Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – January 23rd
Newsom plans to tackle California’s homeless camps – 1/20
This winter, Governor Newsom plans to distribute $50 million to help counties and cities deal with the tent and RV camps that appeared in California’s open spaces since the start of the pandemic. The funds will be available as one-time grants. Newsom also revealed plans to invest $1.5 billion from this year’s budget to provide housing for people with behavioral health conditions. For comparison, last year, the state provided $12 billion for homeless housing and services.
Dr. Mark Ghaly and Lourdes Castro Ramírez (Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Secretary) will chair the new state homelessness council – the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. The council’s purpose is to oversee the state’s efforts and hold cities and counties accountable. Local governments will have to provide detailed documentation on what they plan to do with the money.
Experts are grateful for the funds. However, they also state it will not be enough to tackle the ongoing homelessness problem in California.
Michelle Milam, a member of Richmond’s homelessness task force and crime prevention manager for the city’s Police Department, stated: “This is probably one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime type funding that we’re seeing from the state… We’ve never seen this kind of investment from the state for encampments.” She added further: “It’s more than just closing down an encampment… It’s making sure people have an opportunity to successfully transition.”
Google denies Facebook collusion – 1/21
This Friday, Google filed a motion to dismiss the antitrust complaint filed last week by several states and led by the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton. The antitrust complaint alleges Google participated in illegal activities in the online advertising space to preserve monopoly. Likewise, the complaint states Google and Facebook colluded to manipulate publisher-operated ads, decrease the prices paid to publishers, and cut out other ad networks. Google dismisses all of the claims.
Adam Cohen, Google’s director of economic policy, wrote in a blog post: “The complaint misrepresents our business, products and motives, and we are moving to dismiss it based on its failure to offer plausible antitrust claims.”
In the motion to dismiss, the company states: “Despite amassing a lengthy collection of grievances, each one comes down to a plea for Google to share its data or to design its products in ways that would help its rivals… The Sherman Act requires no such thing. None of the conduct alleged in the [complaint] falls into the narrow exception to the general rule that any firm may choose with whom it will deal, and courts are rightly skeptical of challenges to how a company designs its own products, especially when innovation creates more choices for consumers.”
Netflix shares down 20% as the interest in the service subsides – 1/21
In 2021, Netflix added 18.2 million new subscribers. That is half when compared to the number of new subscribers in 2020. Likewise, the company predicts it will gain 2.5 million new subscribers in the first three months of 2022, which is slower growth than the market analysts predicted. The news sent the Netflix shares down 20%.
The company said in a statement: “While retention and engagement remain healthy, acquisition growth has not yet re-accelerated to pre-Covid levels.”
Furthermore, Netflix is facing tougher competition with the new streaming services from Disney, Amazon, Apple, and HBO. The company stated: “Consumers have always had many choices when it comes to their entertainment time – competition that has only intensified over the last 24 months as entertainment companies all around the world develop their own streaming offering… While this added competition may be affecting our marginal growth some, we continue to grow in every country and region in which these new streaming alternatives have launched.”
Compared to the same period in 2020, revenue in October, November, and December rose 16% (to $7.7bn). Yearly profits went up from $2.7bn to $5.1bn, while revenue grew 19%.
Labor board determines Amazon illegally fired union organizer – 1/22
Bloomberg reports The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) determined Amazon illegally fired one of the union organizers in October 2021. Daequan Smith, one of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) organizers, was trying to unionize the company’s warehouse in Staten Island. The Amazon Labor Union consists of current and former Amazon workers.
The organization filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming Amazon illegally fired Smith because he was outspoken about unionization. If the involved parties fail to settle the case, the labor board plans to issue a formal complaint.
In December, Amazon and the National Labor Relations Board reached an agreement. Amazon agreed to inform workers they have a legal right to join or form unions by using the internal website, mobile app, and placing notices in the workplace.
