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June 16, 2021, 12:40 PM
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Rolfe Winkler / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: some of Apple's healthcare efforts, including a pilot primary healthcare service with Apple-employed doctors, have stalled due to internal concerns  —  Tech giant has envisioned hiring doctors to offer primary care, now focused on Watch  —  Apple Inc. Chief Executive Tim Cook …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify launches Spotify Greenroom, a new app that allows Spotify users worldwide to join or host live audio rooms, and turn those conversations into podcasts  —  In March, Spotify announced it was acquiring the company behind the sports-focused audio app Locker Room to help speed its entry into the live audio market.
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.
James Vincent / The Verge:
Facebook launches a new suite of tools for admins of Groups, including AI-powered Conflict Alerts that identify “contentious or unhealthy conversations”  —  Part of a suite of new tools for managing Facebook communities  —  Facebook is launching a suite of new tools to help group admins get a grip on their communities.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Waymo raises $2.5B from Alphabet, a16z, Tiger Global, and others, to advance its autonomous driving tech and grow its team  —  - Google sibling company Waymo announced a $2.5 billion investment round Wednesday, which will go toward advancing its autonomous driving technology and growing its team.
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 …
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Overview of House lawmakers' recent antitrust-focused bills, which target consumer tech giants, vary in radicalness, and at times conflict with each other  —  From the Wall Street Journal:  —  These bills are the ultimate outcome of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust's investigation …
Darrell Etherington / TechCrunch:
Interview with Apple's VP for Technology Kevin Lynch on Apple Watch's evolution, future health capabilities through sensor fusion with AirPods, and more  —  Apple VP of Technology Kevin Lynch charts a path from Apple Watch's early days to the sophistication of Health today.
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Novo, a neobank targeting small businesses, raises $40.7M Series A led by Valar Ventures  —  Small businesses have traditionally been underserved when it comes to IT — they are too big and have too many requirements that can't be met by consumer products, yet are much too small to afford …
David Cohen / Adweek:
The Oversight Board accepts its first policy advisory opinion request from Facebook, on the sharing of private residential info, issues call for public comments  —  It involves how it should handle private residential information
Wall Street Journal:
Alibaba's Taobao was clandestinely scraped by a web crawler for 8 months, leading to a leak of 1.1B pieces of user data, including user IDs and phone numbers  —  Software developer scrapes 1.1 billion pieces of user data, including IDs and phone numbers, over eight months
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
Privacy activists worry about the lack of transparency and detailed info on how Apple plans to implement driver's licenses and other digital IDs on its devices  —  Digital driver's licenses have had a slow start in the US so far, but iOS 15 Wallet will give the nascent technology a serious push.
Daphne Leprince-Ringuet / ZDNet:
IBM unveils the Quantum System One, its first quantum computer physically built outside of the US, in Germany in partnership with research institute Fraunhofer  —  Big Blue has, for the first time, built a quantum computer that is not physically located in its US data centers.
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
Bloomberg:
Amazon's planned new African HQ, located in Cape Town, has met with fierce resistance and protests by indigenous people, with 50,000 objections  —  - Khoisan group trying to stop building of $291 million project  — City of Cape Town says venture will add jobs, boost economy
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
After years of pop-up experiments, Google says its first retail store, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC, will open on June 17  —  Pixel, Nest, Fitbit, and third-party accessories will be on sale  —  After years of pop-up experiments, Google is finally dipping its toes …
Joe Light / Bloomberg:
US lawmakers and Fed officials have expressed concern over the risk to US financial system posed by stablecoins, as their total market cap crosses $100B  —  - So-called stablecoins cited as a risk to financial system  — Consumers' money isn't adequately protected, lawmakers say
Parmy Olson / Wall Street Journal:
A look at Facebook's Oversight Board, which wants to double to 40 members, as observers say its long-term effectiveness rests on how Facebook reacts to rulings  —  Board and outside observers say longer-term effectiveness of the panel lies in how Facebook responds to its guidance

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 12:40 PM ET, June 16, 2021.

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.

From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:
Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”, after CBS aired a Late Show rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump

Alex Ritman / Variety:
In Channel 4's 2025 Alternative Christmas Message, Jimmy Kimmel said “tyranny is booming” in the US and, on his ABC suspension, “We won, the president lost”

Henry Blodget / Regenerator:
Bari Weiss' 60 Minutes decision may have been a way to both signal that she's serious about shifting CBS' sensibility to the right and “improve” a story

More News

Hayden Field / Morning Brew:
Sources detail Airbnb's failures to prioritize anti-discrimination outside of talking points, including its Smart Pricing algorithm, which widened inequalities

Earlier Picks

Kaitlyn Tiffany / The Atlantic:
Examining the commercialization of ideas and interactions via newsletters, NFTs, and tip jars, where money empowers but reduces expression to mere commerce
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
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
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
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