Techmeme
October 17, 2020, 1:45 PM

Top News

New York Times:
Twitter says it is now letting the NY Post link be shared because the info had spread so widely that it can no longer be considered private  —  The latest change underlined how rapidly social media platforms are shifting their positions in the days leading up to the election.
Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya:
[Thread] Twitter updates Hacked Materials Policy, says it won't remove content unless shared by hackers themselves and will label tweets instead of block links  —  Over the last 24 hours, we've received significant feedback (from critical to supportive) about how we enforced our Hacked Materials Policy yesterday. After reflecting on this feedback, we have decided to make changes to the policy and how we enforce it.
Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:
Interview: Microsoft's Phil Spencer on Xbox Series S vs. Series X, Bethesda deal, cross-gen gaming, ballooning game file sizes, and the storage size trade-off  —  There's nothing normal about interviewing Xbox chief Phil Spencer these days.  —  First, there's the location.
Bloomberg:
Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop:
Google says Chinese state-linked hacker group, known as APT31, has been using malware on GitHub to upload and download files on networks in targeted attacks  —  Former vice president Joe Biden.  Chinese hackers have unsuccessfully targeted the campaign, according to Google.  (Flickr / Gage Skidmore)
Tara Seals / Threatpost:
Broadvoice, a VoIP provider for SMBs, has leaked 350M+ customer records, including thousands of voicemail transcripts, many including medical and financial info  —  Broadvoice, a well-known VoIP provider that serves small- and medium-sized businesses, has leaked more than 350 million customer records related …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Thoughts on Apple's “Hi, Speed” event: the iPhone 12 lineup, camera differences, missing chargers and earbuds, focus on 5G and Verizon CEO's cameo, more  —  Last month's “Time Flies” event for the Apple Watch Series 6 and new iPad Air was about an hour long; this week's “Hi, Speed” event ran just a bit longer at 70 minutes.
More: The Verge
Wired:
18% of games announced by major studios this summer had female protagonists, with Sony accounting for over a third; E3 2019 games had 5% female representation  —  The data on female representation in games looked optimistic—but time will tell if these changes endure beyond a wildcard year.
Marietje Schaake / Foreign Affairs:
Democratic governments must take an active role in bringing accountability to cyberspace to avoid losing more ground to harmful actors and authoritarian regimes  —  This past summer, a host of public organizations as varied as the Norwegian parliament, the New Zealand stock exchange, and the Vatican all came under attack.
Eric Lipton / New York Times:
With Trump's re-election in doubt, federal agencies are scrambling to enact regulatory changes, like allowing DHS to collect more extensive biometric data  —  With the president's re-election in doubt, cabinet departments are scrambling to finish dozens of new rules affecting millions of Americans.

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More News

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Wall Street Journal:

Earlier Picks

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
BBC:
Apple:
Aatif Sulleyman / Newsweek:
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat: