India’s antitrust agency on Tuesday fined Google 9.4 billion rupees ($113M) over what it says are "unfair" billing practices imposed on app developers. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered Google to allow third-party payments on its Play Store within the next three months. More: - The CCI concluded that Google has abused its dominant market position by forcing developers to use the company's in-app payment system.
- Requiring independent developers to use Google's own billing system to collect revenue, if they want to distribute apps via its Play Store, is unfair, the agency said.
- Google doesn't use the billing system for its own apps such as YouTube, which constitutes "discriminatory conditions," it found.
- The regulator has ordered Google to refrain from restricting app developers from utilizing third-party payment processors.
- On Tuesday morning, Google had yet to respond to the order, which comes less than a week after the CCI fined Google another 13.38B rupees ($162M) over anti-competitive practices related to its Android mobile device ecosystem.
- Google could appeal both orders via a tribunal in India.
REUTERS 
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Instant messaging service WhatsApp went down for many users across the globe on Tuesday. Reports of the outage began at around 3 a.m. ET. By 5 a.m., the service appeared to be restored for many users. More: - Users reported an inability to send and receive messages on the app, known for its group chats and end-to-end encryption.
- On Tuesday morning, Meta Platforms, which owns WhatsApp, apologized and said it had fixed the issue.
- It did not disclose the reason for the outage, It affected users across the U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe and Asia, including India, its biggest market.
- Service tracker Down Detector said it received more than 67,000 reports of the outage from the U.K., 28,000 from India, 19,000 from Singapore, and 4,600 from the U.S., among other locations.
- WhatsApp has about two billion monthly active users.
BBC
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Apple on Monday raised the prices of its TV+, Music, and its Apple One bundle. It's the first time Apple has increased the prices for the subscription services since they first launched. More: - A monthly individual subscription for Apple Music went up from $9.99 to $10.99 (U.S.)
- Likewise, the price of a family plan rose $2, to $16.99 per month
- Apple cited a bump in licensing costs, saying artists would earn more revenue as a result.
- Apple TV+ jumped from $4.99 a month to $6.99.
- An annual plan is now $69 a year, a $20 hike.
- Apple said the increase is needed after the streaming service launched at "a very low price" in 2019.
- Apple One, its multi-service subscription bundle for music, TV, cloud, and more, is rising by $2 to $16.95 a month for individuals.
- The family plan is now $22.95 a month, a $3 increase.
- Its premium plan also rose by $3, to $32.95 per month.
CNN BUSINESS
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Five of the biggest tech giants — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft — are set to report earnings this week. They will be joined by other big players, including Intel, Shopify, and Spotify. At least a quarter of the S&P 500’s market value will report from Tuesday to Thursday. When to expect: - Alphabet reports its Q3 earnings this afternoon. The parent company of Google and YouTube is expected to post revenue growth of around 8%, the slowest quarterly expansion, not including the start of the pandemic, since 2013.
- Amazon will post its Q3 results on Thursday. The company expects a net sales growth of 13% to 17% from the year-ago quarter. The quarter includes its Prime Day sales that took place in July.
- Apple's Q4 earnings are also due out after the bell on Thursday. A highlight will be the iPhone 14 series, which went on sale last month.
- Meta is slated to release Q3 earnings after the market closes on Wednesday. Analysts forecast a 5.4% YoY decrease in revenue.
- Microsoft's fiscal Q1 earnings are due out today. It typically reports at 4:05 p.m. ET. It could see impacts from the strong U.S. dollar and a drop in worldwide PC shipments.
BARRON'S
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 A message from IMPACT How much do influencers charge per post? Influencer marketing costs In 2020, the global value of influencer marketing was estimated at a whopping $9.7 billion, according to Influencer Marketing Hub. In a 2019 survey by Mediakix, 48 percent of marketers found influencer marketing return on investment (ROI) better than other channels while another 41 percent said the ROI was comparable. In this blog, you'll learn: - Different pricing structures per influencer based on the type and social media channel.
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- Identifying the right fit for your influencer campaigns.
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Amazon now allows users to choose Venmo as a payment option on its platform. The feature is rolling out to select users today and will be available to all U.S. customers by Black Friday on Nov. 25, the company said. More: - Users can add their Venmo account by clicking on “Select a payment method” during Amazon checkout.
- From there, they'll be redirected to Venmo's app to complete their authentication.
- They can also select Venmo as their default payment option for Amazon.
- The companies first announced the partnership in November 2021. PayPal Holdings, Venmo's parent company, has been mainly known for its peer-to-peer transactions but has been expanding to allow more business payments.
- Venmo has nearly 90 million users, according to Engadget.
TECHCRUNCH
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 Meta's latest virtual-reality headset, the Quest Pro, went on sale today for $1,499.99. The company first announced the high-end device during its Connect event on Oct. 11. More: - Meta said the Pro headset, previously code-named Projet Cambria, offers upgrades from its Quest 2 headset.
- It has next-gen pancake optics, advanced LCD displays, and full-color mixed-reality.
- Its sensors can track the wearer's eye movements, gaze, and facial expressions for better "social presence" during VR experiences, the company said.
- Meta is pitching the headset as a collaboration and working device. In a blog post, it shares the scenario of a VR meeting where a remote team is gathered "around a large virtual table" in its Horizon Workrooms meeting platform.
- Users can view their real desk, keyboard, and mouse through the headset's mixed-reality capability.
- They can also sketch on a virtual whiteboard and view the expressions of their co-workers through their avatars, according to the company.
- The Quest Pro runs the same apps and games as the Quest 2, which first debuted in October 2020.
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- Children who played video games for three or more hours a day showed better performance regarding impulse control and working memory than those who had never played games, according to a data analysis study published in JAMA Network Open.
- Tesla cut the price of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles sold in China amid rising competition from other EV makers.
- AIMIRR will debut its augmented reality (AR) dressing room program in November. The company's technology allows users to try on 3D products that fit the user's body and movements in real-time.
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 |  | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. You can 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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