Techmeme
March 24, 2021, 3:05 PM

Top News

David Pierce / Protocol:
Slack debuts Connect, letting users DM any Slack user regardless of organization, and has updated its opt-in invite flow after feedback that it could be abused  —  Forget email.  The final frontier for Slack, as it tries to reimagine the way millions of people communicate at work, is the text message.
Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech:
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger says it will spend $20B on two fabs in Chandler, Arizona and will reconfigure its external Foundry Services to serve new chip customers  —  The new CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger, has today outlined his vision for Intel over the coming years.
Axios:
Ahead of House hearing, Mark Zuckerberg calls for Section 230 reform that makes protections conditional on platforms' ability to identify and remove content  —  Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will tell lawmakers his plan for “thoughtful reform” of a key tech liability shield rests …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Facebook says it has disrupted a network of China-based hackers using its platform to target the Uyghur community abroad and draw them to malicious websites  —  Facebook on Wednesday announced new actions to disrupt a network of China-based hackers leveraging the platform to compromise targets in the Uyghur community.
Edward Ongweso Jr / VICE:
Medium offers buyouts to everyone on its editorial staff, as it shifts focus from its own publications to supporting independent writers on its platform  —  After what workers describe as a successful union-busting campaign, Ev Williams has announced to journalists who work for him that they should feel free to go.
Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times:
A look at how Google handles user data requests from DHS, ICE, and other agencies, often giving users little time to obtain a court order quashing the request  —  You're scrolling through your Gmail inbox and see an email with a strange subject line: A string of numbers followed by “Notification from Google.”
Arielle Pardes / Wired:
Interviews with low-wage contract workers at Silicon Valley campuses show the existential threat to livelihoods from longterm COVID-19 closures  —  As tech campuses became ghost towns, the people who kept them running—cooks, custodians, drivers—faced an existential threat to their livelihoods.
Paul Vigna / Wall Street Journal:
Blockchain.com, which provides cryptocurrency services to retail and institutional clients, raises $300M at a $5.2B valuation  —  The investment round gave the company a $5.2 billion valuation  —  Blockchain.com, a London-based firm that provides a variety of cryptocurrency services to retail …
Sam Shead / CNBC:
Elon Musk says people can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin in the US and later this year outside the US  —  - The automaker last month revealed that it had bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin.  — People outside the U.S. will be able to buy a Tesla with bitcoin “later this year.”
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Hundreds of free software advocates sign open letter seeking removal of Richard Stallman and entire FSF board saying he “has no place” in their community  —  Open letter signed by hundreds: RMS “has no place” in free software community.  —  Richard Stallman's return …
Taylor Lyles / The Verge:
Disney+ will cost $1 more per month starting March 26, increasing to $7.99/month or $80/year, marking the first price hike for the service  —  The price is going up to $7.99 a month for subscribers in the US starting on March 26th  —  You have just two days left to lock in Disney Plus at its current price.
Paresh Dave / Reuters:
Despite easing of restrictions starting Wednesday, several of SV's largest tech companies, including Twitter and Google, will keep their offices largely closed  —  SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Several of San Francisco Bay Area's largest technology companies including Twitter Inc and Google plan …
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Sydney-based Baraja, which makes a Spectrum-Scan LIDAR with no moving parts, raises $31M Series B led by Blackbird Ventures, after $32M Series A two years ago  —  Lidar companies across the planet are going SPAC, but Baraja isn't in a hurry to go public.  The Australian lidar maker has raised …
Janice Min / TIME:
Former Pinterest COO Françoise Brougher and two former employees, Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks, reflect on sexism and racism at the company  —  The day Françoise Brougher was fired from Pinterest began like so many of her workdays.  It was April 2, 2020 …
Adam Satariano / New York Times:
A look at Sky Bet, the UK's most popular gambling app, which collects extensive player data, critics say to keep users hooked rather than identify addictions  —  Sky Bet, the most popular one in Britain, compiled extensive records about a user, tracking him in ways he never imagined.
Liana Baker / Bloomberg:
Online used car marketplace ACV Auctions prices its Nasdaq IPO at $25 per share, raising $414M and valuing the company at $3.9B  —  Shareholders of used car online auction company ACV Auctions Inc. raised $414 million in an initial public offering priced above its marketed range.

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