The Brief – Tuesday 17 March: Meta ‘planning sweeping layoffs’, FCC chair attacks US press, ByteDance delays Seedance 2.0 launch

📉 Meta is reportedly planning sweeping layoffs that could affect upwards of 20% of the company’s staff. No date has been set for the cuts, nor have the size of the cuts been finalised. It comes as Meta is seeking to offset the costs of building out AI infrastructure. (Reuters)

📱 Meanwhile, Meta has pulled its end-to-end encryption option from Instagram DMs. (Mashable)

📺 The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr has threatened to cancel spectrum permits of US news broadcasters over their coverage of the Iran war. Carr argued reputable news outlets were publishing “hoaxes and news distortions” that are against “the public interest”, even as such outlets provide critical information about the war. (The Guardian)

🤖 ByteDance has paused plans to launch its Seedance 2.0 AI video generation model globally. It comes amid criticism and copyright concerns after videos generated by the model went viral, including a realistic clip of Tom Cruise fighting Brad Pitt. (The Information)

⚖️ The BBC has asked a US district judge to toss out US President Donald Trump’s $10bn lawsuit over what he alleged was a misleading edit of his comments before the January 6, 2021 coup attempt on the US Capitol. Despite acknowleding the mistake, the BBC argued Trump was not harmed by the documentary at the centre of the case. (Bloomberg)

🏖️ WPP has given up its Miramar Beach location at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Taking over the spot this year will be independent agency PMG. (More About Advertising)

🏦 BuzzFeed is on the brink of bankruptcy after reporting a net loss of $57.3m in 2025. “There is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the publisher said in its official earnings report statement. (Futurism)