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September 12, 2019, 7:20 PM
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| Richard Gingras / The Keyword: |
Google says it changed how it ranks stories and updated guidelines for evaluation of search results to help better identify and surface original news reporting — Google Search was built to provide everyone access to information on the web—and with tens of thousands of web pages …
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New York Times, TechCrunch, The Verge, Axios, The Hill, Neowin, Engadget, Adweek, 9to5Google, Nieman Lab, and Boing Boing
Tweets: @metacurity, @peterwsinger, @dejanseo, @martinsfp, @johnpaczkowski, @emilybell, @googlenewsinit, @jyarow, @stevekovach, @sarafischer, @pranavdixit, @wongmjane, and @ow
| Casey Newton / The Verge: |
Google Photos starts rolling out Memories, a tool that brings back old photos and videos on their anniversaries in an Instagram Stories-like format — A new feature to help you reminisce, plus same-day printing — Google Photos is adding features to encourage reminiscing …
More:
The Keyword, TechCrunch, Engadget, Android Police, BGR, SlashGear, TechSpot, MSPoweruser, 9to5Google, Droid Life, CNET, Digital Trends, XDA Developers, iPhone in Canada Blog, Android Headlines, and AndroidGuys
Tweets: @googlephotos and @reckless
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Slack launches a dark mode for macOS, Windows, and Linux, with dark mode variants of all existing sidebar themes and a new “Nocturne” dark mode theme — Updated dark mode themes are available today — Slack is introducing a new dark mode for desktop versions of its workplace chat app.
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Slack, CNET, Gizmodo, Digital Trends, AppleInsider, iMore, MacRumors, OnMSFT.com, iPhone Hacks, Neowin, iDownloadBlog.com, MSPoweruser, GeekWire, KnowTechie, Engadget, 9to5Mac, and Mashable
Tweets: @slackhq, @caseynewton, @samsheffer, and @ow
| Claudia Koerner / BuzzFeed News: |
Facebook takes down fact-check of anti-abortion video after complaints from four GOP senators alleging bias; Facebook's fact-checking partner is investigating — Facebook on Wednesday removed a fact-check conducted by doctors of an anti-abortion activist's video, which falsely claimed abortion …
More:
The Interface. Tweets: @passantino, @alexeheath, @caseynewton, @pfpicardi, @brooklynmarie, @drdgrossman, @jason_kint, @melissaryan, @nwlc, @jayrosen_nyu, and @lispower1
| Isabel Kershner / New York Times: |
| Theodore Schleifer / Vox: |
Sources: federal investigators, including the FBI, are probing the conduct and practices of Mithril Capital, the VC firm co-founded by Peter Thiel — Mithril Capital raised over $1 billion on the name of Thiel, one of Silicon Valley's biggest celebrities. Now federal investigators are looking under the hood.
More:
SiliconANGLE, Business Insider, and Boing Boing
Tweets: @karaswisher, @dbreunig, @voxdotcom, and @teddyschleifer
| Lindsey O'Donnell / Threatpost: |
Researchers: “SimJacker”, a widespread SIM card-based vulnerability, is being exploited by a private actor “that works with governments to monitor individuals” — A vulnerability discovered in mobile SIM cards is being actively exploited to track phone owners' locations … | April Glaser / Slate: |
Kickstarter has fired two union organizers in eight days; sources: both were fired for what management said were performance-related issues — On Thursday morning, Kickstarter fired Taylor Moore, an employee who was one of the organizers of a unionization effort within the company.
More:
The Verge, Gizmodo, and The Daily Dot
Tweets: @taylordotbiz, @aprilaser, @grimkim, @tobiasbuckell, @mariskreizman, @lam_barrett, @grmpyprogrammer, and @jamieson
| Anthony Cuthbertson / The Independent: |
French Economy and Finance Minister says the country will block the development of Facebook's Libra in the EU as it poses a threat to “monetary sovereignty” — French Finance Minister says: ‘We cannot authorise the development of Libra on European soil’
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The Block, The Guardian, CoinDesk, The Next Web, Telegraph, Reuters, Inquirer, Telecoms.com, Modern Consensus, Gizmodo, CCN.com, and Altcoin Magazine
| Jared Newman / Fast Company: |
Amazon launches Alexa Answers, a crowdsourcing platform that lets any user answer questions asked by other users, in the US — The Alexa Answers crowdsourcing platform is now open to everyone in the United States. Amazon says it has measures in place to prevent misuse.
