This Week’s Top 5 Stories in Technology
Social Media Trial: Tech Bosses Dispute 'Addiction' Claims
Tech giant Meta is no stranger to facing lawsuits, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg previously appearing in court on numerous occasions.
However, appearing in front of a jury is new territory for Zuckerberg, who took part in a landmark trial this week focused on whether social media platforms such as Instagram are addictive for children.
On Wednesday (18 February), Mark defended Meta against a 20-year-old woman's claims that the design of Meta's platforms left her addicted to social media and negatively impacted her mental health.
The plaintiff, known by initials KGM, originally filed lawsuits against Meta, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat. TikTok and Snapchat settled with an undisclosed financial sum just hours before the trial began on 27 January.
Overall, the trial is expected to last six weeks.
How Dell’s AI Keeps McLaren Racing Ahead
Just milliseconds can come between success and failure in a sport as fast-paced as F1, meaning the smallest advantage can transform a race.
One way to gain that edge is data.
McLaren Racing has announced that it is extending its partnership with Dell Technologies to engineer and operate both its physical and digital performance initiatives.
The partnership between the pair goes back as far as 2018 and integrates Dell’s high-performance technologies into McLaren’s engineering workflows, race operations and esports activities.
By bringing together cutting-edge hardware and the relentless pace of competition, Dell is providing McLaren with the infrastructure it needs to manage data, drive precision decision-making and accelerate innovation across its global teams.
“Our work with Dell Technologies has become a natural part of how we operate as a Formula 1 team,” says Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing.
“Their support strengthens the way we work across the organisation, helping us stay agile and competitive in a sport where details matter.
“Extending this partnership reflects the confidence we have in what we can achieve together.”
Wesfarmers & Google Cloud: Personalising Retail Shopping
Wesfarmers is strengthening its long-standing business relationship with Google by partnering with Google Cloud for its agentic AI solutions.
One of Australia’s largest listed companies, Wesfarmers creates various products including health, beauty, home improvement, office and technology products, chemicals and fertilisers.
Its businesses include Kmart Group, Bunnings, Officeworks, Priceline and OnePass, in addition to health, industrial and chemical businesses under the Wesfarmers brand name.
How the Trusted Tech Alliance Sets Digital Trust Standards
Fifteen major technology companies have come together to form an alliance in a bid to strengthen trust in the global digital ecosystem.
Announced at the Munich Security Conference, the Trusted Tech Alliance (TTA) brings together firms from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America – including the likes of Microsoft, AWS, Google Cloud, Ericsson, Nokia, SAP and Anthropic – to create a foundation of shared principles for secure, transparent and resilient technologies.
The 15 members of the TTA are:
- Anthropic
- AWS
- Cassava Technologies
- Cohere
- Ericsson
- Google Cloud
- Hanwha
- Jio Platforms
- Microsoft
- Nokia
- Nscale
- NTT
- Rapidus
- Saab
- SAP
The launch of the alliance comes at a time when uncertainty is growing around the security, sovereignty and interoperability of digital systems.
By defining a “trusted technology stack”, the TTA aims to give global customers greater confidence that the building blocks of modern technology – from semiconductors to cloud and AI – are developed according to consistent, verifiable standards.
Unilever and Google Cloud: A Five-Year Transformation Plan
Unilever and Google Cloud have inked a five-year partnership to accelerate the consumer goods giant’s transformation with advanced AI and platform capabilities, alongside next-generation marketing capabilities.
The deal centres on building an enterprise-wide, AI-first digital backbone on Google Cloud and deploying tools such as Vertex AI and Gemini to reimagine how Unilever brands are discovered and purchased as consumer journeys become more agent-driven.
