EU reveals plan to regulate Big Tech

Big tech firms face yearly checks on how they are tackling illegal and harmful content under new rules unveiled by the European Commission.
Fresh restrictions are also planned to govern their use of customers' data, and to prevent the firms ranking their own services above competitors' in search results and app stores.
The measures are intended to overhaul how the EU regulates digital...

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U.S. and States Say Facebook Illegally Crushed Competition

Regulators are accusing the company of buying up rising rivals to cement its dominance over social media.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states accused Facebook on Wednesday of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition, and they called for the deals to be unwound, escalating regulators’ battle against the biggest tech companies in a way that could remake the social media industry.

Federal and state regulators of both parties, who have investigated...

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Shenzhen: inside President Xi’s surveillance city

Within living memory Shenzhen was a sleepy fishing village. Now, with Huawei at its heart, it is a digital metropolis that has set alarm bells ringing in America and Europe.

If the past is a foreign country, then the future for China’s Communist Party is the city of Shenzhen.

Hailed by President Xi during a visit this week as a model...

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Covid Pandemic Turns America Into a Nation of Freelancers

More than a third of the American workforce did at least some work on the side this year as the Covid-19 pandemic decimated jobs and wages. That translates to 59 million people, or 2 million more than in 2019, according to the Freelance Forward report released Tuesday by Upwork, a firm that helps businesses find labor.
 “There is this really long tail of people who participate a couple of times a month and even...

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With TikTok deal, Walmart could gain ‘a front row seat to the next generation of consumers’

Brick-and-mortar giant Walmart may seem like an odd match for TikTok, an algorithm-driven social platform known for hosting memes and viral dance challenges. But a closer look at Walmart’s e-commerce and digital media moves shows that TikTok could help it blend the in-store and online shopping experience, while giving it an edge with young Americans. Walmart said Saturday that it has tenatively agreed to take a 7.5% stake of a newly created company based in the U.S. called TikTok Global. Walmart CEO Doug...

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Chime is now worth $14.5 billion, surging past Robinhood as the most valuable U.S. consumer fintech

Chime, the start-up that delivers banking services through mobile phones, has closed a fundraising that values the company at $14.5 billion, CNBC has learned exclusively.
 That lofty figure makes Chime the most valuable American fintech start-up serving retail consumers. Robinhood, the popular free-trading app, raised money last month at an $11.2 billion valuation. The moves show that even as investors punish the shares of established U.S. banks — the KBW Bank Index has lost...

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Square Becoming a Bank Is Brilliant. Here’s WhyThe last time any new type of bank appeared was 2010.

It may seem surprising that the fintech disruptor Square is reverting to an old format and become a bank. Square has helped so many small businesses expand their payment methods, embracing fintech ahead of other disruptors.

However, there is much more to this story. In fact, this strategic decision could be one of the best moves the company has made. Square's decision could start a revolution and revamp the entire financial institution structure to address the changes...

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TikTok and WeChat: US to ban app downloads in 48 hours

TikTok and WeChat will be banned from US app stores from Sunday, unless President Donald Trump agrees to a last-minute deal.
The Department of Commerce said it would bar people in the US from downloading the messaging and video-sharing apps through any app store on any platform.
The Trump administration says the companies threaten national security and could pass user data to China.
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NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service has 15 million sign-ups, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts says

NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock has 15 million sign-ups, a 50% increase in six weeks, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference Peacock is Comcast’s plan to monetize broadband-only subscribers through video. Peacock Premium costs $4.99 for non-Comcast and Cox subscribers and $9.99 per month without ads. It has hundreds of movies and TV shows, including past episodes of NBC staples such as “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock.” Former NBCUniversal Chairman Steve Burke said last year he...

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JPMorgan’s WFH model changed worker productivity—especially on two days of the week

A troubling pattern emerged as most of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s employees worked from home to stem the spread of Covid-19: productivity slipped. Work output was particularly affected on Mondays and Fridays, according to findings discussed by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon in a private meeting with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts. That, along with worries that remote work is no substitute for organic interaction, is part of why the biggest U.S. bank is urging more workers to return...

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