Tag Archives: Amazon

Amazon Launches AI Shopping Assistant Named Rufus

CNBC reports: Amazon on Thursday announced a new artificial intelligence assistant for shopping called Rufus. The tool is designed to help users search and shop for products. Shoppers type or speak a question into the search bar in Amazon’s mobile app and a chat window will appear at the bottom of their screen. Users can ask conversational questions such as, …

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Amazon Drops Roomba Acquisition Under EU Pressure

Axios reports: Amazon and Roomba maker iRobot on Monday said that they’ll terminate their $1.4 billion merger agreement, due to opposition from European antitrust regulators. This is the first time Amazon has ever been stopped from buying another company. The deal originally was announced in mid-2022 with a $1.7 billion price-tag, with Amazon hoping to expand a smart home device …

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Rainforest Destruction Slows Under Brazil’s New Leader

Reuters reports: Destruction across the Amazon rainforest so far this year has slowed dramatically, down 55.8% from the same period a year ago in a major turnaround for the region vital to curbing climate change, according to an analysis provided to Reuters. The analysis by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation’s MAAP forest monitoring program offers a first look at 2023 deforestation …

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Amazon Warns Of Holiday Surge In Prime Scams

CBS News reports: Amazon.com is warning that scammers are just as eager as consumers to take advantage of holiday shopping deals, with bad actors trying to gain access to customers’ Prime accounts through scam emails, calls and texts. The online retailer said it has seen a surge in criminal activity involving the ecommerce platform as shoppers use Amazon to make …

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Amazon’s Alexa Is Saying The 2020 Election Was Stolen

The Washington Post reports: Amid concerns the rise of artificial intelligence will supercharge the spread of misinformation comes a wild fabrication from a more prosaic source: Amazon’s Alexa, which declared that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Asked about fraud in the race — in which President Biden defeated former president Donald Trump with 306 electoral college votes — the …

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FTC And 17 States File Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

The Washington Post reports: The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Amazon Tuesday, a long-awaited move that seeks to bar the company from allegedly abusing its powers to raise prices for shoppers and levy high fees against businesses that sell on its platform. The FTC alleges that Amazon engages in illegal behavior …

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Whole Foods To Roll Out Pay-By-Palm Nationwide

ABC News reports: Amazon is bringing its pay-by-palm technology to Whole Foods stores. The company announced Thursday that its Amazon One palm recognition system will soon be in more than 500 Whole Foods stores by the end of the year. Amazon rolled out the technology in 2020, and it is currently available in more than 200 Whole Foods stores nationwide. …

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FTC Proposes $50,000 Fines For Fake Online Reviews

The Washington Post reports: Fake reviews are ruining the web. But there’s some new hope to fight them. The Federal Trade Commission on Friday proposed new rules to take aim at businesses that buy, sell and manipulate online reviews. If the rules are approved, they’ll carry a big stick: a fine of up to $50,000 for each fake review, for …

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FTC Sues Amazon Over Prime Signup “Deceptions”

CNBC reports: The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday sued Amazon, alleging the nation’s dominant online retailer intentionally duped millions of consumers into signing up for its mainstay Prime program and “sabotaged” their attempts to cancel. The agency claims Amazon violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by using so-called dark patterns, or deceptive design tactics meant …

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Amazon May Offer Free Cell Service To Prime Members

Bloomberg News reports: Amazon.com Inc. has been talking with wireless carriers about offering low-cost or possibly free nationwide mobile phone service to Prime subscribers, according to people familiar with the situation. The company is negotiating with Verizon Communications Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and Dish Network Corp. to get the lowest possible wholesale prices. That would let it offer Prime members …

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Amazon Offers $10 If You Come Pick Up Your Package

Reuters reports: Amazon.com is offering customers $10 to pick up a purchase rather than have it shipped to a home address, as the e-commerce giant joins other retailers in racing to slash costs for home delivery and returns amid slack consumer demand. Amazon over the last few days has emailed an unknown number of Prime subscribers offering them $10 to …

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Panera Bread To Roll Out Palm-Scanning Pay System

NPR reports: This palm reader will not be able to tell your fortune, but it will figure out if you are part of Panera’s loyalty program. Over the next few months, the bakery-café chain will roll out scanners that can access customers’ credit card and loyalty account using their palm. The biometric-gathering technology, developed by Amazon and called Amazon One, …

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WSJ: Feds Planning Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Federal Trade Commission is preparing a potential antitrust lawsuit against Amazon that in the coming months could challenge an array of the tech giant’s business practices as anticompetitive, according to people familiar with the matter. The commission in recent years has been examining Amazon practices including whether it favors its own products over competitors’ …

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Amazon Prime Offers $5/Month Generic Prescriptions

Via press release from Business Wire: Amazon today announced RxPass, a new Prime membership benefit from Amazon Pharmacy that offers patients affordable access to commonly prescribed generic medications that treat more than 80 common health conditions. With RxPass, Prime members can receive all of their eligible medications for one flat, low monthly fee of $5, and have them delivered free …

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Amazon To Shut Down Charity Donation Program

USA Today reports: On the heels of Amazon beginning its latest round of layoffs that cut thousands of jobs, the e-retailer announced it plans to shut down its charity donation program. The online retailer and cloud computing giant donates a percentage of eligible purchases on the site to the shoppers’ chosen charity organization through the program AmazonSmile, launched a decade ago. Amazon said it has donated at least $449 …

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Jan 6 Panel’s Final Report Is Already On Bestsellers List

The Associated Press reports: It took less than a day for the Jan. 6 report to go from public unveiling to the bestseller list on Amazon.com. The 814-page document, released late Thursday, is not copyrighted, can be published by anyone and is otherwise available for free on various government and media web sites. Previous government publications, from the Sept. 11 …

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Hate Crime: Cultist Threatened To Kill Amazon Driver

New Jersey’s 101.5 radio station reports: John Vincentini, 62, followed an Amazon driver into a cul-de-sac on Sept. 5 and parked his vehicle in an attempt to block the driver, prosecutors said. Vincentini confronted the driver, asked the driver why he was in his neighborhood, and asked the driver whether he knew he was in a racist neighborhood, police said. …

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Amazon Buys Roomba Maker In Order To Map Homes

Bloomberg News reports: Amazon.com Inc. hasn’t just bought a maker of robot vacuum cleaners. It’s acquired a mapping company. To be more precise: a company that can make maps of your home. The company announced a $1.7 billion deal on Friday for iRobot Corp., the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner. And yes, Amazon will make money from selling those …

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Amazon Sues Over Fake Reviews Coordinated On FB

The Wall Street Journal reports: Amazon said it filed a lawsuit against the administrators of what it says are more than 10,000 Facebook groups used to coordinate fake reviews of Amazon products. Those in charge of the Facebook groups solicit the reviews for items ranging from camera tripods to car stereos in exchange for free products or money, Amazon said …

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TX Man Charged With Amazon Mass Shooting Threat

Yahoo News reports: Police in San Antonio arrested a 19-year-old man Monday after he allegedly told a co-worker at an Amazon warehouse that he planned to carry out a mass shooting at the facility. Rodolfo Valdivia Aceves was taken into custody “without incident,” according to police, and has been charged with making terroristic threats. The co-worker said Aceves revered the …

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