Catherine Shu
Writer
The Latest from Catherine Shu
Romance scams cost more money than any other type of consumer fraud, says the Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission has released data that shows romance scams cost more money than other types of consumer fraud reported to the agency last year — and the problem is getting worse. Romanc
Instagram confirms that a bug is causing follower counts to change (Updated)
Update: Instagram says the issue will be fixed by 9AM PST on Thursday. Update: we’re expecting to have this issue resolved by 9 a.m. PST tomorrow. We understand this is frustrating, and our team is
JibJab, one of the first silly selfie video makers, acquired by private equity firm Catapult Capital
JibJab, one of the first companies that let people insert selfies into videos, gifs and e-cards, has been acquired by Catapult Capital. The Los Angeles-based private equity firm announced the deal tod
BuzzFeed News employees vote to unionize
Shortly after BuzzFeed News employees revealed that they had voted to unionize, its editor-in-chief said the company wants to meet with them to discuss voluntary recognition. Employees announced today
No, your tweets aren’t awful. Twitter’s Likes are currently borked. (Update: It’s fixed)
Update: Twitter said the issues have been resolved. We’re happy to report that these issues are now resolved. Thanks for your patience! — Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 13, 2019 If you
Mayor Bill de Blasio says bringing Amazon HQ2 to New York City is “mission critical”
During a state legislature hearing today, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio said it is “mission critical” that Amazon build HQ2 in Long Island City. De Blasio’s remarks come a few days after a
Saudi Arabia denies involvement in leak of Jeff Bezos’ private messages
In his extraordinary Medium post last week accusing American Media Inc. of “extortion and blackmail,” Jeff Bezos hinted (but did not explicitly state) that there may be a connection between Saudi
Spotify will now suspend or terminate accounts it finds are using ad blockers
Spotify will take a harder stance on ad blockers in its updated terms of service. In an email to users today, the streaming music and podcast platform said its new user guidelines “mak[e] it clear t
NASA releases the ‘last light’ image taken by Kepler before it retired last year
NASA has released the final view taken by Kepler in September, shortly before the space telescope was retired after nearly a decade of unprecedented discoveries about the universe beyond our solar sys
YouTube’s CEO says it will continue addressing monetization issues, admits Rewind 2018 was ‘cringey’
In an open letter to YouTube creators today, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki admitted that even her kids think Rewind 2018 is “cringey.” Meant as a celebratory recap, the video has garnered a record-se
Nintendo to open its first official store located in Japan
Fourteen years after unveiling its first location in New York, Nintendo is finally opening an official store in Japan, too. Nintendo Tokyo will be located in Shibuya Parco, the new flagship of the Par
Samsung posts fourth-quarter profit drop, warns of weak demand until the second half of 2019
Samsung Electronics reported its largest quarterly profit decline in two years during its earnings report today. As the Galaxy maker warned in its earnings guidance earlier this month, its results wer
Several top Pandora executives, including CEO Roger Lynch, will leave after its acquisition by SiriusXM
Pandora announced today that shareholders have approved its $3.5 billion acquisition by SiriusXM. After the transaction closes, several key Pandora executives will leave, including CEO Roger Lynch, ge
Fortnite’s login and game are down [Update: it’s back]
Update: Fortnite is back up, with the game and all other features operational. We have recovered. We will continue to monitor the situation to catch any further problems. — Fortnite (@FortniteGame)
BuzzFeed employees demand it pay out earned PTO to all laid-off US staffers
A group of current and former BuzzFeed employees are asking the company to pay out paid time off to all recently laid-off staff. In response, Lenke Taylor, BuzzFeed’s human resources lead, said it w
Google launches clean energy project in Taiwan, its first in Asia
Google has launched its first clean energy project in Asia. The company announced today that it struck a long-term agreement to buy the output of a 10-megawatt solar array in Tainan City, Taiwan, abou
Netflix’s ‘Roma’ nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture and director
Netflix and Hulu will both have films in the running at the Academy Awards this year. Netflix changed its rules for theatrical releases to give “Roma” a better chance during awards season and it p
Original Content podcast: We conquer clutter with Marie Kondo’s new show
On the surface, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo” sounds like a simple show: Over the course of eight episodes, organizing guru Marie Kondo helps a variety Los Angeles residents sort through t
All your meme are belong to AOC
Memes are the new vernacular of political culture and we dismiss them at our own peril. Liberals learned this the hard way late in the presidential campaign, when they began realizing how deftly the a
Microsoft pledges $500M to create affordable housing around Seattle
At a time when tech companies are being blamed for creating housing shortages in cities across the country, Microsoft told The Seattle Times it will make a $500 million pledge, its largest ever, to cr