Global Tech & Politics: TikTok Delay, Meta’s Bet, Trump’s Lawsuit, Nvidia’s UK Push

17th September 2025

The White House has once again delayed its TikTok ban, now pushed to December 2025. In New York, terrorism charges were dropped against Luigi Mangione, though he still faces murder counts in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO. Meta unveiled $800 smart glasses despite child-safety scrutiny, while Donald Trump filed a $15B defamation suit against the New York Times and Penguin Random House. And in London, Nvidia announced a massive UK expansion, rolling out tens of thousands of AI GPUs with partners like Microsoft and OpenAI. All this in today’s Read It and Eat! 

Major News 

TikTok Ban in the U.S. Pushed Back Yet Again

The U.S. government was supposed to cut off TikTok today, but instead the White House has granted the app yet another extension. What was once billed as an imminent ban has now stretched into a waiting game, as Washington continues to grapple with how to handle the Chinese-owned platform.

The ban itself was signed into law back in April 2024 under then-President Joe Biden, who flagged national security concerns tied to TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. But since taking office, President Donald Trump has repeatedly postponed enforcement. His latest executive order, signed Monday, pushes the deadline all the way to December 16, 2025 marking the fourth delay this year.

Each extension has bought TikTok more time. After a brief ban in January, Trump quickly issued a 75-day reprieve. Another 75-day extension followed in April. Then in June, the White House opted for a 90-day delay instead, giving the platform’s roughly 170 million U.S. users more breathing room and leaving the door open for a potential sale to an American buyer. At one point, Trump even floated the idea of a government-backed acquisition through a U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

The latest order goes further, instructing the Justice Department not to enforce penalties under the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” until the new deadline. Even past actions won’t be punished, according to the directive. Meanwhile, takeover interest has swirled around TikTok’s U.S. arm, with suitors ranging from Amazon to a group led by OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely. But for now, any deal would need a green light not just from Washington, but also from regulators in Beijing keeping TikTok’s fate firmly in limbo. CNN 

Judge Throws Out Terrorism Charges in UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Case

A New York judge has dismissed two terrorism charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan late last year. While the terrorism-related counts will not proceed, Judge Gregory Carro ruled on Tuesday that a second-degree murder charge remains in place, along with weapons and forgery charges.

Prosecutors had argued that writings allegedly left behind by Mangione showed a terrorism motive. But in a written ruling, Carro said the evidence didn’t meet the legal definition of terrorism under New York state law, which was enacted after the 9/11 attacks. “There was no evidence presented that the defendant made any demands of the government or sought any particular governmental policy change, let alone that he did so by intimidation or coercion,” the judge wrote. Without that link, the terrorism charges could not stand. The dismissed charge of first-degree murder tied to terrorism would have carried the harshest penalty: life in prison without parole.

Mangione, who has pleaded not guilty, still faces significant legal jeopardy. The second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of 15 to 25 years if convicted. On top of that, he faces separate federal murder charges that could result in the death penalty. Carro also rejected the defense’s attempt to delay the state trial until after the federal proceedings, instead setting jury selection to begin December 1.

Thompson, a father of two and the head of UnitedHealth Group’s insurance arm, was in New York for a business meeting when he was gunned down just before 7 a.m. on December 4.

The killing sparked a five-day manhunt before Mangione was arrested at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles away. Police said he left behind a note criticizing healthcare companies for “corruption and greed.” Outside the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, a handful of Mangione’s supporters gathered, carrying placards that read “Free Luigi” and “Innocent until proven guilty” a sign that the high-profile case is likely to continue drawing public attention as it heads to trial. BBC 

Meta Bets Big on New $800 Smart Glasses at Connect

Meta is preparing to take another swing at the future of wearable tech, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to unveil its first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display at the company’s annual Connect event in Menlo Park. The glasses internally dubbed Hypernova but likely to launch under the name Celeste are tipped to retail for around $800. With a small display tucked into the right lens, the device will handle basics like notifications, putting Meta in direct competition with rivals already racing to integrate AI into everyday life. But with a price tag more than double that of Meta’s current Ray-Ban line, analysts warn the audience could be limited.

For Zuckerberg, the launch marks another step in his long-term push to make smart glasses Meta’s gateway to what he calls “superintelligence,” AI that one day could outpace human capability in every way. Since 2020, Meta has invested more than $60 billion in its augmented reality and AI efforts spending that has helped the company carve out rare consumer traction in a market where other players, like Google Glass, stumbled. Around two million pairs of Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses have been sold since 2023, but the unit continues to post heavy losses. Industry watchers say the new glasses, while less advanced than Meta’s prototype “Orion” glasses slated for 2027, are meant to get developers on board and pave the way for broader adoption later.

Still, the company’s timing is complicated by growing scrutiny over its AI and child-safety practices. Whistleblowers have accused Meta of putting profits over user protection, citing policies that once allowed chatbots to engage children in romantic roleplay and internal directions not to investigate potential harms to kids in virtual reality. While Meta has since walked back some of those policies, its efforts to aggressively hire AI talent and dominate the field have sparked questions about whether the pursuit of innovation is coming at too high a cost. For critics, the glitzy hardware announcements risk looking like a distraction from deeper issues around accountability and safety.

Alongside the new glasses, Meta is expected to showcase a wristband that lets users control devices with hand gestures, as well as refreshed Ray-Ban models featuring sharper cameras, longer battery life, and enhanced AI tools. There’s even speculation of Prada-branded designs to house the hardware in thicker frames. Still, with analysts estimating sales in the “hundreds of thousands” at best, Celeste looks set to be more of a developer magnet than a mass-market hit. “This is a step toward building a much better headset down the line,” said Jitesh Ubrani of IDC. In other words, the real test isn’t whether Meta can sell this version, it's whether it can convince the world that smart glasses should be part of daily life at all. Yahoo.Finance 

Trump Launches $15 Billion Defamation Suit Against New York Times and Penguin Random House

Donald Trump has filed a massive $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and book publisher Penguin Random House, marking his latest legal clash with media giants he accuses of targeting him unfairly. The case, filed Monday in federal court in Florida, focuses on a book about Trump written by two Times reporters and three articles he claims were designed to torpedo his 2024 re-election bid.

The Times dismissed the lawsuit on Tuesday, calling it baseless and a clear attempt to intimidate independent reporting. Penguin Random House echoed that stance, saying the suit is “meritless” and reaffirming its support for the book and its authors. Under U.S. law, public figures like Trump face a steep uphill battle in defamation cases they must prove the media knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.

Still, Trump has shown no hesitation in waging legal war against the press during his second term. In July, he hit the Wall Street Journal with a $10 billion suit over its Epstein coverage, a claim the paper called unfounded. Around the same time, Paramount, the parent company of CBS, agreed to pay $16 million to Trump’s presidential library to settle a dispute over how 60 Minutes edited an interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris. By December, ABC News had also settled a defamation case, paying $15 million after anchor George Stephanopoulos made on-air remarks about allegations from writer E. Jean Carroll.

In his latest lawsuit, Trump accuses the Times and Penguin Random House of spreading “repugnant distortions and fabrications,” citing an editorial that deemed him unfit for office and the 2024 book Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success. His lawyers argue those publications inflicted severe damage on Trump’s business, reputation, and future financial prospects. The case also comes shortly after Trump threatened to sue the Times for reporting on a note allegedly tied to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier with whom Trump insists he severed ties years before Epstein’s legal downfall.

For Trump, the courtroom has become as much a political battleground as the campaign trail part defense of his legacy, part offense against critics he claims are bent on destroying him. Whether this latest billion-dollar lawsuit gains legal traction remains uncertain, but it adds yet another chapter to the former president’s escalating war with the media. Reuters 

Nvidia Unveils Major UK AI Investment With Tens of Thousands of GPUs

Nvidia (NVDA) has announced a sweeping plan to deploy tens of thousands of AI GPUs across the UK, marking one of its biggest international expansions yet. The move, made in partnership with Microsoft (MSFT), CoreWeave (CRVW), Nscale, and OpenAI, is part of the UK’s push to establish itself as a major hub in the global AI race. A central piece of the plan is the new Stargate UK data center, which aims to become one of the most advanced AI facilities in Europe.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang framed the investment as part of the company’s broader strategy of “sovereign AI” the idea that individual countries should be able to build and operate AI infrastructure tailored to their own needs. “The United Kingdom is building the infrastructure for the AI Industrial Revolution  advancing science, transforming industries, and creating new economic opportunities,” Huang said in a statement. The announcement comes at a high-profile moment, coinciding with President Trump’s state visit to the UK.

Microsoft and Nscale will play a leading role in the rollout, building the UK’s most powerful supercomputer in Loughton. The system will be powered by 24,000 Nvidia Grace Blackwell Ultra chips, which will run Microsoft’s Azure platform locally. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella emphasized the strategic partnership, saying, “We are focused on ensuring that both the US and the UK remain at the forefront of AI and cloud innovation. That is why we are partnering with NVIDIA to bring together our global platform with their latest compute, software and network capabilities.” Nscale is separately planning to deploy 60,000 additional Nvidia chips in the UK, while working with OpenAI to bring Stargate UK online by 2026.

For OpenAI, the UK is already fertile ground. CEO Sam Altman called the country “a longstanding pioneer of AI” and pointed to its combination of world-class research institutions, millions of ChatGPT users, and a government eager to back new technologies.

“Stargate UK builds on this foundation to help accelerate scientific breakthroughs, improve productivity and drive economic growth,” Altman said. Alongside these efforts, Nvidia is also teaming up with quantum computing specialists including OQC and Digital Realty to create a quantum AI center, while researchers at Imperial College London, ORCA Computing, and the University of Edinburgh push forward on hybrid-quantum neural networks and error-correction systems. Robotics research and other applied AI projects are also in the pipeline all part of an ambitious bid to keep the UK at the forefront of the global AI revolution. Yahoo.Finance 

Minor News 

• Gemini Surpasses ChatGPT on App Store as Nano Banana AI Model Boosts Downloads by 45%. Wall Street Journal 

• Gold Hits All-Time High Ahead of Key Fed Decision. Yahoo.Finance

• China orders tech firms to stop purchasing Nvidia AI chips. Financial Times 

• Disney, Universal and Warner Bros Discovery sue China’s MiniMax over copyright claims. Financial Times 

• Robotics startup Figure hits $39 billion valuation in fresh funding round. Reuters 

• Biglaw Partner Pierces Ear in Court After Saving Claire’s From Bankruptcy Stylish Law Meets Stylish Jewelry. Yahoo.Finance 

• UK inflation rises to 3.8% in August. Yahoo.Finance 

• SEC gives priority to Trump’s push to scrap quarterly earnings reports. CNN 

• Robert Redford, Hollywood icon and champion of indie cinema, dies at 89. Reuters