Techmeme
October 21, 2020, 1:35 PM

Top News

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 …
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:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
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 …
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.
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.
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) …
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:
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
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
Jake Tapper / CNN:
Sources: WH is seeking to fast-track a no-bid contract to lease DOD mid-band 5G spectrum to Rivada Networks, which has Peter Thiel and Karl Rove as investors  —  Washington (CNN)Senior officials throughout various departments and agencies of the Trump administration tell CNN they are alarmed …
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Filings for Q3 lobbying: Facebook spent $4.9M, up 1.5% from Q2, Amazon spent $4.4M, up 0.7%, Google spent $1.9M, up 14.2%, Amazon spent $1.9M, up 35.4%  —  - Google ramped up lobbying spend in the third quarter as regulators and lawmakers prepared to make public their findings of antitrust violations.

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More News

Anna Wiener / New Yorker:

Earlier Picks

Rest of World:
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
James Vincent / The Verge: