Techmeme
October 21, 2020, 7:40 PM

Top News

Medium:
Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg confirm Quibi is shutting down: “Our failure was not for lack of trying; we've considered and exhausted every option”  —  We started with the idea to create the next generation of storytelling and because of you, we were able to create and deliver …
The Information:
New York Times:
A look at the well-funded Big Tech opponents, from lawyers to academics, that have helped guide potential government regulation like Google's antitrust suit  —  An unlikely collection of lawyers, activists, economists and academics are fueling the tech backlash, armed with funding from billionaire sponsors.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
DOJ's lawsuit against Google is appropriately narrow, focusing on search and providing a template for congressional action against Big Tech even if it fails  —  So it finally happened: the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging anticompetitive behavior under Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
Wall Street Journal:
Anna Irrera / Reuters:
PayPal will let users buy and sell cryptocurrency using its online wallets in the coming weeks and shop at merchants on its network starting in early 2021  —  LONDON (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings Inc joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to buy …
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Report: at least 2,000 US law enforcement agencies, including 49 of the 50 largest police departments, have the tools to access locked, encrypted phones  —  At least 2,000 law enforcement agencies have tools to get into encrypted smartphones, according to new research, and they are using them far more than previously known.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
iPad Air (2020) review: has an excellent screen, very fast processor, and is compatible with iPad Pro accessories, but it's expensive and has no 128GB option  —  Despite the higher cost, this iPad is the one to get  —  If you're looking to get an iPad right now and can afford it …
Nathan Grayson / Kotaku:
Twitch sent DMCA notices to streamers on Tuesday, deleting content without allowing counter claims; Twitch says “thousands” of music rights holders complained  —  It's finally happening: Twitch is taking action against copyrighted music—long a norm among streamers—in response to music industry pressure.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Over 430,000 viewers tuned in simultaneously to watch Rep. Ocasio-Cortez play Among Us on Twitch, the third highest ever for an individual Twitch stream  —  More than 430,000 people tuned in simultaneously to Twitch on Tuesday night to watch Rep. Alexia Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) play a hit video game as part of an effort to promote voting.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook confirms it is testing a feature for users to connect with their neighbors, as rival Nextdoor considers options for going public  —  - Product for local connections is being tested in Canada now  — Nextdoor is considering options, including a public offering
The Intercept:
Documents show Google Cloud will be used for its AI capabilities by the CBP in conjunction with Anduril Industries' surveillance tech on the US-Mexico border  —  After years of backlash over controversial government work, Google technology will be used to aid the Trump administration's efforts …
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Israeli startup Mine, which helps users control their data, raises $9.5M Series A led by Google's Gradient Ventures and has helped send 1.3M deletion requests  —  TechCrunch readers probably know that privacy regulations like Europe's GDPR and California's CCPA give them additional rights around …
Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post:
Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese tech companies including Huawei have expressed strong concerns to local regulators about Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm  —  - China is unlikely to grant its unconditional blessing  — Arm may become another flashpoint in the U.S.-China tech war
More: Wccftech
Gregor Stuart Hunter / Bloomberg:
Study: companies are increasingly tailoring their financial statements to cater to algorithms parsing text and speech and avoiding phrases perceived as negative  —  - Study finds companies alter words to cater to listening algos  — Emphasis on positivity as negative phrases get ditched
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Chinese manufacturer Vivo says it is bringing its smartphones to Europe, including the flagship Vivo X51 5G  —  The X51 5G goes on sale in major new markets this month  —  Vivo, one of the largest smartphone brands in the world, is expanding its operations in Europe.

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