Techmeme: Zoom consultant Alex Stamos and experts say offering end-to-end encryption, which needs user authentication, only to paying customers is a reasonable compromise (Dan Goodin/Ars Technica)

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June 7, 2020, 2:00 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Sources: Apple to roll out 12-month interest-free Apple Card payment plans for iPads, Macs, more and 6-month plans for AirPods, Apple TV, and HomePod — - Company gearing up for monthly installments for Apple Card — Similar feature for iPhone purchases already available on card

More: Gizmodo, The Verge, iPhone Hacks, Wccftech, Appleosophy, AppleInsider, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, and Engadget

Tweets: @reneritchie, @arthurtyson3, @martinsfp, @caro_milanesi, and @charlesarthur

Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post:

More than 140 scientists funded by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative urge Mark Zuckerberg to reconsider Facebook's policies on misinformation and incendiary language — More than 140 scientists funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative urged Mark Zuckerberg to enforce stricter policies around …

More: The Guardian, Jason Shepherd, The Verge, and Newser

Tweets: @teddyschleifer, @kristenkfromga, @counternotions, @polotek, @nitashatiku, @jason_kint, @_jack_poulson, @nitashatiku, and @crisprjournal

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Facebook publishes new recommendations for group admins, suggests adding people of color as moderators to help navigate conversations about the BLM movement — To help them navigate the Black Lives Matter movement — Facebook published new recommendations for group admins yesterday evening …

More: Engadget and Mashable. Tweets: @ashleyrcarman

Ashley Carman / The Verge:

Several Facebook groups are grappling with inadequate and uneven moderation policies as members attempt to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement

More: Windows Central and Mashable

Tweets: @ashleyrcarman, @cfiesler, @travelingheidi, @kait_tiffany, @krisjou, @ryeisenberg, @memles, @muckrakery, @johnwilmeswords, @mjenkins, @alexjamesfitz, @abrahamjoseph, @mims, @itstheannmarie, and @oceanselene

Atlantic Council:

How Tunisia-based PR firm UReputation used social media platforms and websites to spread disinformation and influence elections in 10 African countries — In-Depth Research & Reports by Andy Carvin, Luiza Bandeira, Graham Brookie, Iain Robertson, Nika Aleksejeva, Alyssa Kann, Kanishk Karan …

More: About Facebook, The Hill, Social Media Today, and Associated Press

Tweets: @abdullahawez, @valeyofbuterfly, @airlockben, @faiyla, @janearraf, @jilliancyork, @jseldin, @dlshadothman, @ngleicher, @benimmo, @shayan86, @acarvin, @justinhendrix, @luca, @grahambrookie, @rimasghaier, @shayan86, @benimmo, and @benimmo

@alexisohanian:

[Thread] Alexis Ohanian resigns from the Reddit board, urges company to fill his seat with a black candidate, pledges $1M to Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp — I co-founded @reddit 15 years ago to help people find community and a sense of belonging. It is long overdue to do the right thing. I'm doing this for me, for my family, and for my country.

Hannah Murphy / Financial Times:

Reddit pledges to honor Ohanian's request to appoint a black director, says it'll update content moderation policies to “explicitly address hate” within weeks

More: r/announcements, Mashable, Tubefilter, Wired, and CNET

Tweets: @marktraphagen, @reddit, @benjysarlin, @gsiemens, @b_fung, and @chrismessina

Matt Day / Bloomberg:

Some Amazon workers say they're struggling to get paid sick leave as the deluge of requests swamps the company's heavily automated HR system during the pandemic — Tony Banks told Amazon.com Inc. right away when he tested positive for Covid-19. More than a month later, he's on the mend …

Tweets: @mattmday, @technology, @fmbutt, @mattmday, @margaretomara, @annierpalmer, and @hypervisible

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:

Zoom consultant Alex Stamos and experts say offering end-to-end encryption, which needs user authentication, only to paying customers is a reasonable compromise — Critics say everyone deserves it. Others say safety should be factored in, too. — If you've waded into Twitter timelines …

Tweets: @alexstamos, @alexstamos, @ncweaver, and @alexstamos

Tanya Basu / MIT Technology Review:

Google Docs is a key tool for organizing protests, as activists anonymously edit public lists of funds, charities, books on racism, and letter-writing templates — Facebook and Twitter might have the bells and whistles, but the word processing doc's simplicity and accessibility have made it a winning tool.

Tweets: @hautepop, @dariorodighiero, @halleberry, @aakarpost, @tanyabasu, @tanyabasu, and @niallfirth

Sofie Kodner / Protocol:

A list of donations by companies and prominent individuals in the tech community to anti-racism groups — Financial contributions are one of the five actions that Black Tech for Black Lives has asked “allies” to take in order to help. — Tech companies and the people who lead …

More: CNET, The Verge, and MobiHealthNews. Tweets: @protocol

Wall Street Journal:

Overall, remote learning this spring didn't work: schools disagree on fair student assessment, students lack equal access to technology, teaching got harder — The pandemic forced schools into a crash course in online education. Problems piled up quickly. ‘I find it hectic and stressful’

Tweets: @mattrosoff, @karstenw, and @hoofnagle

Stephanie Condon / ZDNet:

Connected learning platform Chegg has acquired Mathway, an automated learning app that helps students understand and solve math problems, for $100M in cash — The $100 million deal gives Chegg access to Mathway subscribers in about 100 countries. — Chegg, a leading direct-to-student learning platform …

More: Business Wire, Seeking Alpha, and FinSMEs

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Indian online travel booking company Yatra terminates pending merger with Atlanta-based software company Ebix, files suit for damages, alleging breach of terms — Indian online travel booking company Yatra has terminated a pending merger agreement with Atlanta-based software firm Ebix …

More: The Financial Express, Reuters, and Yatra Online, Inc.

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:

In post, Zuckerberg vows to review content policies on state force and voter suppression, ensure content moderation diversity, and announces a new voter hub — - CEO to look at policies on voter suppression, state force — Facebook will launch a voter hub for vetted information

More: BuzzFeed News, Axios, Gizmodo, CNN, Digital Trends, CNBC, The Verge, Agence France-Presse, Adweek, PCMag, Business Insider, HuffPost, Mashable, Financial Times, The Hill, Engadget, Politico, Social Media Today, Reuters, CNET, Wall Street Journal, Beyond Search, and Seeking Alpha

Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg

Tweets: @slpng_giants, @donie, @jdaykin, @rmac18, @ian, @rsg, @jimhansondc, @manjusrii, @dtunkelang, @manjusrii, @adamrackis, @oliverdarcy, @johnhendel, @chrisfleming91, @lopezlinette, @qwongsj, @thenextwoods, @sivavaid, @qwongsj, @rmac18, @garettsloane, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, and @rmac18

Washington Post:

An internal poll and documents show widespread anxiety inside Facebook as employees questioned whether Facebook is in an “abusive relationship” with Trump

More: Vox, CNN, The Verge, Mother Jones, Vanity Fair, iPhone in Canada Blog, Newser, The Guardian, CNET, and Gizmodo

Tweets: @laurie_david, @jjohnsonlaw, @leilanimunter, @biblioracle, @dabeard, @laurie_david, @jeffjarvis, @livingstone_s, @lizzadwoskin, @drdenagrayson, @hshaban, @breyeschow, @greta, @drdenagrayson, @karaswisher, @timobrien, and @geoffreyfowler

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From Mediagazer

Andrew Trunsky / New York Times:

A profile of Natalie Winters, a Steve Bannon protégée, War Room reporter, and Piers Morgan Uncensored contributor, who now has a White House press pass

Harshita Mary Varghese / Reuters:

Warner Bros. Discovery says John Malone is not seeking re-election to the board of directors and will instead take on the role of chairman emeritus

Julian Clover / Broadband TV News:

A group of current and former BBC World Service journalists warn that cuts to the international service risk fracturing “the core identity of the World Service”

More News

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Maryland-based Inky, which develops AI-powered anti-phishing technology, raises $20M Series B led by Insight Partners, bringing its total raised to $31.6M

More: TechCrunch, PR Newswire, and FinSMEs

BuzzFeed News:

Citing Twitter and Snap's actions limiting Trump's reach, digital activists around the world urge both companies to do the same for politicians globally

Tweets: @buzzfeednews, @alexeheath, @pranavdixit, @pranavdixit, and @pranavdixit

Bloomberg:

JD and Walmart-backed Dada Nexus, which operates on-demand delivery services in China, closed just below $16/share offer, after raising $320M in upsized US IPO

More: SEC.gov, Reuters, Reuters, and SHINE. Tweets: @noupside

Emily Bary / MarketWatch:

Shift4 Payments, which provides payments processing software for the hospitality industry, closed up 46% on first day of trading, after raising $345M in its IPO

More: SEC.gov, Reuters, Morning Call, and MarketWatch

The Official Microsoft Blog:

In an email to Microsoft employees, Satya Nadella promises more diversity by expanding connections with HBCUs and a more inclusive environment

More: CNET, Destructoid, MSPoweruser, Kotaku, Polygon, GameSpot, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Tweets: @mikalfm, @forzamotorsport, @devindra, @majornelson, and @xboxp3

Earlier Picks

Maxwell Tani / The Daily Beast:

LinkedIn CEO apologizes after several anonymous staffers share opinions echoing the skeptics of Black Lives Matter at an internal town hall on racial injustice

More: CNET, Fast Company, LinkedIn, Business Insider, GeekWire, Adweek, Windows Central, OnMSFT.com, and Tech.co

Tweets: @counternotions, @thedailybeast, @kirstinestewart, @kimmaicutler, @ejacqui, @c0up, @jschauma, @akurjata, @bevtgooden, and @maxwelltani

Nick Statt / The Verge:

Instacart changes how it handles tips, including deactivating customers who “consistently and egregiously” engage in tip-baiting, after a Congressional inquiry

More: TechCrunch, CNN, PYMNTS.com, Gizmodo, and Engadget

Tweets: @lorakolodny, @russellbrandom, @gigworkersrise, and @caseynewton

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Apple launches the Password Manager Resources project on Github, to make it easier for developers of password manager apps to create strong passwords

More: Apple Developer, Redmond Pie, ZDNet, Appleosophy, iLounge, BetaNews, GitHub, MacDailyNews, Apple Must, SlashGear, iPhone Hacks, The Mac Observer, AppleInsider, iClarified, MacRumors, iMore, iDownloadBlog.com, MacStories, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @stshank and @jordanmorgan10

Lindsay Clark / The Register:

UK government publishes the contracts National Health Service signed with Microsoft, Google, Faculty, and Palantir to create a COVID-19 datastore

More: openDemocracy, New Statesman, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch

Tweets: @ian_fraser, @rowlsmanthorpe, @peterjukes, and @carolecadwalla

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Twitter and Facebook remove a video tribute to George Floyd posted by Trump's campaign, after receiving a copyright complaint under DMCA