Techmeme: Select merchants may soon qualify for Prime's two-day free shipping without having to store inventory with Amazon (Jason Del Rey/Re/code)

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May 15, 2015, 2:40 PM

Top News

Chris Urmson / The Official Google Blog:

Google's own self-driving cars will hit public roads this summer with safety drivers aboard and speed capped at 25mph — Green lights for our self-driving vehicle prototypes — When we started designing the world's first fully self-driving vehicle, our goal was a vehicle that could shoulder the entire burden of driving.

Robert Cookson / Financial Times:

Sources: Several European mobile operators plan option to block ads on their networks this year, consider blocking Google ads by default to force concessions — Mobile operators plan to block online advertising — Several mobile operators plan to block advertising on their networks …

More: The Next Web, The Verge, BBC, PCWorld, Business Insider, BGR, 9to5Google, Marketing Land, BetaNews, Mediatel, VentureBeat, SlashGear, Engadget, The SEM Post, Neowin and Inquirer

Douglas MacMillan / Wall Street Journal:

Carl Icahn takes $100M stake in Lyft in a $150M extension to earlier round, calls Lyft's $2.5B valuation a bargain compared to rival Uber's $41B valuation — Icahn Takes $100 Million Stake in Lyft — Investor calls Lyft's valuation a bargain to ride-sharing rival Uber

More: PR Newswire, Forbes, GeekWire, Re/code, BuzzFeed, USA Today, Business Insider, TechCrunch, The Verge, PandoDaily, Fortune, ABC News, Bloomberg Business, VentureBeat, Wired and bizjournals

Tweets: @fmanjoo, @fmanjoo and @dmac1

William Alden / BuzzFeed:

Google's power in Washington evident after lobbyist gets results within days of email requesting official statement from FTC in response to damaging WSJ story — Email Shows How Google's Lobbyists Get Things Done In Washington — Days after a damaging Wall Street Journal article …

More: SiliconBeat, musictechpolicy.wordpress.com and The Precursor Blog. Thanks:@fwd

Wall Street Journal:

Belgian Watchdog Slams Facebook's Privacy Controls — Facebook is facing a wave of probes by European regulators into its privacy practices — BRUSSELS—Belgium's privacy watchdog sharply criticized Facebook, saying the social network company treated the personal data of its users …

More: Reuters, Engadget, BetaNews, SiliconANGLE, SiliconBeat, Guardian, BBC, International Business Times, Inquirer, Techcircle.in, Business Insider, Wired.co.uk, Bloomberg Business and POLITICO

Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:

Oculus Details Rift's Recommended PC Specs, ‘Pauses’ Mac Development — We're still a little while off from the Oculus Rift's official consumer launch - pre-orders are starting later this year, the company revealed recently, with shipping beginning early next year.

More: Oculus VR, PCWorld, SiliconBeat, VentureBeat, Engadget and VentureBeat

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

The first Firefox OS smart TVs are now on sale in Europe, launching globally ‘in coming months’ — More than a year after revealing its plans to build Firefox OS televisions with Panasonic, the first fruits of Mozilla's tie-up with the electronics giant have gone to market.

More: The Mozilla Blog, Engadget, BetaNews, Tom's Hardware Guide, TechCrunch, TrustedReviews, Liliputing, Digital TV Europe and Geeky Gadgets

Kim Zetter / Wired:

United Airlines offers hackers up to 1M mileage points to find vulnerabilities in its sites, apps, and online portals, but excludes testing of inflight systems — United Will Reward People Who Flag Security Flaws—Sort Of — United Airlines announced this week that it's launching …

Jason Del Rey / Re/code:

Select merchants may soon qualify for Prime's two-day free shipping without having to store inventory with Amazon — Amazon Relents on Key Merchant Policy So Prime Members Can Get Better Selection — Amazon has spent a lot of time and money increasing membership in its Amazon Prime program over the past two years.

More: ZDNet, CNET, Wall Street Journal, eWeek and internetretailer.com

Bloomberg Business:

Netflix in talks with Jack Ma-backed Chinese media company Wasu, others, as it tries to enter the country's $5.9B online video market — Netflix Said in Talks to Enter China With Ma-Backed Wasu … Netflix Inc. is in talks with a Chinese media company backed by Jack Ma and other possible partners …

More: Telegraph, Variety, MarketWatch, New York Post, 24/7 Wall St., Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Inc.com, VatorNews, Deadline, Asia Stocks to Watch and Seeking Alpha. See also Mediagazer

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