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☆ What Google’s antitrust defeat means for the search giant and its partner Apple
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The antitrust ruling against Google may not be the lose-lose scenario for the search giant and its key partner Apple that some are predicting. At the heart of the case is Google's exclusive relationship with device makers to be the default search engine on their screens. Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 alone for the privilege, according to recent court documents. AAPL YTD mountain Apple (AAPL) year-to-date performance "By collateral damage of course, this is negative for Apple," Jim said. Bank of America analysts tried to assuage Apple investors' concerns around services revenues.

Persons: Sherman, Kent Walker, Walker, Jim Cramer, Jim, —, Jim Cramer's, Jason Alden Organizations: Google, Apple, Barclays, Firefox, Yahoo, Bank of America, CNBC, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: U.S

☆ Google's ambitious plan to replace tracking cookies is going from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Several adtech companies have been in deep testing mode with Google's Privacy Sandbox for several months, since Chrome turned off third-party tracking cookies for 1% of its users. Criteo, a demand-side platform that helps advertisers place their ads, was also a Privacy Sandbox grant participant. Criteo forecast that if cookies were switched off now, publishers' Chrome ad revenue would decline by about 60% on average. AdvertisementStill, he added, the Privacy Sandbox already seems to be working better than a completely cookieless environment, "which is promising for an early-stage technology." To be sure, the Privacy Sandbox isn't the only alternative to the advertising ecosystem once cookies are discontinued.

Persons: —, they've, Chrome, Criteo, Todd Parsons, Criteo's, Anthony Katsur, Katsur, It's, James Colborn, Michael Lamb, RTB Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Exchange, IAB Tech Lab, IAB Tech, Chrome, Tech, CMA Locations: CPMs

☆ Here's why privacy advocates say automakers are spying on drivers
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-05 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Today's cars have an unprecedented capacity to surveil people inside and around them, and it's raising alarms with privacy advocates. A growing chorus of advocates and politicians say automakers aren't doing enough to protect consumer data from companies, criminals or even the government itself. "Our cars aren't a means of independence and privacy anymore," said Jen Caltrider, director of the Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included program, in an interview with CNBC. GM, Nissan, Stellantis and BMW responded with statements saying they take customer privacy and data protection very seriously and comply with all applicable laws. In late April, two senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate automakers for allegedly deceiving customers about the companies' data management practices.

Persons: Jen Caltrider, Caltrider, Nissan Organizations: General Motors, LexisNexis, GM, CNBC, Solutions, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Nissan, BMW, Alliance, Automotive Innovation, Pew Research, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Florida

☆ Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea for the Facebook 'poke' feature while he was drunk
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

In a 2005 interview, Mark Zuckerberg said he came up with the idea while drunk. But when a young Mark Zuckerberg over-imbibed, he invented the "poke," the Facebook feature that is both the most creative thing Facebook has done — and one of the creepiest. The poke was one of the earliest features of Facebook, which Zuckerberg launched in college in 2004 as The Facebook. Here's how he describes the poke feature:AdvertisementThere's this feature called poking where you just go to someone's profile and you can poke the person. It also made it easier to find the page where all your pokes live (try searching "pokes" on Facebook).

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, —, we've, Zuckerberg, David Pogue, You've, improbably Organizations: Facebook, Service, CBS, Meta

☆ Premarket stocks: Why another unexpectedly hot jobs report could derail markets
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-08 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Wall Street was taken aback by the US labor market’s resilience in January. Another unexpectedly hot report could shake things up again. The January jobs report showed that the US economy added a stunning 353,000 jobs that month and the unemployment rate stayed at 3.7%. The new EU regulations force sweeping changes on some of the world’s most widely used tech products, including Apple’s app store, Google search and messaging platforms, including Meta’s WhatsApp. The broad obligations apply only to the EU, which could leave tech users in the United States and other markets looking longingly at some of the features Big Tech is rolling out in response to the European directive.

Persons: Jerome Powell, he’s, “, ” Powell, Bonnie Cash, —, ’ ”, BeiChen Lin, It’s, Loretta Mester, ”, José Torres, Meta’s, Brian Fung, Apple, Bing, Read, Elisabeth Buchwald, NYCB, Steven Mnuchin’s, Alessandro DiNello, ” Read Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, Financial, Capitol, Reuters, Traders, Russell Investments, ” Cleveland Federal, CNBC, Market, Interactive Brokers, Apple, Google, Union citizens, Big Tech, New York Community Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, Liberty Strategic Capital Locations: New York, Washington ,, United States, NYCB, Silicon

☆ Sweeping EU rules for tech giants take effect today. Here’s what’s changing
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The new EU regulations force sweeping changes on some of the world’s most widely used tech products, including Apple’s app store, Google search and messaging platforms, including Meta’s WhatsApp. Its broad obligations affect six of the world’s largest tech companies: Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. While the law could increase demand for tech companies to extend EU-specific features to other markets, few platforms have shown signs they plan to do so. Tech pushes backBut some tech companies have pushed back on the DMA, warning that it could lead to unintended consequences. “The changes the DMA requires will inevitably cause a gap” between EU users’ security and the security Apple users enjoy outside the EU, it added.

Persons: Meta’s, Apple, Bing, Elon Musk’s, “ Fortnite, ”, Agustin Reyna, “, Apple’s, ” Apple, Reyna, ” BEUC, Tim Sweeney, Meta —, Daniel Friedlaender, CCIA, Friedlaender, Olesya Dmitracova Organizations: Washington CNN, Apple, Google, Union citizens, Big Tech, Spotify, Netflix, Digital Markets, Meta, Microsoft, European Commission, EU, YouTube, Epic, Consumer, Tech, Games, CNN, Computer, Communications Industry Association Locations: United States, Europe

☆ Apple Overhauls App Store in Europe, in Response to New Digital Law
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Adam Satariano | Tripp Mickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Since Apple introduced the App Store in 2008, it has tightly controlled the apps and services allowed on iPhones and iPads, giving the company an iron grip on one of the digital economy’s most valuable storefronts. Now Apple is weakening its hold on the store, in one of the most consequential signs to date of how new European regulations are changing consumer technology. To comply with a European Union competition law taking effect on March 7, Apple on Thursday announced major changes to the App Store and other services for consumers in Europe. In Europe, customers will now have access to competing app stores and other services. In the United States, where there are fewer laws and regulations, Apple and other tech giants have more flexibility to operate as they please.

Organizations: Apple, European Union Locations: Europe, China, United States

☆ Zuckerberg says Threads will dip its toe in the 'fediverse' as it opens to Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-14 | by ( Kevin Collier | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Meta will begin testing a system that allows posts from its microblogging platform Threads to appear on other social media services, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday. The fediverse is still tiny compared to Threads, with about 11 million users, the vast majority of them on Mastodon. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, wrote on Threads that the platform is starting with the ability to follow Threads users from other ActivityPub platforms, adding that the ability for Threads users to follow accounts from other platforms is in the works. If Threads goes through with full ActivityPub integration, people will be able to follow Threads users and see their posts without having to join the platform (Threads currently forces users to sign up through an Instagram account). Similarly, Threads users will be able to follow users and see posts from across ActivityPub's network.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Evan Prodromou, It's, X, Adam Mosseri, Instagram, Mike McCue, Flipboard, Christine Lemmer, Webber Organizations: Meta, Mozilla Locations: Europe, United States, Israel

☆ OpenAI's nonprofit arm showed revenue of $45,000 last year, even though company is worth billions
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-12 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

That's from the nonprofit parent's 990 filing with the Internal Revenue Service, a form that has to be filled out by organizations wishing to maintain their tax-exempt status. Thad Calabrese, a professor of public and nonprofit financial management at New York University, said OpenAI's current status is confusing, and is unlike anything he has seen in the nonprofit world. He said OpenAI could give up its nonprofit status, and he cited the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, which in 1994 allowed associated nonprofit medical insurance plans to switch into for-profit entities. An OpenAI spokesperson didn't respond to a question about whether the organization is considering giving up its nonprofit status. Unlike OpenAI, Mozilla never raised money from venture and corporate investors, who expect returns on their investments.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI's financials, OpenAI, That's, PlainSite, Altman, Helen Toner, Tasha McCauley, Ilya Sutskever, Thad Calabrese, Calabrese, didn't, Mark Surman, Surman, Altman's, hasn't, Bret Taylor Organizations: Internal Revenue Service, CNBC, New York University, Shield Association, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla Corporation, Mozilla, Microsoft, Duke University Locations: California

☆ YouTube warns it might make your viewing experience worse if you don't turn off your ad-blocker
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A YouTube spokesperson said that using ad blockers could lead to a "suboptimal viewing" experience. Users may be unable to watch videos unless they disable their ad blockers or buy YouTube Premium. "Users who have ad blockers installed may experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using." More recently, X users began complaining and sharing screenshots of YouTube pop-ups warning them to not use ad blockers. They also said that YouTube wouldn't play a video until the ad blocker was disabled or the user purchased a YouTube Premium subscription, which starts at $13.99 a month.

Persons: —, we've, hasn't Organizations: YouTube, Google, Service, Android Authority, Mozilla, Microsoft

But on the witness stand, Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, said there was “value” in being the default search engine on a device and framed the agreements with other companies as sound business decisions. Google paid $26.3 billion for its search engine to be the default selection on mobile and desktop browsers in 2021, according to the company’s internal data presented during the trial. Kevin Murphy, a Google economic expert, testified on Monday that Google shared 36 percent of search revenue from the default deal with Apple. Mr. Pichai testified that he repeatedly renewed the search engine deal with Apple because it worked well, leading to an increase in search usage and revenue and benefiting Apple, Google and its shareholders. They cited an instance in 2014 when Mozilla, which makes the Firefox browser, exited a default-search partnership with Google and selected Yahoo.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Kevin Murphy, Pichai, ” Organizations: Google, Apple, New York Times, Mozilla, Yahoo

☆ Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies in Google antitrust trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Pichai, whom Google called as a star witness, opened his testimony by recounting his journey from Chennai, India to Google and his path to becoming the tech company’s CEO in 2015. “The correlation was pretty clear to see,” Pichai said, before Google attorney John Schmidtlein presented an internal email from 2010 showing research that users who switched from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer performed 48% more Google searches. Users of Mozilla’s Firefox browser that switched to Chrome performed 27% more searches on Google, the email said. Google has paid Apple more than an estimated $10 billion a year to be the default on Apple devices and software. In 2021, Google paid $26.3 billion to secure default agreements with its partners worldwide, according to a slide introduced in the trial last week.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, ” Pichai, John Schmidtlein, Chrome, Satya Nadella, Apple “, Eddy, Bing, ” Google Organizations: Washington CNN, Court, District of Columbia, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Justice Department Locations: Chennai, India

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, testified in Washington that Google’s placement as the default search option on the Safari browser across Apple devices was motivated by quality. “I didn’t think at the time, or today, that there was anybody out there who is anywhere near as good as Google at searching,” said Mr. Cue, who was called to testify by the Justice Department. “Certainly there wasn’t a valid alternative.”The Justice Department has accused Google of illegally locking in its monopoly through deals to make its search option the default on Apple, Samsung, Firefox and other platforms. Those partnerships squashed competitors that struggled to get their products in front of consumers, the Justice Department argues.

Persons: Apple’s, ” Organizations: Google, Justice Department, Justice, Apple, Samsung Locations: Washington

☆ Google spends $10 billion a year to ensure it's your go-to online search engine, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

DOJ lawyers say Google is using deals with the likes of Apple to preserve its dominance over search. Google denied this, and said that Google search is simply better than the competition. The internet giant is being sued by the DOJ in the biggest tech antitrust trial in 20 years. The DOJ's lawsuit, which was filed under the Trump administration in 2020, said that Google used anticompetitive methods to prevent others from challenging the dominance of Google Search. The suit asks the court to break up Google by ordering the search giant to sell key parts of its Ad Manager suite.

Persons: Kenneth Dintzer, Department's, Trump Organizations: Apple, Google, DOJ, Service, Department of Justice, Samsung, Mozilla, New York Times, AP, Justice Locations: Wall, Silicon

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google will confront a threat to its dominant search engine beginning Tuesday when federal regulators launch an attempt to dismantle its internet empire in the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century. If he decides Google broke the law, another trial will decide what steps should be taken to rein in the Mountain View, California-based company. Political Cartoons View All 1152 ImagesGoogle counters that it faces a wide range of competition despite commanding about 90% of the internet search market. One possibility is that the company could be forced to stop paying Apple and other companies to make Google the default search engine on smartphones and computers. Distracted, the software giant struggled to adapt to the impact of internet search and smartphones.

Persons: Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Trump, Microsoft's Bing, Andy Bechtolsheim, Page, Sergey Brin, Justice Department's, litigator Kenneth Dintzer — Organizations: WASHINGTON, Google, Inc, Apple, Justice Department, Firefox, Regulators, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Netscape, Justice Locations: , California, Silicon

The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway. That's what happened to Microsoft after its antitrust showdown with the Justice Department: Distracted, the software giant struggled to adapt to the impact of internet search and smartphones. From Google's perspective, the perpetual improvements explain why most people almost reflexively gravitate to its search engine, a habit that long ago made “Googling” synonymous with looking things up. The Justice Department contends Google's claim that it dominates the market by supplying the best search engine is a canard. Google insists that consumers could easily switch their default settings to another search engine.

Persons: Judge Amit Mehta, Sundar Pichai, Larry Page, Eddy, Mehta isn’t, Sergey Brin, Andy Bechtolsheim, Page, Brin, Trump, Microsoft's Bing, Bing Organizations: Washington D.C, Microsoft, U.S, Google, Stanford University, Sun Microsystems, Inc, Apple, Justice Department, U.S . Justice Department, Yelp, Department, Firefox, Regulators Locations: Washington, , California, Silicon, Colorado

☆ The first of two major DOJ cases against Google goes to trial. Here's which suit worries us most
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Apple executives are expected to be called at the Google trial. Google has previously responded to the DOJ search antitrust suit. A few months ago, there was a belief that Microsoft's ChatGPT-infused Bing would usurp Google's search dominance. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB.

