This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
How Epstein became a tech influencer
6 Feb 2026, 2:24 pm by David Pierce
There are bold-faced tech names all over the Epstein files. Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Larry Page, Reid Hoffman, Steven Sinofsky, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, on and on and on. These men (and they’re pretty much all men) had wildly varying degrees of interaction with Epstein, and the details matter a great deal. But so does the totality of it: you spend long enough in these files, and you start to get a sense of the way the world works for a particular kind of extremely rich and extremely powerful businessman. And it starts to feel pretty bad.
Verge subscribers, don’t forget you get exclusive access to …
How the men in the Epstein files defeated #MeToo
6 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Elizabeth Lopatto
He might be dead, but it sure seems like Jeffrey Epstein won.
Sure, Epstein was arrested on charges of sex trafficking minors. Sure, he died in jail. (I am not going to wade into the debate about how.) But he subscribed to a racist, misogynist ideology that meant rich white men like him could do whatever they liked. And it seems he took measures to spread it.
The latest tranche of Epstein documents made it obvious. Consider all the “contrarians” and “anti-woke” warriors who show up in the latest dump: Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Larry Summers, Steve Bannon, and of course, Donald Trump. With apologies to George Carlin: It’s a big club, and the …
Can China’s No. 2 automaker make it in America?
6 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by John Voelcker
Is the long freeze on Chinese automakers selling cars in the US finally starting to thaw? China is the largest auto market in the world and now the largest car exporter, too. But high tariffs and geopolitical tensions have kept Chinese automakers away from US customers. Many of those cars are ready for primetime and are fully competitive with current offerings in the United States.
Geely is among those Chinese carmakers that want to sell their cars here. It’s already sailed past one of two hurdles any of them need to clear to do that: Its Volvo Cars division already has an assembly plant in South Carolina that would let it build its cars do …
Uber found liable for sexual assault in first of thousands of similar lawsuits
6 Feb 2026, 12:54 pm by Jess Weatherbed
A federal jury in Phoenix has found Uber to be liable for the sexual assault of one of its passengers, potentially setting a precedent for more than 3,000 similar cases consolidated in US federal court. As part of the verdict, Uber has been ordered to pay $8.5 million in damages to the victim, Jaylynn Dean, who said she was raped by her Uber driver during a ride to her hotel in November 2023.
The ridehailing giant has long argued that it cannot be held responsible for the criminal actions of drivers on its platform, having faced years of scrutiny for numerous passenger safety concerns.
“Today’s verdict validates the thousands of survivors …
TikTok’s infinite scroll is too addictive, say EU regulators
6 Feb 2026, 12:41 pm by Dominic Preston
EU regulators have declared that TikTok’s “addictive design” may put it in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), in the preliminary results of an ongoing investigation into the social media app. If those findings are confirmed, TikTok could face a major fine and be required to “change the basic design of its service” in order to comply with the law.
The European Commission took particular issue with TikTok’s “infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications, and its highly personalised recommender system,” arguing that TikTok failed to implement proper safeguards to ensure the “addictive” features don’t “harm the physical and mental wellbe …
Google is expanding AirDrop support to more Android devices ‘very soon’
6 Feb 2026, 10:57 am by Jess Weatherbed
After introducing AirDrop support to Pixel 10 devices last year, Google is now set to expand it to phones made by other Android partners. Eric Kay, vice president of engineering for Android, confirmed in a press briefing attended by Android Authority that “a lot more” Android devices will be able to use Quick Share to initiate AirDrop sessions with Apple devices this year.
“We spent a lot of time and energy to make sure that we could build something that was compatible not only with iPhone but iPads and MacBooks,” Kay said. “Now that we’ve proven it out, we’re working with our partners to expand it into the rest of the ecosystem, and you sh …
HBO is turning Baldur’s Gate into a TV show
6 Feb 2026, 12:50 am by Jay Peters
HBO is developing a Baldur’s Gate TV show that will continue the story of Larian Studios’ hit RPG Baldur’s Gate 3, according to Deadline. The Last Of Us co-creator Craig Mazin will serve as the show’s creator, writer, executive producer, and showrunner.
While it’s set to feature new protagonists, the plan is for existing characters from the game to return, and Mazin plans to reach out to cast members from Baldur’s Gate 3 with “ideas for them to participate in the TV adaptation and ways that would make that possible,” Deadline says. (I hope the whole main cast returns because they’re all so great.)
It’s unclear when this new Baldur’s Gate s …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
