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August 17, 2021, 9:30 PM
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Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Google says the Pixel 5a is the last Pixel phone that will come with a charging brick, claiming most people already have a USB-C charger  —  Google says the 5A is the last Pixel phone to include a charging brick  —  Google is the latest manufacturer to bid farewell to the in-box charging brick …
Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Google's new $449 Pixel 5a review: IP67 water resistance, big 4,680mAh battery, and top-class camera, but limited availability and only three years of updates  —  Smart updates and a lower price  —  Google is revealing a phone this year where it's pulling out all the stops and going big on a cutting-edge …
Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:
WhatsApp shuts down Taliban helpline in Kabul that was allegedly for reporting violence and looting, as Facebook blocks other “official Taliban channels”  —  Complaints number meant to act as emergency hotline for civilians to report violence and looting
Bloomberg:
Adam Mosseri says Facebook is “proactively” removing content from its platforms that promotes or represents the Taliban  —  A Facebook Inc. executive said the company is “proactively” removing content from its platforms that promotes the Taliban as the group seizes power in Afghanistan.
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
As the Taliban uses WhatsApp to coordinate and spread messages, the service's end-to-end encryption makes banning the group difficult
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Twitter tests adding option for users to report misinfo in the US, Australia, S. Korea, and will primarily use the reports to study and identify misinfo trends  —  - Not all flagged tweets will be reviewed by fact checkers  — Experiment will run in the U.S., Australia and South Korea
New York Times:
Amazon has surpassed Walmart as the world's top retail seller outside China; FactSet says people spent $610B+ on Amazon in the 12 months ending in June  —  Proof that the online future has arrived: The biggest e-commerce company outside China has unseated the biggest brick-and-mortar seller.
The Intercept:
Sources: the Taliban have seized US military biometric devices, known as HIIDE, that could aid in the identification of Afghans who supported coalition forces  —  The Taliban have seized U.S. military biometrics devices that could aid in the identification of Afghans who assisted coalition forces …
Politico:
BlackBerry admits a critical flaw in its QNX OS, impacting 200M+ cars, hospital equipment, more; sources say it resisted public disclosure until talks with CISA  —  The former smartphone maker turned software firm resisted announcing a major vulnerability until after federal officials stepped in.
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
YouTube introduces new search features, including viewing video chapters directly on the search page and better recommendations for translated videos  —  YouTube announced two feature updates today to make it easier for people to find the content they're looking for on the platform.
Carrie Mihalcik / CNET:
The Consumer Technology Association says attendees of CES 2022 will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination  —  People attending CES 2022 in person in Las Vegas will be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, the Consumer Technology Association announced on Tuesday.
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Researchers find a bug in the ThroughTek Kalay SDK, which connects over 83M IoT devices with apps, that lets attackers access audio and video streams  —  A vulnerability in the Kalay platform leaves countless IoT devices susceptible to hackers.  —  A VULNERABILITY IS lurking in numerous types …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
OnlyFans begins promoting OFTV, a free safe-for-work app available on iOS and Android with 800+ videos, as it prepares to raise new funding  —  The most common question customers ask Tim Stokely, the chief executive officer of OnlyFans, is why he doesn't have an app.
David Gilbert / VICE:
Report: militias like the Three Percenters are key spreaders of vaccine misinfo on Facebook, and some of their Facebook Group admins get a “Group Expert” badge  —  Violent militia groups have become “key” spreaders of vaccine misinformation on Facebook, and now those groups …
Samantha Hissong / Rolling Stone:
TikTok partners with Audius, a music streaming service built on Ethereum, to let users upload their music as TikTok Sounds  —  It's the blockchain-powered Audius, rather than Spotify or Apple Music, that will let artists share their sounds into TikTok in one click
Christian Shepherd / Financial Times:
Shares in Alibaba, Tencent, and JD fall after China's antitrust watchdog announces a ban on unfair competitive practices, including exploiting user data  —  Shares of country's big tech companies slide as crackdown on sector intensifies  —  China will ban its internet platforms from a wide array …
South China Morning Post:
Sources: China's probe into Didi has slowed down its business and operations, as engineers rush to fix issues and investigators interview employees for hours
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
iOS 15 beta 6 adds an option to show Safari's address bar at the top, while displaying some buttons like back, forward, and share in a bottom toolbar  —  Apple has just released the sixth beta of iOS 15 for developers, and while we don't know exactly what has changed with this update …
Dina Bass / Bloomberg:
Microsoft invests in IT and cloud security startup Rubrik to sell anti-ransomware tools; source: investment was in the low tens of millions at a ~$4B valuation  —  'You don't have to pay the bad guys,' Rubrik CEO Says.  —  Microsoft Corp. is investing in software startup Rubrik Inc …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple tells staff it will increase COVID-19 testing for corporate and retail employees and pauses relaunching classes at Apple Stores this month in some regions  —  - Company to start testing employees for Covid-19 twice per week  — Apple reverses course on relaunching store classes this month

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:30 PM ET, August 17, 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

CNBC:
Comcast confirms plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, with Mark Lazarus as CEO; the separation may take about a year

James Warrington / Telegraph:
Almost 93% of 600 Guardian and Observer staff organized by the NUJ vote in favor of strike action over the proposed sale of The Observer to Tortoise

Kanis Leung / Associated Press:
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai testifies for the first time in his years-long national security trial; he is already serving a jail term for a fraud conviction

More News

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Brex, which offers credit cards tailored to startups, acquires Weav, a developer of a universal API for commerce platforms, for $50M

Earlier Picks

Joseph Cox / VICE:
T-Mobile confirms hackers gained access to its systems, following reports that sensitive data, including SSNs, for over 100M people was for sale on the dark web
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