Techmeme
February 20, 2020, 1:45 PM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is weighing an option to set third-party browser and email apps as defaults on iPhones and iPads and third-party music services on the HomePod  —  - Company considers letting users change web browser, email app  — Spotify, Pandora may be allowed to stream directly on HomePod
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Microsoft says it will offer its Defender antivirus software for Android and iOS devices later this year  —  - Microsoft's Defender software will become available for Android and iOS devices later this year.  — It's meant to prevent malware and phishing attacks.
New York Times:
Morgan Stanley says it will buy online discount brokerage E-Trade for about $13B, in the biggest takeover by an American lender since the 2008 financial crisis  —  The $13 billion deal will give a powerful Wall Street firm control of a major presence in the world of online brokerages.
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Twitter announces a “continue thread” option, a new feature that links tweets together while they are being composed  —  Twitter is rolling out a new feature that makes it easier to thread multiple tweets together.  With this change, you can now link tweets together while you compose them.
Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg:
Trump administration urges Supreme Court to reject Alphabet's appeal against Oracle, on the same day Trump attended a re-election fundraiser by Larry Ellison  —  The Trump administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by Alphabet Inc.'s Google, boosting Oracle Corp.'s bid …
Jezebel:
A look at the data sharing practices of therapy apps like Better Help, which notify third parties when an app is opened and if a patient has suicidal thoughts  —  Starting treatment with Better Help, one of the most prominent “therapy-on-demand” apps to launch over the last few years, is easy, which is more or less the point.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google launches Android 11 Developer Preview earlier than expected, with new display types, improved messaging, biometrics, and more; final release expected Q3  —  Following an inadvertent tease last week, Google today officially launched the Android 11 Developer Preview.
Joseph Menn / Reuters:
Sources: following Brexit, Google plans to move UK user accounts out of EU's jurisdiction and into the US', where privacy protections are weaker  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google is planning to move its British users' accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators …
Shona Ghosh / Business Insider:
Google tells Cloud Vision API customers it will no longer label pictures with “woman” or “man” as a person's gender cannot be inferred by appearance alone  —  - A Google AI tool that can recognize objects in pictures will no longer attach gender labels like “woman” or “man” to images of people.
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Streaming platforms like Roku and Hulu aren't subject to the same political ad transparency rules as broadcasters even as campaigns and PACs buy ads on them  —  With more Americans cutting the cord, watchdogs worry that voters lack a full understanding of who's trying to influence them
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
HungryPanda, a food delivery service for Chinese communities in cities worldwide, raises $20M led by 83North and Felix Capital  —  HungryPanda, a food delivery service for Chinese communities in cities around the world, announced today it has raised $20 million in funding.
Tom Simonite / Wired:
Risk assessment algorithm PSA, used to see if pretrial defendants in NJ should be held in jail, has led to jail population drop, yet racial disparities persist  —  A nonprofit group encouraged states to use mathematical formulas to try to eliminate racial inequities.  Now, it says the tools have no place in criminal justice.

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