After TikTok, Snap settles social media addiction case

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories to start your morning

View this email online in your browser  July 21, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 After TikTok, Snap settles social media addiction case: Snap is the latest big tech company to settle a lawsuit that claimed social media platforms are harmful to children and young adults. The company has reached a "tentative" agreement in a case that was set to go to trial later this month. TikTok recently settled its portion of the case with the plaintiff, known by the initials "R.K.C.," ahead of a jury trial that starts next week in Los Angeles. YouTube has also reached a deal, leaving Meta as the only remaining defendant. Meta has lost similar child safety lawsuits focused on social media, including one in New Mexico earlier this year, which marked its first courtroom defeat over the matter. In March, a Los Angeles jury also handed the social media giant, along with Google, another defeat, and awarded the defendant in that case, who went by "K.G.M," or Kaley, $6 million in damages. The precedents set by these cases are encouraging a wave of lawsuits against social media platforms over their purported harms, including their addictive nature and algorithms that negatively impact children and teens' mental health. The results of these lawsuits could see the companies reshaping their platforms with more robust child safety measures, parental controls, and other design choices that could help them avoid future litigation. The terms of Snap's agreement weren't disclosed, but Bloomberg reports that Snap confirmed the settlement has been achieved. Snap did not immediately return a request for comment. Read More AI music generator Suno breach affects 55M users, per Have I Been Pwned: A hacker took names, phone numbers, and physical addresses of millions of customers who used AI music generator Suno. Read More Anthropic's landmark $1.5B copyright settlement is approved: The final approval settles one case, but it doesn't resolve the broader issue of using copyrighted works to train AI models. Read More A message from Schneider Electric When energy meets intelligence AI is rewriting the rules of energy. As demand outpaces infrastructure, the answer isn’t just more power: it’s smarter systems. Schneider Electric's CEO shares how energy and industrial intelligence unlock efficiency, resilience, and scalable growth. Read insights Morning Must-Reads UK government scraps plans for digital ID cards after millions of Brits opposed: The new U.K. government scrapped a digital ID program that millions of British people opposed, in place of a tax cut to tackle the cost of living. Read More Music streamer Deezer says more than 50% of daily uploads are AI-generated: Deezer said more than 90,000 AI-generated tracks were uploaded daily on the platform in June. Read More Colossal Biosciences reportedly in talks to raise new capital at $20B–$30B valuation: The de-extinction startup is looking to double or triple its previous valuation, according to the report. Read More What to know about the landmark Warner Bros. Discovery sale: Learn more about Paramount's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery — a historic Hollywood megadeal valued at $111 billion — as it continues to develop. Read More X relaunches a rebuilt Android app after year-long effort: X says the rebuilt version of its Android app is now available globally. Read More A message from Onward FX Pre-matched investor meetings for deep tech founders Onward FX is your warm intro to sector-focused VCs and corporate ventures like Chevron, Exxon, ARPA E, Eclipse, Halliburton, and 20 more. Meetings are pre-matched and vetted against investor mandates. 1 in 4 founders leave with a term sheet. October 27 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Accepting applications now. Apply Now Last but Not Least Trump's latest AI czar has already resigned: The director role for the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI) has become a revolving door since David Sacks left his position as czar. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

Hackers are exploiting recently patched WordPress bugs, putting millions of websites at risk

Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

View this email online in your browser  July 20, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Hackers are exploiting recently patched WordPress bugs, putting millions of websites at risk: Two critical security flaws in WordPress’ software have given hackers the chance to remotely take over tens of millions of websites, according to an estimate by a cybersecurity researcher. Read More Judge pauses $110B Paramount-Warner Bros. merger: The lawsuit from the states alleges that the deal would harm movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and audiences. Read More Netflix paid $587M for Ben Affleck’s AI filmmaking startup: Netflix revealed that it paid $587 million in cash for InterPositive, a startup co-founded by Ben Affleck. Read More A message from CAST New: Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for tech debt AI agents are not only accelerating software delivery, but the creation of architectural technical debt. Learn how leading organizations are tackling it. Download your full complimentary copy.  Download here Afternoon Must-Reads Hugging Face confirms breach affected internal datasets and credentials, urges users to take action: Hugging Face is urging users to rotate any access tokens stored on the platform and review account activity. Read More Natural raises $30M to reinvent payments for AI agents — and take on Stripe: The one-year-old startup aims to reinvent financial architecture for autonomous AI transactions. Read More Hackers stole 'significant' amount of data from tech firm relied on by thousands of US hospitals and pharmacies: Edinburgh-based tech firm Craneware said customer data was stolen during a cyberattack. The company makes software that thousands of U.S. hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics rely on for billing patients, potentially exposing health data. Read More X relaunches a rebuilt Android app after year-long effort: X says the rebuilt version of its Android app is now available globally. Read More Google is working on a new AI chip designed to make Gemini more efficient: Alphabet, Google's parent company, is reportedly working on a new chip designed to make its Gemini models run much more efficiently. Read More A message from ThoughtSpot Who’s leading analytics and BI in 2026? Gartner evaluated every analytics platform so you don't have to. See why ThoughtSpot was named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Analytics and BI. Read full report Last but Not Least Adobe camera app's new feature will critique your photos using AI: Adobe's Project Indigo can now remove all kinds of backgrounds from photos you snap using the app. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Want to adjust your daily newsletter schedule? You can do it right here Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107