The net neutrality fight continues, Apple gives up on its data center plans in Ireland and ZTE is in trouble. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for May 10, 2018. 1. Senators file to force vote on disapproval of FCC's new net neutrality rules Democrats aren't giving up on their efforts to restore net neutrality: They've filed a petition under the Congressional Review Act to force a vote on repealing the FCC's new rule. Right now, there are 50 senators (including one Republican) supporting the measure, but it seems unlikely that something similar could pass in the House — and even if it did, it would probably be vetoed by President Trump. Still, by forcing a vote, they force everyone in the Senate to take a position for or against net neutrality. 2. Apple pulls the plug on its €850M data center project in Ireland over planning delays Apple had planned for the data center — which would cover 166,000 square metres — to go online in 2017. (A Danish center was announced at the same time and is nearly completed.) 3. Things are looking bleak as ZTE ceases main business operations ZTE wasn't kidding around when it suggested that a U.S. Department of Commerce order (a seven-year ban on the sale of U.S. products to the company) would "severely impact" its survival. 4. Free stock trading app Robinhood rockets to a $5.6B valuation with new funding round Robinhood started off as a dead-simple stock trading application that had no transaction fees — but especially as it starts to dive into cryptocurrency, investors are getting pretty excited about its prospects. 5. Google to acquire cloud migration startup Velostrata Velostrata helps companies migrate from on-premise datacenters to the cloud. It's not always a simple matter to transfer those legacy applications, and that's where Velostrata could help Google Cloud customers. 6. Researchers create a real cloaking device Well, sort of: It routes sound waves around an object, making the object invisible to some sensing techniques. 7. IAB says online advertising grew to $88B last year — more spending than TV Despite the negative headlines, the online ad industry is still setting new records. |