Techmeme
July 26, 2021, 5:15 AM

Top News

Max Fisher / New York Times:
Analysts and US officials say the disinformation-for-hire industry is booming, as influencers get approached by back-alley firms to spread falsehoods  —  Back-alley firms meddle in elections and promote falsehoods on behalf of clients who can claim deniability, escalating our era of unreality.
Stephanie Kirchgaessner / The Guardian:
WhatsApp CEO says they had recorded an attack against 1,400 users over a two-week period in 2019, casting doubts on NSO's defense against Pegasus project claims  —  Will Cathcart claims government officials around the world among 1,400 WhatsApp users targeted in 2019
Kim Zetter / Zero Day:
Priya Anand / Bloomberg:
Parking apps in the US have seen a new wave of customers amid a surge in car ownership spurred by people avoiding mass transit and ride sharing due to COVID-19  —  During the depths of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, cars sat idly in driveways, city streets were deserted, onetime commuters worked from bed …
Tweets: @bw
Bloomberg:
In a blow to the edtech sector, China orders tutoring companies teaching the school curriculum to go non-profit, bans them from IPOs and raising foreign capital  —  - After-school tutors can't raise capital or float shares  — Sweeping curbs will up-end a once-thriving, big-money sector
Yinka Adegoke / Rest of World:
Kenyan tech founders say there is a funding bias toward North American and European expats in the country; analysis: only one Kenyan founder raised $1M+ in 2019  —  To break the cycle of favoritism and white privilege, Kenya's tech ecosystem needs to back itself with money and self-belief.
New York Times:
A look at FTX, Binance, BitMEX, and their once North America-based founders, who run exchanges for highly-leveraged crypto derivatives trading outside the US  —  A new generation of industry leaders has set up offshore trading exchanges largely beyond the reach of American regulators.
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Mark Gurman: Face ID on the Mac is likely coming within a couple of years, and all iPhones and iPads will transition to Face ID within that timeframe, too  —  Apple plans to bring Face ID to the Mac within the next “couple of years,” respected Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman said today in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter.
Kris Holt / Engadget:
Noah Smith / Noahpinion:
China's tech crackdown has focused on consumer-facing internet companies, perhaps because Xi believes hard tech like chipmaking is more geopolitically important  —  Maybe because what countries think of as a “tech industry” isn't always the same  —  Those who pay attention to business news …

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