Techmeme
October 22, 2019, 1:25 AM

Top News

Nathaniel Gleicher / Facebook:
Facebook bans networks, three originating in Iran and one in Russia, running “inauthentic” accounts, Pages, and Groups misleading users in the US, Latin America  —  Today, we removed four separate networks of accounts, Pages and Groups for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook:
Facebook says it will more prominently label content that fact-checkers deem false on Facebook and Instagram, will ban ads suggesting voting is pointless  —  We have a responsibility to stop abuse and election interference on our platform.  That's why we've made significant investments since 2016 …
CNBC:
Sources: SoftBank to take control of WeWork, spending $4B-$5B on new funding and existing shares in The We Company, valuing it between $7.5B and $8B  —  KEY POINTS  — Softbank to spend $4 billion to $5 billion on new equity, existing shares, sources say.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft acquires Edmonton-based Mover to bolster its cloud migration solutions, just weeks after acquiring Movere, another cloud migration company  —  Microsoft today announced that it's acquired Mover, an Edmonton-based provider of admin-led and self-service cloud file migration offerings.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Google hires Javier Soltero, Acompli co-founder and former head of Microsoft Outlook, to run G Suite  —  In its bid to take on Microsoft Office, Google has hired someone who knows the product well: Former Outlook boss Javier Soltero.  —  Why it matters: Google and Microsoft are in a tough battle …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Microsoft announces Secured-core PCs, which will come from many vendors like Dell and adhere to security best practices for better firmware attack protection  —  Microsoft today announced a new initiative to combat threats specifically targeted at the firmware level and data stored in memory: Secured-core PCs.
Shelby Brown / CNET:
Devumi settles FTC charges that it sold fake followers and likes; cosmetics firm Sunday Riley also settles with FTC for allegedly posting fake online reviews  —  The Federal Trade Commission uncovered and stopped the misleading online marketing tactics of two different companies, it announced Monday.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
NordVPN confirms it found out a few months ago that one of its datacenters was hacked in March 2018, leaving it vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks  —  NordVPN, a virtual private network provider that promises to “protect your privacy online,” has confirmed it was hacked.
vpnMentor:
Researchers find open database that leaked 179GB+ of customer, US govt, and military records from Autoclerk, a travel reservations system owned by Best Western  —  Led by Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, vpnMentor's research team discovered a breach in a database belonging to Autoclerk …
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
EU says preliminary results of its probe into software used by EU institutions raises “serious concerns” over Microsoft's compliance with data protection rules  —  Europe's chief data protection watchdog has raised concerns over contractual arrangements between Microsoft …
Nat Levy / GeekWire:
SAP has struck a three-year deal where Microsoft will sell a bundle of SAP cloud services directly to customers who run SAP on Azure  —  SAP and Microsoft struck a three-year partnership to help companies move their data to the cloud, a move that tightens the already close relationship between the two tech giants.
Sarah McBride / Bloomberg:
Instabase, which sells app making tools to enterprise, raises $105M Series B at a $1.05B valuation  —  Silicon Valley got another addition to its stable of unicorns on Monday: Instabase Inc. The business tools company said it has raised $105 million at a $1.05 billion valuation.
Greg Sterling / Marketing Land:
IAB and PwC: US online ad spending reached $57.9B in H1 2019, up 16.9% year-over-year but lower than the 23.1% growth in the same period last year  —  Mobile ad revenues were $39.9 billion or 69% of the total.  —  U.S. online ad spending reached $57.9 billion, representing growth of 16.9% year-over-year …
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Verizon's rollout of 5G to three NBA arenas and over a dozen NFL stadiums only covers some of the seating areas in each facility  —  Verizon 5G can't cover all the seating areas in any NBA or NFL facility.  —  Verizon on Friday announced that its 5G network is now available in three NBA arenas …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Google Pixel 4 and 4 XL review: fast face unlock, smooth display, and great still camera, but average video recording and battery life, and no ultrawide camera  —  There's a baseline for “fast enough” on Android phones, and the Pixel 4 more than hits it.  It might not be the fastest Android phone …
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Surface Laptop 3 (15") review: great keyboard and trackpad, AMD config performs well for productivity tasks, but GPU struggles, and has only two USB ports  —  The new 15-inch Surface Laptop is a familiar package with new dimensions  —  The 15-inch version of the Surface Laptop 3 represents …

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