Techmeme
November 19, 2018, 4:50 PM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Apple reduced production orders for all new iPhone models in recent weeks; iPhone XR production was slashed by up to one third of the initial 70M  —  In recent weeks, Apple slashed production orders for all three iPhone models that it unveiled in September
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Instagram says it will use machine learning to find and remove inauthentic likes, follows, and comments from accounts using third-party apps to boost popularity  —  Instagram is fighting back against automated apps people use to leave spammy comments or follow then unfollow others in hopes of growing their audience.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Eight parliaments are now demanding Zuckerberg answer questions about fake news and more, as Brazil, Latvia, and Singapore join a UK-led grand committee  —  Facebook's founder is facing pressure to accept an invite from eight international parliaments, with lawmakers wanting to question …
Deepa Seetharaman / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: this June, Zuckerberg told ~50 execs that Facebook was at war and he'd act more decisively, leading to reorgs, key departures, tension with Sandberg  —  New approach causes turmoil, driving several key executives from the company and creating tensions with longtime Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg
Tom Dotan / The Information:
Sources: Evan Spiegel spends most board meetings looking at his phone and messaging on Snapchat, seemingly dismissive of some members' “short term” concerns  —  Until a few months ago, Snap's board meetings could be tense affairs.  Benchmark partner Mitch Lasky …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft says it is bringing Skype calling to Alexa-enabled devices this week, including SkypeOut which lets users call mobile and landline phones  —  Microsoft and Amazon's partnership continues  —  Microsoft is bringing its Skype calling service to Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices this week.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Tim Cook says some government regulation of Silicon Valley is inevitable, defends deal to make Google Apple's default search engine despite privacy concerns  —  If Apple is so big on users' privacy, why does the company take billions of dollars from Google in exchange for letting the search giant …
Caroline O'Donovan / BuzzFeed News:
Airbnb deactivates ~200 listings in Israeli settlements in West Bank ahead of a Human Rights Watch report; Israel reportedly moves to restrict Airbnb operations  —  After years of protest, Airbnb deactivated listings in disputed territories in the West Bank on Monday, one day before Human Rights Watch …
More: The Guardian and Axios
Edmund Lee / New York Times:
BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti suggests the site could eventually merge with rival publishers to negotiate better terms with companies like Facebook and Google  —  Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, says his company could eventually merge with other online publishers in order to negotiate better terms with tech platforms like Facebook.

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