Techmeme: Researcher says Cameo exposed user data including email addresses, hashed and salted passwords, phone numbers, and messages via a misconfiguration in its app (Joseph Cox/VICE)

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Shopify says it will join the Libra Association, contributing financially and operating a node that processes transactions of Facebook's stablecoin — After eBay, Visa, Stripe, and other high-profile departures, the Libra Association scored a win today with the addition of Shopify.

More: Shopify's pressreleases, CoinDesk, Yahoo Finance, Decrypt, Reuters, Cointelegraph, Finextra, CNBC, The Block, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @libra_, @zachary, and @mdudas. Thanks:@joshconstine

John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Google is resisting efforts to surrender emails, texts, and other documents sought by state investigators probing anticompetitive digital-ad practices — Company is reluctant to surrender some documents in investigation of possible anticompetitive practices

More: The Hill, New York Post, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @gregbensinger, @yost4ohio, @jbflint, @jason_kint, @asharma, and @rstephens

Joseph Cox / VICE:

Google indexes invite links to private WhatsApp group chats, exposing the participants and their phone numbers to anyone who discovers and joins the chats — Google is indexing invite links to WhatsApp group chats whose administrators may want to be private.

More: Android Authority and MSPoweruser

Tweets: @josephfcox, @glenngabe, @josephfcox, and @wongmjane

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Google says that from August 3 all new Google Play apps that access background location will need to pass review, expanding to all existing apps on November 3 — Apps will face a new review process to enable the feature — Google is placing new restrictions on which Android apps can track …

More: Android Developers Blog, Financial Times, ZDNet, CNET, iPhone in Canada Blog, SlashGear, and TechRadar.com

Tweets: @webster and @jonporty

Christopher Dring / GamesIndustry.biz:

Sony and Facebook say they will not attend Game Developers Conference this year due to coronavirus concerns; Facebook to make Oculus announcements online — Oculus announcements will now take place online — PlayStation and Facebook Gaming/Oculus will not be attending …

Madhumita Murgia / Financial Times:

MIT researchers say they used AI to discover new potent antibiotics that treat drug-resistant diseases — Machine learning uncovers potent new drug able to kill 35 powerful bacteria — Artificial intelligence has been used to discover new antibiotics effective against untreatable diseases …

More: The Guardian, MIT News, and The Next Web

Tweets: @grady_booch, @josephflaherty, @stephenmcgann, and @omkar_raii

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Facebook will pay users up to $5 for voice recordings via its Viewpoints app to improve its speech recognition tech; recordings won't be tied to user profiles — But it won't pay much — Facebook will offer to pay some users for voice recordings that will be used to help improve …

More: Digital Trends, KnowTechie, The Next Web, International Business Times, BetaNews, TechSpot, Tom's Guide, SlashGear, BGR, and Engadget

Tweets: @leimer, @shiraovide, @brianroemmele, @yoda, @nathanblawrence, @thirdrowtesla, and @mattnavarra

Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:

Shogun, which helps e-commerce brands build faster websites, has raised $10M Series A, led by Initialized Capital with participation from VMG Partners and YC — Amazon may have a market cap of more than $1 trillion, but Finbarr Taylor, CEO of Y Combinator-backed startup Shogun, said the e-commerce giant is “kind of dropping the ball.”

Tweets: @rishmishra and @garrytan

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft announces Defender ATP for Linux, will offer the antivirus software for Android and iOS later this year as part of its enterprise security platform — New Defender mobile apps will be available later this year — Microsoft is planning to bring its Defender antivirus software to Android and iOS later this year.

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip review: the best hinge on a folding phone so far but the screen's plastic covering scratches easily and the cameras are disappointing — Even with a glass screen, it's just a curiosity — Samsung's brand-new Galaxy Z Flip is the third folding screen phone that I've reviewed.

More: Gizmodo

Alex Sherman / CNBC:

Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to amend their merger agreement to give Deutsche Telekom a higher ownership stake in the new combined company — - Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to amend their merger deal agreement to give Deutsche Telekom a higher ownership stake in the new combined company.

More: Wall Street Journal, Market Realist, Sprint, Cult of Mac, Android Central, AppleInsider, GeekWire, Bloomberg, Barron's Online, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, WebProNews, Financial Times, TmoNews, PhoneArena, CNET, Axios, Reuters, Yahoo Finance, and Engadget

Tweets: @asifsuria, @waltlightshed, @johnlegere, @cgasparino, and @sherman4949

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

Volocopter, which aims to develop an autonomous air taxi service, extends its Series C by another €37M, taking the round total to €87M — Volocopter, a German company that's developing autonomous electric takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial air taxi services …

More: FinSMEs and EU-Startups

Nick Statt / The Verge:

New Mexico AG sues Google, alleging the company tracks data of students who use free Chromebooks provided to schools through its G Suite for Education platform — ‘Tracking student data without parental consent is not only illegal, it is dangerous’ — Google is facing a new lawsuit filed …

More: The Register, New York Times, ZDNet, CNET, TechRadar.com, Axios, Associated Press, and Engadget

Tweets: @il_fps, @_danielsinclair, @whatthebit, @marthagailmoore, @commercialfree, and @feamster

Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch:

Tier Mobility, an e-scooter rental service operating in 55 cities across 11 countries, extends its Series B to $100M+, up from $60M disclosed in October — Tier, the European e-scooter rentals startup that operates in 55 cities across 11 countries, has topped up its funding for the second time in four months.

Julia Boorstin / CNBC:

Source: Facebook is considering transparency measures around posts by political campaign staffers, due to concerns around Bloomberg campaign's use of the site — - Facebook is considering ways to show when a paid campaign staffer shares a political post on the site.

More: Market Realist

Nico Grant / Bloomberg:

Sources: around 300 workers at Oracle offices around the world walked out on Thursday to protest Larry Ellison's fundraiser for Trump on Wednesday — - Chairman's fundraiser for Trump re-election sparked anger — Activism more muted than at tech companies like Google

More: Ars Technica, TechRadar.com, and Axios

Tweets: @nicoagrant, @teddyschleifer, and @thekenyeung

Malathi Nayak / Bloomberg:

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to reject Alphabet's appeal against Oracle, on the same day Trump attended a re-election fundraiser by Larry Ellison

More: The Hill and MSPoweruser

Tweets: @boltyboy, @michaelrkytch, and @campuscodi

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