Techmeme
October 1, 2020, 5:00 PM

Top News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google will pay publishers $1B+ through 2023 to create and curate high-quality journalism for the new Google News Showcase, starting in Germany and Brazil  —  Google will pay publishers more than $1 billion over the next three years to create and curate high-quality journalism for a new set …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils $549 Surface Laptop Go with smaller 12.4" display, 10th-gen Intel Core i5, in three color variants, preorders start today, shipping October 13  —  This new Surface laptop is smaller, lighter, and less powerful  —  Microsoft is introducing a new Surface Laptop Go today …
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Facebook announces updates for Groups: automating moderation, surfacing some public group discussions in News Feeds and search results, and more  —  The company is pushing people to join Groups  —  Facebook is expanding the reach of public groups today with new features that could lead …
Michael McSweeney / The Block:
DOJ and CFTC charge BitMEX and its founders with allegedly operating an unregistered trading platform and violating CFTC anti-money laundering rules  —  The U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have filed charges against crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
The Senate Commerce Committee votes to subpoena CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter to testify before the panel about concerns over Section 230  —  The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter to testify before the panel …
Traf:
A designer shares how he generated $100K+ selling custom app icon sets via a simple website when iPhone home screen customization exploded after iOS 14 release  —  This title is a little misleading.  Sure, it took me 6 days to amass 3,626 sales for a total of $101,528, but like any overnight success, it was years in the making.
Gordon Corera / BBC:
UK report says Huawei has failed to adequately tackle security flaws in its telco equipment despite previous complaints  —  Huawei has failed to adequately tackle security flaws in equipment used in the UK's telecoms networks despite previous complaints, an official report says.
Christine Fisher / Engadget:
Facebook makes Forecast, an app for crowdsourced predictions and collective insights, available to all users  —  The company thinks Forecast will ‘encourage measured, respectful conversation.’  —  Facebook isn't exactly known for balanced conversations or reliable information …
The Economic Times:
Indian startups blame Google for “unfair exploitation” of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission  —  Tech giant says companies have multiple store options, can also use websites  —  Indian startups are up in arms …
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Google unveils Pixel 5 with a 6-inch 90Hz OLED display, ultrawide rear-facing camera instead of zoom lens, 5G, 8GB RAM, and fingerprint sensor on back for $699  —  It's October, so despite the weird year we're having, Google is hosting a (virtual) event to show off its latest smartphone, the Pixel 5.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook says it will ban Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election, including calling specific voting methods fraudulent  —  - Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will not allow any ads on its service that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election …
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Shira Ovide / New York Times:
By integrating Instagram and Messenger, Facebook is entrenching itself, making it harder for a regulator to break it up and for rivals to unseat it  —  The more Facebook knits together its apps, the harder it becomes for a government to break it up. … Facebook's changes under the hood are a power grab.
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Hundreds of thousands watched the Trump-Biden debate on Twitch, with streamers who normally narrate gaming sessions providing real-time commentary  —  The Amazon-owned platform, known for livestreams of video games, was a gathering spot for viewers seeking a different spin.
Dylan Byers / NBC News:
Snap says it helped 1M Snapchat users register to vote on the app, of which over half are first-time voters and 80% are under 30  —  When Americans cast their ballots in this year's presidential election, millions will do so because they registered to vote through such social platforms as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
More: Axios, dot.LA, CNET, and The Hill
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Braintrust, a network for freelance technical and design talent, raises $18M, says it became profitable after raising a $6M seed round in the summer  —  Braintrust, a network for freelance technical and design talent that launched over the summer, is announcing that it has raised $18 million in new funding.
Shannon Vavra / CyberScoop:
DOD and DHS say malware dubbed SlothfulMedia is being used in ongoing campaigns in India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Russia, and Ukraine  —  The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are calling out an unspecified “sophisticated cyber actor” …
Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC:
After rising since March, Big Tech stocks dropped in September, with Facebook down 10.7% on August, Apple down 10.25%, Google down 10.1%, and Amazon down 8.8%  —  - Since March, investors had been pushing the markets to new highs, led by megacap technology stocks.  — But September has been a tough month for traders overall.

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Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Casey Newton / The Verge:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Rich Woods / Neowin:
Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg:
Jay Peters / The Verge: