Techmeme
December 8, 2021, 8:55 PM

Top News

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Instagram plans to bring back “a version” of its chronological feed in Q1 2022, as it experiments with other options for users including a “favorites” feed  —  After more than five years, Instagram plans to bring back “a version” of its chronological feed next year, the company's top executive said on Wednesday.
C-SPAN.org:
Video of Adam Mosseri's testimony before a Senate Commerce subcommittee examining Instagram's negative effects on teen mental health  —  Instagram CEO testifies on impact of platform on young users before a Senate Commerce subcommittee.
Bloomberg:
Adam Mosseri proposes updating Section 230 so that tech companies are only protected if they follow kids' safety rules set by a new government oversight body  —  - Mosseri proposes new oversight body to create standards  — Senators say they're unconvinced by Instagram's new features
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
A US appeals court grants a stay in the Epic v. Apple ruling, letting Apple keep its IAP system as the sole source of iOS in-app payments as the case proceeds  —  Apple can maintain its App Store payment monopoly while the case proceeds  —  An appeals court has paused one of the most consequential parts …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apologizes for how he handled firing ~900 employees, 9% of his workforce, over Zoom, as a report says Better.com is delaying its SPAC  —  Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apparently realizes he's done wrong.  —  (As if the barrage of negative publicity wasn't enough evidence of that.)
Jackie Davalos / Bloomberg:
Kickstarter plans to transition its crowdfunding site to a newly created blockchain-based protocol in 2022, and will offer tools for others to build on it  —  It's creating a new company to develop and distribute the technology.  —  For more than a decade, Kickstarter PBC has convinced …
Patrick McGee / Financial Times:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Roku says it has agreed to a multi-year extension with Google for distributing YouTube and YouTube TV apps on its devices; Roku's stock is up 18%+  —  Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV apps to be distributed on Roku.
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Facebook is testing a Professional Mode, letting eligible creators monetize their profiles, including the Reels Play bonus program that offers up to $35K/month  —  Facebook has launched a new professional mode for profiles that will let eligible creators earn money without the need to create a separate Page.
Neal E. Boudette / New York Times:
After Tesla added over 12 video games that can be played while driving, critics argue the company is compromising road users' safety, on top of Autopilot issues  —  The feature raises fresh questions about whether Tesla is compromising safety as it rushes to add new technologies.
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Kuo: AirPods Pro 2, the first update since 2019, will launch in Q4 2022 with a Beats Fit Pro-like design, an improved chip, fitness tracking, and more  —  The AirPods Pro 2, the first update to the AirPods Pro since its debut in 2019, will launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo.
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon has emerged as the de facto wage-and-benefits setter as US companies fight to attract workers in a tight labor market, causing ripples across the economy  —  In local markets throughout America, the e-commerce giant's facilities have an impact on inflation, job markets and labor standards
Andrew Tangel / Wall Street Journal:
The FAA outlines flight restrictions, including limiting bad weather automated landing systems to avoid interference with the C-band 5G spectrum from January 5  —  Agency's order could disrupt air travel with limits to cockpit systems needed in poor weather; new 5G services expected to go live Jan. 5
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Reddit to launch a Spotify Wrapped-like recap featuring statistics for users like time spent and popular content; users created 366M posts in 2021, up 19% YoY  —  Reddit is launching a new personalized Spotify Wrapped-like recap feature for all users tomorrow.
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Meta, Nike, GM, IBM, Walmart, Deloitte, Mastercard, and others join the Data & Trust Alliance, which built an anti-bias scoring system for AI used in HR tools  —  The organization has created a format for evaluating the technology, which is often used to screen job candidates.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
A look at Twitter's Project Guardian, which helps moderators respond more quickly to complaints from an updating list of thousands of its most visible users  —  ‘Project Guardian’ aims to protect prominent tweeters from abuse, harassment  —  Twitter Inc.'s highest-profile users …

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work  —  Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
Zoho:
How WCAG compliance makes modern workplaces more accessible  —  A workplace's approach to inclusivity starts with its everyday tools.  Some of them can create barriers that inadvertently shut people out.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
WebBrain:
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser  —  Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox.  Use local models or your preferred AI provider.  Get started free.

Featured Podcasts

Machine Gods:
Jensen Huang's Nvidiotic Spy Scandal + Can Dems Pass AI Regulation?
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Encore: Chuck Klosterman on Why Football Owns TV (and Why It Won't Forever)
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Invest Like the Best:
Zach Reitano - Building Ro and Why Healthcare Should Be 50% of GDP
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Sources:
Amazon AWS CEO: AI boom is just getting started
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Cheeky Pint:
Nik Storonsky: The most uncompromising banking CEO
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Big Technology Podcast:
Jensen and The Honeypot
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:55 PM ET, December 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

Queenie Wong / CNET:

Earlier Picks

Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:
Richard Lawler / The Verge: