Techmeme
December 13, 2022, 7:20 PM

Top News

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
The SEC charges Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors and concealing diverting FTX customer funds to Alameda while raising $1.8B+ since at least May 2019  —  Defendant concealed his diversion of FTX customers' funds to crypto trading firm Alameda Research while raising more than $1.8 billion from investors
CNBC:
The Southern District of New York charges SBF with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, securities fraud, securities fraud conspiracy, money laundering, and more  —  - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed eight separate charges against disgraced FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried …
Bloomberg:
The CFTC sues Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud, alleging FTX “misappropriated customer funds”, violated its own TOS, extended unlimited credit to Alameda, and more  —  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research for violations of federal commodities laws.
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Citing Sam Bankman-Fried as a flight risk, a Bahamas magistrate judge denies him bail and says he should be remanded to Bahamian custody until February 8, 2023  —  A magistrate judge in the Bahamas on Tuesday denied bail to FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried and said he should be remanded …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to allow third-party app stores on iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 in the EU, due to EU requirements in 2024, including letting users change defaults  —  Apple Inc. is preparing to allow alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads, part of a sweeping overhaul aimed at complying …
New York Times:
Sources: Twitter stopped paying rent on offices and is considering not paying severance packages to cut costs, as its top lawyer Alex Spiro leaves the company  —  Twitter has stopped paying rent on offices and is considering not paying severance packages to former employees, among other measures.
Adam James / The Block:
Binance CEO addresses major USDC outflows, saying users can “withdraw any other stablecoin”; Nansen: users withdrew ~$1.6B on the Ethereum network in 24 hours  —  - Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has addressed major USD Coin outflows.  — Some $1.6 billion has been withdrawn …
Melissa Heikkilä / MIT Technology Review:
When a female reporter tried Lensa, many of her 100 avatars were “pornified”, with 16 topless; her male peers got avatars of astronauts, warriors, and the like  —  When I tried the new viral AI avatar app Lensa, I was hoping to get results similar to some of my colleagues at MIT Technology Review.
Steven Ehrlich / Forbes:
A look at a draft of Sam Bankman-Fried's planned US House testimony, including accusations against John Ray III and screenshots of a chat with Changpeng Zhao  —  Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, was scheduled to testify Tuesday before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services.
Bloomberg:
FTX lawyers say Bahamas officials worked to help SBF regain access to FTX Trading's systems, asking him to mint a coin to transfer funds to island officials  —  Bahamas government officials worked closely with Sam Bankman-Fried and tried to help him regain access to key computer systems …
Stephanie Murray / The Block:
John Ray III tells the US House that FTX's bankruptcy is “paperless” due to an “unprecedented” lack of documentation, FTX and Alameda are not distinct, and more  —  - New FTX CEO John Ray III said top executives at FTX had “free rein” over the company's many entities.
Beatrice Peterson / ABC News:
Meta plans to release Hasher Matcher Actioner, a moderation tool to help platforms identify terrorist or human trafficking content, for free and as open source  —  It said it will help prevent the spread of violent images on the internet.  —  Meta, formerly named Facebook …
Cordilia James / Wall Street Journal:
Instagram rolls out Notes, friend-focused status updates that appear atop the inbox, to all users, and begins testing BeReal-like Candid Stories in South Africa  —  With fresh ways to connect with friends, is Instagram trying to be Instagram again?  —  Polished is out and authentic …
Reuters:
China files a trade dispute at the WTO against the US over its chip export controls, arguing the curbs threaten the stability of global industrial supply chains  —  China has launched a trade dispute at the World Trade Organization against the United States over its chip export control measures, China's commerce ministry said.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
DoNotPay announces an AI-powered chatbot that can negotiate bills and cancel subscriptions by chatting to customer service, rolling out in the next two weeks  —  DoNotPay, the company that bills itself as “the world's first robot lawyer,” is launching a new AI-powered chatbot that can help …
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok is testing a new horizontal full screen mode with select users globally  —  TikTok is testing a new horizontal full screen mode with select users globally, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.  Users who have access to the test feature will see a new “full screen” button appear on square or rectangle videos in their feed.
More: MUO
Wall Street Journal:
The EU publishes a draft approval of its preliminary US data sharing deal, struck in March 2022 to help businesses, after the US promised surveillance changes  —  Brussels gives tentative approval as part of pending deal to allow companies to transfer European data across the Atlantic
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
During a recent all-hands, Google's AI chief said the company is moving “more conservatively than a small startup” on AI-chat tech due to reputational risks  —  - Google employees asked executives at an all-hands meeting whether the AI chatbot that's going viral represents a “missed opportunity” for the company.
Jack Dorsey / Revue:
Responding to the “Twitter Files”, Jack Dorsey defends against attacks on Twitter staff, advocates for an open social media protocol, commits $1M/year to Signal  —  By subscribing, you agree with Revue's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and understand that jack's will receive your email address.

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:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
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

Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Saam Motamedi from Greylock Partners
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Invest Like the Best:
Henry Ellenbogen - Man Versus Machine
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
How Evan Spiegel Is Building the Future of Computing
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Acquired:
10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why humans are AI's biggest bottleneck (and what's coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
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.
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 7:20 PM ET, December 13, 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

Earlier Picks

Urvi Dugar / Reuters:
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post: