Techmeme
April 27, 2023, 1:10 PM

Top News

BBC:
Microsoft's Brad Smith says the CMA blocking the Activision deal was “probably the darkest day in our four decades” in the UK and will be “bad for Britain”  —  Microsoft's president has attacked the UK after it was blocked from buying US gaming firm Activision …
Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:
The UK CMA's objection to Microsoft's Activision deal focuses on the nascent cloud gaming market, a departure from regulators focusing on mature markets  —  UK regulators blocked Microsoft Corp.'s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard Inc. over concerns it would harm competition in cloud gaming …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
IDC:
Global smartphone shipments fell 14.6% YoY to 268.6M in Q1 2023, the seventh consecutive quarter of decline; Samsung fell 18.9%, Apple 2.3%, and Xiaomi 23.5%  —  NEEDHAM, Mass., April 27th, 2023 - Worldwide smartphone shipments declined 14.6% year over year to 268.6 million units in the first quarter of 2023 …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google plans to add E2EE to Google Authenticator “down the line”, after researchers warned that its new feature to sync 2FA codes is not E2E encrypted  —  On Monday, Google Authenticator launched the ability to sync 2FA codes to your Google Account.
The Guardian:
Interviews with 70+ sources describe how Facebook and Instagram have become major sales platforms for child trafficking and can often be slow to remove content  —  Our two-year investigation suggests that the tech giant Meta is struggling to prevent criminals from using its platforms to buy and sell children for sex
Reuters:
A California judge tentatively rules Elon Musk must testify about his Autopilot statements, after Musk's lawyers argued he is a subject of many deepfake videos  —  A California judge on Wednesday ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to be interviewed under oath about whether he made certain statements regarding …
Wayne Ma / The Information:
Sources detail how organizational dysfunction and a lack of ambition bogged down Apple's AI and ML efforts, including the work of the group responsible for Siri  —  Late last year, a trio of engineers who had just helped Apple modernize its search technology began working on the type …
Reuters:
Samsung reports Q1 operating profit down 95% YoY to ~$478.6M, its lowest since 2009, revenue down 18% YoY to ~$47.6B, and a ~$3.4B loss for its chip division  —  Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) flagged a gradual recovery for chips in the second half of the year after its semiconductor business reported …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Germany is in talks to limit the export of chemicals used to make advanced chips to China, seeking to join US and EU allies in closing ranks on China  —  Germany is in talks to limit the export of chemicals to China that are used to manufacture semiconductors as Berlin steps up efforts …
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
SEC filing: Lyft confirms plans to lay off 1,072 staff, or ~26% of its corporate workforce, and not hire an additional 250, a week after CEO David Risher's memo  —  - Ride-sharing app Lyft confirmed it would lay off 1,072 employees, roughly 26% of its corporate workforce, and not hire for an additional 250 positions.
Jeffrey Knockel / The Citizen Lab:
An analysis of Baidu, Bilibili, Bing, Douyin, Weibo, and other Chinese search platforms finds 60K censorship rules, implemented differently by each service  —  This report has an accompanying FAQ.  —  Key findings  — Across eight China-accessible search platforms analyzed — Baidu …
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Mark Zuckerberg disputes the narrative that Meta is moving its focus away from a metaverse vision and sees AI tech working in tandem with the metaverse  —  Things are looking up for Meta.  The company beat revenue expectations, reporting an increase in year-over-year revenue for the first time in three quarters.
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Meta:
Meta reports Q1 revenue up 3% YoY to $28.6B, net income down 24% YoY to $5.7B, and family daily active people up 5% YoY to 3.02B for March 2023; META jumps 10%+  —  “We had a good quarter and our community continues to grow,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Meta founder and CEO.
Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:

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