Amazon Drops Non-Disparagement Clause; Microsoft Surface Duo; Facebook & COVID-19; Foxconn Increases Non-China Production

Amazon has removed a clause prohibiting disparaging comments about the company from its podcast content license agreement on Amazon Music and Amazon’s Audible subsidiary. According to geek wire.com, there was an immediate, big backlash when word of the non-disparagement clause got out earlier this week. Amazon and Audible have yet to comment publicly on their plans to offer podcasts from third-party content providers directly on their platforms, which will be competing with Apple, Google, Spotify and others major podcast distribution platforms.

Microsoft is launching its Surface Duo dual-screen Android phone on September 10th, priced from $1,399. The verge.com says the company is now allowing anyone to preorder the Surface Duo today in the US. at AT&T, Microsoft’s online store, and Best Buy. The device includes two separate 5.6-inch OLED displays that connect together to form a 8.1-inch overall workspace. Unlike foldables like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, the Surface Duo is using real Gorilla Glass, and the displays are designed to work in a similar way to multiple monitors on a Windows PC.

Facebook will begin using a new pop-up that appears any time a user shares a link to content about COVID-19. Engadget.com reports that the notification will include a link to the company’s coronavirus information center, and include details about how old the article is and when it was first shared. They will be similar to warnings from Facebook when users share old news articles, in June. By adding an extra layer of context, Facebook is hoping to slow the spread of outdated or less credible information (official health organizations like the WHO are exempt.)

China will no longer be the world’s manufacturing epicenter going forward, according to Apple’s largest supply chain partner Foxconn, which has been gradually expanding its operations in other countries amid the U.S.-China trade war. According to macrumors.com, while China will continue to be a key location for Foxconn’s factories, the country’s “days as the world’s factory are done.” Foxconn’s manufacturing capacity outside China is now 30 percent of its total, up from 25 percent last June.