DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Meta’s Reality Labs loses $3.7 billion in third quarter as Zuckerberg's big bet keeps bleeding cash
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Revenue in the virtual reality and augmented reality division dropped 26% from $285 million a year earlier, to $210 million. The new product contains an improved "passthrough" feature that creates more of a mixed reality experience. The Quest 3 has a starting cost of $499, which is $200 more than the Quest 2 but $500 cheaper than the high-end Quest Pro VR headset. In June, Meta debuted the Meta Quest+ VR subscription service for users who want to access two new games each month. The subscription service costs $7.99 a month and works with the Quest 2, Quest Pro and Quest 3 VR headsets.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Francis Haugen Organizations: Meta, Inc, Revenue, Reality Labs, Facebook, VR, Developers, CNBC, Quest Pro Locations: New York

Facebook parent Meta on Wednesday posted sharply higher earnings for the third quarter, boosted by an increase in advertising revenue and lower expenses after it laid off thousands of workers. Meta, based in Menlo Park, California, said that it earned $11.58 billion, or $4.39 per share, in the July-September quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.64 per share on revenue of $33.58 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts that Meta's Twitter-like Threads app, which launched in July, has 100 million monthly active users. For the current quarter, Meta is forecasting revenue of $36.5 billion to $40 billion.

Persons: FactSet, ”, Jeremy Goldman, ” Goldman, “, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Organizations: Meta, Revenue, of Columbia, Facebook, Twitter, Platforms Inc Locations: Menlo Park , California

A group of 33 states including California and New York are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms. “Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. Political Cartoons View All 1215 ImagesThe use of social media among teens is nearly universal in the U.S. and many other parts of the world. Up to 95% of youth ages 13 to 17 in the U.S. report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center. Other measures social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented.

Persons: ”, Letitia James, “ Meta, Instagram, Frances Haugen, TikTok, Vivek Murthy Organizations: Meta Platforms Inc, Facebook, Meta, New, The Wall Street, Associated Press, Pew Research Center, U.S Locations: California, New York, California , Florida , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Nebraska , New Jersey , Tennessee, Vermont, British, U.S

Its motive is profit, and in seeking to maximize its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the substantial dangers of its social media platforms,” the complaint says. Almost all teens ages 13 to 17 in the U.S. report using a social media platform, with about a third saying they use social media “almost constantly,” according to the Pew Research Center. Other measures social platforms have taken to address concerns about children’s mental health are also easily circumvented. TikTok, Snapchat and other social platforms that have also been blamed for contributing to the youth mental health crisis are not part of Tuesday’s lawsuit. “They’re the worst of the worst when it comes to using technology to addict teenagers to social media, all in the furtherance of putting profits over people.”In May, U.S.

Persons: Meta, ”, Letitia James, “ Meta, ” “ We’re, Instagram, Frances Haugen, Rob Bonta, TikTok, Brian Schwalb, they’re, “, Vivek Murthy, Press Writers Michael Casey, Michael Goldberg, Susan Haigh, Maysoon Khan, Ashraf Khalil Organizations: Meta Platforms Inc, Facebook, Meta, D.C, “, New, The Wall Street, Associated Press, Pew Research Center, Washington D.C, U.S, Press Writers Locations: California, New York, Washington, California , Florida , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Nebraska , New Jersey , Tennessee, Vermont, British, U.S

☆ Instagram linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia in kids - US states' lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Companies Need To Integrate Climate Reporting Across Functions To Comply With California S New Law | Henry Engler | October | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowOct 24 (Reuters) - Dozens of U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms (META.O) and its Instagram unit, accusing them of contributing to a youth mental health crisis through the addictive nature of their social media platforms. "Research has shown that young people’s use of Meta's social media platforms is associated with depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes," the complaint said. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal actions against social media companies on behalf of children and teens. Meta deceptively denied publicly that its social media was harmful, the lawsuit said. Nine other states are expected to file similar lawsuits on Tuesday, bringing the total number of states suing to 42.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ByteDance's, Meta, We’re, Jonathan Stempel, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Nate Raymond, Rod Nickel, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Meta, YouTube, Menlo, Thomson Locations: Oakland , California, California, Illinois, , California, New York

☆ Meta sued by 33 US states in lawsuit accusing it of damaging young people's mental health with addictive Facebook and Instagram features
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Thirty-three states sued Meta, alleging potential harm to young people's mental health. The states accuse Meta of designing Instagram and Facebook features that addict children to the platforms. The lawsuit followed an investigation by a coalition of attorneys general. In addition to the 33 states, nine other attorneys general are filing in their respective states, bringing the total number of states taking action to 42. The broad-ranging suit is the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Vermont.

Persons: —, Meta, Letitia James, Instagram Organizations: Meta, Service, Meta Platforms Inc, Facebook, New, Wall Street Locations: California, New York, California , Florida , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Nebraska , New Jersey , Tennessee, Vermont

☆ ByteDance says committed to VR business Pico after report of it shutting brand
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The statement came after Chinese research firm EqualOcean published a report saying that ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming told Pico's management team ByteDance would gradually give up on the Pico business. Pico is under normal operation and the company will continue to invest in the extended reality (XR) business over the long term," ByteDance said in a statement shared with Reuters. The Pico headsets are often seen as ByteDance's answer to the popular Quest headsets developed by Meta Platforms Inc (META.O). Pico has the biggest market share for VR headsets in China, accounting for over 58% of the market, as Meta's Quest devices have yet to enter the country officially. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that Pico has increased its headset shipments last year while Meta's headset shipments declined.

Persons: Aly, ByteDance, EqualOcean, Zhang Yiming, Pico's, Pico, Bytedance, Josh Ye, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, XR, Meta Platforms Inc, Street Journal, IDC, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Pico

People look at the new iPhone 15 Pro as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China at an Apple store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. Analysts say the iPhone 15 has not been selling as well in China as its predecessor. Counterpoint Research said last week that iPhone 15 sales in China were down 4.5% versus the iPhone 14 in the first 17 days after its market launch. The 512 GB iPhone 15 Pro Max, which has a 11,999 yuan price tag in Apple's store, can be bought for 10,698 yuan on Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao. The e-commerce platform iPhone 15 discounts were first reported by The Economic Observer weekly newspaper on Monday.

Persons: Aly, Alibaba, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh, Alexander Smith Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Rights, PDD Holdings, HK, Counterpoint Research, Reuters, Economic Observer, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, Rights BEIJING

☆ Google's Russian subsidiary recognised as bankrupt by court - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Google's Russian subsidiary has been recognised as bankrupt by a Moscow court, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, over a year after proceedings began. Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL.O) Russian unit filed for bankruptcy in summer 2022 after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors. Google's Russian subsidiary has been under pressure in Russia for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal and for restricting access to some Russian media on YouTube. However, while the Kremlin has banned some platforms including Twitter and Facebook, it has so far stopped short of blocking access to Google's services. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toby Melville, Alexander Marrow, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Google, REUTERS, Rights, Inc, YouTube, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Russian, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Snapchat isn’t just for teens anymore. Now it needs to make some real money
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

New York CNN —When Snapchat announced last month that it had reached 5 million paying subscribers for its Snapchat+ service, it seemed like a stunning achievement. At 5 million subscribers paying $3.99 per month, Snapchat+ is set to earn around $239 million in annual revenue. That subscriber number is just a fraction of its overall user base of Snapchat, which has quietly become one of the world’s fastest-growing social platforms. The sales declines come as Snapchat, like other platforms, works to update its advertising business to cope with changes to Apple’s app tracking policies. Snapchat has grown its user base by more than 10% year-over-year for the past 16 consecutive quarters.

Persons: Snapchat, Evan Spiegel, it’s, ” Jack Brody, ”, Angelo Zino, Jess Maddox, TikTok Snapchat, ” Brody, you’ve, TikTok, CFRA’s Zino, Scott Kessler, ” Snapchat, Kessler, Brody, Spiegel, “ It’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Facebook, CNN, “, CFRA Research, University of Alabama, YouTube, Intelligence, Meta, Apple Locations: New York, North America, United States, India, Europe, TikTok, Instagram

☆ Meta, Apple and Google cheer FCC ruling that could pave the way for new AR and VR applications
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An attendee uses a Meta Platforms Inc. Quest 3 virtual reality (VR) headset during an event in San Francisco, California, US, on Sept. 18, 2023. The agency unanimously voted to open the 6 GHz band to what what they call "a new class of very low power devices," like wearable technology. The company sees the opening of the 6 GHz band as an important step in its vision for its smart glasses. "The 6 GHz band has become critical for the future of wireless connectivity," Google 's hardware group, Pixel, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Apple similarly called the FCC vote "a positive step forward," in a statement on Thursday.

Persons: Meta, Kevin Martin Organizations: Inc, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Apple, Broadcom, Meta, Google, CNBC, YouTube Locations: San Francisco , California, North America

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowOct 18 (Reuters) - A shareholders' proposed class action accusing Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) of concealing sweeping misuse of Facebook users' data in 2017 and 2018 was revived by a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco restored shareholders' claim that the company, then known as Facebook, falsely said that user data "could" be compromised. At the time, the company was already aware that the UK-based consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had violated its privacy policies, shareholders allege. Circuit Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, saying that Facebook's disclosures concerned the type of risks involved in its business, not whether or not a data breach had occurred.

Persons: Yves Herman, Cambridge Analytica, Margaret McKeown, Darren Robbins, Donald Trump's, Patrick Bumatay, Jody Godoy, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Meta, Inc, Facebook, U.S, Circuit, Cambridge, Shareholders, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, San Francisco

☆ Google's Russian subsidiary recognised as bankrupt by court -RIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Google's Russian subsidiary has been recognised as bankrupt by a Moscow court, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, over a year after proceedings began. Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL.O) Russian unit filed for bankruptcy in summer 2022 after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors. Google's Russian subsidiary has been under pressure in Russia for failing to delete content Moscow deems illegal and for restricting access to some Russian media on YouTube. However, while the Kremlin has banned some platforms including Twitter and Facebook, it has so far stopped short of blocking access to Google's services. Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alexander Marrow, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Google, Inc, YouTube, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russian, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp and Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowWASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Lawyers for Meta (META.O), which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and the U.S. government tangled on Tuesday over the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's plan to toughen a 2019 privacy order. Speaking for Meta on Tuesday, James Rouhandeh argued that Judge Timothy Kelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia had jurisdiction to take the case and should scrap the FTC's proposal because Meta had not agreed to it. Arguing for the FTC, Zachary Cowan of the Justice Department said that it was the agency's decision on whether its settlements should be changed and the district court had no jurisdiction. Essentially, the fight is whether Meta and the FTC, if they fail to settle, will go to district court or an FTC judge to decide if the 2019 agreement will be modified.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, James Rouhandeh, Timothy Kelly, Meta, Zachary Cowan, Kelly, Diane Bartz, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Facebook, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Meta, U.S, U.S . Federal, District of Columbia, Justice Department, FTC, Thomson Locations: toughen

“Getting information from social media is likely to lead to you being severely disinformed,” said Ahmed. Everyone from US foreign adversaries to domestic extremists to internet trolls and “engagement farmers” has been exploiting the war on social media for their own personal or political gain, he added. “Bad actors surrounding us have been manipulating, confusing and trying to create deception on social media platforms,” Dan Brahmy, CEO of the Israeli social media threat intelligence firm Cyabra, said Thursday in a video posted to LinkedIn. The dynamic simultaneously highlights the business models of social media and the role the companies play in carefully calibrating their users’ experiences. ‘Be very cautious about sharing’Despite giving the impression of reality and truthfulness, Brookie said, individual stories and combat footage conveyed through social media often lack the broader perspective and context that journalists, research organizations and even social media moderation teams apply to a situation to help achieve a fuller understanding of it.

Persons: ”, Gazans, Pepe, Imran Ahmed, Ahmed, “, Dan Brahmy, ‘, ’ Graham Brookie, Islamophobic, Elon Musk, it’s, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Brian Fishman, ” Linda Yaccarino, “ We’ve, Andy Stone, Snapchat, TikTok, ” Ahmed, ” Brookie, Brookie Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, —, Twitter, European Union, Facebook, YouTube, Center, LinkedIn, Digital Forensic Research, Atlantic Council, European Commission, European, Digital Services Locations: New York, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, London, Egypt, Islamophobic, Washington ,, United Kingdom, United States

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowSTOCKHOLM, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O) said on Friday it was taking steps including removing praise and substantive support for Hamas from its platforms after the European Union reprimanded social media companies for not doing enough to tackle disinformation. Following the attack, Hamas has taken scores of Israeli and foreign hostages to the Palestinian enclave of Gaza. Meta said it was aware of Hamas' threats to broadcast footage of the hostages and it would swiftly remove any such content and prevent copies being re-shared. While Hamas is banned from the platforms, Meta allows social and political discourse - such as news reporting, human rights related issues, or academic, neutral and critical discussion.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Supantha Mukherjee, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Union, Facebook, Hamas, European Commission, Digital Services, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Israel, Gaza, Stockholm

☆ EU officials warn TikTok over Israel-Hamas disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —EU officials warned TikTok Thursday about “illegal content and disinformation” on its platform linked to the war between Hamas and Israel, calling for CEO Shou Zi Chew to respond within 24 hours. In a letter to Chew, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said failure to comply with European Union laws around content moderation could result in penalties. It is the third such letter Breton has sent to large social media platforms this week, after he sent similar warnings to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and Meta. In August, a recently passed EU law known as the Digital Services Act went into effect for large online platforms including the companies Breton addressed this week. Since the war began, Breton wrote, TikTok has reportedly spread graphic videos and misleading content on the platform.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Thierry Breton, Breton, TikTok, ” Breton, TikTok didn’t Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Meta, Digital Services Locations: Israel, Chew

The Utah suit is the latest action challenging the popular app in the United States, with Indiana and Arkansas bringing similar suits. Last month, a federal judge blocked California from enforcing a law meant to protect children when they use the Internet. Utah is seeking civil penalties as well as an injunction prohibiting TikTok from violating state law that protects consumers from deceptive business practices. Congress has been considering legislation for months that would enable the Biden administration to restrict or ban TikTok over concerns of potential spying. TikTok has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts and rejects spying allegations.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Online Harms, Sean Reyes, Reyes, TikTok, Biden, David Shepardson, Rod Nickel Organizations: Energy, Commerce, Safeguard, Online, Capitol, Facebook, Republican, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Utah, United States, Indiana, Arkansas, California, Montana's

The Utah suit is the latest action challenging the popular app in the United States and comes as Congress has been considering legislation for months that would enable the Biden administration to restrict or ban TikTok over concerns of potential spying. ByteDance-owned TikTok, which has more than 150 million U.S. users, denies it improperly uses U.S. data and did not immediately comment. Utah is seeking civil penalties as well as an injunction prohibiting TikTok from violating state law that protects consumers from deceptive business practices. The Utah lawsuit is similar to an action brought against TikTok by Indiana in December. Montana's legislature approved legislation to ban TikTok citing spying concerns.

Persons: Shou Zi Chew, Online Harms, Biden, Sean Reyes, Utah's, TikTok, David Shepardson, Rod Nickel Organizations: Energy, Commerce, Safeguard, Online, Capitol, TikTok, Facebook, Republican, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Utah, United States, Indiana, Arkansas, Montana's

REGULATORY SCRUTINYWhile disinformation has spread on all major social media platforms including Facebook and TikTok, X appeared to be the most recent to draw scrutiny from regulators. On Tuesday, European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Musk that X was spreading "illegal content and disinformation," according to a letter Breton posted on X. Musk himself recommended that X users follow two accounts that had previously spread false claims for "real-time" updates on the conflict, the Washington Post reported. False information has also spread on messaging app Telegram and short-form video app TikTok, said DFRLab's Trad. Like other online platforms, YouTube has moderation employees and technology to remove content that violates its rules.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ruslan Trad, X, Bruno Mars miscaptioned, Thierry Breton, Breton, Musk, Renee DiResta, Jack Brewster, Brewster, Tamara Kharroub, DFRLab's Trad, TikTok, Solomon Messing, there's, Messing, Kharroub, Sheila Dang, Riniki Sanyal, Deepa Babington Organizations: Twitter, REUTERS, Elon, European Union, Reuters, Atlantic, Forensic Research, Hamas, Meta, Facebook, European, EU, Stanford Internet Observatory, Washington Post, Washington, Arab Center Washington DC, New York University's Center for Social Media, YouTube, Thomson Locations: Israel, American, New, Dallas, Bangalore

☆ Kelce brothers: NFL is ‘overdoing’ promotion of Taylor Swift’s attendance at Chiefs games
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( David Close | George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —As fans’ interest in the apparent romance between Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and superstar musician Taylor Swift shows few signs of abating, Kelce and his brother Travis agree that the NFL is “overdoing it a little bit” on social media. Kelce and Swift have not confirmed that they’re dating, but the singer has been seen cheering on the Chiefs star during his past two games. I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings a little bit more to what you’re watching. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport,” it said. She was seen sitting next to the Kelce brothers’ mom, Donna, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on September 24, before also watching from the stands at MetLife Stadium as the Chiefs defeated the New York Jets on Sunday.

Persons: Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, Kelce, Travis, Swift, “, Jason, ” Travis, Jason Kelce, Jesse D, we’ve, Swift’s, Donna Organizations: CNN, Kansas City Chiefs, Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, NFL, Kelce’s Chiefs, Variety, MetLife, New York Jets Locations: ”, Kansas City

☆ Meta Oversight Board to open case on manipulated video of US President Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Companies Meta Platforms Inc FollowNEW YORK, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Meta's (META.O) Oversight Board plans to open a case examining an altered video of U.S. President Joe Biden that was flagged by a user on the company's flagship social media service Facebook, the board said in a statement on Tuesday. The board, which is funded by Meta but run independently, said the case would "examine issues related to manipulated media on Meta's platforms and the company's policies on misinformation, especially around elections." Reporting by Katie Paul Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Joe Biden, Katie Paul, Chris Reese Organizations: Facebook, Meta, Thomson

☆ US Supreme Court to weigh state laws constraining social media companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Supporters of the laws have argued that social media platforms have engaged in impermissible censorship and have silenced conservative voices in particular. In signing the bill in 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, "There is a dangerous movement by some social media companies to silence conservative ideas and values. The Texas law forbids social media companies with at least 50 million monthly active users from acting to "censor" users based on "viewpoint," and allows either users or the Texas attorney general to sue to enforce it. The industry groups are appealing a decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the Texas law, which the Supreme Court had blocked at an earlier stage of the case.

Persons: Kevin Wurm, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Greg Abbott, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Republican, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Facebook, Inc, Twitter, Justice Department, Tech, Capitol, Circuit, New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Texas, Florida, Atlanta, New Orleans, New York

The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Meta Platforms Inc FollowOSLO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Norway's data regulator will refer the fine it has imposed on Meta Platforms (META.O) to the European data authority, it said on Thursday, a move that could make the fine permanent and widen it to the European Union. The Norwegian regulator, Datatilsynet, is now referring its decision to the European Data Protection Board, which could make the decision permanent if it agrees with the Norwegian regulator's decision. "Datatilsynet has asked the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) for a binding decision in the Meta case," the regulator said in a statement. "In the request, we ask that the Norwegian temporary ban on behaviour-based marketing on Facebook and Instagram be made permanent and extended to the entire EU/EEA."

Persons: Yves Herman, Instagram, Datatilsynet, Meta, Gwladys, Terje Solsvik Organizations: REUTERS, Meta, European Union, Facebook, Big Tech, European Data Protection, Data Protection, EEA, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Norwegian, Norway

More than 9 million merchants sell their wares on Amazon's marketplace and also supply it with steady streams of revenue. Amazon collects advertising fees for touting their products, fulfillment fees for delivery in addition to less specific "sellers' fees." Some merchants welcome the potential of relaxed seller and advertising charges, while others worry that completely dissolving Amazon's advertising services would harm their ability to reach shoppers. The FTC found that the company's fulfillment fees increased approximately 30% between 2020 and 2022. Dieterle relies on Amazon's fulfillment and advertising services to boost merchandise sales.

Persons: Mike Segar, Rick Dieterle, Dieterle, Lindsay Windham, Bryan Croft, Croft, Big, Jason Hince, Hince, Stacy Mitchell, Arriana McLymore, Matthew Lewis 私 Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Merchants, U.S . Federal Trade, Big Tech, Amazon, FTC, Taco Brands, Union, HC Brands, Big Crazy Buffalo, Facebook, Google, Big, Institute for Local Locations: Manhattan, New York City, Rights RALEIGH, North Carolina, Buffalo, Raleigh , North Carolina

Search resuls for: "Platforms Inc"

25 mentions found