December 2022

Fortnite maker, Epic Games, will settle fines totaling $520 million with The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve claims of child privacy violations and trickery. The global sensation video game, Fortnite, has amassed more than 400 million players around the world since its release in 2017, according to BBC. The game includes in-app purchases, which has led to accusations of deceptive billing practices.  BBC reported, “the FTC...

Disney stock fell on Monday following the much-anticipated release of “Avatar: The Way of Water” which had a “softer than expected” opening box office weekend, according to CNBC.  “Disney shares were trading down more than 4% at around $86 each, hitting a 52-week low for the company that has seen its stock fall more than 40% in the last year,” per CNBC’s report.  The film brought in...

Amazon has introduced a new feature in its app, a short-form video and photo feed called Inspire. Although some people are comparing it to TikTok, the director of Amazon shopping, Oliver Messenger, claimed that “it wasn't TikTok's success that encouraged the company to build Inspire – it was customer feedback,” Yahoo Finance reported.  Messenger explained that video and photo feed was something customers were asking for...

Starbucks employees across the nation are uniting. About 100 store locations across the United States will be on strike for the next three days as the union protests unfair labor practices.  This is the second strike organized by Starbucks Workers United, the first being a one-day strike in November.  According to NPR, “More than 264 of Starbucks' 9,000 company-run U.S. stores have voted to unionize since late...

American Airlines made the announcement on Thursday that changes were on the horizon for its AAdvantage loyalty program. The goal of implementing these changes is to achieve simplicity, according to AAdvantage Managing Director, Heather Samp.  Starting in March, AAdvantage members will have the opportunity to achieve certain perks before reaching the lowest level of elite status.  According to USA Today, “Once a member accrues 15,000 Loyalty Points,...

Netflix announced last Thursday that Harry & Meghan had the biggest documentary debut week in the history of the streaming service, People reported.  The first three episodes of the six-part documentary were released last Thursday and have amassed 81.55 million viewing hours, according to Netflix. Additionally, it was reported that more than 28 million households streamed at least a portion of the docu-series.  Harry & Meghan took...

FTX Founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday evening. The arrest was a result of a magistrate judge signing an emergency warrant for his arrest requested by prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York.  “Bankman-Fried is facing multiple criminal charges in the United States including, securities fraud, campaign finance violation and money laundering over the implosion of his...

A Twitter account dedicated to tracking where Elon Musk’s private jet touches down has been suspended.  The account, @ElonJet, amassed more than half a million followers and was created by 20-year-old college student, Jack Sweeney. Sweeney announced on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday that @ElonJet had been suspended.  A month ago, Musk acknowledged the account and pledged he would keep it running even though it posed...

The Wall Street Journal announced on Monday that Emma Tucker would be its next editor-in-chief. Tucker will be the first woman to lead the business publication in its 133 years.  Tucker, who is currently serving as the editor of The Sunday Times, will replace the present Wall Street Journal editor, Matt Murray at the beginning of February.  Murray will move on to a senior position at News...

After the first sale period for Taylor Swift’s “The Era’s Tour” triggered a major backlash, Ticketmaster announced there might be hope for some fans who were not able to purchase a ticket.  Ticketmaster announced on Monday that at the request of Swift’s team, some fans might have a limited opportunity to purchase tickets. To receive the email invitation, fans must have previously registered as “verified.” According to...