The parent firm of TikTok, ByteDance, is pushing one of its social platforms into the Top Charts of the U.S. App Store as U.S. politicians advance with their plans for a ban or forced sale of the app. The Instagram competitor Lemon8, which is owned by ByteDance and bills itself …
Read More »Elon Musk says Twitter will only show verified accounts on its algorithmic timeline
In the latest chapter in the saga of Elon Musk and his strange Twitter decisions, the social network’s CEO has declared that Twitter will only show verified accounts on the algorithmic “For You” timeline starting April 15. In a tweet, Musk justified the move by saying this was the “only …
Read More »Reddit is getting rid of its copy of Clubhouse. Reddit Talk
When Clubhouse became very popular, every platform rushed to make a copy of it. But in the last year or so, the format has become less popular, and companies are rethinking what they should focus on. Reddit announced on Wednesday that its live audio service, Reddit Talk, will end on …
Read More »The startups of today should scare you
Rporters hear from a steady stream of new startups every day about their ideas, concepts, products, and services. Startups that say they can tell when an employee might want to leave for a new job, that think they can tell if someone is depressed by listening to their voice, that …
Read More »Indian fintech unicorn Slice buys bank stake
Analysts say Slice has a 5% stake in an Indian bank. North East Small Finance is a key step in the unicorn fintech startup’s journey amid mounting central bank challenges that have toppled many young firms. A regulatory filing showed that the Bengaluru startup paid $3.42 million for the 5% …
Read More »Worldcoin, cofounded by Sam Altman, bets AI’s next big thing is proving you’re human
Fake online identities are common. The ability to easily create them has been a boon for social media platforms—more “users”—and a scourge, as they spread conspiracy theories, distorted discourse, and other social ills. ChatGPT shows that Twitter bots are nothing compared to what’s coming. In a few years, it will …
Read More »Geniee of Japan purchases Zelto, an AdPushup operator, for $70 million
According to a person with knowledge of the situation, the Japanese marketing technology company Geniee, a member of the SoftBank Group, paid about $70 million in cash to acquire the revenue optimization platform Zelto (previously known as AdPushup), providing investors in the startup that started out in India with a …
Read More »According to a watchdog, the Secret Service and ICE engaged in warrantless stingray monitoring
A government watchdog found that the Secret Service and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) section often broke the law when they spied on people’s cell phones in a snoopy way. Last week, the inspector general for Homeland Security, who is in charge of keeping an eye on the U.S. government …
Read More »Twitter Blue is now available in more than 20 nations
More than 20 new nations in Europe are now able to use Twitter’s paid service, Twitter Blue. These countries are the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia, Latvia, Slovenia, Estonia, Estonia, Croatia, Luxembourg, Malta, and Cyprus.They also include the Netherlands, Poland, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Romania, and …
Read More »Figure 1 unveils its humanoid robot from stealth
Humanoid robots are a timeless concept, but their popularity fluctuates over time. Tesla’s Optimus prototype has reignited the debate over general-purpose robot form, efficacy, and viability. In an interview this week, Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert said, “I thought that they’d gotten a lot more done than I expected, and …
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