Techmeme
July 16, 2023, 7:50 PM

Top News

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Sony and Microsoft sign a 10-year Call of Duty on PlayStation deal; in 2022, Microsoft offered to keep “existing Activision console titles on Sony” through 2027  —  Sony has agreed to a 10-year deal for Call of Duty with Microsoft to keep the franchise on PlayStation after the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition.
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple renamed Mike Rockwell's division to Vision Products Group, hinting at an organizational change; Apple may hold an October 2023 event for M3 Macs  —  Apple's new Vision Products Group reflects a shift away from its famed product-development process.
Jahnavi Nidumolu / Reuters:
Elon Musk says a ~50% ad revenue drop and a heavy debt load kept Twitter cash flow negative; he said in March 2023 the company could be cash flow positive in Q2  —  Elon Musk said Twitter's cash flow remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load.
Anastasia Stognei / Financial Times:
Russia bans officials and state employees from using Apple devices for “work purposes”, after the FSB said Apple helped the NSA hack Russian diplomats' iPhones  —  FSB enforces crackdown on use by state officials after claiming it uncovered an espionage operation using Apple devices
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Experts explain why there's no magic formula to always distinguish human-written and AI-written text, meaning AI writing detectors can only make a strong guess  —  Can AI writing detectors be trusted?  We dig into the theory behind them.  —  If you feed America's most important legal document …
Amaka Nwaokocha / Cointelegraph:
The US SEC acknowledges BlackRock's and Bitwise's spot bitcoin ETF applications, indicating the commencement of the official review process for the proposals  —  The SEC's acknowledgment indicates the commencement of the official review process for BlackRock's ETF proposal.  —  2279 Total views
Alex Ivanovs / Stack Diary:
Brave appears to be selling copyrighted data for AI training and giving third parties the “rights” to that data, while not disclosing its own robot crawler  —  And even though there are some concerns about the type of data that was used [...]  —  I'm fairly certain …
Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Bluesky adds the N-word to a “reserved” words list, after users reported that some usernames include the slur, highlighting the site's ongoing moderation issues  —  The oversight highlighted an ongoing moderation issue at the platform.  —  Before this week, Bluesky …
Financial Times:
Sources: US consulting firms like McKinsey and BCG split their IT systems to decouple China data, as Beijing expands anti-espionage rules and data regulation  —  Beijing's move to expand anti-espionage rules and data regulation has companies racing to hive off systems
Brendan Pierson / Reuters:
A US appeals court temporarily blocks a lower July 6 court order sharply limiting US government officials' and agencies' contacts with social media companies  —  A U.S. appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court order that had sharply limited certain Biden administration officials …

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:
Zoho People in 2025: A year in review  —  As we wrap up 2025, we're taking a moment to look back on a year filled with progress and transformation at Zoho People.  Our team has been constantly pushing boundaries …
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

Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
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 7:50 PM ET, July 16, 2023.

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

Lewis Gordon / The Ringer:
Sky News:
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:

Earlier Picks

Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
Rhiannon Williams / MIT Technology Review:
Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch: