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☆ The rivalry between Meta and Apple is moving to a new playing field: virtual reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —Months after Apple unveiled a privacy change that threatened Facebook’s core advertising business, the social networking company rebranded as Meta and shifted its focus to virtual reality. Apple (AAPL) on Monday unveiled its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, in one of its most ambitious product launches in years. On Thursday, just days before WWDC, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg tried to preempt the expected Apple headset announcement by teasing the Meta Quest 3. Apple on Monday unveiled its first-ever virtual reality headset, challenging Facebook-owner Meta in a market that has yet to gain widespread consumer adoption. Apple chose not to focus on the term “virtual reality,” nor did it show off disembodied avatars without legs inhabiting a virtual world, as Meta did initially.

Persons: Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Meta, Josh Edelson, Morgan Stanley, “ We’re, ” Sheeva, ” Eric Alexander, Apple, ”, Julie, Forrester, Zuckerberg, that’s, Alexander, ’ ”, It’s, D.A, Davidson, Tom Forte, Forte, Blackberry, ” Forte Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Meta, Vision, Microsoft, Google, VR, Facebook, Getty, Street, IDC, ” Sheeva Slovan, Reality Labs, CNN, Apple's, WWDC, Disney Locations: New York, AFP, ’

Tim Cook speaks at an Apple special event at Apple Park in Cupertino, California on September 7, 2022. Brittany Hosea-Small/AFP/Getty Images/FILEFor years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed interest in augmented reality. Now Apple finally appears ready to show off what it's been working on. Apple's rumored new VR/AR headset could be called Reality One or Reality Pro, according to Bloomberg. The decision to unveil it at WWDC suggests Apple wants to encourage developers to build apps and experiences for the product in order to make it more compelling for customers and worth the hefty price tag.

Persons: Tim Cook, Brittany Hosea, it's, Apple's, Siri, Apple Organizations: Apple, Getty, Bloomberg Locations: Cupertino , California, AFP

☆ Former NBCU exec Linda Yaccarino prepares to take over Twitter CEO role from Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, is preparing to take over the CEO role at Twitter from Elon Musk, weeks after the billionaire announced hiring her for the top spot at the social media company. The New York Times and The Information reported that Yaccarino is expected to officially start as Twitter CEO on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Musk is likely betting on Yaccarino’s ad industry chops to restore Twitter’s flagging advertising business. Even without the CEO title, Musk will retain significant control over Twitter as its owner. Following the DeSantis event, Yaccarino tweeted: “We just heard a rare and unscripted conversation, on a range of important topics, with a Presidential candidate — all launched on Twitter.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk, Yaccarino, Twitter, Joe Benarroch, Benarroch, “ Let’s, ” Yaccarino, she’d, Musk, Twitter’s, Ella Irwin, “, ”, Yaccarino’s, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Ron DeSantis, — Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Elon, The New York Times, New York Times, CNN, CNBC, Democratic, Florida Locations: New York, York, “ Bay, San Francisco

☆ YouTube will now allow 2020 election denialism content, in policy reversal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —YouTube on Friday said it will no longer remove content featuring false claims that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen, reversing a policy instituted more than two years ago amid a wave of misinformation about the election. Pressure on tech companies to combat election misinformation ramped up following the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol, which was fueled by baseless claims about election fraud. Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, YouTube said it had begun removing midterm-related videos that made false claims about the 2020 election in violation of its policies. “This includes videos that violated our election integrity policy by claiming widespread fraud, errors, or glitches occurred in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, or alleging the election was stolen or rigged,” YouTube said at the time. The policy went further than those instituted by competitors Twitter and Meta, which both stopped short of banning content questioning the outcome of the election.

Persons: ” “, Axios, Donald Trump, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, YouTube, Google, Republican, Twitter Locations: New York

CNN —Amazon has agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle two federal lawsuits alleging that the tech giant violated users’ privacy — including that of children — through its Alexa voice assistant and its Ring doorbell cameras. Amazon acquired Ring in 2018, paving the way for the e-commerce giant to get into the home security business. According to the FTC, Amazon kept Alexa voice recordings of children “indefinitely” unless a user specifically instructed the company to delete the recordings. Amazon also agreed to send consumers notices about the FTC settlement, and to implement a privacy program for geolocation data. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Alexa settlement.

Persons: “, Ring, ”, Amazon Organizations: CNN, Amazon, Federal Trade Commission, FTC Locations: U.S

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter has ‘no actual choice’ about government censorship requests
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Criticized for giving into governments’ censorship demands, Elon Musk on Sunday claimed that Twitter has “no actual choice” about complying those requests. The comment comes after Musk has previously called himself a “free speech absolutist” and said he wanted to buy Twitter to bolster users’ ability to speak freely on the platform. Shortly after agreeing to acquire Twitter, Musk explained his approach to free speech by saying: “Is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like? However, prior to Musk’s takeover, Twitter frequently fought government takedown requests in court, including from India and Turkey, in addition to publicly releasing detailed information about such requests and how it handled them. In last recent removal request report before Musk’s takeover, Twitter said it received more than 47,000 removal requests between July and December 2021, and complied with 51% of them.

☆ A new CEO won’t fix Twitter’s biggest problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —During his six months as Twitter’s CEO and owner, Elon Musk decimated its ad business, alienated some news publications and VIP users, and plunged the platform into a constant state of chaos. But she may struggle to address Twitter’s biggest problem: Elon Musk. On Tuesday, Musk said he “didn’t care” if his controversial tweets drew the ire of Twitter advertisers or Tesla shareholders. She may struggle to undo the damage Elon Musk has done to the company's ad business. That could only add to the difficulty Yaccarino will face in shoring up Twitter’s business.

☆ Premarket stocks: Why current US recession warnings are unlike all the others
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A US recession is coming, they say, in the second half of 2023. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned on Thursday of great economic danger lurking just over the horizon. Things weren’t great last year: Inflation hit a 40-year peak, gas prices were elevated, consumer sentiment plunged and markets fell by 20%. “This has been the most predicted potential recession in memory,” said Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin way back in January. Historically, recession typically coincides with that peak, said Barry Gilbert, asset allocation strategist for LPL Financial.

☆ Elon Musk says he’s found a new CEO for Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk on Thursday said he’s found a new CEO to take over Twitter, months after he first promised to step back from the role. The new CEO will assume the role at Twitter Inc., which recently changed its name to X Corp., in the coming weeks, Musk said. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk said in a tweet. Musk has faced criticism for a series of policy changes at Twitter, which often came without clear justification and raised concerns about the impact on Twitter’s users. Even as Musk prepares to step back from the CEO role, he will likely maintain significant control over the future direction of the company.

☆ Despite TikTok ban threat, influencers are flocking to a new app from its parent company
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

However, they denied rumors that ByteDance had paid creators to promote the new app on TikTok. Still, the app lacks some standard social platform features such as messaging and the option to tag other users in posts. Lemon8’s userbase remains a far cry from the 150 million users TikTok says it has in the United States. By launching a new app even with TikTok in the spotlight, “ByteDance clearly doesn’t feel like they’re at risk,” Lewis said. Even if TikTok and Lemon8 were banned, Cruz said, “I already have a following on all the other platforms.”

The company’s revenue was slightly better than what Wall Street had expected, but it nonetheless represented the second consecutive quarterly revenue decline for the iPhone maker. Despite the continued revenue decline, there were bright spots in the report. Apple also posted an all-time services sales record of $20.9 billion for the quarter. The services business — which includes Apple Music and Apple TV+ — is an increasingly important revenue driver for Apple that is less cyclical than hardware sales. Apple’s latest quarterly earnings report comes amid a sharp decline in PC and smartphone sales globally after a surge earlier in the pandemic.

☆ TikTok's US safety head to exit amid increasing lawmaker pressure on the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ How Elon Musk upended Twitter and his own reputation in 6 months as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But it’s not clear just how and when Musk might return Twitter to growth. Musk’s primary plan to grow Twitter’s business through an overhauled subscription strategy has resulted in much chaos but only a limited number of actual subscriptions. In the process, Musk has also upended his own reputation. Disrupting the digital town squareFor years, what differentiated Twitter from other social platforms was that it served as a central hub for real-time news. Tesla (TSLA) shareholders recently complained to the company’s board that Musk appears “overcommitted.”“His reputation has been diminished significantly with Twitter … and once you lose it, it’s very difficult to recover,” Klepper said.

☆ Premarket stocks: Here's what we know about First Republic Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —First Republic Bank has been teetering on the edge for weeks. The San Francisco-based lender could be next in the line to collapse, following in the footsteps of former competitors Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The FDIC, Federal Reserve, White House and First Republic did not respond to requests for comment about those reports. The stock’s trading was halted numerous times both days as its rapid decline triggered volatility-triggered timeouts by the New York Stock Exchange. “It’s becoming clearer each day” that First Republic is “toast,” said Don Bilson at Gordon Haskett, in a note Wednesday.

☆ Meta stock jumps after company reports first revenue growth in nearly a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The company also reported that profits declined by nearly a quarter compared to the same period in the prior year to $5.7 billion. The company said it expects revenue to grow again in the current quarter compared to the prior year. Like other tech companies, Meta has also recently read investor cues and taken to playing up its focus on artificial intelligence rather than the metaverse. The shift comes as Meta contends with the popularity of AI tools from tech firms like Microsoft and OpenAI. In his statement with the results Wednesday, Zuckerberg said: “Our AI work is driving good results across our apps and business.”

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter begins purge of blue check marks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s Twitter on Thursday began a purge of blue verification check marks from users who have not signed up for its subscription service, with the checks disappearing from the accounts of journalists, academics and celebrities. The initial rollout of the change appeared to be fairly glitchy, as blue checks disappeared and reappeared on some accounts. The change — and its confusing rollout — threatens to create an even greater risk of impersonation of high-profile users and confusion over the veracity of information on the platform. Twitter had previously said it would “begin winding down” blue checks granted under its old verification system — which emphasized protecting high-profile users at risk of impersonation — on April 1. Last week, Musk tweeted that the “final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20,” a date with special resonance to the billionaire entrepreneur given its meaning to marijuana enthusiasts.

