Techmeme
March 12, 2021, 4:20 PM

Top News

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Google says Microsoft's support of a bill for greater bargaining power for news pubs is “self-serving” and intended to distract from the SolarWinds hack  —  Google has always been committed to providing high-quality and relevant information, and to supporting the news publishers who help create it.
Brad Smith / Microsoft On the Issues:
In House hearing, Brad Smith says monetizing referral traffic has become increasingly difficult for news pubs because Google squeezes out most of the profit  —  Editor's Note: On Mar. 12, Microsoft President Brad Smith testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law
Marco Rubio / USA Today:
Marco Rubio says he is endorsing Amazon workers' unionization efforts in Alabama because Amazon leadership is waging “culture war against working-class values”  —  Amazon is waging a culture war against working-class values and is not helping workers or our economy.
Matt Burgess / WIRED UK:
UK Home Office confirms trial of web surveillance tool that can track users' browsing history in partnership with two unnamed ISPs and National Crime Agency  —  The Investigatory Powers Act, or Snooper's Charter, was introduced in 2016.  Now one of its most contentious surveillance tools is being secretly trialled by internet firms
James Vincent / The Verge:
Facebook announces a project to train its AI to understand what is happening in videos, using data from videos publicly available on Facebook  —  AI that can understand video could be put to a variety of uses  —  Teaching AI systems to understand what's happening in videos as completely …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
A look at the history of Twine, an open-source tool for producing web-based interactive fiction and games with text, as it remains a significant force in gaming  —  IN THE VIDEO GAME Howling Dogs, released in 2012, players wake up in a prison with few options: a shower, a nutrient dispenser …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Epidemic Sound, a marketplace for online creators looking for background music, raises $450M from Blackstone and EQT Growth, at a valuation of $1.4B  —  The popularity of video and other streamed content like podcasts is continuing to grow at a breakneck speed, and today a startup called Epidemic Sound …
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple sues its former materials lead Simon Lancaster for allegedly stealing trade secrets and leaking them to the media  —  Apple is taking legal action against its former materials lead, Simon Lancaster, over allegedly leaking trade secrets to the media.  The lawsuit accuses Lancaster of abusing his …
Eric Martin / Bloomberg:
Sources: the Biden administration has informed some Huawei suppliers it is imposing more explicit prohibitions on the export of 5G components to the company  —  - Conditions for licensed exporters went into effect this week  — Move builds on Huawei prohibitions implemented under Trump
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Mike Winkelmann, the digital artist known as Beeple, sold an NFT of his work for $69M, through a first-of-its-kind auction at Christie's  —  Through a first-of-its-kind auction at Christie's  —  Until October, the most Mike Winkelmann — the digital artist known as Beeple — had ever sold a print for was $100.
Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
Facebook sidelined AI experts and weakened initiatives to clean up misinfo because leadership didn't want to hurt Zuckerberg's desire for growth  —  Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, a director of AI at Facebook, was apologizing to his audience.  —  It was March 23, 2018 …
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