NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Tuesday that all staff are now under a mandatory order to work from home "until further notice" due to the ongoing spread of coronavirus in the US.NASA employs about 17,000 people, and only "mission-essential personnel" will be permitted on-site at space agency centers and facilities.The decision is known as a "Stage 3" response and is part of a new NASA plan to respond to the coronavirus, which has infected people at some of its facilities."This is the first time NASA has been in this situation," a spokesperson told Business Insider.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

NASA has sent all but an essential cluster of its 17,000-person workforce home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jim Bridenstine, the US space agency's administrator, made the announcement Tuesday evening.

"Effective immediately, all employees and contractors will move to mandatory telework until further notice," Bridenstine said in a statement emailed by NASA's public affairs office. "Mission-essential personnel will continue to be granted access onsite."

Bridenstine noted that "a limited amount of employees have tested positive for COVID-19," as the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus is called. As of Tuesday evening, confirmed cases at NASA included its Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

"[I]t is imperative that we take this pre-emptive step to thwart further spreading of the virus among the workforce and our communities," Bridenstine added.

NASA's agency-wide move follows a phase called "Stage 3" from a recently unveiled "Response Framework" document, which it created to rapidly mitigate the spread of the coronavirus among workers, if necessary.

Stage 1 applies to mostly functional access to centers and facilities, with an emphasis on social distancing, reduction in non-essential travel, and other activities to reduce the spread of the virus. The last phase, called Stage 4 — which only Ames is currently subject to, per a NASA coronavirus page — is a near-total closure of all facilities, "except to protect life and critical infrastructure."

"This is the first time NASA has been in this situation," a spokesperson told Business Insider.

Coronavirus is confirmed to have infected about 200,000 people around the world and killed 8,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, and approximately half of all cases have not yet resolved. The overall mortality rate of the novel coronavirus is reported to be as high as 3.4% or, more recently, approximately 1.4%, according to STAT.

However, many cases are still going undetected due to testing shortfalls and the fact that some people with COVID-19 show no obvious symptoms. Deaths are also weighted heavily toward those people who are older or have what appear to be underlying risk factors such as heart disease, kidney disease, liver disease, or cancer, according to a March 11 study published The Lancet.

NASA previously tightened access to its astronauts, including those slated to fly SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spaceship for the first time this spring — and return the US to flight since the retirement of the space shuttle program in July 2011. NASA is also working to develop the Space Launch System and Orion spaceship to send astronauts back to the moon mid-decade, and possibly on to Mars in the 2030s.

Business Insider asked the NASA spokesperson which missions and projects would be affected by the agency-wide escalation in its response plan, but they did not immediately provide a response.

Original author: Dave Mosher

San Francisco has ruled that the city's many cannabis dispensaries can continue to operate during the citywide shutdown, the city's public health department announced Tuesday evening. The news comes a day after the city imposed new "shelter in place" rules requiring all "non-essential" businesses either operate remotely or close shop until April 7, to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.San Francisco residents began lining up in front of the dispensaries in the hours ahead of the shutdown, while dispensaries scrambled to find out whether they would be forced to close. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

San Francisco has ruled that the city's many cannabis dispensaries can continue to operate during the citywide shutdown, the city's public health department announced Tuesday evening. 

"Cannabis is an essential medicine for many San Francisco residents. Dispensaries can continue to operate as essential businesses during this time, while practicing social distancing and other public health recommendations," the San Francisco Department of Public Health tweeted. 

The news comes a day after the city's new "shelter in place" rules that required all non-essential businesses either operate remotely or close shop until April 7 to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, which at that time included cannabis dispensaries. 

When the shutdown was initially announced Monday afternoon, San Francisco residents began flocking to their neighborhood dispensaries, while dispensaries scrambled to find out whether they would be forced to close.

Later that evening, some dispensaries sent out notices informing their customers that they would temporarily close because of the new rules. "We are staying open late tonight (10PM) in order to give our Members time to acquire their medicine," one dispensary informed customers. 

The latest news would grant those dispensaries a reprieve. 

Original author: Bani Sapra

Facebook is blocking users from posting some legitimate news articles about the coronavirus in what appears to be a bug in its spam filters.In a tweet, VP of Integrity Guy Rosen said: "We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back."Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Facebook is blocking users from posting some legitimate news articles about the coronavirus in what appears to be a bug in its spam filters.

On Tuesday, multiple Facebook users reported on Twitter that they found themselves unable to post articles from certain news outlets including Business Insider, BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, and the Times of Israel. It's not clear exactly what has gone wrong, and Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.