Persons: Bing, Department's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Jeff Marks, Jim Cramer's, Sundar Pichai, Jonathan Kanter Organizations: Justice Department, Alphabet, Google, Washington , D.C, District of Columbia, Eastern, of, Union, Apple, Mozilla, Samsung, Verizon, DOJ, JPMorgan, TAC, Microsoft, chatbots, CNBC, US Department of Justice, Getty Locations: Washington ,, U.S, of Virginia, Google's

What does Google say? Even though they do not operate general-purpose search engines, Google argues that they are rival destinations where consumers go to find products or content that bypasses Google entirely. Consumers have a choice to use other search engines, it argues, but choose Google because they find it most helpful. The government has to show that Google has monopoly power over the areas of the economy at issue in the case. The wider the market, the easier it is for Google to argue that it does not have monopoly power.

Organizations: Google, Consumers

BOSTON (AP) — Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. “Sensitive personal information” collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation and health diagnoses. Mozilla's Caltrider credited laws like the 27-nation European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California's Consumer Privacy Act for compelling carmakers to provide existing data collection information.

Persons: —, ”, Jen Caltrider, ” Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: BOSTON, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Nissan, Big Tech, Facebook, ”, Data Locations: telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

☆ Most major companies admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Frank Bajak | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new study found many car companies can collect and sell your personal data, sparking privacy concerns. Most major manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds, with half also saying they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. "Sensitive personal information" collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation, and health diagnoses.

Persons: —, Jen Caltrider, Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: Nissan, Service, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Big Tech, Facebook, Data Locations: Wall, Silicon, telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

☆ Pornhub asks users, Big Tech for help as states adopt age verification laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington CNN —In the two-minute video, adult performer Cherie Deville stares into the camera and intones soberly to viewers, for the second time in a month, that policymakers are coming for their porn. It’s unclear how much Pornhub expects to achieve, as the laws have already been passed and signed. Pornhub’s simultaneous appeals to users and to Big Tech highlight the challenging position the company now finds itself in amid a wave of state legislation. Now, Pornhub’s fight could prove to be a bellwether for the growing push to enforce age verification for social media. Device-based age verification, Tiwari said, could have “very serious privacy connotations, because you now have the largest tech companies in the world having your government ID and all the information present in them linked to individual devices.

Persons: Cherie Deville, soberly, ” Deville, Pornhub, CNN it’s “, Pornhub —, —, ECP, Solomon Friedman, Friedman, ” Friedman, “, Porn, Pornhub’s, Josh Golin, ” Golin, India McKinney, ” McKinney, Udbhav Tiwari, Tiwari, ” Organizations: Washington CNN —, CNN, Ethical Capital Partners, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Big Tech, Android, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mozilla, Twitter, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Pornhub, Utah, Arkansas , Mississippi, Virginia, India

☆ Sam Altman is building his utopia, whether you want it or not
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

Altman told Insider, "We debate our approach frequently and carefully." "I don't think anyone can lose your dad young and wish he didn't have more time with him," Altman told Insider. Altman told Insider that his thinking had evolved since those posts. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ He's played chess with Peter Thiel, sparred with Elon Musk and once, supposedly, stopped a plane crash: Inside Sam Altman's world, where truth is stranger than fiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

But, "you do at some point need to start having contact with reality," he told Insider. The plan was still only a rough sketch, Blania told Insider, but that didn't seem to matter to his host. "He always wanted to understand everything at a very deep level," Thrun told Insider in an email. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ Check out the pitch deck identity management startup Lockr used to raise $2.5 million in pre-seed funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Identity and email management company Lockr raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding this week. Check out the pitch deck that convinced investors like Mozilla Ventures to join the funding round. Lockr, a digital identity management startup, said this week it had raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding, investment it plans to use to grow its team, scale its userbase, and add more features to its consumer product. For publishers and marketers, the company provides Lockr Identity. Investors in Lockr's pre-seed funding round included Mozilla Ventures, Junction Venture Partners, and Grit Capital Partners, as well as individual investors.

Clearing your iPhone's app cache can also free up extra storage space. How to clear the cache, history, and cookies in Firefox on iPhoneFirefox has its own cache, which you can quickly clear in the browser's Settings page. Tap Clear Private Data and then confirm you want to do this by tapping OK.To free up the most space, select all the options in the Clear Private Data section and then tap Clear Private Data. Make sure that all the options you want to clear are selected and then tap Clear now. To free up the most space on your iPhone, select all the options and then tap Clear now.

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