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February 21, 2021, 3:45 PM
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| BuzzFeed News: |
Sources: Zuckerberg's personal intervention to reduce the severity of Alex Jones' ban in 2019 slowed down Facebook's efforts to deal with dangerous content — In April 2019, Facebook was preparing to ban one of the internet's most notorious spreaders of misinformation and hate, Infowars founder Alex Jones.
More:
Washington Post and Slashdot
| Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: |
Researchers discover macOS malware dubbed “Silver Sparrow” on at least 30K Macs, which includes a native M1 version and leverages the Installer JavaScript API — With no payload, analysts are struggling to learn what this mature malware does. — A previously undetected piece …
Source:
Red Canary. More:
CNN, TechSpot, Patently Apple, AppleInsider, Slashdot, Apple Terminal, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors
Tweets: @binitamshah, @johnkoetsier, @freethesandbox, @macroliter, @profwoodward, @kimzetter, @kimzetter, and @kimzetter
| Manish Singh / TechCrunch: |
WhatsApp says users who haven't accepted its new privacy policy by May 15 can receive calls and notifications “for a short time”, but not read or send messages — WhatsApp said earlier this week that it will allow users to review its planned privacy update at “their own pace” …
More:
Insider, gHacks Technology News, MacRumors, AppleInsider, SlashGear, Digital Trends, iPhone Hacks, and Pocketnow
Tweets: @tariqkrim and @raamana_
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
Margaret Mitchell, co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says she has been fired; Google says an employee conduct review confirmed multiple policy violations — Margaret Mitchell, the co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says that the company has fired her following an investigation into her use of corporate email.
More:
TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Verge, Sky News, Wired, Bloomberg, Mashable, Android Central, The Guardian, New York Times, Input, VentureBeat, Fortune, Forbes, CNET, CNN, and The Next Web
Tweets: @mmitchell_ai, @dinabass, @kishau, @pedro_bcn_mx, @ant_pruitt, @rvaithianathan, @hkanji, @telegraphtech, @raminskibba, @k_chirp, @evanmiltenburg, @elliotkoss, @kentbye, @zoeschiffer, @bloombergquint, @wired, @androidcentral, @rabble, @dimillian, @aweiss, @gadgetlab, @wired, @scottthurm, @inafried, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @jamesrbuk, @azeem, @devindra, @timnitgebru, @jsnell, @timnitgebru, @lizthegrey, @shannoncoulter, @daiwaka, @nitashatiku, and @dinabass
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
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OneZero , TechCrunch, The Hill, Bloomberg, Engadget, Insider, Protocol, CNET, and The Verge
Tweets: @timnitgebru, @techgirlwonder, @mchardcastle, @inafried, @timnitgebru, @dinabass, @jmesole, @lilahsturges, @timnitgebru, @histoftech, @timnitgebru, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @azeem, @timnitgebru, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @ohthatflo, @timnitgebru, @anna_c_kramer, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @aaschapiro, @stephentyrone, @dlowd, @shanavwhite, @axios, @inafried, @shannonvallor, @inafried, and @inafried
| Rich Mogull / TidBITS: |
Apple's new Platform Security user guide follows the industry trend of growing vertical hardware, software, and cloud integration to improve ecosystem security — Even as a security professional, it's easy to get lost within the digital covers of Apple's latest Platform Security user guide.| Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal: |
For many services, moderating content has become an existential crisis; some services are even establishing rules that pre-empt the need for costly moderation — Content moderation rules used to be a question of taste. Now, they can determine a service's prospects for survival.
Tweets: @mims, @wiczipedia, @roncharles, @mims, @maxabrahms, @aditi_muses, @marklittlenews, @mims, @wsj, @markstenberg3, @mims, and @jeffjarvis
| Reuters: |
Facebook deletes the main page of the Myanmar military for “repeated violations of Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm” — (Reuters) - Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under it standards prohibiting …
More:
Boing Boing. Tweets: @haritho, @militarymonitor, @watchingmyanmar, @arvindhickman, @iainlevine, @walone4, @moui, and @donk_enby
| Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: |
Titan, which offers online investment management services to both accredited and unaccredited investors, raises $12.5M Series A led by General Catalyst — Titan, a startup that is building a retail investment management platform aimed at millennials, has closed on $12.5 million in a Series …
More:
Titan and FinSMEs
Tweets: @aplusk, @bayareawriter, @ycombinator, @nkatragadda, @jta4t, @titanvest, and @bingchen
| Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge: |
App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …
More:
MIT Technology Review, Vox, iPhone in Canada Blog, Techdirt, Micky, Social Media Today, and Insider
Tweets: @justinhendrix, @umabp, @producing2power, @caseynewton, @glenngabe, @justinhendrix, @informor, @justinhendrix, @eileenguo, @freakboy3742, @cterp23, @jamescridland, @steipete, @chrisapplegate, @jesseweigert, @carissaveliz, @soloversal, @juliepsamuels, @jeunj, @sarthakgh, @glenngabe, @stanfordcis, @gumleafwhistler, @chrismessina, @paulbrislen, @macaulaybalkan, @neilwrites, @cameronwilson, @nathanblawrence, @macotani, @neerajka, @umabp, @brianboyer, @brooklynmarie, @umabp, @umabp, @rasmus_kleis, @karlbode, @dhh, and @umabp
| Sheldon Chanel / The Guardian: |
More:
BIG by Matt Stoller. Tweets: @dailypostdan, @glynmoody, @susanamet, @ahawatson, @politicoryan, @robpegoraro, @bendohertycorro, @matthewstoller, @tmcw, @tmcw, and @tmcw
| Shoshanna Solomon / The Times of Israel: |
Israel-based Earnix, which helps banks and insurers provide personalized real-time offers to clients, raises $75M at a $1B pre-money valuation — Funds raised will help startup access new markets, finetune software that helps banks and insurers offer clients personalized pricing and products
More:
Bloomberg, Globes Online, and CTech
| Chris Welch / The Verge: |
Twitch replaced the audio for Metallica's “For Whom The Bell Tolls” with folk music during the band's BlizzCon livestream, presumably to avoid a DMCA notice — The Twitch Gaming stream gave us this beautiful moment — Despite its later-than-usual timing and going completely virtual …
More:
music.avclub.com, GameSpot, Gizmodo, Variety, Engadget, Kotaku, IGN, Mashable, dexerto.com, and Twinfinite
Tweets: @slasher, @dexerto, @starfire2258, @jimmforce, @thehermitdruid, @deathdrive905, @troywho, @queenyeet20, @grindheadjim, @egoraptor, @prairiephlox, and @wardcarroll
| Andrew Thurman / Cointelegraph: |
Synthetix, which develops a DeFi protocol for trading derivatives, raises $12M after three VC firms purchased its native tokens directly from its DAO treasury — As the community debates VCs participating in DAOs, Synthetix welcomes three new community members
More:
CoinDesk, InsideBitcoins.com, and FinSMEs
| Reuters: |
Brazil-based Descomplica, which offers online undergraduate courses and test prep for university and civil service entrance exams, raises ~$83M led by SoftBank — A group of investors led by Softbank Group has invested 450 million reais ($83 million) in Brazilian test-prep startup Descomplica …
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