Techmeme
February 26, 2020, 1:10 PM

Top News

Amal S / Reuters:
Google says it will spend $10B on offices and data centers in the US this year, focusing on 11 states including MA and NY, down from $13B in 2019  —  (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google said on Wednesday it would invest more than $10 billion in offices and data centers across the United States this year.
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 …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
PayPal's looking into unauthorized transactions that appear to stem from its Google Pay integration; researcher says it may involve a bug reported but not fixed  —  All signs point to an attack exploiting PayPal's Google Pay integration. … Hackers have found a bug in PayPal's Google Pay integration …
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.
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.
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) …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Plume, which develops an AI-powered adaptive home Wi-Fi mesh network system, raises $60M Series D at a $510M valuation, bringing its total raised to $127M  —  Plume, a Comcast-backed startup that develops an AI-powered adaptive home Wi-Fi mesh network system, has raised $85 million in a mixture of equity and debt financing.
Eric Newcomer / Bloomberg:
Sources: Invite Media reduced its assets before Google's $80M acquisition in 2010 to avoid requiring FTC approval, the kind of deal the FTC is now re-examining  —  The 2010 acquisition of Invite Media could come up for new scrutiny  —  Something unusual was underway in early 2010 at Invite Media …
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
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 …
Alfred Ng / CNET:
A look at US schools' growing use of mobile phone tracking tech from companies like Inpixon, using scanners to pick up Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cell signals  —  Teachers often lament that phones can be a distraction in classrooms.  Some governments have even banned phones outright in schools.

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