More:
VentureBeat, TechHive, CNBC, KnowTechie, Financial Times, TechCrunch, CNET, The Verge, Mashable, GeekWire, Engadget, and Gizmodo
Tweets: @coty, @stevekovach, @elizabeth_joh, @rhenyard, @davezatz, @stevekovach, and @moreandagain. Thanks:@technologizer
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Walmart plans to reach 50%+ of the US by year end with “Delivery Unlimited”, its grocery delivery membership program that costs $98/year or $12.95/month — Walmart is expanding its brand-new “Delivery Unlimited” grocery delivery membership program to more stores across the U.S. …
More:
Walmart Inc., Bloomberg, CNET, and Engadget
| Lauren Debter / Forbes: |
Direct-to-consumer dental startup SmileDirectClub closes down 28% on its first day of trading, after raising $1.35B in its IPO at a $9B valuation — SmileDirectClub raised $1.35 billion in an initial public offering on Thursday, defying challenges from dentists and regulators and cementing …
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CNBC, Crunchbase News, MarketWatch, Yahoo Finance, Crain's Detroit Business, MarketWatch, Bloomberg, CNN, Business Insider Australia, Fox Business, Financial Times, and TechCrunch
Tweets: @jasonlk, @ldrogen, and @lamonicabuzz
| Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Walmart's Vudu is launching family-friendly features, like Family Play, which lets viewers automatically skip or mute “objectionable” content, and a kids' mode — Vudu, Walmart's video-streaming unit, is promising parents new tools to evaluate and control what their kids watch …
More:
Vudu Blog, The Verge, iMore, TechCrunch, Android Headlines, Tubefilter, and SlashGear
| Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch: |
Apple says it is tweaking changes announced at WWDC to App Store policies around Sign in with Apple and the rules around children's app categories — Originally announced in June, changes to Apple's App Store policies on its Sign in with Apple service and the rules around children's app categories are being tweaked.
More:
Apple Developer, Washington Post, iMore, MacRumors, iPhone Hacks, 9to5Mac, and iPhone in Canada Blog
Tweets: @parrots, @thomasbcn, @sarunw, and @panzer
| Facebook: |
Facebook lays out four values that guide its Community Standards, in order to promote freedom of expression: authenticity, safety, privacy, and dignity — Today, we're expanding the values that serve as the basis for our Community Standards — the guidepost for what is and isn't allowed on Facebook.| Adi Robertson / The Verge: |
Google won't need to admit wrongdoing in a NLRB settlement over complaints of restricting employees' speech, but will need to inform employees of speech rights — Google will affirm that employees can discuss workplace issues, following a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
More:
New York Times, Mercury News, Wall Street Journal, Telegraph, CNBC, Boing Boing, CBS San Francisco, Engadget, and Seeking Alpha
Tweets: @sethdillon, @roncoleman, and @econ_marshall
| Andrew Ross Sorkin / New York Times: |
Apple, Facebook, and Google did not sign a letter from 145 CEOs, including those of Lyft, Twitter, Airbnb, and Uber, urging Senate action on gun violence — “Doing nothing about America's gun violence crisis is simply unacceptable," the corporate chiefs urged senators in a letter.
More:
CNET, Business Insider, Boing Boing, and Adweek
Facebook: Congresswoman Annie Kuster. Tweets: @senschumer, @senfeinstein, @janasanchez, @mollyjongfast, @andrewrsorkin, @tancredjess, @clarajeffery, @msignorile, @adampasick, @lafix, @bdomenech, and @juliancastro
| Lesley Goldberg / Hollywood Reporter: |
AT&T's WarnerMedia signs an exclusive five-year deal with J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot for TV, film, and streaming projects; sources: deal is worth ~$250M — Bad Robot, the production company he runs with his wife and co-CEO, Katie McGrath, will now have all of its divisions …
More:
CNET, The Verge, CNN, Business Wire, Variety, Fast Company, Deadline, /Film, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and CNBC
Tweets: @thr, @pj_campbell, @mrniceguy18_58, @discussingfilm, @akelacooper, @cjwritesthings, @snoodit, and @owillis
| Alan Ohnsman / Forbes: |
Self-driving car startup Voyage, the Udacity spinoff operating taxi fleets in two retirement communities, raises $31M Series B led by Franklin Templeton — Voyage, a Silicon Valley self-driving vehicle startup focused on using the technology to provide transportation at retirement communities …
More:
The Verge, Telegraph, SiliconANGLE, and VentureBeat
| Simon Carraud / Reuters: |
Google has agreed to pay a €500M fine and €465M in additional taxes in France to settle a fiscal fraud probe that began four years ago — PARIS (Reuters) - Google agreed to pay a 500 million euro ($548 million) fine in France to settle a fiscal fraud probe that began four years ago …
More:
Wall Street Journal, SiliconANGLE, CNBC, The Verge, WinBuzzer, and TechCrunch
| Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge: |
Uber says drivers will remain contractors under AB5, as they aren't core to its business which serves as a platform for several types of digital marketplaces — The ride-hail company shrugs off a new bill in California, but legal challenges loom — Uber won't be reclassifying its drivers … | New York Times: |
More:
New York Times, VentureBeat, Wall Street Journal, VICE, Business Insider, Vox, The Verge, Mashable, and PYMNTS.com
| Alfred Ng / CNET: |
Spotify updated its ToC in August, requiring Premium Family subscribers to provide location data “from time to time” to ensure users live at the same address — Spotify knows a lot about its users — their musical tastes, their most listened-to artists and their summer anthems.| Corbin Davenport / Android Police: |
Android 10 allows multiple apps to access a phone's microphone at once, in a way designed to benefit accessibility services and Google Assistant — Android 10 is now available in its final form on a few phones, but some of its more interesting changes flew under the radar.
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