Tag Archives: Amazon

CNBC reports: A judge ordered Thursday a temporary block on the JEDI cloud contract in response to a suit filed by Amazon. Shares of Microsoft fell slightly on the news. A court notice announcing the injunction was filed on Thursday, but wasn’t public. It’s unclear why the documents were sealed. Amazon Web Services (AWS) alleged Trump launched “behind-the-scenes attacks” against …

Reuters reports: Amazon wants to depose President Donald Trump over the tech company’s losing bid for a $10 billion military contract. The Pentagon awarded the cloud computing project to Microsoft in October. Amazon later sued, arguing that Trump’s interference and bias against the company harmed Amazon’s chances of winning the contract. The company said in a federal court filing in …

The Guardian reports: The Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos had his mobile phone “hacked” in 2018 after receiving a WhatsApp message that had apparently been sent from the personal account of the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, sources have told the Guardian. The encrypted message from the number used by Mohammed bin Salman is believed to have included a malicious file …

CNBC reports: Technology giant Amazon is working to allow customers to connect their credit card information to their hands, so that they can scan for purchases with their palms at checkout areas in physical stores. While Amazon’s plan is in the early stages, the company has reportedly begun working with Visa on testing out the terminals, and has discussed the …

The Sacramento Bee reports: Amazon and Ring, the home security company owned by Amazon, will soon have to answer for their hacking incidents, according to a new lawsuit brought against the companies. John Baker Orange filed a class-action lawsuit on Dec. 26 in California, alleging that Amazon and Ring’s “lax security standards” and “defective design” left their cameras vulnerable to …

NBC News reports: Amazon says President Donald Trump launched “behind-the-scenes attacks” against the company, which led to it losing out on a major contract for cloud services. In a heavily redacted, 103-page document made public Monday, Amazon Web Services lays out why it’s protesting the Department of Defense’s decision to award Microsoft the JEDI (Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure) contract. AWS …

CBS News reports: Amazon is coming to New York City after all. The company is planning to open up an office space in the new Hudson Yards neighborhood on the west side of Manhattan. The office will reportedly be a base for 1,500 employees in the consumer and advertising departments. The announcement comes after a tumultuous fight earlier in the …

The New York Times reports: In the world of e-commerce, the online review is king, the internet’s answer to walking into a store and trying out a product for yourself. An increase of just one star in a rating on Amazon correlates with a 26 percent increase in sales, according to a recent analysis by the e-commerce consulting firm Pattern. …

Politico reports: Amazon is going to court to overturn the Pentagon’s decision to award Microsoft a cloud computing contract worth up to $10 billion, claiming the selection process for the so-called JEDI program was injected with “unmistakable bias” and “political influence.” The Pentagon last month named Microsoft the winner in the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program after President Donald Trump …

CNN reports: A new biography of former Defense Secretary James Mattis reports President Donald Trump personally got involved in who would win a major $10 billion contract to provide cloud computing services to the Pentagon, according to the website Task & Purpose, which writes about military issues. That hotly contested contract was awarded to Microsoft on Friday evening over Amazon …

The New York Times reports: The Department of Defense on Friday awarded a $10 billion technology contract to Microsoft over Amazon in a contest that was closely watched after President Trump ramped up his criticism of Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, and said he might intervene. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, known as JEDI, had set off …

From Amazon’s corporate blog: Customers rely on Alexa to answer all sorts of questions throughout the day —from sports scores and state capitals to nutrition facts and the latest current events. During the midterm elections last fall, customers asked Alexa a multitude of questions, including “Alexa, when are the polls open?”, “Alexa, who is winning in New York?” and more. …

NBC News reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that he will accept the offer of international aid to help fight the fires raging across the Amazon rainforest, but that French President Emmanuel Macron must first apologize to him. Bolsonaro appeared offended by Macron’s comments related to his handling of the unfolding crisis in the Amazon, and wanted them retracted. …

Politico Europe reports: The Brazilian government rejected an offer for a fund from the G7 members to help fight fires in the Amazon rainforest. G7 leaders, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Biarritz, France, agreed Monday to set up a $20 million fund to help Brazil tackle the ravaging fires, which have sparked international concern and condemnation. Brazil Ambassador’s …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Sunday that the Amazon forest is vital for our Earth and is urging prayers that fires there are quickly controlled. Francis added his voice to the chorus of international concern that the blazes in Brazil will have grave repercussions on the world’s environmental health. The pontiff, who is from the neighboring South American …

The New York Times reports: As dozens of fires scorched large swaths of the Amazon, the Brazilian government on Thursday struggled to contain growing global outrage over its environmental policies, which have paved the way for runaway deforestation of the world’s largest rain forest. The fires, many intentionally set, are spreading as Germany and Norway appear to be on the …

Axios reports: The Justice Department said Tuesday it had launched an inquiry into the market power of major online platforms and whether they are “are engaging in practices that have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers.” Why it matters: While the announcement mentioned no specific companies, its reference to looking at concerns about “search, social media, and some …

The New York Times reports: President Trump said today that he was looking “very seriously” at intervening in the hard-fought commercial battle for a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract for which Amazon, a company he has frequently attacked, is seen as the leading contender. For the president to weigh in on the award of a major government contract would …

Vice News reports: A group of House Republicans is urging their members to pressure Amazon to resume selling a set of controversial gay conversion therapy books, after the platform announced this month it would no longer carry works by the “father of conversion therapy.” The Republican Study Committee, a conservative caucus that includes more than 70% of all GOP House …

Reuters reports: Amazon.com Inc has a promotion for U.S. shoppers on Prime Day, the 48-hour marketing blitz that started Monday: Earn $10 of credit if you let Amazon track the websites you visit. The deal is for new installations of the Amazon Assistant, a comparison-shopping tool that customers can add to their web browsers. It fetches Amazon’s price for products …