Government & Policy

Residents of SpaceX’s Starbase launch site vote to incorporate as a city

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is getting its own official company town. Residents of an area around SpaceX’s Starbase launch site in southern Texas voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to incorporate as a city — also named Starbase. According to results posted online by the Cameron County Elections Department, there were 212 votes in favor and only six

Residents of SpaceX’s Starbase launch site vote to incorporate as a city Read More »

From tech pioneers to ‘extremists’: Belarusian founders face exile and statelessness

In 2013, Tatyana Marynich and Anastasiya Khamiankova opened the doors to Imaguru, a startup hub in Minsk, Belarus that would go on to launch some of Eastern Europe’s most prominent tech success stories. A decade later, they’ve been sentenced ‘in absentia’ to a combined 23 years in prison by Belarusian authorities. Their property has been

From tech pioneers to ‘extremists’: Belarusian founders face exile and statelessness Read More »

IBM pledges to spend $150B in the US over the next few years

Enterprise tech giant IBM says that it plans to invest $150 billion in the U.S. over the next five years, which will include a “more than” $30 billion investment in mainframe and quantum computing research. The goal is to fuel the economy and “accelerate [IBM’s] role as the global leader in computing,” the company said in a press release Monday.

IBM pledges to spend $150B in the US over the next few years Read More »

Parents who lost children to online harms protest outside of Meta’s NYC office

Meta may have managed to kill a bipartisan bill to protect children online, but parents of children who have suffered from online harm are still putting pressure on social media companies to step up. On Thursday, 45 families who lost children to online harms – from sextortion to cyberbullying – held a vigil outside of

Parents who lost children to online harms protest outside of Meta’s NYC office Read More »

DOJ reportedly probes Disney-FuboTV deal over competition concerns

The U.S. Department of Justice is probing Disney’s deal to take a controlling stake in FuboTV, Bloomberg reports. Fubo is a live TV streaming service known for its extensive sports coverage. Officials are examining whether the deal would create a concentration of power in the sports streaming market. In January, Disney announced that it was going

DOJ reportedly probes Disney-FuboTV deal over competition concerns Read More »

EU fines Apple, Meta millions for breaching tech competition rules

The European Union has fined Apple €500 million (about $568 million) and Meta €200 million (about $227 million) for allegedly breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act, according to The Wall Street Journal. The EU has accused Apple of failing to comply with an obligation to allow app developers to inform customers of alternative ways to

EU fines Apple, Meta millions for breaching tech competition rules Read More »

Feds accuse Uber of charging customers for subscriptions without consent

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit Monday against Uber, alleging the ride-hail and delivery giant charged customers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent. The lawsuit also claims Uber failed to deliver the savings promised in its subscription service and made it unreasonably difficult for users to cancel despite its “cancel anytime”

Feds accuse Uber of charging customers for subscriptions without consent Read More »

White House replaces covid.gov website with ‘lab leak’ theory

The government-run website covid.gov used to host information about COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatment. Now, under President Trump’s purview, the page redirects to a White House website espousing the unproven theory that COVID-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory. The theory, which has been opposed by many virologists, was espoused in a report by House Republicans

White House replaces covid.gov website with ‘lab leak’ theory Read More »

Trump EPA targets two-man geoengineering startup for ‘polluting the air’

Humans have found it hard to quit fossil fuels, which is why some argue that we’ll soon need to start geoengineering — that is, modifying the atmosphere to prevent catastrophic warming of the planet. The practice is controversial. Some argue it’s the only solution given that we’ve waited too long to reduce carbon emissions. Others say

Trump EPA targets two-man geoengineering startup for ‘polluting the air’ Read More »