In the face of the mounting COVID-19 pandemic, Facebook has sent many of its content moderators home, saying it will rely more on automated software instead. Alex Stamos, an outspoken former Facebook security exec, speculated that this shift might be to blame.

"It looks like an anti-spam rule at FB is going haywire," he wrote on Twitter. "Facebook sent home content moderators yesterday, who generally can't [work from home] due to privacy commitments the company has made. We might be seeing the start of the [machine learning going nuts with less human oversight."

Facebook denied that the bug was related to any changes to its content moderator workforce.

In a tweet, VP of Integrity Guy Rosen said: "We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back."

Here are some of the complaints: 

 

Original author: Rob Price

Microsoft has notified employees in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas to continue working remotely through at least April 7 amid the coronavirus crisis, Business Insider has learned.

The decision – disclosed by two sources who asked not to be named because they aren't authorized to speak about company policies – came after San Francisco issued a public health order requiring residents to stay home except for essential needs. The order includes an exception for "essential" jobs.

Microsoft confirmed the news.

Microsoft previously asked "all employees who are in a job that can be done from home" to do so through March 25. Microsoft declined to specify what kinds of employees are required to work on-site, but an email reviewed by Business Insider reveals they include field sales people.

Microsoft has disclosed two Seattle-area employees contracted COVID-19, but the company declined to provide an update about whether they are additional cases among its workforce.

Microsoft recently canceled its Build developer conference – one of its largest events of the year – and said it would move the event it online, citing health concerns amid the spread of coronavirus.

The company has also offered to pay vendors who work hourly even if conditions mean they can't come to work and offered paid leave to parents who can't work remotely while their children are home.

Got a tip? Contact this reporter via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message her on Twitter @ashannstew, or send her a secure message through Signal at 425-344-8242.

Original author: Ashley Stewart

Google workers are raising concerns internally about the company's treatment of contract workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.In an internal memo seen by Business Insider, workers are demanding that Google contract workers are given assurances around pay and are not forced to go to company offices unless absolutely necessary."When it comes to our 'extended workforce,' Google and its contracting agencies are falling short," the memo authors wrote.Contract workers based in Pittsburgh — which has declared a state of emergency — staged an internal protest on Monday because they had to continue coming into the office.

A group of Google employees are challenging the company's treatment of contract workers amid the corona virus outbreak, contending that safety measures designed to protect employees from infection exclude the army of temporary and contract workers that perform vital tasks for the search giant.

On Tuesday, a list of demands written by Google workers began circulating internally that calls for better protections for contract workers at the $772 billion company and asks for greater clarity over Google's policies, Business Insider has learned. 

The letter cites contract workers for Google at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office who were required to continue to come into the office even after Google encouraged its regular, full-time employees to work remotely. The Pittsburgh workers, employed by contractor HCL Technologies, protested on Monday by wearing black to the office cafeteria.

"We know that leadership clearly values the health and safety of our workplaces and communities," a group of Google workers wrote in the document that circulated internally on Tuesday. "But when it comes to our 'extended workforce,' Google and its contracting agencies are falling short."

Google has around 119,000 employees throughout the world — and a similar number of temporary workers, contractors, and external vendors (TVCs). Google's policies on TVCs have proved immensely contentious over the last few years, with critics complaining they amount to a "second-class" workforce denied the perks and privileges afforded to proper Google employees.

As COVID-19 (the disease caused by the coronavirus) has spread, sickening more than 181,000 people and killing more than 7,500, Google has taken steps to enable its workforce to work remotely and lock down its facilities. But some employees are concerned that the company's efforts don't do enough for TVC workers.

"We're working closely with all our vendor partners to increase the ability for their employees to work from home by rolling out remote access as quickly as possible," Google spokesperson Jenn Kaiser said in an email to Business Insider. "HCL employees in Google Pittsburgh were approved for remote access today and no HCL employees will be required to come into the Pittsburgh office starting tomorrow."

The memo's writers — who describe themselves as "a coalition of employees and TVCs who want Google to be Googley — issued two demands: That "no one should be in a Google office unless absolutely necessary," and that "every employee of [Google's parent company] Alphabet, whether direct or contracted, must have complete confidence they can stay home with no disruption to pay."

The memo highlighted the office in Pittsburgh, which has contract workers from HCL: "Workers who are contracted through HCL were expected to come into work this week, despite Pittsburgh declaring a state of emergency, closing its schools, and urging non-essential businesses to close." (Earlier in March, The Washington Post also published a story detailing concerns by HCL workers about its policies.)

These HCL workers recently unionized, and their union tweeted a photo of a worker protest against the coronavirus policies in the company cafeteria on Monday.

The memo writers are also asking TVCs at Google to share their experiences around the company's coronavirus policies, though it is not clear how widely circulated the memo has been or how many responses it has elicited.

"Google has recommended that all North American workers work from home ... but entire offices full of TVCs have no yet had their remote access requests approved, and they are asked to come into the office while this is pending," they wrote.

"Google has promised that if offices close, workers without remote access will be compensated for the hours they would have worked. But offices have not closed ... TVCs are increasingly being forced to chose between risking infection by going to work, or losing wages."

In a statement, HCL spokesperson Meenakshi Benjwal said: "HCL employs close to 150,000 people worldwide and 20,000 in the United States and our employee's health and safety is our top priority.  We are taking an abundance of caution by deploying new sick-leave and remote work policies to help our employees take better care of themselves and their families and help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Specific to our Pittsburgh-based employees, we have already communicated a work from home option in consultation with our client, Google. We are enabling a remote working model to keep their health and safety as the priority in line with our other global efforts around the COVID-19 situation."

Google employees previously said they were largely confident about their employer's overall preparations for COVID-19, Business Insider reported earlier in March. "We've been preparing for weeks, with company-wide communications daily, sometimes multiple times a day," a Canadian employee said. "Bottom line: nobody could be more prepared or execute on such a massive scale like this except Google."

Do you work at Google or Alphabet? How is the coronavirus outbreak affecting your workplace? Contact this reporter using a nonwork device via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-650-636-6268), encrypted email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), standard email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), Telegram/Wickr/WeChat (robaeprice), or Twitter DM (@robaeprice). PR pitches by standard email only, please.

Original author: Rob Price

San Francisco is one of many Bay Area cities that is now under a three-week "shelter in place" order to prevent human contact and stifle the spread of the coronavirus disease.The city's estimated 8,000 homeless individuals are exempt from the order and are encouraged to seek shelter until officials can figure out how to house them.A few options may be to turn churches, state-owned properties, and closed school campuses in the city into temporary shelters.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The city of San Francisco is one of many Bay Area cities that is now under a three-week "shelter in place" order in an effort to contain the coronavirus disease.

The order directs the region's estimated 6.7 million residents to remain indoors as much as possible and to only venture outside for essential needs. But the Bay Area' estimated 28,200 homeless individuals are exempt from the directive and are instead encouraged to seek shelter until officials can find ways to house them.

A few options for San Francisco, as The San Francisco Chronicle reports, could be to use the city's churches, state-owned facilities, and closed school campuses. As the coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, continues to spread, having sheltered space is important to avoid contracting — and transmitting — the virus.

The San Francisco public school district was shut down for three weeks on March 13. The unoccupied campuses may be viable options to temporarily house those who are homeless. Churches have been asked to house homeless individuals as well.

Hotels in the city are also being looked at as potential makeshift shelters. Trent Rhorer, head of the San Francisco Human Services Agency, told the Chronicle that he has secured 500 hotel rooms so far as a means to get people off the streets. Those who have tested positive for the virus and need to be quarantined would have first priority.

A 2019 count placed the number of homeless individuals in San Francisco at 8,011. There are no confirmed deaths of the virus in the city's homeless population, but a man living in homelessness in Santa Clara County died of the coronavirus Monday.

Housing those living on the street is a challenge that officials across the Bay Area and the state are grappling with. As part of a multi-million-dollar statewide effort led by Gov. Gavin Newsom, two Oakland hotels have already been leased that will offer 400 rooms. Two San Mateo county hotels have also been leased, according to the Chronicle.

Those living on the streets are more at risk of contracting infectious diseases, such as the coronavirus. Many don't have the luxury of taking the recommended precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19, like handwashing and keeping a distance from sick people, as Business Insider's Holly Secon reported.

Original author: Katie Canales

DoorDash has expanded the number of cities and towns in which it is offering hand sanitizer and gloves to delivery workers to help protect them from the coronavirus epidemic.Couriers in some 900 municipalities — representing some 40% of the company's total number of delivery workers — can now access the supplies.The company plans to make the sanitizer and gloves available to delivery drivers throughout the US by the end of the week.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

More DoorDash couriers now have access to the hand sanitizer and gloves the company has stockpiled for them, but half of all such workers still can't get such supplies from the company.

The food delivery startup notified delivery drivers Monday evening that it was making the supplies available in around 500 additional cities and towns, bringing to the total number to about 900, company spokeswoman Liz Jarvis-Shean told Business Insider. About 40% of the active couriers that work for DoorDash or Caviar, another delivery company that DoorDash bought last year, now have access to the supplies, she said.

"We're working to get that to 100% in the US before the end of the week," Jarvis-Shean said.

DoorDash CEO Tony Xu told Business Insider last week that the company had stocked up on tens of thousands of gloves and bottles of hand sanitizer to help keep its delivery workers safe during the coronavirus crisis. The company is offering the supplies, which have been hard to come by in many areas thanks to the pandemic, for just the cost of shipping.

Initially, however, DoorDash sharply limited the number of areas in which it was offering the sanitizer and gloves. As of Saturday, it was only making them available in some 400 cities and towns. At the time, the company was prioritizing those markets that had been hardest hit by the epidemic, Jarvis-Shean said at the time.

DoorDash-rival Uber has also said that it is offering "sanitization products" to its delivery workers. Those include disinfecting wipes and other "materials," company spokeswoman Meghan Casserly said. Uber is likewise focusing on the most "in-need markets," she said.

"Supplies, as you know, are extremely limited. We'll have more to share in the coming days," Casserly said, declining offer more details about Uber's program.

Numerous US cities have ordered that restaurants no longer allow or severely limit their number of dine-in guests in response to the pandemic, potentially boosting demand for food deliveries.

Got a tip about Doordash? Contact Troy Wolverton via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., message him on Twitter @troywolv, or send him a secure message through Signal at 415.515.5594. You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Troy Wolverton

 

People who drive for Uber or Lyft for a living are seeing demand for their services fall off a cliff in many major urban areas due to restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.Uber's CFO says that in some areas, like Seattle, rides have tanked by about half.He's confident that demand for rides will bounce back quickly by watching the market come back to life in Hong Kong, which recently lifted its lockdown.Earnest Research, which analyzes consumer credit card spend shows some bright spots, too, where rides are still doing well.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

On Monday, Uber told its 22,000 employees that it had put a hiring freeze in place until the end of May, to contain costs while the coronavirus crises cyclones through the world.

The company has seen usage of its primary service, rideshares, decline by as much as 50% in locked-down cities like Seattle, where employees are working from home and retail, entertainment and non-essential services are shuttered, Uber CFO Nelson Chai said Monday on CNBC's Squawk Box.

Uber Eats, which accounts for about 25% of Uber's gross bookings, has maintained demand, Chai said. While eat-in restaurants are being banned in some cities, or being avoided on others, food delivery service is still allowed just about everywhere. In fact, Uber has announced a plan to help 100,000 restaurants stay alive by ditching its delivery fees and increasing marketing.

Chai was confident that Uber would bounce back quickly for two reasons: One is because he's looking at Hong Kong, which recently lifted its lockdown. Rides in Hong Kong are quickly bouncing back from being down by 45% to down by 30%, Chai said, as people slowly get back to a more normal routine.

The other is because the company has plenty of cash on hand. "It's not about profits and losses it's about liquidity in order to make it through this crises," he said. Chai said the company has $10 billion cash on hand, plus payments on the company's long-term debt won't start coming due until 2023.

Lyft, which declined comment on the fate of its rideshare business, is also suffering, according to data on consumer credit card spending analyzed by Earnest Research.

Both Uber and Lyft have promised to pay drivers who have the virus or have been ordered to quarantine up to two weeks pay, with Uber explaining that the pay would be based on average daily earnings over a six month period. 

But the worrisome part is that such an offer doesn't help all the other drivers who depend on rideshare demand for a living.

If there's a silver lining in these numbers, it's that when factoring in larger urban areas (not single cities) Earnest's Research shows that demand has not cratered everywhere for everyone. In the New York Tri-state area, for instance, ridership was up as people avoid more crowded public transportation.

Earnest's data shows that the locked-down Seattle area is down the most for both companies but that the New York area, as of last week, was still using rideshare services. This can be expected to dip as the Tri-state area increases its restrictions to slow the spread of the virus.

Here's the latest data on how rideshare workers are impacted by the virus as of last week, based on core based statistical areas (CBSA), which refers to designated regions. 

Original author: Julie Bort

SoftBank could walk away from part of its WeWork bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.In a notice to WeWork shareholders, the Japanese investor said regulatory inquiries into WeWork could be justification to back out of a deal to repurchase $3 billion of WeWork shares.If SoftBank didn't execute that part of the bailout, it wouldn't affect the $5 billion debt financing package – but it could mean that founder Adam Neumann wouldn't sell his shares back. The news comes just as WeWork's business will likely be hit hard by the pandemic, which is shuttering office buildings globally. For more WeWork stories, click here.

SoftBank Group could walk away from a significant part of its multi-billion dollar WeWork bailout program, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. 

The Japanese investor sent a notice to WeWork shareholders Tuesday that it could back out of its agreement to purchase up to $3 billion of WeWork shares because of probes from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department. 

Spokespeople for WeWork and SoftBank declined to comment. Neumann's representative, who lives in Israel, could not be immediately reached for comment. 

In November, Bloomberg reported that the SEC was looking at whether WeWork violated financial rules before its attempt at an initial public offering, which was ultimately shelved. In a December hearing with SEC chairman Jay Clayton, Senator Tom Cotton — who had derided WeWork founder Adam Neumann in the past — questioned how the entrepreneur could legally exert so much control over his company and why the SEC didn't step in sooner.

The New York State Attorney General was also investigating WeWork in the late fall, including whether Neumann had been enriching himself through intertwining his personal and corporate investments. 

The stock buyback program was set up in part to allow Neumann, who was ousted in September, to sell $970 million of his stock to SoftBank. Under the plan, SoftBank would own 80% of WeWork after the full tender closed, a date which was set for April 1.

If SoftBank backed out of the tender offer, it would not affect the $5 billion financing deal that was part of the original bailout, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

And SoftBank could still go through with the tender, or use it as a tactic to negotiate or delay.

The notice to WeWork shareholders comes as the embattled office company is likely to face steep economic challenges under new CEO Sandeep Mathrani. The coronavirus pandemic is closing offices and even cities across the world. 

WeWork's business model, which is based largely on short-term rental agreements, has never been tested in a global downturn. Its only publicly-traded peer, IWG, has seen its stock crash 67% in a month. 

Last year, Neumann told Business Insider that WeWork would actually benefit from a downturn, a claim experts then said they doubted. 

In a May story, analyst Andrew Shepherd-Barron at Peel Hunt, who has followed IWG for 17 years, said WeWork's brand loyalty was unlikely to carry the company through a recession.

"If there's any hiccup in the market — watch out."

Have a WeWork tip? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 (646) 768-1627 using a non-work phone, email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or Twitter DM at @MeghanEMorris. (PR pitches by email only, please.) You can also contact Business Insider securely via SecureDrop.

Original author: Meghan Morris

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it would stop accepting "non-essential" products at its warehouses to make room for more vital products for the next three weeks, as it deals with increased demand amid the coronavirus crisis.The change doesn't mean Amazon will stop shipping those products to consumers.But it could bring some changes to the general shopping experience on Amazon, experts say.It could lead to more out-of-stock items and higher prices of certain products, they say.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon announced on Tuesday that it would stop adding new "non-essential" products to its warehouses for the next three weeks, as the spread of coronavirus has caused a huge increase in demand for more vital products like face masks and toilet paper.

That means Amazon is no longer making space in its warehouses for new shipments of discretionary products like electronics. Instead, the company is stocking up on items it deems more necessary such as medical supplies, household staples, and other high-demand products — or essential products that have seen huge order increases amid the coronavirus crisis.

The move doesn't mean Amazon will stop shipping those non-essential products to consumers. 

But it is expected to change the general shopping experience on Amazon.

The most likely scenario for shoppers is a greater likelihood that the "non-essential" product they want is no longer in stock on the site. While Amazon's existing inventory of products like TVs and cell phone cases will continue to be available, merchants will not be able to restock those items until April 5. Once Amazon's supply runs out, consumers will be out of luck.

"Almost all categories on Amazon are way up [in demand], and if sellers don't restock, items will start to go out of stock pretty quickly," Dan Sugarman, CEO of Zentail, an e-commerce consultancy, told Business Insider.

Another potential change is higher prices of some products. Sellers could lose the "buy box" and certain listing spots on Amazon if they run out of inventory, so some of them have been driving up their prices lately to avoid stock depletion. That trend could continue because merchants won't be able to replenish certain products until April 5.

"Shoppers will notice that some items are out of stock or higher priced," Juozas Kaziukenas told Business Insider. "This should become more common as the April 5 date approaches."

Perhaps the bigger impact for the most loyal Amazon shoppers could be the drop in Prime-eligible products. Amazon said Tuesday's announcement would affect, among others, the third-party sellers who use its fulfillment program, called Fulfillment by Amazon. Products sold by those sellers are eligible for Prime, which makes them available for faster shipping and often better placement on the site. But those products will no longer be Prime-eligible once they go out of stock, if they are deemed "non-essential" by Amazon.

"Consumers will have to default to the normal marketplace experience for these products," Rick Watson, CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, told Business Insider.

Amazon sellers are responding differently to Tuesday's announcement. 

Those that have enough inventory in stock are less worried about the change. But sellers who are running low on inventory are busy finding other marketplace options to sell their discretionary products, according to James Thomson, Partner of Buy Box Experts, an agency that helps online sellers. 

He said while some merchants have been partnering with third-party logistics options to sell on their own, a lot of them have used Amazon's fulfillment service for most of their shipping and storage needs, making them particularly vulnerable to Tuesday's change.

By switching to other marketplaces, he said sellers will be able to continue re-stocking and selling their products, even if they run out of stock before April 5 — potentially moving buyers to other sites as well.

"They are all scrambling looking for alternative options," Thomson said.

In an email to Business Insider, Amazon's representative said, "We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding as we temporarily prioritize these products for customers."

Original author: Eugene Kim

It's easy to use a Netflix gift card to pay for your Netflix subscription cost. Netflix gift cards can be purchased from retail stores or digitally and can be applied to an existing account or used to create a new accountVisit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Netflix gift cards offer people the opportunity to pay for their subscription. The funds can be applied to new or existing Netflix accounts. 

Gift cards for Netflix are available at many retail locations, or they can be purchased digitally and emailed to the recipient.

Here's how to use a Netflix gift card.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

MacBook Pro (From $1,299.99 at Best Buy)

Lenovo IdeaPad 130 (From $299.99 at Best Buy)

How to redeem and use a Netflix Gift Card

1. If you don't yet have a Netflix account, open your computer's browser and go to netflix.com/redeem.

2. If you have a Netflix Account, access your account by clicking on your profile image in the top right corner. Select "Account" from the drop-down menu. Scroll down and select "Redeem gift card or promo code." 

Original author: Kelly Laffey

Deal activity around ad-supported streaming services like Tubi and Vudu is ramping up in 2020, as media companies look for ways to bolster their emerging streaming offerings.Fox is paying at least $440 million to acquire Tubi, the company said in a filing on March 17.Business Insider compiled a list of other companies that media strategists and advisers say could be acquired this year — though this is speculation and not all these companies are discussing deals.They include companies like Xumo and Vudu, as well as potential targets like MGM, Lions Gate, and Parrot Analytics.Click here for more BI Prime stories.

This post was originally published on March 4, and has been updated to reflect Fox's acquisition of Tubi.

It is three months into 2020, and three ad-supported streaming services have already been snapped up or are in talks for a deal.

Fox sold its stake in streaming-media player Roku to buy Tubi, the company said in a filing on March 17. The legacy-media company is paying $440 million cash and could spend as much as $50 million more in deferred consideration and unvested options due over the next three years, as part of the deal.

Ad-supported streaming companies have become hot since Viacom's 2019 acquisition of Pluto TV. Comcast's NBCUniversal is in talks to acquire Vudu from Walmart, The Wall Street Journal has also reported. Comcast bought Xumo in February. And, a year ago, Sony also sold control of its ad-supported streaming service, Crackle, to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

Ad-supported streaming isn't the only media category where deal activity is ramping up. With every major media outfit pushing into streaming video, companies like Lions Gate, MGM, and Discovery have been named as possible takeover targets for media giants trying to strengthen their streaming plays.

"The sense of urgency right now for anyone who hasn't launched a streaming suite of service is pretty high; it's a little bit of a land grab phase," said John Harrison, leader of EY's media and entertainment sector. "Rather than build organically, bigger companies are looking at some of these emerging players that are organic to the streaming world and that the buyers think can be scaled up."

The last wave of media megamergers, led by the marriages of Disney-Fox, AT&T-Time Warner, and CBS-Viacom, were about scaling and amassing collections of brands assets to fuel streaming platforms. This next wave, while continuing those trends, are also about gaining quick access to new markets or audiences, and to technology.

Business Insider compiled a list of the companies that media strategists and advisers say could be acquired this year — though this is speculation and not all these companies are discussing deals.

Here they are in reverse alphabetical order: 

Original author: Ashley Rodriguez

As part of its broader advertising strategy, YouTube curates a lineup of its top channels called "Google Preferred" where it highlights brand-friendly content that advertisers pay a premium to appear alongside. Being included in Google Preferred means more revenue for creators who earn a higher rate than they normally would for videos on the platform. The company is highly secretive about Google Preferred, declining to share even basic information like the list of content categories advertisers can buy against. Business Insider spoke to creators and individuals familiar with how Google Preferred works to learn more about the company's top-tier monetization product. Click here for more BI Prime stories.

For a YouTube creator, joining "Google Preferred" — the company's top-tier monetization category — means you've made it.

"I remember feeling an insane amount of pride," said Remi Cruz, a YouTube star who posts DIYs, cooking tutorials, and makeup and fashion videos for her 2.5 million subscribers. "I think I watched four years or so as a silent viewer and then decided I could make my own videos. A year and a half ago I was admitted into the program."

