Techmeme
August 5, 2021, 6:25 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Security experts voice privacy concerns over Apple's new plan to scan users' devices for child abuse images, saying governments will likely increase its scope  —  Security researchers raise alarm over potential surveillance of personal devices  —  Apple intends to install software …
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Apple says in the next couple of months it will begin scanning photos on iOS 15 and macOS Monterey devices in the US for known child abuse images  —  The feature lands later this year, but already faces resistance from security and privacy experts  —  Later this year, Apple will roll …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Microsoft announces “Super Duper Secure Mode” for its Edge desktop browser, which disables V8's JIT, allowing for security features like Arbitrary Code Guard  —  Microsoft said today it plans to run an experiment in its Edge web browser where it will intentionally disable …
Todd Bishop / GeekWire:
Amazon delays its return to offices from September 3 to January 3, 2022  —  Amazon told employees Thursday that it will delay its timeline for returning to regular work in the office until early next year.  —  The new date: Jan. 3, 2022.  Previously, Amazon had expected employees …
Joseph Cox / VICE:
Scammers are abusing Instagram's protections against self-harm and impersonation to purposefully target and ban Instagram accounts, some charging $60 per ban  —  An underground industry is abusing Instagram's mechanisms for removing self-injury and impersonating content to censor and harass people.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies, including if customers must show proof of vaccination, wear masks, or if all staff are vaccinated  —  Including details on staff and customer vaccinations  —  Yelp will let businesses share their policies on COVID-19 vaccinations, the company announced today.
Gilad Edelman / Wired:
Mozilla's analysis says Facebook's justifications for cutting off access to researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory project “simply do not hold water”  —  The company says privacy concerns forced it to block access for a team of academics.  Whose privacy, exactly?
Bloomberg:
Dan Seifert / The Verge:
Google refreshes its Nest lineup, including its video doorbell and indoor-only camera, with a unified design language and lower prices  —  A whole new lineup of cameras for Nest smart homes  —  Google has announced a new line of home security cameras and a video doorbell under its Nest brand.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Nintendo misses in Q1 with $1.09B operating profit, down 17.3% YoY, on $2.94B revenue, down 9.9% YoY, as Switch sales decline by 21.7% YoY to 4.45M units  —  It was not exactly a normal quarter this time in 2020  —  Nintendo has released its earnings for the April-June quarter …
Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal:
DHS unveils the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative to combat ransomware and cyberattacks, in partnership with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others  —  Creation of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative follows high-profile cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure
MacKenzie Sigalos / CNBC:
Ethereum's “London” hard fork has been activated, with changes to how transaction fees are calculated to decrease volatility, among other fixes  —  - Ethereum's “London” hard fork has just activated, and it's a major change.  — One of the changes alters the way transaction fees …
Khari Johnson / Wired:
New study says encouraging consensus among data labelers from diverse backgrounds can lead to better AI for detecting misogyny and harassment on social media  —  Misogyny on the internet too often slips through the filters of content moderators.  A new method hopes to inject more nuance into the process.
Michael del Castillo / Forbes:
Cryptocurrency analytics firm Messari raises $21M Series A led by Point72 Ventures with Kraken Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Coinbase among investors  —  Point72 Ventures,, the venture capital firm of billionaire Steve Cohen, whose unconventional style helped inspire the hit television show Billions …
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Apple places female engineering program manager on administrative leave after she tweeted about sexism in the office  —  Ashley Gjøvik says the employee relations team implied she should stay off Slack pending an ongoing investigation  —  Apple has placed senior engineering program …
Anna Kramer / Protocol:
Mapbox workers voted against a union 123-81, after the company forced a formal vote on whether workers wanted to form a union allied with CWA  —  Union organizers at software company Mapbox lost their union election by 123 “no” votes to 81 in favor, marking the end of the formal process to seek recognition from the company.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
ReversingLabs, a 12-year-old Cambridge, MA-based supply chain cybersecurity company, raises $56M Series B funding led by Crosspoint Capital Partners  —  All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now.  Watch now.  —  ReversingLabs, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based …

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Earlier Picks

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