Techmeme
June 23, 2020, 11:15 PM

Top News

Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook says it will stop selling Oculus Go, ending app submissions for it in December, and vows to no longer make headsets that only track head rotation  —  Facebook will stop selling Oculus Go this year as the company sharpens its focus on fully positionally tracked VR headsets like Oculus Quest.
Janus Rose / VICE:
1,000+ technologists, including some from MIT, Facebook, Google, urge Springer to not publish a paper that describes a system to predict crime based on faces  —  Technologists from MIT, Harvard, and Google say research claiming to predict crime based on human faces creates a “tech-to-prison pipeline” that reinforces racist policing.
New York Times:
Over 70 people, mostly women, have shared stories of discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault within the video game live-streaming industry since Friday  —  After more than 70 allegations surfaced on Twitter this weekend, gaming companies and streamers responded with action.
Isaac McIntyre / Dexerto:
Twitch pledges to make platform “safer for everyone” in response to numerous sexual abuse allegations recently leveled at a handful of high-profile streamers  —  Twitch has pledged to make their streaming platform “safer for everyone” in a statement released in response …
Bloomberg:
Recent pledges by Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft to diversify their workforce come after years of similar claims followed by little progress  —  Spurred by nationwide protests and calls to end systemic racism after the police killing of George Floyd, Google, Microsoft Corp …
Kyle Daly / Axios:
Twitter flags a Trump tweet for breaking rules on abusive behavior; it threatened “serious force” against anyone who may try creating an “autonomous zone” in DC  —  Twitter on Monday opted not to take down or flag a tweet from President Trump that baselessly tied mail …
Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon unveils the Climate Pledge Fund, which will invest an initial $2B in startups building sustainable technologies  —  Tech giant plans to invest in transportation, energy, food and other industries  —  Amazon.  AMZN 2.36% com Inc. is launching a $2 billion internal venture-capital fund focused …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Microsoft releases the first public preview of its Defender antivirus Android app, as Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux becomes generally available for all users  —  UPDATE: Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux has also exited public preview and is now generally available for all users.
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
DoNotPay, which creates bots to automate mundane tasks and save users money, raises $12M Series A led by Coatue Management at a valuation of $80M  —  The pandemic has opened a Pandora's box of consumer concerns, with flights canceled, gyms closed, and monthly membership commitments to contend with.
Karin Matussek / Bloomberg:
A previously suspended German antitrust order against Facebook gets reinstated amid pending lawsuit, after a judge says Facebook abuses its dominant position  —  - Social network giant is abusing its market power, judges say  — Antitrust order won't be suspended while suit is pending
Mark Wilson / Fast Company:
Segway, the two-wheeled, self-balancing vehicle known for the hype it generated in the early 2000s, ends production as the company lays off most of its staff  —  Steve Jobs said it would be bigger than the PC.  Some dubbed it the most hyped product since the Apple Macintosh.
David Gelles / New York Times:
TaskRabbit says CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot is stepping down after four years; she is one of the few Black female tech CEOs in Silicon Valley  —  Stacy Brown-Philpot, one of the few prominent black women in the technology industry, has led the gig worker marketplace for four years, and oversaw its sale to Ikea.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Open Technology Fund, the US digital speech advocate that funded Signal, faces turmoil after the abrupt firing of entire leadership team and resignation of CEO  —  'There are so many countries and individuals who need this support right now,' says former OTF president
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Small businesses complain about Square withholding 20%-30% of their customers' payments, which it said it was doing to protect against risky transactions  —  Small businesses say the Twitter chief's other company is holding on to 30 percent of their customers' payments during the pandemic.

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
Gamification: A simple way to enjoy getting more work done  —  Work doesn't have to be boring.  Gamification transforms everyday tasks into exciting challenges, making employees feel more engaged and motivated.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
E2EE For All!
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Why Trump can't be trusted with Congress' new anti-deepfake bill
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
Inside Bolt: From near-death to ~$40m ARR in 5 months--one of the fastest-growing products in history | Eric Simons (founder & CEO of StackBlitz)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Breaks Down the Global Impact of Trump's New Tariffs
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Generative Now:
Dan Shipper: The First MultiModal Media Company
A podcast from Lightspeed dedicated to highlighting the stories, strategies and insights behind today's most exciting AI companies.
Subscribe to Generative Now.
Spotlight On:
Nebius's Arkady Volozh on What it Takes to Build Infrastructure Needed for the AI Era
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:15 PM ET, June 23, 2020.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Ian Walker / Kotaku:
BuzzFeed News: