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| Happy Hump Day, Insiders! Today's Inside Daily Brief covers the FTC's lawsuit against Amazon, the regulatory approval of lab-grown meat in the U.S., the discovery of a Maya city in Mexico, and much more. Your faithful IDB writer, Daniel
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| 1 | | In a new lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that Amazon duped millions of consumers into enrolling in Amazon Prime. The FTC complaint alleges that Amazon used "manipulative, coercive, or deceptive user interface designs known as dark patterns" to enroll people in Prime memberships without their consent. More: - The FTC also alleged that Amazon's leadership slowed or rejected changes that would have made it easier for users to cancel their Prime memberships.
- Amazon Prime, which costs $139 per year, has over 200 million members worldwide.
- Before being appointed FTC Chair, Lina Khan wrote a law review article arguing that current legal paradigms for anti-trust enforcement were insufficient for reigning in Amazon.
- Amazon sought Khan's recusal from investigations into Amazon due to her previous criticisms of the firm.
- In May, Amazon agreed to pay $30.8M to settle allegations related to the retention of personal data from Alexa and the Ring video doorbell device.
Zoom Out: - Dark patterns are design tactics on website interfaces that prompt users to take actions that bring in revenue, like signing up for subscriptions.
- Last year, Vonage paid $100M to settle an FTC complaint alleging that the telecommunications company made it difficult for customers to cancel their internet-based phone service.
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What the numbers say: The price of Bitcoin briefly topped $30,000 for the second time this year. Relevance: Two major pieces of Bitcoin-related news likely contributed to the rise. First, asset manager BlackRock filed an application to form what would be the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. Second, EDX Markets, a non-custodial crypto exchange backed by Fidelity Digital Investments, went live this week. What's next? The ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuits against major crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance will dampen pro-crypto sentiment, but the move by BlackRock and the institutional backing behind EDX Markets signals that some major financial institutions trust that the cryptocurrency market will recover from the so-called crypto winter. | | | |
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| 3 | | A federal judge in Arkansas blocked the state's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The ruling suggests that other judges may choose to block anti-transgender legislation in GOP-led states. More: - Judge James M. Moody Jr. wrote an 80-page decision outlining his arguments for why the 2021 law violates the Constitution and thus cannot be enforced by state officials.
- He mentioned evidence showing that "the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that, by prohibiting it, the State undermined the interests [of children] it claims to be advancing."
- He acknowledged that there are some "potential risks" associated with gender-affirming care, but said: "For many adolescents, the benefits of treatment greatly outweigh the risks."
- Arkansas, which was the first state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, plans to appeal the ruling.
The legislation: - It barred transgender teenagers from accessing puberty blockers, which are used to prevent the onset of puberty.
- It also banned cross-sex hormone therapy, a gender-affirming treatment that involves the prescription of testosterone or estrogen supplements.
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| 4 | | GOOD NEWS: Archaeologists discovered the remains of a Maya city in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The site, which was named Ocomtún (Mayan for stone column) by archaeologists, was likely occupied between 600 and 800 AD. More: - Archeologists found the site in the Central Maya Lowlands, an uninhabited area filled with dense jungle, using airborne laser scanning.
- They identified several structures, including some pyramid-shaped buildings that were more than 15 meters (49.2 feet) high.
- Ivan Sprajc, who led the team, said the "site would have served as an important regional center."
- The site likely underwent substantial changes between 800-100 AD before the Lowland Maya civilization collapsed in the 10th century, Sprajc said.
Zoom Out: - Researchers have long sought to understand how and why the Maya civilization collapsed in the 10th century.
- A 2016 study argued that extreme droughts precipitated the collapse.
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| 5 | | U.S. regulators approved the sale of lab-grown chicken meat made from cultivated animal cells. As a result, two California-based companies will be able to sell their lab-grown meat in restaurants and, ultimately, supermarkets. More: - In November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that lab-grown meat is safe to eat and on Wednesday the Agriculture Department approved its sale in the U.S.
- Upside Foods and Good Meat have already partnered with restaurants that will sell their lab-grown meat.
- Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at the University of California Berkeley, noted that lab-cultivated meat is currently far more expensive to produce than traditional meat.
Zoom Out: - More than 150 companies around the world are developing lab-grown meat.
- According to a recent poll, half of U.S. adults said they're unlikely to try lab-grown meat.
- Lab-grown meat comes from animal cells cultivated in a lab and has a lower environmental footprint than beef and poultry because it needs fewer inputs.
- Approximately one-third of all cropland is used to produce animal feed, while a quarter of the Earth's terrestrial surface is used for grazing.
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| 6 | | The French foreign ministry said Russia is using social media videos as political propaganda throughout Africa. Russian sources are sharing videos that portray France in a negative light while promoting Russia as an ally. More: - After nine Chinese nationals were killed by armed militants at a gold mine in Central African Republican in March, an online video claimed that France had ordered the attack to discredit the Wagner Group ― a Putin-aligned Russian mercenary group that operates in several African countries.
- The video showed a Central African Republic fighter saying, "The French want to drive Wagner out of Africa."
- The French foreign ministry traced the video to a group of Facebook and Twitter accounts with links to Russian influence operations and disinformation campaigns.
- A specialized unit in the French foreign ministry has identified ~100 Russian- or Wagner-linked accounts that are creating anti-French content for African audiences.
Zoom Out: - Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin previously admitted to creating and financing the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a "troll farm" that spread disinformation and political memes on U.S. social media networks ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
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- A group of House Democrats led by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) is set to release 11 banking reform bills on Wednesday.
- ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito took a luxury vacation with billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Singer in 2008. In subsequent years, when Singer's hedge fund came before the Supreme Court at least ten times, Alito failed to recuse himself.
- A large explosion was reported in Paris' 5th arrondissement on Wednesday, leaving seven people in critical condition. Witnesses reported that they saw the facade of a building collapse.
- Around 10,000 people gathered to watch the summer solstice sunrise at Stonehenge.
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Term of the Day SAFE notes: The acronym SAFE (when used with notes) refers to a simple agreement for future equity. Question of the Week How do you feel about the phrase "The customer is always right"? Join the conversation |
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 | Writer | | Dr. Daniel Smith is an Inside writer with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow him on Twitter @DJS12321 or email him at Daniel@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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