Techmeme
February 21, 2020, 12:30 PM

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.
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
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.
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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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.
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

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More News

Joseph Cox / VICE:
Vincent Woo / New York Magazine:
Craig Timberg / Washington Post:
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Earlier Picks

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
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New York Times:
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Joseph Menn / Reuters: