Facebook urged to release India impact report; US Senate panel backs bill curbing Big Tech; Stader valued at $450 mln
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen and other activists have urged the social networking giant to release a long-awaited report on its impact in India, alleging the company is purposely obscuring human rights concerns, The Guardian reports. Meanwhile, a US Senate panel backed a bill that proposes some curbs on Big Tech. And in startup news, blockchain venture Stader has raised more money, at a hefty valuation. Facebook urged to release the report on its impact in India Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen and other prominent whistleblowers have renewed calls for Facebook to release a long-awaited report on its impact in India, alleging the company is purposely obscuring human rights concerns, The Guardian reports. More than 20 organisations on Wednesday joined whistleblowers Frances Haugen and Sophie Zhang, as well as former Facebook vice-president Brian Boland, to demand the company, now called Meta, release its findings. Meta had commissioned law firm Foley Hoag in 2020 to carry out an independent review of its impact in India—the company’s largest market at 340 million users—but its release has repeatedly been delayed, activists allege. US Senate panel votes in favour of bill curbing Big Tech A Senate panel approved antitrust legislation forbidding the largest tech platforms from favouring their own products and services over competitors’, Wall Street Journal reports. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act moves next to the Senate floor. A second bill, which was held over, would bar big app stores, like Apple's, from forcing app providers to use their payment system, and prohibit them from punishing apps that offer different prices through another app store or payment system, Reuters reported. Stader Labs, blockchain and crypto startup, valued at $450 million Stader Labs, a blockchain crypto startup in Bangalore, has raised $12.5 million in a strategic private sale that values the company at up to $450 million, the company said in a press release. The sale was led by Three Arrow Capital with several other VC firms, including Accel, and angel investors joining in. Stader had previously raised $4 million from Pantera, Coinbase Ventures and others. Tom Cruise movie producers in a deal to put a studio in space Producers of a Tom Cruise film, set in space, are planning to launch the world's first movie studio connected to the International Space Station, Business Insider reports. Elena and Dmitry Lesnevsky, the movie producers, announced on Thursday that they’ve signed a deal to build a fully operational movie studio connected to the International Space Station. The studio, Space Entertainment Enterprise-1 (SEE-1), is slated to launch in December 2024 and will be the world's first functional entertainment and content studio in space, according to Business Insider. SEE-1 will be developed in partnership with Axiom Space, a Huston-based space infrastructure developer and the company behind the world's first commercial space station, Axiom Station. Once it's ready for launch, the studio will dock with Axiom Station, which is currently attached to the ISS. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds