Tech

In this articleAAPLFaceTime on AndroidAppleDuring its developer event on Monday, Apple announced that anyone — including Android and Windows users — will soon be able to join FaceTime calls.The feature, which will roll out this fall, could help Apple keep customers from defecting to competing video chat apps such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams when they need to video chat with friends and colleagues who aren’t on an Apple device.Apple isn’t launching an Android FaceTime app, though. Instead, it will let you schedule and share FaceTime calls using a unique web link. Once someone receives that link, whether on Windows or Android, they’ll be able to jump in and participate in the call. Apple said it’s still end-to-end encrypted so it’s still private.People who want to join a FaceTime call just need to be running the latest version of Google’s Chrome or Microsoft’s Edge web browser, according to Apple’s website.People will still need an Apple device to start the call, or to partake in some of the new features Apple announced for FaceTime on Monday, such as watching a movie together or listening to music, which may require specific Apple apps depending on what you’re trying to do.Subscribe to CNBC

In this articleCRMMarc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com speaks during the grand opening ceremonies for the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco on May 22, 2018.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSalesforce CEO Marc Benioff said Monday that he expects half or more of his company’s employees to continue working from home after the pandemic.Despite hefty real estate investments in recent years, including opening the 61-floor Salesforce Tower in San Francisco in 2018, Benioff said he has accepted that there’s no return to the pre-Covid days. In an interview that aired on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Benioff said 50% to 60% of staffers will likely work from home, up from about 20% before the pandemic hit.”The past is gone,” Benioff said. “We’ve created a whole new world, a new digital future, and you can see it playing out today.”Like the broader cloud software industry, Salesforce has powered through the pandemic, as companies became more reliant on tools that enabled their customers and employees to stay productive from remote environments. Salesforce’s revenue last fiscal year climbed 24% to $21.3 billion, keeping expansion roughly in line with its five-year average.Benioff highlighted some of his company’s projects with government organizations around

In this articleVPCCJason Wilk, DaveBanking app Dave announced Monday that the company will make its market debut through a SPAC merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings III.The agreement values Dave at $4 billion and is expected to close in the second half of this year. Upon completion of the deal, it intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DAVE.The company, ranked No. 26 on last year’s CNBC Disruptor 50 list, was most recently valued at $1 billion in August 2019, according to PitchBook data.Victory Park Capital, a global investment firm headquartered in Chicago, has a long track record of debt and equity financing transactions in fintech, and has been a longstanding investor in Dave, most recently providing a $100 million credit facility to the company in January 2021. VPCC completed its initial public offering in March 2021.Dave — shorthand for the hero in the David vs. Goliath tale — is designed to eliminate many of the features customers can’t stand about legacy banks. The company started with overdraft fees. For a $1-per-month membership fee, users can access checking accounts with no fees and up to $100 in overdraft protection without fees or interest. Members who sign up for direct deposit also

A sign warns consumers on the avaliability of gasoline at a RaceTrac gas station on May 11, 2021, in Smyrna, Georgia.Elijah Nouvelage | AFP | Getty ImagesWASHINGTON – U.S. law enforcement officials said Monday they were able to retrieve some of the money paid to a criminal cybergroup on the heels of a crippling ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline, according to NBC News.Officials from the Department of Justice are slated to discuss the operation at a 3:15 ET press briefing.Last month a criminal cybergroup known as DarkSide launched a sweeping ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline. The cyberattack forced the company to shut down approximately 5,500 miles of American fuel pipeline, leading to a disruption of nearly half of the East Coast fuel supply and causing gasoline shortages in the Southeast.Ransomware attacks involve malware that encrypts files on a device or network that results in the system becoming inoperable. Criminals behind these types of cyberattacks typically demand a ransom in exchange for the release of data.Colonial Pipeline paid the ransom to hackers, one source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC.After the attack by DarkSide, Biden told reporters that the U.S. did not currently have intelligence linking the group’s ransomware attack to the Russian government.

In this articleCMCSASimone Biles competes on the uneven bars prior to the Senior Women’s competition of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Dickies Arena on June 06, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas.Jamie Squire | Getty ImagesNBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC, announced Monday it will show more than 7,000 hours of content from the Tokyo Olympics across its networks and streaming platforms.Historically, the Summer Olympics has been a massive draw for viewers. In 2016, the two-week event attracted an average of 27.5 million viewers across all NBC platforms, and delivered 3.3 billion minutes of streaming video. The 2012 Games in London attracted roughly 31 million viewers, and the 2008 Beijing Olympics averaged 27 million viewers.This year’s spectacle, which was postponed from 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, runs from July 23 to Aug. 8, with NBC’s broadcast network anchoring prime-time events. The games will include 41 sporting events, including new competitions such as baseball, softball, skateboarding, surfing and karate.NBC will show popular competitions, including the USA men’s basketball team’s chase for a 16th gold medal, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, swimming and gymnastics featuring USA champion Simone Biles. More than 5,000 hours will stream on NBColympics.comIn addition, cable sports network NBCSN will

In this articleFBThe founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg speaks during the 56th Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on February 15, 2020.Christof Stache | AFP | Getty ImagesFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced that the social media company will wait until at least 2023 before taking a cut of revenue from creators who use the site to distribute their work or promote events.Specifically, the company will not take a cut of any revenue generated by paid online events, fan subscriptions, badges, and Facebook’s upcoming independent news product, Zuckerberg said in a post on Facebook.Zuckerberg also used his post to make a jab at Apple, which kicks off its WWDC annual developers conference on Monday.”When we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30% that Apple and others take,” Zuckerberg wrote, referring to the cut Apple takes on all products sold through apps that users have downloaded through its App Store. “We’re also launching a new payout interface so creators can see how different companies’ fees and taxes are impacting their earnings.”Zuckerberg’s retort is the latest incident in a long-running feud between Facebook and Apple, which reached a new peak earlier this spring

In this articleGOOGLAMZNAAPLSPOTMauricio Santana | WireImage | Getty ImagesLONDON — Some of the biggest names in the music industry have called on the U.K. government to change the way musicians get paid when their songs are streamed online over platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.The Rolling Stones and Tom Jones are among 75 artists who have added their names to a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to change the law regarding the royalties paid from streaming.Other new signatories include Pet Shop Boys, Yoko Ono, Van Morrison, Barry Gibb, Emeli Sandé and Jarvis Cocker. The total number of signatures now stands at 227. “Streaming is quickly replacing radio as our main means of music communication. However, the law has not kept up with the pace of technological change and, as a result, performers and songwriters do not enjoy the same protections as they do in radio,” the letter reads.”Today’s musicians receive very little income from their performances — most featured artists receive tiny fractions of a U.S. cent per stream and session musicians receive nothing at all.”The campaigners — led by the Musicians’ Union, Music Producers Guild, Ivors Academy and the #BrokenRecord initiative — argue that songwriters are struggling

In this articleAAPLGOOGLFBAMZNThis photograph taken on September 28, 2017, shows a smartphone being operated in front of the logos of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon web giants.Damien Meyer | AFP | Getty ImagesThe world’s biggest tech companies are facing a corporate tax avoidance crackdown after the Group of Seven most developed economies agreed a historic deal Saturday.The G-7 backed a U.S. proposal that calls for corporations around the world to pay a minimum 15% tax on profits. The reforms, if finalized, would affect the largest companies in the world with profit margins of at least 10%.Looking ahead, the G-7 hopes to achieve a wider agreement on the new tax proposals next month at a gathering of the expanded G-20 finance ministers.Asked whether Amazon and Facebook would be among the companies targeted by the proposal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she believes they would “qualify by almost any definition.”Here’s how America’s tech giants reacted to the news:AmazonAmazon said the agreement “marks a welcome step forward” in efforts to “bring stability to the international tax system.””We hope to see discussions continue to advance with the broader G20 and Inclusive Framework alliance,” an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC by email.FacebookNick Clegg, Facebook’s vice

In this articleAMZNJeff Bezos takes a look at the New Shepard rocket booster on the landing pad after a successful NS-15 flight and landing in April 2021.Blue OriginJeff Bezos will fly on the first passenger flight of his space company Blue Origin, which the company plans to launch on July 20, the billionaire announced Monday.”I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Bezos said in a video posted to his Instagram.Bezos’ brother Mark will join him, as will the winner of an auction being held for one of the seats. The highest bid stands at $2.8 million as of Monday morning, five days before the auction closes.”I wasn’t even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight,” Mark Bezos said in the video. “What a remarkable opportunity, not only to have this adventure but to do it with my best friend.”Blue Origin’s space tourism system New Shepard, a rocket that carries a capsule to the edge of space, has flown more than a dozen successful test flights without passengers on board, including one in April at the company’s facility in the Texas desert.New Shepard is

In this articleNWSASundar Pichai, chief executive officer at Google LLC, speaks during the Google Cloud Next ’19 event in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Tuesday, April 9, 2019.Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFrance’s competition watchdog has fined Google 220 million euros ($268 million) for abusing its market power in the online advertising industry.The French Competition Authority said Monday Google had unfairly sent business to its own services, and discriminated against the competition. Google has agreed to end some of its self-preferencing practices, the watchdog said.The investigation found that Google gave preferential treatment to its DFP advertising server, which allows publishers of sites and applications to sell their advertising space, and its SSP AdX listing platform, which organizes auction processes and allows publishers to sell their “impressions” or advertising inventory to advertisers. Google’s rivals and publishers suffered as a result, the regulator said.Isabelle de Silva, president of the French Competition Authority, said in a statement that the decision is the first in the world “to look at the complex algorithmic auction processes by which online advertising ‘display’ operates.”She added that the investigation revealed processes by which Google favored itself over its competitors on both advertising servers and supply-side platforms, which