TECH

What big tech is hiding from you in 2026

The technology universe is going through a moment of unprecedented transformation. In fact, the first weeks of February 2026 brought revelations that directly affect privacy, employment, and the future of global entertainment. Artificial intelligence, legal disputes, and corporate crises dominate the spotlight as industry giants make decisions that impact billions of people.

Furthermore, the American political landscape intensifies the pressure on companies like Google, Meta, and OpenAI, creating an environment of regulatory uncertainty that promises to reshape the rules of the technological game. Consequently, consumers and investors need to follow every move to understand what lies ahead.

ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 threatens Hollywood...Firstly, the advancement of artificial intelligence has reached a critical point for the entertainment industry. An AI-generated video showing Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt, produced with ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 tool, went viral and caused panic in Hollywood. In this sense, Disney and Paramount-Skydance have already sent cease and desist notices to the Chinese company for intellectual property infringement.

The launch of Seedance 2.0, the new AI-powered video generator from ByteDance (owner of TikTok), generated an immediate crisis with Hollywood in mid-February 2026. The technology is considered a direct threat to the traditional film industry due to its ability to create hyper-realistic content that, according to studios and unions, violates copyright on a large scale.

Main points of the conflict (below):

Legal battle: Giants like Disney and Paramount have already initiated legal action and sent "cease and desist" notices against ByteDance.

Use of image: The trigger for the controversy included viral videos generated by AI simulating confrontations between real actors, such as Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, without authorization.

Reaction of the unions: SAG-AFTRA (the Hollywood actors' union) publicly condemned the tool, alleging that Seedance 2.0 uses protected works for training without compensation or consent from the artists.

ByteDance's retreat: Under strong legal pressure and industry criticism, ByteDance announced it will strengthen security protocols and copyright protections in Seedance 2.0 to prevent the generation of infringing content.

On the other hand, Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft's head of AI, made an alarming prediction: most administrative jobs will be automated within 18 months. Thus, millions of professionals face an uncertain future as corporations accelerate the adoption of these technologies.

Meta and YouTube in the dock for child addiction...A landmark trial began on February 9, 2026, in Los Angeles Superior Court, where Meta (parent company of Instagram and Facebook) and YouTube are accused of deliberately designing their platforms to be "addictive machines" that harm children's mental health. 

The case is being watched as a "bellwether" that could influence hundreds of similar lawsuits nationwide and potentially reshape the digital landscape for minors. Certainly, one of the most impactful cases is the landmark trial in Los Angeles against Meta and YouTube. The companies are accused of deliberately designing addictive platforms for young people. Internal documents revealed that a senior researcher at Meta alerted executives about up to 500,000 daily cases of child sexual exploitation on Facebook and Instagram. In other words, the company knew the seriousness of the problem and did little.

Therefore, the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, tried to defend himself in court arguing that "problematic" use differs from "clinical addiction"—a distinction that critics consider insufficient.

Digital privacy under silent attack...Digital privacy is currently under a "silent attack" characterized by stealthy, sophisticated methods that often operate below the threshold of user awareness or traditional security detection. As the world becomes increasingly connected, personal data is being compromised, stolen, and leaked with regularity, often in exchange for convenience. Undoubtedly, the Nancy Guthrie case exposed worrying vulnerabilities. The FBI managed to retrieve videos from a Google Nest camera even without an active cloud storage subscription, accessing Google's "internal systems." Therefore, smart home devices store far more data than consumers realize.

Meanwhile, the FTC expanded its investigation into advertising boycotts against conservative media, while Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to work to end warrantless surveillance of American citizens.

Electric vehicles in crisis and semiconductors on the rise...In contrast to the optimism surrounding AI, the electric vehicle sector is facing severe turbulence. Honda reported a 42% drop in profits, while Ford admitted that its electric division will continue to generate losses for years. For example, Western Digital has exhausted its entire stock of hard drives for 2026, driven by the insatiable demand from AI data centers.

Finally, the global semiconductor industry is on track to reach the historic milestone of $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2026. That is, while some technology sectors are faltering, the infrastructure that underpins the artificial intelligence revolution is experiencing its most lucrative moment—and the impact of this race has barely begun to be felt.

mundophone