Apple plans to slow the pace of hiring and spending for some teams in 2023 due to the potential economic slowdown, sources told Bloomberg. Apple is planning a "lower-than-expected budget" for hiring, R&D, and resources for certain divisions, though the report didn't specify which groups may be affected. More: - As a result, some divisions won’t hire additional staff or backfill positions in 2023, the report claims. The workforce of growing divisions typically expands by 5% to 10% every year.
- Unlike Tesla, Substack, Netflix, and Twitter, Apple has not planned layoffs at this time.
- Apple is still planning an "aggressive" launch schedule of products this year and next. The lineup is expected to include four new iPhones, several Apple Watches, new MacBook Pros, new AirPods Pro, a low-end iPad, and others. Apple shipped its updated MacBook Air with the new M2 processor on July 15.
- The company is still targeting the launch of a mixed-reality headset in 2023.
BLOOMBERG 
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A Russian court on Monday fined Google 21.1 billion roubles ($370M) for what it said was a repeated failure to remove "prohibited" content from YouTube and other platforms. The content reportedly includes videos about the Russo-Ukrainian war and others allegedly promoting terrorism and extremism. Google is allowed to appeal the decision but has yet to comment. More: - In a translated news release, Russian telecommunication watchdog Roskomnadzor accused Google, and YouTube in particular, of failing to delete content discrediting “the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.”
- The regulator said it calculated the fine based on Google's annual revenue in Russia, but didn't specify the percentage.
- In June, Google's Russian subsidiary declared bankruptcy after pausing most of its commercial operations in the country.
- YouTube previously banned Russian state-run media accounts supporting the Ukraine war and refused to remove content deemed "illegal" from its platform.
- Unlike Twitter and Facebook, Alphabet's YouTube has not been blocked in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine in February.
REUTERS
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Amazon has sued the administrators of more than 10,000 Facebook groups over claims that they coordinated fake reviews of products on its platform. The group admins are accused of soliciting positive reviews of items in exchange for money, refunds, and free products. More: - Amazon said it filed the lawsuit in Washington state’s King County Superior Court. It says the fraudulent reviews appeared on its stores in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Japan.
- The tech giant accused the Facebook administrators of recruiting individuals to write the fake reviews and offering them to Amazon sellers for $10 a review, which is against Amazon's policies.
- One group, Amazon Product Review, had 43,000 members until Facebook owner Meta took it down earlier this year.
- In a press release, Amazon said it has more than 12,000 employees working to combat inauthentic reviews and other fraud and abuse on its platform.
- Since 2020, it has reported 10,000+ fake review groups to Meta, which has since removed more than half of the groups over policy violations.
Zoom-out: - Last year, Amazon permanently banned 600 Chinese brands across 3,000 seller accounts from its platform after the brands repeatedly violated its policies by offering free incentives in exchange for positive reviews.
- Amazon previously asked social media companies to take additional steps to combat fake reviews.
TECHCRUNCH
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Phony cryptocurrency investment apps have defrauded at least 244 victims out of nearly $43M since October, according to an FBI advisory issued on Monday. The agency warned about cybercriminals posing as legitimate financial institutions and inviting investors to download fake apps. Once victims deposited funds, they were told they could not make withdrawals unless they paid taxes on their investments. More: - Some of the apps used the names and logos of actual exchanges. Victims who paid the "taxes" were still unable to access their funds, according to the FBI.
- In one scam, hackers posed as employees of the now-defunct cryptocurrency exchange YiBit. Using a fake app, they defrauded four victims of about $5.5M from October through late May.
- The FBI is now warning investors and financial institutions to be skeptical of unsolicited requests to download apps and says to verify their legitimacy.
Zoom-out: - According to the FTC, losses tied to cryptocurrency scams skyrocketed from early 2021 through March 2022. Slightly more than half of the $1B in reported losses during that time were traced to investment scams promising non-existent products or unrealistic returns.
CNBC
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Netflix said it will start testing an "add a home" charge in several countries as a way to curb password sharing. The testing will occur in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, where subscribers will have to pay an extra fee to use an account outside of their households. More: - More specifically, subscribers will have to pay the fee if they want to stream Netflix on a TV or TV-connected device outside of their primary residence for longer than two weeks.
- They'll still be able to access Netflix from a phone or tablet while away.
- After the two weeks, Netflix will prompt users to add an extra "home" for an additional fee per month. The number of homes that can be added depends on the plan.
- The monthly fees will be 219 pesos a month per home in Argentina ($1.17) and $2.99 in the other countries.
- Netflix said it uses IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity to detect homes. The company is also launching an ad-supported subscription option later this year as it seeks to draw in more subscribers and shore up revenue.
ENGADGET
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Microsoft today announced its Viva Engage portal for social networking inside Teams. The "Facebook-like" social workplace app allows employees to post status updates, photos, videos, and more to connect and build workplace relationships. More: - Based on Microsoft's Yammer, Engage is the newest app released through Microsoft's Viva employee experience platform.
- The app, integrated into Teams, is designed to replace some in-office workplace socialization and allow for more community building.
- Users have profiles and can post to a company feed, create community groups to share ideas, and tell stories similar to Facebook and Instagram.
- Microsoft said Engage will be available to Microsoft 365 commercial customers at no added charge.
- Viva on Teams also includes Viva Learn, Connections, Topics, and Goals. As of January, the Teams app claims 270 million+ monthly active users.
ZDNET
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- The Senate is scheduled to vote today on the Chips for America Act, which would dedicate $50B+ in tax credits and subsidies for U.S. chipmakers.
- Softbank said it has halted plans for the London IPO of its chip designer Arm due to political turbulence in the U.K.
- A redesign of Amazon's Prime Video interface is rolling out to Android devices, Fire TVs, and other connected home devices this week, with web and iOS coming later.
- Nintendo says it will shut down its Wii U and 3DS digital storefronts on March 27, 2023.
- Nike is now experimenting with in-store models that include immersive mixed reality experiences.
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 |  | 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. | |
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