Techmeme
October 21, 2020, 6:45 PM

Top News

New York Times:
A look at the well-funded Big Tech opponents, from lawyers to academics, that have helped guide potential government regulation like Google's antitrust suit  —  An unlikely collection of lawyers, activists, economists and academics are fueling the tech backlash, armed with funding from billionaire sponsors.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
DOJ's lawsuit against Google is appropriately narrow, focusing on search and providing a template for Congressional action against Big Tech even if it fails  —  Manage your Stratechery subscription.  —  So it finally happened: the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Google …
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
DOJ's case against Google relies on proving restrictive contracts protected its dominant position, a similar move to the antitrust case against Microsoft  —  The Justice Department's antitrust case points to restrictive contracts, a focus that a professor said “is as old as the Sherman Act.”
Wall Street Journal:
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
Anna Irrera / Reuters:
PayPal will let users buy and sell cryptocurrency using its online wallets in the coming weeks and shop at merchants on its network starting in early 2021  —  LONDON (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings Inc joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to buy …
The Information:
Sources: Jeffrey Katzenberg tried to sell Quibi's catalog to NBCUniversal and Facebook, but both passed  —  Jeffrey Katzenberg may be nearing the end of the road with his mobile video streaming service Quibi.  He recently tried to sell its catalog of programming to companies such as NBCUniversal and Facebook.
Medium:
Meg Whitman and Jeffrey Katzenberg confirm Quibi is shutting down: “Our failure was not for lack of trying; we've considered and exhausted every option”  —  We started with the idea to create the next generation of storytelling and because of you, we were able to create and deliver …
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Report: at least 2,000 US law enforcement agencies, including 49 of the 50 largest police departments, have the tools to access locked, encrypted phones  —  At least 2,000 law enforcement agencies have tools to get into encrypted smartphones, according to new research, and they are using them far more than previously known.
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
iPad Air (2020) review: has an excellent screen, very fast processor, and is compatible with iPad Pro accessories, but it's expensive and has no 128GB option  —  Despite the higher cost, this iPad is the one to get  —  If you're looking to get an iPad right now and can afford it …
Ina Fried / Axios:
Over 430,000 viewers tuned in simultaneously to watch Rep. Ocasio-Cortez play Among Us on Twitch, the third highest ever for an individual Twitch stream  —  More than 430,000 people tuned in simultaneously to Twitch on Tuesday night to watch Rep. Alexia Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) play a hit video game as part of an effort to promote voting.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook confirms it is testing a feature for users to connect with their neighbors, as rival Nextdoor considers options for going public  —  - Product for local connections is being tested in Canada now  — Nextdoor is considering options, including a public offering
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Netflix plans to test a 48-hour free weekend in India, dubbed StreamFest and scheduled for Dec. 4, and may bring the promotion to other countries later  —  Netflix is looking to promote its service with a 48-hour free streaming event, confirmed COO Greg Peters during the company's Q3 2020 earnings call Tuesday afternoon.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Israeli startup Mine, which helps users control their data, raises $9.5M Series A led by Google's Gradient Ventures and has helped send 1.3M deletion requests  —  TechCrunch readers probably know that privacy regulations like Europe's GDPR and California's CCPA give them additional rights around …
More: Geektime
The Intercept:
Documents show Google Cloud will be used for its AI capabilities by the CBP in conjunction with Anduril Industries' surveillance tech on the US-Mexico border  —  After years of backlash over controversial government work, Google technology will be used to aid the Trump administration's efforts …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese tech companies including Huawei have expressed strong concerns to local regulators about Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm  —  - China is unlikely to grant its unconditional blessing  — Arm may become another flashpoint in the U.S.-China tech war
More: Wccftech

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
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

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
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.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
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:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:45 PM ET, October 21, 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

Earlier Picks

Anna Wiener / New Yorker: