Techmeme
June 26, 2020, 6:10 PM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Unilever says it will halt US advertising on Facebook and Twitter for at least the remainder of 2020, citing hate speech and divisive content on the platforms  —  Unilever to halt ads on Facebook, Twitter for remainder of year  —  Under mounting pressure from advertisers …
Mark Zuckerberg:
Zuckerberg says Facebook will now label content that violates its rules but was left up because it was deemed newsworthy and of public interest  —  Three weeks ago, I committed to reviewing our policies ahead of the 2020 elections.  That work is ongoing, but today I want to share some new policies …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook to ban ads that claim people from a specific race, ethnicity, nationality, caste, gender, sexual orientation or immigration origin are a threat  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday said the company will change its policies to prohibit hate speech in its advertisements.
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Todd Haselton / CNBC:
Microsoft says it will permanently close all Microsoft Store retail locations and focus on its online store instead  —  - Microsoft on Friday announced it will permanently close its Microsoft Store retail locations.  — In the past decade or so, Microsoft began to expand its retail presence …
CNBC:
Amazon has signed an agreement to acquire self-driving car startup Zoox, reportedly for $1.2B+; Zoox was valued at over $3B in 2018  —  - Zoox was valued at over $3 billion in 2018, but has struggled with management turnover in its efforts to develop a self-driving car.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Leaked Microsoft document hints at a cheaper and less powerful Xbox console, designed to provide key improvements in Xbox Series X at a lower price point  —  The document mentions multiple Project Scarlett consoles  —  Microsoft has been planning a second, cheaper and less power next-gen Xbox console.
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Volvo to integrate Waymo's autonomous driving technology in its future fleet of electric robotaxis, the fourth automaker to commit to using Waymo's AV tech  —  Waymo says it is an ‘exclusive’ supplier of Level 4 technology to Volvo  —  Waymo is the “exclusive global L4 partner” …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Report: Alphabet said to be close to buying Canadian smart glasses maker North for ~$180M; sales of North's first generation Focals were said to be minuscule  —  While Glass lives on as an enterprise product, it never came close to reaching Google's wildly ambitious vision of replacing the smartphone.
Avi Asher-Schapiro / Reuters:
California's Santa Cruz becomes the first US city to ban predictive policing  —  NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As officials mull steps to tackle police brutality and racism, California's Santa Cruz has become the first U.S. city to ban predictive policing, which digital rights experts …
Bloomberg:
Tencent is launching Trovo, a Twitch-like streaming service, in the US, and plans to entice creators with a $30M partnership program starting in July  —  - Trovo is a close analog to Twitch and already live online  — Preparing official launch with $30 million recruitment budget

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Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Laurence Dodds / Telegraph:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch: