Plus: A judge rules Amazon CEO broke labor law with anti-union remarks.
| For May 02, 2024 |  |
| Here’s a look at today's tech briefing: - Sony, Apollo make $26B cash offer for Paramount.
- Google and DOJ make closing arguments in search monopoly trial.
- Judge rules Amazon CEO broke labor law with anti-union remarks.
- UMG artists return to TikTok under new licensing deal.
- Peloton CEO steps down amid layoffs, restructuring.
- Meta cracks down on explicit ads for AI-generated "girlfriends."
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Sony and Apollo Global Management made a $26B all-cash offer to buy Paramount, owner of CBS, MTV, and Paramount Pictures. Sony and Apollo, a private equity firm, submitted a non-binding offer letter expressing interest in Paramount, which is in the midst of a sale process. More: - The offer would result in Sony as a major controlling shareholder, with Apollo holding a minority stake.
- The news arrives a day before Paramount is set to conclude exclusive talks with Skydance Media.
- That company made a bid, backed by RedBird Capital Partners and KKR, to merge with Paramount while keeping Paramount Global public.
- SkyDance, led by tech scion David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, would buy the voting shares held by Paramount Chair Shari Redstone and family.
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| 2 | | Google and the U.S. Justice Department will give closing arguments this week in the government's antitrust case against the tech giant. The DOJ accuses Google of illegally using its monopoly power to dominate the search engine business. More: - After a 10-week trial last fall, Google and the DOJ return to court Thursday and Friday for final statements.
- DOJ attorneys argue Google abused its power to make its search engine the default choice across platforms.
- The government has alleged Google funneled billions yearly to partners to gain a near 90% search engine market share.
- The DOJ cited documents showing Google paid Apple $20B in 2022 to secure default search engine status on Safari, as one example.
Zoom out: - Google argues that its search engine's popularity is a testament to its superior quality over rivals.
- It attributed its success to spending billions in R&D, talent, and the push into mobile search.
- Judge Amit Mehta's decision on Google's potential monopoly is expected later this year.
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| 3 | | A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy broke federal labor laws when he made anti-union comments in 2022. At the time, Jassy said Amazon empowers employees to make improvements, which "doesn't happen when you have unions." More: - Jassy added that with unions, "It's much more bureaucratic, it's much slower."
- He stated that he believes employees "are better off having direct connections with their managers."
- The comments coincided with a rise in union organizing among Amazon's warehouse and delivery staff.
- The NLRB later filed a complaint against Amazon and Jassy.
Ruling: - U.S. law permits companies to oppose unionization but bars them from threatening to penalize workers for organizing.
- On Wednesday, NLRB Judge Brian Gee said Jassy's remarks "threatened employees that, if they selected a union, they would become less empowered and would find it harder to get things done quickly."
- Amazon plans to appeal the ruling, saying it "reflects poorly on the state of free speech rights today."
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| 4 | | Universal Music Group and TikTok signed a deal to bring back UMG artists like Lada Gaga and Drake to the social platform. UMG withdrew its music from TikTok in February after they failed to agree on a content licensing deal. More: - The new agreement resolves the companies' dispute over fair music payment.
- The companies said they are "working expeditiously" to return content to TikTok, without providing a timeline.
- The new deal boosts pay for UMG songwriters and artists featured in TikTok videos.
- TikTok and UMG also agreed to support new e-commerce and monetization opportunities for artists.
- TikTok has pledged to remove unauthorized AI-generated music from its app and improve songwriter attribution.
Zoom out: - While Taylor Swift's songs were removed earlier this year, the singer restored her music to TikTok on April 11.
- Swift likely secured a separate deal because she controls her catalog, despite UMG distributing her music.
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| 5 | | Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy has stepped down as the connected fitness company undertakes a restructuring, including laying off 15% of its workforce. After its pandemic-fueled boom, Peloton has faced falling demand for its products and other challenges. Its latest quarterly earnings showed a 4% revenue drop from last year. 
What happened: - On Thursday, Peloton announced a restructuring plan to cut annual expenses by over $200M.
- The company will eliminate 400 jobs and close some retail showrooms.
- McCarthy, who stepped down as CEO, said the layoffs were necessary to align the company's spending with revenue.
- The plan is to invest in "software, hardware and content portfolio and in improvements" for its paid subscribers.
Zoom out: - McCarthy, a former Spotify and Netflix executive, took over as Peloton's CEO in 2022, replacing co-founder John Foley.
- He will remain a strategic adviser through the end of the year.
- Peloton appointed board chair Karen Boone and director Chris Bruzzo as interim co-CEOs while searching for a permanent replacement.
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| 6 | | Meta is cracking down on explicit ads for AI-generated "girlfriends" across its platforms after Wired discovered nearly 30,000 of the ads on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. As of last week, 2,700 of the ads were still active. More: - The ads often include terms like "NSFW" and "NSFW AI," and some feature AI-generated images of scantily clad women in suggestive poses.
- The ads violate Meta's policy on adult content in advertising, which prohibits ads featuring nudity, explicit poses, or overly sexual content.
- A Meta spokesperson said he company is removing the ads "quickly" once they're found and is also improving its detection systems.
Zoom out: - In January, Quartz found that OpenAI's GPT Store featured some "romantic" AI chatbots despite OpenAI's policy against GPTs dedicated to fostering romantic relationships, according to an analysis.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Beth Duckett | |
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