Techmeme: For some teenagers, making NFTs and other forms of digital art is seen as a gateway to a career as a full-time artist and has become their new summer job (Steven Kurutz/New York Times)

Open Links In New Tab

Mobile Archives Advertise

August 16, 2021, 6:30 PM

Top News

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.

More: Reuters, The Verge, CNBC, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, TNW, Coinspeaker, Financial Times, Silicon Republic, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, MSPoweruser, ExtremeTech, CNBC, and Gizmodo

Tweets: @ap, @tkrisher, @hypervisible, and @carnage4life

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.

More: Axios and Reuters

Tweets: @repkenbuck, @markets, @margarethmcgill, @bradstone, and @senblumenthal

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 …

More: T-Mobile, PYMNTS.com, Reuters, Techaeris, KnowTechie, iClarified, and Security Affairs

Tweets: @josephfcox, @lorenzofb, @josephfcox, @vice, and @lorenzofb

Joseph Cox / VICE:

T-Mobile investigates claims that hackers stole data from its servers, including phone numbers, names, SSNs, and driver's license info, related to 100M+ people

More: ZDNet, BleepingComputer, Computerworld, The Record, TechCrunch, NBC News, Engadget, The Register, FrontPageTech.com, Gizmodo, MacRumors, CNN, BleepingComputer, Reuters, The Verge, Android Police, USA Today, New York Post, Wired, Security Affairs, KnowTechie, Input, Techdirt, Softpedia News, Droid Life, infosecurity-magazine.com, Engadget, HotHardware.com News, PYMNTS.com, 9to5Mac, Tom's Guide, Bitcoin Magazine, FierceWireless, AppleInsider, Android Central, Tech.co, TmoNews, MUO, Threatpost, Protocol, TechSpot, BGR, Security Boulevard, HackRead, SlashGear, Graham Cluley, Pocketnow, Light Reading, Coinspeaker, CyberScoop, The Verge, Cryptonews, iMore, Phandroid, TheStreet, Silicon Republic, IT Management, Digital Trends, TechRadar, GeekWire, Cointelegraph, Slashdot, Mashable, SiliconANGLE, BitcoinExchangeGuide, phonearena.com, The Mac Observer, Neowin, Bloomberg, International Business Times, CNET, Techaeris, Insider, and PCMag

Tweets: @vice, @knieriemen, @odell, @mshelton, @deviantollam, @bdsams, @jason_koebler, and @seahawkerholm

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.

More: Insider. Tweets: @danpriceseattle, @daiwaka, @copyconstruct, @carnage4life, @dbedingfield, @dbedingfield, @gavinpurcell, @nytimesbusiness, @tonyromm, and @kateconger

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 …

More: Cloud Blog, Facebook Engineering, The Vibes, FierceTelecom, Reclaim The Net, PCMag, Adweek, and Gizchina

Tweets: @internetthought, @tysonbarker, and @googlecloud

Loni Prinsloo / Bloomberg:

Facebook, China Mobile, and MTN Group plan to expand the 2Africa undersea cable network in Africa, bringing the total landings to 35 in 26 countries

More: TechCrunch, Techpoint Africa, Financial Times, Reuters, and New York Post

Tweets: @ndekekwe and @mikenashtech

David Shepardson / Reuters:

Facebook and Amazon ask the FCC for approval for a new undersea data cable between the Philippines and California, intending to start operations in 2022

More: Silicon Republic

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 …

More: App Store, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, VICE, and Engadget

Tweets: @yikyakapp, @imani_barbarin, @brotigupta, @bigblackjacobin, @emmajerome, @iwriteallday_, @taylorlorenz, @mmasnick, @brookemiccio, @mashable, @stepheniscowboy, and @bigdonkey47

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.

More: TechCrunch, Bloomberg, The Verge, Crypto Briefing, CoinDesk, and Reuters

Tweets: @arcalinea, @jack, @glenweyl, @chrisblec, @evan_greer, @avsa, @mikeelgan, @jeffjarvis, @arcalinea, @bluesky, @mmasnick, @timbray, @arcalinea, @lsanger, @arcalinea, @nischalshetty, and @rabble

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 …

Tweets: @alexrkonrad, @alexrkonrad, @rsg, @magdalenakala, @davidlee, @sarthakgh, @efeng, @iampaulgrewal, @joonian, @jeffjohnroberts, @katie_haun, and @rachaelrad. Thanks:@alexrkonrad

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 …

More: Barron's Online and Roblox

Matt Mullenweg:

Automattic closed a new funding round of $288M in February and recently completed a $250M share buyback aimed at current and ex-employees at a $7.5B valuation — In February of this year, Automattic closed a new primary funding round of $288M, bringing in some great new partners including BlackRock …

Tweets: @danprimack, @jasonlk, @photomatt, and @peterpham

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’

Tweets: @pgelsinger, @aspi_icpc, @jordannovet, @bobdavis187, and @live_news_nick

Che Pan / South China Morning Post:

Chinese government says integrated circuit output rose 47.3% YoY to 203.6B units in the year to July, as new capacity is added to meet semiconductor demand

Sponsor Posts

Google:

Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model — Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy. Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.

