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March 17, 2022, 12:05 AM

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Todd Spangler / Variety:

Netflix will test an “add an extra member” feature in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, letting primary account holders pay a fee for users not in their household — Netflix will soon launch a test letting primary account holders pay an additional fee for users outside their households …

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Google schedules a virtual I/O 2022 for May 11 to May 12 with a limited live audience of Google employees and some partners; free registration opens this month — Registration opens this month — Google's big annual developer conference, Google I/O, will take place May 11th and 12th, the company announced Wednesday.

More: 9to5Google, Android Authority, TechCrunch, CNET, MacRumors, Digit, ZDNet, Ubergizmo, Pocketnow, Tom's Guide, MobileSyrup, Droid Life, Pocket-lint, Digital Trends, Android Headlines, Phandroid, 9to5Google, Mashable, iMore, Android Central, XDA Developers, Phandroid, and Android Police

Tweets: @sundarpichai, @inafried, @rdrv3, and @lanceulanoff

The Information:

Tech execs may face criminal prosecution or jail time for not complying with Ofcom within two months after the UK's Online Safety Bill passes and takes effect — Executives from Facebook parent Meta Platforms, TikTok and other big tech companies would face the prospect of jail time under sweeping …

Annabelle Dickson / Politico:

A profile of Nadine Dorries, who in her first six months as the UK's DCMS Secretary resurrected long-stalled tech legislation such as the Online Safety Bill

More: Windows Central and Insider. Tweets: @newsannabelle

Tom Warren / The Verge:

Microsoft unveils the Surface Hub 2 Smart Camera, which uses AI for automatic reframing, image correction, lighting, and more, available for $799 on May 31 — Microsoft's latest camera has a lot of smarts — Microsoft is launching its first AI-powered camera for the Surface Hub 2.

More: Windows Blog, YouTube, The Official Microsoft Blog, MobileSyrup, Thurrott, Thurrott, Digital Trends, XDA Developers, OnMSFT.com, Windows Central, and Windows Central

Tweets: @tomwarren, @panos_panay, @benbajarin, @caro_milanesi, and @brandonleblanc

Makena Kelly / The Verge:

Meta says it removed a deepfake video of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asking Ukrainians to surrender, citing its misleading manipulated media policy — In the fake video, Zelenskyy surrenders to Russian invasion — On Wednesday, Facebook's parent company, Meta …

More: VICE, BleepingComputer, CNN, NPR, Security Affairs, The Daily Dot, Sky News, euronews, Insider, Snopes.com, Engadget, TechCrunch, The Times of Israel, WFTS, CNET, and The Daily Beast

Tweets: @ngleicher, @hannaliubakova, @c_c_krebs, @ngleicher, @c_c_krebs, @reichenstein, @jsrailton, @cameronwilson, @jsrailton, @digiphile, @runasand, @c_c_krebs, @jsrailton, @samidh, @jsrailton, and @shanehuntley

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Meta adds basic parental controls for Quest VR, almost three years after launching the headset, starting with an unlock pattern for specific apps in April — Despite releasing its first virtual reality headsets in May 2019, Meta is only now adding parental supervision tools to its Meta Quest VR headset.

More: Oculus, Meta, Input, Social Media Today, iPhone in Canada Blog, Android Central, Windows Central, and UploadVR

Tweets: @boztank, @_andyburrows, and @gemisisdev

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Meta launches Family Center, a suite of parental supervision tools for its apps, starting with Instagram in the US and rolling out globally in the coming months

More: Meta, PhoneArena, SlashGear, Engadget, Reuters, Protocol, and TechCrunch. Tweets: @mosseri

Eliza Gkritsi / CoinDesk:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signs a law legalizing cryptocurrencies in the country, after parliament passed the virtual asset bill on February 17 — Ukraine has received $100 million in crypto donations during its war with Russia. — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy legalized crypto …

More: The Block, TechCrunch, Cointelegraph, Protocol, Decrypt, Engadget, Benzinga, New World Same Humans, Crypto Briefing, BeInCrypto, CryptoGlobe, Bitcoin Magazine, Ethereum World News, CryptoPotato, Waivly, and Forkast

Tweets: @mintsyfra and @gladstein

Lucas Matney / TechCrunch:

Bored Ape Yacht Club launches ApeCoin, or $APE, with 1B in total supply, and forms the ApeCoin DAO, whose council members include Alexis Ohanian and Amy Wu — Even among the fastest-growing crypto startups, Yuga Labs has had a particularly explosive year. — The startup is behind …

More: The Information, Benzinga, PYMNTS.com, The Block, Decrypt, CoinDesk, and Crypto Briefing

Tweets: @apecoin, @boredapeyc, @animocabrands, @alexisohanian, @yugalabs, @bradydale, and @amytongwu. Thanks:@colegarry2

Dan Seifert / The Verge:

iPad Air (2022) review: fast with the M1 chip and great display but Touch ID is not as convenient as Face ID and the front camera is awkward in landscape mode — The new iPad Air is a blend of familiar features with predictable results — Much of the new iPad Air from Apple is a known quantity.

Sam Byford / The Verge:

Hands-on with Universal Control: Apple's most impressive new feature in years that bridges the gap between macOS and iPadOS without requiring Apple peripherals

More: ZDNet, MacDailyNews, 9to5Mac, and Computerworld

Tweets: @jeffseibert, @parkerortolani, @bengeskin, @jbrooksuk, @mcsquared96, @ijustine, @briantong, @dsilverman, @simonbs, @aricohn, @dcseifert, and @jeffnolan

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

Interview with Automattic CEO on the company's growth, the future of open-source WordPress, Tumblr and Apple's App Store rules, Web3, Bitcoin, Ethereum, more — Matt Mullenweg is the CEO of Automattic, the company that owns WordPress.com, which he co-founded, and Tumblr …

More: Newslit Daily

See also Mediagazer

The Information:

Sources: Google has struck a deal to acquire Raxium, a five-year-old startup that makes microLED components for AR and VR displays — Google has struck a deal to buy Raxium, a five-year-old startup that develops tiny light-emitting diodes for displays used in augmented and mixed reality devices …

More: Ars Technica, SiliconANGLE, Silicon Valley Business …, Protocol, Seeking Alpha, and 9to5Google

Tweets: @joshua_sisco, @stephennellis, @amir, and @matthewstoller

TechCrunch:

Sources: Yandex is in negotiations to sell its media unit, including aggregator Yandex News and recommendation engine Yandex Zen, possibly to social network VK — Sources say the company is seeking a media exit as top exec hit with sanctions over propaganda charge

See also Mediagazer

Wall Street Journal:

French cloud service OVHcloud files an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission; sources say the complaint is about Microsoft licenses — France's OVHcloud has filed a complaint that Microsoft is abusing its position to hurt competition

More: PYMNTS.com and Protocol

Eva Mathews / Reuters:

Qualcomm says it has stopped selling its products to Russian companies in compliance with US-imposed sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine — Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) said on Wednesday it has stopped selling its products to Russian companies in compliance with U.S.-imposed sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine.

More: Washington Post. Tweets: @donnymac, @qualcomm, @fedorovmykhailo, @fedorovmykhailo, and @natetibbits

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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.

From Mediagazer

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Source: Bari Weiss is planning to create a masthead for CBS News as part of a broader overhaul of standards and procedures

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

WBD's board says it will “carefully review and consider” Paramount's revised offer, which includes a full backstop personally guaranteed by Larry Ellison

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More News

Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:

Wordle Archive, a website that lets users play hundreds of previous daily Wordle puzzles, says it was taken down last week at the request of The New York Times

More: NME, Laptop Mag, TheGamer, Game Rant, Stuff, GameRevolution, Boing Boing, Eurogamer.net, Destructoid, Kotaku, Shacknews, Polygon, GameSpot, The Verge, TechRadar, PC Gamer, Macworld, and Dot Esports. Tweets: @campuscodi

See also Mediagazer

Kenrick Cai / Forbes:

Webflow, which offers a no-code website building tool, raises a $120M Series C led by YC Continuity at a $4B valuation, bringing its total funding to $335M

More: VentureBeat, PR Newswire, and SiliconANGLE

Kerry Flynn / Axios:

New Delhi-based Amagi, which provides ad software for broadcast and streaming TV, raises $95M led by Accel at a $1B+ valuation, bringing total funding to $245M

More: Moneycontrol, Entrackr, The Hindu BusinessLine, Moneycontrol, Business Standard, Livemint, and Bloomberg

See also Mediagazer

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

TruEra, which offers AI quality management tools to optimize and monitor ML models, raises a $25M Series B led by Menlo, bringing its total funding to $42.3M

More: SiliconANGLE

Ellen Huet / Bloomberg:

Sam Altman's Worldcoin recently halted operations in at least seven countries due to problems like uneven smartphone access, confused users, and fraud attempts

Tweets: @chris_skinner, @mhbergen, and @ldrogen

Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:

Linktree, which makes “link in bio” landing pages for people and companies, raises a $110M Series B extension led by Index and Coatue at a $1.3B valuation

More: Protocol, Pixel Envy, and FinSMEs

Tweets: @johnkoetsier, @sarthakgh, @carnage4life, @jherskowitz, and @asilbwrites

Andrés Engler / CoinDesk:

OXIO, a “carrier-as-a-service” company that lets brands launch mobile services by turning data into blockchain-based digital assets, raises a $40M Series B

Tweets: @coindesk

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

RISC-V chip designer SiFive raises a $175M Series F at a $2.5B valuation led by Coatue Management, bringing its total funding to $350M+

More: TechPowerUp, Forbes, HPCwire, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, Protocol, San Francisco Business Journal, The Register, and Reuters

Earlier Picks

Brian Heater / TechCrunch:

iUNU, whose LUNA robot moves on greenhouse roofs and uses AI to detect problems with plants and find spots that are ready to harvest, raises a $24M Series B

More: GeekWire

Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:

Wasoko, formerly Sokowatch, a Kenya-based B2B marketplace that offers a BNPL service to retailers, raises a $125M Series B, source says at a $625M valuation

More: LinkedIn, PYMNTS.com, Disrupt Africa, TechCabal, and FinSMEs

Tweets: @mrstephendeng, @4dicapital, @sheilahbirgen, and @kiruti

Jamie Crawley / CoinDesk:

Treehouse, which provides DeFi data analytics, raises an $18M seed led by an “undisclosed large fintech investor”, with Binance and others participating

More: Crowdfund Insider and SiliconANGLE

Bloomberg:

Foxconn resumes partial operations at two Shenzhen campuses closed on Monday, one of which makes iPhones, after authorities approved its “closed loop” process

Yadarisa Shabong / Reuters:

The UK's CMA says NortonLifeLock's $8.6B Avast acquisition could result in customers getting a worse deal and asks the companies to submit remedy proposals

More: SC Media, GOV.UK, SiliconANGLE, PCMag, infosecurity-magazine.com, Financial Times, The Register, and City A.M.

Clive Thompson / Wired:

An in-depth look at GitHub and OpenAI's Copilot, which writes 35% of its users' code, and how AI tools can make developers more efficient and democratize coding

Tweets: @sama. Thanks:@colegarry2

Thomas Brewster / Forbes:

A look at Ukraine's “invisible heroes”, internet technicians who are risking their lives avoiding bombs and thwarting Russian hackers to keep Ukraine online

More: The Mac Observer and 9to5Mac

Tweets: @schmmuck, @x0rz, @a_picazo, @iblametom, @netblocks, @davemaasland, @iblametom, @iblametom, and @kimzetter

Rest of World:

Six months after El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender, dozens of citizens, economists, and developers detail cracks in the country's crypto revolution

More: Crypto Daily, Common Sense, The Overspill, The Daily Hodl, Blockworks, and Emerging World

Tweets: @terencehuynh, @vickiturk, @skinosian, @ricardovalp, @leomschwartz, @restofworld, @somospostpc, @counternotions, and @smdiehl