Nilay Patel / The Verge: Q&A with Sen. Brian Schatz on Congress’ dysfunction in the tech space, regulating tech companies, the EU’s DMA, AI, deepfakes, social media laws for kids, more  —  Today, I’m talking with Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii.  He’s been in the Senate for a little more than a decade now, and he’s seen a lot in that time. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Suzanne Smalley / The Record: Legislators and privacy experts detail how the tech industry has sought to water down state privacy regulation in the US; 13 US states now have privacy laws  —  New Jersey’s governor signed a hard-fought data privacy law earlier this month, making the state one of eight nationwide … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Mike Isaac / New York Times: Analysis: tech layoffs in 2024, totaling 25,000 across ~100 companies so far, according to Layoffs.fyi, are more strategic than mass layoffs in 2023  —  Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other tech companies have been on a layoff spree this month, with the latest cuts differing from last year’s mass reductions. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: Ransomware negotiation firm Coveware: the number of ransomware victims paying ransom demands dropped to a record low of 29% in Q4 2023, down from 85% in Q1 2019  —  The number of ransomware victims paying ransom demands has dropped to a record low of 29% in the final quarter of 2023, according to ransomware negotiation firm Coveware. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Financial Times: Bain: as of September 2023, autonomous vehicles in China had driven a cumulative total of 70M kilometers, on par with the US, despite Beijing’s safety concerns  —  Experts believe carmakers and tech companies are closing gap with US rivals despite Beijing’s safety concerns Lees verder op Tech Meme

Financial Times: Bernstein estimates PDD spent ~$3B on marketing Temu in the US in 2023; the Chinese group says Temu has 70M MAUs in the US, versus an estimated 13M in Jan. 2023  —  High-spending marketing push by PDD Holdings-owned internet marketplace leads to doubts over growth strategy Lees verder op Tech Meme

The Information: Sources: TikTok plans to open studios in several cities, including LA, where creators can livestream and sell products, a strategy that worked for Douyin  —  When TikTok creators start a livestream to chat about their new favorite hairbrush, dog toy or cleaning product, they’re usually doing so from a setup in their own home. Lees verder op Tech Meme