Leading web‑scraping companies say their bots only collect publicly available information, despite lawsuits from major platforms. Executives from Bright Data, ScrapingBee and Oxylabs stress compliance with open‑web principles and note legitimate uses such as cybersecurity and investigative journalism. The growing demand for AI‑trained data has spurred a new market, with over 40 firms offering bots for AI training and a nascent marketing approach called generative engine optimization. Industry leaders predict this trend will intensify through 2026, creating both opportunities and challenges for publishers and regulators. Read more →

Theo Baker, a senior at Stanford University, earned the George Polk Award after his reporting led to the resignation of Stanford president Marc Tessier‑Lavigne. His investigative work, which involved hundreds of interviews and extensive field work, has drawn the attention of major studios and publishers. Baker is now preparing to release a book that examines the money‑driven subculture of Silicon Valley venture capital and its impact on university students. The project, based on more than 250 interviews, promises to expose the ways young entrepreneurs are courted and exploited before they have fully formed ideas. Read more →