(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

Hertz falls, erasing its Amazon bump, as Congress looks into its AI damage scanners

Hertz shares are trading down more than 5% on Thursday.

8/21/25 9:46AM

Hertz shares surged yesterday, closing up nearly 6% after the company announced it would begin selling used vehicles on Amazon. Today, those gains have been largely erased.

The House of Representatives subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation has requested a meeting with Hertz officials to discuss its controversial use of AI damage scanners. Shares were recently down 5.7%.

Hertz customers have told Sherwood News that the company’s AI scanners flag small, seemingly insignificant bumps, scuffs, and dents that a human inspector would pass over. Hertz then charges customers excessive fees relative to the damage.

“Some other car rental companies reportedly use AI as a tool but require human staff to review any damage flagged by the scanning system before billing customers; however, Hertz is apparently the only car rental company in the US that issues damage assessments to customers without human review,” reads a letter from US Rep. Nancy Mace, the subcommittee chair, who has called herself “Trump in high heels.”

The letter continues:

“To assist the Subcommittee in better understanding Hertz’s experience as an early adopter of AI scanning technology, the Subcommittee requests a staff-level briefing to discuss Hertz’s expectations for how this technology will benefit its customers and how the use of AI scanning may impact Hertz’s work as a vendor to the Federal government.”

Jon Keegan2h

Delhi High Court says Apple could face $38 billion penalty in Indian antitrust case

India’s Delhi High Court says that Apple could face a penalty as high as $38 billion for what its investigators describe as "abusive conduct” related to the tech giant's app store, according to Reuters.

Apple is challenging the constitutionality of country's new antitrust law, taking specific issue with the fact that penalties are calculated based on companies’ total annual global revenue, rather than just revenue derived from India.

That global figure could mean fines as high as $38 billion, according to a court filing seen by Reuters.

The Competition Commission of India has not issued a final ruling in the case.

Apple contests India's antitrust penalty law with risk of $38 billion fine, filing shows

That global figure could mean fines as high as $38 billion, according to a court filing seen by Reuters.

The Competition Commission of India has not issued a final ruling in the case.

Jon Keegan5h

Anthropic CEO Amodei asked to testify before Congress about Claude-powered Chinese cyberattack, Axios reports

Earlier this month, Anthropic revealed that Chinese state actors had used its Claude chatbot to orchestrate and execute a cyber espionage campaign for the first time. The company said that after it detected its product was being used in that manner, it was able to respond and disrupt malicious behavior.

Now, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has been called to testify before the House Committee on Homeland Security, along with Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kuria and Quantum Xchange CEO Eddy Zervigon, Axios reports.

The House committee is seeking information about how nation-state actors are using AI agents to devise and execute novel cyberattacks, like the one that Anthropic disrupted.

Exclusive: Anthropic CEO called to testify before Congress about Chinese AI cyberattack

The House committee is seeking information about how nation-state actors are using AI agents to devise and execute novel cyberattacks, like the one that Anthropic disrupted.

Max Knoblauch11/21/25

Joby sues Archer, accusing its air taxi rival of stealing trade secrets

The rivalry between two much-hyped air taxi companies is heating up, as Joby Aviation has sued Archer Aviation, alleging the latter stole its trade secrets and used them to undercut a partnership deal in an act of “corporate espionage, planned and premeditated.”

Archer called the lawsuit “baseless litigation” without merit in a statement to CNBC.

The lawsuit alleges that this summer, Joby’s US state and local policy lead, George Kivork, was recruited by Archer. The company alleges that two days before announcing his resignation from Joby, Kivork downloaded “dozens” of files and sent additional material to his personal email account.

The following month, the lawsuit states that a strategic partner that had worked with Kivork while at Joby told the company it had been approached by Archer with a more lucrative deal.

Boeing’s air taxi subsidiary, Wisk, sued Archer in 2021, accusing the latter of “brazen theft” of confidential information and intellectual property.

Archer and Joby are both racing to develop electric air taxis for use in commercial flight. Each has also struck deals with major defense contractors.

Joby lawsuit accuses air taxi rival Archer of using stolen information to 'one-up' deal

The following month, the lawsuit states that a strategic partner that had worked with Kivork while at Joby told the company it had been approached by Archer with a more lucrative deal.

Boeing’s air taxi subsidiary, Wisk, sued Archer in 2021, accusing the latter of “brazen theft” of confidential information and intellectual property.

Archer and Joby are both racing to develop electric air taxis for use in commercial flight. Each has also struck deals with major defense contractors.

Meta wins in FTC antitrust trial

The five-year-long case results in another big win for Big Tech as companies evade aging antitrust laws.

Jon Keegan11/18/25

Congress votes to end shutdown

The over 40-day government shutdown came to an end without a guarantee that the ACA tax credits will be extended.

J. Edward Moreno11/12/25