Techmeme
April 20, 2021, 1:10 AM

Top News

About Facebook:
Facebook says it will start testing Live Audio Rooms in Groups and expects to roll out the feature to everyone on the Facebook app by the summer  —  Storytelling helps people build meaningful bonds: we all have stories to share with our friends, our communities, and the world at large.
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Zuckerberg says Facebook is working with Spotify on a music integration project codenamed Project Boombox  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday announced that the company is building audio features where users can engage in real-time conversations with others.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Brian Fung / CNN:
In a letter to Congress, Apple says it has approved Parler's return to the App Store, following moderation improvements by Parler  —  Washington (CNN Business)Apple has approved Parler's return to the iOS app store following improvements the social media company made to better detect …
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Sony backtracks on removing PS3 and Vita digital stores, saying it was “the wrong decision”; PSP store will still shut down on July 2  —  The PSP store is still shutting down on July 2nd  —  Sony has announced that it'll be keeping its PS3 and PlayStation Vita digital storefront open “for the foreseeable future.”
Sean Burch / The Wrap:
Sensor Tower: Clubhouse was downloaded 2.7M times in March, a 72% decline from February's 9.5M+  —  After pulling in 9.5 million downloads in February, Clubhouse only had 2.7 million downloads in March, according to new data from Sensor Tower  —  Is the party on Clubhouse already dying out?
Elizabeth Culliford / Reuters:
Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:
Fitbit unveils Luxe, a $150 fashion-focused fitness tracker coming this spring with a wide range of bands, up to 5 days of battery life, and an OLED touchscreen  —  It features up to five days of battery life per charge  —  Fitbit has announced its new Luxe fitness tracker that looks like a more fashion-focused take on the Inspire 2.
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Reddit shares a preview of Reddit Talk, a Clubhouse-like social audio feature for subreddits coming to iOS and Android; moderators can join a waitlist to try it  —  Sign up now to get on the waitlist  —  Reddit unveiled its take on a Clubhouse-like social audio product on Monday, called Reddit Talk.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Facebook expands a tool to let users export posts and notes to Blogger, Google Docs, and Wordpress and calls for new guidelines on data flows between services  —  - Facebook announced Monday it's expanding a tool that allows users to transfer their data to other services.
Kat Tenbarge / Insider:
YouTube says it has temporarily demonetized James Charles' channel, which has 25.5M+ subscribers, after 15+ sexual misconduct accusations from men and boys  —  - James Charles' channel has been demonetized, YouTube confirmed.  — YouTube told Insider Charles had been “temporarily removed” from the Partner Program.
Yogita Khatri / The Block:
The Bank of England and the UK Treasury jointly create a taskforce to explore a potential central bank digital currency  —  Quick Take  — The Bank of England and HM Treasury have jointly created a CBDC taskforce.  — They will explore a potential digital currency in the U.K.
Reuters:
UK says it will intervene in SoftBank's sale of ARM to Nvidia on national security grounds  —  The UK government will look into the national security implications of U.S. group Nvidia's (NVDA.O) purchase of British chip designer ARM Holdings, it said on Monday, raising a question mark over the $40 billion deal.
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Facebook details moderation steps around the trial of Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering George Floyd, including designating Minneapolis a “high-risk location”  —  It's designated Minneapolis a ‘high-risk location’  —  Facebook says it's taking extra moderation measures around …
Larry Dignan / ZDNet:
Mastercard says it will buy digital identity verification company Ekata for $850M  —  The move will bolster Mastercard's digital identity and security platform and framework.  —  Mastercard said it will acquire Ekata for $850 million in a deal that will bolster its identity verification technology.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Payhawk, a SaaS startup helping businesses issue corporate cards, manage invoices, and track payments, raises a $20M round led by QED Investors  —  Fintech startup Payhawk has raised a $20 million funding round.  QED Investors is leading the round with existing investor Earlybird Digital East also participating.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
What to expect from Apple's April 20 event: refreshed iPads, including Pro model with mini-LED display, 3rd-gen Pencil, AirTags, iMacs in different colors, more  —  Apple is planning to hold its first event of 2021 on Tuesday, April 20, and it's looking like it will be an iPad-centric event.

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