Techmeme
January 27, 2022, 2:55 PM

Top News

Anne Steele / Wall Street Journal:
Spotify is removing Neil Young's music after he gave the company an ultimatum between his music and Joe Rogan's podcast with COVID-19 vaccine misinformation  —  Folk-rock star had over six million monthly listeners on the service, which he blames for spreading fake info about vaccines
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple is working to let businesses accept payments on their iPhones without extra hardware, thanks to tech from Mobeewave, which it acquired in 2020  —  Apple Inc. is planning a new service that will let small businesses accept payments directly on their iPhones without any extra hardware …
Derrek Lee / Android Central:
Meta rebrands Oculus Quest as Meta Quest, leading to criticism on social media; the rebrand was originally announced in October  —  “Meta Quest” is just so fetch.  —  What you need to know  — Meta changes the social media accounts of its VR brand to Meta Quest.
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
iOS 15.4 beta 1 adds Face ID use while wearing a mask, without needing an Apple Watch for authentication, by recognizing “the unique features around the eye”  —  The iOS 15.4 beta that was introduced today added a new feature designed to allow Face ID to be used with a mask and without an Apple Watch for authentication.
Wall Street Journal:
Source: Meta-backed Diem Association is selling its technology to California bank Silvergate Capital, which serves crypto companies, for ~$200M  —  Diem Association is selling its technology to crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital for $200 million  —  Facebook's ambitious effort to bring cryptocurrency to the masses has failed.
CNBC:
Sources: SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure is leaving as soon as today; reports said Claure wanted $2B in compensation and clashed with Son over his responsibilities  —  - SoftBank COO Marcelo Claure is leaving SoftBank today, sources say.  — Claure took over running WeWork after founder Adam Neumann stepped down.
David Yaffe-Bellany / New York Times:
A growing number of US mayors are embracing crypto and blockchain tech, hoping to create revenue streams with NFTs or mining, attract tech talent, and more  —  This new political breed accepts paychecks in Bitcoin.  The mayors also want to use buzzy new tech like NFTs to raise money for public projects.
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Fanhouse, an OnlyFans-like service, adds iOS in-app purchases with a 50% surcharge after pushing back in 2021 against Apple's 30% commission on creator earnings  —  Fanhouse previously tried to push back against Apple's fees and was granted a six-month extension to come into compliance
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
The US FCC approves “nutrition labels” forcing ISPs to show prices, speed, and more, plus network management practices like throttling, starting on November 15  —  It's part of the Biden administration's plan to boost market competition  —  Understanding your broadband speeds …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
France-based Sigfox, which raised $300M+ to build a global IoT communications network, files for bankruptcy, citing slow sales and an electronics shortage  —  We are continuing to see fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the tech industry, with one of the latest developments coming out from France.
Ina Fried / Axios:
Adobe-led tech coalition finalizes standard for digital content provenance, identifying the source and edits of photos and videos, to help catch deepfakes  —  As part of its effort to fight deepfakes, a coalition of tech companies led by Adobe has finalized the details for a standard …
Reuters:
The FCC revokes China Unicom's authorization to operate in the US, granted ~20 years ago, citing national security; Unicom can still offer data center services  —  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday voted to revoke the authorization for China Unicom's (0762.HK) U.S. unit to operate in the United States.
More: Axios
Evgenia Pismennaya / Bloomberg:
Sources: Putin plans to tax and regulate crypto mining, confining it to regions with electricity surpluses and rejecting the central bank's proposal for a ban  —  President Vladimir Putin backs a Russian government proposal to tax and regulate mining of cryptocurrencies …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Get your favorite apps talking to Zoho Sign with Zapier  —  Your business didn't come together overnight.  It's something you've built, refined, and fine-tuned over time.  Every tool you use has a purpose …
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.

Featured Podcasts

Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
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:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:55 PM ET, January 27, 2022.

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

Janice Bitters Turi / Crunchbase News:

Earlier Picks

Sara Fischer / Axios:
Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Kif Leswing / CNBC: