Greg Bensinger

YouTube said it is rolling out new protections for children viewing videos on its site, an effort to satisfy federal regulators who in 2019 fined the company tens of millions of dollars over alleged privacy violations. The changes, which include limitations on data collection and advertising, are a step toward addressing concerns from advocacy groups who have complained the Google-owned company has run afoul of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which forbids tracking and targeting users 12 and under.

Federal prosecutors have begun a criminal investigation into Uber’s use of software as part of the company’s program known as “Greyball” that helped drivers avoid local regulators.

Amazon has apparently agreed to acquire Twitch, a live-streaming service for videogame players, for more than $1 billion.

The acquisition would help Amazon bolster its position in the fast-growing business of online gaming and give it technology to compete with video-streaming rivals Netflix and Google's YouTube.

When Amazon.com wants to fight, it turns to a familiar playbook. The latest to feel the Seattle retailer's sting is Walt Disney. Amazon isn't accepting pre-orders of forthcoming Disney DVD and Blu-ray titles including "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" and "Maleficent."

It is the same tactic Amazon has employed in a bitter four-month spat with Hachette Book Group over e-book pricing. To press its point, Amazon suspended pre-orders for physical copies of many Hachette titles and lengthened shipping times or pared discounts for others.

Amazon.com stepped up the war of words in its nearly four-month contract battle with publisher Hachette Book Group, calling on authors to email the publisher's chief executive directly to pressure him to agree to its terms.

In a letter sent to Amazon authors and posted online, the Seattle-based retailer again pressed its case for lowering e-book prices and detailed talking points to send to Hachette CEO Michael Pietsch. "Stop using [Hachette] authors as leverage and accept one of Amazon's offers to take them out of the middle," one of the talking points said.

"E-books can and should be less expensive," Amazon said in its response. During negotiations Amazon has slowed delivery of some Hachette books, removed the preorder button on others and reduced the discount it offers on some titles.

Amazon.com is bucking a request from the Federal Trade Commission that it tighten its policies for purchases made by children while using mobile applications.

In a letter to the FTC, Amazon said it was prepared to "defend our approach in court," rather than agree to fines and additional record keeping and disclosure requirements over the next 20 years, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

According to the documents, Amazon is facing a potential lawsuit by the FTC, which wants the Seattle retailer to accept terms similar to those that Apple previously agreed to regarding so-called in-app purchases. )

"When customers told us their kids had made purchases they didn't want, we refunded those purchases," said Andrew DeVore, an Amazon associate general counsel. He said Amazon's app store included "prominent notice of in-app purchasing, effective parental controls and real-time notice of every in-app purchase."

The FTC said Amazon would need to make the notices more prominent, require passwords for all in-app purchases and make refunds simpler and easier.

Online retailer Amazon.com is expected to reveal its first smartphone, featuring a display designed to respond to users' eye movements and capable of displaying three-dimensional images.

The device is Amazon's first foray into the highly competitive market dominated by Samsung Electronics and Apple. The handset business can be very unkind; once-highflying brands like Nokia, Motorola and BlackBerry have seen their market share erode.

Amazon invited developers, media and others to its event. Amazon will enter the fray with a powerful partner. AT&T will be the exclusive carrier, according to people familiar with the Seattle company's plans.

The arrangement extends Amazon's relationship with AT&T, which also provides wireless service for Kindle tablets and e-readers. The move could help AT&T attract new subscribers at a time of intense competition among wireless carriers.