Tag: amazon
ShinyShiny snippets: TikTok raise livestreaming age to 18
TikTok is raising its minimum age for livestreaming from 16 to 18 from next month. A BBC News investigation found hundreds of accounts going live from Syrian refugee camps, with children begging for donations. Some were receiving up to $1,000 (£900) an hour - but when they withdrew the cash, TikTok had taken up to…
ShinyShiny snippets: Twitch announces partial gambling ban
Twitch has announced a partial gambling ban, targeting slots, roulette and dice games. The Amazon-owned livestreaming platform will bar videos of gambling sites not licensed in the US or "other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection". The ban includes cryptocurrency gambling sites such as Stake.com, based on the Caribbean island of Curacao. It will take…
Tech Digest daily roundup: WhatsApp says it will not ‘lower security’
The boss of WhatsApp says it will not "lower the security" of its messenger service. If asked by the government to weaken encryption, it would be "very foolish" to accept, Will Cathcart told the BBC. Government plans to detect child sex-abuse images include the possible scanning of private messages. The NSPCC has criticised WhatsApp's position,…
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon closes all its physical bookstores
Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday it plans to close all 68 of its brick-and-mortar bookstores, pop-ups and shops carrying toys and home goods in the United States and United Kingdom, ending some of its longest-running retail experiments. The news, which Reuters was first to report, marks a turning point for a company that began as…
Tech Digest daily roundup: TikTok ditches 3 minute video limit
TikTok is to ditch its three minute limit on videos and will soon allow all users to upload clips up to 10 minutes long, the Chinese social network has confirmed. It brought in the existing limit in July 2021, upping it from 60 seconds, having initially expanded it from the original 15 seconds. The app…
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon and Nike ‘consider offer’ for Peloton
Exercise brand Peloton is attracting bid attention from the likes of Amazon and Nike, according to reports. They have been attracted by the soaring sales of Peloton’s exercise bikes and treadmills during the pandemic. Suitors have not been put off by the return to gyms post-lockdown, which has left the firm worth less than a fifth of…
ShinyShiny snippets: Amazon drops plans to block Visa credit card payments
Amazon has announced that it will not stop accepting Visa credit cards for UK payments later this week as had been planned. In an email to customers, the online retailer said it was "working closely with Visa on a potential solution". The move had been due to take effect on 19 January with Amazon blaming…
ShinyShiny round up: Apple allows customers to self-repair iPhones
Apple is now allowing some of its customers to self-repair their own iPhones - after long prohibiting anyone except approved technicians from handling its proprietary parts and software. In a sharp turnaround, the US tech firm announced on Wednesday that users will be able to access genuine Apple parts and tools for consumer repairs on the…
ShinyShiny roundup: Fancy a £500K hoverbike anyone?
ALI Technologies hoverbike costs nearly £500,000. Image: ALI Technologies A Japanese start-up is hoping to convince motorists to swap their cars for a $680,000 (£495,000) hoverbike. ALI Technologies' XTurismo Limited Edition went on sale in Japan, earlier on Wednesday. Electronics giant Mitsubishi and footballer Keisuke Honda are two backers of the…
ShinyShiny tech roundup: Tesla market value hits $1 trillion
Tesla surpassed a market value of $1 trillion on Monday, making it the fifth such firm to reach the milestone. Shares in the electric carmaker climbed 12.6% after it struck a deal to sell 100,000 vehicles to the car rental firm Hertz. Tesla has been the world's most valuable carmaker for some time, but brands…