PayPal faces new antitrust lawsuit claiming it unfairly stifles competition with Stripe, Shopify and more
PayPal has been hit with a class-action lawsuit by consumers represented by law firm Hagens Berman alleging that the fintech giant’s anti-steering rules stifle competition against lower-cost payment platforms such as Stripe and Shopify. Specifically, according to an investigation conducted by the firm’s consumer rights attorneys, PayPal has subjected consumers
Read moreWant to detect bad actors? Look on the bright side
Even a company the size of Airbnb, it turns out, doesn't have that much data on rule-breaking behavior.
Read moreUber still dragging its feet on algorithmic transparency, Dutch court finds
Uber has been found to have failed to comply with European Union algorithmic transparency requirements in a legal challenge brought by two drivers whose accounts were terminated by the ride-hailing giant, including with the use of automated account flags. Uber also failed to convince the court to cap daily fines
Read moreAs its workers strike over burnout and low wages, Kaiser Permanente strikes a deal to use an AI Copilot from Nabla
Yesterday, 75,000 workers at healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente embarked on a three-day strike to protest understaffing, burnout and low wages — setting a record for the biggest healthcare strike to date in U.S. history. But timing is everything in medicine. While Kaiser Permanente works through terms with union reps, another
Read moreThoughts debuts an app designed to inspire you, not distract you
Instead of scrolling mindlessly through a social feed of updates, a new app called Thoughts offers a way to scroll through and collect inspirational content. Created by indie developer Henri Bredt, Thoughts is described as a “focused inspiration manager” that’s designed to help you remember things that inspired you, whether
Read moreSpotify’s new artist profiles highlight music, Stories, merch and events
Spotify today is rolling out a big change in terms of how users connect with artists on its streaming music platform. With the newly debuted artist profile pages, content has been reorganized under three main tabs, including Music, Events and Merch. The Music tab will also now not only feature
Read moreMachina Labs raises $32M to bring flexibility to manufacturing
“Flexibility” isn’t a word one often applies to the manufacturing process. Changing things up on the assembly line is a resource-intensive activity, but automation and robotics could go a ways toward removing some friction from the process. That’s effectively the thesis statement behind Machina Labs. The Los Angeles-based firm distills
Read moreSony will offer Emerge’s tactile ultrasound device through a Bravia camera bundle
Emerge this week announced a partnership with Sony, a big boon for the hardware startup. The deal involves two pieces: first, Sony will highlight Emerge’s ultrasonic tactile device in its smart TV app. Second, starting next year, Sony will begin offering a Bravia Cam bundle featuring Emerge Wave-1. A smart
Read more3 VCs weigh in on when to follow the hype cycle — and when to ignore it
It's OK for a founder to jump into an emerging hype cycle, but only if they have a genuine interest in that area that reaches back in time.
Read moreThis limited-edition Flipper Zero is the latest transparent gadget
It’s the Flipper Zero. Clearly. | Image: Flipper Zero The Flipper Zero — which the company calls a “portable multi-tool for pentesters and geeks in a toy-like body,” Verge friend Chris Person calls “a Swiss Army Knife of antennas,” and my kids call “the meebo” because I use it to
Read more