Techmeme
August 22, 2019, 3:25 PM

Top News

Sameer Samat / The Keyword:
Google stops using dessert-themed names for Android for better worldwide accessibility, names Android Q Android 10, and refreshes Android brand logo and color  —  Over the last decade, Android's open platform has created a thriving community of manufacturers and developers that reach a global audience with their devices and apps.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is planning to launch Pro iPhones with three-sensor camera systems for better low-light, new iPads, and a 16-inch MacBook Pro next month  —  Apple Inc. is readying a clutch of new hardware for the coming weeks and months, including “Pro” iPhones, upgrades to iPads and its largest laptop in years.
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Google proposes new privacy and anti-fingerprinting controls aimed at making it harder for online marketers and advertisers to track users across the web  —  Google today announced a new long-term initiative that, if fully realized, will make it harder for online marketers and advertisers to track you across the web.
ProPublica:
Interviews with 36+ DOD and tech officials shed light on tech giants' fight for $10B Pentagon JEDI cloud contract using backdoor lobbying and an advisory board  —  Tech moguls like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt have gotten unprecedented access to the Pentagon.  And one whistleblower who raised flags has paid the price.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: News Corp is developing a news-aggregation service called Knewz, to address publisher concerns about Google and Facebook  —  Knewz.com will surface articles from hundreds of news sources, using software and human curation  —  News Corp is developing a news-aggregation service meant …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Samsung Galaxy Note10+ review: the screen is beautiful and handwriting recognition with S Pen is neat but software backslides into confusion and DeX is a mess  —  The most phone  —  How much would you pay to have a stylus in your phone?  —  That's the essential question for the Note 10 Plus.
CNBC:
Overstock CEO Partick Byrne has resigned from the e-commerce company after his comments about being involved in a “Deep State” investigation of 2016 election  —  - Overstock CEO Partick Byrne has resigned from the e-commerce company after making controversial comments about his role in the “Deep State.”
Brian Merchant / Gizmodo:
Investigation reveals popular on-demand massage app Zeel repeatedly ignored therapists' complaints about sexual harassment and inappropriate client behavior  —  When Ilene Antelman arrived at a client's Manhattan duplex in December of 2016, she was in a good mood.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Assessing the impact of telecoms' poor privacy practices through the story of a woman stalked by a man who obtained her real-time location data from T-Mobile  —  Telecom giants are giving up customers' real-time location data to stalkers and bounty hunters.  Now, Motherboard speaks to a victim.
Brian Fung / CNN:
Sources: FCC and FTC officials raised concerns about the constitutionality and scope of a Trump draft executive order on CDA Section 230 and alleged censorship  —  (CNN)Officials from the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission have expressed serious concerns …
Kashmir Hill / New York Times:
Users whose accounts have been disabled by Facebook say the opaque review process, the endless wait, and the inability to contact an employee can be maddening  —  For a decade, Christopher Reeves, an Uber driver in Seattle, used Facebook for everything: talking with friends, communicating with fellow drivers, meeting singles.
Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:
Eminem's publisher Eight Mile Style sues Spotify claiming copyright infringement, challenges the constitutionality of the Music Modernization Act passed in 2018  —  Eight Mile Style alleges “Lose Yourself” and many of the rapper's hits aren't licensed by the streamer.  Now comes a suit eyeing Spotify's billions.
Stephan Kahl / Bloomberg:
Numbrs, an app that enables users to manage existing bank accounts in one place, raises $40M at a $1B+ valuation, bringing its total raised to ~$200M  —  - Numbrs raises $40 million as it looks to expand beyond Germany  — Company counts 50 indivuals and families among its investors
Washington Post:
Palantir's revenue from US government contracts under Trump surpassed its total under Obama's second term, as sources describe staff debates about work with ICE  —  After Google dropped a defense contract over employee pressure, Palantir's leaders doubled down on controversial work with the U.S. government
Facebook Technology:
A look at Oculus Insight, Facebook's technology that makes inside-out VR tracking on Oculus Quest and Rift S headsets possible  —  VR hardware was tethered to a PC — until one Facebook engineering team found a way to cut the cord  —  When Anna Kozminski joined Facebook as a software program manager …
Mehreen Khan / Financial Times:
The European Commission is planning regulation to impose strict limits on the use of facial recognition technology by companies and public authorities  —  Brussels is exploring ways to impose strict limits on the use of facial recognition technology in an attempt to stamp out creeping public surveillance of European citizens.
Georgina Torbet / Engadget:
Google is rolling out its face-grouping feature in Google Photos, first introduced in 2015, across Europe  —  Google Photos recently hit one billion users after being spun out from Google+ just four years ago.  One reason the product grew so quickly is its frequent updates …
More: 9to5Google

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Gemini 2.5 Pro: Our most intelligent AI model  —  Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) is now available, with thinking capabilities, enhanced performance, and improved accuracy.  Try it at no cost in the Gemini app.
UiPath:
Introducing the UiPath Platform™ for agentic automation  —  UiPath's new platform empowers enterprises to experience the full power of AI to transform industries
Zoho:
2025: World Password Day is now also World Passkey Day  —  Since 2013, the first Thursday of May has been recognized as World Password Day to spread awareness about good password practices and protecting our online accounts.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
GTA 6 Delayed To 2026
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Hard Fork:
The Dangers of A.I. Flattery + Kevin Meets the Orb + Group Chat Chat
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
EP 141 Ben Lamm (Founder & CEO, Colossal Biosciences) On The Breakthroughs Making De-Extinction Actually Possible
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Great Chat:
What's the deal with Deel?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Lenny's Podcast:
The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Josh Kopelman from First Round Capital
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:25 PM ET, August 22, 2019.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Christina Farr / CNBC:
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Stephen Hall / 9to5Google:
Natalie Gagliordi / ZDNet:
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Abner Li / 9to5Google: