In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to block a Texas law that allows state residents to sue large social media platforms for removing or moderating content based on viewpoint. The decision prevents the law, known as HB 20, from taking effect as a challenge to the legislation makes its way through the court system. Background: - Under HB 20, social media platforms with 50 million+ monthly active users cannot censor or ban members due to their political views, or remove or restrict content based on "the viewpoint of the user or another person."
- Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill into law last year before a federal district court ruled to block it months later.
- Later, a federal appeals court agreed to lift that injunction, allowing the law to take effect once again. The decision was challenged by tech groups representing platforms like Meta and Twitter.
What's new: - On Tuesday, the Supreme Court vacated the federal appeals court decision, putting the law on hold while it faces a constitutional challenge in a lower court.
- The Justices who voted to block the law, for now, were John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh.
- Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Elena Kagan voted to allow the law to remain in effect during the court challenge.
- According to CNBC, the Justices will likely be asked to determine the law's constitutionality sometime in the future.
POLITICO 
| |
Netflix's early attempts to crack down on password sharing in three Latin American countries have faced challenges, according to a Rest of World report. In interviews with subscribers, Rest of World found that most weren't told about the policy changes by Netflix. In some cases, the company failed to enforce penalties for subscribers who shared passwords. More: - Netflix said it would begin testing ways to charge account holders who share their passwords outside their households as it seeks to shore up revenue.
- In March, it began testing anti-password-sharing measures in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru before potentially rolling them out to other markets.
- The company planned to charge $2 to $3 extra per month for users to add an extra account for a person living outside their "household."
- However, the trials have been met with limited success so far. In Peru, some subscribers said they haven't been charged for password sharing outside their homes, and many expressed confusion about the changes.
- Peru's consumer agency has asked Netflix to clarify its definition of "household." The company said it is people "who live together in a single household" or physical domicile.
- In April, Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in over a decade. It's also planning to roll out a cheaper ad-supported plan as early as Q4 2022.
THE VERGE
| |
 A message from BAIRESDEV Hiring a Top 1% Development Team Shouldn't be Slow, Hard or Expensive. Spend only 30mins with us and we’ll give you a top 1% engineering remote team from LATAM. At BairesDev we provide 4.000+ LATAM Engineers to 200+ US Companies. We offer: - Remote engineering teams with the Top 1% of LATAM’s IT Talent (chosen from 1.6M/applicants/year)
- Vetted with several tests and 8+ hours of real-life-live coding technical interviews
- Our Customers Love Us ❤️ (91.2% Satisfaction Score + 70.3 NPS)
- 100% bilingual (tested!), same time zone⏱️
- Excellent communication and mindset … Our pros will feel like your team (or better!)
How to Start Your Hiring Process: 1️⃣ Schedule a Short call ☎️ (30 mins) 2️⃣ We send profiles based on your needs (in 3-7 days) 3️⃣ Test the ones you like with a 14 days “Working Interview” 4️⃣ You are only billed if you love ❤️ your new team after the working interview! Get up to $10,000 off your first contract for Inside Readers. Let's Talk
| |
Geolocation technology firm TomTom said it will eliminate 500 positions in its maps unit, or 10% of its global workforce, as it integrates more automation into its mapmaking. The Amsterdam-based company, previously known for its satellite car navigation, specializes in detailed maps, navigation software, and real-time traffic information. It provides HD maps for automakers to integrate into their vehicle systems. More: - TomTom said it will "reset" as an organization as it continues to enhance its advanced automated mapmaking platform.
- Higher automation levels will lead to better maps, wider coverage, and improvements in its products and competitive position, the company said.
- However, the restructuring will impact approximately 500 employees in its maps unit. Some of those employees may be moved to other positions within the company.
- Reports noted that TomTom, whose clients include Microsoft, Volkswagen, and Renault, has been affected by the pandemic and supply chain shortages.
- TomTom said it will provide further details when it releases its Q2 2022 financial results on July 15.
