President Biden signed into law Thursday a bill that requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to secure telecommunications systems against potential foreign threats to national security.
Why it matters: In recent years, lawmakers have increasingly voiced concerns about Chinese telecom giants' operations in the U.S., and possible surveillance by the Chinese government.
Spotify on Thursday announced it is acquiring Findaway, an audiobook distribution company.
Why it matters: With the deal, Spotify hopes to democratize the audiobook space by making it easier for creators to develop and distribute their own audiobooks, instead of having to go through big publishing houses.
Public like and dislike counts, once a baseline offering for social media companies, are disappearing as tech platforms begin to uncover ways they are being abused.
Why it matters: Engagement mechanisms such as "likes" or "reactions" make tech platforms stickier, which is good for selling ads. But they're also becoming a risk factor for tech firms that are under pressure to address issues like user wellbeing and misinformation.
The U.S. is now part of an international agreement on cybersecurity that the Trump administration declined to sign up for, Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Paris Wednesday.
Zynga’s hiring of a VP of blockchain gaming “is a major stake in the ground for the industry,” the company's president, Bernard Kim, tells Axios.
Why it matters: Big gaming companies are racing to show investors that they’ve got an NFT gaming plan, as moneypours into this nascent and controversial sector that’s tied to the concept of ownership of digital goods.
The Justice Department said on Wednesday that it is suing Uber for allegedly charging "wait time" fees to passengers with disabilities who need more time to get into vehicles.
State of play: The department's complaint says that Uber "violates the [Americans with Disabilities Act] by failing to reasonably modify its wait time fee policy for passengers who, because of disability, need more than two minutes to get in an Uber car."
Google lost an appeal to an antitrust decision in Europe on Wednesday, Reuters reports, a victory for EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager and a blow to the company as it fights antitrust suits at home and abroad.
What's happening: Today's ruling from the General Court is the latest in regulatory action between the EU and Google. Vestager fined the search giant $2.8 billion (€2.4 billion) in 2017 after finding it disadvantaged its European competition in the shopping comparison space.
General Atlantic, one of the oldest and most successful growth equity investment firms, today announced that it raised $7.8 billion for its latest closed-end fund.
The big picture: GA also continues to employ an evergreen fund, which means it basically has around $24 billion in investable capital. The firm tells Axios it's investing around $8 billion per year, and in 2021 has made 50 deals and had 21 IPOs.
From smart home devices to sensor-laden factories, the Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to generate trillions of dollars in value by the end of the decade, according to a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI).
The big picture: The IoT is where the digital and physical worlds converge.
There's a booming market for startups with products that predict when newborns will nap — or that bring on the naps via data-driven rocking — as often frenzied parents turn to tech to help raise their children.
Why it matters: There have never been more "smart" products available to help parents and families welcome a child. But we're only beginning to understand the potential costs and benefits of using software to rear a new generation.
The judge presiding over Epic Games' suit against Apple says the iPhone maker can't delay making the changes she ordered to the App Store rules while it appeals her verdict.
Why it matters: Barring a reversal from an appeals court, Apple will have to allow developers to link to Web pages with details on alternate payment options.
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