Techmeme
May 16, 2024, 4:25 PM

Top News

Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:
The EU opens a formal DSA investigation into Meta, to assess if Facebook, Instagram, and its other apps were reinforcing “rabbit hole” effects and other issues  —  Facebook and Instagram owner to be investigated on whether it does enough to protect mental health of young users
Jez Corden / Windows Central:
Microsoft's decisions, like Start Menu ads, closing studios, porting AAA games to PS5, and seemingly pulling back on Surface show a short-term financial focus  —  Microsoft has made a range of baffling decisions and awful mis-steps recently.  You can trace everything back to insatiable desire for money.
Wall Street Journal:
Source: Microsoft is asking about 700 to 800 employees involved in its China-based AI and cloud computing operations to consider relocating to other countries  —  Request comes as Biden administration toughens controls on China's access to cutting-edge American technology
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Meta starts testing TweetDeck-style customizable feeds on Threads that are stacked in a column interface on the web, available to selected users  —  Meta is starting to test a TweetDeck-like experience for Threads today.  It will allow Threads users to create customizable feeds that are stacked …
Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Sony Music sends letters to 700+ AI companies, developers, and music streaming platforms warning over the “unauthorized use” of Sony's content in training AI  —  Music group representing Adele and Beyoncé contacts more than 700 companies to prohibit use of content
Sheena Vasani / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils the Proteus Controller, a $299 modular game controller kit for disabled Xbox and PC gamers by peripheral company ByoWave, shipping in the fall  —  On Wednesday, Microsoft announced the Proteus Controller, a $299 modular video game controller kit that lets Xbox gamers with disabilities customize their controllers.
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Google releases an emergency Chrome update to patch the third zero-day vulnerability exploited within a week, and the seventh zero-day fix in 2024 so far  —  Google has released a new emergency Chrome security update to address the third zero-day vulnerability exploited in attacks within a week.
Wall Street Journal:
DOJ charges five people for allegedly duping 300+ US companies into hiring North Korea-linked remote IT workers and helping fund the country's nuclear program  —  Justice Department alleges Arizona woman and others helped foreign workers with North Korean connections get freelance gigs at U.S. companies
Daniel Zuidijk / Bloomberg:
Ubisoft falls ~15% after warning that Q1 net bookings will be ~€275M, below €376M est., and reporting a €401M adjusted operating income in FY 2024  —  Ubisoft Entertainment SA shares fell the most in 16 months on Thursday after the French video game publisher warned bookings …
Jessica Mathews / Fortune:
How GM is scrambling to save Cruise, which has become a liability after one of its automated vehicles hit and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet in October 2023  —  October 2 was a quiet night on the streets of San Francisco.  It was moderately cloudy, and Fleet Week activities had just begun at Sunset Library.
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Sigma Computing, which offers cloud data analytics tools, raised a $200M Series D at a $1.5B valuation, up 60% from 2021, bringing its total funding to $581M  —  In 2014, Jason Frantz and Rob Woollen co-founded Sigma Computing, a platform that overlays data stored in data platforms …
Ashlee Vance / Bloomberg:
A profile of Noland Arbaugh, who was paralyzed after an accident in mid-2016 and became the first person to receive Neuralink's brain implant in January 2024  —  For the first time, Noland Arbaugh explains how Elon Musk's brain implant, which allows him to control a computer with his thoughts, has changed his life.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Disney, Fox, and WBD unveil the name of their sports streaming venture: Venu Sports, which is set to debut in fall 2024  —  “We are excited to officially introduce Venu Sports, a brand that we feel captures the spirit of an all-new streaming home where sports fans outside of the traditional pay TV ecosystem …
Brendan I. Koerner / Wired:
An undercover investigation details working as a rotating cast of low-wage workers hired to pretend to be influencer girlfriends on OnlyFans  —  Your online influencer girlfriend is actually a rotating cast of low-wage workers.  I became one of them.  —  Because I have a deep and childish fear …
Harry McCracken / Fast Company:
An interview with Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus on the new iPad lineup, the M4 chip, why the iPad and Mac both matter, the iPad as an “AI PC”, and more  —  Apple's Greg Joswiak and John Ternus on the new iPad lineup, why the iPad and Mac both matter, the iPad as an ‘AI PC,’ and more.

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More News

Kylie Robison / The Verge:
Associated Press:

Earlier Picks

Todd Spangler / Variety: