Techmeme
May 13, 2020, 10:55 AM

Top News

Casey Newton / The Verge:
Facebook will pay $52M in a settlement covering 11,250 content moderators as compensation for mental health issues developed on the job  —  Current and former moderators will all be paid a minimum of $1,000  —  In a landmark acknowledgment of the toll that content moderation takes on its workforce …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Max Willens / Digiday:
Sources: Apple is asking the publishers participating in Apple News+ for permission to produce audio versions of stories, with Apple handling production costs  —  Apple News+ is pivoting to audio.  —  Over the past several months, Apple has been asking the publishers participating …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to return employees to offices sooner than rival tech companies, with staff coming back in phases  —  - Company to start letting more workers return to major offices  — Google, Facebook will allow remote work through end of 2020  —  Apple Inc. plans …
CNBC:
Sources: Uber has been in off and on talks for a year to acquire Grubhub, but the parties remain at odds about price  —  - Uber has made an offer to buy food delivery company Grubhub, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC Tuesday.  — Grubhub's stock spiked as much as 38% …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Dell announces a new XPS 17 and a redesigned XPS 15 with 16:10 edge-to-edge displays, only USB-C ports, and Intel 10th-gen CPUs, starting at $1,300 and $1,500  —  Dell goes all USB-C and 16:10 for its XPS lineup  —  Dell is making some big changes to its XPS lineup today, with a redesigned XPS 15 and a new XPS 17.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Spatial makes its VR meeting rooms free to use and adds support for the web, mobile, and Oculus Quest  —  Two years ago, we called Spatial's virtual collaboration platform “FaceTime in VR.”  Since then, the company has focused on corporate users who have access to pricey augmented reality headsets …
More: VentureBeat, CNET, and WiredThanks:@lucyagoss
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Amazon updates the Fire HD 8 tablet with a faster processor, more RAM, more storage, and USB-C, with the base model getting a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Along with a slight price increase to $89.99  —  Amazon has announced a new update for its Fire HD 8 tablet, adding a faster processor, more RAM, and USB-C charging.
Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:
Instagram adds bulk comment deletion and control for who can mention or tag you on iOS, to help fight bullying; the ability to pin comments is being tested  —  Instagram is rolling out some changes today to keep the platform a more positive place for users.
Robert Stevens / Decrypt:
Chat app Telegram says it's abandoning its TON blockchain project, after the SEC challenged the legality of its $1.7B ICO and delayed the network's launch  —  Telegram, the operator of the 400 million-strong messenger app, today announced that it has given up on its upcoming blockchain network …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Alphabet's Loon signs deal with carrier Vodacom to bring its commercial internet service to Mozambique  —  Loon, the Alphabet -owned company that's using stratospheric balloons to provide high-speed bandwidth to hard-to-serve areas without strong ground infrastructure, has signed a new deal …
More: Loon and Engadget
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Security experts believe online voting systems do not have strong enough security guarantees for prime time despite seemingly successful trials in the US  —  Proponents of mobile and internet voting point to its uneventful track record.  That's not good enough.
Alex Kantrowitz / BuzzFeed News:
Jack Dorsey tells Twitter staff they can work from home indefinitely even after the pandemic passes; policy won't apply to some jobs requiring physical presence  —  Some Twitter employees will never return to their office.  —  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed employees on Tuesday telling …
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Expel, which offers security operations as a service and helps use automation to reduce security staff, raises $50M Series D led by CapitalG  —  Even in these trying economic times, there are some services that companies can't do without.  Having good security tools is one of them.
JD Alois / Crowdfund Insider:
CBInsights: global VC funding in fintech totaled $6.1B in Q1 across 404 deals vs. $7.1B in Q1 2019; US startups raised $3.3B, India topped China with $421M  —  - Twitter- Facebook- LinkedIn- Pinterest- Reddit- HackerNews- Telegram- Weibo- Email- Print- Subscribe

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Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Joe Tidy / BBC: