Techmeme
February 16, 2020, 9:15 PM

Top News

Hunter Walk:
Tech leaders should stop glib comments on media and acting like underdogs, and tech media should stop “Red Teaming” tech, overusing anonymity, and passing blame  —  Lots of mutual bad faith.  Reporters I respect indulging themselves in screenshotting and quote dunking tech folks, performative for their tribe.
Liam Tung / ZDNet:
Google's Project Zero explains how the practice of altering the Android kernel by phone vendors like Samsung lessens security by adding attack surface  —  Google Project Zero scolds Samsung and other vendors for adding features that undermine Android security.
Reuters:
At the Munich Security Conference, Zuckerberg says harmful content should be regulated with a system somewhere between existing frameworks for telcos and media  —  MUNICH (Reuters) - Online content should be regulated with a system somewhere between the existing rules used for the telecoms …
Chris Stokel-Walker / WIRED UK:
Former BBC execs and sources detail Project Kangaroo, BBC's 2007 attempt to create a Netflix-like service which was blocked by UK's Competition Commission  —  Insiders reveal just how close the BBC came to launching a credible Netflix competitor - only to have the door slammed in its face
Cyrus Farivar / NBC News:
Interviews with 40 police departments in eight states that partnered with Ring for at least three months show there is little evidence that Ring reduces crime  —  Hundreds of police departments have signed agreements with Ring to gain access to footage filmed on home surveillance cameras
Monica M. Ruiz / Wired:
Estonia, which created a volunteer Cyber Defence Unit after cyberattacks in 2007, offers key lessons to the US in attracting tech talent and educating citizens  —  The tiny European nation has come a long way after crippling cyberattacks in 2007.  Now, it offers key lessons in attracting tech talent and educating citizens.
Tweets: @ilvestoomas
Annie Musgrove / Tech.eu:
Oxford VR, a spinout from Oxford University's Department of Psychiatry that wants to use VR simulations to treat mental health problems, raises £10M Series A  —  Oxford VR, the UK developer of virtual reality therapy, has secured a £10 million Series A round led by Optum Ventures with support from Luminous Ventures.
Tweets: @yoda
Mike Godwin / Slate:
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
Profile of Chainalysis, a crypto analytics startup helping government agencies like FBI, IRS, DEA, and ICE in tracking illicit cryptocurrency transactions  —  It started with a $9,000 data software contract for the FBI in 2015.  —  But just five years later, Chainalysis …
Jeff Stone / CyberScoop:
Court filing sheds light on how US was able to attribute the Equifax hack to China and the techniques alleged state sponsored hackers used  —  Even for U.S. law enforcement, the Equifax hack was different.  —  Unlike in previous examples of apparent Chinese government-backed cyber-operations …
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
Target's Shipt delivery app workers describe a culture of retaliation and fear, say its algorithm pushes them to buy gifts for customers to boost their ratings  —  In late October, Ashley Johnson, a single mom and seasoned gig worker in a quiet Seattle suburb, tweeted about the decline …

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work  —  Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
Zoho:
Zoho Writer's latest automation updates: smarter formulas, dynamic content, and less manual work  —  Create personalized documents with smarter formulas, dynamic content, and payment links, and update templates without rebuilding …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
WebBrain:
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser  —  Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox.  Use local models or your preferred AI provider.  Get started free.

Featured Podcasts

Machine Gods:
Crypto's Biggest Heist Ever + The Spy Who Loved Nvidia + Hacktober's Mysteries
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Barry Diller on Big Bets, AI, and Knowing When to Walk Away
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Martin Casado on Frontier Model Economics, AI's Slowdown, and the Cursor Deal
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Sources:
A quiet investor's $10 billion bet on AI, chips, and defense
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Cheeky Pint:
The company building America's uranium supply from scratch
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Grit:
The Difference Between 1% Improvements and 10x Growth | Immad Akhund
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:15 PM ET, February 16, 2020.

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

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:
Nick Keppler / VICE:

Earlier Picks

Greg Bensinger / Washington Post:
Kerry Flynn / CNN:
Makena Kelly / The Verge: