YouTube introduces more creator tools, Tesla sues a former employee and the Supreme Court rules on sales tax and cellphone records. Here's your Daily Crunch for June 22, 2018.

1. YouTube introduces channel memberships, merchandise and premieres

YouTube made the announcement at the big VidCon event yesterday. The new tools include the ability to offer memberships; fans pay $4.99 per month to sponsor their favorite channels and get access to custom badges and exclusive emojis.

These changes are coming at a critical time — while YouTube is still at the center of the online video ecosystem, Facebook and Instagram are definitely working to become more competitive.

2. A Tesla telenovela

Tesla filed the lawsuit against former employee Martin Tripp for $1 million, alleging Tripp hacked the company's confidential and trade secret information and transferred that information to third parties. In an interview with The Washington Post, Tripp denied tampering with internal systems and claimed he was a whistleblower who was compelled to act.

3. States will be able to charge sales tax on online purchases thanks to the Supreme Court

This ruling overturns a decision from the Court in 1992 that paved the way for the explosion of online retail in the United States.

4. Supreme Court decision requires warrant to obtain cellphone records for tracking

Another 5-4 ruling from the Supremes. This one looks like a big win for privacy advocates.

5. Tinder takes on Coffee Meets Bagel with test of Tinder Picks

Tinder will begin testing a new feature aimed at helping people find more matches who fit their interests, based on things like education, job type and hobbies.

6. Twitter 'smytes' customers

Twitter recently announced it was acquiring the "trust and safety as a service" startup Smyte to help with issues related to online abuse, harassment, spam, and security. But it also decided to immediately shut down access to Smyte's API without warning.

7. MoviePass introduces surge pricing for the summer

This comes just one day after AMC announced its own subscription plan, suggesting that the theater owners see this model as more than a fad. Still, MoviePass' parent company Helios & Matheson is struggling financially, and making the offering more complicated seems unlikely to attract more customers.