Techmeme: Google pilots a row of ads on the Android TV home screen of Sony smart TVs, Xiaomi's Mi Box 3, and others; users say they cannot disable the ads (Ron Amadeo/Ars Technica)

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Sources: Apple Music has been growing at a monthly rate of 2.6% to 3% and had 28M US users in February, compared to Spotify's 26M users and growth of 1.5% to 2% — Apple's music-streaming service has surpassed Spotify's in paid U.S. subscriptions yet lags its Swedish competitor globally.

Jaeson Schultz / Talos Blog:

Cisco's Talos unit finds 74 groups on Facebook, with around 385,000 members in total, whose members buy and sell hacking tools, stolen card info, and more — This blog was written by Jon Munshaw and Jaeson Schultz. — Cisco Talos is continually working to ensure that our threat intelligence …

More: NBC News, The Register, Axios, Engadget, CNET, Gizmodo, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Threatpost, The Hill, CyberScoop, Wired, BBC, The Verge, The Ringer, PYMNTS.com, BleepingComputer, Ars Technica, and Telegraph

Tweets: @oneunderscore__, @_vventura, and @josh_emerson

Rachel Kraus / Mashable:

Leaked documents show Amazon acquired Eero for $97M, with ten execs receiving a potential of $32.6M in bonuses; Eero had raised $138M, according to PitchBook — Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work.

More: Business Insider. Tweets: @imkialikethecar, @karissabe, @mcwm, @fromedome, @realkrauswife, @karissabe, @teddyschleifer, @teddyschleifer, and @ow. Thanks:@karissabe

EU Press Room:

EU charges Valve and five game publishers with geo-blocking games, says they prevented cross-border sales in violation of EU antitrust rules — The European Commission has informed Valve, owner of the “Steam” video game distribution platform, and five videogame publishers …

More: Reuters, VentureBeat, Motherboard, Destructoid, The Verge, Steam Database, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Variety, Gamasutra, Forbes, PC Gamer, BetaNews, Engadget, TechCrunch, SlashGear, Associated Press, GamesIndustry.biz, Slashdot, and Blue's News

Tweets: @gibiz, @eu_competition, @hshaban, @ow, and @eu_competition

Ron Amadeo / Ars Technica:

Google pilots a row of ads on the Android TV home screen of Sony smart TVs, Xiaomi's Mi Box 3, and others; users say they cannot disable the ads — Users are reportedly not enjoying Google's “pilot program.” — Google is trying out a new “Pilot Program” that puts a row of advertisements on the Android TV home screen.

More: XDA Developers, The Verge, Sony USA, Engadget, Gizmodo, Zatz Not Funny!, ExtremeTech, Inquirer, CordCutters, Business Insider, Fortune, AFTVnews, CNET, and Android Police

Tweets: @simonjharris, @blowdart, @sub8u, @geekyranjit, @gabriel__lewis, @stevesi, @marypcbuk, @mistydemeo, and @ericajoy

See also Mediagazer

Sam Kim / Bloomberg:

Samsung says it expects Q1 operating income of $5.5B, down 60% YoY, its worst drop in more than four years, as chip prices fall and smartphone sales slow — - Chip buyers working through inventories, pushing prices down — Sluggish smartphone demand also hurts bottom line at Samsung

Kendra Chamberlain / FierceWireless:

Samsung says it has started the mass production of its Exynos line of 5G modem and RF chips — Samsung says it's now mass-producing its Exynos line of 5G modem and RF chips for mobile 5G solutions. — The Exynos multi-mode chipsets include the Exynos Modem 5100, which Samsung announced in August 2018 …

More: Samsung Global Newsroom, TechRadar.com, Ubergizmo, GSMArena.com, ZDNet, SamMobile, Gizmochina, BGR, Firstpost Tech, and SiliconANGLE. Tweets: @samsung

Andy Greenberg / Wired:

How Eva Galperin, who leads EFF's Threat Lab, is advocating for people affected by stalkerware, which gives a bad actor full access to another's device — OVER THE LAST year, Eva Galperin says she's learned the signs: the survivors of domestic abuse who come to her describing how their tormentors seem …

Tweets: @evacide, @leakissner, @a_greenberg, and @eff

Reuters:

AT&T, Verizon, and South Korea all try to claim they won the race to launch the first mobile 5G network — NEW YORK/SEOUL (Reuters) - When it comes to who triumphed in the multi-billion dollar global race to launch the world's first 5G next generation wireless network, the winner is clear ... depending on who you ask.

More: Reuters

Washington Post:

Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, announce a divorce settlement that will leave him with 75% of their Amazon stock and all voting power — In a tweet Thursday, MacKenzie Bezos said that her divorce from Jeff Bezos was finalized and that she would give her ex-husband voting control of her Amazon shares.

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google updates ML Kit to let third-party developers add Google's Smart Reply and other natural language processing features to their Android and iOS apps — Announced at I/O 2018, ML Kit brings Google's machine learning to mobile devices. Available for Android and iOS apps …

More: Android Developers Blog and VentureBeat

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snapchat debuts Snap Games platform that lets users play real-time multiplayer games with six-second unskippable ads and rewards — Snap is unlocking a new revenue stream while giving you something to do in between chats and Stories. Today Snapchat debuts its Snap Games platform that lets …

More: Snap Inc., CNBC, Hollywood Reporter, Engadget, Memeburn, The Verge, PYMNTS.com, Social Media Today, Snap Inc., Tubefilter, iDownloadBlog.com, USgamer.net, Mashable, TechSpot, Gizmodo, The Verge, BGR, VentureBeat, Digital Trends, Gamasutra, IGN, and CNET

Tweets: @jonrussell and @joshconstine

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