Friday, September 6, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! Happy Friday! Today, we're looking at Salesforce's latest acquisition, Telegram's new safety features, and Google's latest antitrust troubles. We've also got a great new app that can nag people for you; notes on the results of NYC's Airbnb crackdown; the consequences of AI hype; and the latest victim of the tough market for phone startups. Let's get to work! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Interim Archives / Getty Images

1. Salesforce is dropping nearly $2 billion to acquire Own Company, a data management and protection company, as it seeks to bolster its own data security capabilities in the face of increasing cybersecurity risks. Read More

2. Telegram cedes ground: Now that the messaging app's founder Pavel Durov is being held personally responsible for illegal activity on the platform, the company has quietly updated its terms of use and will now let users report private chats to moderators to flag illegal content. Read More

3. Google's mounting antitrust problems: Right before Google's ad tech antitrust trial in the U.S. next week, the U.K.'s competition watchdog has sent a statement of objections, suspecting the company of "self-preferencing" in its ad exchange. The search giant's practices could be harming "thousands" of UK publishers and advertisers, the CMA said. Read More

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Morning Must-Reads

Image Credits: OSOM

📱 The phone business is a tough one: After four short years, phone startup Osom Products is shutting down. The startup tried and failed to find customers for its privacy-focused phone, and then wasn't able to sustain an attempted pivot, or raise additional funding. Read More

🛰️ Leave Starlink alone! SpaceX's president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, is begging Brazil's judiciary to stop harassing Starlink as the consequences of the ongoing fight between the country and Elon Musk's X spills over to his other businesses. Read More

🐦 X's GDPR troubles aren't behind it: The social media company could still face sanctions related to how it processed user data to train its Grok AI chatbot — Irish regulators are now examining a number of privacy complaints. Read More

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Around the Web

🔩 The bigger they are… After a bad second quarter, Intel is reportedly looking to sell key parts of its business. According to Reuters, Qualcomm has explored buying pieces of Intel's chip design business, and Bloombgerg reports Intel is considering options for its stake in Mobileye. Read More

🏘️ A year ago New York City barred Airbnb from renting out many whole apartments for short-term stays in an attempt to bring down rental cost and increase housing availability. Wired reports that a year later, NYC's housing market hasn't improved at all. Read More

🧑‍⚖️ AI hype has consequences: An investor wants to bring a class-action lawsuit against GitLab, accusing the company of overhyping its ability to create AI features that would boost demand, which resulted in a 21% stock price slide, Bloomberg Law reports. Read More

Before You Go

Image Credits: Karo

🧹 Level up your nagging skills: Karo is a new reminder and task management app that lets you assign tasks to your friends and family. And the best part is, you can outsource the nagging to the app, which will send them text message reminders and track progress on your behalf. Read More