A broken relationship and other issues of today in America

EFE news agency offers the main technological news of the week in the American continent.

1. Nicolás Maduro and WhatsApp: a love no longer reciprocated

Can a relationship be established with an app? In the midst of the complex reality of Venezuela after the elections of July 28, we see that it is possible.

President Maduro said that “through WhatsApp they are threatening the Venezuelan military family, all the officers, through WhatsApp they are threatening the police family, they are threatening street leaders, community leaders, through WhatsApp they are threatening everyone who does not speak out in favor of fascism.”

Conclusion? It wants to “break ties” with the messaging app owned by Meta.

But, as if love were gone, love was restored, the Venezuelan president proposed that, instead of that “fascist” app from Mark Zuckerberg’s conglomerate, his supporters use Telegram or Wechat.

“Say no to WhatsApp, WhatsApp out of Venezuela,” he said in his own very particular way. Will they listen to him?

2. Google: Don’t play Monopoly

That is what a judge appears to be telling the tech giant, ruling that it has violated antitrust law in the online search engine market.

“Google is a monopolist and has acted as such to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Amit P. Mehta ruled in his opinion, amid the first major trial of its kind against the internet giant.

Mehta also found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by maintaining monopolistic practices in search services and general advertising.

And who is accusing it of these practices? The US Department of Justice, which argues that the company is abusing its dominant position in the search engine market.

Google’s defense is simple: it only takes a few clicks to use an alternative search engine.

But how easy is it for someone uninitiated to find an alternative search engine to Google? We’ll have to wait and see.

3. Don’t be fooled by this!

You are a rational person, but even the most rational of people can receive an ad that says “Adidas is giving you a million dollars. Click here.” And baaaaaaaaam! Goodbye bank account and more information.

The German sportswear brand is back in the top 10 of the most impersonated brands, according to Check Point Research’s Q2 Brand Phishing Report.

Microsoft remained the most imitated brand in phishing attacks, accounting for more than half of all attempts, or 57 percent.

Apple, meanwhile, jumped to second place with 10 percent, up from fourth in Q1 2024, and LinkedIn maintained its previous third place with 7 percent.

The technology sector is by far the most affected industry in brand impersonation, followed by social media and banking.

In the digital world you have to be wide awake.

4. Boom and up we go, MercadoLibre!

It’s great to note when our Latin American companies are doing well! This time it’s MercadoLibre’s turn.

The company founded by Marcos Galperin in 1999 in Argentina obtained a net profit of 531 million dollars in the second quarter of 2024. This means that it has had a year-on-year improvement of 103%.

According to the same firm with the tight-knit hands, net income amounted to 5.073 billion dollars during the second quarter, with an interannual increase of 42%. The rapid growth in Brazil and Mexico, as well as the improvement of trends in Argentina, were the main drivers of this spectacular growth in the balance sheets.

That’s right, friends of MercadoLibre!

Project in MexicoOther

“Make the plant, please, Elon!” a Mexican governor seems to shout.

”Cross your fingers”

There is one person in northern Mexico who is keeping his fingers crossed that Elon Musk will finally decide to build Tesla’s megafactory in that region. That is the governor of the state of Nuevo León, Samuel García, who assured that “everything is in order” for the installation of the industrial complex.

“An electoral issue”

Samuel García also said that Musk’s announcement about the possible cancellation of the company “is an electoral issue.”

Work on hold

Indeed, the tycoon said a few days ago that, since Donald Trump had promised to impose tariffs on vehicle imports from Mexico if he wins the elections in November, he was suspending the construction of the plant until the elections take place on November 5.

A “gigafactory”

Musk, a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, announced in early 2023 the construction of a Tesla “gigafactory” in Monterrey, with an approximate investment of between 5,000 and 10,000 million dollars.

Well, let’s see what the polls say in November.

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