Trump OK’s "Hack Backs," Nonprofits Lose Their Data, Meta Fined in NM, Google Buys Spirit's Data, and Starlink Comes to Tesla Robotaxis

Segment Note — Geaux AI Workshop Promo: The ”Geaux AI” beginner workshop spot airs again — Sept. 8th at the Baton Rouge Marriott, sign-ups at techgumbo.net/geauxai.

News and Updates:

• Trump Lets Companies Hack Back: A new national security memo lets vetted U.S. companies launch cyberattacks against foreign criminal hackers—a sharp reversal of decades of policy confining offensive operations to the military and intelligence agencies. must sign government contracts with $1 million fines, get written approval before each attack, and avoid operations causing loss of life—though experts warn attribution is hard and the move mirrors China’s and Russia’s contractor-hacker model.

• 170,000 Nonprofits Lose Everything: When Microsoft retired its free nonprofit Office grants, roughly 171,000 small organizations had their OneDrive data permanently deleted, with many alleging they got little or no meaningful warning. Affected nonprofits lost hundreds of gigabytes of irretrievable data; critics say Microsoft emailed easily-missed admin accounts while slashing non-AI spending and freeing storage as memory costs balloon.

• Meta Ordered to Fund Mental Health: A New Mexico judge ruled Meta created a ”public nuisance” and must pay $567 million toward youth mental health treatment, on top of $375 million in civil penalties from earlier in the case. The judge found Meta’s engagement-maximizing features significantly contributed to a teen mental health crisis of rising suicide, eating disorders, and exploitation risk; Meta plans to appeal.

• Google Buys Spirit’s Data: Google agreed to pay $10 million for a trove of the defunct Spirit Airlines’ business data—emails, Teams chats, code, and operations records—to train its AI, with personal info scrubbed first.

• Starlink Comes to the Cybercab: Tesla debuted its first Cybercab with Starlink satellite internet built into the vehicle’s rear, enabling high-speed connectivity even in cellular dead zones—though Tesla says it isn’t required for safe self-driving operation. Musk declared ”all cars will have Starlink in the future,” hinting at the satellite-to-smartphone Starlink Mobile service that SpaceX suggests will eventually compete with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.