 | Nov 15, 2024 | | | | | | TGIF! The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to open an investigation of Microsoft's cloud computing business. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken steps to place Google's financial services businesses under formal federal supervision. The Onion is buying Infowars.
| | | | The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to investigate whether Microsoft's cloud computing business engaged in anti-competitive practices, The Financial Times reported on Thursday. The investigation follows a broader inquiry launched by the FTC into cloud computing practices at Microsoft, Google, and Amazon a year ago. Microsoft's cloud business practices have been the target of complaints from competitors, especially Google, which has alleged that Microsoft locks customers into its Azure cloud business by making it more expensive for companies to use its popular Windows Server software in competing clouds. Microsoft has rebuffed those accusations, arguing that because Windows Server is Microsoft's intellectual property, Google shouldn't be allowed to run it in its own cloud for free. The reported FTC probe would mark the latest effort by commissioner Lina Khan to regulate Microsoft, following her agency's failed attempt to block Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and a separate FTC inquiry into Microsoft's deal with OpenAI. It's unclear whether the FTC's inquiries into Microsoft and other companies will continue under a Trump administration. However, Khan has some supporters in the incoming Trump White House, including vice president-elect JD Vance and attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz, both of whom have previously praised Khan's scrutiny of big tech. | | | | The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken steps to place Google's financial services businesses, such as Google Wallet, under formal federal supervision, The Washington Post reported on Thursday. Google Wallet stores credit card details and allows users to pay digitally. The supervision could subject Google to regular inspections and monitoring. Google has resisted the idea of supervision over months of talks with the CFPB, according to The Post. CFPB supervision would add to the litany of regulatory enforcement Google faces, including antitrust suits from the Department of Justice targeting Google's search engine and advertising technology business. Google's search engine was ruled an illegal monopoly earlier this year. | | | | The Onion, the venerable satirical media company purchased by Twilio founder Jeff Lawson last spring, is buying Infowars, the website formerly owned by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The Onion plans to relaunch Infowars in January as a parody site that lampoons figures like Jones. Infowars filed for bankruptcy after families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones; The Onion's acquisition comes with their blessing. "They're all human beings with senses of humor who want fun things to happen and want good things to take place in their lives," said Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron. "They want to be part of something good and positive too." | | | | Disney's streaming segment posted operating profits of $253 million in the September quarter, a big swing from the $420 million loss a year earlier. The streaming profit helped offset a 38% drop in profits at its traditional TV business. Disney stock surged 9% in pre-market trading. Disney's flagship streaming service, Disney Plus, added 4.4 million subscribers from the quarter ending in June, much of it driven by growth in international markets. The number of Hulu subscribers remained roughly flat. Disney executives presented an upbeat outlook for its 2025 fiscal year, which began at the start of October. Profits from Disney's entertainment streaming operations—Disney+ and Hulu—will increase by about $875 million in fiscal 2025, the company said, implying it will hit about $1 billion. In the just-ended fiscal 2024 year, streaming's operating income was $143 million. However, Disney also said it expects a modest decline in Disney+ subscribers during the first quarter. The service ended September with 122.7 million subscribers, adding 4.4 million during the recent quarter primarily due to international markets. | | | | Andreessen Horowitz has hired former Facebook policy director Matt Perault to head the venture firm's AI policy in its Washington D.C. office. Perault said he will lead the firm's efforts to advocate for bipartisan AI policy, including areas such as open-source models and AI startups. Prior to joining the venture firm, Perault was the director of the Center on Technology Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill and a professor at the UNC School of Information and Library Science. Perault worked at Facebook for nearly nine years, including serving as a director of public policy. The venture firm's leaders, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, in July endorsed then presidential candidate Donald Trump in part because they said he would improve policies affecting AI, crypto and startups. Senior leaders have been highly critical of President Biden's 2023 Executive Order on AI, which requires developers of large AI models to share data with the federal government, and the failed California AI safety bill, SB1047, which would have required increased safety testing for powerful AI models. The firm also hired Matt Cronin, a former White House Director of National Cybersecurity and Assistant U.S. Attorney, as a senior national security advisor. | | | | Clara Shih, a Salesforce veteran executive who earlier this year was tapped to lead its artificial intelligence efforts, has left the company to pursue another opportunity, according to a report from Patrick Walravens, an analyst at JMP Securities. It's not clear what Shih plans to do next, and neither she nor Salesforce were immediately available for comment. Shih's departure comes as Salesforce faces questions about its ability to navigate the shift to generative AI. While the software giant is incorporating the technology into its broad array of customer management, customer service, and marketing automation products, some industry watchers say it's possible to build much cheaper alternatives to those apps using large language models like OpenAI's GPT-4. Shih worked at Salesforce from 2006 to 2009 and then co-founded Hearsay Systems, a developer of software that lets financial firms communicate with customers. She rejoined Salesforce in 2020 as CEO of its customer service products, and in May was named CEO of AI, a role that included oversight of product development, research, sales, and marketing, according to her LinkedIn profile. | | | | Amazon representatives met with Capitol Hill staffers earlier this year to answer questions about an advertising partnership the e-commerce giant struck with TikTok, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Under the partnership, TikTok allows users to purchase items from Amazon ads without leaving the TikTok app, The Information previously reported. The House Select Committee on China was concerned about Amazon deepening ties with TikTok, particularly after Congress passed a law that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if it does not sever ties with ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, by January, the report said. "Like many other US companies, we maintain open lines of communication with officials across all levels of government to discuss issues that are of interest to policymakers, our employees, and our customers," an Amazon spokesperson told Bloomberg. | | | | Artificial intelligence startup Glean, whose search product helps corporate employees find internal data, is inspiring other companies to launch rival products. Google is working on an upgraded business search product that will be similar to Glean's, while OpenAI is working on technology that would help ChatGPT compete with Glean, The Information reported. Startup Cohere is also developing a Glean-like offering for businesess, and other enterprise software firms have recently launched their own competing products as well. The moves show how AI-powered business search is becoming another pathway for generative AI in the corporate world. After companies use such search products to get a handle on their data, which are often scattered across numerous cloud applications, they can potentially develop other applications and agents that use that data to automate work tasks. | | | | The European Commission has fined Meta Platforms €797.72 million (around $843 million) for breaching antitrust rules in tying its classified advertising service Facebook Marketplace to the Facebook app. The commission said Meta had imposed unfair trading conditions on competing ad providers to "benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace," gaining advantages that its rivals can't match. Facebook Marketplace is accessible to all Facebook users. In addition to the fine, the EU ordered Meta to stop such practices. Meta said in a blog post Thursday that the company plans to appeal the decision but will comply in the meantime. "We aim to make announcements shortly to reassure our European users that Facebook Marketplace is here to stay," the company said. | | | | Amazon is adding new telehealth and pharmacy services with upfront pricing for several health conditions, including anti-aging skin care treatment, erectile dysfunction and hair growth, the company said Thursday. The move puts Amazon more directly in competition with Hims & Hers, and the telehealth company's shares dropped 17% after Amazon's announcement. The new Amazon offering marries its One Medical pay-per-visit service more closely with Amazon Pharmacy. Prime members who use the service will be able to see an upfront cost of both their telehealth consultation and medication before booking their appointments. | | | Popular articles By Stephanie Palazzolo, Erin Woo and Amir Efrati
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