Middle Eastern Politics Headlines at 6:10 p.m. GMT
Top diplomat Blinken will visit the Mideast again this coming week. What can he achieve this time?
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TechCrunchUnitedHealth data breach should be a wake-up call for the UK and NHS
The ransomware attack that has engulfed U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group and its tech subsidiary Change Healthcare is a data privacy nightmare for millions of U.S. patients, with CEO Andrew Witty confirming this week that it may impact as much as one-third of the country. As one of the largest healthcare companies in the U.S., UnitedHealth is well known domestically, intersecting with every facet of the healthcare industry from insurance and billing and winding all the way through the physician and pharmacy networks -- it's a $500 billion juggernaut, and the 11th largest company globally by revenue.
- TechCrunch
OnlyFans hits UK regulator's radar for age-verification failures around porn access
U.K. regulator Ofcom is investigating OnlyFans, an online adult content subscription service, for failing to prevent children from accessing pornography through the platform. Ofcom, the official regulatory body for the U.K.'s broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries, says it has grounds to suspect that OnlyFans' parent company, Fenix International Limited, failed to implement age-verification measures sufficiently. The regulator is also investigating whether Fenix may have provided incomplete or inaccurate information as part of two information request notices issued by Ofcom — one in June 2022, and another in June 2023.
- Engadget
EU criticizes Meta's 'privacy for cash' business model
The European Data Protection Board states Meta and other big players should forego "consent or pay" models.
- TechCrunch
Google goes all in on generative AI at Google Cloud Next
This week in Las Vegas, 30,000 folks came together to hear the latest and greatest from Google Cloud. What they heard was all generative AI, all the time. Google Cloud is first and foremost a cloud infrastructure and platform vendor.
- Engadget
The European Union will reportedly open a new investigation into Meta over election policies
The European Union is getting ready to launch a new investigation into Meta over its handling of election-related content.
- TechCrunch
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone joins board of Mastodon's new US nonprofit
Biz Stone, a Twitter co-founder, is among those who have joined the board of directors of Mastodon's new U.S. nonprofit, Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko announced over the weekend. Mastodon's service, an open source, decentralized social network and rival to Elon Musk's X, has gained increased attention following the Twitter acquisition as users sought alternatives to X's would-be "everything app" that felt more like the old Twitter of days past. Mastodon only somewhat fits that bill.
- Engadget
OpenAI is reportedly working on a search feature for ChatGPT
According to Bloomberg, the company is currently developing the capability, which can scour the web for answers to your queries and spit out results complete with citations to their sources.
- TechCrunch
UnitedHealthcare CEO says 'maybe a third' of US citizens were affected by recent hack
Two months after hackers broke into Change Healthcare systems stealing and then encrypting company data, it’s still unclear how many Americans were impacted by the cyberattack. Last month, Andrew Witty, the CEO of Change Healthcare’s parent company UnitedHealth Group, said that the stolen files include the personal health information of “a substantial proportion of people in America.” On Wednesday, during a House hearing, when pushed to give a more definitive answer, Witty testified that the breach impacted “I think, maybe a third [of Americans] or somewhere of that level.”
- TechCrunch
TechCrunch Minute: Where CZ’s sentencing leaves the state of crypto
Four months behind bars and a massive fine, that's what CZ is getting from the government for his crypto exchange's misdeeds. There's effort by some in crypto to promote the technology element of blockchains over their well-reported ability to generate new gambling opportunities. Chris Dixon of a16z frames this in "computer vs. casino" terms, which I think is reasonable.
- TechCrunch
Retell AI lets companies build 'voice agents' to answer phone calls
Call centers are embracing automation. According to research firm TechSci Research, the global market for contact center AI could grow to nearly $3 billion in 2028, from $2.4 billion in 2022. Meanwhile, a recent survey found that around half of contact centers plan to adopt some form of AI in the next year.
- TechCrunch
Meta to close Threads in Turkey to comply with injunction prohibiting data sharing with Instagram
Meta said on Monday that it plans to "temporarily" shutter Threads in Turkey from April 29, in response to an interim injunction imposed by the Turkish competition authority last month over the way Meta shares data between Threads and Instagram. The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), known as Rekabet Kurumu, noted on March 18 that its investigations found that Meta was abusing its dominant market position by combining the data of users who create Threads profiles with that of their Instagram account — without giving users the choice to opt in.
- TechCrunch
TechCrunch Minute: FTC bans noncompetes, court challenge incoming
The Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 this week to ban noncompete agreements. While the FTC estimates that nearly one in five American workers is subject to a noncompete, these agreements haven’t been a huge issue in Silicon Valley, because they’re not enforceable in California. This has arguably been one of the region’s competitive advantages, as it allows employees to start something new without worrying (in most cases) that they’ll have to spend the next few years battling their old employer in court.
- Yahoo Sports
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly declined $10 billion for team, stadium and F1 race
The value of the Dolphins and Formula One racing is enormous.
- Yahoo Sports
Former NBA guard Darius Morris dies at 33
Former NBA guard Darius Morris has died at the age of 33. He played for five teams during his four NBA seasons. Morris played college basketball at Michigan.
- Yahoo Sports
Six quarterback situations to worry about & three that are on the precipice | Zero Blitz
Jason Fitz, Charles Robinson and Frank Schwab talk about which quarterback rooms concern them and which they find interesting heading into the 2024 NFL season.
- Yahoo Sports
Golf’s moment of truth is here, and the sport is badly flailing
Nonexistent negotiations and missed opportunities for reconciliation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf have the sport stuck in place.
- Yahoo Sports
Is Pacers coach Rick Carlisle right to be upset about officiating in Knicks series and a big-market bias?
Indiana's head coach refused to blame the officiating following Game 1, then looked at the high road two days later and went a step away from nuclear.
- Yahoo Sports
2024 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, 1.0
The Yahoo Fantasy football crew got together for their very first mock draft of 2024. Andy Behrens recaps the results.
- Yahoo Finance
Former House Speaker Paul Ryan says he’s not voting for Trump : 'Character is too important'
Ryan says he would be writing in a Republican candidate instead of voting for Donald Trump.
- Yahoo Sports
Yahoo Fantasy staff's Mock Draft 1.0: Shocking picks are plentiful
Teams have made their big splashes in free agency and made their draft picks, it's time for you to do the same. It's fantasy football mock draft time. Some call this time of year best ball season, others know it's an opportunity to get a leg up on your competition for when you have to draft in August. The staff at Yahoo Fantasy did their first mock draft of the 2024 season to help you with the latter. Matt Harmon and Andy Behrens are here to break it all down by each round and crush some staff members in the process.