Techmeme
August 16, 2020, 11:20 PM

Top News

Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
While social media platforms did not create QAnon, they helped it go mainstream via recommendation systems designed to prioritize engagement  —  A supporter of the dangerous conspiracy theory is most likely headed to Congress.  The social media platforms have some soul-searching to do.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
With its ban on cloud gaming services and now the removal of Fortnite, Apple is at the risk of losing a generation of young, game-loving smartphone owners  —  Apple has always had a complicated relationship with the game industry, but this month that relationship slid into a bitter …
Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:
A look at the similarities and differences between Epic's lawsuits against Apple and Google from an antitrust law perspective  —  This is already my fourth post in three days on Epic Games v. Apple and Google.  For your convenience, here are the headlines (and links to) to the previous three posts:
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Steve Yegge:
Steve Yegge, an ex-Googler who wrote a searing critique decrying Google's lack of innovation, lambasts Google's approach to deprecation of its Cloud APIs  —  God dammit, I didn't want to blog again.  I have so much stuff to do.  Blogging takes time and energy and creativity that I could be putting …
Amit Katwala / WIRED UK:
Tens of thousands of UK high school students were downgraded from teacher estimates by an algorithm that replaced exams, affecting university applications  —  Even with the late changes, GCSE and A-Level results still highlight the flaws in a biased education system
Shannon Liao / CNN:
US military says its members stream on Twitch to become “relatable to a new generation”, but the recruitment tactic is under criticism from gamers and lawmakers  —  New York (CNN)The United States military needs to attract Gen Z, the oldest of whom are now in their late teens and early 20s …
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Telegram has launched an alpha version of one-on-one video calls in its Android and iOS apps, says all calls will be end-to-end encrypted  —  The company plans to add improvements to the alpha feature in coming months  —  Secure messaging app Telegram has launched an alpha version …
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
In a new Instagram update, Facebook has started replacing the Instagram DM icon with Messenger's logo, although cross-messaging is still not functional  —  You might see this pop-up when you open Instagram  —  Facebook appears to flipping the switch on integrating the chat systems for Instagram and Messenger.

Sponsor Posts

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Will Reed:
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More News

Aliya S. King / LEVEL:
Parmy Olson / Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

Jacob Helberg / Foreign Policy:
Will Oremus / OneZero :
Biz Carson / Protocol:
Lora Kolodny / CNBC: