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Snapchat’s Attempt to Protect Young Users From Third-Party Apps Falls Short
Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Some Snap Kit platform developers have skirted guidelines meant to make the app safer for children.
A new report from TechCrunch released Tuesday found that some third-party apps that connect to users’ Snap accounts have not been updated according to new guidelines announced in March. The restrictions, which target anonymous messaging and friend-finding apps, are meant to increase child safety. However, the investigation found a number of apps either ignore the new regulations or falsely claim to be integrated with Snapchat.
The Santa Monica-based social media company announced the changes after facing two separate lawsuits related to teen suicide allegedly caused by the app. Over 1,500 developers integrate Snap features like the camera and Bitmojis. Snap originally claimed the update would not affect many apps.
Developers had 30 days to revise their software, but the investigation found that some apps, such as the anonymous Q&A app Sendit, were granted an extension. Others blatantly avoided the changes—the anonymous messaging app HMU, which is now meant for adult users, is still available to users "9+" in the App Store. Certain apps that have been banned from Snap, like Intext, still advertise Snapchat integration.
“First and foremost, we put the privacy and safety of our community first and expect the products built by our developer community to adhere to that standard in addition to bringing fun and positive experiences to people,” Director of Platform Partnerships Alston Cheek told TechCrunch.
The news is a blow to Snap’s recent efforts to cast itself as a responsible social media platform. The company recently announced Colleen DeCourcy would take over as the company’s new chief creative officer and CEO Evan Spiegel to recently made a a generous personal donation to graduates of Otis College of Art and Design. The social media company currently faces a lawsuit from a teenager who claims it has not done enough to protect minors from sexual exploitation. In April, 44 attorney generals sent a letter to Snap and TikTok urging the companies to strengthen parental controls. (Disclosure: Snap is an investor in dot.LA.)
Lawmakers are considering new policies that would hold social media companies accountable for the content on their platforms. One such bill would require social media companies to share data with independent researchers.
Snapchat recently rolled out augmented reality shopping features and influencer-led original content to grow its younger base of users.
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Kristin Snyder
Kristin Snyder is dot.LA's 2022/23 Editorial Fellow. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
https://twitter.com/ksnyder_db
Bird’s SPAC Deal is Done: First Day on the NYSE Ends Virtually Flat
02:36 PM | November 05, 2021
Bird, the Santa Monica-based firm that makes and rents electric scooters, ended its first full day as a publicly traded company with its stock price up by a fraction of a percent at $8.40 per share.
By merging with Switchback II, a special purpose acquisition company, Bird skipped the traditional IPO process to list on the New York Stock Exchange. Now closed, the deal put a combined $414 million in cash and credit at the scooter company's disposal — minus fees related to the merger, Bird said on Friday.
The SPAC deal originally valued Bird at around $2.3 billion.
Now trading under the ticker "BRDS," Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden said in a statement that the funds will fuel its growth and further its mission of providing "environmentally friendly transportation for everyone." Bird plops rentable scooters on sidewalks in more than 350 cities.
Bird's revenue plummeted at the onset of the pandemic, as lockdowns confined commuters to their homes, but the company recently reported a rebound in revenue and declining losses for its second fiscal quarter of 2021.
While Bird leads the pack on scooter rentals, its competitor Lime revealed today that it raised $523 million from investors ahead of a possible public debut next year.
Why "BRDS"? Earlier this week, footwear company Allbirds started trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol "BIRD," perhaps beating Bird to the punch. Bird did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Friday energy Today was electric for the @BirdRide listing Come take a ride behind the scenes of all the action $BRDSpic.twitter.com/9KMjBLzpHP— NYSE \ud83c\udfdb (@NYSE \ud83c\udfdb) 1636137781
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Harri Weber
Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.
More SPAC Action: Tech Company Using Gravity to Store Energy Inks $1.6 Billion Deal
12:56 PM | September 09, 2021
Energy Vault, a startup that uses gravity and composite blocks heavier than a school bus to store renewable energy, plans to go public in a $1.6 billion merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The combined entity — consisting of the Westlake Village, Calif.-based clean energy startup and a shell company called Novus Capital Corp. II — aims to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "GWHR." The companies expect the deal to close during the first quarter of 2022.
Energy Vault's tech was developed to help utilities "solve the problem of power intermittency that is inherent with wind and solar energy generation," said Robert Piconi, the clean energy company's CEO and co-founder in an announcement of the deal.
In its search for a business to take public, Novus CEO Robert Laikin said the blank-check firm "looked at over 100 companies."
Earlier this year, another SPAC set up by Laikin took AppHarvest public. The firm builds gigantic greenhouses and was at one point valued at $1 billion. AppHarvest's market cap currently hovers around $770 million.
These mergers are part of a larger trend that has drawn scrutiny from regulators, shareholders and lawmakers alike. Sen. John Kennedy introduced a bill earlier this year that would force SPACs to be more transparent with investors. "It's right and fair that a SPAC should disclose how its sponsors get paid and how that affects the value of its public shares," the Senator argued. "The Sponsor Promote and Compensation Act would require this kind of transparency," he added.
What is a SPAC?
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Harri Weber
Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.
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