Techmeme
March 15, 2024, 9:40 AM

Top News

Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
The FCC raises its broadband speed benchmark to 100Mbps for downloads and 20Mbps for uploads, from the previous standard of 25Mbps and 3Mbps set in January 2015  —  Standard of 100Mbps down and 20Mbps up replaces old 25Mbps/3Mbps benchmark.  —  The Federal Communications Commission today voted …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple acquired DarwinAI, which makes tech for inspecting components during manufacturing and focuses on making AI systems smaller and faster  —  - Canada's DarwinAI was quietly acquired earlier this year  — The iPhone maker has promised a big AI announcement in 2024
Brian Krebs / Krebs on Security:
An investigation into Onerep.com, which helps people remove their personal data from people-search sites, suggests its CEO founded dozens of people-search sites  —  The data privacy company Onerep.com bills itself as a Virginia-based service for helping people remove their personal information from almost 200 people-search websites.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
In an email to the European Commission, Spotify says Apple is holding up an iPhone app update that adds pricing information and links to subscriptions  —  In an email to the European Commission obtained by The Verge, Spotify writes that Apple has “neither acknowledged nor responded to Spotify's submission” …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Researchers detail a side channel that can be used to read encrypted responses from AI assistants, except Google Gemini; OpenAI and Cloudflare implemented fixes  —  All non-Google chat GPTs affected by side channel that leaks responses sent to users.  —  AI assistants have been widely available …
Bloomberg:
Sources: the US plans to award over $6B to Samsung to help the company expand beyond its $17B chip fab in Taylor, Texas, under the 2022 Chips and Science Act  —  - Chips Act grant would fund expansion beyond project in Texas  — Awards are also expected for Samsung rivals TSMC and Intel
Danny Nelson / CoinDesk:
Taylor Lorenz / Washington Post:
Small-business owners and activists who rely on TikTok say the US House measure forcing a sale or ban would damage their livelihoods and harm their communities  —  Small-business owners, community advocates and educators spoke out Wednesday after the House overwhelmingly approved a measure to ban the popular app
Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times:
Wired:
A deep dive into Reddit's history and the power of its 60K+ unpaid moderators, based on interviews with 60+ current and former mods, employees, and contractors  —  An army of more than 60,000 unpaid moderators has unprecedented power over Reddit.  The company's future hinges on whether they can coexist with Wall Street's expectations.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft launches Copilot Pro worldwide with a one-month free trial; Pro subscribers can use the AI assistant in Office web apps without a Microsoft 365 sub  —  Microsoft is expanding its $20 monthly Copilot Pro subscription to more markets today, after launching the AI-powered assistant for consumers in January.
David Wethe / Bloomberg:
Oil companies are increasingly using AI and remote operations to drill faster, suggest better ways to frack, and predict when active well pumps will fail  —  - Companies use AI to run drill rigs and predict broken pumps  — Technology could slash costs and squeeze more oil from wells
More: Proactive
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Pornhub blocks access to users in Texas, after a federal appeals court upheld a Texas law last week requiring porn sites to institute age-verification measures  —  Pornhub and other affiliated adult websites have blocked access to users in Texas, amid a legal battle with the Lone Star State's attorney general …

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More News

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Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Sheena Vasani / The Verge:
Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:
Craig Trudell / Bloomberg:
Assaf Gilead / Globes Online:
Arjun Kharpal / CNBC: