After a year of experimentation, Facebook appears to be cooling on podcasting. Last April, the company launched podcasts for U.S. users in addition to Live Audio Rooms and the Soundbites short story feature. Now, Facebook seems to have shifted its priorities to online shopping and the metaverse, according to reports. The news has come as a disappointment to some in the podcasting industry, who valued the exposure and potential advertising revenue that came along with Facebook integration. During its brief focus, Facebook’s podcasting efforts were lauded by some content providers. Continue reading Some Disappointed by Facebook’s Waning Podcast Interest

Amazon Kids+ is debuting its first free original mobile games. Ad-free mobile games based on the Amazon Original children shows “Super Spy Ryan” and “Do, Re & Mi” are now available for any smartphone user, even those who don’t subscribe to Amazon Kids+. The company says it “wanted do something special for kids and parents who use smartphones.” The games are the result of a two-year development effort by “the Amazon Kids+ mobile games team,” according to Amazon Kids+ global head of content Natasha Lipovac. Amazon has been very active in the children’s arena. Continue reading Amazon Kids+ Skips Ads for First Free Mobile Game Releases

Amazon Studios’ free streaming service IMDb TV has been rebranded Freevee as part of a global expansion. The ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) platform has in the past two years tripled its monthly active users, with growth driven by “rapid distribution across living room devices and mobile, an increasing slate of originals, frequently updated library of licensed content and more than 60 channels,” according to Amazon. Following a successful launch in the UK last September, Freevee will launch in Germany this year and plans to expand original programming by 70 percent in 2022. Continue reading Amazon Rebrands Its IMDb TV Streaming Service as Freevee

In April, Apple gave consumers the option to turn off ad tracking on iPhones, and this month Google began revealing plans to replace traditional cookie tracking with what it says will be a less intrusive measure. Experts say, however, these changes don’t actually safeguard data privacy. Rather, companies are taking a new approach that consolidates data power among fewer gatekeepers, a change some say may be for the worse. The new method, known as “first-party” tracking, prevents accruing a tracking history from app to app, but lets specific sites gather info with consumer permission. Continue reading Latest Privacy Moves Do Not Prevent Consumer Ad Tracking

The stunning victory by an independent union at Amazon’s Staten Island warehouse has organized labor reassessing its strategies for the future. The efforts of what were essentially amateur organizers — current and former facility employees relying on tools like GoFundMe — succeeded where Big Labor has in recent times often failed. Amazon on Friday objected to the results in a filing with the National Labor Relations Board and has until April 22 to provide proof that the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) broke the rules to achieve its win. At that point, the NLRB will hold a hearing to consider Amazon’s claims. Continue reading Amazon NY Workers Spark Reevaluation of Union Organizing

In its bid to offer Internet connectivity via satellite, Amazon’s Project Kuiper has reserved rocket space from three companies for up to 83 launches to carry roughly 3,000 devices into orbit over five years. The move sees the Seattle-based e-commerce giant stepping-up plans to compete with Starlink, the satellite Internet venture Elon Musk developed with SpaceX. Currently enjoying a first-mover advantage, Starlink has launched more than 1,900 satellites while Amazon plans to put its first two prototypes into orbit by the end of the year. Continue reading Amazon Investing Billions in Space Race for Satellite Internet

The strategy that successfully unionized Amazon workers on New York’s Staten Island has energized worker groups around the nation, including employees at other Amazon warehouses who are expected to try and follow suit. Most immediately, a smaller warehouse in Staten Island has a union vote scheduled for the end of the month, while a past election in Bessemer, Alabama sees employees contesting the ballots of a failed initial effort. Other companies are also facing a restless workforce that has emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with new focus and tactics. Continue reading Amazon Workers’ Labor Victory Points to New Union Playbook

Companies including Amazon, Google and Walmart are quietly beginning drone deliveries across the U.S., according to reports. Everything from Advil to take-out meals are fair game for robot delivery to one’s doorstep, with the various companies experimenting in the space completing between dozens and up to hundreds of deliveries a day. Walmart has begin working with San Francisco startup Zipline on deliveries in Arkansas. Israeli startup Flytrex, specializing in U.S. food delivery, opened a station in Texas following testing in North Carolina. Wing, a unit of Google-owner Alphabet, is delivering in Virginia. Continue reading Amazon, Google Among Companies Testing Drone Deliveries

Google Shopping is introducing new tools to help merchants and brands improve online sales performance. A Shopping Experience Scorecard will provide retailers the opportunity to earn a “Trusted Store” badge. In addition, Google is offering data analytics, including a conversion rate measurement tool, a price comparison feature and shipping and return overview pages. Since revamping its market portal as Google Shopping in 2019, the company has been trying to make it easier for users to “research and buy” using Google Search. Continue reading Google Shopping Adds Analytics Tools, Trusted Store Badge

Following last year’s “invitation only” rollout, Amazon has released the Glow projector for kids in the U.S. The touch-sensitive 19-inch Glow image can be used for gameplay, arts, storytime and more. It also has an 8-inch LCD screen for video calls, making it a way “for little ones to enjoy hands-on activities while adults simultaneously — and remotely — join in the fun” using a free app for smartphones and tablets. The $300 price includes a 1-year Amazon Kids+ subscription featuring thousands of books, games and the ability to chat with popular Disney characters. Continue reading Amazon Glow on a Mission to Help Families Stay Connected

The European Parliament and EU member states reached agreement Thursday on key points of the Digital Markets Act, a sweeping measure poised to reshape the technology landscape in Europe and potentially around the world. The DMA objectives are two-fold: reining in anticompetitive measures that advantage Big Tech over competitors and consumers, and putting teeth to the new rules. Considered the biggest digital regulatory expansion anywhere in decades, the proposal has been criticized for singling out U.S. firms like Amazon, Apple, Meta and Alphabet, all of which fall into the gatekeeper category targeted by the act. Continue reading Europe’s Digital Markets Act Designed to Regulate Big Tech

The Supreme Court’s recent FBI v. Fazaga decision regarding surveillance has been interpreted by some as an obstacle to Biden administration efforts to secure an effective replacement for the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. Originally implemented in 2016, thousands of U.S. companies had been relying on the Privacy Shield to centralize customer data. In 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) nullified the framework after finding U.S. surveillance laws provide a loophole for unauthorized access to data belonging to EU citizens. Earlier today however, the U.S. and European Union agreed “in principle” to a revamped framework for data transfers. Continue reading Europe and U.S. Data-Sharing Pact to Replace Privacy Shield

Twitter has used its Spaces platform to opine on rapidly developing EU digital regulations, an effort that after two years has become formalized as a policy advocacy group known as the Open Internet Alliance. Vimeo, Automattic, Czech search engine firm Seznam and German social network Jodel have joined Twitter as founding members. The company’s mission statement is twofold: protecting competition to “avoid entrenching the dominance of the biggest players,” and focusing more on “how content is discovered and amplified.” The group aims “to strengthen the advocacy voice of medium-sized companies that promote the Open Internet.” Continue reading Twitter Rallies Midsize Tech Around the Open Internet Alliance

Amazon completed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM late last week. The companies finalized the deal immediately upon expiration of the Federal Trade Commission’s mid-March deadline to object, though the agency let it be known that it can challenge a deal any time it finds cause. Amazon in May announced intent to acquire MGM, which has a library of more than 4,000 films and some 17,000 TV episodes as well as ongoing production in both areas. In August, a group of four labor unions collectively urged the FTC to quash Amazon’s bid. Continue reading Amazon Closes $8.5B Deal for MGM, FTC Watches in Wings

The EU is preparing to finalize its Digital Markets Act (DMA) designed to neutralize Big Tech’s gatekeeper status by leveling the playing field with smaller competitors. The DMA, which could be completed by month’s end, has ramifications for Amazon, Google and parent Alphabet, and especially for Apple, which faces what some describe as an existential threat through provisions that would allow software to be downloaded outside the App Store and third-party payment systems inserted on apps, known as “sideloading.” Failure to comply could carry fines and penalties totaling tens of billions of dollars. Continue reading EU Digital Markets Act Poised to Compel Apple ‘Sideloading’