This digest compiles the latest from The Verge.
Today’s The Verge Roundup
Section 230 turns 30 as it faces its biggest tests yet
8 Feb 2026, 2:00 pm by Lauren Feiner
Thirty years ago today, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a bill credited with creating the groundwork for the modern internet, became law and set off a chain of events that would make it a lightning rod for the techlash.
The statute has survived everything from the dot-com bubble to a Supreme Court challenge that struck down the surrounding text in the CDA. But as it marks this major milestone, Section 230 is facing what could be among its biggest threats to date, as prominent lawmakers plot to bring it down and a mountain of legal challenges give courts the chance to narrow its scope.
Section 230, once dubbed “the twenty-si …
Netflix’s Warner Bros. merger puts rival streamers in survival mode
8 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Emma Roth
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about the streaming wars, follow Emma Roth. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.
How it started
From 2019 to around 2021, we were in the midst of a streaming renaissance. Paramount Plus, Disney Plus, Apple TV, Peacock, and HBO Max all made their debuts, challenging the dominance of Netflix and other legacy streamers like Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. New indie streaming services, like the cinephile-focused Criterion Channel, emerged during this time.
Subscription prices were sti …
Digital car keys are getting more sophisticated
8 Feb 2026, 1:00 pm by Andrew J. Hawkins
Last month, over a dozen automobile and smartphone manufacturers gathered in Palo Alto, California, for the 16th annual “Plugfest,” hosted by the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) to test out the latest in digital key technology.
Digital keys, which allow vehicle owners to lock, unlock, and start their cars using smartphones or other digital devices, are becoming more commonplace. And the goal of Plugfest was to provide a place for CCC members – ranging from automakers and smart device manufacturers to cloud providers and chip makers – to come together to test interoperability and real-world performance across vehicles, devices, and wirele …
End of today’s The Verge roundup.
