Enterprise

Zuckerberg was caught lying about stealing ideas from rivals

“I don’t recall the conversation”

Published

July 30, 2020

Luigi Leonardo

Image source: Reuters / YouTube

In the US, the country’s biggest tech companies are facing a tempestuous grilling of their past business practices. Geared primarily towards antitrust issues, a congressional hearing (documented by Reuters) aims to uncover the tech industry’s violations against America’s democratic business world. One of those companies is Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook. To his dismay, it did not go well for the social media maven. Zuckerberg was caught lying about stealing from other companies.

During the hearing, Washington Representative Pramila Jayapal read an official email involving Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and other officials which specifically details strategies against competitors. According to the email exchange, Facebook copies competitors “to prevent them from getting a foothold” in the industry. “I would love to be far more aggressive and nimbler in copying competitors,” one official said.

As you might have noticed by now, feature copying is a prominent issue in the tech industry. Facebook and Instagram Stories obtained their ideas from Snapchat and other short-form video-sharing platforms. In fact, Instagram itself is a Facebook acquisition.

Further in the hearing, Jayapal explains that the strategy of copying is a prelude to buying the competitor out. In fact, the representative calls it a “threatening” tactic. When she asked Zuckerberg if this was true, he replied that he does not recall. To which, Jayapal tellingly says, “I just want to remind you that you are under oath.”

After which, she retells the story of Instagram based on Facebook’s own internal documents. Before acquiring Instagram, Facebook developed Facebook Camera to compete against Instagram. According to Jayapal, Zuckerberg used Facebook Camera to threaten Instagram by telling Instagram that “how we engage now will determine how much we’re partners versus competitors down the line.” Instagram felt that this was a threat of acquisition.

In any case, Facebook truly acquired Instagram eventually after Facebook Camera. Zuckerberg can only reiterate that he does not remember the conversations.

Jayapal finished her statement by saying that the practice should not exist in the business world, especially when the dominant Facebook weaponizes user data to copy and destroy other smaller rival companies.

Enterprise

realme is reportedly going back to being an OPPO sub-brand

All scheduled phones will still launch on time, though.

Published

January 9, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

A popular story among Chinese smartphone brands is whenever a sub-brand spinning off into its own independent entity. A less common one is when an independent entity suddenly merges back into the main entity. And yet, that’s the story we have today. realme is reportedly going back to being a sub-brand of OPPO.

If you don’t remember realme’s time as a sub-brand, then it’s hardly your fault. It’s been a long while since realme was considered a sub-brand. In 2018, the brand spun off on its own to form one of the most popular names in the Chinese smartphone space.

Today, via Leiphone, realme will return to OPPO as a sub-brand. Current realme CEO Sky Li will still retain his responsibilities heading the brand. Plus, all products on the current release schedule will still come out as planned.

However, starting this year, realme will start reintegrating back into OPPO, particularly through the latter’s after-sales programs. OnePlus will also follow the same structure going forward.

Currently, realme has not officially announced the move. That said, we also don’t know how the brand will address the reported change. It’s possible that the shift is just internal and has no effect on how the brand faces the public. For now, only time will tell.

Enterprise

Samsung warns that tech prices might increase this year

And it’s all because of AI.

Published

January 8, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

The big story late last year was the skyrocketing prices of chips. Analysts are predicting that the demand for RAM will cause the entire industry to experience hikes this year. Some users, especially in the PC building scene, are already feeling the burn. PCs won’t be the only victims, though. Xiaomi is already expecting hikes across the board. Now, Samsung is adding its voice to the growing list of warnings about price increases.

During CES 2026, Wonjiun Lee, Samsung’s global marketing chief, confirmed that the memory shortages are, in fact, real (via Bloomberg). Moreover, the company is now evaluating whether more price hikes are needed this year for its products. Though Lee expressed regret over pushing the prices to consumers, the state of the industry might force the company’s hand.

Samsung’s opinion has a lot of weight. While other brands have also voiced out their opinions lately, Samsung itself is a producer of chips. If a chip supplier is already warning users of prices affecting them, the effect will likely cascade even more when it comes to device manufacturers.

The ongoing shortage of chips is a result of the overwhelming demand from companies looking to build and bolster AI-based servers. The business-to-business demand is notably different from how regular consumers, who will soon find it hard to buy their own devices, see it.

At the very least, Samsung has not confirmed any price increases yet. However, all eyes are on the next Galaxy Unpacked, when Samsung will launch its newest Galaxy products. Will prices increase or stay the same?

Enterprise

TikTok finally gets a buyer in the United States

The deal targets a closing date in late January.

Published

December 19, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

The year started with a ban. A day before Donald Trump started his second term, TikTok went dark, in anticipation of an impending ban. The platform quickly went back online, leading to an ultimatum that saw TikTok hunt for an American buyer to full stave off a definitive ban in the United States. Now, as the year ends, a buyer is finally here.

Via CNBC, TikTok has reportedly inked a deal to finalize a deal in the United States, as stated in an internal memo from CEO Shou Zi Chew. The memo, which was sent just this week, details a plan that will see the deal close by January 26, 2026.

Fifty percent of TikTok’s newly restructured U.S. arm will be held by a collection of American investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX. Meanwhile, already existing investors of TikTok will hold 30.1 percent. Finally, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent.

Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm in the United States will be retrained with American data. The American arm will also handle the country’s “data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance.” Oracle will be the “trusted security partner” in charge of making sure the company keeps within regulations in the country.

With a deal pushing through, the long-running TikTok saga in the United States might finally come to a close.