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☆ Battered BuzzFeed shares rally after report of multi-million dollar Meta deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Shares of BuzzFeed Inc (BZFD.O) jumped over 50% in early trading after a report said Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) was paying the digital media firm millions of dollars to bring more creators to Facebook, Instagram. About 30 million shares changed hands by 9:50 a.m. The $132 million company has seen its shares tank over 90% to just under $1 since going public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in December 2021. SPACs typically sell shares for $10 each, put the cash in a trust account and then search for a company to buy. Its third-quarter net loss had widened to $27 million from $3.6 million a year ago.

☆ Spotify down for thousands of users - Downdetector
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 26 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA's (SPOT.N) music streaming platform was down for thousands of users on Thursday, according to outage-tracking website Downdetector.com. In the second such outage within two weeks, nearly 35,000 Spotify users reported on Downdetector.com they were having issues with the streaming platform. "Something's not quite right, and we’re looking into it," Spotify Status, an account that provides updates about the platform's status, said in a tweet on Thursday. Spotify suffered a brief outage earlier this month, with more than 45,000 affected users from the United States at the peak of the disruption. Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter faces censorship allegations in India free speech battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk is facing allegations of being complicit with state censorship after Twitter appeared to take sides with India’s government in a turbulent free speech fight over a documentary critical of the country’s prime minister. Musk’s brief answer was in contrast to the sometimes-detailed, personalized responses he has given to other people who complain to him about Twitter. Within India, Twitter said it complied 5.6% of the time. “The BBC has not asked Twitter to remove any content relating to the documentary,” the British broadcaster said in a statement. “The IT Rules are being exploited, handing authorities license to pressure platforms to censor content in ‘emergency’ cases,” he said in a Twitter thread.

☆ Meta to restore Donald Trump's Facebook, Instagram accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 25 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) said on Wednesday it will restore former U.S. President Donald Trump's Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks, following a two-year suspension after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot. Reporting by Eva Mathews and Yuvraj Malik in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The 1-page media kit a TikToker with 874K followers uses to get brand deals, and how much he charges across platforms including Instagram and YouTube Shorts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Arujo shares his one-page media kit and rates for YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and user-generated content. When TikTok chose Latino creator Joseph Arujo in March to join its newly formed Creator Diversity Collective as a community leader, he was ecstatic. His kit was initially three pages, but he condensed it to one because he views it as a "creator resume." The media kit also focuses on Arujo's TikTok engagement, rather than his Instagram and YouTube statistics, because he has the most followers on the short-video app and lands most of his brand deals there. The platform allowed him to see what other creators made from specific brand deals.

☆ Alphabet-owned AI firm DeepMind shutters office in Canada's Edmonton
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 24 (Reuters) - DeepMind Technologies, owned by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), is closing its office in the Canadian city of Edmonton, a spokesperson for the AI firm said, just days after Google's parent announced it would lay off 12,000 employees. London-based DeepMind's Edmonton office is the only international site directly managed by the artificial intelligence firm, making it far more resource-intensive to operate, the spokesperson said. Researchers have been offered the option to relocate to another DeepMind office, such as DeepMind Montreal, based in Google’s Montreal office, the spokesperson added. Google acquired DeepMind in 2014, putting the tech giant ahead in the AI race than most of its peers. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce in latest tech layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) said on Monday it plans to cut 6% of its workforce and would take a related charge of up to nearly $50 million, adding to the massive layoffs in the technology sector in preparation for a possible recession. The tech industry is facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-powered growth during which it had hired aggressively. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. Reuters GraphicsSmall figurines are seen in front of displayed Spotify logo in this illustration taken February 11, 2022. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19.

☆ Spotify to cut 6% of jobs, content head to depart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That has led firms from Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) to shed thousands of jobs. "I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth," he added, echoing a sentiment voiced by other tech bosses in recent months. It said Dawn Ostroff, the head of content and advertising, was leaving after an over four-year stint at the company. Ostroff helped shape Spotify's podcast business and guided it through backlash around Joe Rogan's show for allegedly spreading misinformation about COVID-19. The company said it is appointing Alex Norström, head of the freemium business, and research and development boss Gustav Söderström as co-presidents.

