Techmeme
October 21, 2021, 8:30 PM

Top News

Anna Kramer / Protocol:
Twitter says its research shows its algorithms amplify right-leaning content more than left-leaning content, but doesn't know what causes the amplification  —  Twitter is publicly sharing research findings today that show that the platform's algorithms amplify tweets from right-wing politicians …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
The TOS for TRUTH Social shows it bans “excessive use of capital letters”, reserves the right to ban users, and hopes to benefit from Section 230 protections  —  Truth Social has some unusual rules for a Trump-run site: It reserves the right to ban users and safeguard itself from lawsuits with Section 230 protections.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
ABC News:
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap Q3: $1.07B revenue, up 57% YoY, vs. $1.10B est., DAUs up 23% to 306M, net loss down 64% to $72M, blames iOS ATT changes for revenue miss; stock down 20%+  —  - Snap reported its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, missing revenue expectations after Apple's iPhone privacy changes disrupted its advertising business.
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Intel Q3: revenue of $18.1B, up 5% YoY, vs. $18.2B est., Client Computing Group revenue fell 2% to $9.7B due to component shortages; stock down 7%+ after hours  —  - Intel reported third-quarter earnings on Thursday.  — The semiconductor company is in a period of massive capital expenditure …
Reuters:
Sources: ransomware gang REvil was hacked and forced offline this week by an active multi-country operation that includes US law enforcement  —  The ransomware group REvil was itself hacked and forced offline this week by a multi-country operation, according to three private sector cyber experts working …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Sam Altman's Worldcoin launches its cryptocurrency that it gives in exchange for users' eye scans, says it has 100K users globally and is valued at $1B  —  - Tech millionaire Sam Altman's new start-up Worldcoin uses orb-shaped devices to scan people's eyes in exchange for free cryptocurrency.
Oversight Board:
Facebook's Oversight Board releases a report demanding more transparency, including for the company's “cross-check” system, and says 524K appeals were submitted  —  Over the last several weeks, media reporting has drawn renewed attention to the seemingly inconsistent …
Wall Street Journal:
US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announces a broad investigation into consumer data practices at Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google, and others  —  Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to seek information on how those firms and others use consumers' financial information
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Apple product orders, including iPad mini, MacBook Pro, and $19 cleaning cloth, are delayed into November and December due to supply chain issues  —  - Store employees say supply situation is the bleakest in years  — Latest iPhones, iPads, Macs and watches all see long delays
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Windows 11 update fixes AMD CPU latency issues that reduced performance 3-5% for some apps and 10-15% for esports games  —  A new Windows 11 update includes a lot of fixes  —  Microsoft is releasing a new Windows 11 update today that fixes some of the AMD CPU performance issues.
The Markup:
Analysis of 23K+ websites of nonprofit organizations: ~86% had third-party cookies or trackers, with some, like Planned Parenthood, tracking user keystrokes  —  Such organizations often deal in sensitive issues, like mental health, addiction, and reproductive rights—and many are feeding data about website visitors to corporations
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Apple says the 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max will feature a High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads  —  The new 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Max Apple Silicon chip will feature a new High Power Mode for intensive, sustained workloads, according to Apple.
Sam Rutherford / Gizmodo:
Nvidia's GeForce Now cloud gaming service adds a $100/month tier with RTX 3080 GPUs, hosted inside a bespoke SuperPod server, offering 1440p games at 120fps  —  Thanks to new custom servers equipped with RTX 3080 GPUs, GeForce Now will support game streaming at up to 1440p at 120fps—but it'll cost you.
Kyle Bradshaw / 9to5Google:
Google begins offering Stadia as a white label product, starting with letting AT&T customers play Batman: Arkham Knight for free in Chrome or Edge  —  AT&T is working with Warner Bros to offer a streaming version of Batman: Arkham Knight, powered by Stadia's streaming technology.
Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:
Rippling, an employee data management company led by Parker Conrad, raises $250M at a $6.5B valuation, bringing its total raised to $450M  —  Founded by entrepreneur Parker Conrad in 2013, the HR company Zenefits was quickly anointed one of the fast-growing companies in Silicon Valley …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Sources: Brex, which offers credit cards tailored to startups, raises $300M at a $12.3B valuation, following a $425M Series D at a $7.4B valuation in April  —  Fast-growing fintech Brex has raised $300 million in funding that propels it to decacorn status, just six months after it was valued at $7.4 billion …
Jason Nelson / Decrypt:
The Associated Press partners with crypto company Chainlink to authenticate data about elections, sports, and more via its blockchain  —  The Associated Press, a collective of more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters, is moving further into decentralized news and publishing.
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX raises a $420.69M Series B-1 at a $25B valuation from 69 investors, including BlackRock and Tiger Global  —  FTX has memed itself into another massive funding round.  —  Sam Bankman-Fried's Bahamas-based crypto exchange said Wednesday it had raised $420,690,000 in a Series B-1 funding round.
Wall Street Journal:
Over 2,000 hourly workers at Amazon's Staten Island facilities sign union cards and plan to file with the NLRB by October 25; Amazon opposes the move  —  An effort said to involve more than 2,000 workers across four Amazon facilities in Staten Island faces obstacles
Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider:
Report: Yahoo Finance's mobile app disappeared from Apple's App Store in China, days after republishing a Bloomberg story critical of China's tech crackdown  —  Yahoo Finance appears to be the latest victim of China's suppressive internet regulations, as the iOS app used …

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