By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished March 21, 2021Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, is no longer the world’s most profitable company.After a pandemic year that slashed fossil fuel prices—and drove up demand for consumer technology—that distinction now falls to Apple. The iPhone maker , while the oil giant recorded a (measly for Aramco) $49 billion profit. dropped 44% in a topsy-turvy 2020 that rewired the global economy, briefly , and sparked . Apple, meanwhile, hardly registered a blip in its steady, high margins, as homebound consumers continued to buy up iPhones,...…By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished March 21, 2021Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil exporter, is no longer the world’s most profitable company.After a pandemic year that slashed fossil fuel prices—and drove up demand for consumer technology—that distinction now falls to Apple. The iPhone maker , while the oil giant recorded a (measly for Aramco) $49 billion profit. dropped 44% in a topsy-turvy 2020 that rewired the global economy, briefly , and sparked . Apple, meanwhile, hardly registered a blip in its steady, high margins, as homebound consumers continued to buy up iPhones,...WW…

By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished December 8, 2020A plague is upon us. Businesses are and are rampant. The US government is to provide economic relief.And there’s simply never been a better year to raise money on the US stock market—especially if you own a tech company.In the second week of December, three tech firms—, , and —are set to go public. Each of them has raised their IPO price ranges in recent days in anticipation of ravenous market demand. If they hit the upper end of their targets, .That’s on top of the $149 billion that US firms have already raised on the IPO market...…By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished December 8, 2020A plague is upon us. Businesses are and are rampant. The US government is to provide economic relief.And there’s simply never been a better year to raise money on the US stock market—especially if you own a tech company.In the second week of December, three tech firms—, , and —are set to go public. Each of them has raised their IPO price ranges in recent days in anticipation of ravenous market demand. If they hit the upper end of their targets, .That’s on top of the $149 billion that US firms have already raised on the IPO market...WW…

By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished December 12, 2020Artificial intelligence, more than most other fields of research, is dominated by corporations. Private research labs at Google, Microsoft, and Facebook churn out than . The companies . Increasingly, they’re and cutting deals with universities to .But over the course of one topsy-turvy week, Google gave us a clear case study in the perils of turning so much AI research over to Big Tech firms.No company is more dominant in AI than Alphabet, parent company of Google and its AI-focused sister lab DeepMind. Combined, the companies’...…By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished December 12, 2020Artificial intelligence, more than most other fields of research, is dominated by corporations. Private research labs at Google, Microsoft, and Facebook churn out than . The companies . Increasingly, they’re and cutting deals with universities to .But over the course of one topsy-turvy week, Google gave us a clear case study in the perils of turning so much AI research over to Big Tech firms.No company is more dominant in AI than Alphabet, parent company of Google and its AI-focused sister lab DeepMind. Combined, the companies’...WW…

By ReporterDecember 14, 2020As US prosecutors ramp up antitrust cases against Big Tech firms, the European Union is readying its own next wave of antitrust lawsuits. On Dec. 15, the bloc will formally begin considering the Digital Markets Act, which would give regulators new firepower to go after digital platforms for alleged anticompetitive practices.The new regulations take aim at “gatekeeper companies,” barring firms from using unfair tactics like giving their own products special treatment on platforms they control (👀  and ) or using non-public data harvested from third-party...…By ReporterDecember 14, 2020As US prosecutors ramp up antitrust cases against Big Tech firms, the European Union is readying its own next wave of antitrust lawsuits. On Dec. 15, the bloc will formally begin considering the Digital Markets Act, which would give regulators new firepower to go after digital platforms for alleged anticompetitive practices.The new regulations take aim at “gatekeeper companies,” barring firms from using unfair tactics like giving their own products special treatment on platforms they control (👀  and ) or using non-public data harvested from third-party...WW…

By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished November 13, 2020Twitter can’t catch a break. After the 2016 US presidential election, the company was pilloried for allowing viral disinformation campaigns to sow confusion on its platform. Four years later, Twitter and other social media companies —this time coming not only from foreign adversaries but from .Some Americans have rewarded the effort by flocking to Parler, an alternate social media platform philosophically opposed to moderating disinformation. The app has been downloaded more than 3.6 million times in the US since the Nov. 3...…By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished November 13, 2020Twitter can’t catch a break. After the 2016 US presidential election, the company was pilloried for allowing viral disinformation campaigns to sow confusion on its platform. Four years later, Twitter and other social media companies —this time coming not only from foreign adversaries but from .Some Americans have rewarded the effort by flocking to Parler, an alternate social media platform philosophically opposed to moderating disinformation. The app has been downloaded more than 3.6 million times in the US since the Nov. 3...WW…

By October 16, 2020US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden participated in the second presidential debate on Thursday, this time held virtually to accommodate safety considerations following Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis earlier this month.Just kidding. The candidates appeared in dueling town halls , fielding different questions from different people in mutually exclusive forums that forced the American people to watch one town hall or the other, or worse, both back to back.There is perhaps no greater metaphor for the state of US politics than bifurcating one of the last...…By October 16, 2020US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden participated in the second presidential debate on Thursday, this time held virtually to accommodate safety considerations following Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis earlier this month.Just kidding. The candidates appeared in dueling town halls , fielding different questions from different people in mutually exclusive forums that forced the American people to watch one town hall or the other, or worse, both back to back.There is perhaps no greater metaphor for the state of US politics than bifurcating one of the last...WW…

By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished June 4, 2020In the past week, US protesters have staged large-scale demonstrations against racism and police brutality across all 50 states. Over the same period, daily US downloads of the encrypted messaging app Signal have tripled, according to data from the mobile app analytics firm SensorTower.The spike in downloads coincides with calls from  and privacy-focused organizations like , urging American protesters to communicate with each other with encrypted apps like Signal. Encryption jumbles the content of a message while it’s being...…By Tech Reporter based in New YorkPublished June 4, 2020In the past week, US protesters have staged large-scale demonstrations against racism and police brutality across all 50 states. Over the same period, daily US downloads of the encrypted messaging app Signal have tripled, according to data from the mobile app analytics firm SensorTower.The spike in downloads coincides with calls from  and privacy-focused organizations like , urging American protesters to communicate with each other with encrypted apps like Signal. Encryption jumbles the content of a message while it’s being...WW…