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You can now ask Google to remove your personal contact information, such as your physical and email addresses, as well as your phone number, from Search. The tech giant already takes request for the removal of identifiable info in cases of doxxing or if the details posted in public could be used for financial fraud. It's now expanding that policy to cover the aforementioned details, along with confidential log-in credentials and images of ID documents that can be used for identity theft.

According to The Verge, Google still has a process to deal with malicious doxxing, wherein an employee will look at links to determine how they'd cause harm. Under this expanded policy, though, the company can grant requests if the content you want to be removed from search doesn't have any public interest value or isn't "relevant to a news report." 

As the publication notes, it's also different from the system Google implemented in the EU to comply with the region's right to be forgotten law. The rules under the law allow you to ask for content removal if it's irrelevant, inaccurate or unflattering — this policy expansion only covers sensitive information. A spokesperson told The Verge that Google will de-index content whether it's behind a paywall or not, so long as the request meets its requirements.

In the company's announcement post, Google Global Policy Lead for Search Michelle Chang reminds people that the removal of content from Search doesn't mean it's gone from the internet. Chang encourages contacting website hosts if you want your information scrubbed completely.

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Some companies have started requiring their employees to come into the office a few times a week now that most people have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Airbnb isn't one them. Company CEO Brian Chesky has informed employees in a letter that they have the option to work remotely forever. A "small number of roles" will be required to work in the office, but the majority of Airbnb employees don't have to come in if they don't want to. 

Chesky wrote:

"We want to hire and retain the best people in the world (like you). If we limited our talent pool to a commuting radius around our offices, we would be at a significant disadvantage. The best people live everywhere, not concentrated in one area. And by recruiting from a diverse set of communities, we will become a more diverse company. "

The CEO said that Airbnb had recovered quickly from the pandemic thanks to people booking listings to work remotely, proving that the world is now more open to flexible work arrangements. Apparently, in the second half of 2021, 20 percent of the nights booked on its website were for stays of longer than a month. 

Airbnb will pay employees the same salary wherever it is in their country they choose to work. It will implement pay tiers by country for both salary and equity starting in June, so those getting paid less based on their location could soon be earning more. International moves are much more complex, however, and the company said it won't be able to support employees who decide to live in another country this year.

That said, it will allow people to work in 170 countries for up to 90 days each starting in September. While employees still have to secure their own work authorization, the company is partnering with local governments to make the process easier. 

In comparison, Google and Apple employees are making a gradual return to office and are now required to work a few days a week on site as part of a hybrid work plan. Twitter opened some of its offices in late 2021 but also told employees that they can permanently work from home.

What a difference a year can make. Roughly one year after pandemic-fueled buying spree pushed Amazon profits to new highs, the retail giant’s growth has now stalled to its slowest rate in more than two decades.

The company reported $116.4 billion in sales for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of just 7 percent from last year. That stands in stark contrast to the 44 percent jump it saw this time last year. It’s also the slowest single-quarter growth the company has seen since 2001, according toCNBC. Amazon lost $3.8 billion this quarter, its first loss since 2015.

The company attributed the slowdown to a number of factors, including effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine (something many tech companies have cited in recent earnings reports). The company’s stake in electric car-marker Rivian also accounted for some of the hit, as the company lost more than $7 billion on its investment in the company, whose stock has dipped amid production delays.

The report isn’t the first sign that Amazon has been struggling to turn its characteristically massive profits. The company recently raised the price of Prime for the first time since 2018, citing wage hikes for workers and increasing costs of transportation. The company also hiked prices for sellers by 5 percent.  

The company has also been dealing with a wave of organizing at its warehouses around the country, despite significant investments in anti-union consultants. Notably, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said one of the company’s priorities would be increasing “productivity” at fulfillment centers. “Today, as we’re no longer chasing physical or staffing capacity, our teams are squarely focused on improving productivity and cost efficiencies throughout our fulfillment network.”

Amazon also confirmed that its annual shopping bonanza Prime Day is set for July, though it didn’t provide an exact date.

Beijing is paving the way for driverless robotaxis. China’s capital city granted permits to auto startup Pony.ai and Chinese internet giant Baidu to offer self-driving car services to the general public, both companies announced today. Both operations will start out small — Baidu’s fleet will consist of 10 cars and Pony.ai will run four cars, reported CNBC. Eventually both companies plan to expand operations in the city.

The Beijing government is requiring a staff member to be onboard each driverless vehicle to make sure things go smoothly. But the employee isn’t required to be in the driver’s seat. Both firms had already been testing driverless taxis in Beijing and other major cities in China, but were required to have safety drivers behind the wheel.

The permits are a big step forward for the driverless taxi industry in Beijing, which set a goal for 70 percent of new cars sold in 2030 to have at least Level 2 self-driving technology installed.

An added perk for Beijing residents is that driverless car rides will be free, at least for now. The companies are still awaiting approval from the government to charge for the service. Until then, prospective riders can hail a ride through either Pony.ai’s PonyPilot+ app or Baidu’s Apollo Go app. There’s one caveat, though. Rides are currently restricted to a 23.1 square mile area in Yizhuang, a suburb of Beijing. There’s also no door-to-door pick-up service. Riders will instead be asked to choose from a number of public pick-up and drop-off locations, including subway stations, parks and stadiums.

Pony.ai ran into a number of challenges while testing its self-driving technology in the US. California suspended the Chinese company’s testing permit last year after a reported collision due to a glitch in Pony.ai’s AV software. No people were harmed in the crash and no other vehicles were involved. The California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a recall of all vehicles involved in the crash, which Pony.ai has complied with.

Netflix assembled an impressive roster of writers and editors for its fan site project, Tudum, which launched in early December of 2021. Today, a significant portion of those new hires have been sent packing for reasons unknown. 

A swath of the site's formerstaffannounced their departures today on Twitter, with former Vice culture writer Josh Terry claiming "laid off my team," suggesting the cuts may be drastic. Netflix claims there are no plans to mothball the site. It declined to comment on the number of workers who were impacted but confirmed that some amount of staff and contractors had been let go; The Hollywood Report placed its estimate at least 10 people. 

All a Netflix spokesperson would tell Engadget on the record was that "our fan website Tudum is an important priority for the company." 

Tudum was billed by Netflix on launch as "a backstage pass that lets you dig deeper into the Netflix films, series, and stars you love" — essentially an attempt to prop up a media business on the strength of the streaming platform's original content. It's not clear at this time what kind of change in staffing or strategy prompted this round of layoffs, who remains at the site or if the newly-separated writers and editors were given any advance notice. 

The job cuts come not long after Netflix announced during its quarterly earnings that it had lost subscribers (approximately 200,000 of them) for the first time in a decade. What followed was a swift and brutal backlash from the market that saw the streaming service's share price drop by 25 percent. So far it's plans to turn the ship around have been limited to trying to stop customers from sharing login information, and mulling the idea of a cheaper ad-supported subscription tier. 

Were you recently let go from Tudum? I'd like to hear from you. Download Signal messenger for iOS or Android and text me confidentially at 646 983 9846. 

Like it or not, the metaverse is becoming an increasingly popular music venue — including, apparently, for ceremonies. As Hollywood Reporterexplains, Logitech has revealed what it says is the first music awards show in the metaverse. The second annual Song Breaker Awards will take place in Roblox on April 30th at 1PM Eastern, with pop star Lizzo making her virtual performance debut. Social media star Bretman Rock will host.

The awards show will honor ten creators who either started or "amplified" internet trends, including musician Gayle (who has thrived on Billboard's Song Breaker Chart) and Grammy nominee Walker Hayes. Personalities like Jaden Smith, Roblox veteran MeganPlays and Twitch streamer Shroud will also make appearances. 

Logitech

You can already access a pre-event "experience" and virtual Logitech store in Roblox. If you miss the main show, you can still watch two additional performances on the 30th (4PM and 5PM ET) and one on May 1st (12PM ET).

Yes, Logitech is capitalizing on Lizzo and overall metaverse buzz to draw attention to its gig. However, it's really an extension of past efforts to bring music performances into digital spaces. Virtual concerts have been happening for years, and some of them have been hugely popular. The Song Breaker Awards just move that entertainment from a specific game to a full-fledged platform, and it won't be surprising if there are similar awards presentations before long.

All eyes are on Apple today, after a tumultuous series of earnings reports dropped this week. Google parent company Alphabet missed revenue expectations, while Meta (formerly Facebook) recorded a higher profit than expected this quarter. Apple just released its results and the company has performed respectably in its second quarter of the fiscal year 2022. This was its best March quarter yet, with revenues of $97.3 billion — a 9 percent jump from the same period last year. That said, it's still a drop from its results last quarter, where it broke all-time records with revenues of $123.9 billion. 

Apple also hit a new all-time high on its revenue from Services, which includes things like subscriptions to TV+, Music and Fitness+. With its strong showing on the awards circuit recently, it's hardly a surprise that TV+ is drawing in subscribers. Apple doesn't break down how much it makes specifically from each individual service, so it's hard to say just how much impact shows like Coda or Ted Lasso have had.

The rest of the company's products continued to do well too, with revenues from Mac, iPhone and "Wearables, Home and Accessories" all having increased year over year. The one segment that faltered was iPad, raking in about $7.6 billion compared to around $7.8 billion the same time last year. That's pretty typical for iPads, though. 

The wearables category was the most eye-catching, with Apple making $19.8 billion this quarter from sales of things like AirPods and watches, compared to $16.9 billion this time last year. That's more than it made from Macs, which came in at $10.4 billion this quarter (up from $9.1 billion last year). If you're keeping track, that means the Services category made Apple almost twice as much money as Macs, which is the next closest category (aside from iPhones, which came in at about $50.5 billion).

The company is hosting an earnings call at 5pm Eastern today, and may shed some light on what exactly helped its services segment perform so well. We'll be tuning in and will update this story with any relevant updates, so do check back later today. 

This story is developing, please refresh for updates.

American regulators may not have made a decision on flavored e-cigarettes, but that isn't stopping them from cracking down on the conventional variety. The New York Timesreports the US Food and Drug Administration has proposed a ban on menthol-flavored cigarettes as well as any non-tobacco cigar flavors. Menthol both makes cigarettes more appealing to young smokers and magnifies the addictive qualities of nicotine, officials said, and banning it could both prevent the "next generation of smokers" while helping adults quit.

The potential rules won't punish individual possession of banned cigarettes and cigars. You'll have a chance to comment on the proposal between May 4th and July 5th, with the FDA holding "public listening sessions" on June 13th and June 15th to obtain more feedback.

Notably, the possible ban doesn't include menthol e-cigarettes. The FDA is in the midst of reviewing all e-cigarette products and still allows sales of some menthol-flavored offerings. E-cigs reached the market before the FDA had the power to regulate them.

It's easy to see the menthol ban shaping e-cig policy, however. An alliance of 31 states and territories is pressuring the FDA to limit flavored offerings, including menthol. They're concerned about teens taking up e-cigs in large numbers (nearly a fifth of high schoolers had used them recently as of 2020), and see flavor bans steering youth away.

Producers might not be quite as thrilled. While Juul stopped selling mint-flavored e-cigs in 2019, it continues to offer menthol despite studies showing its popularity among young smokers. If a successful ban on conventional menthol cigarettes extends to e-cigs, brands like Juul may lose a significant portion of its customers regardless of age. Still, the FDA isn't likely to be swayed — companies might not want to count on selling menthol smoking products of any kind in the long run.

Watching TV with hearing aids is about to get a little easier for Amazon Fire TV Cube owners. The second generation of the Fire TV Cube will now support Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) for compatible Bluetooth-enabled Starkey hearing aids. While the ability to stream TV audio to hearing aids has been around for a while, it normally requires an additional third-party device. Not all smart TVs support Bluetooth, so many hard-of-hearing users are forced to connect their hearing aids to their smartphone or a special adapter. But Fire TV will now allow users to directly pair their hearing aids with the streaming box.

ASHA (which is a Google-led initiative) has been available for Bluetooth devices since 2020. Fire TV Cube will be the first streaming device in the US to support ASHA, but it’s a safe bet to say more platforms will be on board in the future.

In order to pair their hearing aids to their Fire TV Cube, users should select “Settings” from Fire TV’s home screen. Users should then select “Accessibility”, followed by “Hearing Aids” and follow the on-screen instructions to pair them.

One drawback to relying on Bluetooth is viewers must remain within a 10-feet distance to still pick up Fire TV’s signal. Amazon recommends that viewers connect over their hearing aids over a 5Ghz wifi network, within 10 feet and in line of sight to Fire TV Cubes. Viewers with 2.4GHz wifi can still connect to Fire TV, but should keep in mind that the strength of their signal will vary depending on spectrum congestion.