Amazon will pay $2.5 billion in penalties and refunds to settle allegations that it enrolled its customers in Prime subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel, the FTC announced Thursday.
Why it matters: $1.5 billion of that will go directly to Prime subscribers, capped at $51 per person.
Amazon.com will pay $2.5 billion in penalties and refunds to settle allegations that it enrolled customers for its Prime subscriptions without their consent and made it difficult for them to cancel.
Why it matters: The settlement demonstrates that Trump administration regulators are willing to stand up to Big Tech even as their CEOs woo the president.
Monumental Sports Network says YouTube TV and Hulu with Live TV do not intend to renew its distribution deals.
Why it matters: Being dropped from both digital pay-TV providers would impact "hundreds of thousands" of D.C. sports fans, Zachary Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises for Monumental Sports & Entertainment, tells Axios.
The top U.S. cyber defense agency is ordering all federal civilian agencies to patch vulnerable Cisco networking products that state-backed hackers are actively targeting.
Why it matters: Federal cyber investigators have already found evidence of compromised devices, and the agency is aware of hundreds of potentially vulnerable Cisco devices across the federal government, a U.S. official told reporters.
Job postings are down from last year, per the latest data from jobs site Indeed.com.
Why it matters: That's not great news for folks looking to switch jobs, but for new graduates trying to break into the labor market — it's a dire moment.
ChatGPT will now proactively start conversations with users through OpenAI's new preview of ChatGPT Pulse, released to Pro users on the mobile app Thursday.
Why it matters: Letting ChatGPT take the initiative could turn it into a more helpful personal assistant — and encourage users to turn over more of their private data and browsing habits.
The Trump administration has approved Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok for official government use for every agency, according to the General Services Administration.
Why it matters: The chatbot has faced criticism for being ideologically biased and lacking proper safety testing.
A new OpenAI tool to evaluate AI model performance on "economically valuable work" shows that the bots are gaining on us when it comes to common job tasks.
Why it matters: We're at an AI reckoning, where leaders are trying to justify investments without effective tools to measure returns.
Private equity giant Blackstone won't be running highway rest stops in Massachusetts, after a wild saga of big-money bids, litigation, and political intrigue.
Catch up quick: In early 2024, state officials issued an RFP to operate 18 highway service plazas, many of which haven't been significantly renovated since the 1950s.
Nvidia's $100 billion investment in OpenAI has investors questioning whether we're seeing too much circular investing: companies using their free cash flow to give their biggest customers money that will make a round trip back home.
Why it matters: Wall Street is already concerned about an AI bubble, and this kind of funding just adds fuel to the froth fire.
The Trump administration's move to restrict visas for foreign-born workers is pushing the U.S. closer to a "skills cliff" — where companies struggle to hire talent and may even start offshoring parts of their business.
Why it matters: Add H-1Bs to a laundry list of issues dragging down the supply of skilled workers in the U.S., posing long-term problems for the economy and employers.
With their latest deals to fund the data center boom, AI firms are making history — in terms of dollar size, convention-busting structure, and astronomical risk.
Why it matters: The U.S. is betting its economic fortunes on the belief that OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang and other AI leaders are wizardly innovators dreaming up novel financing vehicles to drive a golden future — rather than salesmen juggling billions and praying the music never stops.
President Trump said Wednesday the Secret Service is looking into "three very sinister events" at the United Nations concerning issues with an escalator, teleprompter and audio at the UN headquarters in New York City a day earlier.
The big picture: The president and first lady Melania Trump were on an escalator at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday after arriving for his speech, where he told world leaders that their countries "are going to hell," when it malfunctioned.
