Techmeme
August 16, 2021, 7:25 PM

Top News

Brad Stone / Bloomberg:
A look at US lawmakers' efforts to rein in Google and Apple's app stores, after a bipartisan companion bill to Senate's Open App Markets Act debuts in the House  —  Legislating your apps  —  The U.S. Congress wants to change the way your smartphone works.  And the effort may actually succeed.
Tom Krisher / Associated Press:
NHTSA opens a formal investigation into Tesla's Autopilot system, covering 765K vehicles, saying it has trouble spotting parked emergency vehicles  —  DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla's Autopilot partially automated driving system, saying it has trouble spotting parked emergency vehicles.
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Inside Twitter's two-year effort to change its internal culture, led by controversial VP of design Dantley Davis, which led to HR investigations and staff exits  —  Two years ago, the company brought in a blunt executive to make things move faster and to promote diversity.  Then the problems began.
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
Google and Facebook say they will participate in a subsea cable system linking Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, launching 2024  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Facebook Inc. announced their participation in a new subsea cable system for 2024 set …
Tim Marcin / Mashable:
Yik Yak, the app that creates anonymous message boards for users within a five mile radius, returns to the US iOS app store after its 2017 shutdown  —  Yes, it's really back.  —  Buckle up, millennials.  Remember Yik Yak, the anonymous app that, in effect, allowed gossip and shit-talking …
Michael McSweeney / The Block:
Bluesky, the decentralized social media initiative unveiled by Twitter in 2019, will be led by Jay Graber, a former startup founder and cryptocurrency dev  —  Bluesky, the decentralized social media initiative unveiled by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the end of 2019, has a project lead, according to a Monday announcement.
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
A look at Coinbase Ventures, which has backed 150+ companies over three years, writes mostly seed checks of $50K to $250K, and does not have any full-time staff  —  Look at the busiest U.S. investors in cryptocurrency startups this year, and in between investment firms like Digital Currency Group …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
T-Mobile confirms hackers gained access to its systems, following reports that sensitive data on over 100M people was for sale on the dark web  —  “We have determined that unauthorized access to some T-Mobile data occurred.”  —  Joseph Cox  —  T-Mobile confirmed hackers gained access …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Roblox reports Q2 bookings of $665.5M, up 35% YoY, vs. $689.2M est., revenue of $454.1M, up 127% YoY, net loss of $140.1M, and average DAUs of 43.2M, up 29% YoY  —  A new GamesBeat event is around the corner!  Learn more about what comes next.  —  Roblox, the platform for Lego-like user-generated games …
Mishaal Rahman / XDA Developers:
A look at Camera Switches in the Android 12 beta, an accessibility feature that lets users control their devices using only facial movements  —  Android has long had an Accessibility API that's intended for developers to build apps and experiences aimed at helping persons with disabilities, though it isn't always used for that purpose.
Wall Street Journal:
A look at chipmakers' race to capitalize on a wave of subsidies, as the US and other western countries reassess their industrial policies to slow China's rise  —  U.S. semiconductor maker's appeal for subsidies plays on national security fears during chip shortage; ‘Never let a good crisis go to waste’

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