Techmeme
August 9, 2022, 2:35 PM

Top News

WABetaInfo:
WhatsApp rolls out privacy features to let users leave Groups silently, choose who can see when they are online, and block screenshots of View Once messages  —  Like Love Haha Wow Sad Angry  —  WhatsApp is building new ways to increase user privacy and security in order to improve their experience while using the app.
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Reuters:
AppLovin offers to buy Unity for $58.85 per share, an 18% premium to Unity's Monday closing price, in a $17.54B all-stock deal; AppLovin's stock drops 10%+  —  Gaming software company AppLovin Corp (APP.O) made an offer on Tuesday to buy its peer Unity Software Inc (U.N) in a $17.54 billion all-stock deal …
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert / Insider:
Meta's BlenderBot 3 chatbot, released in the US on August 5, repeats antisemitic stereotypes, claims Donald Trump is the current US president, and more  —  - Meta's new machine-learning chatbot, BlenderBot 3, is the company's most advanced AI chatbot to date.
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
President Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act into law, including $52B+ for US companies producing semiconductors, as well as billions more in tax credits  —  - President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill that aims to boost U.S. competitiveness with China.
Prarthana Prakash / Bloomberg:
CoinDesk:
An anonymous Tornado Cash user sent ETH to high-profile crypto users, such as Jimmy Fallon and Brian Armstrong, from a sanctioned address, likely to troll them  —  An anonymous crypto user sent small amounts of ether from a sanctioned Tornado Cash address to celebrities and prominent crypto figures on Tuesday.
Chainalysis:
Kollen Post / The Block:
Elizabeth Napolitano / CoinDesk:
The DOJ says BitMEX's head of business development, Gregory Dwyer, pleaded guilty to violating US federal anti-money laundering rules and will pay a $150K fine  —  A federal court in New York previously sentenced the firm's co-founders to probation time and fines.
Bloomberg:
ByteDance acquired Amcare Healthcare, one of China's largest private hospital chains, source says for about $1.5B, deepening its foray into health care  —  ByteDance Ltd. has acquired one of China's largest private hospital chains for about $1.5 billion, deepening a foray into health care via …
Reuters:
South Korea's telecoms regulator plans an investigation into Apple, Google, and One Store over suspected violations of the country's in-app payment law  —  South Korea's telecommunications regulator on Tuesday said it plans to launch an investigation into app store operators such as Apple Inc …
New York Times:
Russia has been rerouting internet traffic in occupied Ukrainian territories through domestic networks since June, blocking uncensored information and services  —  Internet traffic in Kherson is being diverted through Russia  —  Internet routing data for a service provider …
Sophie Fullerton / Washington Post:
Influencers on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are documenting trips to Syria, helping burnish the regime's image, often sponsored by brands, such as Surfshark  —  Sophie Fullerton is a political scientist and human rights researcher based in New York.  —  Last November, around the same …

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