Techmeme
July 18, 2019, 6:10 AM

Top News

Netflix Investor Relations:
Netflix reports Q2 revenue of $4.9B, up 26% YoY, and total paid membership of 152M, up 22% YoY, but it added 2.7M new subs, down from 5.5M YoY; stock down 11%+  —  Fellow shareholders, As expected, revenue growth accelerated 400 basis points to 26%, and operating income increased 53% year over year in Q2.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
In Q2, Netflix lost US subscribers for the first time since Q3 2011, dropping 130,000, and added fewer global subs than expected, citing a weak Q2 content slate  —  For the first time, Netflix lost streaming subscribers in the U.S. — dropping a net 130,000 for the second quarter of 2019 …
Jim Waterson / The Guardian:
As FaceApp goes viral again, many are wary of the image-altering app's weak privacy policy, the fact it's based in Russia, and that photos are sent to the cloud  —  App was launched by Russian developer in 2017 and uses AI to change people's features  —  The developer of a popular app …
Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
DNC warns 2020 presidential campaigns not to use FaceApp; alert from DNC's chief security officer notes that the app was “developed by Russians”  —  Washington (CNN) — The Democratic National Committee sent a security alert to 2020 presidential campaigns Wednesday afternoon warning …
Ken Dilanian / NBC News:
Microsoft says it has warned ~10,000 customers of nation-state attacks in the past year and tracked 781 cyberattacks by foreign adversaries this election cycle  —  The tech giant says it has tracked more than 700 cyberattacks by foreign adversaries against U.S. political organizations so far this election cycle.
Alfred Ng / CNET:
Google removes seven stalkerware apps from the Play Store that were found by Avast researchers; the apps had been installed more than 130,000 times  —  You'd think it would be difficult to find an app that can secretly track a person's every move.  But researchers have found them right in the open on Google's Play Store.
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
As part of World Emoji Day, Apple and Google share designs for around 60 new emoji, many focused on representation around disability  —  Tomorrow is World Emoji Day.  Why is there a World Emoji Day?  No idea!  But it's tomorrow!  —  To recognize the day, Apple and Google have both shed …
Brian Merchant / Columbia Journalism Review:
To duck accountability, “on background” has become the default method by which Silicon Valley disseminates information, often abetted by tech journalists  —  One of the most pernicious tools that Silicon Valley uses to control the flow of information to the public is decidedly low-tech: briefing reporters “on background.”
Bloomberg:
Sources: Trump is looking into the Pentagon's JEDI contract, which is set to be awarded to Amazon or Microsoft, to decide whether he should intervene  —  - Pentagon poised to give JEDI contract to Amazon or Microsoft  — President frustrated he was unaware of Republican concerns
Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:
Instagram expands its test to hide the number of likes on other users' posts to six more countries: Ireland, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand  —  Would the Internet be a better place if we all paid a little less attention to fake Internet points?  Instagram is still trying to figure it out.
European Commission:
Cade Metz / New York Times:
How Google Glass and other devices are being tested to teach children on the autism spectrum to make eye contact and recognize emotions  —  Privacy concerns caused the computerized eyewear to fail with the general public.  But researchers believe it could help autistic children learn to recognize emotion and make eye contact.
Charlie Osborne / ZDNet:
Researchers find that Windows 10, iOS, and macOS devices broadcast device-specific info over Bluetooth, letting observers track the devices; Android does not  —  Any modern device sporting Bluetooth connectivity may be impacted with the exception of Android.

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