Techmeme
September 29, 2022, 7:50 AM

Top News

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Google announces new Maps features, including the ability to visually soar over some areas, 250 more landmark views, enriched neighborhood info, and AR search  —  Google is gearing up to launch several new updates for Maps in the coming months, the company announced today at its Search On event.
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Meta confirms taking “enforcement actions” against The OG App, which offers an ad-free Instagram feed, as developers UN1feed say Apple removed the App Store app  —  A third-party Instagram app, called “The OG App,” which promised an ad-free feed more like the original Instagram experience …
Samantha Cole / VICE:
Meta permanently bans Pornhub's Instagram account for “repeatedly violating” its policies, after a three-week suspension and ToS breaches accruing over 10 years  —  Pornhub claims its account was “fully PG,” and cites the uneven treatment of mainstream celebrities like Kim Kardashian …
Barbara Ortutay / Associated Press:
Amnesty International: Meta's algorithms “proactively amplified and promoted content” on Facebook that incited violent hatred against the Rohingya in Myanmar  —  With roosters crowing in the background as he speaks from the crowded refugee camp in Bangladesh that's been his home since 2017 …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers detail Chaos, a new cross-platform malware that infected a wide range of Linux and Windows devices, including routers, FreeBSD boxes, and servers  —  Small office routers?  FreeBSD machines?  Enterprise servers?  Chaos infects them all.  —  Researchers have revealed a never …
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft plans to end support for SwiftKey on iOS and delist it from the App Store on October 5; SwiftKey on Android will continue to be supported  —  Questions about what's going on with Microsoft's support of the predictive SwifKey keyboard app for iOS have been bubbling up over the past few weeks.
Bloomberg:
Sources: SoftBank begins laying off Vision Fund employees, with cuts expected to impact over 150 people, or 30%+ of its staff, following massive losses  —  SoftBank Group Corp. has started laying off employees at its loss-making Vision Fund and is expected to cut at least 30% of its staff, according to people familiar with the matter.
Clothilde Goujard / Politico:
The US' candidate to lead the UN's International Telecommunication Union, which sets global tech and telecom standards, beat Russia's by 139 to 25 votes  —  BUCHAREST — A top U.S. official won a massive majority to lead the United Nations agency that sets global standards for telecoms and tech infrastructure.
Bloomberg:
Jakarta-based Traveloka, Southeast Asia's largest online travel startup, raised $300M from BlackRock and others; Traveloka was valued at $3B in 2020  —  Traveloka has secured $300 million in new financing from investors including BlackRock Inc., as Southeast Asia's biggest online travel startup counts …
Spencer Soper / Bloomberg:
Amazon encourages some customer service staff to work from home, sources say to cut real estate costs; source: Amazon plans to close multiple US call centers  —  Amazon.com Inc. is encouraging customer service employees at some US call centers to work from home, signaling the company's preference …
Krisztian Sandor / CoinDesk:
Block's bitcoin-focused TBD subsidiary partners with Circle to build infrastructure for cross-border, dollar-linked stablecoin transfers and savings  —  The partnership aims to improve people's access to dollar-linked stablecoins in countries with rapidly devaluing currencies.
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Amazon's $1,000 Astro robot gets pet detection, the ability to check specific windows and doors, Ring camera integration, and an SDK for three universities  —  There's been a standing question surrounding how seriously we should ultimately take Astro.  The product was launched exactly one year ago …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon increases its average starting pay for front-line US staff to $19+/hour, up from $18/hour; warehouse and delivery workers will earn $16/hour to $26/hour  —  - Amazon is bumping its average starting pay for warehouse and delivery workers to more than $19 an hour, up from $18 an hour, the company said Wednesday.

Sponsor Posts

Meta:
Open Source AI: Available to all, not just the few  —  Meta's open source AI enables small businesses, start-ups, students, researchers and more to download and build with our models at no cost.
Tribe AI:
Build AI products that matter  —  Tribe AI helps organizations rapidly deploy AI solutions that have real business impact.  We bring together world class AI talent and tooling to drive differentiated results.
Zoho:
5 common accounting mistakes  —  This is a guest post by Yaali Bizappln Solutions.  A lot of businesses manage their customers and finances on separate platforms.  This disconnect often leads to missed invoices …
Hamming:
Make AI Voice Agents trustworthy  —  Hamming AI automatically tests AI voice agents and continuously monitors them in production.
Techmeme Ride Home:
(BNS) Brian's Appearance On Daily Detroit
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:50 AM ET, September 29, 2022.

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

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Lisa Eadicicco / CNET:
David Pierce / The Verge:
Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post:
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Bloomberg: