Techmeme
December 2, 2021, 9:00 AM

Top News

Kate Rooney / CNBC:
Square is changing its name to Block, effective December 10, and renaming Square Crypto to Spiral, as its business shifts toward technologies like blockchain  —  - Payments giant Square will change its corporate name to Block, effective Dec. 10.  — The move comes as Square expands beyond …
Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:
In its end-of-year threat report, Meta says it took down several global disinformation networks, including anti-vaccine groups and groups linked to state actors  —  The takedowns described in the company's latest threat report demonstrate how the cat-and-mouse game between Facebook and bad actors is escalating
CNBC:
Meta expands the number of eligible regulatory licenses for running crypto ads on Facebook and Instagram from three to 27  —  - Facebook on Wednesday announced its decision to reverse long-standing policy that prevented most cryptocurrency companies from running ads on its services.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Apple announces the best apps and games of 2021, across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, and the most downloaded apps of the year  —  Apple today released its anticipated annual list of the best apps and games of the year across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch.
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
DOJ charges an ex-employee of IoT manufacturer Ubiquiti with data theft and for attempting to extort his employer while posing as a whistleblower and a hacker  —  Nickolas Sharp, a former employee of networking device maker Ubiquiti, was arrested and charged today with data theft and attempting …
Haje Jan Kamps / TechCrunch:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Charlie Osborne / ZDNet:
Michelle Singletary / Washington Post:
The CFPB's rule that lets debt collectors send texts, emails, and private social media messages to debtors, and requires opt-out instructions, goes into effect  —  Federal regulators have given debt collectors the okay to pursue debtors via email, text messages and social media sites
The Markup:
The Verge:
Federal judge blocks a Texas law that limits large social media platforms' ability to moderate content, saying it violates the platforms' First Amendment rights  —  ‘Social media platforms have a First Amendment right to moderate,’ wrote the judge  —  A federal judge has blocked a Texas law …
Washington Post:
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles says a hacker gained access to its network in October, compromising the information of ~400,000 patients including clinical data  —  A hacker gained access to the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Planned Parenthood patients in October …
James Clayton / BBC:
Meta will no longer block searches nor remove praise of Kyle Rittenhouse on Facebook and Instagram, after designating him a shooter in a “mass murder” in 2020  —  Facebook has reversed a decision to block searches on its platform for a US teenager who was acquitted of killing two people during unrest in Wisconsin.
Jordan Crook / TechCrunch:
Goalsetter, which offers a financial literacy education app for kids, raises a $15M Series A led by Seae Ventures  —  Goalsetter, a financial education platform for kiddos, has announced the close of a $15 million Series A financing round.  The funding was led by Seae Ventures …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft announces Teams Essentials, a standalone version of Teams for SMBs with a simplified UI, focus on meetings, and no Office apps for $4 per user/month  —  This standalone version of Teams is even more of a Zoom competitor  —  Microsoft is creating its first standalone version of Microsoft Teams for small businesses.
Tom Simonite / Wired:
AI researcher Timnit Gebru, who left Google last year, launches Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research, focusing on the responsible use of AI  —  The researcher, who says Google fired her a year ago, wants to ask questions about responsible use of artificial intelligence. … APPLICATION
Christine Hall / TechCrunch:
Shiftsmart, a labor marketplace that matches workers with shifts, raises a $95M Series B led by D1 Capital, bringing its total funding to $117M  —  The holiday shopping season kicked off last week with some lackluster results, but employers are still in dire need of workers.
Radhika Anilkumar / Reuters:
Canadian video platform Rumble, popular with right-wing users, will go public via SPAC at a $2.1B valuation and expects to raise around $400M  —  Canadian video platform Rumble Inc said on Wednesday it would go public by merging with blank-check firm CF Acquisition Corp VI (CFVI.O) at an initial enterprise value of $2.1 billion.

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More News

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Earlier Picks

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Robin Pogrebin / New York Times:
Marty Swant / Forbes:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Stacy Mitchell / Institute for Local Self-Reliance:
Kris Holt / Engadget: