Kanye West acquires controversial rightwing social media platform Parler

Here are the top trending news from the world of technology. News that we feel every tech enthusiast should keep a tab on.

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Kanye West acquires controversial rightwing social media platform Parler

Rap singer Kanye West has acquired social media platform Parler, which is known for supporting right wing and conservative ideology. The financial terms of the deal has not been disclosed. This news has come barely days after Kanye West’s twitter and Instagram accounts were suspended for making antisemitic comments. Parler was one of the few social media platforms whose prominence grew dramatically during the era of Donald Trump presidency. The platform was also accused of stroking and encouraging the Capitol Hill violence that took earlier this year. Parler, by the way, has been facing multiple problems on several fronts since the departure of Trump.

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Russia Fines Amazon $1 Mn Roubles

A court in Russia’s capital Moscow has fined the American e-commerce giant Amazon with a fine of approximately 1 Mln roubles. As per the Russian media, the local court found out that Amazon failed in delegating content that was found to be prompting suicidal thoughts among the Russian citizens. Interestingly, a Russian court had designated Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta as a status of ‘terrorist organization.’ Russia’s ongoing crackdown against the American company is most likely the fallout of Russia’s ongoing military invasion against Ukraine.

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Ecommerce giant Flipkart forays into Metaverse

India’s home grown e-commerce website Flipkart has launched a Metaverse offering. Its metaverse offering will be called Flipverse, which will go live on its Android app on Monday. However, Flipverse has been launched in a pilot testing phase and hence only few people can access it. The company said Flipkart users can buy digital version of several well-known brands including Puma, Nivea, Himalaya, Noise and many other well-known brands. if the Flipverse experiment does succeed then it may launch this service on full-fledge basis in the future. Flipkart’s main rival Amazon India, has by the way, has not announced any such plans.

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Byju’s raises $250 Mn at a lower valuation

After a long dry spell on the funding front, Byju’s has finally managed to raise fresh funds. The edtech giant has raised $250 Mn from existing investors including the Qatar Investment Authority or (QIA). However, this latest funding comes amid layoffs and several controversies and the impact of them is clearly visible on the company’s valuation. According to media reports, Byju’s has raised the latest funding at a lower valuation of $11 – $12 Bn as contrast to the $17 Bn that company commanded in the previous funding round. Byju’s is expected go for an IPO or public issue next year.

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Apple Store in Oklahoma votes to Unionize

Employees of Apple store in Oklahoma city has decisively voted to form a trade union, becoming only the second retail store in the U.S. to unionize itself. According to media reports, nearly 56 employees working in the Oklahoma store voted  in favor of forming a trade union while 32 employees voted against it. In June this year, Apple Retail Store in Maryland became the first ever Apple store to form a trade union.  Apple, on its part, has reportedly been working to discourage employees in forming trade union. The tech giant has said that it follows open communication policy and encourages employees to have a transparent communication with regards to their rights and labor wages.