Techmeme
October 8, 2021, 12:20 AM

Top News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google and YouTube say they will prohibit ads and monetization on content that denies climate change, starting next month  —  Google and YouTube on Thursday announced a new policy that prohibits climate deniers from being able to monetize their content on its platforms via ads or creator payments.
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Microsoft acquires Ally, whose software helps companies track and hit their goals; PitchBook: Ally was last valued at $345M after its $50M Series C in February  —  Microsoft has acquired Ally, a 3-year-old Seattle-based startup that helps companies track and hit their goals.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Maddie Stone / Grist:
Microsoft reaches an agreement with investor advocacy nonprofit As You Sow to make its devices easier to fix, increasing access to spare parts and repair docs  —  In a first-of-its-kind agreement, the company has committed to increasing access to spare parts and repair documents.
Frank Bajak / Associated Press:
Microsoft says Russia carried out 58% of detected state-backed hacks in the year ending June 30, with a 32% success rate; China accounted for 8%  —  BOSTON (AP) — Russia accounted for most state-sponsored hacking detected by Microsoft over the past year, with a 58% share …
Louis Barclay / Slate:
Developer says Facebook banned him for life and threatened to sue after he made Unfollow Everything, a browser extension to help people use Facebook less  —  If someone built a tool that made Facebook less addictive—a tool that allowed users to benefit from Facebook's positive features …
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
US federal judge rules Cloudflare is not liable for copyright infringement between websites that use its services  —  Judge rules content-delivery service doesn't “contribute” to copyright infringement.  —  Cloudflare is not liable for the copyright infringement of websites that use …
Twitch Blog:
Twitch says a server configuration change left data exposed on the internet and let a third-party access its data  —  Out of an abundance of caution, we have reset all stream keys.  You can get your new stream key here: https://dashboard.twitch.tv/settings/ stream.
Chris Scullion / Video Games Chronicle:
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is developing an iPhone-based car control system that could access climate control, speedometer, radio, seats, and more, expanding on CarPlay  —  - Company looks to build on success of CarPlay, launched in 2014  — Initiative, known as ‘IronHeart,’ is still in the early stages
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Payments company Paddle announces an alternative in-app payments system for iOS, charging 5%-10% fees and launching December 7, following Epic v. Apple ruling  —  In response to the Epic Games vs. Apple ruling last month, payments platform Paddle today announced that it plans to launch …
Reuters:
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
Many popular VPN services are owned by companies with shady track records, like London-based Kape Technologies, which also owns VPN review sites  —  Many virtual private network services that were meant to protect your web browsing can no longer be trusted.  Here are other ways.
Zeke Faux / Bloomberg:
A deep dive on Tether, which issued 48B coins this year, as regulators struggle to understand its cash reserves, organizational structure, and other details  —  A wild search for the U.S. dollars supposedly backing the stablecoin at the center of the global cryptocurrency trade—and in the crosshairs of U.S. regulators and prosecutors.
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:
Visionrare, an NFT marketplace for “fantasy startup investing” where users spend money to buy fake shares in startups, shuts down the service after one day  —  Just over 24 hours into its open beta, Visionrare, which launched an NFT marketplace for “fantasy startup investing,” …
Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook removes its brand from its in-development social VR platform Facebook Horizon, renaming it as Horizon Worlds, and announces a $10M Creator Fund  —  Facebook removed its brand from in-development social VR platform Horizon and plans to focus the effort around VR-based building tools …
The Verge:
Gov. Newsom signs Silenced No More Act, which ex-Pinterest employee Ifeoma Ozoma helped draft, to protect CA workers who call out discrimination despite NDAs  —  Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Silenced No More Act to protect whistleblowers in California  —  California governor Gavin Newsom signed …
Wall Street Journal:
Ireland, where most US tech companies have their European HQ, says it will join the global agreement to set a minimum rate of 15% for taxing corporate profits  —  The country had been one of a small number of holdouts on an agreement that aims to overhaul global taxation
Jackson Barnett / FedScoop:
Palantir says it signed a $90M, four-year contract to help integrate data across the Department of Veterans Affairs' health systems  —  Big data analytics company Palantir is expanding its health- and defense-related work with its first major contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the company told FedScoop.
More: BloombergTweets: @gannonbreslin
Kevin McLaughlin / The Information:
Sources: Salesforce COO Bret Taylor told people close to him that he expects to be promoted to CEO soon  —  What will Salesforce look like when its co-founder and CEO, Marc Benioff, finally passes the baton to someone else?  —  The tech industry may get to find out sooner rather than later.

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