$META

Meta removed a facial recognition feature (“NameTag”) from the Ray-Ban smart glasses app in June 2026, according to the article. The feature in Meta AI could identify people and pull their Instagram/Facebook profiles without consent or notification. The change followed pressure from 70+ civil rights and privacy groups, which cited risks of street-level identification and surveillance. Meta made no public announcement.

On Friday, 12 June 2026, users worldwide reported a disruption to Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, starting around 16:00. According to Downdetector.co.za, complaints spiked, though the site also showed errors. Meta later acknowledged high disruptions in ad delivery and said engineering teams were working to restore Ads Manager ad creation, editing and reporting.

Anthropic said the U.S. Commerce Department ordered it to suspend foreign access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 AI models “whether inside or outside the United States,” citing national security concerns. Anthropic disabled access to both models for all customers to comply, after the government found potential “jailbreak” vulnerabilities. The move could affect frontier AI export controls and investor sentiment.

Iran reportedly declared Elon Musk-linked assets, including Starlink infrastructure, legitimate military targets, citing alleged US actions. Microsoft’s Xbox is preparing a major restructuring under CEO Asha Sharma, with layoffs and reduced marketing/operations spending. xAI faces a lawsuit over Grok safety concerns. The EU ordered Meta to share WhatsApp access with rivals amid antitrust scrutiny. Kalshi added integrity safeguards; New York requires disclosure of AI-generated actors in ads.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees in an internal memo, seen by Reuters, that the company made “mistakes” in its AI-driven workforce shift and may make more as AI advances. He said Meta does not expect further company-wide layoffs this year, and will reassign staff to new roles training AI models after May’s restructuring that cut 10% and moved 7,000 employees.

The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI was served a subpoena Friday by a coalition of 42 US state attorneys general seeking documents on its business practices and effects on users, including advertising, user engagement, data handling, and policies for minors and seniors. OpenAI said it will engage constructively. The states also sent a letter to Meta, Anthropic, Google and xAI.

Meta Platforms said it expects 2026 capital expenditures of $125 billion to $145 billion, up from a prior forecast of $115 billion to $135 billion, according to its latest update. The company also reported a $107 billion increase in contractual commitments for multiyear cloud and infrastructure deals. In Q1, it generated $32.2 billion from operations, with $19.8 billion spent on capex, leaving $12.4 billion free cash flow.

Meta says it will launch its AI “Business Agent” globally on June 3, 2026, starting with select businesses and expanding via a waitlist. The agent handles customer support, sales/order processing, and operations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram, according to Meta. Meta plans an initial free tier, with paid pricing to follow; WhatsApp may be token-based.

The Information, cited by ZeroHedge, says OpenAI is in advanced talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio. The report adds Nvidia could provide financial backing; OpenAI would control chip stacks and start payments when operations begin, with phase one targeted for 2028. The buildout could cost $500B+, and Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill to make data centers pay for power costs.

U.S. stocks rose Friday as Brent crude fell 3.4% to $87.29 a barrel, with markets citing hopes for a potential U.S.-Iran deal. The S&P 500 gained 0.5%, the Dow 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.3%. SpaceX shares jumped about 19% in their debut. AI stocks were mixed; Adobe fell 7.5% despite beating expectations.