Techmeme: The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users (The Markup)

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October 19, 2020, 8:50 AM

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The Markup:

The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users — The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how the world's most powerful institutions use technology to reshape society …

More: Nieman Lab and Fast Company

Tweets: @mathewi, @mantzarlis, @blakehounshell, @antoniogm, @carolecadwalla, @mikarv, @craigsilverman, @civic_signals, @marklittlenews, @tonyromm, @caseynewton, @lisatozzi, @themarkup, and @blackamazon

See also Mediagazer

BBC:

EU is investigating Instagram's handling of children's personal data, after complaints that contact information on business accounts was publicly visible — Instagram is being investigated by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) over its handling of children's personal data on the platform.

More: Telegraph, TechCrunch, Business Insider, Engadget, The Irish Times, Silicon Republic, Neowin, and Tech Xplore

Tweets: @_andyburrows and @jamestitcomb

Alex Konrad / Forbes:

Profile of Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and ex-Sequoia partner Matt Huang, whose VC firm Paradigm moved all $400M of its initial capital into Bitcoin in 2018 — Covering venture capital, software and startups — An aggressive Bitcoin trade got crypto VC shop Paradigm flying out of the gate.

More: AVC and InsideBitcoins.com

Tweets: @alexrkonrad, @forbes, @nic__carter, and @arjunblj. Thanks:@alexrkonrad

John Gruber / Daring Fireball:

Thoughts on Apple's “Hi, Speed” event: the iPhone 12 lineup, camera differences, missing chargers and earbuds, focus on 5G and Verizon CEO's cameo, more — Last month's “Time Flies” event for the Apple Watch Series 6 and new iPad Air was about an hour long; this week's “Hi, Speed” event ran just a bit longer at 70 minutes.

More: Monday Note, TechRadar, Labnotes, and iLounge

Tweets: @matthewstoller, @ickoonite, @matthewstoller, @varunkrish, @galtenberg, and @asymco

Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:

A filing with a regulator in Brazil says the iPhone 12 has a 2,815 mAh battery, and the iPhone 12 mini has a 2,227mAh battery — While the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are now available for pre-order in the US, Apple is getting ready to bring its new smartphones to other countries as well.

More: AppleInsider, MacRumors, ZDNet, MacRumors, iPhone in Canada Blog, Tom's Guide, BGR, International Business Times, Softpedia News, AppleInsider, The Irish Times, and TechSpot

Tweets: @filipeesposito, @hallstephenj, @llsethj, @kiruti, and @brandon_caleb25

Matthew Ball / MatthewBall.vc:

Audio, which struggled for decades as a media category, is breaking out now, as tech enables new content formats as well as new monetization and delivery models — As most of the major media categories — music, video and video games — have existed for decades, we tend to forget that media is technology.

More: Alex Danco's Newsletter. Tweets: @ballmatthew, @patrick_spence, @johnbattelle, @adamsinger, @fitzyrichard, @ballmatthew, @pkafka, @davemorgannyc, @marklittlenews, @kintan, @sheckygreen, @patrick_oshag, and @nbt

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Pakistan says it is lifting the ban on TikTok after assurances that it would moderate content in accordance with societal norms and laws — Pakistan Telecommunication Authority said on Monday it has lifted the ban on TikTok, 11 days after the South Asian nation's telecom authority blocked …

More: Reuters and International Business Times. Tweets: @anupkaphle

Daniel Cooper / Engadget:

Virtual studios, where the filmmaking takes place in front of a halo of flat screen displays connected to PCs, are offering a real alternative to green screens — For as long as filmmaking has existed, there has been a need to build fantastic worlds in front of cameras.

Tweets: @rebellionjason

BBC:

UK to make it illegal to use a mobile phone while driving from next year, closing a loophole that let drivers use a phone to take a photo or play a game — It will become illegal for anyone to pick up and use their mobile phone while driving, under new legislation to be enacted next year.

More: The Next Web, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, Telegraph, LBC, AppleInsider, The Guardian, and Engadget

Tweets: @dharford79, @spaniels_rule, @markandcharlie, @lanceulanoff, @exglospolbiker, and @safecyclingeire

Anil Ananthaswamy / Knowable Magazine:

A look at “neurosymbolic AI”, which combines techniques of deep neural networks and “good old-fashioned AI”, with comments from its proponents and critics — The unlikely marriage of two major artificial intelligence approaches has given rise to a new hybrid called neurosymbolic AI.

Tweets: @knowablemag, @hkanji, @knowablemag, @knowablemag, @paldhous, @knowablemag, and @knowablemag

Colum Murphy / Bloomberg:

China passes a new export control law, in effect from Dec. 1, that will let it take reciprocal measures if any country or regions abuse their export controls — China passed a new law to restrict sensitive exports to protect national security, helping Beijing gain reciprocity against U.S. as tech tensions mount.

More: Protocol, MediaNama, Nikkei Asia, The Hill, globalnews.ca, South China Morning Post, Fortune, New.blicio.us, and IT Management

Tweets: @beatlesonbankin, @andreaslandwehr, @tgehrke_, @onlyyoontv, and @richardturrin

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From Mediagazer

Filip Timotija / The Hill:

A source says “most” Voice of America journalists were put on administrative leave, a day after President Trump signed an EO aimed at eliminating the USAGM

Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:

Trump praises Jeff Bezos for changes at WaPo, says he doesn't think media's treatment of him has changed so far, but he sees a shift among tech giants

Ben Smith / Semafor:

How Breitbart became “legacy” MAGA media, as Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow says the outlet is “trying to be the historical record of the Trump administration”

More News

Alex Dobie / Android Central:

Sources: Samsung's next Galaxy S flagships, the S21/S30, will be launched in January 2021 in three new models, a standard, a Plus, and an Ultra

More: Android Authority, 9to5Google, The Verge, Pocketnow, Phandroid, Softpedia News, and Mashable

Tweets: @journeydan and @androidcentral

Daniel Oberhaus / Wired:

An overview on the current state of AI-driven battery research, which until recently was hampered by a lack of data but is now poised to pick up the pace

Tweets: @iecstandards and @wired

Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge:

Google will discontinue its Trusted Contacts app Dec. 2, pointing users to Maps features instead; the app helped users check on contacts during emergencies

More: Android Headlines, Firstpost Tech, PhoneArena, and Mashable

Ron Miller / TechCrunch:

Process mining company Celonis has acquired Czech startup Integromat to help bolster its automation services; Celonis CEO says the deal is worth more than $100M

Tweets: @finlaysonconnor

Dave Sebastian / Wall Street Journal:

Skillsoft, which makes training software for businesses, is going public through a SPAC merger at a $1.3B valuation after emerging from bankruptcy in August

More: PR Newswire and MarketWatch

Tweets: @wolfejosh and @jstrauss

Reuters:

Yandex and TCS Group Holding, the parent company of Russia's top online bank Tinkoff, have terminated talks on Yandex's proposed $5.48B deal to buy Tinkoff

More: Bloomberg

Earlier Picks

Maria Deutscher / SiliconANGLE:

Cribl raises $35M Series B led by Sequoia to help companies route the data generated by their tech infrastructure to third-party monitoring and analytics tools

More: Cribl and PR Newswire

Laurens Cerulus / Politico:

Sources: EU is finalizing a plan to toughen export controls on “dual use” technologies, including hacking software and facial recognition systems

More: Foreign Affairs. Tweets: @maria_shagina, @hoanssolo, @politicoeurope, @ialbrycht, @rebeccaarcesati, @ulrichspeck, @laurenscerulus, @foreignaffairs, @martijnrasser, @lorenzofb, @politicoeurope, @beavaugrante, @dickensolewe, @foreignaffairs, @foreignaffairs, and @marietjeschaake

Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:

Interview: Microsoft's Phil Spencer on Xbox Series S vs. Series X, Bethesda deal, cross-gen gaming, ballooning game file sizes, and the storage size trade-off

Morgan Clendaniel / Fast Company:

A look at the pandemic's impact on Nextdoor and how CEO Sarah Friar has attempted to promote the concept of “kindness” amid a tumultuous year for the company

More: Bloomberg. Tweets: @ashedryden, @table_delete, @ctrlzee, @smbrnsn, @mclendaniel, @jenntakahashi, @gilliantan, and @hypervisible

Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya:

[Thread] Twitter updates Hacked Materials Policy, says it won't remove content unless shared by hackers themselves and will label tweets instead of block links