REUTERS
| |
Binance Labs, the venture-capital arm of the Binance crypto exchange, has closed a $500M investment fund to support web3 projects and blockchain technologies. The firm has already invested in The Sandbox, STEPN, and other crypto-focused game developers, as well as the blockchain network developer Aptos. More: - Backers of the new fund include DST Global Partners and Breyer Capital, in addition to family offices and corporations.
- The fund will invest in web3 and blockchain projects through token and equity investments.
- The projects will be in the incubation, early-stage development, and late-stage growth stages.
- It's Binance Lab's first VC fund to include financing from outside investors. Other companies in its portfolio include Axie Infinity, Polygon, 1inch, Dune Analytics, and Elrond.
- Binance Labs wants to partner with more founders in new sectors and geographies. It would support them with the fund and well as through "the broader Binance ecosystem."
- Last week, VC firm Andreessen Horowitz announced it had raised a $4.5B fund dedicated to crypto, blockchain, and web3 startups, the largest crypto fund to date.
COINDESK
| |
TikTok confirmed that it's testing a new "Clear Mode" feature for users to watch videos without on-screen distractions such as captions and comment buttons. Social media consultant Matt Navarra shared screenshots of the "distraction-free viewing experience," which has rolled out to an undisclosed number of users. More: - The feature aims to streamline the scrolling experience for TikTok users.
- It removes the user interface that displays things like usernames, favorite buttons, captions, and audio information.
- Users who are included in the test can access "Clear Mode" by tapping and holding the screen. This enables the setting to appear under “Add to Favorites” in the app's menu.
- TikTok hasn't said if it will roll out the feature more widely. The company is also testing a private "dislike" button that allows users to flag comments they consider "irrelevant or inappropriate."
TECHCRUNCH
| |
U.S. orders for workplace robots rose by a record amount in the first quarter of the year, according to the Association for Advancing Automation (A3). Experts attributed the rise to the pandemic, worker shortages, rising wages, and advancing technologies, among other reasons. More: - In Q1 2022, robot orders in the U.S. rose a record 40% over the same period in 2021, according to the association.
- Q1 2022 sales amounted to $646M, up from $466M in Q1 2021.
- Of those sales, 6,122 units went to non-automotive customers and 5,476 went to automotive customers.
- The robotics industry is now valued at an estimated $1.6B.
- A3's Alex Shikany said "every industry" ranging from agriculture to construction and retail is exploring how to take advantage of robotics to become more successful.
Zoom-out: - Meanwhile, more money has been flowing into robotics startups.
- In April, warehouse robotics firm Agility Robotics raised $150M to scale operations.
- Hospitality industry robotics provider Bear Robotics recently raised $81M, while GreyOrange, which provides robots for the logistics industry, announced a new $110M growth financing round.
FOX BUSINESS
| |
QUICK HITS *This is sponsored content.
| |
Upcoming Events: - June 01 - Selling Consumer Goods in Web3 (Register Here)
- June 07 - June 08 - Cloud Innovation Summit: See what high-performance cloud app dev looks like. (Register Here) *
- June 09 - Empowering Content Creators with No Code (Register Here)
- June 15 - Need To Know NoCoder - Artem Harutyunyan (bardeen.ai) (Register Here)
- June 16 - Future of the Art Market (Register Here)
- June 30 - HR Strategies to Retain Remote Employees (Register Here)
- July 20 - Need To Know NoCoder - Yassine Tahi (Kinetix) (Register Here)
* This is a sponsored post.
| |
 |  | Beth is a writer and analyst at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily tech news. Since starting work at Inside, she has covered various topics including virtual reality, drones, and e-commerce. Prior to that she was a public policy and investigative reporter for The Arizona Republic, where she won a Pulitzer Prize nomination and First Amendment Award for reporting on the rising costs of pensions. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. 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. | |
| |
Comments
Post a Comment