Techmeme
June 30, 2020, 9:25 PM

Top News

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube TV is raising its monthly rate to $65 from $50, due to “the rising cost of content”; some ViacomCBS channels are becoming available on the service today  —  YouTube TV is getting another price hike, making its live TV streaming service less competitive with the cable TV services it aims to replace.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google shares details on upcoming Sheets features that automatically clean up and complete data, through formula suggestions and more  —  Google today announced a couple of updates to Google Sheets that will make building spreadsheets and analyzing data in them a little bit easier.
NBC News:
Facebook says it removed 220 FB groups and 95 Instagram accounts dedicated to “Boogaloo”, weeks after feds said Boogaloo members planned murder of agent on FB  —  Facebook announced Tuesday that it is removing groups dedicated to the Boogaloo extremist movement one month …
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Leaked memo: Verily is suspending spot bonuses through 2020 and redirecting the money to diversity and inclusion programs  —  The move frustrated employees who said it implied the initiatives aren't worthy of their own investment  —  Verily Life Sciences, the Alphabet-owned healthcare company …
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft unveils initiatives to upskill workers amid the “COVID-19 economy” including cash grants, affordable skill certificates, and a learning app in Teams  —  Microsoft has announced a slew of new initiatives designed to open up access to new digital skills, including cash grants …
Bloomberg:
Rahul Shrivastava / India Today:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook will change its News Feed algorithm to prioritize news stories with original reporting and demote ones that are not transparent about their authors  —  Beginning today, Facebook will be updating the way news stories are ranked in its News Feed to prioritize original reporting, executives tell Axios.
Abram Brown / Forbes:
Chat app Discord raises $100M led by Index Ventures at a $3.5B valuation, up from $2.05B 18 months ago, and says it has ~100M MAUs, up 50% YoY  —  By shutting out white supremacists and reinventing itself to be more accessible, Discord has added millions of more diverse users—teachers …
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
Q&A with Reddit CEO Steve Huffman on banning r/The_Donald and other problematic subreddits, after resisting for years  —  Steve Huffman, Reddit's co-founder and chief executive, says new rule changes will help the company fulfill its mission.  —  On Monday, Reddit …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
UK government plans to begin allowing rental e-scooter trials on roads from Saturday, in a bid to ease pressure on public transport during the pandemic  —  In light of COVID-19 and social distancing regulations, the UK has been working on making it easier for people to get from point A to B …
Cara Lombardo / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Uber in talks to buy Postmates for ~$2.6B in a deal that could be announced next week if not sooner  —  A deal between Uber and the San Francisco-based food-delivery company could be announced next week if not sooner  —  Uber Technologies Inc. is in discussions to buy Postmates Inc …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple has shifted the strategy of its Arcade gaming service, canceling contracts for some titles in development and seeking games with more engagement  —  - Company ends contracts for multiple future Arcade titles  — Apple seeks games with stronger engagement to hook users
Jeff Hunter / AnyList Blog:
AnyList says it won't support Sign In With Apple due to issues it creates with customer support and poor documentation, will also remove Facebook Login  —  Starting June 30th, Apple will be enforcing a new rule in the App Store requiring many apps to support Sign in with Apple.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Sensor Tower: consumer spending on apps reached $50.1B globally during the first half of 2020, up 23.4% YoY, and first time installs were up 26.1% YoY  —  Consumer spending on mobile apps and app installs grew significantly during the first half of 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from Sensor Tower.
Wall Street Journal:
Amazon is boosting efforts to lure military and commercial space organizations as major users of AWS, hoping to benefit from rising spending in the sector  —  AWS's move comes during a multiyear surge in U.S. military and civilian agency spending on space projects
Matthew J. Belvedere / CNBC:
Netflix says it will put 2% of its cash holdings, currently ~$100M, toward financial institutions and organizations dedicated to helping Black communities  —  - Netflix announced plans to start putting 2% of its cash holdings into financial institutions and organizations to “directly support Black communities in the U.S.”

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