Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg apologises to families in fiery US Senate hearing.

 

 Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to families who say their children had been harmed by social media, during a fiery hearing in the US Senate.

Mr Zuckerberg - who runs Instagram and Facebook - turned to them and said "no-one should go through" what they had.

He and the bosses of TikTok, Snap, X and Discord were questioned for almost four hours by senators from both parties.

Lawmakers wanted to know what they are doing to protect children online.

It was a rare opportunity for the US senators to question tech bosses.

Mr Zuckerberg and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew voluntarily agreed to testify - but the heads of Snap, X (formerly Twitter) and messaging platform Discord initially refused and were sent government-issued subpoenas.

Behind the five tech bosses sat families who said their children had self-harmed or killed themselves as a result of social media content.

They made their feelings known throughout, hissing when the CEOs entered and applauding when lawmakers asked tough questions.

While the hearing mostly focused on the protection of children from online sexual exploitation, the questions varied widely as the senators took advantage of having five powerful executives there under oath.

TikTok - which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance - CEO Mr Chew was asked whether his company shared US users' data with the Chinese government, which he denied.

US Senator Tom Cotton asked Mr Chew, who is from Singapore, if he had ever belonged to the Chinese Communist Party.

"Senator, I'm Singaporean. No," Mr Chew replied.

Mr Cotton then asked, "Have you ever been associated or affiliated with Chinese Communist Party?"

Mr Chew responded: "No, senator. Again, I'm Singaporean." He added that as a father of three young children he knew the issues under discussion were "horrific and the nightmare of every parent".

He admitted his own children did not use TikTok because of the rules in Singapore which bar under-13s from creating accounts.

But it was Mr Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, who came under the most scrutiny, as he testified before Congress for an eighth time.

At one point, Republican Senator Ted Cruz asked, "Mr Zuckerberg, what the hell were you thinking?" when he showed the tech boss an Instagram prompt that warns users they may be about to see child sexual abuse material, but asks if they would like to "see the results anyway".

Mr Zuckerberg said the "basic science behind that" is "it's often helpful to, rather than just blocking it, to help direct them towards something that could be helpful". He also promised to "personally look into it".

Families held up photos of their loved ones in the audience

During another exchange with Republican Senator Josh Hawley, Mr Zuckerberg was invited to apologise to the families sitting behind him.

He stood up, turned to the audience and said: "I'm sorry for everything you've all gone through, it's terrible.

"No-one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered."

Senators frustrated at lack of progress

At the heart of the hearing was the companies' attitudes to legislation currently going through Congress which aim to hold them to account for material posted on their platforms. This was summed up in a tense exchange between Jason Citron of Discord and Republican lawmaker Lindsey Graham. Mr Graham listed a number of bills going through Congress related to online safety, asking if Mr Citron supported them or not. While he gave Mr Citron little opportunity to respond, the Discord boss appeared to have reservations about most of them.

Mr Graham concluded: "So here you are - if you're waiting on these guys to solve the problem, we're gonna die waiting". Social media industry analyst Matt Navarra told the BBC he thought the hearing resembled many similar showdowns, with "lots of US political grandstanding" and a perfect photo opportunity provided by Mr Zuckerberg's apology. He added that despite senators agreeing on the need for bipartisan legislation to regulate platforms, the question of what happens next remained unclear. "We've seen these hearings time and time again and they have often, so far, led still to not actually generate any significant or substantial regulation," he said. "We're in 2024 and US has virtually no regulation, as was pointed out during the hearings, with regards to the social media companies." The bosses also revealed how many people they employed to moderate content on their platforms. Meta and TikTok, with the largest user numbers of the platforms represented, said they had 40,000 moderators each, while Snap said it had 2,300, X had 2,000 and Discord - who said it was smaller - had "hundreds" of moderators. Discord is a messaging platform and has previously been questioned over how it detects and prevents child abuse across its platform. After the hearing, some of the parents who were in the room staged a rally outside, with several calling on lawmakers to urgently pass legislation to hold firms accountable. "Just like I did, many parents continue to think that these harms that we're talking about today won't affect their families," said Joann Bogard, whose son Mason died in May 2019. She said he had taken part in a TikTok choking trend. "These harms are happening overnight to our average kids," she said. "We have the testimonies. Now is the time for our legislators to pass the Kids Online Safety Act".

Arturo Béjar, a former senior staff member who testified to Congress in November 2023, was also there, and told the BBC: "Meta is trying to push their responsibility to provide a safe environment for teens to parents, yet won't add a button where a teen can tell them they've experienced an unwanted advance."

"How can they make it safe for teens without that?"

During today's hearing, Meta said it had brought in "over 30 tools" to support a safe environment for teens online.

Source: www.bbc.com

Dow eclipses 19,000 for first time in its 120-year history

Dow eclipses 19,000 for first time in its 120-year history

Get out the Dow 19,000 rally caps. The Dow Jones industrial average, arguably the world's best-known stock market gauge, crossed the 19,000 barrier in early trading Tuesday for the first time in its 120-year history.

Starbucks Names Its First China CEO

Starbucks Names Its First China CEO

The company said it plans to more than double its store count in China by 2021.

A Starbucks store in Kuan Zhai Alley, one of the top attractions in Chengdu, China.

Starbucks on Wednesday named its first chief executive officer for China and said it plans to more than double its store count in that country to 5,000 by 2021.

The world’s biggest coffee chain promoted Belinda Wong to the title of CEO of Starbucks SBUX -0.28% China. Wong, who had been president of that operation, will continue to report to John Culver, group president of Starbucks Global Retail.

Icahn Claims Victory in Herbalife’s Battle of Billionaires

Icahn Claims Victory in Herbalife’s Battle of Billionaires

Billionaire Carl Icahn claimed victory after Herbalife Ltd. settled with federal regulators and may now double down on his investment in the controversial nutrition company following a three-year battle with short seller Bill Ackman.

The Federal Trade Commission didn’t find that Herbalife is a pyramid scheme, a decision that validates Icahn’s own research into the company, he said in a statement on Friday. The Herbalife board also agreed to increase Icahn’s ownership limit to 35 percent from 25 percent, letting the investor take a more active role in steering the company’s strategy -- and potentially push it toward acquisitions. He already was Herbalife’s biggest shareholder, with an 18 percent stake.

“Unlike many of those that ‘shorted’ Herbalife, we did not rely on one or two research papers prepared by non-experts,” Icahn, 80, said in the statement. “While Bill Ackman and I are on friendly terms, we have agreed to disagree (vehemently) on this subject. Simply stated, the shorts have been completely wrong on Herbalife.”

Icahn’s investment in Herbalife, announced in February 2013, set up a public showdown with fellow billionaire Ackman. Icahn quickly became a high-profile advocate for Herbalife and installed five board members, putting his inner circle behind the nutrition company. Ackman, who runs Pershing Square Capital Management, had disclosed a $1 billion bet against Herbalife in December 2012, saying it was an illegal operation that should be shut down.

Ackman, 50, hired his own researchers to dig into Herbalife’s dealings and released a series of videos and presentations that he said showed the company was crooked. His crusade continued into this week: On Thursday, Pershing Square released its 18th video in a series criticizing the company. But the FTC resolved its investigation into Herbalife without striking a death blow. Under terms of the settlement, the company will have to pay about $200 million and change some business practices.

In its response to the decision, Pershing Square cited the FTC’s findings that most Herbalife participants earn little to no profit or lose money. The firm also said the changes to its operations will hamper the company and noted that the agency didn’t specifically say one way or the other whether Herbalife was a pyramid scheme.

“While it appears that Herbalife negotiated away the words ‘pyramid scheme’ from the settlement agreement, the FTC’s findings are clear,” the firm said in a statement. “We expect that once Herbalife’s business restructuring is fully implemented, these fundamental structural changes will cause the pyramid to collapse.”

‘Roll-Ups’ Ahead?

Even so, the FTC decision bring a measure of stability to a company laboring under a cloud for years. It also could set the stage for Herbalife to acquire rival companies, Icahn said. The stock soared as much as 22 percent to $72.22 on Friday.

“It is time to consider a range of strategic opportunities, including potential roll-ups involving competitors, as well as other strategic transactions,” he said.

Herbalife relies on an army of independent distributors to sell its weight-loss shakes and supplements -- an arrangement that Ackman said led to abuse. Icahn disputed that view on Friday, comparing Herbalife to his summer job selling Fuller Brush products door-to-door as a teen.

“I ended up earning more during the summer than my father,” he said. “Many of my friends who also started with me but were not willing to work as hard failed as salesmen. But no one would believe their failure made Fuller Brush a ‘bad’ company.”



source: bloomberg

Starbucks to raise wages for US workers in October

Starbucks to raise wages for US workers in October

A barista froths milk for a drink inside a Starbucks Corp. coffee shop in New York.

Starbucks will raise the wages of all workers in its U.S. stores this autumn, after being accused by employees of "extreme" cutbacks in work hours at its American cafes.

The world's biggest coffee chain will increase base pay for all U.S. workers and store managers at company-operated stores by at least 5 percent starting Oct. 3, Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a letter to employees on Monday.

Starbucks, which recently announced price increases for some drinks, also will double the annual stock reward to hourly employees who have worked at company-operated stores for at least two years

Combined, the steps will result in a wage hike of 5 percent to 15 percent for all employees at company-operated stores, Starbucks said.

The company previously announced that it would spend more than $275 million in incremental partner and digital investments in 2015 and 2016, with a significant amount of that money going toward partner wages.

However, the wage increases that will take place in October are in addition to that figure, Starbucks told CNBC.

More than 12,800 people, including many self-identified Starbucks workers, have signed an online petition alleging that staffing hour reductions are battering employee morale and hurting service. Starbucks recently introduced potentially labor-saving technology that allows customers to order and pay for drinks and other products via mobile phones and other devices.

Beyond worries about customer service and morale, commenters on the online petition said they were not getting enough hours to make ends meet or to afford Starbucks benefits, including healthcare and college tuition reimbursement.

CEO Schultz said the company would address scheduling concerns.

"You have my personal commitment that we will work with every partner (employee) to ensure you have the hours you need," he said.

The company, which has been grappling with cooling sales growth at its popular cafes, has repeatedly said there is no nationwide reduction in labor hours at the chain. Schultz did not directly reference the petition or employee concerns about labor hour cuts in his letter on Monday.

"Howard Schultz did not acknowledge or validate the labor crisis in the stores," said petition author Jaime Prater, a Los Angeles-area Starbucks barista. "Until that is addressed, or simply acknowledged, my job isn't finished."

The Seattle-based company, which has a reputation for offering better pay and benefits than many other chains, said that about 150,000 workers in roughly 7,600 U.S. company-operated cafes will be affected by the change. Starbucks' new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

Unlike rival McDonald's, Starbucks has been largely unaffected by a union-supported multiyear restaurant worker campaign that seeks a minimum wage of $15 per hour and the right to unionize. That effort has helped spur pay raises at companies like McDonald's, as well as minimum wage increases in major cities and states.

Starbucks shares were down 33 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $56.19 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.


source: cnbc

Beverly Hills billionaire to take over Twinkies maker Hostess Brands

Beverly Hills billionaire to take over Twinkies maker Hostess Brands

When Hostess announced plans to close down for good in late 2012, it kicked off a run on Twinkies, Ding Dongs and the company’s other classic goodies, with fans fearful their favorite cream-filled cakes would soon be gone forever.

Among the buyers were some of Beverly Hills billionaire Alec Gores’ five children.

“Even my own kids were out trying to buy the last Twinkies,” said Gores, founder and chief executive of Beverly Hills private equity firm Gores Group. “It’s a big brand. It has big, iconic products.”

Now, it’s Gores himself who wants a piece of the sugary snack maker.

He and other investors are teaming up to buy Hostess Brands in a $2.3-billion deal, marking yet another twist in the ownership of the company – and adding another chapter to its unlikely comeback story.

Hostess’ current owners, billionaire food magnate C. Dean Metropoulos and New York private equity firm Apollo Global Management, on Tuesday announced they would sell a controlling stake in the snack-cake maker to Gores Holdings, a shell corporation created in August with the express purpose of buying a company with growth prospects.

The deal lets Hostess go public more quickly and easily compared with the traditional route of filing for an initial public offering.

Though Hostess will be its own public company after the deal, Gores Group, Apollo and Metropoulos will all own big stakes. Gores’ firm will control some of the company’s board seats and Metropoulos will serve as Hostess’ chairman.

Gores Group created Gores Holdings in August, raising $375 million in a public offering. Gores said the firm looked at about 30 companies before settling on Hostess as its acquisition target.

He said the baking company – which has gone through a long list of owners over its nearly 100-year history, and went through bankruptcy twice in less than 10 years – is now a healthy, if not healthful, business, and one that still has plenty of upside.

“It’s a very stable business that does as well in a bad economy as in a good one,” Gores said. “They have amazing margins, and they have room to grow. They could have gone public, but we were public already.”

The company brought in revenue of $650 million in the 12 months ending in May, and posted gross earnings – before interest payments, taxes and a few other costs – of $220 million, according to a press release announcing the deal.

He said Hostess can continue to grow sales by developing new products and expanding its product lines, such as in-store baked goods for grocery stores.

Gores Holdings will buy Hostess for about $725 million in cash – $375 million raised in last year’s public offering, plus another $350 million in new cash from Gores, Metropoulos and other investors.

Between the cash, equity from Apollo and Metropoulos and about $1.2 billion in debt, the deal values Hostess at about $2.3 billion, according to Gores Group and Apollo. The deal is expected to close this fall.

Gores said Metropoulos’ continued involvement with the company was a big part of his interest in Hostess.

Metropoulos has turned around struggling food and beverage companies before. In one recent deal, he acquired Pabst Brewing Co. for $250 million in 2010, then sold it in 2014 for a reported price of more than $700 million.

“He’s a great operator,” Gores said of Metropoulos. “He’s by far one of the best in the world.”

Under Apollo and Metropoulos’ ownership, Hostess slashed costs – and jobs – by increasing automation and changing how it distributes products.

The company today has little resemblance to the Hostess that filed for bankruptcy protection in 2012, when it employed 18,500 workers. The old firm operated dozens of bakeries and distribution centers, made bread and a wide range of other bakery products, had pricey labor and pension agreements with its workers and was pushed into liquidation after a bakery workers’ strike.

Today’s hostess is much smaller, operating just three bakeries that make snack cakes almost exclusively, and is out from under the old company’s labor and pension agreements. It has fewer than 2,000 employees.

Jim Prevor, a food industry analyst, said with those problems behind it, Hostess is well positioned to post steady revenue and earnings.

Despite long-term trends toward healthier eating and away from the kind of sugary, preservative-heavy snacks that are Hostess’ calling card, he said Twinkies, Ding Dongs and other Hostess treats still have huge name recognition and are must-have items for retailers.

“The brands are really an entitlement to shelf space at every supermarket and convenience store in America,” he said. “The problems that company had in the past have nothing to do with the problems of the [snack food] category.”

Though they’ll retain a big stake in Hostess, Apollo and Metropoulos have already made solid returns on their initial investment.

They bought the company’s snack-cake brands and operations for $409 million in 2013. Last year, they company took on more than $1 billion in new debt, with $905 million of that paid to Apollo, Metropoulous and their investors, according to a report from credit rating Moody’s.



source: latimes

Apple Sued in China Over Showing of War Film From the 1990s

Apple Sued in China Over Showing of War Film From the 1990s

Apple is being sued by a subsidiary of China's broadcasting regulator over a propaganda film more than 20 years old, in the latest legal wrangling for the tech giant in China in recent weeks.

A Beijing court says the case has been brought by a production center that alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast a film that depicts Chinese fighting against Japanese soldiers in northern China in the early 1930s.

The plaintiff is also suing the developer and operator of the Youku HD app available on Apple's App Store that it says enabled users to watch the film and caused it "huge economic losses," according to the Beijing Haidian District People's Court.

The court says it has accepted the case brought by Movie Satellite Channel Program Production Center that comes under the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

The plaintiff alleges that Apple has infringed its exclusive online rights to broadcast "Xuebo dixiao," which loosely translates as "Bloody Fight with the Fierce Enemy" and was first shown in 1994.

The production center is also suing Heyi Information and Technology (Beijing) Company Ltd., which developed and operated the Youku HD app, the court said in an online statement Thursday.

The app is sold by Youku.com, according to information on Apple's iTunes site. The Youku site is one of China's best known movie and TV program streaming sites and is owned by Youku Tudou Inc., which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The plaintiff wants the two companies to immediately stop broadcasting the film and is seeking compensation of 50,000 yuan ($7,500) plus its "reasonable expenditure" of 20,158 yuan ($3,000) in attempting to stop the infringement of its rights, the court said.

Emailed requests for comment to Apple spokespeople were not answered Saturday, and a spokesman for Youku Tudou was not able to immediately comment.

Apple Inc. has recently faced legal setbacks and other obstacles in China, its second-biggest global market.

In April, it suspended its iBooks and iTunes Movies services, reportedly due to an order by Chinese regulators.

In May, a Beijing intellectual property tribunal in Beijing ordered Apple to stop selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the city after finding they look too much like a model made by a small Chinese brand. Sales of the phones are continuing while Apple appeals.

Also that month, Apple suffered another setback when a court ruled that a Chinese company is allowed to use the iPhone trademark on bags, wallets and other leather goods.




source: abcnews