• Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Republican Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.) and Katie Britt (Ala.) introduced a bill that would prohibit children under the age of 13 from joining social media platforms and would require tech companies to get parental consent before creating accounts for users under the age of 18. The legislation, known as the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, would also prohibit tech firms from using personal information to serve targeted content or advertising to teenagers. (CNN)
• Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called on executives at several artificial intelligence companies to prioritize security measures and address bias as they introduce new technologies to the public. “Beyond industry commitments, however, it is also clear that some level of regulation is necessary in this field,” Warner said in a letter sent to OpenAI, Meta Platforms Inc. Alphabet Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and others. (Reuters)
• Meta saw shares rise 12% in extended trading Wednesday following its first-quarter earnings report, which beat expectations after the company reported a 3% increase in sales from $27.91 billion a year earlier and better-than-expected guidance for the second quarter. While the company beat expectations, its Reality Labs unit, which is at the head of its virtual reality efforts, ran an operating loss of $3.99 billion while bringing in $339 million in sales. (CNBC)
• YouTube Music contractors officially joined the Alphabet Workers Union-CWA following a vote through the National Labor Relations Board that saw 41 out of 49 eligible workers vote in favor of unionizing. Google must now bargain with the unionized workers, and if a contract is ratified, they will become the first officially recognized union of tech workers at Google. (TechCrunch)

Happening today: 

• Amazon.com Inc., Snap Inc., and Intel Inc. will all report first-quarter earnings today.
• The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation will host its conference called “Reviving America’s Hamiltonian Tradition to Win the Economic Competition With China,” which will focus on the United States’ technological and economic competition with China. Speakers will include Mike Schmidt, director of the CHIPS Program Office for the Department of Commerce; Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.); and Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.). 
• The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance will host a hearing titled “Fixing FISA: How a Law Designed to Protect Americans Has Been Weaponized Against Them,” with testimony from Michael Horowitz, inspector general at the Department of Justice; and Sharon Bradford Franklin, chair of the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
• The Syndeo Institute will host this year’s Cable Hall of Fame, which will celebrate figures in the media and connectivity space. Honorees this year include Tom Adams, former executive vice president of field operations for Charter Communications Inc.; and Julie Laulis, chair of the board, president and chief executive officer of Cable One Inc.

American Companies Risk Boycotts in China if Biden Bans TikTok

Morning Consult

Samsung flags H2 recovery after record chip loss in Q1

Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang, Reuters

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd flagged a gradual recovery for chips in the second half of the year after its semiconductor business reported a record loss on Thursday, driven by weak demand for tech devices.

No prison yet for Elizabeth Holmes following last-ditch appeal

Scott Cohn, CNBC

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will not go to prison this week, despite a judge’s order that she begin serving her 11-year sentence on Thursday.

Activision, in Thick of Merger Fight, Beats Quarterly Profit Estimates

Rob Golum, Bloomberg

Activision Blizzard Inc., its shares reeling after UK competition authorities rejected the company’s $69 billion sale to Microsoft Corp., posted quarterly results a day sooner than planned, reporting better-than-expected sales and profit.

Focus in Murder of Tech Exec Bob Lee Turns to Relationship With Alleged Killer

Ellen Huet and Priya Anand, Bloomberg

Nima Momeni, the man accused of stabbing Lee to death in San Francisco this month, appeared in court Tuesday for a hearing on his arraignment, which is now set for next week. His attorney, Paula Canny, said the evidence against Momeni doesn’t support a premeditated murder charge. He plans to enter a not guilty plea, she said.

Peter Thiel, Republican megadonor, won’t fund candidates in 2024, sources say

Anna Tong et al., Reuters 

Tech billionaire and Republican megadonor Peter Thiel, an early backer of former President Donald Trump who later broke with him, has told associates he is not planning to donate to any political candidates in 2024, according to two people close to the businessman.

EU sets out patent rules for smart technology to limit lawsuits

Philip Blenkinsop, Reuters

The European Commission proposed rules on Thursday to govern patents increasingly in demand for technologies used in smart devices such as drones, connected cars and mobile phones, to try to reduce litigation.

ASML, Europe’s Most Valuable Tech Firm, Is at the Heart of the US-China Chip War

Cagan Koc et al., Bloomberg

The low-profile firm has become crucial to a half-trillion-dollar global industry.

Furious Microsoft boss says confidence in UK ‘severely shaken’

Tom Espiner and Will Harris, BBC News

Microsoft’s president has attacked the UK after it was blocked from buying US gaming firm Activision, saying the EU was a better place to start a business. The move was “bad for Britain” and marked Microsoft’s “darkest day” in its four decades of working in the country, Brad Smith told the BBC.

Microsoft Warns Over Cloud as EU-US Data Pact Awaits Sign Off

Stephanie Bodoni, Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp. warned that its cloud services could be a victim of the legal vacuum over transatlantic data transfers that’s already prompted Facebook owner Meta Platforms Inc. to threaten to pull out of the European Union.

China’s Dominance Over U.S. Solar Market Grows Despite Efforts to Stem It

Phred Dvorak, The Wall Street Journal

China is maintaining its tight grip on the U.S. solar market despite efforts to loosen it, according to new data, underscoring how tough it is to supplant Chinese producers with domestic suppliers.

UK watchdog defends Microsoft block in face of onslaught from companies

Muvija M and Paul Sandle, Reuters

The boss of Britain’s antitrust regulator said blocking Microsoft’s acquisition of ‘Call of Duty’ maker Activision Blizzard was the right decision for the UK after both companies said it sent the wrong message to the global tech industry.

Germany in Talks to Limit Export of Chip Chemicals to China

Michael Nienaber et al., Bloomberg

Germany is in talks to limit the export of chemicals to China that are used to manufacture semiconductors as Berlin steps up efforts to reduce its economic exposure to the Asian nation. 

US subsidies make UK financial reform urgent, business warns

Huw Jones, Reuters

U.S. clean technology subsidies are sucking capital from Europe, making it more urgent to improve London as a global financial centre, business bosses told UK lawmakers on Wednesday.

Tencent accelerates investment in overseas gaming studios

Eleanor Olcott and Qianer Liu, Financial Times

Chinese tech group targets European assets as it seeks to diversify away from domestic market.

Elon Musk Ramps Up A.I. Efforts, Even as He Warns of Dangers

Cade Metz et al., The New York Times

The billionaire plans to compete with OpenAI, the ChatGPT developer he helped found, while calling out the potential harms of artificial intelligence.

Google had a ‘Kodak moment’ last year as Microsoft takes lead in AI, strategist says

Arjun Kharpal, CNBC

Google last year had a “Kodak moment” when it came to artificial intelligence, giving rival Microsoft an edge with the technology, one strategist told CNBC on Wednesday.

Spain hopes to set up AI regulation during EU rotating presidency

Inti Landauro, Reuters

Spain aims to set up a set of regulations for artificial intelligence during its rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, Economy minister Nadia Calvino said on Wednesday.

The rapid rise of generative AI threatens to upend US patent system

Richard Waters, Financial Times

Intellectual property laws cannot handle possibility artificial intelligence could invent things on its own.

Mark Zuckerberg says Meta wants to ‘introduce AI agents to billions of people’

Alex Heath, The Verge

Meta sees “an opportunity to introduce AI agents to billions of people in ways that will be useful and meaningful,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors today.

Cable Companies and Mobile Carriers Battle Over Fixed Wireless Internet

Patience Haggin and Will Feuer, The Wall Street Journal

Comcast and Charter Communications have lost customers to their less-expensive rival plans. But they insist customers will return to broadband.

Verizon plans to speed up rural 5G service later this year

Jess Weatherbed, The Verge

Rural customers subscribed to Verizon’s 5G network could see a jump in their speeds later this year. The telecommunications giant revealed plans during its quarterly earnings call this week to extend its C-band 5G network — which uses a radio spectrum that enables faster speeds on a wide scale — to more rural and suburban areas by December 2023.

Apple’s Weather chaos is restarting the weather app market

David Pierce, The Verge

It’s not hard to figure out the temperature outside. (Though it might be harder than you think!) But a truly great weather app requires so much more than that.

Motorola’s new Razr foldable breaks cover with huge display, red color

Ben Schoon, 9to5Google

After leaking earlier this year, Motorola’s upcoming Razr foldable has showed up online with detailed images showing off the foldable’s large cover display and a slick red/magenta colorway.

Microsoft Edge is leaking the sites you visit to Bing

Tom Warren, The Verge

It’s probably a good idea to disable Edge’s follow creator feature until this privacy issue is fixed.

Google on why Authenticator sync isn’t E2E encrypted, but option coming later

Abner Li, 9to5Google

Google today explained that the goal of Authenticator’s new sync feature is to “offer features that protect users, BUT are useful and convenient.” Acknowledging that “E2EE is a powerful feature that provides extra protections,” the downside is that users might “get locked out of their own data without recovery” if they forget or lose their Google Account password (or extra layer of added security).

China’s Metaverse Is All About Work

Yaling Jiang, Wired

The government wants the metaverse to be less about having fun and shopping and more about health care and industry.

Musk’s Twitter Draws EU Concerns on New Content Rules

Jillian Deutsch, Bloomberg

Some members of the European Union’s leadership are warning that billionaire Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. will struggle to follow the continent’s content moderation rules in the months leading up to its first deadline.

Twitter’s Verification Fiasco May End in Court

Chris Stokel-Walker, Wired

The law says you can’t falsely claim that celebrities are paying for Twitter Blue.

Meta says time spent on Instagram grew 24% thanks to TikTok-style AI Reel recommendations

Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

 Zuckerberg shared that time spent on Instagram has grown more than 24% since the company launched Reels on the platform thanks to AI-powered content recommendations — aka, the kind of non-connection recommended videos that TikTok basically built its entire brand upon.

Brazil court suspends Telegram for not complying with order on neo-Nazi groups

Lisandra Paraguassu, Reuters

A Brazilian court on Wednesday ordered a temporary suspension in the country of the encrypted messaging app Telegram until it complies with an order to share information on extremist and neo-Nazi groups using the platform.

Amazon starts layoffs in HR and cloud units: Read the memos announcing the cuts

Annie Palmer, CNBC

Amazon on Wednesday began laying off some employees in its cloud computing and human resources divisions. Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky and human resources head Beth Galetti sent notes to staffers in the U.S., Canada and Costa Rica informing them of the job cuts.

Amazon shuts down Halo division and discontinues all devices

Victoria Song, The Verge

Amazon has decided to shutter its health-focused Halo division, The Verge has learned. Amazon has stopped selling its three Halo products and plans to lay off portions of the Halo team.

Meta Content Exec Mina Lefevre Leaves As Facebook Watch Ends Originals; ‘Red Table Talk’ Being Shopped

Peter White and Nellie Andreeva, Deadline

Mina Lefevre, who was Head of Development and Programming at Meta, is departing Facebook’s parent company.