Techmeme
August 19, 2020, 5:45 AM

Top News

Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Oculus will soon require all of its VR headset users to sign up with a Facebook account, removing support for new separate Oculus accounts in October  —  Support for separate Oculus accounts will end in 2023  —  Oculus will soon require all of its virtual reality headset users to sign up with a Facebook account.
Tim Wu / New York Times:
A ban on TikTok is overdue as the US confronts China's asymmetrical “net nationalism” and fights for the future of the open internet  —  Critics say we shouldn't abandon the ideal of an open internet.  But there is such a thing as being a sucker.
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Report: a look at the narrowing regulatory exemptions Apple has been operating under in China, such as running an App Store without a local partner  —  Amid continued tension between the United States and China, a new report from The Information details how Apple could be impacted by Chinese retaliation.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Google Maps says it's rolling out more detailed maps with improved street designs for SF, NYC, and London, and with more accurate natural features worldwide  —  Making natural features easier to see and streets easier to navigate  —  Google Maps is being redesigned to make it easier …
Steven T. Dennis / Bloomberg:
Senate Intelligence Committee concludes Putin ordered the 2016 hacking of Democratic Party accounts and the release of emails to harm Hillary Clinton's campaign  —  - Manafort described as a ‘grave counterintelligence threat’  — Report details plan to hurt Clinton, finds no Trump collusion
Matthew Handrahan / GamesIndustry.biz:
Take-Two Interactive has agreed to acquire NYC-based mobile game developer Playdots for $192M in cash and stock; Playdots had raised $10M Series A in 2014  —  New York-based studio's entire team will join Take-Two in cash and stock deal  —  Take-Two Interactive has acquired the mobile developer Playdots in a deal worth $192 million.
The New Indian Express:
India's main opposition party asks Facebook to investigate favorable treatment of BJP by Facebook's India team, and to replace the team during this probe  —  The Congress and other opposition parties have attacked the social media giant after a US media report alleged that Facebook did not apply its hate speech rules on BJP leaders.
Tsering D. Gurung / Rest of World:
India's ban on WeChat has inconvenienced Tibetan refugees in the country, who despite censorship risk, relied on the app to stay in touch with family back home  —  Navigating China's censorship and India's apps ban, Tibetan refugees rethink their dependence on WeChat.  —  • KATHMANDU, NEPAL
Victoria Turk / WIRED UK:
In the pandemic era, QR codes have seen a huge uptick in adoption as the perfect touch-free medium, used to order food and drinks, book rooms, and more  —  QR codes have been dismissed as a marketing gimmick - but in our touch-free world, they're proving their worth  —  Venture outside and you'll soon see them.
More: WiredTweets: @andijarvis
Benedict Evans:
E-commerce penetration in the UK went from 20% to over 30% in the past two months and from 17% to 22% in the US according to official statistics  —  Both the UK and (today) the USA have given official statistics on how ecommerce and retail have changed during lockdown.  The headline numbers are pretty dramatic.
More: Bloomberg
Michael Simon / PCWorld:
Samsung promises three generations of Android updates for many Galaxy S, Note, foldable, and A series devices, rivaling Google's three-year promise for Pixel  —  When Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 20 earlier this month, the biggest surprise wasn't the faster screen, smoother S Pen, or more powerful processor.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
India-based FPL Technologies, which has built a mobile-first credit card and an app for helping people find and understand credit scores, raises $10M Series A  —  A 20-month-old startup in India founded by a group of banking veterans that has built a mobile-first credit card and is improving …

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More News

Matthew Smith / TIME:
Axios:

Earlier Picks

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
James Vincent / The Verge:
Apple:
Kate Conger / New York Times:
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
Sam Byford / The Verge: