Techmeme
March 14, 2019, 6:35 AM

Top News

New York Times:
Sources: Facebook's data-sharing deals under federal criminal investigation; an NY grand jury subpoenaed at least two device-makers who partnered with Facebook  —  Federal prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into data deals Facebook struck with some of the world's largest …
Shannon Liao / The Verge:
Facebook says it is working to bring its services back online as users around the world report issues with Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Oculus, and WhatsApp  —  While you can open the apps, they're missing major functions  —  Facebook and Instagram appear to be partially down for some users around the world today.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Aaron Tilley / The Information:
Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based ML startup, likely to strengthen its AI efforts; Laserlike had raised $24M+, per Crunchbase  —  Apple has acquired Laserlike, a small Silicon Valley-based machine learning startup, which could help strengthen the company's artificial …
Maureen Farrell / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: a consortium that includes SoftBank and at least one automaker is in late-stage talks to invest $1B or more into Uber's self-driving vehicle unit  —  A consortium that includes SoftBank Group is in late-stage talks to invest $1 billion or more into Uber Technologies' self-driving vehicle unit.
Janko Roettgers / Variety:
Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories VR film studio, part of Google's ATAP group, according to an email from the studio's executive producer  —  Google is shutting down its Spotlight Stories immersive entertainment unit, according to an email sent out by Spotlight Stories executive producer Karen Dufilho Wednesday evening.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Verizon's 5G service to launch on April 11 in Chicago and Minneapolis and cost $85-$105 for its unlimited plans  —  The first phone available will be the Moto Z3 with the 5G Moto Mod  —  Verizon's 5G network is coming.  After months of vague statements, the carrier has finally announced …
Stuart Dredge / Music Ally:
Spotify files an anti-trust complaint against Apple with the European Commission, claiming App Store rules limit choice and stifle competition  —  Spotify is filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission, accusing the latter company of anticompetitive behaviour in the way it manages …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Twitter's mobile app is rolling out a Snapchat-style camera designed to promote sharing photos, videos, and live footage when users swipe left on their timeline  —  Twitter is rolling out the redesign to its camera feature TechCrunch reported on a month ago that's designed to let you capture photos …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Researchers find mobile adware, dubbed SimBad, hidden in over 200 Android games, with more than 150M downloads  —  Security researchers have found a new kind of mobile adware hidden in hundreds of Android apps, and downloaded more than 150 million times from Google Play.
Bloomberg:
Court documents: Larry Page worried he would lose control of Google in 2011 and seemed to make a “veiled threat” to quit over the issue  —  - Page feared co-founder Brin might sell voting shares in 2011  — Court documents shed new light on controversial class C stock
Miriam Posner / New Yorker:
How supply-chain management software from companies like SAP optimizes for production needs but can create a bullwhip effect on factory workers from a distance  —  This past December, the workers'-rights organization China Labor Watch published a report about conditions in Chinese toy factories.

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Earlier Picks

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