End of the line for Amazon's Astro security guard robot for businesses, which will be bricked in September this year
TECHNOLOGY POWERING BUSINESS
News Marketing
Threads Hits 175 Million Users, One Year After Launch
Threads, Meta's answer to Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter), racks up impressive number of monthly active users
Russia’s Central Bank Tells Businesses To Use Crypto To Avoid Sanctions
Sanctions busting. Russian businesses told to use cryptocurrencies and other digital options to make payments with foreign customers
Jeff Bezos To Sell $5 Billion Worth Of Amazon Shares
Needs to buy more yachts? After Amazon stock hits record high, founder Jeff Bezos to offload huge tranche of shares
EU Proposes Import Duties On China’s Temu, Shein, AliExpress – Report
European Union is reportedly drawing up plans to impose custom duties on a number of Chinese online retailers
Salesforce Shareholders Reject CEO Marc Benioff’s Compensation Plan
Compensation packages for Salesforce's top executives are rejected by shareholders and investors, despite backing from the board
Google Adds AI Disclosure Requirements For Political Ads
Google adds disclosure requirements for AI-generated or digitally altered content in political ads as elections loom
US Supreme Court Sidesteps Decision On Social Media Laws
US Supreme Court throws out lower court decisions on Florida, Texas laws imposing social media regulation, demands more research
Meme Stock GameStop Sinks On Lawsuit News
Meme stock GameStop, known for a stellar rally in 2021 spurred by social media, shows volatility on news of probes into 'Roaring Kitty'
Microsoft Shutters China Retail Stores
Microsoft reportedly shuts down all branded retail stores on Chinese mainland, four years after similar move internationally
EU Finds Meta Subscription Plan Violates DMA Rules
European Commission provisionally charges Meta with violating DMA competition rules over Facebook, Instagram subscription plans
SEC Files Lawsuit Against Crypto Firm Consensys
SEC files latest enforcement lawsuit against crypto firm Consensys as it seeks to apply established rules to digital assets
Meta Considers Facebook News Ban In Australia
Meta says it may ban news content from Facebook in Australia if forced to pay licensing fees under 2021 law
FBI Offers $5 Million Bounty For Fugitive ‘CryptoQueen’ Ruja Ignatova
US authorities place huge bounty on Ruja Ignatova, the former leader of OneCoin cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme
Bluesky Offers Starter Packs For Friends, Feeds To Follow
To encourage uptake, X/Twitter rival Bluesky is offering starter packs - personalised invites for friends as well as suggested feeds
Amazon Finally Breaches $2 Trillion Valuation
Long time coming. Amazon has reached a $2 trillion market capitalisation - six years after it passed a $1 trillion valuation
Supreme Court Backs Biden In Social Media Misinformation Case
US Supreme Court sides with Biden after Republican-led states challenged federal halt of misinformation posts on social media
US Government Prepares TikTok Lawsuit Over Child Privacy
US Department of Justice prepares lawsuit alleging TikTok violated child data privacy laws, as company's legal troubles mount
China-Linked Shein Faces Uphill Battle For IPO In US Or UK
China-founded fast-fashion company Shein faces political resistance in search for IPO venue, as major investors grow impatient
TikTok Offered US ‘Kill Switch’ Over Data Concerns
TikTok discloses in court documents it offered US government ability to shut platform down, as it prepares for September court battle
Amazon Mulls $5 Monthly Charge For AI Alexa – Report
“Desperate attempt” to monetise service. AI upgrade of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant will entail a monthly $5 or even $10 fee
Elon Musk Appeals To Advertisers, Backtracks Over Notorious Outburst
Wooing advertisers back? Elon Musk says his remark telling advertisers to “go f--- yourself” did not refer to the wider ad industry
Apple Drops ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Service
Apple sunsets its buy now, pay later service known as 'Apple Pay Later', and will rely on established third-party players
YouTube Test Community ‘Notes’ Feature For Added Context
YouTube begins testing Notes feature that allows selected users to add contextual information to videos, amidst misinformation scrutiny
Tencent To Ban AI Avatars From Livestream Commerce
Chinese tech giant Tencent to ban AI hosts from livestream video platform as it looks to stem flow of low-quality content
TikTok US Ban Appeal Gets 16 September Court Date
Action by TikTok, ByteDance and creators against US ban law gets 16 September hearing date, weeks before US elections
US Surgeon General Calls For Warning Labels On Social Media
US surgeon general calls for cigarette-style warning labels to be shown on social media advising of 'mental health harms'
Google Must Face Trial In Ad Tech Monopoly Case
Google loses bid for summary judgement as judge says 'too many facts in dispute' as US adtech case heads for September trial
Apple, Meta Likely To Face EU Antitrust Charges
Apple, Facebook parent Meta reportedly likely to face EU antitrust charges before August under new Digital Markets Act rules
Winklevoss’ Gemini To Pay $50m In Crypto Fraud Settlement
Winklevoss twins' Gemini Trust to pay $50m to settle cypto fraud claims over failed Gemini Earn product in New York settlement