Meta Platforms Inc. faces a swathe of complaints in Europe for allegedly failing to get proper consent before collecting vast amounts of data about Facebook and Instagram users so it can target the ads they see.
Eight consumer organizations will lodge the complaints with national data watchdogs on Thursday, accusing Meta of creating a “smokescreen” by offering users the choice of using ad-free versions of their social media services as long as they pay.
The groups claim this violates the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which allows fines as high as 4% of annual revenue for the most serious infractions.
Meta’s “unfair ‘pay-or-consent’ choice is the company’s latest effort to legalize its business model,” Ursula Pachl…
Whether it’s at the gas pump or in the checkout line at the grocery store, the one constant these days is higher prices for American consumers. This can be felt most acutely in California, where gas prices, for example, are averaging $6.22 while the U.S. average is $4.78.
Read more: Why It Could Be a Long Time Before Gas Prices Come Down
To help ease some of that pain for the Golden State, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers reached a budget deal last week, which includes $9.5 billion in direct payments to taxpayers of up to $1,050 per household (a household filing jointly making under $150,000 with at least one dependent would receive the maximum payout, for example). Higher earners would receive a smaller payout and there is an income cap of $250,000 …
Amazon.com Inc. is laying off more than 18,000 employees — the biggest reduction in its history — in the latest sign that a tech-industry slump is deepening.
Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy announced the cuts, which represent about 1% of Amazon’s employees, in a memo to staff Wednesday, saying it followed the company’s annual planning process.
The eliminations began last year and were previously expected to affect about 10,000 people. The move is concentrated in the firm’s corporate ranks, mostly Amazon’s retail division and human resources functions, like recruiting.
Read more: Big Tech Layoffs Are Hurting Workers Far Beyond Silicon Valley
“Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economi…