Note: Techmeme is hiring part-time editors. Go here to apply, or tell a friend!
Techmeme
April 21, 2022, 9:15 AM

Top News

Ryan Weeks / The Block:
Binance begins enforcing tougher KYC checks on Russian users with holdings exceeding €10,000, following further EU sanctions  —  Crypto exchange Binance is enforcing tougher Know Your Customer (KYC) checks for Russian users after the latest wave of European Union sanctions.
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
The US Treasury sanctions Russian bitcoin miners, including BitRiver; Cambridge University: Russia is the world's third-biggest destination for bitcoin mining  —  - For the first time ever, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is taking aim at bitcoin miners operating in Russia, as Putin's war on Ukraine approaches its third month.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Instagram plans to tweak its ranking algorithm to highlight original content more and recommend accounts that aggregate and reshare other users' content less  —  Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced today that the company is going to tweak its ranking algorithm to highlight original content more on its platform.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon unveils Buy with Prime, which lets third-party merchants use Amazon's shipping and logistics network to fulfill orders on their own sites  —  - Buy with Prime enables third party retailers to take advantage of Amazon's vast shipping and fulfillment network for orders placed on their own site.
New York Times:
70% of employees at an Atlanta Apple Store agree to hold a union election, making the Apple Store the first to file for a union election with the CWA  —  The petition for a union vote continues a trend of organizing at service-sector employers like Starbucks and Amazon.
Logan Plant / IGN:
Report: Sony is working on a PlayStation program to let select partners insert ads within free-to-play games, similar to a reported Microsoft effort for Xbox  —  Sony is reportedly planning its own program to insert ads into games.  —  After last week's report that Xbox is looking to include …
Javier Espinoza / Financial Times:
Sources: the EU is set to unveil the Digital Services Act, which bans targeting users based on religion, gender, and more, among other rules, on Friday  —  Digital Services Act lays out rules for technology groups to keep users safe online  —  The EU is poised to unveil a landmark law …
Cobie:
A look at the evolution of crypto staking, from a useful tool to a quasi-Ponzi scheme, and how Yuga Labs is effectively paying people in ApeCoin to hold ApeCoin  —  Recently, I was contacted by a member of the board of ApeCoin, which is the BAYC token's equivalent of a board of directors I guess.
Bloomberg:
Elon Musk's claimed commitment to free speech at Twitter follows years of stifling criticism at Tesla and SpaceX, including those trying to unionize  —  If Elon Musk is able to take over Twitter Inc., his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for free speech with few restrictions …
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Cybersecurity authorities of Five Eyes countries warn of Russia-backed hacking groups targeting critical infrastructure organizations in and outside Ukraine  —  Today, Five Eyes cybersecurity authorities warned critical infrastructure network defenders of an increased risk that Russia-backed hacking groups …
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Apple to debut an opt-in child safety feature for iPhones in the UK that scans messages for nudity, but drops some controversial aspects, like notifying parents  —  Feature that searches messages will go ahead after delays over privacy and safety concerns  —  A safety feature that uses AI technology …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground doesn't plan to re-sign with Spotify, and is talking to Audible, iHeartMedia, and others  —  Barack and Michelle Obama's time with Spotify Technology SA is coming to an end.  —  The former first family's production company …
Chris Metinko / Crunchbase News:
Seattle-based Convoy, which connects shippers and freight brokers to 400K+ trucks via its app, raises a $160M Series E and $100M in debt at a $3.8B valuation  —  The past couple of years exposed many flaws in the global and domestic supply chains—and investors have taken note that it is an industry ripe for disruption.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Generate videos with Veo 3 in Google Gemini  —  Create high-quality, 8-second videos with Veo 3, our state-of-the-art AI video generator.  Try it with a Google AI Pro plan or get the highest access with the Ultra plan.
Tribe AI:
State of AI: Adoption, Challenges and Recommendations  —  Examining the current state of AI, the key challenges organizations face, and practical recommendations for utilizing AI integration alongside other best practices.
Zoho:
AI meeting assistants: A game-changer in communication  —  We've come a long way from live video call demonstrations at world's fairs.  What was once considered a futuristic idea is now a vital part of how we collaborate …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Techmeme Ride Home:
How DoorDash Has Quietly Been Killing It
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Grit:
Bret Taylor's Journey Leading Salesforce, Sierra & OpenAI
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
The Steve Ballmer Interview
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why Uber's CPO delivers food on weekends | Sachin Kansal
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
The Social Radars:
Ron Conway, Founder, SV Angel Part 4 (Bonus)
Come be a fly on the wall as Y Combinator's Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy talk to some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley about how they did it.
Subscribe to The Social Radars.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:15 AM ET, April 21, 2022.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Alex Weprin / Hollywood Reporter:
Yogita Khatri / The Block: