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☆ Opinion: The dangers in leaving TikTok at Beijing’s disposal
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —For many of the 170 million TikTok users in the United States, Wednesday’s vote in the House of Representatives to effectively ban the social media platform is worrisome. That’s just one reason why it’s laughable to hear China’s foreign ministry claim that the TikTok bill would disrupt market operations and undermine investor confidence. Most of the world’s most popular social media apps, incidentally, are banned in China unless they — or their user data — are locally based and thus easily overseen by the government. She has had multiple meetings with legislators and has spoken with Trump about protecting TikTok, according to the Washington Post. The government needs to develop oversight rules for all social media.

Persons: Frida Ghitis, Donald Trump, TikTok, Shou Chew, “, Jack Ma —, Xiao Jianhua, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Trump, ” Trump, ”, Jeff Yass, Kellyanne Conway, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, ByteDance, Frida Ghitis CNN, Pew Research, Facebook, Oracle, National Intelligence, Rutgers University, Air Force One, Microsoft, Trump, Citizens United Locations: United States, Washington, Russia, TikTok, Beijing, That’s, China, Israel, Tibet, Hong Kong, USSR

☆ Anant Ambani pre-wedding bash: Celebrities, tycoons jet to Indian billionaire heir’s celebrations in Jamnagar
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Story Reuters | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New Delhi Reuters —Charter jets for tycoons and celebrities, a performance by Rihanna and directions to don “jungle fever” outfits when visiting an animal rescue center — that’s how billionaire Mukesh Ambani is kickstarting big fat Indian wedding celebrations for his son. The occasion of the moment that has India transfixed is a three-day pre-wedding jamboree for his youngest son Anant Ambani, 28, who is set to marry his long-time girlfriend Radhika Merchant, 29. Anant is a director at Reliance’s new energy business and one of Ambani’s three children who are the heirs to his empire. Ambani also made headlines with his daughter Isha’s wedding in 2018 which was described by some as a mini-Davos summit. Guests to Anant Ambani’s celebrations are set to savor 500 dishes created by around 100 chefs.

Persons: Rihanna, Mukesh Ambani, Ambani, Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant, Anant, David Blaine, Bill Gates, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Gautam Adani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Bob Iger, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Anant Ambani’s Organizations: Delhi Reuters —, Reliance, Forbes, Disney, Reliance’s, Encore, Former U.S, Reuters Locations: Delhi, India, Jamnagar, Reliance’s, Gujarat, Davos, Former, New Delhi, Mumbai

☆ Opinion: Mark Zuckerberg’s extraordinary apology should only be the beginning
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Opinion Kara Alaimo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —On Wednesday, the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord testified before the Senate about what they’re doing to protect kids from harm online. In the leadup to the testimony, tech companies announced new initiatives to protect kids. The Stop CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) Act of 2023 would make it possible to hold tech companies civilly liable for hosting child sexual abuse material. This would be an important way of incentivizing tech companies to do more to protect kids from sextortion and other forms of online exploitation. Tech companies also have a lot more work to do.

Persons: Kara Alaimo, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, TikTok’s Shou Chew, Democratic Sen, Dick Durbin, Snap’s Evan Spiegel, X’s Linda Yaccarino, Discord’s Jason Citron, Kara Alaimo Durbin, “, —, ” South Carolina Republican Sen, Lindsey Graham, Chew, Yaccarino, Spiegel, Zuckerberg, it’s, Taylor Swift Organizations: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Women, Press, Facebook, CNN, Meta, Senate, Democratic, Illinois, ” Senators, ” South Carolina Republican, Tech, Media Locations: ”

But he’s hoping that they will give senators some realistic direction as he tries to do what Congress hasn't done for many years — pass meaningful regulation of the tech industry. “It’s going to be a fascinating group because they have different points of view,” Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of the forum. Many members of Congress agree that legislation will probably be needed in response to the quick escalation of artificial intelligence tools in government, business and daily life. In the United States, most major tech companies have expressed support for AI regulations, though they don’t necessarily agree on what that means. Blumenthal’s framework calls for a new “licensing regime” that would require tech companies to seek licenses for high-risk AI systems.

Persons: Chuck Schumer, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Schumer, Republican Sen, Mike Rounds, “ It’s, ” Schumer, ” Rounds, “, ”, Mark Warner, Democratic Sen, Martin Heinrich of, Todd Young, Indiana —, Sam Altman, Forrester, Sen, Young, ” Young, “ We’ve, Dana Rao, We’ve, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, Josh Hawley, ” Blumenthal, ___ O'Brien, Ali Swenson, Kelvin Chan Organizations: WASHINGTON, Capitol, Microsoft, Republican, Associated Press, AP, Democratic, European Union, Adobe Locations: South Dakota, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Indiana, U.S, United States, Europe, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Providence , Rhode Island, New York, London

☆ How Big Tech’s pandemic bubble burst
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft’s customers, Nadella said, are now trying “to do more with less.”Microsoft isn’t the only company experiencing such a dramatic reversal. In recent months, higher interest rates, inflation and recession fears causing a pullback in advertising and consumer spending have all weighed on tech companies’ profits and share prices. “They’ve taken a more seemingly thoughtful approach to hiring and overall managing the company,” Kessler said. Notably, however, none of the Big Tech company CEOs now overseeing layoffs appear to have been hit with any change to their compensation or title. The tech layoff announcements are likely to continue into the upcoming earnings season, Kessler said, amid ongoing economic warning signs.

☆ Google parent Alphabet is cutting 12,000 jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Google parent Alphabet is eliminating about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, the company said Friday, in the latest cuts to shake the technology sector. “Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” Pichai said in the email. Google’s job cuts are just the latest in a bruising wave of tech layoffs, as inflation weighs on consumer spending and rising interest rates squeeze funding. “While layoffs from high-profile firms make the headlines, plenty of firms are desperate for more workers, especially tech workers. “The labor market is still so tight that many tech workers, and workers with other skills, are snapped up well before they need to collect an unemployment check.

New York/London CNN —Microsoft (MSFT) could announce thousands of job cuts on Wednesday, according to multiple news reports, potentially becoming the latest tech company to cull its workforce as the global economy slows. Sky News, without naming sources, reported the layoffs would affect roughly 5% of the company’s workforce. Facebook (FB) parent Meta also recently announced 11,000 job cuts, the largest in the company’s history. A recent report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found tech layoffs were up 649% in 2022 compared to the previous year, versus just a 13% uptick in job cuts in the overall economy during the same period. The software company’s Azure cloud computing business drove revenue growth over the three months through September, as sales in its personal computing division decreased slightly.

☆ Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

At Amazon and other tech companies, the second half of last year was marked by hiring freezes, layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at a number of household names in Silicon Valley. Rising interest rates also dried up the easy money tech companies relied on to fuel big bets on future innovations, and cut into their sky-high valuations. While there have been some layoffs recently in the consumer goods sector and hints of more to come elsewhere, the situation in Silicon Valley remains in stark contrast to the economy as a whole. And despite the robust overall labor market, there are growing concerns that tech layoffs could spread elsewhere. In that sense, at least, Silicon Valley may once again be ahead of the curve, but not in the way it wants.

☆ Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg Says He Is Accountable as Company Preps for Mass Layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Jeff Horwitz | Sam Schechner | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Meta Platforms Inc. will begin laying off employees on Wednesday morning, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told hundreds of executives on Tuesday. The coming cuts are expected to total many thousands of employees and will likely be the largest of the year to date in the tech sector, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

☆ Elon Musk owning Twitter should give everyone pause
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Seth Fiegerman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk, the mercurial billionaire, had agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion the month before only to begin raising doubts about the deal soon after. Now, Musk joins the list of rich, white men who single-handedly control social platforms that collectively reach and shape the lives of billions of people around the world. And Musk, who will reportedly have “absolute control over Twitter” according to a shareholders’ agreement, promises to be uniquely disruptive. To those in the first camp, Musk serving as the sole decider at Twitter may be cause for celebration. Elon Musk is a conglomerate, and each arm of his empire potentially gives him more leverage, real or imagined, in advocating for the others.

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