Techmeme
May 2, 2020, 8:45 PM

Top News

New York Times:
How Eric Schmidt is reinventing himself as the prime liaison between Silicon Valley and the US military  —  The former Google C.E.O. has reinvented himself as the prime liaison between Silicon Valley and the military-industrial complex.  —  In July 2016, Raymond Thomas …
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Companies are turning to intrusive monitoring of work-from-home employees, with always-on webcam rules, daily check-ins, and not-so-optional company happy hours  —  Always-on webcams, virtual “water coolers,” constant monitoring: Is the tech industry's new dream for remote work actually a nightmare?
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers detail the increasingly prevalent LockBit ransomware, which may one day reach parity with other feared ransomware packages like Maze or Ryuk  —  You've probably never heard of LockBit, but that's likely to change.  —  Ransomware has emerged as one of the top threats facing large organizations …
Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
A look at TikTok's efforts to repair its reputation in DC, where Bytedance has spent $300K on lobbying in 2020 and has hired former Internet Association chief  —  For hundreds of millions of fans around the world, TikTok is the place to go for videos of dancing celebrities, cooking advice and teenage hormones on overdrive.
Mark Sweney / The Guardian:
Sources: the owners of Virgin Media and O2 are discussing a merger to create a new TV and mobile company that would challenge BT and Sky in the UK  —  Owners of telecoms giants set to team up and challenge major sector players  —  The owners of Virgin Media and O2 are in talks to create …
More: Engadget
Sirin Kale / WIRED UK:
An inside look at the dropshipping scene in Bali, where expats typically purchase items on AliExpress and have them shipped directly to buyers in the West  —  In Bali, western immigrants are selling products they've never handled, from countries they've never visited, to consumers they've never met
The Economic Times:
India's government has mandated all private sector employees to download its COVID-19 contact tracing app, following its mandate for all the public sector staff  —  Privacy activists said a diverse group of organisations and individuals had endorsed a representation to the Prime Minister's Office …
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Automatic Labs, which was recently acquired by SiriusXM, shuts down its vehicle-tracking service, tells users to remove its connected car adapters from vehicles  —  Automatic has announced that it'll be abruptly shutting down on May 28th because “the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted our business.”

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Get your favorite apps talking to Zoho Sign with Zapier  —  Your business didn't come together overnight.  It's something you've built, refined, and fine-tuned over time.  Every tool you use has a purpose …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:45 PM ET, May 2, 2020.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
David Heaney / UploadVR:
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
ICANN: