Domestic
Amazon has reached a settlement deal with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its Prime membership program. The FTC had accused Amazon of employing “dark patterns” (methods designed to pressure consumers into spending) in order to increase Prime memberships and of making those subscriptions difficult to cancel. Prime memberships cost $14.99 per month or $139 per year and come with free shipping, discounts and streaming services. As part of the settlement, Amazon will pay $1 billion to the FTC as a civil penalty and will refund a total of $1.5 billion to nearly 35 million customers.
The app Neon recently hit the number two spot on the App Store’s ranking of top free social networking apps. Neon users, who receive payments in return for their engagement, allow the app to record their phone calls. The company pays them 30¢ per minute for calling other Neon users, and 15¢ per minute for calling non-Neon users. In total, users can earn a maximum of $30 per day on calls. While the company claims to only record one side of the conversation (unless it’s with another Neon user), there’s no way of verifying the claim. Neon then sells the collected data to artificial intelligence companies, who may use it to train models. The app itself has already had a security breach, resulting in a temporary shutdown.
International
Over the weekend, Typhoon Bualoi wrought destruction over Asia. In the Philippines, there are at least 20 confirmed deaths, with the toll likely to rise as recovery efforts begin. In Vietnam, wind speeds were as fast as 83 miles per hour, ripping off roofs and downing power lines. Around two million were said to be experiencing power outages. The storm comes on the heels of Typhoon Ragasa, which has been hailed as the strongest storm of the year in the world and led to the evacuation of about 1.9 million people in China.
Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has received a £2 billion loan from the United Kingdom after a cyberattack shut down its production lines in early September. The stoppage has cost the automaker an estimated £500 million per week and left several suppliers at risk of bankruptcy. This is believed to be the first instance of the UK government offering a loan to a company impacted by a cyberattack. Jaguar Land Rover will have five years to pay back the loan.
