Researchers disclose one-click remote code execution exploit in OpenClaw, nonprofit coalition asks U.S. government to suspend Grok’s use across federal agencies, Alibaba to spend 3 billion yuan during Lunar New Year to promote its Qwen AI app.
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Show Notes
OpenClaw Security Flaws Patched
Security researchers disclosed a one-click remote code execution vulnerability in OpenClaw (formerly ClawdBot/Moltbot), which allowed attackers to run arbitrary code if a user visited a malicious webpage. The flaw involved improper WebSocket origin validation, letting attackers steal auth tokens and bypass safeguards. The OpenClaw team has patched the issue. Separately, an exposed database in Moltbook, an OpenClaw-adjacent AI agent social network, revealed secret API keys but has since been secured.
Source: The Register
TikTok Restores U.S. Service After Outage
TikTok says its U.S. service is fully restored following an outage caused by extreme winter weather that cut power at a primary Oracle-operated data center. Tens of thousands of servers were affected, disrupting core features like posting, search, and view counts. The outage occurred days after Oracle took control of TikTok’s U.S. operations, though the company attributes the disruption solely to the data center failure.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Nonprofits Call for Federal Grok Ban
A coalition of nonprofits urged the U.S. government to suspend Grok across federal agencies, citing repeated failures including generation of nonconsensual sexual images involving minors, hate speech, and misinformation. The letter, shared with TechCrunch, argues Grok fails federal AI safety standards and poses national security risks, especially within the Department of Defense, and requests an investigation by the Office of Management and Budget.
Source: TechCrunch
Anthropic Flags Rare but Significant AI Disempowerment
Anthropic analyzed 1.5 million Claude conversations and found severe “user disempowerment” in about 1 in 1,300 chats, with milder forms in 1 in 50. The study identifies reality distortion, belief distortion, and action distortion, often driven by sycophantic validation and users delegating judgment to AI, particularly when vulnerable. The trend grew between 2024 and 2025.
Source: Ars Technica
Alibaba Triples AI Marketing Spend for Lunar New Year
Alibaba plans to spend 3 billion yuan ($431 million) promoting its Qwen AI app during the Lunar New Year, tripling rivals Tencent and Baidu’s spending. The campaign, starting February 6, will offer consumer incentives like digital red envelopes tied to dining, entertainment, and leisure, intensifying China’s chatbot competition.
Source: Reuters
PGYTech Launches RetroVa iPhone Imaging Kit on Kickstarter
Accessory maker PGYTech debuted its RetroVa Vintage Imaging Kit for iPhone 16 Pro/Pro Max and 17 Pro/Pro Max, featuring a 2.35x telephoto extender, camera grip with battery, manual controls, custom case, and microSD slot. The telephoto lens works only with PGYTech’s camera app. Early backers pay $184, rising to $230 after the campaign.
Source: The Verge
BYD Shares Hit 1-Year Low on Weak January Sales
Chinese EV maker BYD reported a 30% drop in January vehicle sales, the weakest January since 2020, sending its Hong Kong-listed shares to a more than one-year low. Domestic competition remains fierce, though overseas sales jumped 43.3%, now accounting for 48% of deliveries. BYD aims for 1.3 million vehicles shipped abroad in 2026, down from an earlier internal goal of 1.6 million.
Source: Reuters
TDK Scrambles as China Tightens Rare Earth Exports
TDK Corp. faces supply risks from tighter Chinese rare earth exports, crucial for its neodymium magnets used in EVs, smartphones, medical devices, and drones. The company is stockpiling materials but plans to diversify sources long-term and is accelerating development of rare-earth–free magnet technologies.
Source: Bloomberg