Pornhub owner pays US government $1.8M to resolve sex trafficking probe

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Cody Corrall Friday, December 22, 2023

Welcome back to Daily Crunch. You made it to Friday and to the long holiday weekend! Today we're looking back on how the vibe in tech shifted in 2023 and what's in store for 2024. And if you're still looking for the perfect gift in the 11th hour, we have some helpful suggestions. Happy holidays, and we'll be back in your inbox on Tuesday! Image Credits: miniseries / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 Pornhub's parent company Aylo Holdings will pay $1.8 million to the U.S. government to resolve a charge of profiting off of sex trafficking. The company, formerly known as MindGeek, will enter a deferred prosecution agreement, which means that a monitor will be appointed to oversee Aylo and its compliance efforts for three years. Amanda's got more. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are voicing concerns over the disproportionate impact tech layoffs could have on Black workers, according to a letter seen by TechCrunch. The tech industry has seen more than 240,000 jobs lost this year due to layoffs, and the senators worry minority workers could be affected the most. Dominic-Madori has more. Google is attempting to resolve competition concerns in Germany over bundling its automotive services, including Google Maps. In an effort to settle the regulatory intervention, Google has offered some service unbundling and the removal of contractual restrictions it applies to vehicle makers. Natasha has more. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

More top reads EV credit: Starting January 1, the rebate will be available when you buy the car, as opposed to something you have to claim when filing your taxes. But there's a catch. Read more. Paws up: ​​Dog-themed memecoins might be coming back into fashion. Read more. Au revoir, Spotify: Spotify is pulling support for two music festivals in France in a protest against a controversial new tax directed at music-streaming platforms. Read more. Merch money: Simplifying the production of customized merchandise led Lisbon-based startup Bizay to raise $19 million. Read more. Bitcoin mining: Arkon Energy closed a $110 million private funding round to expand its operations, including to grow U.S. Bitcoin mining capacity and launch an AI cloud service in Norway. Read more. Spread the love: Move over, naughty or nice list, this is our jealousy list. These are the cybersecurity stories we were the most envious of this year. Read more. Figma's doing just fine: Even though Adobe's $20 billion takeover fell through, things don't look too bad for Figma. Read more. (TC+) B2B merger talks: Egyptian B2B e-commerce startup MaxAB and Wasoko are in talks to merge operations, TechCrunch has exclusively learned. Read more. Ola Electric files for an IPO: The Bengaluru-headquartered startup is looking to raise $661.8 million in an initial public offering. Read more. Image Credits: Matt Burns

Tech's DEI backlash is here "Should I go public with the story about the time I was told I can't be promoted for being a white man?" Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, tweeted recently. Two factions have appeared within venture in recent years: those who support diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and those who do not. Wealthy power players like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk have been very outspoken against the premise of DEI, with their thoughts shared and spread widely throughout the ecosystem. Dominic-Madori notes that since affirmative action in education was overturned this year, founders and investors have found an excuse to go back to how things were, and the decreased DEI support in business and tech has created ripple effects. Read more. (TC+) Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

More TechCrunch 2023 retrospectives How much do you remember from this year? Our pub quiz takes you through some of the biggest headlines from 2023. Let us know how you did! Read more. From SVB to OpenAI and SBF, the Equity podcast looks back on some of the year's biggest events. Listen here. Mary Ann recalls the biggest hits and misses in fintech in 2023. Read more. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Last-minute gifts for everyone on your list The clock is ticking to find the perfect gifts for your loved ones. The TechCrunch team has you covered for everyone on your shopping list. For the gamer: The best games you might have missed this year. Read more. For the curious minds: 20 STEM toys and games to stimulate creativity at any age. Read more. For those who want gifts throughout the year: The best subscription boxes. Read more. For the frequent flier: The top travel gifts our hardware editor put to the test. Read more. For the puzzler: Modern jigsaw puzzles to build with the whole family. Read more. For the Lego fan: Themed Lego sets for builders at every skill level. Read more. Image Credits: 123ducu / Getty Images

Against pseudanthropy We must stop software from impersonating humans, Devin proposes, before it's too late. AI should not behave as if it is a living, thinking peer to humans. Instead, it must use positive, unmistakable signals to identify itself as the sophisticated statistical model that it is. If we don't, these systems will systematically deceive billions in the service of hidden and mercenary interests, and, aesthetically speaking, because it is unbecoming of intelligent life to suffer imitation by machines. The advent of large language models has produced engines that can generate plausible and grammatical answers to any question. While they can be put to good use, mechanically reproduced natural language that is superficially indistinguishable from human discourse also presents serious risks. Read more. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

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The new American dream? Getting MrBeast to pay off your debt

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Cody Corrall Thursday, December 21, 2023

Welcome to Daily Crunch for Thursday, December 21! As the holidays near, we're highlighting the top news of the day as well as stories that defined this wild year. There are also some helpful tech-focused gift guides for the last-minute shoppers among us. Happy holidays! Image Credits: Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 The new American dream? Getting MrBeast to pay off your debt. The most successful YouTuber in the world is known for his reality TV–like videos with big cash rewards. As Amanda notes, the trade-off of suffering for content to pay off debts has become a new normal on social media. Read more. Massachusetts wants to take on “killer robots.” In mid-September, a pair of lawmakers proposed legislation aiming to bar the manufacture, sale and use of weaponized robots. Brian spoke to state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, who co-sponsored the bill. Read more. Worldcoin removes its Orb-verification service in India, Brazil and France. Tools for Humanity told TechCrunch that it had expanded the Orb to many markets this year for a "limited time access," but Manish and Jagmeet note that the sudden retreat comes as a surprise. Read more. Image Credits: CARL COURT/AFP / Getty Images

More top reads Hyperloop One shutdown: In the latest stumble in the tech industry's attempt to bring life to an idea Elon Musk first put forth in a white paper in 2013, Hyperloop One, once backed by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, will cease operations on December 31. Read more. Apple Watch out: Apple has officially removed the Watch Series 9 from its online shop, with the company confirming an ongoing patent dispute forcing it to pause sales of the flagship smartwatch. The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is similarly unavailable. Read more. Beeper's done: The company is giving up on its mission to bring iMessage to Android after implementing a series of fixes that Apple has knocked down one by one over the past month. If the latest workaround is rejected, Beeper says it won't roll out another one. Read more. FTC rules: The FTC has proposed tightening up the rules protecting kids from the surveillance economy. The updated rules would require companies to get the okay from parents before sharing data with advertisers and prohibit holding on to data for nebulous "internal operations," among other things. Read more. Medallion millions: Medallion, which just raised $13.7 million, is a platform that allows artists to have a dedicated digital hub for promoting album releases, tour dates and merch drops, as well as selling digital collectibles and sharing exclusive content to foster deeper connections with fans. Read more. Green aerial autonomy: South African aerospace startup Cloudline has secured $6 million in funding as it aims to lead the global frontier of carbon emissions-free autonomous flight. Read more. Image Credits: Virgin Hyperloop One

8 predictions for AI in 2024 From ChatGPT's first anniversary to competition from Microsoft and Google to the chaos at OpenAI, AI was inescapable in 2023. But what's in AI's future? How will AI impact the U.S. primary elections? Will OpenAI become a product company? Will Apple finally jump into the AI race? Will companies be able to follow through on their own hype? Devin explores a few ways those questions might play out in 2024. He predicts it will be the year when the hype turns into reality as people reckon with the limitations of AI at large. Read more. Image Credits: metamorworks / Getty Images

More TechCrunch 2023 retrospectives What happened to small EVs?: In the midst of a supersized and high-priced EV trend, Harri says goodbye to the small and affordable alternatives we lost this year. Read more. Climate tech is down, but not out — yet: Tim breaks down the drama-filled year for climate tech. Read more. (TC+) Is crypto having a moment?: Jacquelyn explores how a recent spike of interest in crypto is rebuilding momentum —  and what that could mean for 2024. Read more. (TC+) Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Last-minute gifts for everyone on your list The holidays are quickly approaching. If you're frantically looking for last-minute ideas, the TechCrunch team has you covered for everyone on your shopping list. For the remote worker: Gifts to help them perfect their at-home office. Read more. For the pet lover: Tech pet gifts to make pet owners' lives easier and entertain their fur babies. Read more. For those on a budget: The best tech gifts under $50. Read more. For the aspiring podcaster or streamer: The best gear to help get them started. Read more. For the avid reader: Fun bookish gifts with a tech twist. Read more. For the AI curious: AI-powered gifts that are actually fun and useful. Read more.

Don't give these tech gifts to your loved ones It's the season to go a little overboard on gift giving. But this year, give the gift of good security (and privacy) by avoiding tech with major repercussions. Genetic testing kits like 23andMe can have lasting and unforeseen consequences, Zack writes. This year, the profiles and genetic information on millions of 23andMe customers was scraped from the company's systems, thought to be the biggest spill of genetic data in recent years. It's not the first to have data spilled, nor will it be the last. From video doorbells that see and hear everything to risky location-tracking apps, invasive and even unsafe tech gifts are extremely popular during the holidays. The best gift you can give your loved ones is peace of mind. Take a look at all the tech gifts not to buy your loved ones. Image Credits: Melanie Lemahieu / 500px / Getty Images

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Bird comes crashing down

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Kyle Wiggers Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Grinchmas came early for one unlucky mobility startup. In today's top story, Bird, the electric scooter company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Paul writes that Bird simply couldn't sustain itself in a crowded market built on questionable economics. Read more. Rite Aid was the recipient of unwelcome news, too, with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banning the drugstore chain from using facial-recognition tech for five years after falsely identifying shoplifters. The FTC said that the company’s “reckless use” of AI humiliated and degraded customers. Learn more. And across the pond, the EU named three porn sites — Pornhub, Stripchat and XVideos — that are now subject to its strictest online content rules under the recently passed Digital Services Act. As a result, age verification tech could be headed to those sites, Natasha writes. Read more. Image Credits: Philippe Lopez / Getty Images

More top reads Consumer Reports dings Tesla: Tesla's fix for its Autopilot recall of more than 2 million vehicles is being called "insufficient" by Consumer Reports, following preliminary tests. Sean has more. Off-limits tech gifts: Zack has a roundup of gifts you definitely shouldn’t get for friends and family this holiday, thanks to security vulnerabilities, privacy concerns and otherwise consumer-hostile design choices. Read the full list. Gifts for remote workers: So what should you buy for loved ones? Natalie writes on the best home gifts for remote workers in 2023, because if there’s one thing for certain heading into 2024, it’s that remote work life is here to stay. Learn more. Tesla requests pause in bias suit: Tesla wants to pause a federal agency's lawsuit against the automaker for racial discrimination directed at Black workers at its Fremont assembly plant. Rebecca has more. Spill enters beta: Spill, a platform founded by ex-Twitter employees, is closing out its first year on the market by opening up its beta to all users. Amanda writes that Spill is like the polar opposite of X, attempting to prioritize diversity from the get-go. Read more. ShareChat faces valuation cut: ShareChat, the Indian social networking service, is in the final stages of deliberations to secure about $50 million in new funding that trims the startup's valuation to below $1.5 billion. Read more. Fund for Africans, by Africans: Tage writes about Al Mada Ventures, the $110 million, Casablanca-based VC firm that wants to address the shortage in growth-stage investing with local capital. Learn more. Volkswagen adopts Tesla’s charging standard: The Volkswagen Group is the latest automaker to announce it’ll adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard, making it one of the last major automakers to embrace what is now the de facto EV plug in the United States. Read more. Here's six more stories:  Claim, a social network that lets users earn and trade rewards with friends, raises $4M Micromobility.com gets delisted from the Nasdaq Re-commerce marketplace Soum gets $18M backing to scale in MENA Fulfillment is still hot, as GreyOrange raises $135M OurCrowd makes the first 8 investments from its Israel Resilience Fund AR platform Really launches 'Fandime' NFTs to reward users with exclusive movie-related content Image Credits: Tesla

On the pods Today on Equity, we're bringing you a special mini episode led by TechCrunch senior reporter and co-host of our sister podcast, Found, Dominic-Madori Davis. During this year's Disrupt, Dominic-Madori caught up with Hilary Mason from Hidden Door, an AI-driven narrative game engine. They got into how generative AI is changing online gaming, building a team of creatives, fundraising in the gaming space, and more. Listen here. Read More Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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