Meta downsizing New York City offices, report says

Meta still loves New York — but not quite as much. Struggling with weak earnings and layoffs, the parent company of Facebook is downsizing its presence in Manhattan, according to a Bloomberg report.

Meta will not renew leases for 250,000 square feet of office space at its Hudson Yards complex in Manhattan’s West Side. It will still keep about 1 million square feet of space at other Hudson Yards offices, the report says.

Hudson Yards has become an East Coast hub for West Coast tech giants. Google parent Alphabet has invested more than $1 billion in offices for more than 10,000 employees. Amazon maintains a presence there as well.

Speed merchant

Buying a luxury electric car will cost you. Going faster in it might cost you more. Mercedes is charging owners of its EQ line of electric vehicles a $1,200 yearly subscription to unlock an “acceleration increase” that it says will “unleash enhanced performance for your car” and shorten the time needed to go from zero to 60 mph. The feature is unlocked via a software update.

Dream named best app by Google Play

Dream, an innovative app that leverages artificial intelligence to create artwork from a simple text input from a user, was named the best app of 2022 by editors at Google Play. The app, from small Canadian developer Wombo, became a sensation this year with 100 million installs while hitting No. 1 on both Android and iOS in the arts and design category.

FBI sounds TikTok alarm

FBI Director Christopher Wray is raising national security concerns about TikTok, warning that control of the video-sharing app is in the hands of the Chinese government. Wray said the FBI was concerned the Chinese could manipulate content and “use it for influence operations.” TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, but its U.S. service is offered by TikTok Inc., which ByteDance says “is a U.S. company bound by U.S. laws.” — AP