Techmeme
September 13, 2021, 11:00 PM

Top News

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Apple releases iOS 14.8, watchOS 7.6.2, iPadOS 14.8, and macOS 11.6, which fix some CoreGraphics and WebKit flaws that defeated iOS “Blastdoor” protections  —  Apple has published a full support document detailing what's new in iOS 14.8, watchOS 7.6.2, iPadOS 14.8, and macOS Big Sur 11.6.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Citizen Lab says it found evidence of ForcedEntry on an activist's iPhone and the exploit worked on iPads, Macs, and Watches as well, prior to today's updates  —  Citizen Lab says the ForcedEntry flaw affects all iPhones, iPads, Macs and Watches  —  Apple has released security updates …
Jeff Horwitz / Wall Street Journal:
Internal Facebook documents detail XCheck, a program that shields VIP users from normal content enforcement policies, which included over 5.8M users in 2020  —  A program known as XCheck has given millions of celebrities, politicians and other high-profile users special treatment, a privilege many abuse
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Litecoin spiked ~20% after several news outlets, including Reuters and CNBC, reported that Walmart would begin accepting it based on a fake press release  —  GlobeNewswire, the site where the hoax release was posted, said it came from a fraudulent user account.
Josh Dzieza / The Verge:
A look at the harsh reality of working for on-demand delivery apps in NYC, including fluctuating pay and relentless time pressure, and labor organizing efforts  —  Exploited by apps.  Attacked by thieves.  Unprotected by police.  The city's 65,000 bikers have only themselves to count on.
Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Intuit says it has agreed to acquire Mailchimp for $12B in cash and stock  —  - Intuit will buy email marketing company Mailchimp for $12 billion, the companies announced Monday.  — Intuit said it will use the acquisition to accelerate growth among small business clients.
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Biden to nominate Georgetown law professor Alvaro Bedoya, who focuses on privacy issues, to be a commissioner at the FTC  —  Alvaro Bedoya has spearheaded pivotal research into how the government's use of facial recognition software hurts America's most marginalized
Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge:
Zoom is adding live translation services and will bring video meetings and Zoom Whiteboard to Facebook's VR meeting space, Horizon Workrooms, in Q1 2022  —  Zoom's whiteboard feature is also getting an upgrade  —  Zoom plans to expand its support for automatic live transcriptions …
Financial Times:
Sources: Beijing wants to break up Ant Group's Alipay, which has over 1B users, and create a separate app for the company's highly profitable loans business  —  Chinese fintech will turn over user data to new joint venture partly owned by state  —  Beijing wants to break up Alipay …
Pieter Haeck / Politico:
Dutch judge rules Uber drivers are employees, not self-employed, so Uber will have to pay drivers by the rules of the taxi industry's collective labor agreement  —  Dutch Uber drivers should be classified as employees rather than self-employed, a Dutch judge ruled on Monday.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
What to expect from Apple's September 14 event: narrower iPhone 13 notch, LTPO displays on Pro models, redesigned Watch Series 7, no M1X MacBook Pros, and more  —  This week: The long-awaited ruling in Apple Inc.'s suit with Epic Games Inc. arrives just before the iPhone 13 …
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
FEC documents show that it has dismissed accusations by Republicans that Twitter violated election laws by blocking a NY Post article about Hunter Biden  —  The Federal Election Commission has dismissed Republican accusations that Twitter violated election laws in October by blocking people …
Eva Mathews / Reuters:
Coinbase says it plans to raise around $1.5B through a debt offering, to invest in product development and M&A, after saying it will raise $1.25B in May  —  Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) is planning to raise about $1.5 billion through a debt offering to invest in product development …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Mozilla says it has bypassed Microsoft's cumbersome method for switching browsers in Windows 11, letting users set Firefox as default with one click  —  It's easier to switch to Firefox as default now  —  Mozilla has quietly made it easier to switch to Firefox on Windows recently.
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
SpotOn, a payments company focused on SMBs, raises $300M Series E led by a16z at a $3.15B valuation and acquires live events payments startup Appetize for $400M  —  Last year at this time, SpotOn was on the brink of announcing a $60 million Series C funding round at a $625 million valuation.
Financial Times:
Analysis: Irish DPC has failed to apply EU's privacy laws to US Big Tech companies, with 98% of 164 significant complaints about privacy abuses still unresolved  —  Irish regulator has not resolved 98% of 164 significant data protection complaints  —  Ireland is failing to apply …
Tim Higgins / Wall Street Journal:
Apple's booming iPhone 12 sales have been driven in part by attractive offers from carriers to boost 5G, raising questions about how long such deals will last  —  Apple is expected to show off its latest iPhone Tuesday as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon fight to attract customers to their networks
David McLaughlin / Bloomberg:
Antitrust lawyers say the judge's recent ruling in Apple v. Epic presents challenges for DOJ's investigation, as Apple was not found to violate the Sherman Act  —  - Judge rejected Epic's federal antitrust claims against Apple  — Decision doesn't foreclose DOJ antitrust suit, lawyers said

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