Techmeme
June 16, 2020, 9:05 AM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
The European Commission opens two antitrust investigations into Apple's App Store and Apple Pay practices  —  Both investigations begin today  —  The European Commission is opening two antitrust investigations into Apple's App Store and Apple Pay practices today.
Olivia Solon / NBC News:
Dozens of Tunisian, Syrian, and Palestinian activists and journalists say their Facebook accounts have been deactivated recently on the pretext of terrorism  —  “Facebook doesn't care.  It closes our accounts on the pretext of terrorism.  We are against terrorism and violence," one journalist said.
Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Instagram says that, amid concerns it may “shadowban” Black voices, it will review harassment and verification rules, and check for bias in recommendations  —  Instagram's top executive says the company will review its harassment and verification policies, as well as how the app recommends content …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Apple says its App Store facilitated $519B in commerce globally in 2019, citing a study from Analysis Group  —  Amid increasing antitrust scrutiny by U.S. regulators, Apple announced an update on its App Store ecosystem.  While the company normally shares some App Store metrics during its WWDC keynote …
Frank Jordans / Associated Press:
Germany launches a coronavirus contact tracing app on iOS and Android, says it cost €20M to develop and will require €2.5M- €3.5M per month to operate  —  BERLIN (AP) — Germany launched a coronavirus tracing app Tuesday that officials say is so secure even government ministers can use it.
David Pierce / Protocol:
Basecamp debuts Hey, an email service for $99/year that tries to reimagine email, blocks tracking pixels, but needs its own client and can't import old email  —  David Heinemeier Hansson, the co-founder and CTO of Basecamp, is trying very hard to not say “I told you so.”
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Microsoft moves its Windows 10 Insider Program from rings to channels, to focus more on release quality rather than frequency of builds  —  For the last few years, Microsoft has given Windows enthusiasts the ability to opt in to early release “rings,” with the choice to pick between “fast” …
BBC:
Report finds 11% of people under-25 use Instagram for news compared with 12% for Twitter, predicts Instagram will overtake Twitter next year as a news source  —  Photo-sharing app Instagram is set to overtake Twitter as a news source, research suggests.  —  The 2020 Reuters Institute Digital …
CBS Boston:
Six former employees of eBay charged with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a couple they believed was critical of eBay in an online ecommerce newsletter  —  BOSTON (CBS) - Six former eBay executives and employees are facing federal charges after they allegedly led a cyberstalking campaign …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Epic Games, which owns Fortnite, Unreal Engine, and Houseparty, is close to raising $750M at a ~$17B valuation, with investors including T. Rowe, KKR  —  - Epic owns Fortnite video game, Unreal Engine and Houseparty  — T. Rowe, KKR, Baillie Gifford to participate in round
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Cameo launches Cameo Live, where people can, instead of a prerecorded shoutout, book a 10-minute Zoom call with celebrities  —  Jeremy Piven charges $15K for 10 minutes  —  Cameo has a new way for fans to interact with celebrities: Zoom calls.  The company launched a video call option over the weekend …
Ifeoma Ozoma / @ifeomaozoma:
[Thread] Former Pinterest public policy exec Ifeoma Ozoma shares stories of her time at the company that call into question its declared solidarity with BLM  —  I shouldn't have to share this story in the year of our Lord, 2020 - but here we are. I'm an alum of Yale, Google, FB, in the WaPo Tech 202 Network, etc...and recently decided to leave @Pinterest, which just declared ‘solidarity with BLM.’ What a joke. 🙃1/ #BelieveBlackWomen
Reuters:
US government will amend its prohibitions on US companies doing business with China's Huawei to let them work together on standards for 5G networks  —  (Reuters) - The United States will amend its prohibitions on U.S. companies doing business with China's Huawei [HWT.UL] …
Hiroyuki Nishimura / Nikkei Asian Review:
China proposes an East Asian digital currency based on the Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, South Korean won, and the Hong Kong dollar  —  Beijing backs private-sector-led East Asia digital money in challenge to US  —  TOKYO — Global competition for supremacy in digital currencies has entered …

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Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
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