Techmeme
September 15, 2021, 11:35 PM

Top News

Ryan Weeks / The Block:
NFT marketplace OpenSea acknowledges that its head of product, Nate Chastain, purchased NFTs he knew were going to be displayed prominently  —  Quick Take  — The marketplace has acknowledged that its head of product Nate Chastain purchased NFTs that he knew were going to be displayed prominently.
Wall Street Journal:
Internal documents: Facebook's own research found that a 2018 change to encourage positive interactions had the opposite effect; Zuckerberg resisted any fixes  —  Internal memos show how a big 2018 change rewarded outrage and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg resisted proposed fixes
Ash Parrish / The Verge:
After being sued by the state of California, Activision Blizzard is sued by a group representing employees, alleging it tried to prevent them from organizing  —  Organized by CODE-CWA, the suit claims Activision Blizzard engaged in coercive and intimidating behavior
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft will now let users access accounts without a password by using Microsoft Authenticator, Windows Hello, a security key, or a verification code  —  You can delete your Microsoft account password  —  Microsoft now lets you remove passwords from Microsoft accounts to embrace a passwordless future.
Jon Porter / The Verge:
While critics liken iPhone 13 to an iterative “12S” update, the branding shows Apple has adjusted to the current smartphone market, where big overhauls are rare  —  Apple's ‘S’-year iPhones never went away, it just stopped advertising them  —  Apple had a lot of new features …
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
Dylan Patel / SemiAnalysis:
Patrick Howell O'Neill / MIT Technology Review:
Sources: US firm Accuvant, now part of Optiv, sold iPhone hacking tool Karma to the UAE for $1.3M in 2016; the tool has been used against hundreds of targets  —  An American cybersecurity company was behind a 2016 iPhone hack sold to a group of mercenaries and used by the United Arab Emirates.
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Turner Wright / Cointelegraph:
Chainalysis: Africa's crypto market grew 1,200%+ in value between July 2020 and June 2021 to reach $105.6B; retail-sized transfers made up 7%+ of overall volume  —  P2P platforms, the need for remittances to circumvent restrictions from banks, and putting savings into crypto as a means …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Senator Markey and Reps. Castor and Trahan wrote to Facebook calling on it to abandon its plans to launch an Instagram app for kids in light of WSJ's report  —  Democrats call on the company to abandon Instagram for kids  —  Two top lawmakers on the Senate Commerce Committee's panel …
Elizabeth Culliford / Reuters:
WhatsApp launches its first test of a public directory for businesses within the app, starting in São Paulo  —  (Reuters) - Facebook's messaging service WhatsApp on Wednesday launched a new feature to make it possible to search for businesses within its app for the first time, the company told Reuters.
Max Chafkin / Bloomberg:
Book excerpt examines Peter Thiel's support for Trump and partnership with Steve Bannon, libertarian ideology, battles with the IRS, and founding of Palantir  —  In an exclusive excerpt from The Contrarian, a new biography, the disruption-preaching power broker is revealed …
Dan Primack / Axios:
Rebellion Defense, the Eric Schmidt-backed developer of AI defense tech, raises $150M led by Insight and Venrock at a $1B pre-money valuation  —  Rebellion Defense, a developer of AI solutions for U.S. defense, tells Axios that it has raised $150 million in venture capital at a $1 billion pre-money valuation.
More: The AtlanticThanks:@szeyian
Politico:
Joe Biden announces a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with Australia and the UK to share tech in areas like AI, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies  —  The new allies' agreement will include cooperation on nuclear-powered subs, AI and cutting-edge defense tech.  —  The Australian flag flies.
Sam Byford / The Verge:
Xiaomi launches flagship 11T series, including the 11T Pro with 120W fast charging, claiming 100% charge in 17 minutes, starting at €649  —  A fully charged 5,000mAh battery in 17 minutes  —  Xiaomi has launched its 11T series, the headline of which is the 11T Pro …

Sponsor Posts

Tribe AI:
Is AI just hype?  —  Find out how top enterprises use Tribe to get real business results.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI, VR, policy, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 48 news topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.
Zoho:
How to create an omnichannel customer engagement strategy  —  Let's talk customer engagement—the holy grail of any business.  If you look at any real-world examples, Sephora is what most consider the 'Sensei …
Comprehensive.io:
Browse salary data from 3,000 startups for free  —  Click for FREE, immediate access to real-time compensation benchmarking data.  Paid version helps HR automate comp reviews and communicate total compensation to employees.
The Kevin Rose Show:
Henry Shukman, Lessons from an Authentic Zen Master
Gain unconventional wisdom and insights through conversations with top expert in AI, investing, wellness, technology, and culture.
Techmeme Ride Home:
Thu. 03/28 - Claude 3 Opus Surpasses GPT-4 For The First Time
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or RSS.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:35 PM ET, September 15, 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.

More News

Earlier Picks

Keith Broni / Emojipedia: