Techmeme
May 12, 2021, 5:10 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
US agrees to remove Xiaomi from blacklist that could have restricted American investment in the company, following Xiaomi's lawsuit earlier this year  —  - U.S. to vacate order designating company as military-linked  — Xiaomi had sued U.S. government following the Trump order
The Verge:
Some Apple workers are seeking an investigation into the hiring of Antonio García Martínez, an ex-Facebook PM, for past statements on women and people of color  —  ‘We demand an investigation into how his published views on women and people of color were missed or ignored’
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Epic v. Apple is shining a light on Apple's anti-steering rules, which prevent developers from pointing users to better deals on their website or elsewhere  —  Would ending anti-steering rules fix the App Store?  —  Last week, the judge in Epic v. Apple asked whether Epic really had an antitrust case …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Researcher discovers a series of vulnerabilities, known as Frag Attacks, impacting Wi-Fi devices from the past 24 years, even when WEP and WPA are activated  —  A Belgian security researcher has discovered a series of vulnerabilities that impact the WiFi standard, with some bugs dating …
Allison Johnson / The Verge:
Review of Asus' new ZenFone 8 flagship, available for $599-$799: thoughtful and compact design, robust build, and great performance, but battery life is average  —  The ZenFone 8 delivers flagship-level build quality and performance in a small package  —  After a couple of generations making phones …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Amazon updates the Echo Show 8 and 5 with better cameras, the ability to turn on Alexa's security mode, and adds a $95 Kids Edition of the Echo Show 5  —  Plus a price drop for the Echo Show 5  —  Amazon is refreshing a handful of products in its Echo line: the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Instagram will let users list up to four pronouns on their profiles, viewable to friends or the public, available in a “few countries”  —  You can make this public or only viewable to friends  —  Instagram is making it easier to address people by their defined pronouns.
Maya Gebeily / Reuters:
Instagram and Twitter apologize for deleting pro-Palestine posts, blaming technical errors, but critics say their “discriminatory” algorithms are to blame  —  Instagram and Twitter have blamed technical errors for deleting posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians …
Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:
The US cable industry sees Biden's broadband plan as a grave threat because its language favors fiber and prioritizes funding for locally owned networks  —  The Biden administration's broadband plan read like a dream come true to Donnel Baird.  The $2 trillion American Jobs Plan …
Sonia Faleiro / Rest of World:
An in-depth look at how a team of fact-checkers at Alt News in India is struggling against misinformation spread by the ruling BJP party on Facebook services  —  As the pandemic rages across the country, one team of fact-checkers contends with a post-truth dystopia.
Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon wins appeal over $300M EU tax bill, as EU court annuls a 2017 decision, saying regulators had failed to prove that the company got an illegal advantage  —  Ruling deals a setback to EU competition chief who is seeking to rein in U.S. tech giants  —  Amazon. com Inc. struck a new blow …
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Cloudflare, which is already doing all of its computing on the edge, is uniquely suited to a world where politics matter more than economics  —  Manage your Stratechery subscription.  —  Matthew Prince, at the end of his prepared remarks after Cloudflare's recent earnings report, related a story from the company's earliest days:
Tweets: @stratechery
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
FBI warns that cybercriminals are abusing search ads to promote phishing sites, often targeting banks, a growing trend since at least mid-2020  —  The Federal Bureau of Investigation says that cybercrime gangs are using search results and search engine ads to lure victims on phishing sites …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Researcher details an exploit for Apple's Find My network that allows packets of arbitrary data to be transmitted by simulating a Find My broadcast  —  The Find My network is used by Apple to report locations of items and devices via the data connection of any nearby iPhone, Mac, or other Apple device.
Erika Kinetz / Associated Press:
Investigation: an army of fake bots covertly amplify Chinese propaganda on Twitter by retweeting posts from diplomats and state media tens of thousands of times  —  BRUSSELS (AP) — China's ruling Communist Party has opened a new front in its long, ambitious war to shape global public opinion: Western social media.
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Big Time Studios, started by ex-CEO of Decentraland, comes out of stealth with $21M to let game studios offer NFTs in their games  —  Did you miss GamesBeat Summit 2021?  Watch on-demand here!  —  Big Time Studios is going big this week with a funding round of $21 million to bring nonfungible tokens …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Sources: blockchain-based gaming infrastructure startup Forte raises $185M Series B at a $1B post-money valuation led by Griffin Gaming Partners  —  Forte, a blockchain-based gaming infrastructure startup, recently agreed to raise $185 million at around a $1 billion post-money valuation, according to multiple sources.
Tweets: @danprimack

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Earlier Picks

Michael Holden / Reuters:
Riley de León / CNBC:
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
Anna Cooban / Insider: