TikTok says a "moderator error" delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton's account for violating its community guidelines.

Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top.

Though some users claimed Perez's livestream aired for more than 30 minutes, Favazza disputes …

Read the full story at The Verge.

SoftBank contributed $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January, just months before announcing that it's leasing land from the federal government to build a sprawling data center in Ohio. The Japanese company revealed the timing in response to a June letter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), which raised concerns about bribery.

"Are we expected to believe it's a coincidence that two months after Softbank donated $50 million to the Trump library, his administration announced a massive lease deal for Softbank's data center?" Sen. Warren said in a statement to The …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Disney is looking into launching a free streaming option. When asked about Disney's plans for free, ad-supported streaming during an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro confirmed the company is "exploring a free product for consumers."

D'Amaro added that a free tier will help drive growth and expand the streaming service's reach "to a customer segment that's more price sensitive." Though D'Amaro said that there's "nothing specific to announce today," he noted that a free tier is "definitely something that we're considering."

In July, Business Insider reported that Disney's chief product and technology officer, Adam Smith, b …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blames an extortionist for planting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in a public chat to get the app temporarily removed from Apple's App Store on Monday night. "Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us," Durov says in a post on X. "This creates a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be."

Durov adds, "Extortionists have found a way to manipulate Apple into overreacting." Apple didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for comment.

Read the full story at The Verge.

T-Mobile is launching a new financing option that will allow you to pay for a device, taxes, and fees over 36 months. In an update on Tuesday, T-Mobile says its new Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) Flex 36 requires no upfront payment and will come with a 0 percent APR for a limited time.

Even if you are financing a device, carriers typically require you to pay sales tax, an activation fee, or a down payment at checkout. T-Mobile says its new plan eliminates that by allowing you to pay off all of these costs over time - though its website notes only "well-qualified customers" will pay $0 upfront. The EIP Flex 36 financing option is available …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Apple is working on a feature that will allow users in the European Union to copy content on their iPhone and paste it onto their Windows PC (or vice versa), as spotted earlier by MacRumors. The move comes in response to an interoperability request from Microsoft that asks Apple to open up its Universal Clipboard feature, which supports copying and pasting across the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro.

Under the EU's Digital Markets Act, developers and government agencies can work with digital gatekeepers, like Apple, to make their systems interoperable with third-party tools and services. The EU's ruling on connected devices has also forced …

Read the full story at The Verge.