Techmeme
March 7, 2019, 5:35 PM

Top News

Mark Zuckerberg / Facebook:
A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking  —  My focus for the last couple of years has been understanding and addressing the biggest challenges facing Facebook.  This means taking positions on important issues concerning the future of the internet.  In this note, I'll outline our vision …
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Mark Zuckerberg's “privacy-focused” announcement is not a dramatic pivot: it is a growth opportunity for Facebook and a challenge for regulators  —  What was striking about the reaction to Mark Zuckerberg's latest missive about the future of Facebook, A Privacy-Focused Vision …
Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
Casey Newton / The Interface:
Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed News:
Pranav Dixit / BuzzFeed News:
Airbnb says it is acquiring discount hotel booking app HotelTonight for an undisclosed sum; HotelTonight was valued at $463M in a March 2017 funding round  —  Airbnb is buying HotelTonight, the San Francisco-based service that lets people book discounted hotel rooms last minute in 40 countries around the world.
Monika Bickert / Facebook:
Facebook announces changes to clamp down on vaccine misinformation: reducing the ranking of Pages, rejecting ads and targeted options, and more  —  We are working to tackle vaccine misinformation on Facebook by reducing its distribution and providing people with authoritative information on the topic.
BBC:
Facebook says it has removed 23 Pages, 74 accounts, 5 Groups, and 35 Instagram accounts that were part of a UK-based, domestic-focused misinformation network  —  Facebook has removed more than 130 accounts, pages and groups it says were part of a UK-based misinformation network.
Kimberly Adams / Marketplace:
Edison Research estimates Facebook has 15M fewer US users today compared to 2017, with the biggest drop seen in the 12 to 34 age group  —  Listen To The Story  —  Marketplace  —  All the bad press about Facebook might be catching up to the company.  New numbers from Edison Research show …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Microsoft rolls out new Skype for Web with HD video calling, built-in call recording, and redesigned notifications  —  Hate installing Skype?  Good news: Microsoft's revamping the messaging app's browser-based client with a slew of new features.  The Seattle company today announced the rollout …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google launches Rewarded Products, a new monetization option for Android developers that lets users watch ads to earn in-app currency or other benefits  —  Google today is introducing a new way for Android developers to generate revenue from their mobile applications.  And no, it's not subscription-related.
CNN:
Huawei sues the US government, challenging a law that bans federal agencies from buying the company's products  —  Shenzhen, China (CNN Business)Embattled Chinese tech giant Huawei is suing the US government in its most aggressive move yet to fight back against accusations that its technology poses a global security threat.
Ionut Ilascu / BleepingComputer:
NSA releases free public version of Ghidra, a set of tools developed internally for software reverse engineering, to excitement among malware researchers  —  The National Security Agency released a free, public version of Ghidra, a set of tools developed internally for software reverse engineering.
Brittany Vincent / Variety:
Sensor Tower: Pokémon GO has earned nearly $2.45B and had ~550M downloads since its July 2016 launch; the six Pokémon mobile games have earned ~$2.5B combined  —  Mobile gamers across the globe have spent approximately $2.5 billion so far on various “Pokémon” titles, according to new data from analyst Sensor Tower.
More: 9to5Mac and VentureBeat
Andrew Webster / The Verge:
Nintendo announces VR kits for its Labo line of Switch DIY cardboard accessories; they cost $40 and $80 and will be available on April 12  —  Nintendo is getting into the virtual reality game  —  Nintendo's getting into virtual reality, but not in the way you might expect.

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Featured Podcasts

Cheeky Pint:
Muse Wonder: Zuckerberg and Wang's $100B AI
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
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Lenny's Podcast:
Why every company now needs to think and operate like a lab team | Josh Woodward (Google Labs, Gemini, AI Studio)
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Sources:
Qualcomm's CEO on the coming AI phone supercycle
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
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The Upstarts Podcast:
Bringing Back Mammoths And Building Noah's Ark 2.0 | Colossal's Ben Lamm
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
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Great Chat:
The launch industrial complex
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Earlier Picks

Tom McNamara / CNET:
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Gregory Barber / Wired: