Spotify Adds Messaging, Apple Sets iPhone 17 Launch, and OpenAI Faces Wrongful Death Lawsuit

27th August, 2025

Spotify is making a major push into social with the launch of in-app messaging, Apple has set September 9 as the stage for its iPhone 17 reveal, and OpenAI is facing a wrongful death lawsuit after claims that ChatGPT fueled a California teen’s suicide. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s headquarters went into lockdown after activists occupied Brad Smith’s office. All this and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Major Headlines

• Spotify Introduces In-App Messaging to Boost Social Features

  
  

• Spotify on Tuesday rolled out a new messaging feature that lets users chat with friends directly inside the app, marking its push to become more social.

  For years, users have shared Spotify links for music and podcasts outside the platform. With this update, Spotify wants people to keep conversations inside the app while saving the history of shared content so users don’t have to hunt down songs again.

  
  

  At launch, messages are one-on-one, and chats can only be initiated with someone you’ve previously shared content with like a collaborative playlist partner, a “Jam” or “Blend” participant, or members on a Family or Duo plan.

  Once a request is sent, the recipient must approve it before the conversation begins. Outside Spotify, if a link is sent to you via Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, or TikTok, you can approve the chat request by tapping it. Users can also send invite links to contacts directly.

  
  

  Spotify calls the new feature a “complement” to external sharing, not a replacement. Messages can be accessed by tapping your profile picture, with conversations appearing in a new “Messages” tab on the hover bar. Users can react with emojis, and while messages are encrypted at rest and in transit, they’re not end-to-end encrypted. Spotify says it proactively monitors messages for rule-breaking content.

  
  

  Users can also report messages, with flagged content reviewed against Spotify’s terms of service. Last month, Spotify’s Chief Product and Technology Officer Gustav Söderström hinted during the company’s earnings call that its mobile experience would soon become more interactive and this update appears to be the first step. The rollout begins with premium and free users over 16 in select Latin and South American markets on mobile. Spotify says the feature will expand to the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the EU, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand in the coming weeks. TechCrunch 

  
  
  
  

• Apple Sets Sept. 9 Event to Unveil iPhone 17 Lineup

  
  

• Apple has officially set its annual fall event for September 9 at its Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California, where it’s expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup and new Apple Watches, among other devices. The invitation teased the tagline: “Awe dropping.”

  Apple’s September keynote has been its biggest stage since 2012, and the iPhone, its largest revenue driver will once again be the centerpiece. Investors will be watching closely to see if Apple can prove it still has an innovative edge in the AI era, especially after delaying a major Siri upgrade meant to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. 

  
  

  This year, the company is betting on a super-slim iPhone model, described by Bloomberg as the “MacBook Air of iPhones” thinner, sleeker, but possibly at the cost of battery life and camera performance. Apple is also expected to launch a standard iPhone 17 alongside Pro models, continuing its strategy of incremental improvements in processors, cameras, and design. The iPhone’s look has remained largely unchanged, while rivals like Samsung and Google push foldables and AI-heavy features. Apple’s past attempts at diversifying its lineup, such as the discontinued iPhone Mini and underperforming 16 Plus, fell short. Analysts like TF International’s Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that Apple may retire the Plus model entirely in 2025.

  
  

  Beyond design, geopolitics are raising the stakes. Apple continues to navigate the fallout from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which CEO Tim Cook said would cost the company $1.1 billion in the September quarter. While Apple has shifted much of its U.S.-bound iPhone production to India, tariffs on most Indian goods will double to 50% this week though smartphones remain exempt. Trump has also suggested Apple could dodge upcoming 100% semiconductor tariffs due to its $600 billion investment in U.S. operations, including a domestic chip supply chain. Wall Street will be watching both consumer demand and Apple’s ability to leverage AI as the company’s flagship launch nears. Bloomberg

  
  
  
  

• OpenAI, Altman sued over ChatGPT's role in California teen's suicide  

  
  

• The parents of a California teen who died by suicide after months of conversations with ChatGPT have sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company put profits above safety. Adam Raine, 16, died on April 11 after ChatGPT allegedly validated his suicidal thoughts, offered detailed instructions on lethal methods, and even drafted a suicide note, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in San Francisco state court.

  
  

  The Raines accuse OpenAI of wrongful death and product safety violations, seeking damages and stricter safeguards. An OpenAI spokesperson said the company was “saddened” by Raine’s death and noted ChatGPT does include crisis interventions, though safeguards can weaken in prolonged interactions. Experts warn that as AI chatbots grow more lifelike and empathetic, vulnerable users may over-rely on them for mental health support, a risk critics say companies have downplayed. The lawsuit also highlights GPT-4o’s May 2024 launch, which included features like memory, emotional mimicry, and heavy validation of user feelings. “OpenAI knew these features would endanger vulnerable users without safeguards but launched anyway,” the Raines allege.

  
  

  They further claim OpenAI’s decision fueled the company’s valuation jump from $86 billion to $300 billion while costing their son his life. The suit asks the court to require OpenAI to verify users’ ages, block self-harm queries, and warn about risks of psychological dependency.  Reuters

  
  
  
  

• Microsoft headquarters goes into lockdown after activists take over Brad Smith’s office

  
  

• Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond campus on Monday, taking over President Brad Smith’s office in Building 34 and forcing a temporary lockdown.

  The group, calling itself No Azure for Apartheid, livestreamed the sit-in on Twitch while hoisting banners, chanting “Brad Smith, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide,” and posting a mock legal summons accusing Smith of “crimes against humanity.”

  
  

  According to The Verge, the protest involved both current and former Microsoft employees, some previously fired for activism. It follows months of demonstrations over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with Israel. A recent Guardian investigation revealed Israel uses Microsoft services to store data from millions of daily calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

  
  

  The action echoed similar tactics by Google employees last year, when nine staged protests in April 2024 over Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud contract with Israel. Five occupied Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s office for nine hours before being arrested; 28 employees were later fired.  TechCrunch

Minor Headlines

• Trump administration mulls taking stakes in defense firms including Lockheed Martin — Reuters

  
  

• Meta to spend tens of millions on pro-AI super PAC — TechCrunch

  
  

• SpaceX notches major wins during tenth Starship test —TechCrunch 

  
  

• Extreme rain in China caused $2.2 billion in road damage —  Reuters

  
  

• Anthropic settles AI book-training lawsuit with authors —  TechCrunch

  
  

• Trump’s doubling of tariffs on Indian imports takes effect — Reuters

  
  

• Fed Governor Cook will sue to keep her job as Trump mulls replacement —Reuters

  
  

• Microsoft talks push OpenAI’s restructure into next year — Financial Times 

  
  

• Kiev allows Ukrainians up to age 22 to leave the country — Yahoo.Finance

  
  

• Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce get engaged after two-year romance — Reuters