Threads Reaches 100 Million Daily Active Users – DTH
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These are the Daily Take headlines for Tuesday, December 17th, 2024. I'm Rob Dunwood.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced via a post on Threads that the company's new social media platform now has more than 100 million daily active users and has eclipsed 300 million monthly active users. Threads has also ramped up its feature releases, including updates that appear to be inspired by Blue Sky, like custom feeds and curated collections of accounts to follow. Meta is also testing the ability to choose your own default feed, which is a much-needed change, but it's not all good. Threads might get ads early next year.

A European Union privacy regulator has fined Meta 251 million euros, stemming back to a data breach the company disclosed in September 2018 that affected millions of users. The breach dated back to July 2017, when Facebook rolled out a video upload function with a bug in the feature, allowing malicious actors to gain access to Facebook's user personal data, including full names, email addresses, phone numbers and more.

The fine imposed by the Irish Data Protection Commission was twofold, one for not reporting the breach in a timely manner and the other concerning rules on data protection by design and default, both violations of GDPR.

Waymo is sending its robotaxis to Tokyo, the first time the autonomous vehicle maker is deploying vehicles on public roads in a foreign market. Waymo is billing the excursion as a simple road trip for collecting data about the nuances of Japanese driving, including left-handed traffic and navigating a dense urban environment.

The taxis will be operated in partnership with taxi companies Nihon, Kotsu and Go and will be driven manually. The test will undoubtedly be seen as laying the groundwork for a future Tokyo-based robotaxi service, but Waymo said it isn't ready to announce anything quite yet.

YouTube announced Monday a new feature to give creators more control over their content's use in AI training. Creators can opt in to allow 18 third-party AI companies, including Adobe, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI, to train their models on their videos. This feature is accessible through the YouTube Studio dashboard, where users can view or change their third-party training settings within their YouTube channel settings at any time.

SoundCloud is launching a new artist subscription plan called Artist, intended to help emerging and aspiring musicians get their music out into the world easily and more affordably. The $3.25 per month plan bridges the gap between the platform's Basic and Artist Pro subscriptions, providing an affordable option for new artists aiming to grow their reach. With the Artist plan, users receive access to professional-level tools to refine their sound, distribute their music, and grow their audience.

The European Union has launched a formal investigation into TikTok, alleging the platform failed to prevent election interference, particularly in the recent Romanian presidential election. The EU will examine TikTok's policies on political advertising, content recommendations, and measures to prevent manipulation. TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, claims that it has taken significant steps to protect its platform integrity during numerous elections and has provided information to the EU regarding its policies and practices.

The popular Latin American digital payment service AstroPay has launched a multi-currency wallet paired with a payment card so that you can pay, send, and receive money from your phone. The newly launched AstroPay app and website closely resemble Wise, a London-based fintech company renowned for its multi-currency accounts and currency exchange services. There is no such thing as a global bank, at least not yet, and that's basically what we're trying to do here at AstroPay, said AstroPay CEO Mark Sackle.

Instagram has quietly rolled out the ability for users to schedule direct messages. Meta confirmed that this new feature is being rolled out globally. This will particularly be useful for creators and brands to schedule outreach messages at optimal times and for regular users to send messages to friends in different time zones or set future reminders.

And finally, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission has implemented a new rule to combat hidden fees in the live event and travel industries. This rule aims to prevent businesses from misleading consumers by advertising low prices and then adding significant fees later in the booking process. The FTC's goal is to make pricing more transparent and allow consumers to make informed decisions. For more analysis of the tech news of the day, subscribe to DailyTechNewsShow.com. And if you enjoy the show, remember to tell a friend to check us out. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you next time.

So when your plans change, Merrill's with you every step of the way.

Go to ml.com slash bullish to learn more. Merrill, a Bank of America company. What would you like the power to do? Investing involves risk. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Spenner & Smith, Incorporated, registered broker-dealer, registered investment advisor, member SIPC. Shape your tomorrow. SIPC.

X-Trackers offers innovative opportunities to enable you to take your financial future into your own hands. With ETFs that make access easy, transparent, and cost-effective. Start your investment for the future at xtrackers.com. Together, we grow. All investments involve risk, including loss of principle. Information on the fund's investment objectives, risk factors, charges, and expenses can be found in the fund's prospectus at xtrackers.com. Read it carefully before investing. Distributed by ALPS Distributors, Inc.