Michael Epps Utley {kind=image/jpg}
The tech world continues to face rapid changes as 2025 draws to a close. This week, major internet disruptions, legal battles over AI usage, and shifts in small business digital marketing encapsulate the pitfalls and promise of the past year’s tech advances. From a global Cloudflare outage affecting popular platforms to lawsuits over AI-generated content, businesses and consumers alike are navigating a landscape that demands adaptability.
Global Cloudflare Outage Disrupts Major Services
The Associated Press reports that on December 5th, 2025, a global outage tied to Cloudflare (the second in the span of weeks) briefly disrupted several high-profile platforms, including Zoom and LinkedIn. While these interruptions lasted only a few minutes, they underscore the fragility of the internet’s infrastructure, which relies heavily on a handful of providers. Cloudflare confirmed the outage was caused by a firewall configuration change that temporarily overloaded its network—not a cyber-attack. This event shows how a single technical misstep can ripple across multiple major services, affecting millions of users worldwide.
New York Times Sues Perplexity AI for Copyright Infringement
December 5th wasn’t just defined by major website outages; it was also underscored by the legal and ethical concerns around AI, which continue to mount. Reuters reports that on December 5th, 2025, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against Perplexity, alleging the AI tool illegally copied and redistributed millions of its articles—including paywalled content—to power generative AI tools without permission. The complaint also claims that Perplexity sometimes generates fabricated content falsely attributed to the Times, harming the publication’s credibility and trademarks. This lawsuit highlights growing scrutiny of AI platforms that repurpose copyrighted journalism without consent.
Social Media Surpasses SEO for SMB Traffic
Small and medium-sized businesses are also navigating significant digital shifts. Search Engine Land reports that a recent survey by WordStream and LocaliQ shows social media now drives more traffic for SMBs than traditional organic search (64% vs. 52%). Many businesses are beginning to track AI-driven referral traffic as well, anticipating changes in search algorithms and AI-powered discovery. This trend signals a broader evolution in digital marketing, where social platforms and emerging AI channels are becoming crucial for online visibility.
December 2025 is shaping up as a pivotal period in tech, marked by infrastructure vulnerabilities, AI accountability debates, and evolving marketing strategies. Whether it’s the dependency on cloud providers like Cloudflare, the legal challenges posed by AI content platforms, or the shifting traffic patterns for SMBs, businesses and users must remain vigilant and adaptable. 2025 has been turbulent for digital marketers, and 2026 is gearing up to continue (if not accelerate) this trend.
