Techmeme
June 26, 2020, 8:00 PM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Unilever says it will halt US advertising on Facebook and Twitter for at least the remainder of 2020, citing hate speech and divisive content on the platforms  —  Unilever to halt ads on Facebook, Twitter for remainder of year  —  Under mounting pressure from advertisers …
Mark Zuckerberg:
Zuckerberg says Facebook will now label content that violates its rules but was left up because it was deemed newsworthy and of public interest  —  Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections.  That work is ongoing, but today I want to share some new policies …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook to ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said the company will change its policies to prohibit hate speech in its advertisements.
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Todd Haselton / CNBC:
Microsoft says it will permanently close all Microsoft Store retail locations and focus on its online store instead  —  - Microsoft on Friday announced it will permanently close its Microsoft Store retail locations.  — In the past decade or so, Microsoft began to expand its retail presence …
CNBC:
Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire self-driving car startup Zoox, reportedly for $1.2B+; Zoox was valued at over $3B in 2018  —  - Zoox was valued at over $3 billion in 2018, but has struggled with management turnover in its efforts to develop a self-driving car.
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Ubisoft places two executive VPs and several other employees on administrative leave following misconduct allegations made public in the past week  —  Ubisoft Entertainment SA, one of the world's largest video-game publishers, placed two executives and several other employees …
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Data broker Mobilewalla touts tracking BLM protesters' cell data and the locations of evangelicals before 2016 election, and says it has data on 1.6B devices  —  A data broker that tracked Black Lives Matter protesters also tracked the locations of Evangelical Christians on election …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Leaked Microsoft document hints at a cheaper and less powerful Xbox console, designed to provide key improvements in Xbox Series X at a lower price point  —  The document mentions multiple Project Scarlett consoles  —  Microsoft has been planning a second, cheaper and less power next-gen Xbox console.
Dan Primack / Axios:
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is leaving Initialized, the VC firm he co-founded in 2012; Ohanian has become more interested in pre-seed investing  —  Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is moving on from Initialized, the venture capital firm he co-founded in 2012, Axios has learned.
More: TechCrunchTweets: @gaberivera
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Report: Alphabet said to be close to buying Canadian smart glasses maker North for ~$180M; sales of North's first generation Focals were said to be minuscule  —  While Glass lives on as an enterprise product, it never came close to reaching Google's wildly ambitious vision of replacing the smartphone.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
Introducing the UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation  —  UiPath's new platform empowers enterprises to experience the full power of AI to transform industries
Zoho:
In-depth bounce reports now in ZeptoMail  —  The ultimate aim of any email sender is to deliver emails to the right recipient's inbox—but even when taking measures to ensure successful delivery, bounces still occur.
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

The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'The Ratchet of Flippancy', With Craig Mod
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Techmeme Ride Home:
ChatGPT Just Wants To Please
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Azeem Azhar's Exponential View:
The difference between early and late AI adopters
Azeem Azhar explores how AI and exponential technologies are shaping our future.
Subscribe to Azeem Azhar's Exponential View.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Tariffs, Trump, TikTok: What's going to happen to ads in 2025?
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Spotlight On:
*S3 Feature* Transcend's Kate Parker on putting data back into the hands of users in an AI-driven world
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Invest Like the Best:
Cliff Sosin - Investing in Carvana
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:00 PM ET, June 26, 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

Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Laurence Dodds / Telegraph: