Meta announced plans to reinstate the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former President Donald Trump in the "coming weeks." The tech giant suspended Trump from both platforms a day after the U.S. Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021, citing the possibility of additional violence. More: - In an announcement yesterday, Meta said it will reinstate Trump's accounts after determining that the public safety risk has “sufficiently receded."
- It plans to establish "new guardrails" to prevent what it called "repeat offenses" moving forward.
- Any violations of Meta's content policies could result in additional suspensions of a month to two years, according to Nick Clegg, Meta's president of global affairs.
- In a blog post yesterday, Clegg said the U.S. public should be informed about what politicians say — "the good, the bad, and the ugly" — in order to be informed when voting.
Zoom Out: - Prior to the suspension, Trump had 34 million followers on Facebook and 23 million on Instagram.
- In a recent letter to Meta, Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign urged the tech giant to reinstate his accounts, arguing that the ban has "dramatically distorted and inhibited the public discourse."
- In November, Twitter restored Trump's account, which was also banned in January 2021, though the former president has yet to tweet, preferring to use his Truth Social platform instead.
THE NEW YORK TIMES 
| |
Worldwide smartphone shipments last year fell to 1.21 billion, the lowest level since 2013, according to IDC data. The market intelligence firm attributed the 11.3% annual decline to inflation, lower consumer demand, and economic uncertainty. It also noted that consumers have generally waited longer to update their handsets as older models continue to offer good-enough functionalities. More: - The weak market has caused smartphone vendors to be extra cautious when planning shipments, IDC said.
- In the latest figures, IDC said smartphone shipments in Q4 2022 fell 18.3% year over year, to a little over 300 million units.
- That represents the biggest-ever decline in a single quarter, and the first time phone shipments fell in the holiday quarter from the previous quarter, the agency said.
- Broken down by vendor, Apple had the most phone shipments in Q4. It shipped 72.3 million iPhones that quarter, a drop of nearly 15% YoY.
- Samsung was second with 58.2 million units shipped, following a similar decline of 15.6%.
- IDC said that low sales at the end of 2022 put the 2.8% growth forecast for 2023 "in serious jeopardy."
CNBC
| |
 A message from LACEWORK Discover cloud insights and harden your security posture In the latest installment of the Cloud Threat Report series, Lacework Labs covers the significant increase in efficiencies used by cybercriminals. Get insights into these trends that cover how: - Attackers are automating key discovery and exploits, taking advantage of momentary mistakes
- Simple mistakes turn into misconfigurations that attackers use to compromise your cloud identity infrastructure
- Vulnerabilities continue to stick around for months (sometimes even years) and attackers quickly exploit any new vulnerabilities
- Cryptojacking continues to be a staple in cybercriminal tool belts
Discover detailed intelligence about ongoing infrastructure compromise activities and best practices for hardening your cloud security posture. Read the Lacework Labs Cloud Threat Report, Vol. 4 today. get the report
| |
IBM and SAP became the latest technology companies to announce job reductions. With the announcements, an estimated 210 tech companies have now laid off 67,268 employees so far in 2023, according to Layoffs.fyi data. IBM layoffs: - IBM expects to cut 3,900 positions, or 1.5% of its global workforce, after it missed its yearly cash target.
- The layoffs stem from IBM's spinoff and sale of two business units, the Kyndryl infrastructure services provider and a portion of its Watson Health AI division.
- IBM will continue to hire in "higher-growth areas."
SAP layoffs: - Europe’s largest software company said it would cut 2,800 employees or about 2.5% of its total workforce.
- The targeted restructuring will allow SAP to invest in core areas, such as its cloud unit, that will help maintain competitiveness, SAP CEO Christian Klein said.
- Germany-based SAP is also exploring a sale of its majority stake in software subsidiary Qualtrics International Inc.
USA TODAY
| |
Apple has adjusted, and in some cases lowered, the trade-in values for iPhones and other devices. The iPhone 13 Pro line saw the largest decrease of up to $80. Trade-in values are determined by the condition of the device. More: - For example, an iPhone 13 Pro now has a trade-in value of $470, down from $550.
- The iPhone 13 now nets $400 toward a new device purchase, down from $450.
- The values of most older iPhones, such as the iPhone 7 and 8, and of all iPads have not changed.
- Trade-in values for some Macs increased, including the MacBook Pro ($670 from $630) and the MacBook Air ($460 vs. $440).
- Apple has not explained its reasoning behind the adjustments. It last lowered the trade-in values for some older iPhone models in November.
9TO5MAC
| |
 A message from CNOTE Unlock the secret to easy impact investing + competitive rates. Exceptional investors do both. Diversify your portfolio with an impact investment that aligns with your appetite for risk while securing a competitive rate, administrative efficiency, and transparent impact reporting. Impact Cash™ is CNote’s insured cash management solution trusted by brands like Netflix, Mastercard, and Apple. CNote brings the network, community finance expertise and the technology to simplify the process of deploying funds with mpact-driven institutions. You bring your ESG and DEI goals. With CNote, seamlessly deploy cash from your balance sheet, improve on your ESG performance, and unlock greater change in communities. Learn how your team can open the door to seamless ESG investing with CNote's latest white paper. Download now
| |
A hedge fund manager and major Alphabet investor has urged Google's parent company to cut additional jobs. The request from Sir Christopher Hohn, founder of The Children's Investment (TCI) Fund Management, comes after Alphabet eliminated 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce, last week. More: - In a letter addressed to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Hohn said the recent layoffs are a "step in the right direction" but do not reverse the company's "very strong headcount growth" in 2022.
- He asked management to decrease headcount to roughly 150,000 employees, which would require a total workforce reduction of 20% — or another 28,000 positions on top of the 12,000 cut last week.
- Hohn also argued that Alphabet should substantially reduce employee compensation, noting that its 2021 median salary per employee was close to $300,000 and its average salary is "much higher."
- Given Alphabet's reduced share price, he argued that the company should further employees' stock-based compensation.
- TCI, a major Alphabet shareholder since 2017, owned $6B in Alphabet shares as of November.
BUSINESS INSIDER
| |
Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered code suggestion tool, has surpassed more than 1 million users, according to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Microsoft and its GitHub service made Copilot generally available to developers last June. More: - Within a month, the AI pair programmer attracted 400,000 subscribers and now counts over 1 million users.
- Copilot, powered by OpenAI's Codex, an AI system trained on billions of lines of public code, suggests lines and functions, as well as other ways to solve problems, write tests, and find new APIs.
- Recently, GitHub said it will launch a business version, called Copilot for Business, for companies to buy and manage Copilot seat licenses for their employees.
- However, its future hangs in the balance as GitHub Copilot is the target of a proposed class action lawsuit challenging its legality. The suit argues that Copilot doesn't provide credit for licensed public code when it's reproduced using AI.
| |
QUICK HITS - We know that talent development is a major challenge. So we made this comprehensive checklist to lend a helping hand!*
- Dell is acquiring Israeli cloud orchestration platform Cloudify for an undisclosed sum.
- A revival of 1997's “GoldenEye 007" Nintendo 64 video game will launch on Friday for the Xbox and Nintendo Switch.
- Oppo subbrand OnePlus has shared an official image of its upcoming tablet, which is due out on Feb. 7, alongside its OnePlus 11 5G flagship smartphone.
- Roblox has hired Tian Lim, a former Google Play VP, to head its division for user-crafted experiences.
- A U.S. Congressman used OpenAI's ChatGPT to generate a speech, which he delivered on the House floor this week. U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Massachusetts Democrat, used the opportunity to support a bill that would create a joint U.S.-Israel AI Center in the U.S.
- Looking for the right learning and development tools in 2023? Don't decide until you've read this comprehensive checklist.*
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
Upcoming Events: - January 26 - Growth Experimentation Workshop: From Strategy to Process by GrowthHackers.com (Register Here)
- January 29 - Inside Interview with Lacework - 4 Common Attack Paths in Cloud Security (Register Here)
- January 30 - Inside Coffee Break (Register Here)
- January 31 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here)
- April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here)
| |
 |  | 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. | |
| |
Operational ease, capital preservation, competitive returns and ESG performance? Impact Cash™ | |
Comments
Post a Comment