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August 4, 2020, 10:15 PM
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Top News

Apple:
Greg Joswiak will replace Phil Schiller as SVP of Worldwide Marketing; Schiller becomes an Apple Fellow and will continue to lead the App Store and Apple Events  —  Greg Joswiak joins Apple executive team as senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing  —  Cupertino, California …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
In a letter to staff, ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming says a forced sale of TikTok to a US buyer is “unreasonable” and the real goal of the US is a ban  —  - U.S. doesn't really want to see a sale to American buyers  — Founder Zhang Yiming issues second letter in two days
Dan Primack / Axios:
Apple says there are no talks to buy TikTok, and it isn't interested, after sources said it is among the companies that have expressed interest in buying TikTok
Wall Street Journal:
Microsoft should refuse Trump's TikTok payoff, as it would set a dangerous precedent for the seizure of foreign businesses through regulatory fiat
Wall Street Journal:
With a TikTok sale, China would lose control of its first global internet sensation, hardening suspicions that the US is sabotaging its tech growth
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Disney says Disney+ has grown to 60.5M subscribers, up from 54M in May, says it has 100M+ paid subs for streaming services including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+  —  Disney+ had more than 60.5 million paying subscribers as of yesterday, according to The Walt Disney Company's CEO Bob Chapek.
TechCrunch:
Anthony Levandowski, ex-Uber self-driving head, was sentenced to 18 months in prison as Levandowski files a new lawsuit against Waymo and Uber  —  Maverick self-driving car engineer will not need to report until threat of COVID-19 pandemic has passed  —  Anthony Levandowski …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft's xCloud game streaming service will launch on September 15 on Android in 22 countries, bundled with the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription  —  Available in 22 countries, but no iOS support at launch  —  Microsoft will launch its game streaming service, known as Project xCloud …
European Commission:
The European Commission opens an in-depth investigation into Google's proposed acquisition of Fitbit over concerns about vast amounts of data Google could use  —  The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Fitbit by Google under the EU Merger Regulation.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google launches Nearby Share on Android, an AirDrop-style tool, rolling out to Pixel and Samsung devices; support for Chromebooks will arrive in coming months  —  It only took Google nine years to catch up to AirDrop  —  It will finally be slightly easier to share files, images, links, and other content between Android devices.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Analysis of the questions asked by Democrats and Republicans during the House antitrust hearing and what it reveals about their partisan priorities  —  The only thing more predictable than members of Congress using hearings to make statements instead of ask questions, and when they do ask questions …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Apple refreshes 27" iMacs with 10th-gen Intel CPUs and a 1080p webcam, shipping this week, and makes SSDs standard across its iMac lineup  —  But the design remains the same  —  Apple is announcing updates for both the 27-inch and 21.5-inch iMacs.  It's updating the processors inside …
Jason Parham / Wired:
Interviews with 29 Black TikTok creators highlight issues of muted posts, in-app harassment, and incidents of racism, even as users lionize Black culture  —  On the app, users drape themselves in the trappings of Black culture—and steal the viral spotlight.  It's exploitation at its most refined and disturbing.
Katie Roof / Bloomberg:
Rippling, an employee data management company led by Parker Conrad, raises $145M led by Founders Fund, valuing it at $1.35B, up 5x from its last valuation  —  - Former Zenefits founder's new company valued at $1.35 billion  — Investors include Founders Fund, Kleiner Perkins and Coatue
Kate Clark / The Information:
HeadSpin to return up to $95M to investors and has replaced its CEO after an internal review revealed financial irregularities; startup now valued at $250M  —  HeadSpin, a mobile app testing company recently valued at $1.16 billion, plans to return up to $95 million in funding to investors …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google Assistant can now Broadcast to specific rooms or devices and create a “Family Bell” schedule, reminding users about daily routines and class times  —  With distance learning in effect for the upcoming school season, at least in the US, Google Assistant is adding a handful of features to ease the transition.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Activision Blizzard reports Q2 revenue of $1.93B, up 38% YoY, vs. est. $1.69B, and each of its titles had better-than-expected results amid the pandemic  —  Activision Blizzard reported earnings today that beat expectations as the company saw a surge for its Call of Duty games because people are staying inside due to the pandemic.

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:
Court docs detail a smear campaign against actor Blake Lively via media articles and social media posts after she accused director Justin Baldoni of misconduct

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: WaPo's Matt Murray lays out plans for WP Ventures, the “third newsroom”; Krissah Thompson will be editor and Samantha Henig will be general manager

Jack Dunn / Variety:
Trump appoints Mark Burnett, the British TV executive who created and produced the reality show The Apprentice, as a special envoy to the UK

More News

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Microsoft has awarded $13.7M to security researchers who reported vulnerabilities in the last 12 months through 15 bug bounty programs, up from $4.4M last year
Matthew Haag / New York Times:
Facebook agrees to lease all the office space in NYC's 730,000 sq. ft. James A. Farley Building; it's added 2.2M sq. ft. in NYC office space over the past year

Earlier Picks

Caleb Potts / Android Police:
Facebook adds a search tool in WhatsApp to help check viral messages for misinformation, rolling out today in Brazil, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, UK, and US
Bloomberg:
As tech giants renew vows to diversify their workforces, a look at why their efforts have fallen short, especially in retaining new Black and Latinx employees
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