Month: February 2024

Reliance-backed Viacom18 agrees to buy 60% of Disney’s India unit, report says

Reliance-backed Viacom18 has reached an agreement to buy 60% of Disney’s India unit, WSJ reported Thursday citing unnamed sources, creating a pathway for the Indian conglomerate to form a $10 billion media giant in the South Asian market. The deal, which WSJ says will close […]

India’s central bank discusses more penalties on Paytm Payments Bank, including revoking license

The Reserve Bank of India is discussing more penalties on Paytm Payments Bank and may reach a decision within days, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The central bank has internally discussed revoking the payments bank license of Paytm, the sources said, requesting […]

The FCC wants to make robocalls that use AI-generated voices illegal

The rise of AI-generated voices mimicking celebrities and politicians could make it even harder for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fight robocalls and prevent people from getting spammed and scammed. That’s why FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wants the commission to officially recognize calls that […]

Signalling more consolidation may come, smart-bus startup Zeelo acquires Kura, a smaller player

A small UK startup which combined a school bus service with a software platform to safeguard pupils has been acquired by ‘Smart buses’ startup Zeelo, which last year raised a $14 million war chest for expansion. Founded in the UK in 2010, Kura, which had […]

TikTok loses Taylor Swift, Drake, and other major Universal Music artists

Major artists like Swift have been removed from TikTok. | Photo by Buda Mendes/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management Universal Music Group (UMG) has started removing the music catalogs of performers the label represents — including Taylor Swift, Drake, and Olivia Rodrigo — from TikTok […]

Apple’s Vision Pro will have Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel and other 365 apps at launch

Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro AR/VR headset will have a bunch of dedicated Microsoft 365 apps at launch on February 2, including Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and Loop. Apple has long described the Vision Pro as primarily a productivity device, so the addition of […]

Mark Zuckerberg defends teenage creators’ right to public Instagram accounts

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Meta, commented in today’s Senate hearing on children’s online safety that teenagers should be able to be creators and share their content widely. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) questioned Zuckerberg about Meta’s privacy controls for teenagers. On Instagram, for example, […]