Some SMB owners who advertise heavily online say Facebook is speaking the truth about how iOS privacy changes might disproportionately affect such businesses  —  With big changes coming to iPhones, small online merchants are bracing for lost sales.  ‘Why is Apple now the decider?’

Google denies reports Pixel 5a 5G is canceled, says it'll be available this year in the US and Japan and announced in line with last year's a-series phone  —  Despite rumors this morning to the contrary, Google has just issued an on the record statement that the “Pixel 5a” does indeed exist and will not be canceled.

Erroneously unredacted court docs reveal Google ran a secret program called “Project Bernanke” that used past bid data to boost its win rate in ad auctions  —  Program used past bid data to boost tech giant's win rate in advertising auctions, according to court filing

Database containing 1.3M Clubhouse profiles was posted to a hacker forum; Clubhouse says it hasn't been breached, and the data is public info from its app  —  So far, it seems like it's been the worst week of the year for social media platforms in terms of data leaks, with Clubhouse seemingly joining the fray.

Amazon thanks workers for voting against unionizing, says less than 16% voted to join the union and counters the union's claims that Amazon won by intimidation  —  Thank you to employees at our BHM1 fulfillment center in Alabama for participating in the election.

Austin has been a top destination for tech workers leaving CA during Covid, and residents are concerned about how the new wave is affecting city's culture  —  Matthew Congrove got the first offer on his house one month into the pandemic.  Now, says Congrove, who lives in an eclectic neighborhood …

Sources: ISPs in the US are seeing delays as long as 60 weeks, more than double previous waits, when ordering internet routers, due to the global chip shortage  —  - Router-makers including Zyxel report much longer lead times  — Chip shortage effects cascade into multiple product markets

China says it is imposing a record $2.8B fine on Alibaba for monopolistic business practices; Alibaba says it will accept the penalty “sincerely”  —  The penalty is Beijing's toughest action to date in its campaign to tighten supervision of the country's internet Goliaths.

Sources: Sony's PlayStation organization has shifted its development focus to prioritize AAA games at the expense of projects from its niche teams and studios  —  Sony Corp.'s Visual Arts Service Group has long been the unsung hero of many hit PlayStation video games.

Current and ex-employees say inattention to data protection at Verkada is emblematic of a “bro culture” that tolerated sexual harassment, misleading customers  —  Verkada Inc.'s security camera customers were livid.  Hackers had breached footage from thousands of surveillance devices trained …

Research: non-bank lenders have issued asset-backed bonds to help finance about $2B of loans to fast-growing but unprofitable software companies since November  —  Investors funnel money to unprofitable software companies through new type of debt deal  —  No earnings?  No problem.

Ernst & Young: venture funding in the US hit $64B in Q1, the highest amount ever for a single quarter and equal to 43% of all the venture money raised in 2020  —  - Venture funding in the U.S. hit $64 billion in the first quarter, according to analysis from Ernst & Young, using data from Crunchbase.