Techmeme
February 4, 2023, 11:05 AM

Top News

Bloomberg:
The LockBit ransomware gang claims ION Trading UK paid a ransom after the group's cyberattack on the software firm upended derivatives trading around the world  —  The hacking group behind the attack on ION Trading UK — the software firm that was struck by a cyberattack earlier this week …
Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
Interviews detail the Conti ransomware group's 2021 attack on Ireland's public health system; Conti seemingly called off the hack without receiving a ransom  —  At first the attack on Ireland's public-health system fell into a depressingly familiar pattern.
Steven Levy / Wired:
A look at T2, a Twitter alternative founded by a former employee of Google's Area 120 to offer a “2007 Twitter” vibe that Musk's platform no longer supplies  —  Cofounder Gabor Cselle says his upstart social network can offer a “2007 Twitter” community vibe that Elon Musk's platform no longer supplies.
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Background check services TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate confirm a data breach after hackers leak a 2019 database allegedly containing the info of 20M users  —  PeopleConnect, the owners of the TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate background check services, confirmed they suffered a data breach …
Diane Bartz / Reuters:
A US judge denies the FTC's bid to stop Meta's acquisition of Within, rejecting the regulator's concerns of the deal reducing competition in the AR/VR market  —  A judge on Friday released a ruling denying the Federal Trade Commission's request to stop Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) …
Nilesh Christopher / Rest of World:
Flipkart-owned Indian fashion retailer Myntra is penalizing users who return items too often; studies: 25% to 40% of clothes sold online in India are returned  —  Across India, e-commerce giants like Myntra and Flipkart are canceling free returns to boost profits.  —  • BENGALURU, INDIA
Kelsey Weekman / BuzzFeed News:
After YouTuber MrBeast made a video about paying for 1,000 blind people's eye surgery, critics raise questions about “stunt philanthropy” and “charity porn”  —  Is it stunt philanthropy or self-funded charity in the YouTube age?  —  A YouTuber just helped treat 1,000 people with blindness and low vision.
New York Times:
Alphabet, Amazon, and other tech firms begin 2023 by championing austerity after facing the worst year on Wall Street in 2022 since the 2008 financial crisis  —  After years of expansion and billions in profits, Big Tech is pulling back from its famously lavish spending as a long boom finally ends.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Utah lawmakers are fast tracking two bills that would require social media companies to age verify users, grant parents access to their kids' accounts, and more  —  The evidence-free moral panic over social media keeps getting stupider, and when things get particularly stupid about the internet …
CNBC:
A federal jury in San Francisco finds Elon Musk not liable in a Tesla shareholder suit over 2018 tweets in which he said he was considering taking Tesla private  —  - Tesla CEO Elon Musk was found not liable in a shareholder class-action suit stemming from 2018 tweets in which he said he was considering taking Tesla private.
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Twitter cuts off API access to Movetodon, a useful tool for finding and following one's Twitter followers on Mastodon; it's unclear if the tool broke any rule  —  from the trying-to-lock-the-barn-doors dept  —  People keep claiming that Mastodon isn't scaring Elon Musk …
BuzzFeed News:
Mitchell Clark / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with users who pay for Twitter Blue, starting on February 3, but doesn't give details  —  Elon Musk says that Twitter will start sharing revenue from reply-thread ads with creators who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified.
Erin Woo / The Information:
Kai Nicol-Schwarz / Sifted:
Valencia-based Jeff, which provides a frontend app, data insights, and other tools to manage businesses, raised a $90M Series C, split ~50/50 in equity and debt  —  Profitability is now the number one priority for the company  —  Spanish startup Jeff — which helps entrepreneurs launch …
More: Tech.eu
Forbes:
Q&A with Sam Altman on AI systems replacing search engines, Microsoft's OpenAI investments, how artificial general intelligence may “break capitalism”, and more  —  In a rare interview, OpenAI's CEO talks about AI model ChatGPT, artificial general intelligence and Google Search.
Kevin Roose / New York Times:

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Harmeet Singh Walia / Counterpoint Research:
Rohan Goswami / CNBC:
Amitoj Singh / CoinDesk:
Amazon: