Security experts voice privacy concerns over Apple's new plan to scan users' devices for child abuse images, saying governments will likely increase its scope  —  Security researchers raise alarm over potential surveillance of personal devices  —  Apple intends to install software …

Amazon delays its return to offices from September 3 to January 3, 2022  —  Amazon told employees Thursday that it will delay its timeline for returning to regular work in the office until early next year.  —  The new date: Jan. 3, 2022.  Previously, Amazon had expected employees …

Scammers are abusing Instagram's protections against self-harm and impersonation to purposefully target and ban Instagram accounts, some charging $60 per ban  —  An underground industry is abusing Instagram's mechanisms for removing self-injury and impersonating content to censor and harass people.

Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies, including if customers must show proof of vaccination, wear masks, or if all staff are vaccinated  —  Including details on staff and customer vaccinations  —  Yelp will let businesses share their policies on COVID-19 vaccinations, the company announced today.

Google refreshes its Nest lineup, including its video doorbell and indoor-only camera, with a unified design language and lower prices  —  A whole new lineup of cameras for Nest smart homes  —  Google has announced a new line of home security cameras and a video doorbell under its Nest brand.

Mozilla's analysis says Facebook's justifications for cutting off access to researchers running NYU's Ad Observatory project “simply do not hold water”  —  The company says privacy concerns forced it to block access for a team of academics.  Whose privacy, exactly?

Microsoft announces “Super Duper Secure Mode” for its Edge desktop browser, which disables V8's JIT, allowing for security features like Arbitrary Code Guard  —  Microsoft said today it plans to run an experiment in its Edge web browser where it will intentionally disable …

Nintendo misses in Q1 with $1.09B operating profit, down 17.3% YoY, on $2.94B revenue, down 9.9% YoY, as Switch sales decline by 21.7% YoY to 4.45M units  —  It was not exactly a normal quarter this time in 2020  —  Nintendo has released its earnings for the April-June quarter …

DHS unveils the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative to combat ransomware and cyberattacks, in partnership with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and others  —  Creation of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative follows high-profile cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure

New study says encouraging consensus among data labelers from diverse backgrounds can lead to better AI for detecting misogyny and harassment on social media  —  Misogyny on the internet too often slips through the filters of content moderators.  A new method hopes to inject more nuance into the process.

Xiaomi was the top brand in global smartphone sales volume in June, although its lead could fade once Samsung's production recovers from Vietnam's COVID-19 wave  —  • This is the first time ever, in June 2021, Xiaomi has become the number one brand in global monthly smartphone sales (sell-through) volumes

Ethereum's “London” hard fork has been activated, with changes to how transaction fees are calculated to decrease volatility, among other fixes  —  - Ethereum's “London” hard fork has just activated, and it's a major change.  — One of the changes alters the way transaction fees …

Indian digital bank Jupiter raises $45M Series B, led by Brazil-based Nubank, Global Founders, Sequoia, and Matrix Partners India, at a $300M+ valuation  —  Industry veteran Jitendra Gupta's neobank for consumers in India — Jupiter — has raised $45 million in a new financing round …

Zynga agrees to acquire Chinese game developer StarLark, and Betta Games' mobile golf game Golf Rival, for $525M in cash and stock  —  All the sessions from Transform 2021 are available on-demand now.  Watch now.  —  Zynga has agreed to acquire StarLark, a Chinese game developer …

Researchers studying 300,000 YouTube viewers from 2016-2019 suggest that radicalization via algorithm is not widespread; most stick to their ideological corners  —  Tracking user behavior shows that most people don't go down radical rabbit holes.  —  We've all seen it happen …

Cryptocurrency analytics firm Messari raises $21M Series A led by Point72 Ventures with Kraken Ventures, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Coinbase among investors  —  Point72 Ventures,, the venture capital firm of billionaire Steve Cohen, whose unconventional style helped inspire the hit television show Billions …

Qualcomm offers to buy Veoneer, which develops advanced driver-assistance systems for autonomous vehicles, for $4.6B, topping Magna's $3.8B bid from last month  —  - Veoneer would give Qualcomm lift in driver-assistance tech  — Magna unlikely to try to top Qualcomm bid, analysts say

Apple places female engineering program manager on administrative leave after she tweeted about sexism in the office  —  Ashley Gjøvik says the employee relations team implied she should stay off Slack pending an ongoing investigation  —  Apple has placed senior engineering program …

Mapbox workers voted against a union 123-81, after the company forced a formal vote on whether workers wanted to form a union allied with CWA  —  Union organizers at software company Mapbox lost their union election by 123 “no” votes to 81 in favor, marking the end of the formal process to seek recognition from the company.

Uber CEO says Uber won't require drivers or passengers to be vaccinated, though will require corporate employees to be vaccinated before returning to the office  —  - Uber employees at the company's US offices are required to get vaccines before return to work.

Twitch COO Sara Clemens, who took over for cofounder Kevin Lin in 2018, told staffers she is leaving Twitch to focus on consulting and serving on company boards  —  Twitch is losing of its most senior execs: Chief operating officer Sara Clemens today announced internally that she will be leaving …