Texas filed a lawsuit Tuesday against GM over years of alleged abuse of customers’ data and trust. New car owners were presented with a “confusing and highly misleading” process that was implied to be for their safety, but “was no more than a deceptively designed sales flow” that surrendered their data for GM to sell. The suit contends that at no point was selling driving data ever even suggested as a possibility, putting GM in violation of the state’s consumer protection laws.Texas Attorney General Ken Pax ...

Pixel Phones dominated Tuesday’s Made by Google 2024 event. In addition to a full refresh for the Pixel 9 line, the company unveiled the successor to its first foldable, the Pixel Fold. Google rejiggered its numbering scheme this time out, jumping to Pixel 9 Pro Fold for what is its second take on the category.The new name puts the device in line with the rest of Google’s mobile portfolio. Time will tell whether the new “Pro” bit presages the arrival of a lower cost foldable, or if it’s simply a nod to the ...

Waymo plans to start testing its fully autonomous vehicles with no human safety driver on freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. Its employees will be the first guinea pigs. For those who didn’t already know, Waymo got the approval from California regulators to charge for autonomous rides on the freeway back in March, so this is a step towards achieving that. The move comes as Waymo – flush with an additional $5 billion investment from Alphabet – pushes to expand in SF. Last week, Waymo added ano ...

Google has announced the rollout of its locally produced Pixel 8 devices in India, nearly 10 months after revealing its domestic manufacturing plans for the devices, and immediately ahead of the expected Pixel 9 unveiling later this week.The Android maker confirmed to TechCrunch that the local manufacturing is currently limited to the Pixel 8 and does not include the Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel 8a. In October, Google announced plans to assemble the Pixel smartphone lineup in India to expand its presence in the I ...

Core Viewpoint - BT is gaining a significant new investor, Bharti, which is acquiring a 24.5% stake from Altice, valued at approximately $4 billion based on BT's market cap of £13 billion ($16 billion) [1] Group 1: Investment Details - Bharti will purchase 9.99% of the stake immediately, with the remainder contingent on regulatory approval [1] - Altice, facing challenges due to debt and corporate scandals, is divesting its stake in BT, which it acquired in multiple phases starting in 2021 [2] Group 2: Strategic Implications - The investment is seen as a move to leverage economies of scale in 5G and AI, which are critical areas for telecom companies [3] - Bharti aims to create synergies in telecom sectors between the U.K. and India, focusing on AI and 5G R&D [3] Group 3: Historical Context - BT previously held a 21% stake in Bharti from 1997 to 2001, indicating a long-standing relationship between the two companies [4] - The current investment marks a significant milestone in Bharti's history, reflecting a reversal of roles from past investments [4] Group 4: Company Statements - BT's CTO expressed confidence in the long-term value of the business and welcomed Bharti's investment as a vote of confidence in BT's strategy [5]

“Founders – whether it’s Deepinder, Aadit, or Vidit or the team at Flipkart – have out-executed the management team of Amazon,” an analyst said.About two years ago, a VC firm was evaluating an investment in a quick-commerce startup in India. The company’s instant delivery model was showing signs of success in the South Asian market, even as many startups in the space were struggling in developed markets.But the firm was wary: Could Amazon swoop in and dominate this nascent sector with its heft, scale and re ...

Core Viewpoint - Apple faces criticism from Spotify and Epic Games regarding its revised compliance plan for the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which includes new fees and perceived non-compliance with DMA requirements [1][3]. Fee Structure Changes - Apple introduced two new fees: an "Initial Acquisition Fee" for connecting users with apps through the App Store during the first 12 months, and a "Store Services Fee" that applies on a fixed basis for ongoing purchases of digital goods and services [2]. - The new fees replace the previously proposed "Core Technology Fee," but developers still incur costs even if they opt out of Apple's DMA rules [2]. Industry Reactions - Spotify criticized the new fee structure, claiming it could demand up to a 25% fee for basic user communication, which contradicts DMA requirements [3]. - Epic Games' CEO Tim Sweeney labeled the new fees as "malicious compliance" and illegal, particularly highlighting a 15% fee imposed on users migrating to competing app stores [4].

ADT confirmed this week that it was recently hacked, compromising some customer data. The home security company did not say when the cyberattack and data breach occurred, but disclosed that the attackers accessed the company’s databases containing customer home addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. In a brief regulatory filing published late Wednesday, ADT said it has “no reason to believe” that customer home security systems were compromised during the incident, but ADT did not say how it reached ...

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has confirmed that it’s carrying out a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon’s ties with Anthropic, after Amazon recently completed a $4 billion investment into the AI startup. The news comes a week after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed it was launching an invitation to comment into Google’s own ties with Anthropic, after the internet first invested a reported $300 million last year followed by a further $2 billion. Founded in 2021, San Francisco-bas ...

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky suggested on Tuesday’s Q2 earnings call with investors that the company will soon expand into new products and services, including co-hosting, a relaunch of Airbnb’s “experiences,” guest services, and more. The company positioned the upcoming offerings as a way for Airbnb to grow its revenue by becoming known for doing more than just one thing — short-term vacation rentals. “We’re going to have to do multiple new things,” Chesky told investors. With co-hosting, launching later this ...