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☆ Stop & Shop is closing 32 locations. Here’s where
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Stop & Shop is closing 32 underperforming grocery stores across the US northeast as part of the company’s efforts to improve its financial performance. Shoppers are also being squeezed by higher prices at the grocery store, with food prices experiencing modest upticks last month, according to the newest inflation report. Ahold Delhaize, the chain’s Dutch parent company, revealed the locations Friday adding that they will close in early November. Stop & Shop said it “remains committed to serving its communities through other store locations, online shopping and home delivery services.” Employees impacted by the closures will be offered other opportunities in the company. In addition to operating Stop & Shop, Ahold Delhaize owns Food Lion and Giant grocery stores in the US.

Persons: ”, Gordon Reid, Ahold Delhaize, Albertson’s, “, Delhaize, Newton, Jackson, Johnston, Pittman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Aldi, Kroger, Federal Trade Commission, ” Employees, Food, Here’s, St, Stamford, Plymouth St, Needham St, Highway, Boston Turnpike, Cooley St, Paterson, Edison, Howell, Phillipsburg, Fulton, Sanford, West Haverstraw Rhode, Pittman St Locations: New York, Dutch, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ansonia, Danbury, Bridgeport, Milford, High, Torrington Massachusetts, North Montello St, Brockton, Plymouth, Halifax, Needham, St, Pembroke, Raynham, Shrewsbury, Cooley, Springfield, Lincoln St . Worcester New Jersey, Franklin Township, County, Piscataway, Richmond, Pleasant Beach, Ringwood New York, Brooklyn, Hempstead Turnpike, East, ., Hempstead, Mt, Vernon, West Haverstraw, Providence, Eastside

☆ Antitrust Regulator Tells Chains: Back Off Your Franchisees
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the long-simmering conflict between franchisers and franchisees, the federal government has weighed in on behalf of the smaller guys. In a business relationship that has become fundamental to American commerce, franchisers — brands like McDonald’s and Jiffy Lube — license the right to operate their concept to individual entrepreneurs, who provide start-up capital and may own one location or many. On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission issued a policy statement and staff guidance that cautioned franchisers not to restrict their franchisees’ ability to speak to government officials or to tack on fees that weren’t disclosed in documents provided to prospective franchise buyers. In a news release, the commission said it was acting amid “growing concern about unfair and deceptive practices by franchisers — to ensure that the franchise business model remains a ladder of opportunity to owning a business for honest small business owners.”

Persons: franchisers, weren’t, franchisers —, ” Organizations: Federal Trade Commission

☆ Microsoft's decision to give up OpenAI board observer seat doesn't quell key concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (R) speaks as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (L) looks on during the OpenAI DevDay event in San Francisco on Nov. 6, 2023. Microsoft has given up its observer seat on OpenAI's board. Apple , which was reportedly expected to take a similar observer position, will no longer pursue one, according to the Financial Times. "The timing of this move matters," Kak wrote in a message to CNBC. Kak told CNBC that regulators' pursuits are helping to get answers and deliver transparency.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, aren't, Amba Kak, Kak, Lina Khan Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, Financial Times, CNBC, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Justice Department, Nvidia Locations: San Francisco

☆ Federal Trade Commission to sue drug middlemen over prices of medications including insulin, source says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino Mary Catherine Wellons | Annika Kim Constantino | Mary Catherine Wellons | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesAn Express Scripts spokesperson said the "prices of insulin and other medicines are set by their manufacturers, who have raised list prices repeatedly." They also create lists of medications — or formularies — that are covered by insurance and reimburse pharmacies for prescriptions. The investigation into insulin prices also examines drugmakers, but it is unclear whether they will be named in the upcoming lawsuits, Politico reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Eli Lilly , French drugmaker Sanofi and Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk control roughly 90% of the U.S. insulin market. Pharmacist Thomas Jensen looks over a prescription drug at the Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 9, 2019.

Persons: Lina Khan, Tom Williams, Joe Raedle, PBMs, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Thomas Jensen, George Frey Organizations: Trade, Financial Services, General Government, CQ, Inc, Getty, Federal Trade Commission, CNBC, UnitedHealth, CVS, FTC, Politico, Novo Nordisk, Pharmacy Locations: Miami, U.S, Danish, Provo , Utah

Joe Raedle | Getty ImagesAn Express Scripts spokesperson said "the prices of insulin and other medicines are set by their manufacturers, who have raised list prices repeatedly." The FTC's investigation into insulin prices also examines drugmakers, but it is unclear whether they will be named in the upcoming lawsuits, Politico reported, citing sources. Eli Lilly , French drugmaker Sanofi and Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk control roughly 90% of the U.S. insulin market. They also create lists of medications – or formularies – that are covered by insurance and reimburse pharmacies for prescriptions. Pharmacist Thomas Jensen looks over a prescription drug at the Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, on May 9, 2019.

Persons: Lina Khan, Tom Williams, Joe Raedle, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Thomas Jensen, George Frey Organizations: Trade, Financial Services, General Government, CQ, Inc, Getty, Federal Trade Commission, CNBC, UnitedHealth, CVS, Politico, Novo Nordisk, Pharmacy Locations: Miami , Florida, Danish, U.S, Provo , Utah

☆ Illegal Eviction Complaints Rise As Police Fail to Enforce
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Cecilia Reyes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +44 min

The nature of illegal lockouts means they are hard to track directly. One of the responding officers calls a sergeant over, who says there's nothing else they can do. While only 14% of lockout calls led to a police report, 86% of calls about shoplifting did. As they walk over, one of the officers tells the other to look up "illegal lockout" on his phone. A 2006 bill that would have defined illegal lockouts for all Illinois residents was defeated.

Persons: Alfred Perry, He'd, Perry, Dan Wright, Perry didn't, Wright, Bridget Bennett, Dan hadn't, I'd, he'd, Charlie Bliss, Matthew Desmond, Lockouts, Jersey City's, haven't, he's, David Leibowitz, Leibowitz, —, Pretium —, Kristi DesJarlais, Siegel, Sean Thueson , , Thueson, Blackstone, lockouts, Pretium, Katherine Kelly, RealPage, Jennifer Bowcock, William Prosser ,, they're, Donna Rossi, Sara Heymann, Meghan Aguilar, Misty Skinner, Skinner, Levi Wilhelm, It's, hasn't, I've, Wilhelm, they'd, Jeffrey Uno, Deirdre Orange, isn't, Daniel Benavidez, Jenny Chavez, criminalizing, Rob Bonta, Eric Carter, John Bartlett, Carter, Fred Fuchs, Steve Cohen, Michael Bennet, Sarah Saadian, Douglas Farrar, Kelly, Fuchs, Heymann, who've Organizations: Labor, Chrysler, Social Security, Business, North Las Vegas Police Department, Child Protective Services, Las Vegas Justice, Atlanta Legal, Atlanta Police Department, Atlanta, Supreme, Department of Housing, Los Angeles Police Department, Houston —, Arizona, Housing Association, Invitation Homes, Siegel, Siegel Group, Blackstone ., Progress, Homes, Union, city's Housing Department, Miami, Police, Houston, Houston Police Department, Phoenix, Criminal, Chicago, Chicago Department, LAPD, Records, Jersey City, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas Metro Police, Legal, Foundation of Los, Phoenix Police Department, Fulton County Marshal's Department, Avondale Police Department, Avondale Police, Metropolitan Tenants Organization, Texas Justice Court, Court Training Center, Illinois, National Weather Service, Democratic, Senate, Income Housing Coalition, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, AGs Locations: Las Vegas, Detroit, Vegas, United States, Perry's, Princeton, Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, South Chicago, Phoenix, Jersey, New Jersey, Jersey City, Houston, Nevada, . Texas, Harris County, Texas, Arizona, Washington, city's, Atlanta , Miami, California, New York City, Spring Valley, Spring Valley , Nevada, Las, Foundation of Los Angeles, Avondale , Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia , Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, In Connecticut , Massachusetts, Minnesota , New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Illinois

☆ F.T.C. Says Middlemen Appear to Be Driving Up Drug Prices
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Reed Abelson | Rebecca Robbins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday sharply criticized pharmacy benefit managers, saying in a scathing 71-page report that “these powerful middlemen may be profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies.”The regulator’s study signals a significant ramping up of its scrutiny of benefit managers under the agency’s chair, Lina Khan. It represents a remarkable turnabout for an agency that has long taken a hands-off approach to policing these companies. has so far stopped short of bringing a lawsuit or other enforcement action against a benefit manager. But the industry fears that the report could lead to a formal investigation into its practices or to a lawsuit accusing benefit managers of anticompetitive conduct. The agency’s findings could also fuel legislative efforts in Congress and in the states to impose limits on the industry.

Persons: Lina Khan Organizations: Federal Trade Commission

☆ Popular app banned from hosting young teens in a groundbreaking settlement
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The regulators wrote that the app billed itself as a “safe space” for teens but, in reality, preyed on them. The app, known as NGL, had been downloaded millions of times, according to the complaint. NGL deceptively hooked teens into subscribing to its premium service by sending them fake, anonymous messages and then promising to reveal the sender after they paid, said the complaint. Highlighting the groundbreaking nature of the NGL settlement, FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson described Tuesday’s action as a “novel” use of the agency’s legal powers. But, he argued, the public should not interpret the lawsuit to mean that it is illegal in general to market any anonymous messaging app to teens.

Persons: ”, Lina Khan, ” NGL, NGL, Joao Figueiredo, ” Figueiredo, “ I’ve, Figueiredo, Khan, Andrew Ferguson, ” Ferguson, Kristin Bride, Bride, Carson, Fairplay Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Trade Commission, Los Angeles, Attorney’s, US, Court, Central, Central District of, FTC, Meta, Epic Games, Facebook Locations: Central District, Central District of California, New York, Arkansas, Florida , Louisiana

☆ Job scams surged 118% in 2023, aided by AI. Here's how to stop them
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Ridvan_celik | E+ | Getty ImagesEmployment scams surged last year, as criminals leveraged artificial intelligence to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting job seekers, experts said. Consumer reports of job scams jumped 118% in 2023 from the prior year, according to a recent report by the Identity Theft Resource Center. How job scams can rip you offCon artists will "push you for money" during the hiring process, the FTC said. Job seekers should not expect to have to hand over personal information until after they've received and accepted a job offer, Velasquez said. How to protect yourself from job scams

Persons: ITRC, Eva Velasquez, Velasquez, Con, Robert Rodriguez, they've Organizations: Getty, Theft Resource Center, Social, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Google, Craigslist, Facebook, Finance, New York

☆ Saks Fifth Avenue is buying Neiman Marcus with Amazon’s help
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are merging to create a luxury department store empire. “We’re thrilled to take this step in bringing together these iconic luxury names, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman,” said HBC CEO Richard Baker in a release. Saks has 39 stores, while Neiman Marcus, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, has 36 stores. Neiman Marcus also owns Bergdorf Goodman. Both of them will report to Baker, who becomes the executive chairman of Saks Global.

Persons: New York CNN —, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, “ We’re, ”, Richard Baker, Marc Metrick, Ian Putnam, Baker, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, ” Neil Saunders, “, Amazon, Saunders Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York CNN — Saks Fifth, Saks, HBC, Saks Fifth, Saks Global, HBC Properties, Canadian, Brands, Neiman, Capri, GlobalData, Federal Trade Commission, FTC Locations: New York, Hudson’s, Glendale , California, Columbus , Ohio

☆ A global tax war is looming. It could hit Big Tech hard
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —A stalemate in Washington could destroy a landmark tax deal that was painstakingly hammered out among 140 countries over the better part of a decade. Some analysts say that the United States’ inability to ratify the deal could lead to a tax war among the richest nations that would hit tech behemoths like Google, Apple, Meta and Amazon particularly hard. Canada recently implemented a local tax on the world’s largest tech companies, something the OECD treaty had sought to avoid. New Zealand has also said it will implement its own digital services tax on large multinational companies beginning in 2025. The FTC also said that documents showed that competing mattress suppliers would lose access to its most important retail channel.

Persons: Donald Trump, he’s, Manal Corwin, ”, Megan Funkhouser, won’t, Alicia Wallace, Economists, Ramishah Maruf, Tempur Sealy, —, Foster Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Apple, Meta, Economic Co, Development, OECD, Biden, Republicans, Finance, OECD’s, Tax, Administration, Information Technology Industry Council, CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics ’, Labor, Labor Statistics, Federal Trade Commission, United, FTC, Pedic, Sealy Locations: New York, Washington, United States, Canada, Zealand, New Zealand, Stearns

☆ Judge Backs Challenge to F.T.C.’s Noncompete Ban, at Least for Now
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Danielle Kaye | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A federal judge on Wednesday backed an initial legal challenge to the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, which is scheduled to take effect in September. Judge Ada Brown granted an injunction requested by several plaintiffs, saying the ban cannot be enforced against them pending a final ruling. But while the ruling is preliminary, she said that the F.T.C. lacked “substantive rule-making authority” with respect to unfair methods of competition and that the plaintiffs were “likely to succeed on the merits” of their challenge. Judge Brown, of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, said she expected to issue a final decision by the end of August.

Persons: Judge Ada Brown, Judge Brown Organizations: Federal Trade, Northern, Northern District of Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Judge delays ban on noncompete agreements for employees
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —A federal judge on Wednesday delayed a ban on noncompete agreements from taking effect for a small number of US workers on September 4. Unless the judge makes another ruling before that date, the ban will go into effect for the majority of employers in the US. The ban, which prohibits employers from enforcing noncompete clauses in most existing employment agreements and bans companies from including them in all future ones, was approved by the Federal Trade Commission in April. The FTC estimates that 30 million people — one in five US workers — are bound by a noncompete clause in their current jobs. In response to the order, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said, “The FTC stands by our clear authority, supported by statute and precedent, to issue this rule.

Persons: ”, Ada Brown, Ryan, Daryl Joseffer, Douglas Farrar Organizations: New, New York CNN, Court, Northern, Northern District of Texas, Federal Trade Commission, Ryan LLC, US Chamber of Commerce, Business, Texas Association of Business, Longview Chamber of Commerce, Plaintiff, FTC, US, of Commerce, U.S, Chamber Locations: New York, Northern District, Texas, Longview

☆ Romance scams cost consumers $1.14 billion last year. It's a 'more insidious' fraud, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Cybercriminals are targeting wealth accounts by tapping into a victim's emotions. Consumers lost $1.14 billion to romance scams in 2023, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Median losses per person amounted to $2,000, the highest reported losses for any form of imposter scam, the FTC found. "Romance scams tend to be some of the more insidious because they prey on emotions," Kitten said. "They know the different emotional trigger points that we all have, and that's when they strike," Payton added.

Persons: Tracy Kitten, Kitten, Taylor, Theresa Payton, Payton Organizations: Strategy, Research, Consumers, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Netflix, Finance, White House, Fortalice Solutions

☆ FTC unanimously moves to block $4 billion merger of mattress giants
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —The Federal Trade Commission unanimously voted to block mattress maker Tempur Sealy’s purchase of Mattress Firm on Tuesday. Mattress Firm was already dealing with its own financial issues, including a 2018 bankruptcy. In a statement, Tempur Sealy said the bedding industry is “highly competitive” and only a small fraction of brick-and-mortar storefronts are Mattress Firms. “Tempur Sealy has been working constructively with the FTC to secure regulatory approval for this transaction and is disappointed that the FTC has initiated litigation. Correction: A previous story misstated the Tempur Sealy portfolio.

Persons: Tempur Sealy, –, ”, Henry Liu, Foster, Casper, Serta Simmons, “ Tempur Sealy, “, CNN’s Jordan Valinsky, Sealy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Trade, United, FTC, Competition, Pedic, Sealy, Amazon, Innovation, Inc Locations: New York, United States, FTC’s, Stearns

☆ The Cost of a Psychic Is a Window Into Americans' Spending Habits
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

For $25, which wound up being $30 because she didn't have change, Jessica told me my fortune. That psychic is also a pet psychic, which is not Katy's jam. Once, after an accident on her block in Chicago, Katy used a psychic to ensure the person had crossed over. Another time, she bought a bunch of bath oils in New York after a psychic told her she was cursed. In a consumerist society, of course some people are willing to pay to commune with the afterlife.

Persons: I'm, Jessica, IBISWorld, upselling, It's, that's, spellwork, Lisa Stardust, who's, Neil Dagnall, Ken Drinkwater, Dagnall, Drinkwater, —, Jane Risen, Risen, it's, what's, they're, Cleo, Peter Popoff, they'd, Ralph Lewis, There's, we're, Lewis, I've, Katy who's, Katy, Taylor Swift, Emily Stewart Organizations: Pew Research Center, what's, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, Federal Trade Commission, intel, University of Toronto, Business Locations: Manhattan, New York, Chicago

☆ Is Big Tech wrong to train AI models on 'messy' public data? A chat with synthetic data evangelist Ali Golshan.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-30 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Instead, they're calling for companies to train their models on synthetic data. Synthetic data is artificially generated rather than collected from the real world. AdvertisementBusiness Insider chatted with Ali Golshan, CEO and cofounder of Gretel, who one might call an evangelist for synthetic data. Why is synthetic data better than raw public data? AdvertisementUltimately, the other part of it is that synthetic data is very good at privacy if you have enough data.

Persons: —, Ali Golshan, Gretel, Young, There's Organizations: Service, Companies, Meta, Google, Business, Ernst, Riot, Federal Trade Commission

CNN —A major Supreme Court ruling Friday that shifted power from the executive branch to the judiciary stands to transform how the federal government works. By overturning a 1984 precedent, the court’s conservative majority has made countless regulations vulnerable to legal challenge. The Supreme Court ruling could boost efforts by conservatives who have taken aim at the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s rules limiting planet-warming pollution from vehicles, oil and gas wells and pipelines, and power plants. The ruling has injected legal uncertainty into regulations of all types, including those on technology, labor, the environment and health care. But the Supreme Court has yet to decide a case heard this term that might gut that limitation.

Persons: ”, Kent Barnett, —, Thomas Berry, John Roberts, Roberts, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Joe Biden, Shawn ThewPool, Adam Rust, ” Rust, Andrew Schwartzman, Alexander MacDonald, ” MacDonald, Sharon Block, ” Block, Biden, Andrew Twinamatsiko, ” Twinamatsiko, “, Paul Gallant, TD Cowen, David Vladeck, Chevron —, Ann Carlson, Carlson, David Doniger Organizations: CNN, Biden, University of Georgia School of Law, Chevron, Natural Resources Defense, Republican, Democratic, Cato Institute . Chief, State of, Consumer, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Federation of America, “, Supreme, Securities, Exchange Commission, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, Opportunity Commission, Harvard Law School, Center, Labor, American Cancer Society, US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Health, Human Services, Medicare, Services, Medicaid, Human Services Department, HHS, O’Neill Institute for National, Global Health Law, Georgetown University, FDA, Federal Communications Commission, EPA, National, Traffic Safety Administration, University of California, Natural Resources Defense Council Locations: Obamacare, Chevron, State, Washington , DC, Texas, Littler, Los Angeles

When the White House chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients, met with dozens of top executives in Washington this month, he encountered a familiar list of corporate complaints about President Biden. The executives at the Business Roundtable, a group representing some of the country’s biggest corporations, objected to Mr. Biden’s proposals to raise taxes. While the meeting was not antagonistic, it was indicative of three and a half years of executive grousing about Mr. Biden. Business leaders have criticized his remarks on “corporate greed” and his appearance on a union picket line. A number of prominent figures in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — including the venture capitalists David Sacks and Marc Andreessen, and the hedge fund magnate Kenneth Griffin — have grown increasingly vocal in their criticism of Mr. Biden, their praise of former President Donald J. Trump, or both.

Persons: Jeffrey Zients, Biden, ”, —, Lina Khan, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, Kenneth Griffin —, Mr, Donald J, Trump Organizations: White House, Business, Biden, Federal Trade Commission Locations: Washington, Silicon Valley

☆ Going After the Middleman
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Lauren Hirsch | Sarah Kessler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

They’ve zeroed in on what may sound like a nerdy legal theory, but one that could have huge implications: the tyranny of the intermediary, middleman companies that abuse their role by squeezing out competition or creating artificially expensive moats. The Justice Department has already made one high-profile strike along these lines, suing to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It is reportedly investigating at least two others. One is RealPage, a property management company that uses artificial intelligence to suggest prices and has already been sued by renters accusing it of facilitating a new type of collusion. The second is UnitedHealth Group, the health care conglomerate that owns a cobweb of businesses that include an insurer and another unit that employs about 10,000 physicians in the United States.

Persons: Lina Khan, Jonathan Kanter, They’ve Organizations: Biden, Federal Trade Commission, Ticketmaster, UnitedHealth Locations: United States

☆ After almost 30 years, Amazon's original book business is booming, leaked document shows
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

This is according to a detailed internal document obtained by Business Insider that reveals a host of new information and insights about Amazon's book business and the broader publishing landscape. Reliable data on this industry is limited or tightly controlled, so it's sometimes difficult to get handle on the scope of the book business. "Monopoly power"Amazon's book business has drawn antitrust scrutiny over the years. The company doesn't publicly disclose book sales, nor does it give a revenue breakdown of each retail category. The US accounts for over half of the salesThe document reveals a few staggering numbers that show how big Amazon's book business is.

Persons: —, John Warren, George Washington University's, doesn't, Lindsay Hamilton, Noble, Warren, Hamilton Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon, Federal, American Booksellers Association, FTC, Justice Department, BI, GMS, Barnes, Costco, Pew Research Center, George Washington University Locations: Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Australia

☆ AI could become a lawyer's greatest help in the courtroom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Matthew S. Smith | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Courtesy of Danielle BeneckeA lawyer's copilotFounded in 1949, Baker McKenzie has over 6,500 lawyers working in 70 offices worldwide. The firm's work building generative AI to produce legal draft advice for high-volume employment-law questions recently won an award from Law.com. Courtesy of Jake HellerAI won't replace lawyersThere's another fear likely to push lawyers toward AI: other lawyers. Lawyers might also turn to AI to address a force meant to tame AI: regulation. "I think in three to five years, not using AI for legal work will be tantamount to refusing to use online search for legal work today," Ziniti said.

Persons: Michael Cohen, Donald Trump, Cohen, isn't, Danielle Benecke, Baker McKenzie, Benecke, Cecilia Ziniti, It's, copilot, Ziniti, Cecilia Ziniti Ziniti, CoCounsel, CoCounsel isn't, Jake Heller, Thomson, Heller, they'd, it's Organizations: Google, Law.com, Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft, AI's, IBM, CoCounsel, Thomson Reuters, Times, American Bar Association

☆ New AI deepfake porn bill would require big tech to police and remove images
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Emily Wilkins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scrambling to address the boom in deepfake AI pornographic images, which have targeted everyone from celebrities to high school students. Now, a new bill will seek to hold social media companies accountable for policing and removing deepfake porn images published on their sites. The measure would criminalize publishing or threatening to publish deepfake porn. Additionally, the sites would also have to make a reasonable effort to remove any other copies of the images, including ones shared in private groups. They will be joined in the Capitol by victims of deepfake porn, including high school students.

Persons: WASHINGTON —, Sen, Ted Cruz, Taylor Swift, Alexandria Ocasio Organizations: WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON — Lawmakers, Capitol, CNBC, Federal Trade Commission, Rep Locations: Texas, Alexandria, Cortez

☆ Adobe's misfortune may be a windfall for these 2 up-and-coming art apps
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementLinearity, a vector-based app similar to Adobe's Illustrator, did not disguise its intention to get customers to switch apps. Inkscape, a free, open-source software similar in function to Illustrator, took a subtle swipe at Adobe in a June 9 X post. And some users seem desperate to make the switch, with creatives on TikTok and X sharing extensive lists of alternatives to Adobe's apps. Representatives for Adobe, Linearity and Affinity didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: —, — Jessica Plowman Organizations: Service, Federal Trade Commission, Adobe, Business, Canva, MRC, Photoshop

☆ FTC refers TikTok complaint to Justice Department
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The TikTok logo is displayed at TikTok offices on March 12, 2024 in Culver City, California. The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it's referred its complaint against TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance to the U.S. Department of Justice. The FTC began its investigation following a 2019 settlement with Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok, that was related to violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC was probing to see if TikTok violated a federal law that prohibits "unfair and deceptive" business practices. TikTok didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, didn't, Joe Biden, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, U.S . Department of Justice, FTC, DOJ, TikTok, U.S Locations: Culver City , California, Musical.ly, U.S

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