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| Here's a look at today's top tech stories: - Adobe's Figma purchase faces anti-competitive charges in the EU.
- Meta supports legislation to require parents to approve teen app downloads.
- Uber is testing a gig service for household chores.
Thanks for reading! Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | Adobe's $20B Figma acquisition is facing anti-competitive charges in the EU. Adobe said it is open to resolving the EU's antitrust concerns about the deal, which would be the largest takeover of a private software company to date. More: - The EU's antitrust enforcer opened an in-depth investigation into the deal in August.
- Adobe now expects to receive a statement of objections from the European Commission and is open to discussing remedies, its chief counsel told Reuters.
- Regulators are concerned that Adobe would be taking a rival off the market, reducing competition.
Zoom out: - Figma offers cloud-based collaboration tools for developers to build web applications. Its collaboration design software competes directly with Adobe's XD product.
- Adobe argues that the two companies specialize in different markets. It claims the deal is not anticompetitive because Figma doesn't compete against its Photoshop, Premiere, or other products.
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| 2 | Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is backing federal legislation that would require app stores to gain parental consent before allowing teenagers to download any apps. In explaining its stance, the company cited recent Pew research showing that 81% of U.S. adults support parental consent when teens create social media accounts. 
Details: The legislation would require parental approval for minors under 16 to download apps from stores like Google and Apple, shifting responsibility to safeguard young users away from the platforms themselves. In a blog post, Meta's global head of safety, Antigone Davis, stressed the need for federal legislation to create uniform standards across all apps used by teenagers, rather than a patchwork of conflicting state-approved laws. The bigger picture: The proposal from Meta comes at a time when policymakers are debating the responsibility of tech companies to protect young users on internet platforms. In October, over 40 states sued Meta, alleging that the company's addictive features on Instagram and Facebook harm children. Meta is accused of designing its features to retain young users through tactics like algorithms, constant alerts, and infinite scrolling. In response, Meta said it's working to create a safer environment for teens on its apps, introducing over 30 tools for teen and family support. | | | |
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| 3 | | Apple announced that it's giving Phone 14 users another free year of its safety Emergency SOS service. The satellite-based feature lets users text emergency services when out of cell and Wi-Fi range. More: - The feature also lets remote users share their locations via satellite through the "Find My" app.
- When first announced a year ago, Apple said the service would be free for new iPhone 14 customers for the first two years, which is now extended by an extra year through November 2025.
- According to Apple, Emergency SOS has "helped save lives," including hikers who were found in Italy's Apennine Mountains and a man rescued after his car plummeted off a cliff in Los Angeles.
Zoom out: - Apple hasn't disclosed the price for Emergency SOS after the free period.
- When it does begin charging for the feature, it will contribute to the revenue of Apple's services business, which generated $22.31B in its fiscal Q4.
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| 4 | | Uber is launching "Uber Tasks," a pilot program in Fort Myers and Edmonton, to let users hire drivers for household chores and projects. The program will let users hire drivers for tasks like furniture assembly, laundry, packing, decorating, and yard maintenance. More: - For the initial testing, Uber drivers and couriers can view and reserve available tasks, with estimated earnings shown upfront.
- If expanded, Uber's program would compete with TaskRabbit and Angi Inc. in the household task market.
Zoom out: - Uber's potential venture into gig work coincides with a growing trend of consumers seeking additional income through side jobs.
- Uber's program could serve as a strategic move to diversify its revenue streams beyond ride-sharing and food delivery. It could also capitalize on the growing market for gig work.
Note: Inside.com Founder and CEO Jason Calacanis is an investor in Uber. | | | |
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| 5 | | Amazon is now selling its Astro robot as a security guard for small and medium-sized businesses. The three-wheeled roving bot, armed with a camera and Alexa, can patrol areas of up to 5,000 square feet, detecting break-ins and other security threats. More: - Amazon tested Astro with businesses for about a year and recently reported success in sectors like health and wellness, food and beverage, and construction.
- The company is selling additional security options, including Ring Protect Pro, which connects Astro to Ring sensors and motion detectors.
- Astro's virtual security guard service alerts remote centers to potential threats, allowing agents to view live footage and contact authorities.
Zoom out: - Amazon debuted Astro for households in September 2021, though the consumer robot is only available on a limited, invite-only basis.
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| 6 | | Google DeepMind announced GraphCast, an advanced AI weather prediction model that delivers 10-day forecasts in under a minute. In September, GraphCast predicted Hurricane Lee's Nova Scotia landfall nine days ahead, surpassing traditional forecasts by three days, according to Rémi Lam, a Google DeepMind research scientist. More: - In a study published in the Science journal today, Google's researchers described GraphCast as a "turning point in weather forecasting."
- The AI model, trained on almost 40 years of historical data, can generate 10-day forecasts at six-hour intervals for global locations.
- GraphCast uses a small desktop computer, while a traditional model on a school bus-sized supercomputer takes an hour or more for the same task, they said.
- GraphCast outperformed the gold-standard "European model" by around 10% on over 90% of assessed weather variables. The former showed superior accuracy for both daily weather and extreme events, including hurricanes and extreme temperatures, according to the study.
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- Instagram is adding 25 new filters on iOS as it refocuses on its creative tools.
- The non-profit Check My Ads has filed a complaint with the FTC regarding X/Twitter's advertising practices, including allegations of undisclosed ads and broken links.
- Microsoft introduced its first chip for artificial intelligence tasks, along with an Arm-based CPU for general-purpose computing. Microsoft said it will not sell the chips but will use them for its subscription software and Azure cloud service.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is an editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters, with a career spanning journalism since 2007. She has written for publications including The Arizona Republic and USA Today and authored a book on the solar industry in 2016. Reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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