Techmeme
August 5, 2021, 4:05 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Security experts voice privacy concerns over Apple's new plan to scan users' devices for child abuse images, saying governments will likely increase its scope  —  Security researchers raise alarm over potential surveillance of personal devices  —  Apple intends to install software …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Apple says in the next couple of months it will begin scanning photos on iOS 15 and macOS Monterey devices in the US for known child abuse images  —  The feature lands later this year, but already faces resistance from security and privacy experts.  —  Later this year, Apple will roll …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Microsoft announces “Super Duper Secure Mode” for its Edge desktop browser, which disables V8's JIT, allowing for security features like Arbitrary Code Guard  —  Microsoft said today it plans to run an experiment in its Edge web browser where it will intentionally disable …
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon delays its return to offices from September 3 to January 3, 2022  —  Amazon told employees Thursday that it will delay its timeline for returning to regular work in the office until early next year.  —  The new date: Jan. 3, 2022.  Previously, Amazon had expected employees …
Gilad Edelman / Wired:
Mozilla's analysis says Facebook's justifications for cutting off access to researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory project “simply do not hold water”  —  The company says privacy concerns forced it to block access for a team of academics.  Whose privacy, exactly?
Bloomberg:
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Scammers are abusing Instagram's protections against self-harm and impersonation to purposefully target and ban Instagram accounts, some charging $60 per ban  —  An underground industry is abusing Instagram's mechanisms for removing self-injury and impersonating content to censor and harass people.
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Google refreshes its Nest lineup, including its video doorbell and indoor-only camera, with a unified design language and lower prices  —  A whole new lineup of cameras for Nest smart homes  —  Google has announced a new line of home security cameras and a video doorbell under its Nest brand.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Nintendo misses in Q1 with $1.09B operating profit, down 17.3% YoY, on $2.94B revenue, down 9.9% YoY, as Switch sales decline by 21.7% YoY to 4.45M units  —  It was not exactly a normal quarter this time in 2020  —  Nintendo has released its earnings for the April-June quarter …
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies, including if customers must show proof of vaccination, wear masks, or if all staff are vaccinated  —  Including details on staff and customer vaccinations  —  Yelp will let businesses share their policies on COVID-19 vaccinations, the company announced today.
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
Ethereum's “London” hard fork has been activated, with changes to how transaction fees are calculated to decrease volatility, among other fixes  —  - Ethereum's “London” hard fork has just activated, and it's a major change.  — One of the changes alters the way transaction fees …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
TikTok says it is testing TikTok Stories; source says Stories are available in a handful of markets outside the US  —  Twitter may have shut down its Stories features known as Fleets, but the Stories format will continue to invade other social platforms.  TikTok today confirmed it's piloting …
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Apple places female engineering program manager on administrative leave after she tweeted about sexism in the office  —  Ashley Gjøvik says the employee relations team implied she should stay off Slack pending an ongoing investigation  —  Apple has placed senior engineering program …
Michael del Castillo / Forbes:
Cryptocurrency analytics firm Messari raises $21M Series A led by Point72 Ventures with Kraken Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Coinbase among investors  —  Point72 Ventures,, the venture capital firm of billionaire Steve Cohen, whose unconventional style helped inspire the hit television show Billions …
Khari Johnson / Wired:
New study says encouraging consensus among data labelers from diverse backgrounds can lead to better AI for detecting misogyny and harassment on social media  —  Misogyny on the internet too often slips through the filters of content moderators.  A new method hopes to inject more nuance into the process.
Chris McGreal / The Guardian:
Report: 25 oil and gas organizations spent $9.5M+ on 25K+ Facebook ads in 2020, seen 431M+ times, potentially undermining Facebook's ban on oil and gas misinfo  —  Thinktank InfluenceMap accuses petroleum giants of gaming Facebook to promote oil and gas as part of climate-crisis solution
Andrea Navarro / Bloomberg:
Crehana, a Latin American online learning service, raises $70M led by General Atlantic and says its user base jumped from 1.2M to 5M in 2020  —  - Crehana learning platform operates across Latin America  — Startup plans to launch Brazil office in October with proceeds

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Michael McSweeney / The Block: