Associated Press

News Agency

Waymo expanding autonomous ride service to San Francisco

Waymo, the Google self-driving vehicle spinoff, is expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service to San Francisco. Selected “trusted tester” customers in the city by the bay will be able to hail a ride in self-driving Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicles, the company said. For now the vehicles will have human backup drivers on board. But at some […]

TikTok to let users shop through app with Shopify deal

TikTok users will soon be able to buy stuff directly through the short videos on the app — something they had only been able to do through ads until now. Canadian e-commerce company Shopify said Tuesday that businesses will be able to add a shopping tab to their TikTok profiles to create a “mini-storefront” that […]

With sales still surging, Best Buy raises prospects for 2021

Best Buy raised its sales outlook for the year Tuesday after breezing past Wall Street expectations in the second quarter. The nation’s largest consumer electronics chain joined other major retailers including Walmart, Target and Macy’s in putting up banner numbers, suggesting that Americans have continued to be spend even as the delta variant spreads. Department […]

Gig apps for a pandemic economy: Part time, no commitment

For months, Gabrielle Walker had been looking for a part-time job. She applied to restaurant chains and retailers like Nando’s and Primark, and she scoured the job search site Indeed. Nothing. Then one day, Walker, a 19-year-old student at University College London, was scrolling through TikTok and stumbled on a video about an app called […]

Walmart to launch delivery service for other businesses

Walmart says it will start commercializing its delivery service, using contract workers, autonomous vehicles and even drones to deliver other retailers’ products directly to their customers’ homes as fast as just a few hours. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer launched delivery and Express delivery for its shoppers three years ago on more than 160,000 items from […]

Judge: California ride-hailing law is unconstitutional

A judge Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional. Voters approved the measure in November […]

EXPLAINER: How social platforms are dealing with the Taliban

As the Taliban negotiates with senior politicians and government leaders following its lighting-fast takeover of Afghanistan, U.S. social media companies are reckoning with how to deal with a violent extremist group that is poised to rule a country of 40 million people. Should the Taliban be allowed on social platforms if they don’t break any […]

OnlyFans website to ban 'sexually explicit' content

OnlyFans, a site where fans pay creators for their photos and videos, is planning to ban “sexually explicit” content. The ban will start Oct. 1 and is the result of requests from banking partners and companies that handle financial transactions, a spokesperson said. Still, nudity is OK if it’s “consistent” with the company’s policy. It’s […]

New China law tightens control over companies' data on users

China is tightening control over data gathered by companies about the public under a law approved Friday by its ceremonial legislature, expanding the ruling Communist Party’s crackdown on internet industries. The data protection law follows anti-monopoly and other enforcement actions against companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba and games and social media operator Tencent that caused […]

Robinhood's crypto trading surges, as overall growth slows

After helping a new generation of investors get into stocks, Robinhood is increasingly doing the same for cryptocurrencies. More than $4 of every $10 that Robinhood Markets Inc. made in revenue during the spring came just from customers trading dogecoin, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Robinhood also said Wednesday that it lost $501.7 million, or $2.16 […]