☆ Spotify to trim 6% of workforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Music streaming firm Spotify Technology SA (SPOT.N) plans to cut 6% of its workforce, the company said on Monday, a move that will add to a glut of layoffs in the technology sector as companies prepare for a possible recession. Tech companies are facing a demand downturn after two years of pandemic-driven growth during which they had hired aggressively. Spotify said it will incur about 35 million euros ($38.06 million) to 45 million euros in severance-related charges. Spotify had about 9,800 full-time employees, as of Sept. 30. ($1 = 0.9196 euros)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apple in talks with Disney, others on VR content for new headset - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) was in talks with about half a dozen media partners including Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) to develop virtual reality (VR) content for its mixed reality headset, Bloomberg News reported on Monday. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Apple was planning to unveil its first mixed reality (MR) headset this year. An MR headset could allow the wearer to use a real world object to trigger a virtual world reaction. The iPhone maker's MR headset is set to launch in this year's spring event and will cost around $3,000, according to the report. That would be twice as much as Meta Platforms Inc's (META.O) Quest Pro virtual and MR headset, which waslaunched late last year for $1,500.

Jan 23 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday asked President Joe Biden's administration to weigh in on whether it should review Republican-backed laws in Texas and Florida that would undercut efforts by major social media companies to curb content deemed objectionable on their platforms, actions the states call impermissible censorship. Supporters of the laws have argued that social media platforms have silenced conservative voices while advocates for the judicious use of curbing content have argued for the need to stop misinformation and advocacy for extremist causes. Florida is seeking to revive its law after a lower court ruled largely against it, while the industry groups are appealing a separate lower court decision upholding the Texas law, which the Supreme Court had blocked at an earlier stage of the case. The Texas law forbids social media companies with at least 50 million monthly active users from acting to "censor" users based on "viewpoint." Circuit Court of Appeals in 2022 upheld the Texas law, concluding that it "chills no speech whatsoever.

☆ Here are the layoff severance packages Google, Microsoft, Amazon and other tech giants have promised
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Laid-off employees would also have "at least" 16 weeks of share vesting accelerated, Pichai said in a memo to employees. Benefit-eligible U.S. employees are to receive severance, six months of healthcare and stock vesting, and 60 days of notice, Nadella wrote. Human resources head Beth Galetti said the company will offer a separation payment, health benefits as applicable by country and job placement. This matters to Amazon employees, as the company's compensation has historically been weighted heavily to stock. Benioff's letter to employees also said that laid-off employees would receive health insurance benefits and career resources for an unclear duration.

☆ Google to delay portion of staff bonus
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is deferring a portion of its employees' year-end bonuses as part of a transition to a new performance management system, the search engine giant said on Thursday. The company will pay 80% advance bonus to eligible employees initially and the remainder in later months, a spokesperson told Reuters, adding that the move was communicated to staff last year. The development comes amid tech companies' attempts to limit spending amid a broader slowdown in demand and deteriorating economic conditions. The advance bonus will be paid in January and the remaining 20% in March or April, helping Google spread out costs to the next quarter, according to a CNBC, which first reported the story. Google typically paid full bonuses in the first month of the year.

☆ TikTok is laying off employees from its talent acquisition team
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Dan Whateley | Sydney Bradley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok has laid off employees on its human-resources team focused on talent acquisition and recruiting. The scale of TikTok's layoffs, which occurred earlier this week, wasn't immediately clear. TikTok initiated a new round of layoffs this week, letting go of staffers who worked in talent acquisition and recruiting at the company, according to two people familiar with the matter. A handful of people who identified themselves as TikTok employees also posted about the layoffs on LinkedIn. It's unclear whether TikTok's layoffs will impact its broader recruiting and talent acquisition strategy.

☆ Davos 2023-Meta sees promise in generative AI, including for Instagram filters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Generative artificial intelligence, the umbrella technology behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, has interesting applications for social media, the chief product officer for Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) told Reuters. On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Meta's Chris Cox said that such technology has the capability to create image filters for the likes of the company's Instagram app. Generative AI can learn from vast data to produce prose, imagery or other content in response to a simple text command. Meta has been working on generative AI research, for instance tech that can convert a text prompt into a video clip. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Davos, Switzerland Editing by Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In a note to employees, CEO Satya Nadella attempted to address the divergent outlook for different parts of the business. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. Along with Amazon, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) announced cuts of 11,000 jobs, while cloud-based software company Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) said it would cut 10% of its 80,000-member workforce. Under U.S. law, most employers are required to report staff cuts affecting 50 or more workers at a single location. But growth dropped to 35% in the first fiscal quarter of 2023, and the company projects more declines to come.

[1/5] The Apple Inc logo is seen at the entrance to the Apple store in Brussels, Belgium November 28, 2022. Each of America's five largest tech companies, though, are expected to report a fall in profits for the October-December period, as they try to recalibrate in a high-interest environment. Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) are expected to report the biggest declines. Big tech companies are expected to be among the biggest drags to S&P 500's eleven sectors, with the information technology sector projected to report an earnings decline of 9.5%, according to FactSet data. Analysts expect the company to report a 2.4% rise in revenue, the slowest pace in about 24 quarters.

The layoffs, far larger than cuts by Microsoft last year, add to the tens of thousands of job cuts across the technology sector, which has downshifted following a strong growth period during the pandemic. Nadella said the layoffs, affecting less than 5% of Microsoft's workforce, would conclude by the end of March, with notifications beginning Wednesday. The cuts reflect broader belt-tightening in the technology sector. The CEO of another company serving enterprises, Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N), this week told Reuters that reducing cloud spending was a top-ten priority for his customers. Microsoft's cloud revenues soared in recent years from an explosion in corporate demand to host data online and handle computing in the so-called cloud.

☆ Tech bosses could face jail after UK government backs down over online harm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., left, arrives at federal court in San Jose, California, US, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Tech bosses could be jailed if their platforms repeatedly fail to protect children from online harm after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government agreed a deal with lawmakers to avoid the prospect of a first parliamentary defeat. The rebels had tabled an amendment proposing jail sentences of up to two years for tech bosses for failing to protect children from content such as child abuse and self-harm. After days of negotiations between the government and the lawmakers, the two sides reached an agreement with ministers promising to introduce an amendment along similar lines. A spokeswoman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs - Sky News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A Microsoft logo is seen in Los Angeles, California U.S. November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonJan 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, or about 11,000 roles, U.K broadcaster Sky News reported on Tuesday, citing sources. The company had 221,000 full-time employees, including 122,000 in the United States and 99,000 internationally, as of June 30, according to filings. Microsoft had said in July last year that a small number of roles had been eliminated and that it would increase its headcount later. In October, news site Axios reported that the company had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions.

☆ Microsoft to cut thousands of jobs across divisions - reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lucy NicholsonJan 17 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to cut thousands of jobs with some roles expected to be eliminated in human resources and engineering divisions, according to media reports on Tuesday. U.K broadcaster Sky News reported, citing sources, that Microsoft plans to cut about 5% of its workforce, or about 11,000 roles. The company plans to cut jobs in a number of engineering divisions on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Insider reported that Microsoft could cut recruiting staff by as much as one-third. In October, news site Axios reported that Microsoft had laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions. Shares of Microsoft, which is set to report quarterly results on Jan. 24, were marginally higher in late afternoon trading.

☆ Silvergate Capital reports net loss of $1 billion for the fourth quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N) reported a net loss of $1 billion in the fourth quarter, after reporting earlier this month that investors spooked by the collapse of crypto exchange FTX pulled out more than $8 billion in deposits in the last three months of 2022. The company sold $5.2 billion of debt securities at a loss of $718 million in the fourth quarter to maintain liquidity. The bank said it would take an impairment charge of $196 million in the fourth quarter on assets purchased for the payment solution venture. Founded in 1988, Silvergate ventured into crypto in 2013. Company filings show that the bank received $4.3 billion in advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco in the fourth quarter.

REUTERS/Nir EliasSINGAPORE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Israel's Cognyte Software Ltd (CGNT.O) won a tender to sell intercept spyware to a Myanmar state-backed telecommunications firm a month before the Asian nation's February 2021 military coup, according to documents reviewed by Reuters. Intercept spyware can give authorities the power to listen in on calls, view text messages and web traffic including emails, and track the locations of users without the assistance of telecom and internet firms. MPT uses intercept spyware, a source with direct knowledge of the matter and three people briefed on the issue told Reuters although they did not identify the vendor. Reuters was unable to determine whether the sale of Cognyte intercept technology to MPT was finalised. While intercept spyware is typically described as "dual-use" technology for civilian and defence purposes, Israeli law states that "dual-use" technology is classified as defence equipment.

☆ Meta sues Voyager Labs, saying it created fake accounts to scrape user data
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Voyager Labs specializes in investigative software and services intended to help law enforcement and companies obtain information about suspects, among other uses. Meta alleged that Voyager Labs' software was powered by data that it improperly gathered from Facebook and Instagram in addition to other sites like Twitter, YouTube, Twitter, and Telegram. According to the filing in the District Court for the Northern District of California, Meta alleged that Voyager Labs created over 38,000 fake Facebook user accounts. CNBC reached out to Voyager Labs for comment. Meta's claims against Voyager Labs follows similar actions the social networking giant has taken against other companies it alleged to be scraping user data.

☆ Factbox: Tech firms, Wall Street lead job cuts in corporate America
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - Big Tech firms and Wall Street titans are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out the economic downturn. HP Inc (HPQ.N):The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025. Job seekers wait before a job fair for airport related employment at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 7, 2021. Blue Apron Holdings Inc (APRN.N):The online meal-kit company said it will cut about 10% of its corporate workforce, as it looks to reduce costs and streamline operations. Last year, company executives had said the home goods retailer was cutting about 20% of its corporate and supply chain workforce.

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