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Techmeme
April 4, 2019, 6:10 PM
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Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Amazon is readying AirPods-like wireless earbuds with built-in Alexa for as early as the second half of this year  —  - Company plans wireless earbuds for second half of this year  — Move is attempt to take Alexa mobile after flopped Fire phone
Alan Boyle / GeekWire:
Amazon confirms Project Kuiper, its new initiative to launch a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites to provide broadband around the world  —  Amazon is joining the race to provide broadband internet access around the globe via thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, newly uncovered filings show.
Washington Post:
Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, announce a divorce settlement that will leave him with 75% of their Amazon stock and all voting power  —  In a tweet Thursday, MacKenzie Bezos said that her divorce from Jeff Bezos was finalized and that she would give her ex-husband voting control of her Amazon shares.
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Snapchat debuts Snap Games platform that lets users play real-time multiplayer games with six-second unskippable ads and rewards  —  Snap is unlocking a new revenue stream while giving you something to do in between chats and Stories.  Today Snapchat debuts its Snap Games platform that lets …
Mike Fortin / Windows Blog:
Starting with the May 2019 Update, Windows 10 will no longer auto install feature updates and will let users pause updates for up to 35 days  —  While regular updates are critical to keeping modern devices secure and running smoothly in a diverse and dynamic ecosystem, we have heard clear feedback …
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:
Amazon launches six HIPAA-compliant Alexa skills from health care companies like Cigna and Boston Children's Hospital for uses like scheduling appointments  —  Amazon today announced the introduction of a limited number of voice apps for the Alexa Skills Kit by health care companies like Cigna …
Michelle Toh / CNN:
MIT suspends ties with Huawei and ZTE over US investigations and says any projects working with China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia will merit additional review  —  Hong Kong (CNN Business)The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is hitting pause on its relationships with Chinese tech firms Huawei and ZTE.
Dave Gershgorn / Quartz:
Microsoft is investigating sexual harassment and discrimination claims that some workers say HR overlooked after women shared stories in a long email chain  —  In a far-reaching email chain within Microsoft, women have shared stories of sexual harassment and discrimination …
Paul Karp / The Guardian:
Australia passes law penalizing content service providers and hosting services for failing to quickly remove abhorrent violent content, despite tech opposition  —  Labor supports legislation in response to Christchurch shooting that threatens jail for executives, despite media companies' concerns
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft announces it will integrate its WhatsApp-like Kaizala group messaging service into Teams over the next 12 to 18 months  —  Microsoft will be integrating its Kaizala service into Teams over the next 12 to 18 months.  In the interim, it's adding a lot more features to Kaizala.
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple cuts the price of HomePod worldwide, dropping it from $349 to $299 in the US Apple Store  —  Apple has officially lowered the price of the HomePod worldwide.  In the price has fallen from $349 to $299, breaking the $300 level.  HomePod has seen promotional discounts at many third party retailers …
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
As more seniors go online, they are largely being left out of digital literacy efforts, making them targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric  —  Older people play an outsized role in civic life.  They also are more likely to be online targets for misinformation and hyperpartisan rhetoric.
Manish Singh / VentureBeat:
Tonal, maker of a $2,995 in-home workout system that uses machine learning to personalize workouts, raises $45M Series C, bringing the total raised to $90M  —  Fitness startup Tonal today announced it has raised $45 million as it prepares to scale its smart in-home workout system and fend off …
More: TechCrunch and FinSMEs
Brady Dale / CoinDesk:
O(1) Labs, the startup behind the Coda protocol, which reduces the size of the blockchain from gigabytes down to kilobytes, raises $15M Series A  —  A blockchain that makes its blocks disappear has raised a fresh $15 million.  —  Coda protocol, announced last May as the first project of the startup O …
Kelsey Piper / Vox:
Nearly half of Google's external AI board has resigned or is under fire, and the design of the board suggests Google is treating AI ethics like a PR problem  —  One member resigned and two more are under fire.  It's only a week old.  —  Just a week after it was announced, Google's new AI ethics board is already in trouble.
Colin Lecher / The Verge:
SEC: Amazon has to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales of its controversial facial recognition product Rekognition to government agencies  —  Activist shareholders are pressing the proposals  —  Amazon will have to let shareholders vote on proposals to curb sales …
More: Open MIC
Sam Biddle / The Intercept:
Researchers find that Facebook appears to deliver certain ads, despite neutral targeting parameters, in a way that aligns with race and gender stereotypes  —  How exactly Facebook decides who sees what is one of the great pieces of forbidden knowledge in the information age …

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From Mediagazer

Sara Fischer / Axios:
PBS and a public TV affiliate in Minnesota sue the Trump administration, saying his executive order to cut federal funding violated PBS' First Amendment rights

Max Tani / Semafor:
The California State Senate opens an inquiry into whether Paramount's reported $15M proposed settlement with Trump violated bribery and unfair competition laws

Chris Willman / Variety:
Taylor Swift acquires the rights to her first six albums from Shamrock Capital; sources say the deal was in the mid-$300M range

More News

The Guardian:
Leaked UK government plans propose that social media companies be policed by an independent regulator, with annual “transparency reports” on harmful content
New York Times:
Experts say prescription drug sites like Hims, which let patients order drugs like Viagra after consulting with doctors online, can increase public health risks

Earlier Picks

Jon Fingas / Engadget:
Tesla starts rolling out an update to Navigate on Autopilot in the US that will give drivers an option to use the system without having to confirm lane changes
Xinmei Shen / Abacus:
Some Chinese companies, including Tencent and Xiaomi, are restricting access via their own browsers to a GitHub page where developers protest “996” work culture
Mark Sullivan / Fast Company:
Source: Intel has missed deadlines for the development of a 5G modem for the 2020 iPhones; Apple has 1,000-1,200 engineers working on modems for future iPhones
UpGuard:
Third-party Facebook app by Cultura Colectiva left 540M+ records of users' info exposed on AWS; Amazon was notified in Jan., but data was online until recently
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