Techmeme
June 16, 2021, 5:45 AM

Top News

New York Times:
Biden names Lina Khan, an antitrust expert who wrote the “Amazon Antitrust Paradox”, as FTC chair, after the Senate voted 69-28 to confirm her as commissioner  —  Ms. Khan, who first attracted notice as a critic of Amazon, was confirmed by the Senate as a commissioner on the agency on Tuesday.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Ahead of Microsoft's event to unveil the next gen of Windows, a Windows 11 build leaks, showing a revamped UI, like a new taskbar with centered app icons, more  —  Screenshots have leaked online  —  Screenshots of Microsoft's upcoming Windows 11 operating system have appeared online today.
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Google unveils features for Android including end-to-end encryption for RCS-based one-to-one chats in Messages, starred messages, emoji mashup suggestions, more  —  Earthquake Alerts in more places and better accessibility  —  Google has announced seven new features for Android …
Bloomberg:
Japan Display, which sold its smartphone screen factory last year, is pivoting to VR; LCDs are projected to dominate the VR headset market over the next 5 years  —  - Superseded on mobile, LCDs can better compete with OLED in VR  — JDI believes headset business could grow into a linchpin
David Cohen / Adweek:
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Krafton, the company behind popular game PUBG and backed by Tencent, files for an IPO in South Korea, seeking to raise as much as $5B  —  - Krafton is selling shares between 458,000 won and 557,000 won  — Company will have to prove it's more than a one-hit wonder
Christopher Palmeri / Bloomberg:
Fox Corp. creates a $100M creators fund for the NFT market, as part of a broader effort that includes Blockchain Creative Labs, a new business unit to sell NFTs  —  - New blockchain unit will sell and manage digital goods  — Dan Harmon's ‘Krapopolis’ animated show is first project
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
India-based Apna, whose Android app lets blue collar workers connect with others, upskill, and find jobs, raises $70M Series B led by Insight and Tiger Global  —  Indian cities are home to hundreds of millions of low-skilled workers who hail from villages in search of work.
Fight for the Future:
Investigation explores Apple's censorship or removal of LGBTQ+ apps globally; Apple's App Stores for Saudi Arabia and China are missing the most apps  —  As LGBTQ+ people around the world celebrate Pride Month, new report from Fight for the Future and GreatFire shows how Apple's App Store …
Ashley Lampard / Rest of World:
A look at the rise and fall of Phan Huynh Anh Khoa, aka “The King of Squirrels”, who used Facebook to become one of Vietnam's most notorious wildlife traders  —  Phan Huynh Anh Khoa capitalized on Vietnam's digital development — and Facebook's negligence — to build a wildlife trading empire.
Kate Kaye / Digiday:
Analysis: Amazon's properties, including Amazon.com, WholeFoods.com, and Zappos.com, are blocking Google's new FLoC tracking system from gathering data  —  Amazon is blocking Google's controversial cookieless tracking and targeting method.  —  Most of Amazon's properties including Amazon.com …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Oracle reports Q4 revenue of $11.23B, up 8% YoY, vs $11.04B est., with revenue from its Fusion ERP up 46% and NetSuite ERP up 26%  —  - Oracle called for less earnings guidance than analysts had expected as the company plans investments in cloud computing.  — For the quarter, though, Oracle beat on the top and bottom lines.
More: PR Newswire and ZDNet
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
UK's CMA says it will launch an investigation into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems over whether their market power is harming users  —  Today, the UK's competition watchdog (the Competition and Markets Authority) announced an official investigation into the mobile device ecosystem, citing Apple and Google's effective duopoly.
Jimin Kang / Reuters:
Payments company dLocal and Amazon announce an agreement that enables international vendors to sell products on Amazon's Brazil marketplace for the first time  —  Uruguayan payment startup dLocal Ltd (DLO.O) said on Tuesday that it had struck a partnership with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) …
Source: Business Wire
New York Times:
Interviews with ~200 people show how Amazon's warehouse employment system, under strain before the pandemic, burned through workers and created huge confusion  —  Each year, hundreds of thousands of workers churn through a vast mechanism that hires and monitors, disciplines and fires.
Jason Del Rey / Vox:

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Earlier Picks

Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Olivia Carville / Bloomberg:
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch: