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| Welcome to Inside Tech! Here are the top stories for today: - FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial is now underway.
- Meta considering paid ad-free versions of Instagram and Facebook in Europe.
- Florida ad agency X Social Media files lawsuit against X/Twitter.
If you find this newsletter valuable, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Thank you! Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Sam Bankman-Fried's criminal trial began on Tuesday with jury selection, as the former FTX CEO faces seven criminal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering. Once a crypto billionaire, Bankman-Fried faces allegations of diverting billions from FTX customers to bolster his hedge fund, Alameda Research, as well as for political donations, real estate investments, charitable contributions, and other personal expenses. More: - According to federal prosecutors, the 31-year-old engaged in embezzlement from FTX customers from the company's inception in 2019 up until its bankruptcy in November 2022.
- Investors and customers panicked after a Coindesk report questioned financial ties between FTX and Alameda, both founded by Bankman-Fried.
- This led to a rush of customer withdrawals, revealing an $8B shortfall. FTX declared bankruptcy, prompting Bankman-Fried to step down as CEO.
- He was arrested in December in the Bahamas and extradited to the U.S. in January.
Zoom out: - Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts.
- The trial is expected to last up to six weeks and involve testimony from former associates who pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors.
- The defense seeks to challenge the credibility of witnesses and argue that his actions were not intentional but stemmed from business failures, including an accounting error, and were sanctioned by law firms.
- A conviction could result in a sentence of up to 110 years in prison.
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| 2 | | Meta is considering introducing paid ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram for European users. The move is in response to strict EU privacy regulations that require user consent for targeted ads, which could impact Meta's ad revenue in Europe. Facebook's average revenue per user (ARPU) in Europe is second-highest worldwide, after the U.S. and Canada. 
Details: Meta's proposal includes charging approximately €10 ($10.50) per month for a Facebook or Instagram account on desktop, with an additional fee of €6 for each linked account. On mobile devices, the cost would rise to about €13 per month due to commissions from Apple's and Google's app stores. Why it matters: Recent rulings and fines targeting tech giants like Meta, including one that bars the company from combining data without user consent, are the result of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which took effect in 2018. Offering both free ad-supported and paid subscription options could help Meta comply with regulations without hurting its ad business. The paid subscriptions highlight how tech companies may offer different services in the EU than elsewhere due to new data privacy rules and other regulations. Q: What's your take on the proposed €10/€13 monthly fee for ad-free access to Facebook or Instagram? Do you think it's too high? Join the conversation here. | | | |
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| 3 | A Florida-based social media advertising agency, X Social Media, has filed a lawsuit against X, formerly known as Twitter, alleging trademark and service mark infringement. X Social Media sent a cease-and-desist letter to X Corp. in August, which was ignored. More: - The lawsuit, filed in a Florida federal court, claims that Twitter's rebranding has harmed X Social Media's search rankings.
- According to the complaint, the rebranding has caused confusion among consumers, leading some to believe that X Social Media's services are linked to X Corp.
- The Florida-based ad agency accuses X Corp. of violating Florida common law, including unfair competition and trademark/service mark infringement, as well as the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
- X Social Media is seeking a court order to stop X Corp. from using the "X" in its marketing and advertising, as well as damages equal to three times its losses or X Corp's profits.
Zoom out: - The lawsuit may be the first of many, as experts have expected legal challenges due to Twitter's "X" rebranding.
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| 4 | | Google announced new Gmail requirements to combat spam. The new rules, which take effect in February 2024, require "bulk senders" — or those sending over 5,000 daily messages to Gmail accounts — to add a one-click unsubscribe button to their emails. More: - The bulk email senders will have to process the unsubscribe requests within two days.
- In addition, Google will enforce a spam rate threshold for bulk senders, making the 0.3% guideline limit on spam output a requirement.
- Google is also requiring bulk senders to "strongly authenticate" their emails in line with the company's best practices.
- According to Google, this will close loopholes exploited by attackers, making sure the sources of emails are more secure.
- Yahoo Inc. is also collaborating with Google to adopt the changes.
Zoom out: - Google says its AI technology already prevents over 99.9% of spam, phishing, and malware, blocking 15 billion unwanted emails daily.
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| 5 | Apple has officially declared the 2015 first-generation Apple Watch models as obsolete, making them ineligible for service or parts orders at Apple Stores and authorized service providers. The first-gen Apple Watch Edition with 18-karat gold, as well as 38mm and 42mm aluminum and stainless steel versions, are now considered obsolete. More: - Apple considers a product technologically obsolete after at least seven years from its last distribution.
- The "Series 0" Watch models, first released in 2015, were discontinued in 2016 with the launch of Series 1 and Series 2 models.
- This included the first-generation Apple Watch Edition, featuring an 18-karat gold casing, which was priced between $10,000 and $17,000 in the U.S. when it was on sale.
Zoom out: - Apple unveiled its latest watches, the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, alongside Watch OS 10 in September.
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| 6 | | More: - The code suggests that users could prompt the AI technology to generate curated song lists.
- Messina hinted that the playlists could be created within the "Blend" genre, which allows users to blend music playlists based on their friends' music preferences.
- Spotify declined to confirm the AI feature, and not all internally tested features are released to the public.
Zoom out: - In February, Spotify introduced an AI-powered DJ that adds AI-created commentary during music listening, which it developed after acquiring Sonatic, a London-based AI voices tech company.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - It's been 150 years since the last great leap in engine technology. Invest in LiquidPiston to be part of the next one.*
- U.S. senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) are investigating TikTok's recent hiring of high-level executives from ByteDance, its Chinese parent company.
- Airbnb is using AI to preemptively identify potential partying guests during the booking process, CEO Brian Chesky said.
- Google is set to unveil the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro flagship smartphones, along with the updated Pixel Watch 2, during its hardware event taking place tomorrow, October 4. The event will live stream starting at 7 a.m. PT on YouTube and the Google Store site.
- Even the best engineers can run into challenges. Straight from the cloud experts at DoiT, here are 5 core strategies for cloud innovation.*
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Term of the Day Large language models: Large language models (LLMs) are a statistical method that helps predict the following outcome in a given sequence of input. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE TECH LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | 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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