Techmeme
June 24, 2020, 2:50 AM

Top News

Alfred Ng / CNET:
Senate Republicans introduce bill calling for an end to “warrant-proof” encryption, citing apps like WhatsApp that use end-to-end encryption  —  The proposed legislation is Congress' latest attempt to weaken encryption from tech giants.  —  A group of Senate Republicans are looking …
Janus Rose / VICE:
1,000+ technologists, including some from MIT, Facebook, Google, urge Springer to not publish a paper that describes a system to predict crime based on faces  —  Technologists from MIT, Harvard, and Google say research claiming to predict crime based on human faces creates a “tech-to-prison pipeline” that reinforces racist policing.
Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook says it will stop selling Oculus Go, ending app submissions for it in December, and vows to no longer make headsets that only track head rotation  —  Facebook will stop selling Oculus Go this year as the company sharpens its focus on fully positionally tracked VR headsets like Oculus Quest.
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Ben & Jerry's, Eddie Bauer, and Magnolia Pictures join Patagonia, REI, and others suspending Facebook ads in July to protest amplification of hate speech  —  Eddie Bauer, Magnolia Pictures, Ben & Jerry's and others have suspended campaigns over the platform's content moderation practices.
Bloomberg:
Recent pledges by Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft to diversify their workforce come after years of similar claims followed by little progress  —  Spurred by nationwide protests and calls to end systemic racism after the police killing of George Floyd, Google, Microsoft Corp …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
After WWDC, the performance of Apple's silicon chips for Mac remains a mystery, with speed and efficiency claims not yet substantiated through benchmarks  —  There were canned demos but no benchmarks or comparisons  —  For years, Apple has steadily revealed how the ARM-based chips …
New York Times:
Over 70 people, mostly women, have shared stories of discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault within the video game live-streaming industry since Friday  —  After more than 70 allegations surfaced on Twitter this weekend, gaming companies and streamers responded with action.
Isaac McIntyre / Dexerto:
Kyle Daly / Axios:
Twitter flags a Trump tweet for breaking rules on abusive behavior; it threatened “serious force” against anyone who may try creating an “autonomous zone” in DC  —  Twitter on Monday opted not to take down or flag a tweet from President Trump that baselessly tied mail …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Microsoft releases the first public preview of its Defender antivirus Android app, as Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux becomes generally available for all users  —  UPDATE: Microsoft Defender ATP for Linux has also exited public preview and is now generally available for all users.
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Twitter permanently suspends @DDoSecrets account for violating distribution of hacked data policy after it shared links to data stolen from US law enforcement  —  Twitter said DDoSecrets account leaked and promoted BlueLeaks, a huge collection of files stolen from more than 200 US police departments and fusion training centers.
Karin Matussek / Bloomberg:
A previously suspended German antitrust order against Facebook gets reinstated amid pending lawsuit, after a judge says Facebook abuses its dominant position  —  - Social network giant is abusing its market power, judges say  — Antitrust order won't be suspended while suit is pending
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
DoNotPay, which creates bots to automate mundane tasks and save users money, raises $12M Series A led by Coatue Management at a valuation of $80M  —  The pandemic has opened a Pandora's box of consumer concerns, with flights canceled, gyms closed, and monthly membership commitments to contend with.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Open Technology Fund, the US digital speech advocate that funded Signal, faces turmoil after the abrupt firing of entire leadership team and resignation of CEO  —  'There are so many countries and individuals who need this support right now,' says former OTF president
Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon unveils the Climate Pledge Fund, which will invest an initial $2B in startups building sustainable technologies  —  Tech giant plans to invest in transportation, energy, food and other industries  —  Amazon.  AMZN 2.36% com Inc. is launching a $2 billion internal venture-capital fund focused …
Bloomberg:
Central Bank of Brazil tells Mastercard and Visa to stop payments via WhatsApp in the country to evaluate risks and regulations  —  - Authority wants to assess risks to country's payment system  — Lawyer says suspension is an unusual move by the bank
Mark Wilson / Fast Company:
Segway, the two-wheeled, self-balancing vehicle known for the hype it generated in the early 2000s, ends production as the company lays off most of its staff  —  Steve Jobs said it would be bigger than the PC.  Some dubbed it the most hyped product since the Apple Macintosh.
David Gelles / New York Times:
TaskRabbit says CEO Stacy Brown-Philpot is stepping down after four years; she is one of the few Black female tech CEOs in Silicon Valley  —  Stacy Brown-Philpot, one of the few prominent black women in the technology industry, has led the gig worker marketplace for four years, and oversaw its sale to Ikea.
Alex Barker / Financial Times:
GroupM: digital ad spend is predicted to overtake spending on traditional media for the first time in 2020, excluding online ads sold by old media outlets  —  Overall spending predicted to fall almost 12% but pain will be unevenly spread across industry  —  Digital advertising on platforms …

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