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April 21, 2022, 9:00 PM
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| Annie Palmer / CNBC: |
Filing: Elon Musk has secured $46.5B to acquire Twitter, including $25.5B in debt financing via Morgan Stanley and other firms, and is exploring a tender offer — - Elon Musk is exploring whether to commence a tender offer for Twitter, according to a new securities filing.
Source:
SEC.gov and SEC.gov. More:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Livemint, The Register, New York Post, Axios, Forbes, The Verge, PhoneArena, Engadget, Reuters, Android Headlines, The Guardian, Bloomberg, TechCrunch, Forbes, MobileSyrup, Bloomberg, PCMag, The Shortcut, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, San Francisco Business Journal, The Irish Times, Nikkei Asia, TheStreet, Ars Technica, Financial Times, and VICE
Tweets: @elonmusk, @apompliano, @elonmusk, @exec_sum, @sonalibasak, @laurenshirsch, @supremedreams_1, @rabois, @axios, @garyblack00, @marisakabas, @caseynewton, @pkafka, @jtemple, @anthony, @kantrowitz, @alexhern, @alexhern, @pkedrosky, @ivanthek, @anthony, @nkulw, @tonyromm, @danprimack, @danprimack, @liamkillingstad, @stockmktnewz, @rmac18, @modestproposal1, @alexstamos, @neontaster, @cgasparino, @danielnewmanuv, @michaelssmithii, @laurenshirsch, @matthew_d_green, @elonjames, and @anthony
| Bloomberg: |
Elon Musk's free speech promise for Twitter follows years of silencing or punishing criticism at Tesla and SpaceX, including attacking staff trying to unionize — If Elon Musk is able to take over Twitter Inc., his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for free speech with few restrictions …
More:
Washington Post. Tweets: @josheidelson, @mr_james_c, @rbreich, @sandibachom, @jasonhirschhorn, @mehdirhasan, @jdcocchiarella, @moreperfectus, and @crtrud
| Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: Meta is reviewing whether COO Sheryl Sandberg pressured the Daily Mail in 2016 and 2019 into killing stories about her then-boyfriend Bobby Kotick — Social-media executive, who dated the Activision Blizzard CEO, was part of campaign to persuade the U.K. tabloid to shelve a potential article
More:
CNBC, Silicon Valley Business …, The Guardian, VentureBeat, Gizmodo, GamesIndustry.biz, The Verge, Bloomberg, TheGamer, New York Post, dot.LA, Engadget, Game Developer, Protocol, Insider, MobileSyrup, and Kotaku
Tweets: @emilyglazer, @benfritz, @bostonjoan, @chafkin, @jamesrbuk, @garywhitta, @jimsterling, @rmac18, @markdistef, @soychicka, @pateraquetzai, @brooklynmarie, @silviakillings, @rralstonagile, @nickstatt, @issielapowsky, @heminator, @markdistef, @nicktheandersen, @mtthwrose, @kenklippenstein, @markdistef, @peterhimler, @jbflint, @keachhagey, @juddlegum, @nicktheandersen, @nicktheandersen, @jason_kint, @johnpaczkowski, @benfritz, @iansherr, @keachhagey, @jasonrdean, @ericgeller, @anthony, @mattzeitlin, @amil, and @matthewstoller
| Lauren Feiner / CNBC: |
In a speech on disinformation, Obama said social media firms' design choices contribute to polarization, and called for more transparency and Section 230 reform — - Former President Barack Obama criticized social media companies for contributing to polarization through design choices on their platforms.
More:
Tech Policy Press, Washington Post, Stanford Cyber Policy Center, New York Times, TechCrunch, San Francisco Chronicle, Protocol, The Verge, Bloomberg, The Hill, Yahoo News, Axios, Barack Obama, and PCMag
Tweets: @willoremus, @pmarca, @willoremus, @viacristiano, @barackobama, @barackobama, @jonathanturley, @jonathanturley, @willoremus, @jbf1755, @katieharbath, @swodinsky, @jackmjenkins, @elbaradei, @amymcgrathky, @qjurecic, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @willoremus, @oneunderscore__, @willoremus, @jason_kint, @evan_greer, @willoremus, @evan_greer, @willoremus, @ceciliakang, @pmarca, and @viacristiano
| Frank Chaparro / The Block: |
Andreessen Horowitz launches a16z Crypto Research, a lab focused on Web3 breakthroughs that can contribute to deployable code, led by academic Tim Roughgarden — Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is diving deeper into the crypto market with the launch of a new academic lab dedicated …
More:
Andreessen Horowitz, Protocol, SiliconANGLE, TechCrunch, San Francisco Business Journal, and CoinDesk
Tweets: @alive_eth, @tim_roughgarden, @joshgans, @smc90, @milesjennings, @ericnewcomer, @kylebrussell, @janehk, @emiliejayg, @sriramk, @sriramk, and @ariannasimpson
| New York Times: |
Warner Bros. Discovery will shut down CNN+ on April 30, after its March 29 debut; sources: CNN+ had ~150K subscribers and was on pace to hit first-year goals — The new corporate owners of CNN are moving to end the new streaming service after a splashy debut. — In the end, CNN+ lasted less than a month.
More:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, TechCrunch, Washington Post, Gizmodo, Engadget, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, PYMNTS.com, Daily Mail, CNN, The Verge, The Hill, Ars Technica, TechSpot, Deadline, Android Headlines, The Daily Beast, Benzinga, and Adweek
Tweets: @brianstelter, @thrasherxy, @sarafischer, @trungtphan, @profgalloway, @caseynewton, @wesleylowery, @samstein, @sarafischer, @benmullin, @jrhennessy, @reckless, @jeffdlowe, @anthony, @lexfri, @samifathi_, @oliverdarcy, @katierosman, @tcarmody, @markberman, @joannastern, @brianstelter, @rakeshlobster, @chrisjbakke, @martinsfp, @lucas_shaw, @nickgillespie, @realtylerzed, @jessehawken, @benedictevans, @dwiskus, @dcseifert, @parkerortolani, @mgsiegler, @wflajosh, and @cityofthetown
| Damien Wilde / 9to5Google: |
Google will effectively block third-party call recording apps from the Play Store from May 11 after further restrictions to its Accessibility API for developers — A new Google Play Store policy coming into force is set to block third-party call recording apps from the online storefront from May 11.| Taylor Soper / GeekWire: |
Amazon announces a $1B Industrial Innovation Fund to back companies of all stages developing customer fulfillment, logistics, and supply chain technologies — Amazon on Thursday announced a new $1 billion venture fund that the tech giant will use to back companies of all stages developing …
More:
About Amazon, TechCrunch, The Register, Neowin, SiliconANGLE, Bloomberg, CNBC, and Forbes
| Kif Leswing / CNBC: |
Snap reports Q1 revenue of $1.06B, up 38% YoY, vs. $1.07B est., global DAUs up 18% YoY to 332M vs. 330M est., and net loss up 25% YoY to $360M — - Snap missed Wall Street expectations for profit and sales when it reported first-quarter results on Thursday after the bell.
More:
Barron's Online, TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, dot.LA, Forbes, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and Snap
Tweets: @wsj, @mattrosoff, @edludlow, @qwongsj, @epro, @spyjared, @business, @jyarow, @thr, @richlightshed, @jowens510, and @edludlow
| Jon Porter / The Verge: |
Spotify now lets all creators in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand upload video podcasts via Anchor, which Spotify acquired in February 2019 — After over a year of more limited tests — All creators in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand can now upload video podcasts …
More:
Spotify, PCMag, Protocol, Android Central, Wccftech, 9to5Mac, and XDA Developers. Tweets: @spotifynews
| Ryan Weeks / The Block: |
Binance begins enforcing tougher KYC checks, including proof of address, on Russian users with crypto holdings exceeding €10,000, following further EU sanctions — Crypto exchange Binance is enforcing tougher Know Your Customer (KYC) checks for Russian users after the latest wave of European Union sanctions.
Source:
Binance. More:
BBC, Crypto Briefing, BleepingComputer, PYMNTS.com, and Bitcoinist.com
Tweets: @rprose, @rprose, @electroxts, and @sbf_ftx
| Stephanie Bodoni / Bloomberg: |
After years of regulatory pressure, Google unveils “a full redesign” of its cookie consent banner in Europe, including a “reject all” button, starting in France — Alphabet Inc.'s Google said it's rolling out a new European-wide policy allowing users to more easily avoid …
More:
The Keyword, The Verge, TechCrunch, Android Police, 9to5Google, The Register, and Protocol
Tweets: @trevorcroker, @bergmayer, @caseynewton, and @tariqkrim
| Oliver Knight / CoinDesk: |
Research: blockchain game companies raised $2.5B in Q1 2022, up 150% YoY; blockchain gaming accounted for 52% of all blockchain activity in March, up 2,000% YoY — Usage and investments across the blockchain-gaming sector increased in the first quarter to make up 52% of all blockchain activity.
More:
Decrypt, Cryptonews, BeInCrypto, Forbes India, CoinQuora, and TradingBTC.com. Tweets: @coindesk
| Cobie: |
Crypto staking evolved from rewards for collateralized coins validating blocks into a Ponzi scheme; Yuga Labs is effectively paying ApeCoin to hold ApeCoin — Recently, I was contacted by a member of the board of ApeCoin, which is the BAYC token's equivalent of a board of directors I guess.
More:
LOL's Newsletter. Tweets: @degenspartan, @cobie, @cobie, @mrjasonchoi, @fiskantes, @choffstein, @maariabajwa, @notsofast, @mdudas, @mdudas, @deezefi, @idrawcharts, @ron1ndoteth, @bobmcelrath, @xbenjamminx, @novogratz, @hollanderadam, @tagdemnbagdem, @cobie, and @balesfootball
| MIT Technology Review: |
How AI data-labeling companies like Appen use cheap labor in crisis-ridden countries like Venezuela to manually tag videos, sort photos, and transcribe audio — It was meant to be a temporary side job—a way to earn some extra money. Oskarina Fuentes Anaya signed up for Appen …
More:
Newslit Daily. Tweets: @spirosmargaris, @sesmith, @miad, @akurmanaev, @skinosian, and @charlottejee
| Catarina Moura / The Block: |
Crusoe Energy Systems, which uses excess natural gas from oil extraction to mine crypto in 86 data centers, raises a $505M Series C led by G2 Venture Partners — Bitcoin miner Crusoe Energy Systems raised $505 million in a Series C round to accelerate the growth of its mining operations powered …
More:
Business Wire and Decrypt
| Javier Espinoza / Financial Times: |
Sources: on Friday, the EU will unveil the Digital Services Act, which bans targeting users based on religion, gender, or sexual preferences, among other rules — Digital Services Act lays out rules for technology groups to keep users safe online — The EU is poised to unveil a law …
More:
Euractiv and Ars Technica
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Twitter tests suggesting third-party apps in its Twitter Toolbox, including Block Party, Bodyguard, and Moderate, when select users block or mute in its web app — Company will third-party apps directly on Twitter itself — Twitter has a novel idea as to how to win back developer trust … | Canalys: |
India's smartphone shipments hit 38M in Q1 2022, growing just 2% YoY; top vendor Xiaomi fell 24% to 8M, Samsung fell 2% to 6.9M, while Realme grew 40% to 6M — Shanghai (China), Bengaluru (India), Singapore, Reading (UK) and Portland (US) - Thursday, 21 April 2022| Josh Ye / Reuters: |
Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu lays off 9% of its staff amid China's regulatory crackdown; Xiaohongshu raised $500M in November at a $20B valuation — Chinese social e-commerce app Xiaohongshu, known as China's answer to Instagram, said it had cut about 9% of its staff …
More:
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