Techmeme
February 26, 2020, 4:00 AM

Top News

Rob Price / Business Insider:
Facebook says it will now ban ads that promise to cure or prevent COVID-19, or attempt to “create a sense of urgency” about it  —  - Facebook is tightening up its rules on ads that reference the coronavirus outbreak.  — It is banning ads that mentioned it if they attempt to …
Salesforce:
Salesforce says Keith Block has stepped down as co-CEO but will still advise Marc Benioff; Gavin Patterson named President and CEO of Salesforce International  —  Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) today announced that Keith Block has stepped down as co-CEO of Salesforce and Marc Benioff is Chair and CEO of the company.
Rebekah Valentine / GamesIndustry.biz:
Facebook has acquired Sanzaru Games, developer of Asgard's Wrath, for an undisclosed amount; the game studio will remain independent under Oculus Studios  —  Studio behind Asgard's Wrath to join Oculus Studios and continue VR development  —  Facebook has acquired Asgard's Wrath developer Sanzaru Games for an undisclosed amount.
The Walt Disney Company:
Bob Chapek has been named CEO of The Walt Disney Company, effective immediately; Bob Iger will serve as executive chairman through 2021  —  Robert A. Iger Assumes Role of Executive Chairman through 2021 Mr. Iger Will Direct the Company's Creative Endeavors Mr. Chapek Brings 27 Years …
Reuters:
Ex-Apple employees and supply chain experts say preparation for new iPhone production, which usually starts early in the year, may be delayed due to COVID-19  —  SAN FRANCISCO/TAIPEI (Reuters) - Travel restrictions to China because of the coronavirus have come just as Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
PayPal is investigating unauthorized transactions affecting numerous German users; a researcher says hackers could be exploiting PayPal's Google Pay integration  —  All signs point to an attack exploiting PayPal's Google Pay integration. … Hackers have found a bug in PayPal's Google Pay integration …
Tom Krisher / NBC Bay Area:
NTSB says the driver in a 2018 Tesla accident was distracted by a game on his phone and that the NHTSA's hands-off approach to self-driving tech is “misguided”  —  Just before the crash, the Tesla steered to the left into a paved area between the freeway travel lanes and an exit ramp
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Google patches a Chrome zero-day bug found by its Threat Analysis Group, the third actively exploited Chrome zero-day discovered in the past year  —  This is the third Chrome zero-day discovered being exploited in the wild in the past year.  —  Google has released today a Chrome update …
Hannah Gilberstadt / Pew Research Center:
Pew: 74% of Americans have little or no confidence in tech companies like Facebook and Google preventing misuse of their platforms to influence 2020 election  —  Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) express little or no confidence in technology companies like Facebook …
Will Oremus / OneZero :
In-depth look at the iOS App Store and the potentially anti-competitive ways it restricts consumers and third-parties, an increasing area of regulatory scrutiny  —  Its App Store has a choke hold on your devices.  That may not last much longer.  —  ou've just dropped $500 on a new iPad Air.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Review of Apple's Chinese Store websites shows around 30 of 42 have reopened, most with shortened hours, as the company seeks to rebound from COVID-19's impact  —  - Company's store website shows 29 of 42 locations are opening  — Apple recently pulled March quarter guidance on virus impact
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
US DOD has adopted a series of ethical principles for the use of AI, says recommendations came after 15 months of consultation with “leading AI experts”  —  The U.S. military has adopted new ethics guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in its futuristic robot tanks …
Lara O'Reilly / Digiday:
Sources: France's third largest telecom, Bouygues, awarded a contract to Google to develop a targeted TV ad system using data from Bouygues' set-top TV boxes  —  Google has long pitched YouTube as an alternative to traditional TV advertising, but it's never managed to make a move into the $170 billion global TV ad market itself.
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Checkout, a digital payments processing startup, acquires ProcessOut, a startup which helps match e-commerce companies with payment providers  —  Checkout.com, the quiet London-based payment platform, has acquired its first startup, ProcessOut.  Checkout.com surprised everyone last year …
Biz Carson / Protocol:
Bird says it's testing Bird Pay, a feature that lets users buy products from local businesses by scanning a QR code in the Bird app, as it looks to stem losses  —  Investors want to see profits.  Is adding payments to products the solution?  —  Bird, the scooter company, is pivoting into payments — kind of.

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Cyrus Farivar / NBC News:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
Kurt Schlosser / GeekWire:
Nick Turner / Bloomberg: