
Evan Spiegel explains why Snap is betting on Spectacles
Sterling Crispin’s X thread about the Spectacles
Meta extends its Ray-Ban smart glasses deal beyond 2030

And in the YouTube lightning round:

YouTube’s new Hype feature is a way to promote and discover smaller creators
YouTube integrates AI for creators through Veo and the Inspiration tab
YouTube Communities let fans and viewers chat and post with creators
YouTube confirms your pause screen is now fair game for ads
YouTube is adding ‘seasons’ to make your favorite channel more like Netflix

And in the other lightning round:

Alex Cranz’s pick: Lionsgate signs deal to train AI model on its movies and shows

Joanna Stern’s pick: Instagram is putting every teen into a more private and restrictive new account

Nilay Patel’s pick: SocialAI: we tried the Twitter clone where no other humans are allowed

Read More