01
What changed in information technology regulation and policy this week?
Government decisions, new rules and policy shifts reported this week.
02
The Idaho National Laboratory is conducting a security review of Chinese-made lidar sensors to assess potential vulnerabilities for use in autonomous vehicles.
Read at techcrunch.com ↗03
President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act during a White House meeting with technology and crypto executives on August 19, 2026.
Read at unchainedcrypto.com ↗04
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, that it is seeking public comment on a new enforcement policy regarding personalized pricing.
Read at foodnavigator.com ↗05
European governments are seeking to address a nearly $1 trillion investment funding gap to support startups developing pioneering technologies.
Read at nytimes.com ↗06
On August 18, 2026, the Trump administration released the National Security Science & Technology Strategy (NSSTS) in the United States.
Read at lawfaremedia.org ↗07
Apple is updating its App Store business terms in the European Union, effective October 1st, 2026, to resolve disputes with the European Commission regarding the Digital Markets Act.
Read at theverge.com ↗08
On August 18, 2026, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order imposing new environmental and transparency requirements on AI data center developers.
Read at insurancejournal.com ↗8 of 28 regulation and policy events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What funding rounds and acquisitions happened in information technology this week?
The week’s notable investments, financing rounds, acquisitions and strategic deals.
09
The Chinese humanoid robot startup Galbot has secured CNY 2.5 billion in funding.
Read at digitimes.com ↗10
Tianjin-based startup Xingkan Jiuzhou Technology, also known as StarRF, has successfully closed a new funding round.
Read at spacenews.com ↗11
Omarchy Quattro founder has launched the Omacom Foundation, a new nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing open-source computing.
Read at omarchy.org ↗12
Lilly Chen, the founder and CEO of FSH Technologies, has successfully raised $25 million in a new funding round.
Read at businessinsider.com ↗13
Japanese firm Metaplanet is acquiring a 95.7% stake in Super League Enterprise for $134.6 million to launch a U.S.-based bitcoin treasury platform called Superplanet.
Read at coindesk.com ↗14
CAMO Hospitality has secured $4 million in seed funding to expand its hotel-branded room service platform across the United States.
Read at hotelbusiness.com ↗15
Nigerian defense-tech company Terra Industries, founded by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, has raised an additional $18 million in strategic funding.
Read at disruptafrica.com ↗16
On August 14, 2026, Google won an auction to acquire a large dataset of employment and workplace records from the bankrupt Spirit Airlines for $5 million.
Read at arstechnica.com ↗8 of 11 funding and m&a events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What products launched in information technology this week?
Notable product launches, releases and platform updates from the week.
17
Shanghai has deployed 100 AI-powered tourist terminals as a reference model for other destinations.
Read at hospitalitynet.org ↗18
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced a $10 billion investment plan for Micron Research Labs over the next decade.
Read at thestreet.com ↗19
Serval announced the general availability of Catalyst, an AI-powered 'super agent' designed to automate enterprise service management workflows.
Read at venturebeat.com ↗20
Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced the launch of Micron Research Labs in Boise, Idaho, on August 20, 2026.
Read at thestreet.com ↗21
Micron Technology announced the launch of Micron Research Labs, a new research institution headquartered in Boise, USA, on August 20, 2026.
Read at semiconductor-digest.com ↗22
OpenAI is expanding its ChatGPT advertising business to 31 European markets starting August 24, 2026.
Read at digiday.com ↗23
Google DeepMind has introduced an experimental AI tool called Backstory, designed to assist fact-checkers in verifying images and detecting AI-generated content.
Read at niemanlab.org ↗24
Tesla is planning to launch its driverless Cybercab in Austin, Texas, as early as August 2026.
Read at theverge.com ↗8 of 16 product launches events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What financial results were reported in information technology this week?
Earnings, guidance and other financial results reported this week.
25
Nvidia is scheduled to report its fiscal year 2027 second-quarter earnings on August 26, 2026.
Read at thestreet.com ↗26
Booking Holdings wrote down the value of its travel search subsidiary Kayak by $457 million in October 2025.
Read at skift.com ↗27
Alphabet Inc. issued Kangaroo bonds in the Australian market for the first time in August 2026.
Read at bloomberg.com ↗28
Global AI-related debt issuance reached $489 billion by mid-2026, with Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle accounting for nearly 40% of the total.
Read at theglobaltreasurer.com ↗29
Canva has seen its valuation drop by approximately A$11 billion, with recent internal and external assessments placing its worth between US$31 billion and US$34.9 billion.
Read at startupdaily.net ↗30
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan purchased 105,263 shares of Intel stock for $95 per share on August 11, 2026, totaling approximately $10 million.
Read at thestreet.com ↗31
Alibaba reported a 75% drop in net income to RMB10.4bn for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, due to increased investment in AI infrastructure.
Read at internetretailing.net ↗32
Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Alphabet by 83% to nearly 106 million shares, valued at $38 billion as of the end of Q2 2026.
Read at thestreet.com ↗8 of 16 financial results events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What court rulings and legal actions hit information technology this week?
Court rulings, filings and legal actions reported this week.
33
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Read at techcrunch.com ↗34
The US Department of Justice announced on August 21, 2026, that TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit regarding violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
Read at theverge.com ↗35
A trial began in Oakland, California, on August 19, 2026, where 29 US states are suing Meta for allegedly designing addictive social media products that harm children.
Read at theguardian.com ↗36
Opening statements began on Tuesday in a US federal court case where 29 state attorneys general are suing Meta over allegations that Facebook and Instagram are designed to foster addictive behavior in minors.
Read at aljazeera.com ↗37
On August 18, 2026, a jury trial began in Oakland, California, involving four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey—against Meta.
Read at courthousenews.com ↗38
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) issued an €825 million ($966 million) fine against Uber on August 17, 2026, for using automated systems to deactivate driver accounts without sufficient transparency.
Read at insurancejournal.com ↗39
A trial begins this week in a federal court in Oakland, California, where four states—California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey—are suing Meta over allegations that its platforms contribute to youth mental health issues and violate data privacy laws.
Read at fastcompany.com ↗40
Meta is facing a major trial in California starting August 18, 2026, regarding allegations that it designed features to addict children and teens to its platforms.
Read at thestreet.com ↗8 of 15 courts and legal events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.
What research was published in information technology this week?
New research findings and studies published this week.
41
A recent analysis by AI Insider indicates that artificial intelligence models demonstrate a preference for content generated by other AI systems.
Read at forbes.com ↗42
Chinese humanoid robots developed by X-Humanoid and Honor set new performance records at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, which began on August 22, 2026.
Read at courthousenews.com ↗43
Goldman Sachs released a report on August 19, 2026, analyzing the impact of artificial intelligence on labor markets across developed economies.
Read at thestreet.com ↗44
A study published in Jama Network Open by researchers at Harvard Medical School, led by Dr. Vishal Patel, links the release of 10 major music albums between 2017 and 2022 to a 15.1% increase in fatal motor vehicle crashes in the US on release dates.
Read at theguardian.com ↗45
404 Media conducted an investigation revealing that Amazon is purchasing large quantities of rare books to use as training data for its AI models.
Read at 404media.co ↗5 of 19 research events are listed; the rest were ranked lower by importance and multi-source corroboration and are not shown.