Tech

In this articleGOOGLCarsten Koall | Getty ImagesGoogle has reassigned global diversity lead Kamau Bobb after it deemed his past comments as antisemitic.Bobb, a global lead for diversity strategy and research at Google, has been in the role at the company for nearly three years, according to his LinkedIn profile.The Washington Free Beacon recently surfaced a 2007 blog post by Bobb about Israel in which he wrote that Jewish people had an “insensitivity” to suffering and stated “If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself.” He also imagined if he were Jewish, writing, “I don’t know how I would reconcile that identity with the behavior of fundamentalist Jewish extremists or of Israel as a nation.” The post has since been removed, but is duplicated here.A Google spokesperson told CNBC that Bobb has apologized for his remarks and will no longer be part of the diversity team going forward. He will work in STEM education at the company.”We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community,” the company said

In this articleTSLAA Model Y vehicle displayed at a Tesla flagship store on Jan. 4, 2021 in Shanghai, China.Gao Yuwen | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesTesla shares dropped more than 4% in mid-day trading Thursday after a report that the company’s vehicle orders declined steeply in China during the month of May.The Information, citing a single source familiar with the data, wrote that Tesla’s “monthly net orders in China dropped to about 9,800 in May from more than 18,000 in April.” CNBC has not corroborated that report.Tesla’s Shanghai factory is supposed to have the capacity to make around half a million electric cars a year for deliveries in China and exports to other parts of Asia and Europe.Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company has been grappling with recalls and safety investigations in China, and a public relations backlash there following some high-profile vehicle crashes, price changes and quality complaints from Chinese customers.According to analysis of Tesla job listings over time by Snow Bull Capital, the company is stepping up hiring for “Legal & Government Affairs” positions in 2021 across the country, and generally ramping up hiring at its Shanghai plant.GF3 is quickly becoming the production center of M3 exported to

In this articleGOOGLSundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android, Chrome and Apps for Google Inc., speaks during the Google I/O Annual Developers Conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, June 25, 2014.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesGoogle is tightening its privacy practices that could make it harder for companies to track users on Android phones and tablets.Google already allows Android users to opt-out of personalized ads. But even if users do that, software developers may still access the user’s Advertising ID, a unique string of characters that identifies the user’s device. Firms can use this Advertising ID for purposes such as allowing developers to measure app usage or letting advertisers detect and prevent invalid traffic.Following the change, if a user has opted out of personalized ads, the Advertising ID will not be available — requests for it will return only a string of zeros. The company said in a policy update that its rollout will affect apps running on Android 12 devices starting in late 2021 and will expand to apps running on devices that support Google Play in early 2022. It said it will “provide an alternate solution to support essential use cases such as analytics and

In this articleTSLATesla CEO Elon Musk views the new Tesla Model Y at its unveiling in Hawthorne, California on March 14, 2019.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesAccording to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website, Tesla has initiated two new recalls over possible seat belt issues affecting up to 7,696 vehicles in the U.S.One recall applies to up to 5,530 of Tesla’s electric cars including 2018 to 2020 Model 3s and 2019 to 2021 Model Ys. It concerns the safety belts in the driver’s and front passenger’s seats. The cars were manufactured between July 6, 2018, and March 21, 2020.Tesla told NHTSA in a defect notice that this issue resulted from workers’ failures to always torque the seat belts into place correctly or to properly verify specifications were met after installing the seat belts.NHTSA wrote in a recall acknowledgment: “an improperly attached fastener may prevent the seat belt system from performing as designed, increasing the risk of injury.”The second recall applies to up to 2,166 of Tesla’s 2019 to 2021 Model Y crossovers manufactured by Tesla between Nov. 26, 2019, and March 30, 2021.”During assembly, if the operator made several unsuccessful attempts to torque the second-row left- or

In this article9988-HKA logo of Ant Group is pictured at the headquarters of the company, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 29, 2020.Aly Song | ReutersGUANGZHOU, China — China has given its approval to Ant Group to operate a consumer finance company, a key positive step in the forced restructuring of its business just months after regulators slammed the brakes on its record-breaking listing.Ant will hold a 50% stake in the new entity and contribute 4 billion Chinese yuan ($625.93 million) in registered capital, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said on Thursday.Another six shareholders will contribute 4 billion yuan and hold the remaining 50%. The company will be registered in the southwestern city of Chongqing with a total registered capital of 8 billion yuan.The business will be able to give out personal loans and issue bonds among other things. The consumer finance company will also house Ant’s credit businesses Huabei and Jiebei. These are critical for the company and previously big drivers of revenue.In November, Ant Group, which is controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, was set to carry out a record-breaking $34.5 billion initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong. But Chinese authorities

Less than two months after Coinbase’s stock market debut, rival crypto exchange Kraken is bringing its mobile app to the U.S. as retail investors flock to digital currencies. Starting Wednesday, the new Kraken App will allow many users across the U.S. to securely buy and sell more than 50 crypto tokens from their mobile phones.”This consumer app is our first major foray into supporting wider consumer adoption in a much more simplified, easy-to-use interface,” Chief Product Officer Jeremy Welch told CNBC. The app launched in Europe earlier this year.In terms of trading volume, Kraken is the world’s fourth-largest digital currency exchange.In a crowded field of cryptocurrency apps, Kraken claims to offer “the lowest fees in the industry.” It points to its speedy verification and onboarding times as a key benefit. The fastest onboarding and purchase test is under a minute, depending on the user’s bank.Outside the U.S., Kraken is popular because of its margin and futures trading offerings, which are not yet available to U.S. consumers. Launched in 2013, Kraken says it has 7 million clients. It said its May trading volume grew more than sixfold from January.”The last five months have been pretty unreal at Kraken,” said Welch. “We’ve seen a

In this articleAMZNDevin Hance | CNBCAmazon’s Ring will soon begin requiring police departments’ requests for user videos or information collected by the company’s smart doorbells and cameras to be made publicly.In a blog post Thursday, Ring said starting next week public safety agencies will only be able to submit requests for video clips through its community safety app, called Neighbors, via public posts accessible on the app’s main feed. Previously, agencies could privately message users to request videos.Ring has been beset with concerns around privacy and racial profiling as it has formed partnerships with police departments that allow the agencies to request videos and share updates with Ring users. Thousands of police and fire departments in the U.S. have partnered with Ring, according to the company’s active agency tracker.Amazon acquired Ring in February 2018. The company, which operates as a subsidiary of Amazon, offers an array of smart security devices that allow people to remotely check in on their homes, including video doorbells, floodlights, window and door alarms. It’s also releasing a flying security camera drone.Ring’s smart doorbell, one of its most popular products, is equipped with a security camera that automatically starts recording when it detects motion. The user

In this articleTWTRTwitter announced on Thursday the launch of Twitter Blue, the company’s first subscription service designed for power users willing to pay a monthly fee for exclusive features.It’s the company’s first attempt at a subscription business model and could diversify Twitter’s revenue streams. Advertising makes up more than 86% of Twitter’s revenue, according to its first-quarter earnings report.Shares of Twitter were up about 2.3% on Thursday morning.The service is rolling out to users in Canada and Australia respectively for $3.49 and $4.49 in local currencies per month. The company did not say when Twitter Blue will become available for U.S. users.The social media company set goals earlier this year to accelerate the speed at which it launches new products. It hopes to reach 315 million monetizable daily active users by the end of 2023 and double its annual revenue to $7.5 billion by the end of 2023.Jack Dorsey, CEO, Twitter testifies at Congressional hearing, March 25, 2021.CNBCTwitter Blue users will get an Undo Tweet feature that allows them to set a customizable timer of up to 30 seconds to take back a tweet if it needs to be fixed. The feature is not quite an edit button, a feature

In this articleAAPLThe Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park in Cupertino, California.Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesApple employees will return to the office three days a week starting in early September, the company confirmed to CNBC.”For all that we’ve been able to achieve while many of us have been separated, the truth is that there has been something essential missing from this past year: each other,” CEO Tim Cook said in an email to employees that was obtained by The Verge. “Video conference calling has narrowed the distance between us, to be sure, but there are things it simply cannot replicate.”Apple will ask most employees to work in the office on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Some teams will be asked to return four to five days a week.Employees will have the option to work remotely two weeks out of the year.Companies are increasingly bringing employees back to the offices as Covid-19 vaccines roll out and cases decrease. But for many tech companies, the pandemic allowed employers to relax their stance on in-office work and adopt a remote work mindset permanently.Twitter and Square, for example, are letting employees work from home “forever.”Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Omar Marques | LightRocket | Getty ImagesLONDON — A “significantly high” number of cryptocurrency firms are failing to meet U.K. requirements on preventing money laundering, the country’s financial services watchdog has warned.Businesses offering crypto-related services are required to register with the Financial Conduct Authority. The regulator introduced a temporary licensing regime for firms whose applications haven’t yet been approved to allow them to continue trading.The FCA said Thursday that it had pushed back the deadline for the so-called Temporary Registration Regime from July 9, 2021, to March 31, 2022.”A significantly high number of businesses are not meeting the required standards under the Money Laundering Regulations resulting in an unprecedented number of businesses withdrawing their applications,” the FCA said in a statement.”The extended date allows cryptoasset firms to continue to carry on business whilst the FCA continues with the robust assessment being undertaken.”Just five crypto companies are currently registered with the FCA. Those include Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’ Gemini and British start-up Ziglu. There are dozens of applicants sitting on the Temporary Registration Regime list.Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have long been dogged by worries over their use in illegal activities like money laundering and cyberattacks. That’s because the people transacting them don’t