☆ Meta’s latest round of layoffs is underway
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday began its latest round of layoffs focusing on technical workers, who are often thought of as more immune to job cuts in Silicon Valley. Zuckerberg’s notice said that restructurings and layoffs in Meta’s tech groups would take place in April. Members of Meta’s recruiting team were notified of additional layoffs last month, and cuts to the company’s business groups are expected to take place in late May. The 10,000 job reductions mark the second recent round of significant job cuts at Meta. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced last month, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%.

☆ Twitter removes transgender protections from hateful conduct policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people. The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. The change to the hateful conduct policy is one of a number of updates Twitter has made to its safety and content moderation practices since Elon Musk took over the company last fall. LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD called out the hateful conduct policy change in a Tuesday statement. The billionaire tried to assuage advertisers about Twitter’s approach to hateful conduct at a marketing conference Tuesday, saying, “If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesn’t mean you should give them a megaphone,” according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

☆ You can now apply for your share of a $725 million Facebook data privacy settlement. Here’s how
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Facebook users who had an active account at any point between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a piece of parent company Meta’s $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The California judge overseeing the case granted preliminary approval of the settlement late last month, and Facebook users can now apply for a cash payment as part of a settlement. The claim form — which requires a few personal details and information about a user’s Facebook account — can be filled out online or printed and submitted by mail. It’s not yet clear how much each settlement payment will be. “Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program.

☆ Netflix subscriber adds disappoint after delaying password sharing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Netflix on Tuesday posted weaker-than-expected subscriber growth for the first three months of this year, causing its stock to fall as much as 8% in after-hours trading before rebounding somewhat. The disappointing subscriber growth came as Netflix delayed its plan to crack down on password sharing. Netflix (NFLX) reported revenue of around $8.2 billion for the quarter, up nearly 4% from the same period in the prior year and in line with analysts’ projections. Unlike its streaming rivals, Netflix had long been resistant to live streaming because of its high costs. But, facing steeper competition, Netflix has started to experiment with the format, one it apparently has not yet perfected.

☆ YouTube rolls out new policies for eating disorder content
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —YouTube on Tuesday announced a series of changes to how it deals with content related to eating disorders. In 2021, lawmakers called out Instagram and YouTube for promoting accounts featuring content depicting extreme weight loss and dieting to young users. And TikTok has faced criticism from an online safety group that claimed the app served eating disorder related content to teens (although the platform pushed back against the research). In addition to removing or age restricting some videos, YouTube plans to add panels pointing viewers to crisis resources under eating disorder-related content in nine countries, with plans to expand to more areas. And when a creators’ video is removed for violating its eating disorder policy, Graham said YouTube will send them resources about how to create content that’s less likely to harm other viewers.

Musk has repeatedly warned recently of the dangers of AI, amid a proliferation of AI products for general consumer use, including from tech giants like Google and Microsoft. In his interview with Carlson, Musk said “we’re going to start something which I call TruthGPT.” Musk described it as a “maximum truth-seeking AI” that “cares about understanding the universe.”“Hopefully there’s more good than harm,” Musk said. More recently, Musk is reportedly working to build a generative AI startup that could rival OpenAI and ChatGPT. During his conversation with Carlson, Musk addressed his ownership of Twitter — which he bought for $44 billion and has been engaged in controversy since. “I thought there’d probably be some negative reactions,” Musk told Carlson, saying the public will ultimately decide the app’s future.

☆ NPR stops using Twitter after receiving ‘government funded media’ label
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —NPR on Wednesday said that it is suspending its use of Twitter after clashing with the social media company over a controversial new “state-affiliated media” label applied to its accounts. The move was quickly rebuked by NPR, which is publicly funded by listeners. Twitter has also faced backlash over applying a similar “government funded media” label to the BBC, which is also primarily funded by the public. Twitter has faced an exodus of advertisers, who have been concerned about increased hate speech on the platform and massive cuts to the company’s workforce. In the meantime, Musk has taken on the uphill battle of encouraging users to pay $8 per month for the platform’s subscription service.

☆ Analysis: Elon Musk escalates antics at Twitter, complicating turnaround
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —Under Elon Musk, Twitter has antagonized multiple major news organizations by labeling them state-funded media, appears to have eased restrictions on Russian government accounts and made crude jokes on the front of its headquarters and on Musk’s own Twitter display name. Musk has said Twitter is working to improve the platform’s ad targeting to increase value for advertisers. But it didn’t exactly go to plan — instead of removing checks from all previously verified users, Twitter appeared to target a single account belonging to the New York Times. Days later, Twitter’s home button was temporarily replaced with doge, the meme representing the cryptocurrency dogecoin, which Musk has promoted. The company also briefly restricted Twitter users from sharing links to a rival platform, upsetting users, including one who had previously reported the so-called Twitter files using documents provided by Musk.

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