Bytes: Week in Review — FTC’s latest tech crackdown, Trump’s pro-crypto campaign and Threads turns a year old
The Republican Party officially adopted former President Donald Trump’s 2024 platform this week. The GOP is now taking a friendly approach to cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, with plans to roll back regulation of both.
Plus, Meta’s Threads platform celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. The social media app once called the Twitter killer — now X killer — says it has amassed 175 million users. But has it really broken through?
But first, the Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on the popular anonymous messaging app NGL. The commission accused the app’s parent company of tricking customers, exaggerating its ability to use AI to stop cyberbullying and violating children’s privacy laws.
NGL, which was the most downloaded product on the Apple App Store in 2022, called the allegations “factually incorrect.”
But the company did agree to a settlement, the terms of which include barring minors from using the app.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino is joined by Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, for her take on this week’s tech news.
More on everything we talked about
“F.T.C. Bars Anonymous Messaging App From Serving Users Under Age 18” from The New York Times
“In a first, federal regulators ban messaging app from hosting minors” from The Washington Post
FTC Order Will Ban NGL Labs and its Founders from Offering Anonymous Messaging Apps to Kids Under 18 and Halt Deceptive Claims Around AI Content Moderation from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
NGL Response to FTC Settlement from NGL
“Tech winners from Trump’s 2024 platform: crypto, AI and Elon Musk” from The Washington Post
“Crypto is Trump’s new weapon against Biden” from Politico
“U.S. Election Is Crypto’s Make-or-Break Moment” from The Information
“Meta’s Threads is thriving one year in, but X is still in the fight” from The Verge
“Elon Musk Proposes ‘Cage Match’ With Mark Zuckerberg” from The New York Times
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