UiPath:

Introducing the UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation — UiPath's new platform empowers enterprises to experience the full power of AI to transform industries

Zoho:

2025: World Password Day is now also World Passkey Day — Since 2013, the first Thursday of May has been recognized as World Password Day to spread awareness about good password practices and protecting our online accounts.

IDrive:

Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:

Judge Refers Apple For A Criminal Investigation

The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.

Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.

Sponsor this podcast

Great Chat:

What's the deal with Deel?

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Lenny's Podcast:

The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO)

Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.

Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.

Uncapped with Jack Altman:

Josh Kopelman from First Round Capital

Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.

Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.

Azeem Azhar's Exponential View:

The difference between early and late AI adopters

Azeem Azhar explores how AI and exponential technologies are shaping our future.

Subscribe to Azeem Azhar's Exponential View.

Channels with Peter Kafka:

Tariffs, Trump, TikTok: What's going to happen to ads in 2025?

Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.

Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.

Add your postcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:30 PM ET, August 16, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Ari Emanuel acquires Frieze, an art events and media company, from Endeavor, and will make Frieze a part of his unnamed global events and experiences company

Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:

A California man pleads guilty to illegally accessing Disney's Slack channels and stealing 1.1TB of data in 2024; he later posed as hacktivist group “NullBulge”

Naman Ramachandran / Variety:

UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says “we would be very reluctant” to introduce a levy on streaming platforms, despite a parliamentary committee recommending it

Upcoming Tech Events

Earnings: AAPL, AMZN, ABNB, TWLO, RDDT, XYZ, CART, RBLX, ROKU

Earnings: AMD, GFS, EA

Earnings: DASH, UBER, APP, U

May 8

Earnings: COIN, LYFT, PINS, SHOP, NTDOY, NET, AFRM, MTCH, TOST, SMIC

Earnings: Tencent, CSCO, SONY

Jensen Huang Keynote at COMPUTEX

Google I/O REGISTER NOW

More News

Christine Hall / TechCrunch:

Tropic, which helps streamline software procurement, raises $25M Series A, says it passed $250M in managed spend, and processed transactions for 1,200+ vendors

More: FinSMEs

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

DistroKid, which has helped 2M+ musicians upload music to streaming services, says it is valued at $1.3B after a recent raise from Insight Venture Partners

Tweets: @rstephens, @pkafka, and @jaycuthrell

Earlier Picks

Ivan Levingston / Bloomberg:

Vienna-based marketing analytics startup Adverity raises $120M led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2, bringing its total raised to $165M+

More: FinSMEs, Tech.eu, and Business Wire

Joanna Ossinger / Bloomberg:

Crypto staking service Figment raises $50M Series B, led by Senator Investment Group and Liberty City Ventures, source says at a ~$500M valuation

More: Figment, Blockworks, SiliconANGLE, FinLedger, CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, and The Block

Tweets: @spvenino33, @figment_io, and @jimandelman

Steven Kurutz / New York Times:

For some teenagers, making NFTs and other forms of digital art is seen as a gateway to a career as a full-time artist and has become their new summer job

Tweets: @ron_miller, @pakman, and @revolvegamesio

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Rapido, an Indian bike taxi operator available in about 100 cities, raises $52M Series C, bringing its total raised to $130M+

More: The Economic Times, The Economic Times, YourStory.com, The Hindu BusinessLine, and Tech in Asia

Kyle Chayka / New Yorker:

Profile of @images_ai, a Twitter account launched by a music student in June, which uses neural networks, including OpenAI's CLIP, to generate surreal art

Tweets: @newyorker, @renois, and @newyorker

Julia Angwin / Hello World:

Q&A with Alex Stamos on Apple's proposed child safety features, his reservations about the company's announcement and approach to child safety online, and more

Wall Street Journal:

In a new lawsuit, a US-based contractor claims Huawei stole its tech and pressured it to build a “back door” into a sensitive surveillance project in Pakistan

More: Engadget, Telecoms.com, Phandroid, Pocketnow, and Slashdot

Tweets: @baldingsworld, @johnkoetsier, @gandapurpat, @martijnrasser, @gibranashraf, @rajivmessage, @newley, and @ericgarland