Techmeme
October 1, 2020, 7:15 PM

Top News

Michael McSweeney / The Block:
DOJ and CFTC charge BitMEX and its founders with allegedly operating an unregistered trading platform and violating CFTC anti-money laundering rules  —  The U.S. Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have filed charges against crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google will pay publishers $1B+ through 2023 to create and curate high-quality journalism for the new Google News Showcase, starting in Germany and Brazil  —  Google will pay publishers more than $1 billion over the next three years to create and curate high-quality journalism for a new set …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft unveils $549 Surface Laptop Go with smaller 12.4" display, 10th-gen Intel Core i5, in three color variants, preorders start today, shipping October 13  —  This new Surface laptop is smaller, lighter, and less powerful  —  Microsoft is introducing a new Surface Laptop Go today …
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Facebook announces updates for Groups: automating moderation, surfacing some public group discussions in News Feeds and search results, and more  —  The company is pushing people to join Groups  —  Facebook is expanding the reach of public groups today with new features that could lead …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
The Senate Commerce Committee votes to subpoena CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter to testify before the panel about concerns over Section 230  —  The Senate Commerce Committee Thursday voted on a bipartisan basis to subpoena the CEOs of Facebook, Google and Twitter to testify before the panel …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Amazon says that of its 1.37M frontline workers, 19K+ contracted COVID-19 from March 1 to September 19, with an infection rate lower than general US population  —  - Amazon on Thursday released comprehensive data into the spread of the coronavirus across its workforce.
Christine Fisher / Engadget:
Facebook makes Forecast, an app for crowdsourced predictions and collective insights, available to all users  —  The company thinks Forecast will ‘encourage measured, respectful conversation.’  —  Facebook isn't exactly known for balanced conversations or reliable information …
Traf:
A designer shares how he generated $100K+ selling custom app icon sets via a simple website when iPhone home screen customization exploded after iOS 14 release  —  This title is a little misleading.  Sure, it took me 6 days to amass 3,626 sales for a total of $101,528, but like any overnight success, it was years in the making.
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
US Treasury says those who facilitate payments on behalf of ransomware victims, including digital forensics firms, face fines if recipients are under sanctions  —  Companies victimized by ransomware and firms that facilitate negotiations with ransomware extortionists could face steep fines …
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Apple launches its updated Maps in UK, after completing rollout across the US in 2019, with its Look Around feature in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin  —  Apple today officially launched its in-house mapping data in the United Kingdom and Ireland, after completing the rollout across the United States in 2019.
Gordon Corera / BBC:
UK report says Huawei has failed to adequately tackle security flaws in its telco equipment despite previous complaints  —  Huawei has failed to adequately tackle security flaws in equipment used in the UK's telecoms networks despite previous complaints, an official report says.
Shannon Vavra / CyberScoop:
DOD and DHS say malware dubbed SlothfulMedia is being used in ongoing campaigns in India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Russia, and Ukraine  —  The Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security are calling out an unspecified “sophisticated cyber actor” …
Tiffany Hsu / New York Times:
Hundreds of thousands watched the Trump-Biden debate on Twitch, with streamers who normally narrate gaming sessions providing real-time commentary  —  The Amazon-owned platform, known for livestreams of video games, was a gathering spot for viewers seeking a different spin.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget:
Google unveils Pixel 5 with a 6-inch 90Hz OLED display, ultrawide rear-facing camera instead of zoom lens, 5G, 8GB RAM, and fingerprint sensor on back for $699  —  It's October, so despite the weird year we're having, Google is hosting a (virtual) event to show off its latest smartphone, the Pixel 5.
The Economic Times:
Indian startups blame Google for “unfair exploitation” of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission  —  Tech giant says companies have multiple store options, can also use websites  —  Indian startups are up in arms …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Transform ML Experimentation with Tangle  —  Save months of compute time with Tangle, built by Shopify.  Try this open-source platform to simplify ML workflows, ensure reproducibility, and seamlessly share with collaborators.
Zoho:
Contract Signed.  Project Ready.  Tasks Created.  —  Every project begins with a promise; a contract that outlines the deliverables, the timelines, and the terms.  But for most businesses …
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:
The Pull to Build: Joubin Mirzadegan on Grit and Starting Roadrunner
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The 100-person AI lab that became Anthropic and Google's secret weapon | Edwin Chen (Surge AI)
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:
AI Device Wars Heat Up, RIP Metaverse?, Netflix Acquires Warner Brothers
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Hollywood is Truly Freaked Out." Inside the Netflix/WBD Deal with Lucas Shaw
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Hard Fork:
OpenAI Calls a 'Code Red' + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
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:
Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:15 PM ET, October 1, 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

Shira Ovide / New York Times:

Earlier Picks

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Rich Woods / Neowin:
Natalia Drozdiak / Bloomberg: