Peloton on Thursday said it will start charging new subscribers a one-time $95 activation fee if they bought their hardware on the secondary market as more consumers snag lightly used equipment for a fraction of the typical retail price. […] During its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended June 30, Peloton said it saw a “steady Read more about Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes[…]
Apple takes a lot of strong positions, but their ultimate hill to die on might just be requiring apps to make purchases through the tech giant. The latest example comes from Patreon, which announced that Apple is requiring it to switch over to the iOS in-app purchase system or risk expulsion. Patreon’s entire purpose is Read more about Patreon will have to use Apple’s in-app purchase system or be removed from the App Store. Also only subscriptions now.[…]
The U.K. government has launched a preliminary investigation into the partnership between Amazon and Anthropic to see if it will significantly lessen competition. This comes days after a similar probe was announced into Alphabet’s collaboration with the AI startup. In March, Amazon concluded its $4 billion (£3.16 billion) investment in Anthropic, the company behind the Read more about Amazon-Anthropic Investment Investigated by UK Government – is it a stealth merger?[…]
Apple this week revised its alternative contractual terms for devs selling apps in the European Union – a revision that was immediately dismissed by critics as more “malicious compliance.” […] Essentially, Apple has allowed developers in the EU to choose whether they want to use its own In‑App Purchase system for App Store transactions or Read more about Apple tries again to make EU officials happy with new fees for in-app purchases[…]
Warners Bros. Discovery has not been having a great time recently, and is going through a wave of increasingly desperate cost-cutting initiatives because of it. Several of those movements have felt particularly targeted at the studio’s animated offerings, from its inability to release finished films to selling off its current, past, and would-be successes to other Read more about Warner Bros. Scrubs Cartoon Network Website, Erasing Years of History[…]
British regulators said on Monday they were looking into the soaring use of digital wallets offered by Big Tech firms, including whether there are any competition, consumer protection or market integrity concerns. The Financial Conduct Authority and Payments Systems Regulator is seeking views on the benefits and risks, and will assess the impact digital wallets, Read more about Only 5 years too late: British regulators to examine Big Tech’s digital wallets – and where is the EU?[…]
The EU on Thursday accepted Apple’s pledge to open its “tap to pay” iPhone payment system to rivals as a way to resolve an antitrust case and head off a potentially hefty fine. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcer, said it approved the commitments that Apple offered earlier this year Read more about Apple settles EU case by opening its iPhone payment system to rivals[…]
NEW DELHI, July 12 (Reuters) – An investigation by India’s antitrust body has found that Apple exploited its dominant position in the market for app stores on its iOS operating system, engaging “in abusive conduct and practices”, a confidential report seen by Reuters showed. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been investigating Apple Inc Read more about India antitrust probe finds Apple abused position in apps market[…]
The European Commission has sent a request for information to Amazon on measures taken to comply with a landmark EU law on content moderation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to a Friday (5 July) press release. It’s the latest in a barrage of similar requests, accusations, and fines from the EU executive against big Read more about European Commission probes Amazon, Temu, Shein over ad recommendation systems[…]
Italian prosecutors in Milan investigated the LVMH subsidiary Dior’s use of third-party suppliers in recent months. Prosecutors said these companies exploited workers to pump out bags for a small fraction of their store price. Citing documents examined by authorities, Reuters reported last month that Dior paid a supplier $57 to produce bags that retailed for Read more about Dior Paid a Contractor $57 to Make a Bag That Sold for Nearly $2,800 under really bad working conditions[…]
An experiment to pay people who were homeless in Denver with no limits on how they could spend the money led to twice as many people in stable housing, according to researchers who released their one-year report Tuesday. More than 800 people were selected to participate in the Denver Basic Income Project while they were Read more about Universal income experiment in Denver leads to predictable results – less tax $ spent, less homelessness[…]
The 3D printing service Shapeways, originally from Eindhoven, is bankrupt, both in the Netherlands and the US. Shapeways started in 2007 as a spin-off from Philips. The company let users design and upload their own 3D files, after which Shapeways could print the objects. The company has been listed on the American stock exchange since Read more about Eindhoven 3D printing service Shapeways files for bankruptcy[…]
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) – Investors in GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab have for now withdrawn their lawsuit accusing Keith Gill, who is known as “Roaring Kitty” and helped spur the meme stock mania of 2021, of defrauding them through a “pump-and-dump” scheme for the videogame retailer. A proposed class action accusing Gill Read more about Manipulators of GameStop shares sue ‘Roaring Kitty’ for manipulating GameStop but withdraw lawsuit for now[…]
[…] if you’re rich enough, says the US supreme court, you can now pay off state and local officials for government acts that fit your policy preferences or advance your interests. You can give them lavish gifts, send them on vacations, or simply cut them checks. You can do all of this so long as Read more about Corrupt US supreme court thinks corruption is not corrupt and just basically legalized bribery[…]
Boozt AB, an online Nordic department store, has banned thousands of customers for returning an excessive number of purchased items. The retailer has blocked about 60,000 of a total 3.5 million customers, in a bid to reduce the significant costs associated with “serial returners,” the company said in a statement. “Their behavior is too expensive Read more about Nordic Online Store Boozt Blocks Thousands of ‘Serial Returners’[…]
The European Commission said in a formal ‘statement of objections’ on Tuesday (25 June) that Microsoft had violated EU antitrust rules by bundling its Teams app with its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites. The statement follows almost a year-long investigation, and the tech giant told Euractiv it would work to “address the Commission’s Read more about EU Commission accuses Microsoft of breaking antitrust rules with bundled Teams app[…]
Apple is the first company to be charged with violating the Digital Markets Act, a law passed in 2022 that gives European regulators wide authority to force the largest “online gatekeepers” to change their business practices. The charges signal that the European Union, already known as an aggressive regulator of the tech industry, plans to Read more about E.U. starts swinging DMA, starts with monolithic monopolist Apple[…]
The visualisation of US vs EU spending on NATO going the rounds is pretty suspect: The Blue area contains not just the USA, but also Canada. The US defence budget is incorrect. It fails to take into account that the US is a global player with ambitions and commitments beyond NATO. It doesn’t show that Read more about US / EU NATO Expenditure – is the balance really so lopsided?[…]
Apple’s grudging accommodation of European antitrust rules by allowing third-party app stores on iPhones has left users of its Safari browser exposed to potential web activity tracking. Developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk looked into the way Apple implemented the installation process for third-party software marketplaces on iOS with Safari, and concluded Cupertino’s approach Read more about Apple’s ‘incredibly private’ Safari not so private in Europe, allows[…]
HP “sought to take advantage of customers’ sunk costs,” printer owners claimed this week in a class action lawsuit against the hardware giant. Lawyers representing the aggrieved were responding [PDF] in an Illinois court to an earlier HP Inc motion to dismiss a January lawsuit. Among other things, the plaintiffs’ filing stated that the printer Read more about We never agreed to only buy HP ink, say printer owners[…]
Ubisoft’s online-only racing game The Crew stopped being operable on April 1. Some users are reporting, however, that things have gone a bit further. They say that the company actually reached into Ubisoft Connect accounts and revoked the license to access the game, according to reports by Game Rant and others. Some of these users Read more about Ubisoft is deleting The Crew from players’ libraries, reminding us we own nothing[…]
It will become mandatory for payment service providers, such as banks, that offer standard credit transfers in euros to offer the sending and receipt of instant payments in euros. The regulation relating to this has now been published. Thanks to the regulation, people will be able to transfer money within 10 seconds at any time Read more about 10 second Euro Instant payments now mandatory in NL[…]
Essentially, all software is built using open source. By Synopsys’ count, 96% of all codebases contain open-source software. Lately, though, there’s been a very disturbing trend. A company will make its program using open source, make millions from it, and then — and only then — switch licenses, leaving their contributors, customers, and partners in Read more about Software vendors dump open source, go for the cash grab – Redis is the latest[…]
Court filings unsealed last week allege Meta created an internal effort to spy on Snapchat in a secret initiative called “Project Ghostbusters.” Meta did so through Onavo, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service the company offered between 2016 and 2019 that, ultimately, wasn’t private at all. “Whenever someone asks a question about Snapchat, the answer Read more about Project Ghostbusters: Facebook Accused of Using Your Phone to Wiretap Snapchat, Youtube, Amazon through Onavo VPN[…]
The U.S. Department of Justice and 15 states on Thursday sued Apple (AAPL.O) , opens new tab as the government cracks down on Big Tech, alleging the iPhone maker monopolized the smartphone market, hurt smaller rivals and drove up prices. Apple joins competitors sued by regulators, including Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) , opens new tab Google, Meta Read more about Apple accused of monopolizing smartphone markets by US and 15 states. Loses $115 billion market cap[…]