Techmeme
June 24, 2023, 1:30 PM

Top News

Washington Post:
Mark Matousek / The Information:
Social media startup IRL is shutting down after an investigation by its board concluded that 95% of its claimed 20M MAUs in 2022 were “automated or from bots”  —  Last year, the CEO of messaging app IRL repeatedly said it had 20 million monthly active users …
Rani Molla / Vox:
Startups are using remote work to attract talent; report: 81% of companies with fewer than 5K employees offer remote work vs. 26% for those with 25K+ employees  —  How small tech companies are using remote work to compete with the big guys.  —  It used to be that Big Tech companies like Google …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Sources: Meta plans to debut its Twitter rival, potentially named Threads, in mid-July and is pitching celebrities and creators to join a “sanely” run platform  —  Mark Zuckerberg is the overwhelming favorite to beat Elon Musk in a cage match.  Will it actually happen?
Nico Grant / New York Times:
NetBlocks: at least five Russian telcos block Google News and other ISPs reduce access to the service, as Russia's feud with a mercenary leader intensifies  —  At least five telecommunications companies have blocked the service, which aggregates news from various sources …
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Andy Jassy says Amazon plans to invest $15B more in India by 2030, likely most for AWS expansion; in May 2023, AWS announced a $12.7B investment in the country  —  Amazon plans to more than double its investment in India in the next seven years, the e-commerce group said …
The Economic Times:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
FTC v. Microsoft: Phil Spencer says Microsoft acquired ZeniMax for $7.5B to stop Sony from paying for Bethesda games like Starfield to be PlayStation exclusives  —  Microsoft's Xbox chief has revealed one of the key reasons behind the acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax: potential Starfield PlayStation exclusivity.
Wired:
How companies are repurposing military-grade AI, built by US defense contractors for intelligence, to identify labor organizing, internal leakers, and critics  —  Spycraft developed by defense contractors are now being sold to employers to identify labor organizing.  Regulators must step up to protect workers' privacy.
More: PoliticoTwitter: @codepo8, @backchnnl, @willie_agnew, and @1roboter
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
A US federal court sentences UK citizen Joseph James O'Connor to five years in prison for helping hack into dozens of high-profile Twitter accounts in July 2020  —  Prosecutors called for the British hacker to serve at least seven years  —  Three years after one of the most visible hacks …

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Featured Podcasts

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The Upstarts Podcast:
Chapter's Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz: From Palantir To $3B Medicare Disruptor
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Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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.
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More News

Jay Peters / The Verge:
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:

Earlier Picks

New York Times:
Anand J / Moneycontrol:
Wall Street Journal:
Anja Karadeglija / National Post: