Apple is the latest tech company to halt sales of its products in Russia. The tech giant has halted all exports through its sales channel in Russia and removed the state-run media outlets RT News and Sputnik News from its App Store worldwide. More: - Apple's Russia store now lists all products as "unavailable" to buy or ship. The company has no physical stores in Russia.
- Meanwhile, Apple Maps has disabled traffic and live incidents in Ukraine to help protect citizens in the country.
- In a statement, Apple said it is "deeply concerned" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The company stands with "all of the people who are suffering as a result of the violence."
Zoom-out: - In similar moves, Google has blocked mobile apps linked to RT from its Google News Search and banned the publisher and other Russian outlets from receiving money from ads.
- Microsoft plans to remove RT's mobile apps from its Windows App store and bar advertising from Russian state-sponsored media.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 
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 In his first State of the Union address last night, President Biden called on Congress to pass laws to better protect children from the harms of social media. Biden plans to ask Congress to ban tech companies from targeting advertising and collecting data on children. Social media platforms should be held accountable for "the national experiment they’re conducting on our children for profit," the President said. More: - To start addressing the issues, the White House plans to seek funding to study the impact of social media on child safety.
- It will launch a national Center of Excellence on Social Media and Mental Illness to create new guidance on adolescent social media use.
- Biden has called for at least $5M in the fiscal 2023 budget to further research social media's harms and find ways to address them.
- The call for action comes after Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill that would require social media platforms to re-design features to shield minors from sexual exploitation, bullying, harmful images, and inappropriate ads.
Zoom-out: - Also during Tuesday's address, Biden cited sanctions imposed on Russia, saying the U.S. is "choking off Russia’s access to technology" to weaken the country's economy and military.
- He expressed support for the Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, which would invest record amounts into emerging technologies and U.S. manufacturing.
- Biden touted Intel's plans to invest $20B+ on a chip manufacturing site outside of Columbus, Ohio — a project that Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger expects will become "the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet." Gelsinger attended the State of the Union as a guest.
- Intel could spend up to $100B if the Senate and House are able to reconcile competing bills that focus largely on domestic chip manufacturing, the President noted.
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 Ford announced plans to split off its electric vehicle and internal-combustion-engine businesses into two different units, to be called “Ford Model e” and “Ford Blue," respectively. The reorganization will help Ford ramp up its growing EV business and better compete with Tesla and other EV rivals, while its gasoline-powered unit will focus on maximizing profits. More: - The two units, along with its commercial-vehicle division Ford Pro, will report their own financial results by 2023, according to Ford’s CEO Jim Farley.
- Ford Model e and Ford Blue will still share various technologies and "best practices," the company noted.
- The EV unit, for example, will develop software that will also be integrated into gasoline vehicles.
- At the same time, Ford Model e will rely on the internal-combustion group's body engineering and other systems.
Zoom-out: - The company plans to spend $50B on EVs through 2026, including $5B in 2022 — which is double what is spent in 2021.
- Ford has already accepted more than 150,000 reservations for its electric F-150 pickup truck, with full production scheduled to start this spring.
- The automaker is building new battery plants in Kentucky, along with an electric truck factory and battery plant in Tennessee.
DETROIT FREE PRESS
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 Netflix has offered to buy mobile game maker Next Games, the Finnish developer of the role-playing game "Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales." Netflix said it plans to pay $2.33 in cash per share of Next Games, for a total value of $72M, as it expands its gaming ambitions. More: - The deal, expected to close in Q2, will help Netflix build a library of games for its subscribers, according to games VP Mike Verdu.
- Next Games will become a “core studio" of Netflix, he said.
- The gaming studio, founded in 2013, has also developed two Walking Dead-themed mobile games.
- Meanwhile, Netflix started rolling out its first mobile games to members in November.
- The games, including two Stranger Things titles, are downloadable and accessible on its iOS and Android apps.
- Netflix first announced its gaming plans after hiring Verdu in July. It acquired another mobile gaming studio, Night School Studio, in September.
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 In its latest financial results, software company Salesforce exceeded analysts' forecasts for quarterly and full-year revenue, which is expected to top $32B in fiscal 2023. The enterprise software giant said it remains focused on integrating Slack and expanding its product line. More: - Salesforce reported revenue of $26.49B in fiscal 2022 and is expecting revenue between $32B and $32.1B in 2023.
- The company forecasts $1.5B in 2023 sales from Slack, which it acquired in 2021 for $27.7B.
- Slack remains a focus for Salesforce, which has no other big acquisition planned for the near term, said co-CEO Bret Taylor.
- The company also owns integration software provider MuleSoft and data analytics specialist Tableau.
- Chief Revenue Officer Gavin Patterson said he expects that the international sanctions against Russia will have only a “minimal impact” on Salesforce’s business.
- The company's shares rose 3% in extended trading Tuesday after falling 15% so far this year.
Zoom-out: - Last month, Salesforce told employees that it could enter the crypto world with the release of an NFT cloud service.
- Users will be able to create content and release it on an outside NFT marketplace such as OpenSea, though Salesforce may eventually integrate the tool into its own ecosystem.
BLOOMBERG
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FTX, the crypto exchange platform, launched a philanthropic fund to invest as much as $1B in projects that "improve humanity's long-term prospects." The Future Fund falls under the FTX Foundation, a charitable organization funded primarily by FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, whose net worth is $24.5B. More: - The foundation has compiled a list of 38 potential projects it's looking to finance, including initiatives toward advancing AI ethics, retiring coal mines, alternative voting systems, and building a new university.
- The FTX Future Fund said it will distribute $100M+ to projects across AI and other disciplines this year.
- Nonprofits and for-profits have until March 21 to apply for the first funding round.
- FTX noted a particular interest in "massively scalable projects." On the fund's website, FTX listed the safe development of artificial intelligence as one of its key areas of interest.
- The exchange has set aside $18M for charity to date.
Some of this information first appeared in Inside Cryptocurrency, our newsletter focused on the latest crypto trends, news, and analysis. Sign up to receive it in your inbox here. COINTELEGRAPH
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- Ukraine's Vice PM Mykhailo Fedorov is calling on Microsoft, Sony, and other gaming companies to temporarily block all Russian and Belarusian player accounts, suggesting that it could “motivate the citizens of Russia to proactively stop the disgraceful military aggression.”
- Apple formally sent out invitations for its spring event on March 8, when it's expected to unveil the latest iPhone SE and iPad Air along with new Macs.
- Bungie says "Destiny 2" players won't be able to access the game on the handheld PC Steam Deck and anyone who tries to bypass the restriction will be banned.
- GM's Cruise and Alphabet's Waymo received permits to begin charging fares for autonomous vehicle rides in California.
- Sidewalk delivery robot company Starship Technologies said it has raised $42M through a Series B for a total of $100M since February.
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 |  | Beth is an Inside Analyst and a former public policy/investigative reporter. She has covered AI, VR, technology, and e-commerce for Inside. When she's not busy writing, she's hiking in Arizona's desert, playing pickleball, or trying out new Mexican food recipes. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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