Cruz said her channel's inclusion in Google Preferred also came at a time when she was assigned a partner manager at YouTube, a service the platform offers to popular creators to help them work with brands and address technical and copyright issues that often emerge when a channel reaches a certain size.

Qualifying for Google Preferred means YouTube has graded a creator's content as engaging, popular, brand-suitable, and produced with a level of "camera work and cinematic technique" worthy of the company's top advertisers, as laid out on its website.

It also means more money.

Google Preferred videos tend to command higher CPMs (cost per thousand views) than its standard AdSense (biddable pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll) monetization, according to multiple sources who spoke to Business Insider.

Having a video removed from the program can cut into monthly income, and being kicked out of the program entirely can potentially lead to millions of dollars in lost revenue at the highest end.

"In the beginning with Google Preferred, it definitely boosted [revenue]," Cruz noted. "But since then I think it's been climbing depending on the quarter that I'm in."

YouTube sells its Google Preferred lineup as an alternative to traditional linear TV advertising. The company drove $15 billion in revenue across its various advertising products in 2019, with the majority of its ad-supported earnings going to creators. That number is around 20% of the $70 billion that went into all of US TV ad spending last year.

But for a program designed to compete with traditional TV advertising, YouTube is highly secretive about Google Preferred. The company doesn't publicly disclose basic information about the program, including the list of content categories available to advertisers who purchase its inventory. YouTube doesn't even necessarily inform creators when their videos or channels have been selected for Google Preferred, and it won't break out Google Preferred revenue in YouTube analytics (though savvy creators have found alternative ways of tracking their Preferred earnings).

To learn more about how Google Preferred works, Business Insider spoke to content creators and individuals who are either enrolled in Google Preferred or familiar with the program. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid backlash from Google.

Here's what we learned:

How does YouTube decide which creators get included in Google Preferred?

Google Preferred's lineup is selected through both an automated and manual review process by YouTube.

One of its mechanisms for choosing channels is assigning them a "P-Score," which is a numerical value determined by an algorithm that Google says it's tested against 5,000 campaigns.

In its 2:32 video describing the P-Score, YouTube used the term "proprietary" five times. Here are the five factors that go into a channel's P-Score:

Popularity: A signal driven by "watch time," a proprietary metric that reveals "repeat engaged viewership."Passion: A signal that examines "how engaged an audience is with a channel," including how often users interact with content.Protection: A signal that focuses on content suitability so that "P-Score outputs are working for your brand."Platform: A signal that highlights content that's frequently watched on large screens, such as televisions.Production: A signal that scans for content with "sophisticated camera work and cinematic technique." 

While Google doesn't release any additional information about P-Scores, last year a group of creators managed to track down the metric for individual channels by looking at the source code of a YouTube page in a web browser. They discovered that P-Score varied based on geography, and that channels tended to fair better in their home countries. Google has since removed access to this data point for external users. 

YouTube declined to share how often its channels are evaluated for inclusion in Google Preferred, but a source familiar with the process told Business Insider the list is updated quarterly. While YouTube currently doesn't post any information about the frequency of its channel review process, an earlier version of the Google Preferred website stated that "Google Preferred lineup channels are refreshed quarterly."

YouTube confirmed that all of its Google Preferred channels are also reviewed by humans to comply "with our advertiser-friendly content guidelines," and the company allows third-party analytics firms like DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science to review the list of videos where ads have appeared in a campaign.

YouTube's partnerships with third-party brand safety companies offer advertisers the opportunity to get independent verification that Google Preferred is meeting their content standards. This verification process happens after ads have already run on Google Preferred. DoubleVerify and IAS don't gain access to the company's channel list prior to campaigns going live.

How can creators track Google Preferred revenue in YouTube Analytics?

While YouTube doesn't break out revenue for Google Preferred in its analytics product for creators, Business Insider heard from multiple platform users who said they tracked earnings from the program by looking at estimated revenue from reserved-sold advertising.

Because these creators know their channels were in the Google Preferred program and were not aware of alternative sources of reserved ad monetization, they interpreted this revenue as coming from Google Preferred campaigns.

YouTube wouldn't confirm whether this approach provides an accurate picture of earnings from Google Preferred, but the company did confirm that Google Preferred ads are sold on a reserved basis. 

Google won't reveal how many content categories are available to advertisers, but at one point it named 13 in the US

When marketers buy ads on Google Preferred, they don't pay for placement on individual channels — as a brand might for a flagship show on a TV network like NBC or CBS. Instead they purchase by content category.

YouTube currently names eight content categories on its Google Preferred website: Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle (one category), Sports, Music, Gaming, Comedy, Parenting, Science, and News. The company declined to share the rest of its categories with Business Insider, but in the past it's advertised a broader array of Google Preferred categories in the US. In 2017, for example, the company listed the following categories on its website, noting that these are just a sampling of all channels available to brands:

Beauty & Fashion (now called Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle)Cars, Trucks & RacingComedyEntertainment & Pop CultureFood & RecipesMusicNewsParenting & FamilyScience & EducationSpanish LanguageSportsTechnologyVideo Gaming

YouTube doesn't always inform a creator that their video or channel has been added to Google Preferred

Because YouTube algorithmically selects videos and channels for inclusion in Google Preferred, a creator may have their content selected for the program without knowing. 

Trevor James, a travel influencer who runs a YouTube channel with 3.9 million subscribers called "The Food Ranger," ended up being featured on Google Preferred's promotional website without knowing that he was part of the program.

James' 2018 video, "Chinese Street Food Tour Of Chengdu, China," is one of 15 videos currently showcased in the "What's On?" section of YouTube's Google Preferred Lineups website. 

The Food Ranger's food tour of Chengdu, China is featured on the Google Preferred webpage. Google

"We've attended some YouTube summits before with other creators, so maybe they know of us, but I've never been told that," he said when Business Insider pointed out that his YouTube channel was featured by Google.

"Our content is mainly monetized through AdSense and we do merch sales through our T-shirts," he said. "For YouTube, that's mainly our income."

While YouTube approves entire channels for Google Preferred monetization, it may exclude an individual video within a channel if it deems its content unsuitable for brands. Business Insider heard from multiple sources who said they had seen this happen for videos within their channels.

For more on the business of influencers, according to YouTube creators, check out these Business Insider Prime posts: 

How much money do YouTubers make a month? A minimalist influencer with 77,000 subscribers shares exactly what she earns and spends: The minimalist influencer Kyra Ann, who has 77,000 subscribers, shared how much money YouTube paid her in February.

8 YouTube stars explain which videos made them the most money, including one that earned $97,000: We spoke to eight creators with vastly different channels, and they shared the most amount of money YouTube paid them for a single video.

A YouTube creator explains why personal-finance videos can make much more money than many other types: Marko Zlatic runs a YouTube channel with 298,000 subscribers, and he posts videos about personal finance, stocks, and real-estate investing.

Original author: Dan Whateley

California's state legislature went into suspension until April 13 to try to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, as first reported by the Associated Press.Before suspending, the body authorized Governor Gavin Newsom to spend up to $1 billion in new emergency funding to combat the virus.Newsom has already declared a state of emergency, banned gatherings of more than 250 people, and on Monday asked dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, and gyms to close."The demands of public health require it," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon told the Associated Press.This is likely the first time the legislature has had to unexpectedly in its work since 1862, the Associated Press noted.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The California state legislature went into suspension on Monday after approving $1 billion in new funding in an effort to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, as first reported by the Associated Press.

Lawmakers voted to allow Governor Gavin Newsom to make use of $500 million in new funding "for any item for any purpose" related to the state of emergency he declared earlier this month, according to the Associated Press. Newsom can also ask for $50 million increases — up to $1 billion total — provided he notify lawmakers at least three days in advance.

"It is a request to step away from our desks much earlier than we would like. The demands of public health require it," Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon told the Associated Press.

The legislature, which is based in Sacramento, recessed immediately after approving the new funding in what's likely the first time it has had to do so unexpectedly since 1862, Alex Vassar, an unofficial legislative historian at the California State Library, told the Associated Press.

California, which has nearly 600 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 17 confirmed deaths, has been taking increasingly aggressive measures to fight coronavirus.

On Monday, Newsom announced a new directive to gyms, health clubs, movie theaters, and restaurants in California to close down "for the moment," and previously banned gatherings of more than 250 people across the state, implemented social distancing guidelines for smaller events, and urged people over 65 to stay home.

On Tuesday, San Francisco's "shelter in place" order went into effect, which requires residents in the city and surrounding counties to stay home and only leave for essential trips like getting food and receiving healthcare.

Newsom wrote to the legislature Monday asking it to expedite the bill approval process, which typically requires that new legislation first be printed, circulated among lawmakers, and posted online for at least 72 hours.

"We must rise to the challenge facing our state with every tool at our disposal and without a second of delay," Newsrom's letter read.

The legislature voted overwhelmingly to approve Newsom's plea, according to the Associated Press.

Original author: Tyler Sonnemaker