India’s Competition Commission has announced it will fine Google ₹1,337.76 crore (₹13,377,600,000 or $161.5 million) for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem and ordered the company to open the Android ecosystem to competition

[…]

The Commission found Google was dominant in all five markets and worked to preserve that position with instruments such as the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) that required Android licensees to include Google’s apps.

“MADA assured that the most prominent search entry points – i.e., search app, widget and Chrome browser – are pre-installed on Android devices, which accorded significant competitive edge to Google’s search services over its competitors,” the CIC found. Google’s policies also gave the company “significant competitive edge over its competitors” for its own apps such as YouTube on Android devices.

The CIC offered the following assessment of how Google’s actions impacted the market:

The competitors of these services could never avail the same level of market access which Google secured and embedded for itself through MADA. Network effects, coupled with status quo bias, create significant entry barriers for competitors of Google to enter or operate in the concerned markets.

[…]

For those and many other reasons, the CIC decided Google was on the wrong side of India’s Competition Act. In addition to the abovementioned fine, it imposed a cease and desist order on Google that requires it to change some of its business practices to do things such as:

• Allowing third—party app stores to be sold on Google Play;
• Allowing side-loading of apps;
• Giving users choice of default search engine other than Google when setting up a device;
• Ceasing payments to handset makers to secure search exclusivity;
• Not denying access to Android APIs to developers who build apps that run on Android forks.

Some of the above are measures that other competition regulators around the world have contemplated, but not implemented.

So while India’s fine is a quarter of a day worth of Google’s $256 billion annual revenue and therefore a pin-prick, the tiny wound could become infected if other regulators decide to poke around.

[…]

Source: India fines Google $162 million for Android monopoly abuse • The Register

The size of the fine was probably pretty well thought out too 🙂

Instead of a week of profits, mere days of net income for Cook

€1.1 billion fine levied against Apple by French authorities has been cut by two-thirds to just €372 million ($363 million) – an even more paltry sum for the world’s first company to surpass $3 trillion in market valuation.

The three-comma invoice was submitted to the iPhone giant in 2020 by France’s antitrust body, the Autorité de la Concurrence. Yesterday an appeals court reportedly tossed out the price-fixing charge in that legal spat as well as reducing the time scope of remaining charges and lowering the fine calculation rate.

The case goes back to 2012. Apple was accused of conspiring with Tech Data and Ingram Micro to fix the prices of some Apple devices (that’s the dropped charge) as well as abusing its power over resellers by limiting product supplies, thus pushing fans into Apple retail stores.

Tech Data and Ingram Micro were also fined, and have since had their totals reduced as well.

Both sides plan to appeal the decision, with Apple and the Autorité both telling Bloomberg they were unhappy with the outcome. In Apple’s case, it plans to file an appeal with France’s highest court to completely nullify the fine, a spokesperson said.

The Autorité, on the other hand, isn’t happy that the fine was reduced. “We would like to reaffirm our desire to guarantee the dissuasive nature of our penalties,” an Autorité spokesperson said, adding that desire especially applies to market players at the level of Apple.

[…]

Source: French appeals court slashes Apple’s €1.1b fine • The Register

Binance temporarily suspended fund transfers and other transactions on Thursday night after it discovered an exploit on its Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain network. Early reports said hackers stole cryptocurrency equivalent to more than $500 million, but Binance chief executive Changpeng Zhao said that the company estimates the breach’s impact to be between $100 million and $110 million. A total of $7M had already been frozen.

The cryptocurrency exchange also assured users on Reddit that their funds are safe. As Zhao explained, an exploit on the BSC Token Hub cross-chain bridge, which enables the transfer of cryptocurrency and digital assets like NFTs from one blockchain to another, “resulted in extra BNB” or Binance Coin. That could mean the bad actors minted new BNBs and then moved an equivalent of around $100 million off the blockchain instead of stealing people’s actual funds. According to Bleeping Computer, the hacker quickly spread the stolen cryptocurrency in attempts of converting it to other assets, but it’s unclear if they had succeeded.

Zhao said the issue has been contained. The Smart Chain network has also started running again — with fixes to stop hackers from getting in — so users might be able to resume their transactions soon. Cross-chain bridge hacks have become a top security risk recently, and this incident is but one of many. Blockchain analyst firm Chainalysis reported back in August that an estimated total of $2 billion in cryptocurrency was stolen across 13 cross-chain bridge hacks. Approximately 69 percent of that amount had been stolen this year alone.

Source: Binance forced to briefly halt transactions following $100 million blockchain hack | Engadget

[…] In June, more than 3,300 employees across the United Kingdom began participating in a six-month experiment to test the efficacy of a four-day work week, which was organized by the nonprofit 4 Day Global. The pilot program has now reached its halfway point, and 4 Day Global is reporting overwhelmingly positive results. More specifically, 88% of surveyed participants said that the four-day work week is working well for their business.

[…]

Results also include 86% of survey respondents indicating that they would be likely or extremely likely to retain the four-day work week, while a total of 46% of respondents reported some increase in productivity. Businesses also reported a relatively smooth transition from the traditional five-day work week. On a scale of 1 being “extremely challenging” to 5 being “extremely smooth,” 4 Day Week Global found that 98% of respondents rated the transition to the four-day work week a 3 or higher.

Prior to the start of the experiment, 4 Day Week Global said that this is the biggest pilot program of its kind, where, as long as workers maintain 100% of their productivity, they will also maintain 100% of their salary while working 80% of the traditional work week. The nonprofit has been collaborating on the pilot program with labor think tank Autonomy as well as researchers from Cambridge University, Boston College, and Oxford University. Companies taking part in the experiment range from fish and chips shops, to PR firms, to tech companies.

[…]

“We are learning that for many it is a fairly smooth transition and for some there are some understandable hurdles – especially among those which have comparatively fixed or inflexible practices, systems, or cultures which date back well into the last century,” O’Connor said.

[…]

Microsoft flirted with a four-day work week in Japan and saw higher sales figures and levels of happiness in employees. The big hurdle moving forward will be getting buy in from enough companies and executives to make the four-day work week a permanent fixture in the world’s labor market—but results from large projects such as the one from 4 Day Week Global are only getting us closer to that end goal.

Source: The World’s Largest Four-Day Work Week Experiment Shows Success

[…]

Stonk bros are mad at the doc for a few different reasons, but the two big things that keep coming up are the supposed lack of input from investors on r/SuperStonk and r/WallStreetBets and because of the final line of the trailer, spoken by journalist Taylor Lorenz. The trailer ends with her seemingly poking fun at the Redditors who set out to fight the GameStop short sellers, saying, “Yolo, let’s destroy the economy.” That line seems to have really angered a particular group of Reddit investors.

“I’m ready to cancel Netflix anyways…yolo lady gave me a reason. Slater Netflix,” said one user on r/SuperStonk. “Cancel Netflix and use that money to buy GME [stock]?” replied another. Of course, very few have shared images or other evidence proving that they have canceled their subscriptions, or that they even had one to begin with. And other users on r/SuperStonk expressed disbelief at the idea of people canceling a sub over a documentary that hadn’t even been released yet.

Still, over on Twitter, you can find tons of angry replies to Netflix’s trailer, with people claiming it’s just a hit job meant to make retail investors look terrible. Even Taylor Lorenz has come out and clarified that she is adamantly opposed to the broken and unfair economic system of Wall Street, calling it “undeniably unhealthy.” But that doesn’t matter to angry investors. I guess all you need is one soundbite from an unreleased movie’s trailer to know it’s a hit piece.

[…]

Source: Stonkbros Are Angry Over Netflix’s GameStop Documentary Trailer

Just – wow, calling retail investors who caught and exposed a massive illegal short on Gamestop and then managed to actually do something about it Stonkbros is also a hit piece.

Blood testing huckster and former Arrayit president Mark Schena has been convicted in a covid-19 and allergy test scheme that allegedly resulted in nearly $80 million worth of fraudulent claims. Schena, who was convicted on five separate charges, could potentially spend decades in prison, according to the Department of Justice

The DOJ alleges Schena misled investors with bogus claims of “revolutionary” new technology capable of testing for virtually any disease with just a couple of pinpricks of blood while president of his pharma startup. No, this isn’t Theranos but it yes, it sure does sound similar.

Schena allegedly misled investors and told them his company was valued at around $4.5 billion. In reality, the DOJ alleges the president withheld documents that revealed Arrayit was actually on the verge of bankruptcy. Arrayit allegedly released fabricated press releases and tweets falsely claiming major institutions had entered into partnerships with the company. Schena even boldly claimed he was on a “shortlist” for the Nobel Prize, a claim that also turned out to be bullshit.

[…]

All told, Arrayit allegedly filed $77 million worth of false and fraudulent claims for its covid-19 and allergy testing service. Schena, who was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to pay kickbacks, two counts of payment of kickbacks, and three counts of securities fraud, could potentially face decades in prison.

Source: Pharma Startup President Convicted in Fake Covid Testing Scheme

✅ chinese tickers scam for collateral already down 92%: from $.5 Trillion to $43B ✔ (something big is coming) ✅
byu/Money-Maker111 inSuperstonk

This is a follow up to the big chinese ticker scam, which became the highest by-market-crap-on-the-books crime in human history, as well as another recent ticker scam.

Firstly, good job for staying away from these. MSM did try hard to call them ‘mEmE StOcKs’. MSM tried even harder to push innocent investors like you and me into them. These pieces of illicit trash were, and still are, uninvestable. Remain clear of these pump and dumps, they’re junk. They are not meme stocks; they’ll never be.

Let’s take a look at where things are today:

Ticker	Book Value a week ago (in Billions of USD)	Book Value today (in Billions of USD)
HKD	477.00	39.23
AMTD	16.70	2.81
QRTEB	4.60	1.36
LTRPB	0.40	0.15
MEGL	4.91	0.25
Total:	504	43

Let’s remember that this criminal balloon was developed beginning July 15th during the GameStop split/dividend process that was defrauded by DTCC into a split. Also remember that Loop Capital, a GameStop short seller who is a stones throw away from Citadel in Chicago, underwrote the major one above.

These tickers, just last week, were able to be used as half a Trillion USD in collateral [for margin requirements] on the books. Now down 92% overnight to $43B, which is less than the margin alert received by Susquehanna.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Superstonk/comments/wkecks/chinese_tickers_scam_for_collateral_already_down/

At least one big bitcoin mining operation in Texas that was not actually mining much bitcoin during this season’s record-breaking heat netted millions of dollars in profits—more than they would have if they just kept on mining without any shutdowns. It’s thanks to power purchase agreements signed with the local grid, allowing them to sell electricity they purchased earlier back to the provider for a tidy sum.

Riot Blockchain itself announced it had made an estimated $9.5 million in power credits thanks to the multiple times it shut down its mining rigs. This was even more than the amount the company gained in selling bitcoin that month. The company’s page said it sold 275 bitcoin, with net proceeds equalling just $5.6 million. This is compared to last year when the company said it produced 444 bitcoin, worth approximately $16 million just before the price of BTC really spiked toward the tail end of 2021.

[…]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas—AKA ERCOT—had asked businesses to routinely power down in order to conserve electricity throughout July. Riot and its massive 750-megawatt bitcoin mining facility in Rockdale, Texas reduced power multiple times during times of peak demand. Of course, many of the dozens of large-scale bitcoin mining operations also cut activity during the past month to not over-stress the often overtaxed grid, but Riot remains the largest token miner in the Lone Star State.

The amount of bitcoin produced during this past month was 318, 28% less than the same month last year. While the companies did publicly agree to shutdowns in order to preserve the grid, they were also avoiding scaling electricity prices during peak loads.

ERCOT provides power purchase agreements that are usually termed for one year, but Lee Bratcher, the president of the Texas Blockchain Council, told Gizmodo in a phone interview that only a handful of the biggest bitcoin miners actually have these PPAs. The ones that do, like Riot, can take advantage of the need to curtail power, while other miners simply have to make do.

The Texas Blockchain Council networks and promotes the many crypto mining operations in the state. Bratcher called these PPAs “a good deal” for ERCOT, since it can regain the power needed for the rest of its grid during peak times.

At the same time, the massive draw of these mining operations is only expected to increase. Texas’ grid system has said that Texas crypto miners will put a six gigawatt-demand on the grid by next year. Congressional Democrats have warned the seven largest mining rigs in the U.S. draw power equivalent to all the residential homes in the city of Houston. These crypto miners are only expected to get bigger over time.

[…]

Source: Riot Blockchain Made More in Power Credits Than Bitcoin

An unknown actor has drained over 8,000 internet-connected wallets in an ongoing attack on the Solana blockchain ecosystem. According to Blockchain auditor OtterSec, the attacks were still ongoing when it posted an update in the evening of August 2nd and that they had affected multiple wallets, including Phantom, Slope, Solflare and TrustWallet, across a wide variety of platforms.

As TechCrunch notes, the bad actor seems to have stolen both Solana tokens and USDC stablecoins, with the estimated losses so far amounting to around $8 million. OtterSec is now encouraging users to move all their assets to a hardware wallet, and the Solana Status Twitter account echoed that advice, adding that there’s no evidence “cold” wallets have been impacted.

The Solana Status account has also revealed that an exploit allowed a malicious actor to drain funds from the compromised wallets and that it seems to have affected both their mobile versions and extensions. Engineers from multiple ecosystems have already banded together to work with security researchers to identify the root cause of the exploit, which is yet to be discovered.

[…]

Source: Solana ‘hot’ wallets are being drained in multi-million dollar attack | Engadget

As evidenced by its namesake, apparently there wasn’t much security stopping a hoard of wandering strangers from breaking into the Nomad DeFi project’s token bridge, allowing hundreds of unknown hackers and some users to walk away with over $190 million crypto, leaving behind a bare pittance in the project’s wallet.

Late on Monday, users started noticing tokens being extracted from Nomad’s accounts “in million-dollar increments.” Crypto security company CertiK confirmed in a Tuesday analysis that the bridge protocol, which allows users to send tokens between separate blockchains, had been breached thanks to a routine upgrade that allowed bad actors to skip verification messages. CoinTelegraph reported that the first transaction, likely the initial hacker, managed to remove about $2.3 million in crypto from the bridge.

Apparently, this breach further allowed other users to exploit the bridge, turning it essentially into a Black Friday-esque free-for-all. CertiK’s analysis further said the vulnerability was in the token bridge’s initialization process, introduced in the flawed upgrade, allowing users to copy and paste the original hackers transaction number and replace it with a personal one. Researchers said in just four hours, other hackers, bots, and even community members drained the protocol in a “frenzied mob.”

The crypto developer who goes by Foobar on Twitter wrote that this attack was “the first decentralized crowd-looting of a 9-figure bridge in history.” There are hundreds of addresses that show they’ve received tokens from the bridge during the exploit.

Some users have actually gone back to the protocol, hanging their heads in shame and offering to return the stolen funds. Some claimed it was “an accident,” while others said they were trying to protect their friend’s assets, according to screenshots posted by Foobar. DefiLlama shows that the current value of the blockchain is sitting at just a little under $16,000.

[…]

Source: Nomad Bridge Hack Allowed ‘Mob’ to Drain Millions in Crypto

In a setback for Visa in a case alleging the payment processor is liable for the distribution of child pornography on Pornhub and other sites operated by parent company MindGeek, a federal judge ruled that it was reasonable to conclude that Visa knowingly facilitated the criminal activity.

On Friday, July 29, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California issued a decision in the Fleites v. MindGeek case, denying Visa’s motion to dismiss the claim it violated California’s Unfair Competition Law — which prohibits unlawful, unfair or fraudulent business acts and practices — by processing payments for child porn. (A copy of the decision is available at this link.)

In the ruling, Carney held that the plaintiff “adequately alleged” that Visa engaged in a criminal conspiracy with MindGeek to monetize child pornography. Specifically, he wrote, “Visa knew that MindGeek’s websites were teeming with monetized child porn”; that there was a “criminal agreement to financially benefit from child porn that can be inferred from [Visa’s] decision to continue to recognize MindGeek as a merchant despite allegedly knowing that MindGeek monetized a substantial amount of child porn”; and that “the court can comfortably infer that Visa intended to help MindGeek monetize child porn” by “knowingly provid[ing] the tool used to complete the crime.”

 

 

“When MindGeek decides to monetize child porn, and Visa decides to continue to allow its payment network to be used for that goal despite knowledge of MindGeek’s monetization of child porn, it is entirely foreseeable that victims of child porn like plaintiff will suffer the harms that plaintiff alleges,” Carney wrote.

In a statement, a Visa spokesperson said: “Visa condemns sex trafficking, sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse materials as repugnant to our values and purpose as a company. This pre-trial ruling is disappointing and mischaracterizes Visa’s role and its policies and practices. Visa will not tolerate the use of our network for illegal activity. We continue to believe that Visa is an improper defendant in this case.”

A rep for MindGeek provided this statement: “At this point in the case, the court has not yet ruled on the veracity of the allegations, and is required to assume all of the plaintiff’s allegations are true and accurate. When the court can actually consider the facts, we are confident the plaintiff’s claims will be dismissed for lack of merit. MindGeek has zero tolerance for the posting of illegal content on its platforms, and has instituted the most comprehensive safeguards in user-generated platform history.”

The company’s statement continued, “We have banned uploads from anyone who has not submitted government-issued ID that passes third-party verification, eliminated the ability to download free content, integrated several leading technological platform and content moderation tools, instituted digital fingerprinting of all videos found to be in violation of our Non-Consensual Content and CSAM [child sexual abuse material] Policies to help protect against removed videos being reposted, expanded our moderation workforce and processes, and partnered with dozens of non-profit organizations around the world. Any insinuation that MindGeek does not take the elimination of illegal material seriously is categorically false.”

[…]

Source: Visa ‘Intended to Help’ Pornhub, MindGeek Monetize Child Porn: Ruling – Variety

Babel Finance, the Hong Kong-based crypto lender, apparently had other designs when its worldwide user base handed over their crypto to the company than just borrowing and lending. It seems to have been doing what everyone else does with crypto, rapidly speculating and trying to make “line go up.” Of course, all that changed when the line no longer went up.

The Block reported based on restructuring proposal documents that Babel Finance had lost 8,000 bitcoin and 56,000 ether in June, worth close to $280 million, though of course the price is constantly fluctuating. The company had apparently been conducting proprietary trading with customers’ funds. It remains unclear based on reporting if users were/are aware their crypto was/is being used in this way.

Source: Babel Traded $280 Million of Users’ Crypto, Lost it All

The Cyberspace Administration of China has fined ride-sharing company DiDi global ¥8.026 billion ($1.2 billion) for more than 64 billion illegal acts of data collection that it says were carried out maliciously and threatened national security.

Yes, we do mean billion. As in a thousand million.

The Administration enumerated DiDi’s indiscretions as follows:

• 53.976 billion pieces of information indicating travellers’ intentions were analyzed without informing passengers;
• 8.323 billion pieces of information were accessed from users’ clipboards and lists of apps;
• 1.538 billion pieces of information about the cities in which users live were analyzed without permission;
• 304 million pieces of information describing users’ place of work;
• 167 million user locations were gathered when users evaluated the DiDi app while it ran in the background;
• 153 million pieces of information revealing the drivers’ home and business location;
• 107 million pieces of passenger facial recognition information;
• 57.8 million pieces of driver’s ID number information in plain text;
• 53.5092 million pieces of age information;
• 16.3356 million pieces of occupation information;
• 11.96 million screenshots were harvested from users’ smartphones;
• 1.3829 million pieces of family relationship information;
• 142,900 items describing drivers’ education.

The Administration (CAC) also found DiDi asked for irrelevant permissions on users’ smartphones and did not give an accurate or clear explanation for processing 19 types of personal information.

The fine levied on DiDi is not a run of the mill penalty. The Administration’s Q&A about the incident points out that the fine is a special administrative penalty because DiDi flouted China’s Network Security Law, Data Security Law, and Personal Information Protection Law – and did so for seven years in some cases.

The Q&A adds that China has in recent years introduced many data privacy and information security laws, so it’s not as if DiDi did not have good indicators that it needed to pay attention to such matters.

The fine is around 4.7 percent of DiDi’s annual revenue – just short of the five percent cap on such fines available to Chinese regulators.

[…]

Source: China fines ride-share outfit DiDi $1.2bn for data abuse

Android developers who distribute apps on the Google Play store can now use third-party payment systems in many European countries. The measure applies to the European Economic Area (EEA), which comprises European Union states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. However, the policy will not apply to gaming apps, which still need to use Google Play’s own billing system for the time being.

Google is making the move after the EU’s legislative arm, the European Commission, passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA) this month. Along with the Digital Services Act, the law is designed to rein in the power of big tech by, for instance, prohibiting major platform holders from giving their own systems preferable treatment.

The DMA isn’t expected to come into effect until sometime in 2024. However, Google’s director of EU government affairs and public policy, Estelle Werth, wrote in a blog post that the company is “launching this program now to allow us to work closely with our developer partners and ensure our compliance plans serve the needs of our shared users and the broader ecosystem.”

The move partially reverses a policy that required all in-app payments to be processed through the Play Store’s billing system. Developers who opt for a different billing system won’t be able to avoid Google’s fees entirely. However, Google will lower the service fees it charges them by three percent.

Google says that 99 percent of developers qualify for a fee of 15 percent or less. The others typically pay 30 percent. The fees Google charges would drop to 12 percent (or lower) or 27 percent, respectively, if they select a third-party billing system.

[….]

Source: Google allows Android apps to use third-party payments in the EU | Engadget

A London court on Tuesday authorized a lawsuit that seeks to have Google pay £920 million ($1.1 billion) for overcharging customers for app store purchases.

Filed as a class action on behalf of 19.5 million UK citizens, the suit alleges Google charged commission fees up to 30 percent on app sales. Consumer rights advocate Liz Coll, who previously served as digital policy manager at consumer rights organization Citizens Advice, brought the lawsuit, alleging Google has violated both EU and UK competition laws.

Representatives for the claimant group told Reuters that a detailed judgment has yet to be published, but the initial filing made in July 2021 specifies that Google violated multiple sections of the Competition Act 1998.

For incidents happening before the UK left the EU, the suit also alleged violations of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which covers abuse of dominant market positions.

Source: UK court okays $1.1b Play Store gouging suit against Google

Google has counter-sued Match seeking monetary damages and a judgement that would let it kick Tinder and the group’s other dating apps out of the Play Store, Bloomberg has reported. Earlier this year, Match sued Google alleging antitrust violations over a decision requiring all Android developers to process “digital goods and services” payments through the Play Store billing system.

Following the initial lawsuit in May, Google and Match reached a temporary agreement allowing Match to remain on the Play Store and use its own payments system. Google also agreed to make a “good faith” effort to address Match’s billing concerns. Match, in turn, was to make an effort to offer Google’s billing system as an alternative.

However, Google parent Alphabet claims that Match Group now wants to avoid paying “nothing at all” to Google, including its 15 to 30 percent Play Store fees, according to a court filing. “Match Group never intended to comply with the contractual terms to which it agreed… it would also place Match Group in an advantaged position relative to other app developers,” the document states.

Match group said that Google’s Play Store policies violate federal and state laws. “Google doesn’t want anyone else to sue them so their counterclaims are designed as a warning shot,” Match told Bloomberg in a statement. “We are confident that our suit, alongside other developers, the US Department of Justice and 37 state attorneys general making similar claims, will be resolved in our favor early next year.”

Match is referring to an antitrust action launched last year by States and the federal government probing Google’s Play Store fees. Shortly before that, Google dropped its fee on app developer revenue to 15 percent on the first $1 million, and 30 percent after that. At the same time, it announced it would enforce a policy requiring all developers to process payments through the Play Store’s billing system. Earlier this year, a Senate bill moved forward targeting in-app payments in both Google and Apple’s stores.

Source: Google files a lawsuit that could kick Tinder out of the Play Store | Engadget

Greedy bastards at Google – nope, you can’t force a marketplace on people and you can’t force these fees on them either.

[…]

On its ConnectedDrive Store in South Korea, BMW owners can pay a monthly fee to have a creature comfort such as heated seats. It costs ₩24,000 or approximately $18 at current exchange rates. Alternatively, you can get a one-year plan for $176 or a three-year subscription for $283.

The BMW ConnectedDrive Store is a portal used by existing owners to download a variety of apps. It’s all done over the air, without having to visit a dealer to have the new software installed. With heated seats, the German luxury brand is kind enough to provide a one-month test period free of charge. Should you want the feature permanently, that’ll set you back $406.

A similar subscription plan is offered for a heated steering wheel and it costs $10 per month, $92 annually, and $161 for three years. You can also buy it outright for $222. Do you want wireless Apple CarPlay? That’ll be $305. The store also allows BMW customers to upgrade the headlights to include a high-beam assistant, additional safety systems, and the camera-based Driver Recorder.

One of the most unusual items found in the BMW ConnectedDrive Store is called IconicSounds Sport. It essentially plays fake engine noises through the car’s speakers should you be willing to pay $138 to have the feature permanently. There are no monthly or yearly subscription plans available for this “feature.”

[…]

We can already imagine a smartphone-like jailbreak to unlock these goodies without having to pay the automaker. Doing so will likely result in voiding the warranty after taking down the automaker’s paywall. Even if someone is willing to wait until the warranty expires, chances are that person will hack the car the very next day to “download” all the available features.

Of course, this isn’t something new as upgrades through the OBD port have been around for many years, especially for VAG products.

Source: BMW Heated Seats Subscription Is Real And It Costs $18 Per Month

Wait, so you actually already paid for these features when you bought the car but to use them you have to keep paying?

As for the hacks, you can change the actual sound output here: Engine Sound Setting Coding Tutorial w/ Bimmercode