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YouTube won’t negotiate with the YouTubers Union. The Verge reports that although YouTube agreed to meet with the YouTubers Union, it has no plans to negotiate with them. The union, which is pushing YouTube to address the concerns of smaller creators on the platform, was formed about a year ago. It joined IG Metall, the largest industrial union in Europe, earlier this month, which prompted YouTube to invite its representatives to YouTube headquarters.
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What do they want? The YouTubers Union is seeking monetization for smaller channels. It’s also pushing YouTube to end demonetization and give creators more transparency into moderation decisions.
[Bijan Stephen / The Verge]
The US and France have reached a deal over a French law that will require US tech companies to pay more in taxes. The law, passed by France’s Senate in July, would put a 3 percent tax on US tech companies and was expected to affect tech giants like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google. And a spokesperson for Google said the tax was “a sharp departure from long-established tax rules.” The law caused a stir in Washington, and President Trump hinted that French wine could be subject to a new tariff in retaliation. However, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that US tech companies will be able to deduct the tax.
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Who this impacts: The law covers tech companies that make at least €750 million in revenue worldwide (that’s about $844 million) as well as €25 million in digital sales in France.
[Corinne Reichert / CNET]
Chinese autonomous-driving company Pony.ai and Toyota are teaming up. Bloomberg reports that Toyota, in its attempt to take on rivals such as Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous car operation, will start a pilot program in September “on public roads in Beijing and Shanghai, using Lexus RX vehicles and Pony.ai’s autonomous driving system.” Toyota wants to become “a mobility company firmly rooted in China,” and partnering with the startup is a move in that direction, according to Bloomberg.
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What’s Pony.ai? The company was founded in 2016 and is a frontrunner on China’s self-driving scene, which has gotten a late start compared with the US.
[Chunying Zhang and Jie Ma / Bloomberg]
Australia is blocking domains that host extremist content during crisis events. The country will even “consider legislation to force digital platforms to improve the safety of their services,” according to Reuters. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “We are doing everything we can to deny terrorists the opportunity to glorify their crimes.” Tech giants including Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, and Twitter will need to tell Australia’s government by the end of September how they will carry out the recommendations.
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The background: In the wake of the Christchurch, New Zealand, mass shooting in March, Australia and New Zealand have both increased scrutiny of social media platforms.
[Alison Bevege / Reuters]
It’s Tuesday, time for a podcast (or two)
- On the latest episode of Land of the Giants, we ask sellers, ‘Is Amazon too big?” Small businesses and major brands alike rely on Amazon but are increasingly ambivalent about selling on the platform’s Marketplace because of its fierce competition and declining profit margins. From a societal standpoint, is this a good thing? Host Jason Del Rey talks to Samsonite Global Chief E-Commerce Officer Charlie Cole and Birkenstock CEO David Kahan to try to answer this question. Listen here.
- And catch up on Recode Decode: This week Kara Swisher talked to Huawei’s chief security officer in the US, Andy Purdy. Listen here.
Top Stories from Recode
Bernie Sanders takes on Facebook and Google for destroying local media. It’s a unique step for a Democrat who has been particularly outspoken in his criticism of the media.
[Theodore Schleifer]
