News

The Canadian regulator responsible for implementing the country’s online news law announced that it will begin setting up a framework for negotiations between news organizations and internet giants in autumn. The aim is to initiate mandatory bargaining by early 2025.

The Online News Act, which requires tech firms like Google and Facebook to pay for news, became law in June but has yet to take effect. Google and Meta have both expressed concerns about the law’s feasibility for their businesses, with Meta already ending news sharing on its platforms. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will oversee the negotiations and plans to hold a public consultation on the framework this autumn. The CRTC expects to publish the final framework and code of conduct in the summer of 2024, enabling mandatory bargaining to begin once news organizations and arbitrators are in place by early 2025.

Mastercard and cryptocurrency exchange Binance have announced that they will be ending their crypto card programs in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Bahrain as of September 22. The Binance cards enable users to make payments in traditional currencies using their cryptocurrency holdings. The decision is unrelated to Mastercard’s other crypto card programs.

Binance is currently facing legal and regulatory challenges, including a lawsuit from US regulators. Mastercard’s head of crypto and blockchain stated earlier this year that the company is seeking more partnerships with crypto firms. The Binance Card will no longer be available to users in Latin America and the Middle East.

E-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs has announced that it will be cutting approximately 30% of its workforce, affecting around 250 employees. The move is aimed at reducing operating expenses by $225 million and boosting profitability. These cost-cutting measures are seen as essential for the company as it seeks federal authorization to keep its e-cigarette products on the market and faces regulatory uncertainty.

Juul has also been involved in costly legal battles and has paid over $1 billion in settlements to multiple states for its role in promoting teen vaping. Additionally, the company faces a patent infringement lawsuit from Altria Group, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against SpaceX, accusing the company of discriminatory hiring practices towards refugees and asylum seekers. The lawsuit claims that between 2018 and 2022, SpaceX wrongly limited its hiring to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, violating federal law. The DOJ’s investigation found that SpaceX actively discouraged asylees and refugees from seeking employment opportunities at the company.

Despite receiving more than 10,000 hires during the investigated period, SpaceX employed only one individual identified as an asylee. The DOJ lawsuit seeks fair consideration, back pay, civil penalties, and policy changes from SpaceX. This legal action follows a previous subpoena-related dispute between the DOJ and SpaceX over the investigation.

Roark Capital has purchased Subway, marking the end of the sandwich chain’s family ownership and introducing a new chapter for the struggling company. The sale process, which began in February, concluded with Roark’s winning bid of approximately $9.6 billion. Roark currently owns various restaurant chains through its holdings, including Dunkin’, Baskin-Robbins, Arby’s, and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Despite Subway’s declining sales in recent years, the company has shown signs of a turnaround under CEO John Chidsey. The deal reflects Subway’s growth potential and the value of its brand and franchisees globally. Although Roark plans to keep Subway as a separate entity, the acquisition offers opportunities for the company’s revival.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits decreased last week, defying expectations of a weak labor market amid the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 10,000 to 230,000 for the week ended August 19. This trend suggests that the economy could avoid a recession, thanks to the resilience of the labor market and receding inflation. Additionally, the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid decreased, indicating that some laid-off workers are experiencing short spells of unemployment.

Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) is expanding its foray into artificial intelligence (AI) with the release of Code Llama, an AI model designed to assist in writing computer code. The new model, built on Meta’s Llama 2 language model, can generate code based on human text prompts, offer code completion suggestions, and aid in debugging.

Code Llama supports popular coding languages like Python, Java, and C++. Meta’s move into the generative AI market follows the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and aims to compete with Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot. The company has been actively releasing various AI models, including its open-source language model Llama. Code Llama will be available in different configurations and is intended for coding tasks rather than general text tasks.