Techmeme
March 17, 2020, 12:25 PM

Top News

Dave Clark / The Amazon Blog:
Amazon plans to hire 100K more warehouse and delivery workers in the US and raise their pay by ~$2/hour in some countries, as more turn to online deliveries  —  Company will invest over $350 million globally to increase pay by $2/hour in the U.S., £2/hr in the UK …
Bloomberg:
Amazon confirms at least five workers at its warehouses in Spain and Italy have tested positive for the coronavirus, says the facilities will remain open  —  At least five workers at Amazon.com Inc. warehouses in Europe have contracted the coronavirus, a sobering development …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube say they're working with each other and healthcare agencies to tackle misinfo about COVID-19  —  Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, and YouTube put out joint statement promising to fight COVID-19 fraud and curb misinformation.
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Facebook says it plans to award $100M in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses in 30+ countries to address COVID-19's economic impact  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Facebook Inc said Tuesday it plans to award $100 million in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 small businesses …
Tina Bellon / Reuters:
Uber suspends pooled rides in the US and Canada to limit the spread of coronavirus  —  (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc on Tuesday began suspending shared rides on its ride-hailing platform in the United States and Canada to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Universal Pictures to offer $19.99 online rentals for some new movies, currently in theaters, and do the same for an upcoming DreamWorks film on its release day  —  In light of the movie theaters being brought to a standstill, Universal Pictures is changing the game.
New York Times:
As the COVID-19 outbreak discourages moviegoers and theatrical releases get delayed, the ascendancy of streaming services may be accelerating  —  Cinemas, already contending with streaming services, are now facing the prospect of no audiences and no new films because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Information:
Sources: Facebook says all employees will get a $1K bonus and earn at least their full bonus for their first 6-month review of 2020 amid COVID-19 crisis  —  The Information writes deeply reported articles about the technology industry you won't find elsewhere.
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
iOS 14 code shows Apple is planning an iPhone 9 and iPhone 9 Plus with the A13 Bionic chip, the same processor used in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro  —  9to5Mac has learned several new details about the upcoming iPhone 9 based on iOS 14 code.  Now we've discovered evidence that Apple …
Alfred Ng / CNET:
Uber files federal lawsuit against LA over location data privacy; the city had suspended Uber's scooter permit for not sharing users' real-time location data  —  The data privacy battle between Uber and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation has been brewing over the last 18 months.
Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:
TransferWise partners with Alipay for international money transfers, letting users send Chinese yuan from 17 currencies to Alipay customers  —  TransferWise, the London-headquartered international money transfer service most recently valued by investors at $3.5 billion, has partnered with China's Aliplay for international transfers.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Alphabet's Verily launches a coronavirus screening website limited to the San Francisco Bay area, requires users to log in with their Google account  —  - Alphabet's Verily on Sunday night launched a pilot of a COVID-19 screening and testing website in the San Francisco Bay Area, a day earlier than it said it would.

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Nat Friedman / The GitHub Blog:
New York Times:
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Richard Leadbetter / Eurogamer.net: