Techmeme
October 18, 2019, 7:35 PM

Top News

Jon Porter / The Verge:
Samsung says fingerprint bug on Galaxy devices is due to the sensor reading 3D patterns in screen protectors as fingerprints, will patch it as soon as next week  —  And advises removing silicone screen protecting cases for now  —  Samsung says that it plans to release a patch for its phones …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Mark Hurd, co-CEO of Oracle and former CEO of HP, dies at 62; Hurd took a health-related leave of absence from Oracle in September  —  Mark Hurd, CEO of Oracle, in an interview on January 20, 2016.  —  Co-CEO of Oracle Mark Hurd died on Friday, CNBC confirmed.
Bloomberg:
Seven US lawmakers, including Wyden, Cruz, Ocasio-Cortez, and Rubio accuse Apple of “censorship of apps” at the “behest of the Chinese government”, in a letter  —  - Cruz, AOC, others ask Apple to reinstate HK map app it pulled  — Apple CEO discussed consumer rights with Chinese regulator
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
The second beta of macOS Catalina 10.15.1 contains icons possibly depicting the widely rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro with slightly thinner bezels  —  Icons possibly depicting the widely rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro have been uncovered by French blog MacGeneration in the first two betas …
New York Times:
Zuckerberg gives a full-throated defense of Facebook as a champion of free expression and defends Facebook policy to opt out of fact-checking political ads  —  In an address at Georgetown University, the Facebook chief executive called for more free speech — not less …
More: Facebook, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, The Guardian, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Verge, Slate, CNET, Fortune, Inc42 Media, South China Morning Post, Ad Age, TechCircle, Coinspeaker, and Fast Company
Heather Kelly / Washington Post:
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
MediaLab, a holding company that owns the Whisper app, buys Kik messenger from Kik Interactive, which now focuses on development of Kin cryptocurrency  —  The Kik messaging platform has been bought by MediaLab, a holding company which operates Whisper and a number of other apps, the company announced Friday.
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
After buying Poloniex in 2018 for $400M, Circle spins it out into Polo Digital Assets, backed by an unnamed Asian firm, says it won't serve US customers anymore  —  Crypto exchange Poloniex is spinning out from its parent firm Circle, the companies announced Friday.
An-Nahar:
Massive protests erupt in Lebanon after a now-withdrawn government proposal to levy ~$6/mo tax on calls via WhatsApp and similar apps, amid an economic crisis  —  Lebanese have been reeling under the burden of austerity measures as the small Mediterranean country battles to stay afloat
Otillia Steadman / BuzzFeed News:
Sex workers say Instagram keeps taking down accounts, giving confusing guidelines and explanations; Facebook blames moderators' interpretation of guidelines  —  Sex workers and Instagram tried to make peace over takedowns in a meeting this summer.  Then porn star Jessica Jaymes' account was incorrectly removed — after she died.
Jillian D'Onfro / Forbes:
Data analytics startup Sisu emerges from stealth with $52.5M Series B led by NEA, with a16z and Green Bay participating, bringing its total raised to $66.7M  —  Peter Bailis can't resist dropping more than a dozen f-bombs as he explains how his startup Sisu aims to upend traditional business intelligence …

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Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Chris Fox / BBC: