FTC targets fake online reviews

Is that glowing online review touting a product or service legitimate? Often it isn’t and the Federal Trade Commission wants it to stop.

The FTC has proposed a new rule targeting businesses that post fake positive reviews or use “unjustified legal threats” to remove negative ones. Among the practices in the FTC’s crosshairs are businesses that post reviews from nonexistent people or from reviewers who never used their products. The FTC says the new rules are needed because widespread use of artificial intelligence “is likely to make it easier for bad actors to write fake reviews.”

Violators face civil penalties, which the FTC says “should help level the playing field for honest companies.”

Angry Birds cafe takes flight

Putting all your eggs in the basket of a 14-year-old game may seem like a flight of fancy, but owners of an Angry Birds-themed cafe in Queens believe it will soar. The iSwii by Angry Birds Retail Café, serving mainly pastries and teas, opened in the new Tangram mall in Flushing earlier this month. The Angry Birds game has been downloaded 5 billion times since its debut in 2009.

CEOs look to A.I. for productivity

Business leaders are all-in on A.I. A new study from IBM found that 75% of CEOs said companies with “the most advanced generative A.I.” have a big competitive advantage. The study also showed that CEOs believe productivity is their No. 1 business priority, up from No. 6 last year, and artificial intelligence will “drive a new wave of productivity.”

Judge halts food deliverers' wage hike

A state judge stayed a rule requiring food ordering apps to pay delivery workers an $18-an-hour minimum wage in New York City. The judge ruled the measure, which was supposed to start July 12, cannot take effect before July 31 arguments on a temporary injunction. App companies pay drivers per delivery, which the city estimates equals about $7.09 an hour before tips. — THE WASHINGTON POST