Techmeme
April 22, 2020, 8:50 PM

Top News

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Researchers say they found two actively exploited iOS 0-days, present since at least iOS 6, including a remote zero-click flaw in Mail; Apple says patch coming  —  In the summer of 2016, researchers at a digital rights organization and a cybersecurity firm announced they had caught …
Ed Hammond / Bloomberg:
Sources: Magic Leap is laying off about half its employees, or around 1,000 people, as it winds down its consumer business; Magic Leap has raised over $2B  —  - About 1,000 employees are said to be affected by cuts  — Magic Leap to wind down consumer business in retreat
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
iPhone SE 2020 review: good battery life but has a tired design and while the camera is good in bright light and great at video, it is noisy in low-light  —  A strong case against $1,000 phones  —  What do you look for in a new iPhone?  The top of the list likely includes battery life and camera quality.
Scott Rosenberg / Axios:
Zoom fatigue is now setting in, as it moves from being a social lifeline to a chore, used for all interactions while aggravating anxieties in an exhausting time  —  The rapid trajectory of videoconferencing service Zoom has entered a new phase: What started as a social lifeline during the pandemic …
New York Times:
US intelligence officials say Chinese operatives are amplifying COVID-19 disinformation in America using text messages and social media posts  —  American officials were alarmed by fake text messages and social media posts that said President Trump was locking down the country.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook says it will now show the location of large Facebook and Instagram accounts alongside posts, to help users assess their authenticity, rolling out in US  —  Facebook today is introducing another feature aimed at making it easier to see who's behind the posts published across Facebook and Instagram.
Katie Notopoulos / BuzzFeed News:
Instagram confirms it will add a “Remembering” banner under the usernames of people who have died, and has accelerated the process due to the pandemic  —  Instagram is speeding up plans for a new account memorialization feature, adding a “Remembering” banner under a username to signal that a person has died.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Bill Gurley will not be a partner in Benchmark's 10th venture fund but will continue to work with companies he led earlier investments in  —  Lead investor won't be involved in new fund for first time since he joined firm in 1999  —  Bill Gurley—one of the most prominent …
Patrick Shanley / Hollywood Reporter:
SuperData: worldwide digital video game spending reached a record $10B total in March, up 11% YoY, with $5.7B for mobile games, up 15% YoY  —  Console, PC and mobile games also saw significant revenue bumps amid the coronavirus lockdown.  —  Digital video game spending hit a record high …
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Google's Threat Analysis Group shares a report outlining efforts by over 12 state-sponsored hackers using COVID-19 as cover for espionage  —  More than 12 government-backed groups are using the pandemic as cover for digital reconnaissance and espionage, according to a new report.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google launches a Watchlist feature for Search to help users keep track of TV shows and movies  —  Google is adding a new feature to Search that will help you keep track of all the TV shows and movies you want to watch during these long weeks at home.  The company had already …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Zoom rolls out its 5.0 update, focused exclusively on security and privacy features, including easier call management and upgrading encryption  —  Zoom is moving quickly to address complaints  —  Zoom promised a 90-day feature freeze to fix privacy and security issues, and the company is delivering on some of those promises.
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Twitter says it now prioritizes the removal of COVID-19 tweets that incite “harmful activity” or could lead to the destruction of 5G infrastructure  —  Ever since it first started rolling out, 5G skeptics have attempted to link the next-gen cellular technology to all manner of health issues.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Hands-on with Motorola's new $999 Edge Plus, which has a 6.7-inch display, Snapdragon 865, 5G, 12GB of RAM, 3.5mm jack, and arrives on May 14 on Verizon  —  Hands-on with Motorola's most powerful phone in years  —  Motorola is making flagship phones again.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Netflix announces plans to offer $1B in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions; as of the end of March, Netflix reported $14.17B in debt  —  Netflix is going back to the debt markets yet again, announcing plans to offer $1 billion in junk bonds to fund operations and potential acquisitions.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Granulate, which is developing a service that optimizes computing infrastructure in real time, raises $12M Series A led by Insight Partners  —  Granulate, a startup developing a platform that optimizes computing infrastructure in real time, today announced that it raised $12 million, bringing its total raised to date to $15.6 million.
More: TechCrunch, ZDNet, and FinSMEs
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Some US courts are turning to Zoom for trials during the lockdown, which critics say limits public access to the courts and favors high-end law firms  —  It would have been an uneventful court appearance had one of the lawyers not had some trouble with his Zoom background.
Nikhil Pahwa / MediaNama:
Facebook's deal with Jio is unlikely to make a dent in India's mobile payments market, where Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm have emerged as the big players  —  So it's confirmed: Facebook has bought 9.9% stake in Jio Platforms Limited, the parent company of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, for $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore).
New York Times:
CNBC:
US Small Business Administration notifies ~8,000 business owners seeking federal relief loans that their personal data may have been exposed to other applicants  —  - Some small business owners seeking help via the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan program …

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