Techmeme
March 21, 2014, 7:00 PM

Top News

John Frank / Microsoft on the Issues:
Microsoft says Hotmail case met standard for a court order, adds new safeguards to policy  —  Strengthening our policies for investigations  —  Deputy General Counsel & Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft  —  We believe that Outlook and Hotmail email are and should be private.
Michael Arrington / Uncrunched:
About That Time Google Spied On My Gmail  —  I'm reading about how Microsoft read a blogger's Hotmail (or other Microsoft hosted email) to determine who leaked Microsoft information to that blogger.  Microsoft's response is pathetic, stating that “the privacy of our customers is incredibly important to us” …
Alex Hern / Guardian:
Yahoo, Google and Apple also claim right to read user emails  —  Like Microsoft, other webmail giants all reserve the right to read user emails, if ‘deemed necessary’  —  Microsoft is not unique in claiming the right to read users' emails - Apple, Yahoo and Google all reserve that right as well, the Guardian has determined.
Ed Christman / Billboard:
Apple explores Spotify-like streaming service, iTunes app for Android as downloads decline  —  Apple Mulls Launching Spotify Rival, Android App as Downloads Decline (Sources)  —  The iPhone maker explores multi-pronged strategy to shore up double-digit drops in iTunes downloads, according to IFPI and RIAA data.
Jim Cicconi / AT&T Public Policy Blog:
AT&T: costs caused by Netflix's growth should not be borne by all broadband subscribers  —  Who Should Pay for Netflix?  —  I saw Reed Hasting's blog yesterday from Netflix asserting in rather dramatic fashion (with diagrams) that ISPs should build facilities (he said provide …
Reed Albergotti / Wall Street Journal:
Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Ashton Kutcher join $40M investment round of AI firm Vicarious  —  Zuckerberg, Musk Invest in Artificial-Intelligence Company Vicarious  —  Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.  Ashton Kutcher portrayed Apple founder Steve Jobs in a movie.
Mike Isaac / Re/code:
Twitter's Sara Haider to join Secret as Android lead, VP of Analytics plans departure as well  —  More Departures at Twitter as VP of Analytics Exits, Android Lead Leaves for Secret  —  Looks like plenty more birds are flying Twitter's coop.  —  Sara Haider, a mobile engineer and technical lead …
Aaron Souppouris / The Verge:
Turkish citizens use Google public DNS to circumvent Twitter ban  —  Turkish citizens use Google to fight Twitter ban  —  Turkish citizens have found away to circumvent yesterday's reported block of Twitter: Google DNS.  —  After being implicated in a corruption scandal through recordings …
Ryan Lawler / TechCrunch:
After Acquisition, OpenTable Plans To Shut Down Ness On April 21  —  Ness, the personalized restaurant recommendation app acquired by OpenTable last month, now has an expiration date.  The company announced that the app would be discontinued on April 21, just a few months after the acquisition first was announced.
More: App Advice
Will Connors / Wall Street Journal:
BlackBerry Suffers Blow as White House Tests Samsung, LG Phones  —  The White House is testing smartphones from Samsung Electronics Corp. and LG Electronics Inc. for internal use, a person familiar with the matter said, threatening one of the last and most high-profile strongholds of BlackBerry Ltd.
Kara Swisher / Re/code:
Marissa Mayer meets with Satya Nadella, still wants out of Microsoft/Yahoo search pact  —  Field of Search Dreams: If Marissa Mayer Builds It, Will Microsoft Let Yahoo Leave?  —  Just after he was named CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella got a visit from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.
More: TechCrunch and SiliconBeatTweets: @dannysullivan
Tony Romm / Politico:
Barack Obama to meet again with tech CEOs about NSA  —  President Barack Obama will huddle with “tech CEOs” on Friday to “continue his dialogue with them on the issues of privacy, technology, and intelligence,” according to a White House official.  —  The Obama administration declined …

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.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI safety, robotics, stablecoins, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 50 topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
Understanding the U.S. overtime policy in Zoho People  —  The importance of tracking overtime working hours cannot be overstated.  It has to be done carefully to stay compliant, keep your HR operations efficient, and pay employees accurately.
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

Tech Brew Ride Home:
Uncle Sam's Intel Stake
Tech news headlines every day. 15 minutes and you're up to date. From Tech Brew, Morning Brew's tech hub.
Subscribe to Tech Brew Ride Home.
Grit:
How Dropbox Beat Big Tech in the Cloud Wars
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Inside the expert network training every frontier AI model | Garrett Lord (Handshake CEO)
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
The Big GPT-5 Debate, Sam Altman's AI Bubble, OnlyFans Chatbots
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
The Social Radars:
Founder Mode: Paul Graham, Founder, Y Combinator
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.
Hard Fork:
Is This an A.I. Bubble? + Meta's Missing Morals + TikTok Shock Slop
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:00 PM ET, March 21, 2014.

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

Sophie Knight / Reuters:
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
The Intercept: