Reddit reveals FTC inquiry into deals licensing its users' data for AI training
Reddit says the Federal Trade Commission has opened an inquiry into the social media platform's sale, licensing or sharing of user posts and other content to outside organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models.
GameStop shares double after tumbling for much of February
A rally in GameStop has been rare since it fell back to earth early this month. GameStop was an extreme example because some of its shares had been sold short multiple times. Gust Kepler, CEO of stocks and options platform BlackBoxStocks, said that he became aware around 3:30 EST Wednesday of โaggressive buyingโ of call options on GameStop shares. Speaking at the annual meeting of Los Angeles Daily Journal Wednesday, the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman pinned the GameStop stock frenzy on small investors that he said were gambling on the stock market. One Redditor posted a chart in the forum showing the spike in GameStop's shares, adding: โTAKE THAT CHARLIE MUNGER.โ___Associated Press writer Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.
Robinhood CEO defends actions in GameStop saga at hearing
(House Financial Services Committee via AP)WASHINGTON โ The CEO of Robinhood defended the trading platform to Congress Thursday for its actions during the GameStop trading saga, while apologizing to customers for restricting their ability to trade at the height of the frenzy. AdTenev said Robinhood imposed the trading restrictions because regulators had increased capital requirements tenfold due to the spike in trading volume. Gill earned a handsome profit and a legion of online followers for making the case for GameStop shares on Reddit and YouTube long before the big price surge in January. Beyond Robinhoodโs actions during the GameStop frenzy, lawmakers raised concern about its business model generally and possible downsides of its โdemocratizationโ of stock trading. The company offers commission-free trading, but critics say customers pay another, hidden price because Robinhood provides their data on buying and selling to Wall Street firms.
Wall Street's GameStop bug may have mutated; silver surges
Shares of Pan American Silver surged about 12%, First Majestic Silver rose 22% and Hecla Mining spiked 28%. In the process, they've done heavy damage to those hedge funds in a stunning reversal of financial power on Wall Street. AdSome of these smaller traders believe the hedge funds that were pillaged last week are behind the surge in silver. Meanwhile, GameStop shares dropped 28% to $233 but the stock price has been tremendously volatile of late. Even so, hedge funds' exposure to the stock market remains close to record levels.
Fight The Man: What GameStop's surge says about online mobs
Melvin Capital is also exiting GameStop, with manager Gabe Plotkin telling CNBC that the hedge fund was taking a significant loss. Last week they gave us the Great GameStop Stock Uprising. Online spaces are being used to radicalize people toward extremism, to plan hate crimes and attacks," she said. Itโs the same thing as when Jim Cramer gets on CNBC smashing buttons.โAdIn 2017, the hashtag โMeToo" began going viral as women โ and some men โ shared their experiences of sexual assault on social media. Social media also helped Black Lives Matter activists organize rallies, record police violence and communicate during the marches sweeping the U.S. and other countries following the death of George Floyd last summer.
Agency homing in on social media companies' data collection
WASHINGTON โ Federal regulators are ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTokโs parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumersโ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens. The other five companies are Reddit, Snap, Discord, WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, and Googleโs YouTube. Regulators and lawmakers are increasingly weaving their concerns over data power and privacy into their investigations of Big Tech companies' market dominance. Facebook, the largest social network, gets the bulk of its revenue โ which reached $70.7 billion last year โ from online ads. They said the planned study โwill lift the hood on the social media and video streaming firms to carefully study their engines."
Facebook says it will ban groups that openly support QAnon
OAKLAND, Calif. โ Facebook said it will ban groups that openly support QAnon, the baseless conspiracy theory that paints President Donald Trump as a secret warrior against a supposed child-trafficking ring run by celebrities and โdeep stateโ government officials. The company said Tuesday that it will remove Facebook pages, groups and Instagram accounts for โrepresenting QAnonโ โ even if they donโt promote violence. Mentions of QAnon in a group focused on a different subject won't necessarily lead to a ban, Facebook said. It said it would only remove QAnon groups if they promote violence. Reddit, which began banning QAnon groups in 2018, was well ahead, and to date it has largely avoided having a notable QAnon presence on its platform.
Reddit user calls out H-E-B for seemingly throwing shade on El Paso
EL PASO, Texas โ H-E-B has unintentionally shaded El Paso in a new printing design on one of the companyโs soda cans. A Reddit user posted a photo on the social media platform on Sept. 20 with a photo of a can of H-E-B Original Cola which shows the logo cutting off part of Texas. Far West Texas, including El Paso, is noticeably absent from the logo on the can. KSAT reached out to H-E-B for comment and spokesperson Dya Campos said โit is an unintentional printing error on the small-sized can only.โAnother Reddit user pointed out that there are no H-E-B stores in El Paso saying โguess that explains why they donโt have any stores here.โA search on the Texas grocerโs website reveals there are no H-E-B stores within 100 miles of El Paso. Campos told KPRC in Houston that โthe design on the can is adjusted to include the nutrition label ... and the design varies on the cans, bottles, and the 12-pack box and reflects the entire state in the total design package.โRelated:
Alexis Ohanian Opens Up About His Decision to Step Down From Reddit Board
Alexis Ohanian is opening up about his difficult decision to step down from the board of Reddit. The Reddit co-founder and executive chairman announced his decision to resign from the company's board on Friday, encouraging them to fill his seat with a black candidate. "This was not an easy decision at all," Ohanian confessed of the decision, which was made "upon reflecting on the state of where our country is right now." Ohanian and Williams share a 2-year-old daughter together, Alexis Olympia. RELATED CONTENT:Michelle Obama Gets Emotional in Powerful Commencement AddressRachel Lindsay Says Lack of Black 'Bachelor' Is 'Embarrassing'Alexis Ohanian Wants His Reddit Board Seat to Go to a Black Candidate
Serena Williams' Husband Alexis Ohanian Steps Down From Reddit Board, Wants Black Candidate to Replace Him
I have resigned as a member of the Reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate." That's not all Ohanian is doing in support of Black Lives Matter. Ohanian co-founded Reddit in 2005, and his net worth is estimated at $70 million, according to Forbes last year. Prior to his announcement, Ohanian shared several posts in support of Black Lives Matter as the country and world protest the untimely death of George Floyd and police brutality. RELATED CONTENT:Director Steve McQueen Dedicates His New Movies to George FloydJohn Boyega Gives Emotional Speech During Black Lives Matter ProtestAmber Riley Sings Beyonc's 'Freedom' at Black Lives Matter Protest
Canโt create a Facebook avatar? These may be the reasons
Facebook and Reddit users keep asking how to create a Facebook avatar, as many people have already shared their creations on their timelines, keeping the rest of us in FOMO mode. Fidji Simo, the head of the Facebook App, responded to some of those questions after she announced the avatarsโ launch last week. Want to make your Facebook avatar? Next, scroll down and select โSee More.โ Then, click on โAvatars," click on โNext" and then โGet started.โโTurn on your location for Facebook. As you create your avatar, you can match your own appearance, or you can mix it up.