Techmeme
August 17, 2021, 10:00 AM

Top News

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
As the Taliban uses WhatsApp to coordinate and spread messages, the service's end-to-end encryption makes banning the group difficult  —  The Taliban are using the Facebook-owned chat app to spread messages to Afghan citizens as they take over the country.  —  Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai
Bloomberg:
Adam Mosseri says Facebook is “proactively” removing content from its platforms that promotes or represents the Taliban  —  A Facebook Inc. executive said the company is “proactively” removing content from its platforms that promotes the Taliban as the group seizes power in Afghanistan.
Joseph Cox / VICE:
T-Mobile confirms hackers gained access to its systems, following reports that sensitive data, including SSNs, for over 100M people was for sale on the dark web  —  “We have determined that unauthorized access to some T-Mobile data occurred.”  —  Joseph Cox
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Tinder says it will bring its optional ID Verification feature, which has been available in Japan since 2019, to all members globally “in the coming quarters”  —  The feature has been active in Japan since 2019  —  Tinder said on Monday that it will make its ID Verification feature available …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Vienna-based crypto trading platform Bitpanda raises $263M led by Valar Ventures at a $4.1B valuation, up from $1.2B five months ago  —  - Cryptocurrency trading platform Bitpanda raised $263 million in a fresh round of funding valuing the company at $4.1 billion.
South China Morning Post:
Michael McSweeney / The Block:
Bluesky, the decentralized social media initiative unveiled by Twitter in 2019, will be led by Jay Graber, a former startup founder and cryptocurrency dev  —  Bluesky, the decentralized social media initiative unveiled by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at the end of 2019, has a project lead, according to a Monday announcement.
Samantha Hissong / Rolling Stone:
TikTok partners with Audius, a music streaming service built on Ethereum, to let users upload their music as TikTok Sounds  —  It's the blockchain-powered Audius, rather than Spotify or Apple Music, that will let artists share their sounds into TikTok in one click
Brad Stone / Bloomberg:
A look at US lawmakers' efforts to rein in Google and Apple's app stores, after a bipartisan companion bill to Senate's Open App Markets Act debuts in the House  —  Legislating your apps  —  The U.S. Congress wants to change the way your smartphone works.  And the effort may actually succeed.
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg:
Google and Facebook say they will participate in a subsea cable system linking Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Guam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, launching 2024  —  Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Facebook Inc. announced their participation in a new subsea cable system for 2024 set …

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Earlier Picks

Tim Marcin / Mashable:
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
David Gilbert / VICE:
Tom Krisher / Associated Press:
Joanna Ossinger / Bloomberg: