States Go After Meta for Addictive Features & Is Bitcoin Back?
Oct 25, 2023
26:15
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States suing Meta for 'addictive features' and impact on teen mental health, rise of Bitcoin, Google's revenue streams, Spotify's profitability, Saudi investment fund's growing influence
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Quick takeaways
Instagram's addictive features are being blamed for contributing to the teen mental health crisis.
Bitcoin's value surge and institutional investors' interest indicate a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency.
Deep dives
Instagram sued by states over teen mental health concerns
42 states have filed a lawsuit against meta, the parent company of Instagram, accusing the social media platform of contributing to the teen mental health crisis. The lawsuit alleges that Instagram's addictive features, such as the infinite news feed and constant notifications, lead to young users' susceptibility to addiction and an unhealthy reliance on social media for meaningful connection. This lawsuit is the largest and most unified effort by state attorneys general to hold a social media company accountable for its impact on mental health.
Bitcoin surges as anticipation builds for spot Bitcoin ETFs
Bitcoin's price rose above $35,000 for the first time since May 2022, driven by the anticipation of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by BlackRock, the world's largest provider of exchange-traded funds, has sparked enthusiasm among Bitcoin investors. These ETFs would enable investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly owning it, making it more accessible and potentially driving up demand. The recent surge in Bitcoin's value and the increased interest from institutional investors indicate a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency.
Microsoft announced an update to Excel that will fix the long-standing issue of aggressive autocorrect in the software. This update is particularly significant for genetic scientists who have been struggling with Excel automatically converting alpha-numeric symbols into dates, leading to errors and misinterpretations in scientific research papers. This issue has affected the nomenclature of human genes, highlighting the critical need for accurate data handling in scientific endeavors. The update is expected to resolve this long-standing headache and provide relief to researchers working with complex data in Excel.
Wax museum in France to update inaccurate statue of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
A wax museum in France came under criticism for an inaccurate statue of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, which depicted him with a lighter skin tone than he actually has. The statue drew mockery and jokes online, prompting a response from The Rock himself, who acknowledged the issue and pledged to reach out to the museum to update the statue, starting with the correct skin color. This incident highlights the challenges faced by wax museums in accurately capturing the likeness of celebrities and the importance of representation in art and media.
Episode 177: Neal and Toby discuss the lawsuit against Meta where dozens of states are suing the tech company for it's 'addictive features' and 'mental harm' it has caused children. Plus, Bitcoin is on fire and we are in the full swing of earnings season with reports from Microsoft, Alphabet and Spotify. Hear what Jamie Dimon said about banks and the unrest in the Middle East and why Excel may no longer botch scientific data. Finally, the story that is rocking the wax figure museum world.