Connect with us

Published

on

The Gmail application is seen on a portable device on Dec. 6, 2017.

NurPhoto | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Google will make it harder for spammers to send messages to Gmail users, the company said Tuesday.

The company said it will require emailers who send more than 5,000 messages per day to Gmail users to offer a one-click unsubscribe button in their messages.

It will also require them to authenticate their email address, configuring their systems so they prove they own their domain name and aren’t spoofing IP addresses.

Alphabet-owned Google says it may not deliver messages from senders whose emails are frequently marked as spam and fall under a “clear spam rate threshold” of 0.3% of messages sent, as measured by Google’s Postmaster Tools.

Google says it has signed up Yahoo to make the same changes, and they’ll come into effect in February 2024.

The moves highlight the ongoing fight between big tech companies and spammers who use open systems such as email to send fraudulent messages and annoy users. For years, machine learning techniques have been used to fight spam, but it remains a back-and-forth battle as spammers discover new techniques to get past filters.

“These changes are like a tune-up for the email world, and by fixing a few things under the hood, we can keep email running smoothly,” wrote Google product manager Neil Kumaran in a blog post. “But just like a tune-up, this is not a one-time exercise. Keeping email more secure, user friendly and spam-free requires constant collaboration and vigilance from the entire email community.”

Google’s changes could also affect some legitimate marketers who use email aggressively to market to or keep up with their customers, especially the requirement to allow users to quickly unsubscribe.

About half of all emails sent in 2022 were spam, according to an estimate from Kaspersky Anti-Virus.

Continue Reading

Technology

Tesla recalls 10,500 Powerwall 2 battery systems due to overheating, fire risk

Published

on

By

Tesla recalls 10,500 Powerwall 2 battery systems due to overheating, fire risk

Tesla’s Powerwall 2

Source: Tesla

Tesla is recalling around 10,500 units of its Powerwall 2, a backup battery for residential use, according to a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission disclosure out Thursday.

“The lithium-ion battery cells in certain Powerwall 2 systems can cause the unit to stop functioning during normal use, which can result in overheating and, in some cases, smoke or flame and can cause death or serious injury due to fire and burn hazards,” the CPSC recall notice said.

While Elon Musk‘s electric vehicle and clean energy company blamed the issue on a “third-party battery cell defect,” it did not name the supplier.

The recall notice said Tesla previously received 22 customer reports of the Powerwall 2 overheating, including five fires resulting in “minor property damage,” but no known injuries.

Read more CNBC tech news

Tesla’s Powerwall products are sold via its Energy division, along with giant, backup batteries that are built for utility-scale projects and use at large business facilities.

The Powerwalls work with Tesla’s solar photovoltaics, or solar rooftops, and can store electricity in a home for use at a later time, including during blackouts or during days or hours when electricity prices are higher.

In a separate notice on Tesla’s website, the company emphasized that the issue does not affect owners of newer model Powerwall systems, specifically Powerwall 3. The company website also said, “all affected units are being replaced at no cost to customers.”

Tesla’s biggest growth engine in the third quarter of 2025 came from its energy division, which sells Powerwalls. Tesla Energy saw revenue jump 44% to $3.42 billion in the third quarter, and as of the end of September, its energy segment represented about one-quarter of Tesla’s overall revenue.

Tesla shares fell by more than 7% on Thursday. Representatives for Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Continue Reading

Technology

MLS games head to Apple TV in 2026 as Season Pass subscription ends

Published

on

By

MLS games head to Apple TV in 2026 as Season Pass subscription ends

Major League Soccer is stepping onto a bigger stage next year, when all of its matches will find a new home on Apple TV.

Beginning in the 2026 season, MLS games will be available on Apple’s flagship streaming platform, which currently includes Major League Baseball games as well as scripted series like “Severance.”

The move marks a big shift for both the league and Apple’s media strategy, as the tech giant will end Season Pass — the separate subscription service for MLS games provided by Apple.

Apple and MLS had inked a 10-year media rights deal in 2022 that saw Apple become the exclusive global home to the U.S. professional soccer league. However, rather than feature matches on the fledgling streaming service, Apple instead launched Season Pass for an additional subscription solely for MLS games.

“This idea that you could watch all of our matches in one place with a push of the button globally was unprecedented. We really, really liked that concept with Season Pass, and it worked because people reacted really well to the product,” MLS Deputy Commissioner Gary Stevenson said in an interview.

Season Pass — which costs $14.99 a month, compared to the $12.99 charged for the separate monthly Apple TV subscription — kicked off in 2023. Apple doesn’t provide subscriber metrics for its streaming services.

Stevenson said that conversations about moving the league to Apple TV started as Apple’s main streaming platform grew.

“They came to us and said, ‘Let’s put it on Apple TV,’ and we said, ‘We’re all in,'” said Stevenson. “So this was good news for us.”

While Stevenson didn’t go into specifics, some terms of the deal changed as part of the move to Apple TV.

“But it’s not like it was a big renegotiation because what we’ve been focused on is the distribution, and how to make it a better and more accessible experience for the fans,” said Stevenson.

Since jumping into the streaming game, Apple has methodically added sports to its platform and has secured exclusive rights in an increasingly fragmented sports viewing ecosystem.

Most recently Apple and Formula 1 inked a five-year exclusive media rights deal, meaning all races will stream on Apple TV in the U.S. beginning next year. Apple is paying roughly $140 million annually for the F1 rights, CNBC previously reported.

Apple has been looking to change the current sports viewing experience. While live sports garners huge audiences in the pay TV bundle, the rise of streaming has led to a fractured market in which consumers often require multiple subscriptions to watch one sport.

At a recent event, Apple Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue said the market has “gone backwards,” when it comes to sports viewership.

“You used to buy one subscription, your cable subscription, and you got pretty much everything they had. Now, there’s so many different subscriptions, so I think that needs to be fixed,” Cue said during a panel in October.

Since MLS kicked off its media rights deal with Apple, there has been little information about how Season Pass has performed — and some skepticism about its success.

However, MLS Commissioner Don Garber told CNBC Sport in an interview last year that Apple Season Pass subscriptions had exceeded expectations, though he declined to provide specific numbers.

“We have more subscribers than we and Apple thought we would have,” Garber told CNBC at the time, adding that there would be more transparency at a later date.

Apple also doesn’t release numbers for Apple TV, but Cue has reportedly said that the platform has “significantly more than 45 million” viewers.

The broader reach for the league will come after the MLS completed its 30th season. It has been working to capitalize on the growth of soccer’s popularity in the U.S., particularly ahead of the World Cup, which will take place in North America next year.

The league, which pales in comparison to the popularity of the NFL, NBA and other U.S. pro sports that have existed for decades before the MLS, has also seen fandom increase in recent years after global superstar Lionel Messi started playing for Inter Miami CF.

Continue Reading

Technology

Wall Street cools on Oracle’s buildout plans as debt concerns mount: ‘AI sentiment is waning’

Published

on

By

Wall Street cools on Oracle's buildout plans as debt concerns mount: 'AI sentiment is waning'

Oracle CEO Clay Magouyrk speaks at a Q&A following a tour of the OpenAI data center in Abilene, Texas, U.S., Sept. 23, 2025.

Shelby Tauber | Reuters

Two months ago, Oracle’s stock had its best day since 1992, soaring 36% to a record after the company blew away investors with its forecast for cloud infrastructure revenue.

Since then, the company has lost one-third of its value, more than wiping out those gains. Midway through November, the stock is on pace for its worst month since 2011.

The hype was sparked by Oracle’s strengthening ties to OpenAI. But the mood of late has turned, with investors questioning whether the AI market ran too far, too fast and whether OpenAI can live up to its $300 billion commitment to Oracle over five years.

“AI sentiment is waning,” said Jackson Ader, an analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets, in an interview.

Ader said that of the big cloud companies in the GPU business, Oracle is expected to generate the least amount of free cash flow. To fund the capex required for Oracle’s business, Ader expects Oracle to turn to more creative financing tools.

Oracle is looking to raise $38 billion in debt sales to help fund its AI buildout, according to sources with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because the information is confidential. Bloomberg reported on the planned debt raise last month.

Read more CNBC reporting on AI

The company needs a massive pool of capital as it works with partners to develop and lease data centers across Texas, New Mexico and Wisconsin, while also buying hundreds of thousands of graphics processing units (GPUs) from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices to run AI models.

At Oracle’s big annual conference in October, called AI World, tech enthusiasts cheered the company’s cloud infrastructure design as being easily scalable. Investors remained largely enthusiastic at the time, thanks to Oracle’s over $450 billion in signed contracts that hadn’t yet been recognized as revenue.

Skepticism started to hit shortly after the conference. Oracle shares fell 7% on Oct. 17, as investors questioned the company’s ability to reach its lofty outlook announced at its investor day. Oracle said it expected to reach $166 billion in cloud infrastructure revenue in the 2030 fiscal year, up from $18 billion in fiscal 2026. 

Oracle’s next quarterly earnings report is expected in mid-December.

Andrew Keches, an analyst at Barclays, said off-balance sheet debt facilities and vendor financing are two options for Oracle. Keches recently downgraded Oracle’s debt, citing the company’s “significant funding needs.”

“We struggle to see an avenue for ORCL’s credit trajectory to improve,” Keches wrote in a note to clients this week.

Oracle Corp Chief Executive Larry Ellison during a launch event at the company’s headquarters in Redwood Shores, California June 10, 2014.

Noah Berger | Reuters

Oracle bulls point to founder Larry Ellison’s long and storied track record. A hedge fund manager who asked to remain anonymous told CNBC that Ellison is “someone you don’t want to bet against.”

And Rishi Jaluria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in an interview that Oracle could rebuild its momentum in the market with more AI deals. However, Jaluria currently has a hold rating on the stock.

As more investors look to hedge their bets, Oracle’s 5-year credit default swaps have climbed to a 2-year high, a level that’s not alarming but worth watching, credit analysts told CNBC. Credit default swaps are like insurance for investors, with buyers paying for protection in case the borrower can’t repay its debt.

Barclays recommended clients buy Oracle’s 5-year credit default swaps.

Oracle didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Last month, CNBC’s David Faber asked Clay Magouyrk, one of Oracle’s two CEOs, whether OpenAI will be able to pay Oracle $60 billion a year. Magouyrk responded, “of course,” while also pointing to OpenAI’s growth prospects and rapid rise in users.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X last week that the company will top $20 billion in annualized revenue this year and reach hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030.

Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson, told CNBC’s “Fast Money” on Wednesday that Oracle represents the “bad behavior in the AI buildout.” He contrasted Oracle with Microsoft, Amazon and Google, which he said all have the available cash and customer demand to justify their rapid expansions.

For Oracle, however, there’s an overreliance on OpenAI, a cash-burning startup, Luria said. Additionally, he said that gross margins for renting out GPUs are dramatically lower than the roughly 80% margin in the company’s core business. Luria has a hold rating on the stock.

In terms of the $100 of stock appreciation that initially followed the last earnings report, “it makes a lot of sense that that’s completely gone away,” Luria said.

WATCH: Oracle and CoreWeave represent ‘bad behavior’ in AI buildout

Oracle and CoreWeave represent 'bad behavior' in the AI buildout, says DA Davidson's Gil Luria

Continue Reading

Trending