US President Barack Obama has thrown his support behind net neutrality, urging the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband as a utility.
“’Net neutrality’ has been built into the fabric of the internet since its creation – but it is also a principle that we cannot take for granted,” Obama says.
“We cannot allow internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services today. That is why today, I am asking the Federal Communications Commission to answer the call of almost four million public comments, and implement the strongest possible rules to protect net neutrality.”
DogVacay raises $25 million
US-based startup DogVacay, which has been called the “Airbnb for dogs”, has raised $US25 million ($A29 million) in a Series B1 funding round led by Omers Ventures, Fortune reports.
DogVacay allows dog owners in 3000 cities in the US and Canada to hire one of its 20,000 dog-sitters for their pets. The company plans for this latest round of funding to expand internationally.
Facebook Messenger passes 500 million monthly users
Earlier this year Facebook began forcing its iOS and Android users to use Messenger when they wanted to send messages to friends, a move which was met with plenty of resistance.
But the company forged ahead and now it has announced that more than 500 million people are using Messenger each month.
Facebook director of product management Peter Martinazzi says the company is more committed than ever to make it the best possible messaging experience.
“Messenger was the first of our standalone apps, and unlike our core Facebook apps, it focused on one use case – messaging.
“This is an exciting milestone but with half a billion people relying on Messenger to communicate and connect, it is also a reminder that there is so much left for us to do.”
Overnight
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 39.81 to 17,613.74. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US86 cents.
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