Techmeme
October 21, 2020, 9:25 AM

Top News

Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
In lawsuit, DOJ says nearly half of Google search traffic in 2019 came from Apple products and estimates Google pays Apple $8B to $12B per year  —  - DOJ antitrust lawsuit goes after a multibillion-dollar pact  — Google documents say losing Apple deal would be ‘Code Red’
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
DOJ's antitrust suit against Google is being driven by cronyism and election season politics, and not by a serious concern about monopoly power  —  Last month we noted how Bill Barr was rushing DOJ staffers (much to their chagrin) to launch his “antitrust inquiry” into Google.  Why?  Three reasons.
Wall Street Journal:
Anna Irrera / Reuters:
PayPal will allow users to 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; Katzenberg told others he may shut down the company  —  Jeffrey Katzenberg may be nearing the end of the road with his mobile video streaming service Quibi.
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.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q3 revenue of $6.44B, up 22.7% YoY, vs $6.38B est., and 2.2M paid net adds in Q3 vs 6.8M in Q3'19 and 10.1M in Q2'20; stock down ~5% after hours  —  - It's the first report since longtime Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO.
Jake Tapper / CNN:
Sources: WH is seeking to fast-track a no-bid contract to lease DOD mid-band 5G spectrum to Rivada Networks, whose investors include Peter Thiel and Karl Rove  —  Washington (CNN)Senior officials throughout various departments and agencies of the Trump administration tell CNN they are alarmed …
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
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. Alexia 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) …
Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
Syte, which offers visual search tech to e-commerce companies, raises $30M Series C led by Viola Ventures and $10M in debt, bringing its total raised to $71M  —  Tel Aviv-based visual search and product discovery platform Syte, already used by brands like Farfetch and Fashion Nova …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
VENN, a linear TV and esports network available on various streaming services like Roku, Twitch, YouTube, Facebook Gaming, and Plex, raises $26M Series A  —  The Video Game Entertainment and News Network (VENN) will announce Tuesday a $26 million Series A investment round co-led by BITKRAFT Ventures …
Anna Wiener / New Yorker:
Profile of Moxie Marlinspike, CEO of Signal, as he defends centralization as a necessary condition for Signal's widespread adoption, and for its ease of use  —  Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of the end-to-end encrypted messaging service Signal, is “trying to bring normality to the Internet.”
Jay Peters / The Verge:
From today until “at least” the end of election week, Twitter will show the Quote Tweet composer when you click or tap the retweet icon, discouraging basic RTs  —  The changes will be in place until ‘at least’ the end of election week  —  Twitter is temporarily changing …

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Rest of World:
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Earlier Picks

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