Category: Companies

You’re Likely Eligible for Part of a $23 Million Google Settlement

People who used Google search between 2006 and 2013 could be eligible for a portion of a $23 million settlement in a class action lawsuit against the Big Tech giant. Google is accused of sharing users’ search queries with third-party websites and companies without their consent from Oct. 25, 2006, to Sept. 30, 2013, according…


Meta Lowers Minimum Age of Quest Headsets in Bid to Lure Children Into VR

Facebook parent company Meta announced plans to enable children as young as 10 years old to enter virtual reality through its Meta Quest headset later this year, despite a recent advisory warning social media can negatively impact the mental health and well-being of children. “Today we’re announcing changes to give families even more ways to…


Chinese Leader Xi Jinping Meets With Bill Gates Ahead of Blinken Visit

BEIJING—Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday met with Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates in Beijing ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a time of strained relations. The state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi saying he was happy to see Gates, who he called an “old friend,” after three years without…


Meta’s Facebook, Instagram Down for Thousands of Users, Says Downdetector

Meta Platforms on Friday said it was aware of issues with its Ads Manager, its advertising tool that lets brands buy and create Facebook ads. “Our engineering teams are aware and are actively looking to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Meta said on its status page. The status update came just after thousands…


Major US Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin Sponsored DC Pride Parade

A major U.S. defense contractor that supplies aircraft equipment to all five branches of the U.S. military, Lockheed Martin, was front and center at the 2023 Capital Pride Alliance parade in Washington, joining Amazon and Target as a corporate sponsor for pride events. Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, shared a video…


Bank Executive Pay Could Be Seized for Failures Under Senate Bill Proposal

The Senate Banking Committee will consider a bipartisan bill that would allow government regulators to seize compensation from executives deemed responsible for a bank failure. The committee’s chairman, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Sen Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the panel’s ranking Republican, came to a deal on June 16 after a wave of regional bank failures…


Amazon’s $1.7 Billion Deal to Buy Roomba Maker iRobot Gets UK Approval

LONDON—British antitrust regulators cleared Amazon’s purchase of robot vacuum maker iRobot on Friday, but the $1.7 billion deal still faces scrutiny in the United States and Europe. The Competition and Markets Authority said it decided not to escalate its initial investigation because it concluded that the deal would not result in a “substantial lessening of…


Intel to Invest $4.6 Billion in New Chip Plant in Poland

WROCLAW, Poland/STOCKHOLM—Intel plans to invest up to $4.6 billion in a new semiconductor assembly and test facility near Wrocław, Poland, as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment drive across Europe to build chip capacity, it said on Friday. The U.S. chipmaker last year announced plans to build a big chip complex in Germany along with facilities…


Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy Steps Down: Company

The Walt Disney Company confirmed that its chief financial officer, Christine McCarthy, is stepping down and will take a medical leave of absence, according to the media giant. Disney’s chief executive, Bob Iger, confirmed her departure in a news release issued Thursday, saying that McCarthy “is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes…