Articles by Monica Nickelsburg

Amazon passes French digital tax on to sellers as Trump admin investigates toll on tech industry

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 19, 2019August 19, 2019 at 10:14 amComment

Amazon is raising the fees it charges third-party sellers in France by 3 percent in direct response to the country’s new tax on tech companies. The tax was designed to… Read More

Dramatic footage of exploding Lime bike battery highlights safety issues

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 at 3:11 pmComment

Video footage of a Lime electric bike spewing flames on the University of Washington campus in Seattle this week is the latest in a string of battery-related safety issues affecting… Read More

Why everyone is talking again about the Amazon ‘ambassadors’ who talk up warehouse conditions

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 16, 2019August 16, 2019 at 10:24 amComment

For more than a year, Amazon has been marshaling an army of ambassadors to defend conditions inside its warehouses, but the program is in the spotlight again, and not in… Read More

Car2go adds new ‘zone-based pricing structure’ in Seattle to get more vehicles into the urban core

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 15, 2019August 15, 2019 at 2:27 pm1 Comment

Car2go is implementing a new pricing structure in Seattle next month to encourage drivers to leave cars in the busiest part of town. Customers will be charged new fees if… Read More

Clean tech entrepreneurs head to Burning Man to model a post-fossil fuel future

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 15, 2019August 15, 2019 at 9:18 am 2 Comments

In many ways, Burning Man is an eco-urbanist paradise. It is a (mostly) car-free city designed around pedestrians and cyclists, where respect for the land and reducing waste are deeply… Read More

FCC moves to greenlight T-Mobile merger with Sprint despite pending lawsuit

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 at 1:39 pmComment

T-Mobile and Sprint crossed another checkpoint Wednesday on their path to merge and create a $146 billion wireless company. The Federal Communications Commission circulated a draft of an order to… Read More

Civil rights activists up in arms over Amazon update adding fear detection to facial recognition tech

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 14, 2019August 15, 2019 at 8:46 am 3 Comments

Amazon’s latest update to its Rekognition software is renewing an outcry from civil rights groups over facial recognition technology. Amazon said Tuesday that its algorithm can now detect fear from… Read More

Seattle awards $320,000 to non-profits working to improve technology access

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 at 1:28 pmComment

The City of Seattle will donate $320,000 in cash, labor, software, and hardware to expand technology access in marginalized communities. The funds and resources are the latest investment from the… Read More

Bernie Sanders echoes Trump accusation that Amazon influences Washington Post coverage

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 at 12:32 pm 5 Comments

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post is uniting two ideologically opposed politicians frustrated with the newspaper’s media coverage of them. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders suggested on Monday… Read More

Oregon joins multi-state lawsuit to block T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 at 11:56 amComment

Critics of T-Mobile’s newly approved merger with Sprint are particularly concerned about the impacts on rural Americans, who are often served by the two carriers. The fear is that merging… Read More

Google Maps adds Lime scooters and bikes as transportation options in more than 100 cities

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 at 8:22 amComment

Drive, walk, transit, bike, or — scooter? Free-floating electric scooter-share is the latest mobility option Google Maps will serve up to travelers looking for the best route home. Alphabet and… Read More

US lawmakers raise questions about ‘misleading’ Amazon’s Choice recommendations

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 at 3:53 pm 2 Comments

Shopping on Amazon.com can be overwhelming. A search for an everyday item frequently yields tens of thousands of results. Inundated customers often gravitate toward items stamped with an “Amazon’s Choice”… Read More

Video

Seattle transportation officials experiment with ride-hailing to fill transit gaps

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 12, 2019August 12, 2019 at 1:08 pmComment

Here’s a test. You’re in Seattle, trying to get to a destination that isn’t easily reached by public transit. What mode of transportation do you turn to? For many people,… Read More

Senators urge Amazon, Google, eBay to crack down on unauthorized sales of gun accessories

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 9, 2019August 10, 2019 at 9:27 am1 Comment

A handful of Senate Democrats sent letters to Amazon, Google, and eBay Friday urging the companies to better enforce their gun sale policies. The letter follows shootings in Dayton, Ohio… Read More

Video

Car-sharing’s seedier side: Criminal activity linked to LimePods in Seattle

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 9, 2019August 14, 2019 at 9:04 am 3 Comments

A Seattle man called the police on July 2 to report a crime. Three men in a LimePod vehicle attempted to run the caller over and threw rocks at him,… Read More

Amazon seeks to root out any ties to 8chan, as tech firms grapple with implications of extremist sites

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 at 1:26 pm 6 Comments

Amazon’s cloud powers vast swaths of the internet, so perhaps it was only a matter of time until the debate over blacklisting extremist sites ended up at the company’s feet.… Read More

Who should regulate privacy? Federal and state lawmakers diverge on consumer data protection

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 7, 2019August 12, 2019 at 1:19 pmComment

There’s growing consensus that something needs to be done about data privacy. But figuring out what should be done and who should be doing it is a lot more complicated.… Read More

Report: Microsoft contractors review some private Skype calls and Cortana recordings

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 7, 2019August 7, 2019 at 10:27 amComment

Microsoft contractors listen to certain types of Skype calls and Cortana recordings, Motherboard reported on Wednesday. The discovery adds to growing consumer unease about tech employees listening to conversations thought… Read More

P.O. box provider dumps Seattle-area company tied to 8chan and El Paso shooting

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 6, 2019August 7, 2019 at 7:14 am 3 Comments

It’s been a tough week for Epik Inc., a web services provider in the Seattle region. First, the company lost access to its servers. Now, its physical mailbox. Sammamish, Wash.-based… Read More

Senator Wyden wants answers from Amazon on Capital One hack

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 6, 2019August 6, 2019 at 8:54 pm1 Comment

A U.S. senator from Oregon wants Amazon to explain the role it played in a hack that exposed sensitive data from more than 100 million Capital One credit card applicants.… Read More

Seattle-area web services provider becomes haven for online extremism following El Paso shooting

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 5, 2019August 5, 2019 at 5:14 pm 3 Comments

The Seattle region may have a reputation as a liberal enclave but it’s also home to a safe haven for right-wing extremism. A virtual one anyway. Bellevue, Wash.-based web service… Read More

Inside the abrupt shutdown of BMW’s ReachNow car-sharing service in Seattle and Portland

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 5, 2019August 6, 2019 at 7:57 am 4 Comments

ReachNow’s 75 employees learned they were losing their jobs just hours before the company told customers that the car-sharing service was shutting down. The Seattle Department of Transportation, which permitted… Read More

Geek of the Week: How lifelong entrepreneur Bob Crimmins’ little poker game ballooned to a 2,300-person startup group

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 4, 2019August 4, 2019 at 8:31 amComment

There are plenty of stories of entrepreneurs who got their start in dorm rooms and garages, but how many can trace their startup hustle back to the playground? At 12-years-old,… Read More

Pentagon reconsiders $10B cloud contract as Trump sounds alarm over alleged Amazon favoritism

by Monica Nickelsburg on August 1, 2019August 1, 2019 at 4:05 pmComment

The Department of Defense announced Thursday it is reviewing a $10 billion, 10-year contract to build the military’s war cloud. Amazon and Microsoft are the last contenders in the contest,… Read More

Amazon singled out in Democratic debates — again

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 31, 2019August 1, 2019 at 9:50 am 2 Comments

Big Tech may be in the federal government’s crosshairs but you wouldn’t know it from the Democratic debates this week. Like the first round of debates, tech rarely came up… Read More

Cantwell introduces bill package to invest in clean energy and shore up power grid against hacks

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 at 3:36 pm1 Comment

Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced four bills Wednesday intended to modernize the federal government’s energy infrastructure. The Democrat from Washington state is a senior member of the Senate Energy Committee and… Read More

Amazon sues former AWS exec for joining rival Google division as cloud wars escalate

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 31, 2019July 31, 2019 at 10:31 am 2 Comments

Amazon’s pioneering cloud business gave the company an early lead in an emerging and lucrative industry but competition is heating up between Amazon Web Services and newer entrants, like Microsoft… Read More

Downticket merges with Politiscope to let voters follow candidates, donate to campaigns in one app

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 at 3:41 pmComment

In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, dozens of apps have cropped up seeking to arm voters with better information about candidates. Today, two of those apps announced plans… Read More

Fashion advice from Amazon? New personal styling service will tell you what to wear — for a price

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 at 11:13 amComment

In many areas, Amazon is king. Selling books, diapers, and other stables? Yep. creating a revolutionary logistics and delivery business? Certainly. Inventing an industry by renting out its massive data… Read More

DNC’s new tech leader talks about what went wrong in 2016 and how Dems are preparing for 2020

by Monica Nickelsburg on July 29, 2019July 29, 2019 at 7:29 am1 Comment

Nellwyn Thomas has a unique vantage point on one of the biggest issues in American politics today: election security. She was working for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016 as deputy… Read More

Articles by Monica Nickelsburg

Top Stories from Monica Nickelsburg

Car-sharing’s seedier side: Criminal activity linked to LimePods in Seattle

Latest from Monica Nickelsburg

Amazon passes French digital tax on to sellers as Trump admin investigates toll on tech industry

Why everyone is talking again about the Amazon ‘ambassadors’ who talk up warehouse conditions

Clean tech entrepreneurs head to Burning Man to model a post-fossil fuel future

FCC moves to greenlight T-Mobile merger with Sprint despite pending lawsuit

Civil rights activists up in arms over Amazon update adding fear detection to facial recognition tech

Seattle awards $320,000 to non-profits working to improve technology access

Bernie Sanders echoes Trump accusation that Amazon influences Washington Post coverage

Oregon joins multi-state lawsuit to block T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint

Google Maps adds Lime scooters and bikes as transportation options in more than 100 cities

US lawmakers raise questions about ‘misleading’ Amazon’s Choice recommendations

Senators urge Amazon, Google, eBay to crack down on unauthorized sales of gun accessories

Car-sharing’s seedier side: Criminal activity linked to LimePods in Seattle

Who should regulate privacy? Federal and state lawmakers diverge on consumer data protection

Report: Microsoft contractors review some private Skype calls and Cortana recordings

P.O. box provider dumps Seattle-area company tied to 8chan and El Paso shooting

Senator Wyden wants answers from Amazon on Capital One hack

Seattle-area web services provider becomes haven for online extremism following El Paso shooting

Inside the abrupt shutdown of BMW’s ReachNow car-sharing service in Seattle and Portland

Geek of the Week: How lifelong entrepreneur Bob Crimmins’ little poker game ballooned to a 2,300-person startup group

Amazon singled out in Democratic debates — again

Cantwell introduces bill package to invest in clean energy and shore up power grid against hacks

Downticket merges with Politiscope to let voters follow candidates, donate to campaigns in one app

Fashion advice from Amazon? New personal styling service will tell you what to wear — for a price

DNC’s new tech leader talks about what went wrong in 2016 and how Dems are preparing for 2020

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