Techmeme
September 22, 2021, 10:20 AM

Top News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Facebook says Apple's ATT changes will continue to cause headwinds in Q3 and reveals it under-reported iOS web conversions by 15% on average; stop drops 3%+  —  Facebook said Wednesday that changes to Apple's new privacy terms will continue to cause headwinds for its ads business in the third quarter.
Andrius Sytas / Reuters:
Lithuanian government recommends ditching Chinese phones after finding Xiaomi devices with censorship capabilities that can be activated remotely  —  Lithuania's Defense Ministry recommended that consumers avoid buying Chinese mobile phones and advised people to throw away the ones …
Naman Ramachandran / Variety:
Netflix agrees to acquire the Roald Dahl Story Company, expanding on a three-year deal to make animated shows, with plans to create TV, movies, games, and more  —  Netflix has acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company and will expand their existing deal to create a universe spanning several formats.
New York Times:
Sources: last month, Mark Zuckerberg agreed to show users positive stories about Facebook via News Feed; Facebook says it ran a small test with labeled posts  —  Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, has signed off on an effort to show users pro-Facebook stories and to distance himself from scandals.
Scott Stein / CNET:
Apple iPad mini (2021) review: A15, Pencil 2 support, better cameras, and USB-C, but no keyboard case support and the screen feels too small for some apps  —  What's the most improved product in Apple's lineup this year?  It might be the sixth-gen iPad Mini.
Simon Sharwood / The Register:
VMware urges customers to immediately patch a critical arbitrary file upload vulnerability in its flagship vCenter and vSphere products  —  File upload vuln lets miscreants hijack vCenter Server  —  VMware has disclosed a critical bug in its flagship vSphere and vCenter products and urged users to drop everything and patch it.
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Microsoft uncovers a massive phishing operation offering “Phishing-as-a-Service” subscriptions or one-time tools based on over 120 templates for $80-$100  —  Microsoft's security team said today that it uncovered a massive operation that provides phishing services to cybercrime gangs using …
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Facebook's Oversight Board wants the company to explain its “cross-check” system, which reportedly lets celebrities, politicians, and others break its rules  —  pushing Facebook to provide more information on its controversial “cross-check” system, following a report that the company …
Horace Dediu / Asymco:
As it passes 2B iPhones sold, Apple has avoided disruption by adding useful features nobody asked for and avoiding overshooting on performance that few need  —  Just recently, the 2 billionth iPhone was sold.  Unlike the 1 billionth, there was no announcement, no celebration.
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
macOS is susceptible to running arbitrary code when a user opens a malicious .inetloc file, and Apple's first attempt to silently fix the issue failed  —  Security researchers disclosed today a new vulnerability in Apple's macOS Finder, which makes it possible for attackers to run arbitrary commands …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
iOS 15.1 beta lets users store their verifiable health records, including COVID-19 vaccination cards and test results, in the Health app  —  The iOS 15.1 beta that was introduced today allows iPhone users to upload their COVID-19 vaccination status to the Health app and then generate a vaccination card in Apple Wallet.
Leah Nylen / Politico:
Facebook shareholders allege Facebook conditioned its $5B Cambridge Analytica settlement on the FTC dropping plans to sue and depose Mark Zuckerberg  —  Facebook conditioned its $5 billion payment to the Federal Trade Commission to resolve the Cambridge Analytica data leak probe …
Washington Post:
Sources: FBI refrained from sharing a ransomware decryptor with businesses for almost three weeks, as it carried out an operation to disrupt the REvil gang  —  The FBI refrained for almost three weeks from helping to unlock the computers of hundreds of businesses and institutions hobbled …
Ari Notis / Kotaku:
Blizzard's chief legal officer Claire Hart leaves Activision Blizzard amid a series of high-level departures  —  Claire Hart, who had been the company's top lawyer for three years, resigned Friday  —  Blizzard Entertainment's chief legal officer, Claire Hart, has resigned from the embattled company.
Tatiana Cirisano / Billboard:
Twitch and NMPA reach deal after tensions over takedown notices; sources: deal doesn't include music licenses, and Twitch will warn users before suspending them  —  Twitch and the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) have reached a long-awaited agreement focused on building …
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Source: ahead of its NYSE debut, Toast prices its IPO at $40 per share, above its original $30-$33 range, which would give it a market cap of ~$20B  —  - Toast priced its IPO at $40 a share, after previously raising its price range to as high as $36.  — The company, which sells technology …
Tory Newmyer / Washington Post:
SEC's Gary Gensler says stablecoins are a risk to consumers, like “poker chips at the casino”, and equates crypto boom to “wildcat banking” in the 1830s  —  The top Wall Street regulator described the digital assets frequently pegged to the U.S. dollar as a danger to consumers
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Treasury Department sanctions cryptocurrency exchange Suex for helping facilitate and launder transactions from at least eight ransomware variants  —  - The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday it will sanction a cryptocurrency exchange for its alleged role in laundering ransoms for cyberattacks.

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:
Automate recurring activities with Zoho One's RPA addition  —  Robotic Process Automation (RPA) automates manual and routine tasks for businesses by using digital robots that replicate human behaviour.
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.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
Inside Devin: The world's first autonomous AI engineer that's set to write 50% of its company's code by end of year | Scott Wu (CEO and co-founder of Cognition)
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.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Omnibus Week Of 04/28
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Hard Fork:
The Dangers of A.I. Flattery + Kevin Meets the Orb + Group Chat Chat
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Ben Lamm (Founder & CEO, Colossal Biosciences) On The Breakthroughs Making De-Extinction Actually Possible
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:20 AM ET, September 22, 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.

More News

ProPublica:

Earlier Picks

Nicole Lee / Engadget: