Techmeme
October 8, 2021, 6:40 AM

Top News

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Google and YouTube say they will prohibit ads and monetization on content that denies climate change, starting next month  —  Google and YouTube on Thursday announced a new policy that prohibits climate deniers from being able to monetize their content on its platforms via ads or creator payments.
Taylor Soper / GeekWire:
Microsoft acquires Ally, whose software helps companies track and hit their goals; PitchBook: Ally was last valued at $345M after its $50M Series C in February  —  Microsoft has acquired Ally, a 3-year-old Seattle-based startup that helps companies track and hit their goals.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Maddie Stone / Grist:
Microsoft reaches an agreement with investor advocacy nonprofit As You Sow to make its devices easier to fix, increasing access to spare parts and repair docs  —  In a first-of-its-kind agreement, the company has committed to increasing access to spare parts and repair documents.
Louis Barclay / Slate:
Developer says Facebook banned him for life and threatened to sue after he made Unfollow Everything, a browser extension to help people use Facebook less  —  If someone built a tool that made Facebook less addictive—a tool that allowed users to benefit from Facebook's positive features …
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
As Twitch grapples with the fallout from its giant data leak, a look at the impact on its streamers, who had extensive revenue and personal data leaked  —  The leak of source code and some internal security files does not expose sensitive data, according to a former Twitch employee.
Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo:
How WhatsApp became a popular messaging app in the Global South, driven by high device compatibility and telecom partnerships  —  When the app suffered a six hour outage this week, millions of people's lives were thrown into turmoil.  Why were they there at all?  —  Alerts
Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook removes its brand from its in-development social VR platform Facebook Horizon, renaming it as Horizon Worlds, and announces a $10M Creator Fund  —  Facebook removed its brand from in-development social VR platform Horizon and plans to focus the effort around VR-based building tools …
Wall Street Journal:
Ireland, where most US tech companies have their European HQ, says it will join the global agreement to set a minimum rate of 15% for taxing corporate profits  —  The country had been one of a small number of holdouts on an agreement that aims to overhaul global taxation
Frank Bajak / Associated Press:
Microsoft says Russia carried out 58% of detected state-backed hacks in the year ending June 30, with a 32% success rate; China accounted for 8%  —  BOSTON (AP) — Russia accounted for most state-sponsored hacking detected by Microsoft over the past year, with a 58% share …
Brian X. Chen / New York Times:
Many popular VPN services are owned by companies with shady track records, like London-based Kape Technologies, which also owns VPN review sites  —  Many virtual private network services that were meant to protect your web browsing can no longer be trusted.  Here are other ways.
The Verge:
Gov. Newsom signs Silenced No More Act, which ex-Pinterest employee Ifeoma Ozoma helped draft, to protect CA workers who call out discrimination despite NDAs  —  Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Silenced No More Act to protect whistleblowers in California  —  California governor Gavin Newsom signed …
Gordon Gottsegen / Built In Chicago:
Chicago-based The Mom Project, a job site aimed at women returning to work, raises $80M Series C led by Leeds Illuminate, bringing its total raised to $106M  —  Too many women feel like they have to choose between being a good mom and having a good career.  The Mom Project wants to convince them that they can do both.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Reimagine your photos with a prompt  —  Our new native image generation and editing is state-of-the-art, and ranked #1 in the world.  Try it for free in the Gemini app.
Atlassian:
The AI Collaboration Index  —  Discover the secret to AI-enabled impact.  Download the report.
Zoho:
Zoho and Axis Bank: Bringing connected banking to modern businesses  —  If you're like most businesses, your finance apps and your bank operate in two separate worlds.  You record expenses in one …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
F5:
Securing AI models and agents in the enterprise  —  The new AI stack creates a highly dynamic attack surface, and traditional controls aren't keeping up.  F5's recent acquisition will bring advanced AI guardrails to enterprise apps.

Featured Podcasts

Spotlight On:
Bonus Episode: n8n's Jan Oberhauser on building the Excel of AI
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The AI industry is at a major crossroads
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
First interview with Scale AI's CEO: $14B Meta deal, what's working in enterprise AI, and what frontier labs are building next | Jason Droege
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
Anthropic Chief Product Officer: Why AI Model Development Is Accelerating — With Mike Krieger
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Great Chat:
David vs. Goliath, but make it venture-backed
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Vince Hankes from Thrive Capital
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:40 AM ET, October 8, 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

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:

Earlier Picks

Mark Scott / Politico:
Anya Kamenetz / NPR:
Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:
Zeke Faux / Bloomberg:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
José Adorno / 9to5Mac: