Techmeme: US Department of Housing and Urban Development files charges against Facebook, saying the company's ad targeting tools enable violations of Fair Housing Act (Russell Brandom/The Verge)

Top News

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

US Department of Housing and Urban Development files charges against Facebook, saying the company's ad targeting tools enable violations of Fair Housing Act — 'Facebook is discriminating against people based upon who they are and where they live,' says HUD secretary

Adam Satariano / New York Times:

UK's review of Huawei's telecommunications equipment finds “significant” security problems but does not call for an outright ban — LONDON — A British review of Huawei found “significant” security problems with the Chinese company's telecommunications equipment …

Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:

Twitter expands dark mode options for iOS users with a pure black Lights Out mode and an Automatic Dark Mode — Twitter has announced today that it is expanding its dark mode options for iOS users. Adding to the blue/gray dark mode theme that the platform has offered for a while …

More: Engadget, Android Authority, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, CNET, The Verge, Droid Life, iDownloadBlog.com, iPhone Hacks, Mashable, and Neowin

Tweets: @twitter, @oneunderscore__, and @caseynewton

Jon Porter / The Verge:

Spotify is testing Premium Duo, a discounted subscription for two for €12.49 a month, that includes a playlist based on both users' listening habits — Includes a new playlist based on both your listening habits — Spotify is testing a new subscription called Premium Duo that offers …

More: Spotify, 9to5Mac, Android Authority, Thurrott, Gizmodo, Digital Trends, Engadget, BGR, KnowTechie, iPhone in Canada Blog, CNET, TechCrunch, TechSpot, XDA Developers, Cult of Mac, SlashGear, Neowin, and MacRumors

Sarah Krouse / Fox News:

FTC has secured $1.5B worth of fines from robocallers through court judgments since 2004 and has collected $121M or 8% of that amount — America's telecommunications watchdogs have levied hefty financial penalties against illegal robocallers and demanded that bad actors repay millions to their victims.

More: CNET and Boing Boing

Tweets: @marcelolprince, @pkedrosky, @trevornoren, @wwcummings, @tepingchen, and @felixsalmon

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

FTC says it has shut down and settled lawsuits with four robocalling companies responsible for “billions” of US calls

More: Federal Trade Commission, Mashable, CNET, Newser, Gizmodo, Geek.com, Digital Trends, RCR Wireless News, SlashGear, TechSpot, Engadget, Boing Boing, Fortune, Cord Cutters News, and USA Today

Tweets: @ftc and @subinukta

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Microsoft granted US court order to take control of 99 websites the company says are linked to Iranian hacking group Phosphorus and host them on its own servers — Microsoft has won a restraining order in a U.S. court in order to take control of domains used by an Iranian hacker group.

More: Microsoft on the Issues, ZDNet, New York Times, Security Boulevard, Thurrott, Mashable, The Hill, Softpedia News, MSPoweruser, WinBuzzer, SecurityWeek, Bloomberg, BleepingComputer, CyberScoop, and GeekWire

Tweets: @siarotterdam, @msftissues, and @zackwhittaker

Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post:

Twitter's policy head Vijaya Gadde says it is experimenting with adding a “label” to notable tweets that break its standards explaining why they weren't removed — Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's head of legal, policy and trust & safety, made the revelation on stage at a Washington Post-sponsored event in San Francisco.

More: Neowin, The Wrap, and The Hill. Tweets: @terri_rupar

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Kong, the open source API management platform company previously known as Mashape, raises $43M Series C led by Index Ventures — Kong, the open core API management and lifecycle management company previously known as Mashape, today announced that it has raised a $43 million Series C round led by Index Ventures.

More: KongHQ, Going Long, Index Ventures, VentureBeat, and SiliconANGLE

Jason Koebler / Motherboard:

Leaked Apple documents outline a support program for third-party repairs that seems to comply with requirements of right-to-repair bills proposed in 20 states — A leaked internal document obtained by Motherboard outlines a program that looks almost exactly like the requirements of right …

More: Fast Company, iDownloadBlog.com, Cult of Mac, iPhone Hacks, and iFixit. Tweets: @nproctor

Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:

Microsoft expands its Azure IP Advantage program to include IoT companies and donates 500 patents to the LOT Network, to protect against patent trolls — Microsoft today announced a major expansion of its Azure IP Advantage program, which provides its Azure users with protection against patent trolls.

More: Microsoft on the Issues, The Official Microsoft Blog, Dark Reading, OnMSFT.com, ZDNet, PYMNTS.com, and Microsoft

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:

Office Depot and tech support vendor Support.com to pay the FTC $35M for allegedly persuading customers to buy computer repair services using fake malware scans — Office Depot and Support.com, Inc, a tech support software provided from California, will pay $35 million and $10 million respectively …

More: Ars Technica, Federal Trade Commission, The Verge, Engadget, Federal Trade Commission, TechSpot, CyberScoop, The Register, Boing Boing, KIRO, MarketWatch, and Financial Times

Tweets: @onejarednewman, @cstross, and @tomgara

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Apple releases watchOS 5.2 with support for the second-generation AirPods, extends ECG functionality to Hong Kong, the UK, and 18 other countries in Europe — Apple today released watchOS 5.2, the fifth update to the watchOS operating system that runs on modern Apple Watch models. watchOS 5.2 comes …

More: Apple, iMore, CNET, The Next Web, 9to5Mac, Apple Must, Engadget, Neowin, ZDNet, Inquirer, MacStories, SlashGear, Macworld, TmoNews, Telegraph, Thurrott, TechCrunch, iPhone Hacks, and iPhone in Canada Blog. Tweets: @viticci

Bloomberg:

A profile of Wang Xing, CEO of Meituan, which has 600K delivery people serving 400M customers a year in 2,800 Chinese cities and a market value of $36B — In China, Meituan has reshaped city life—and heightened a rivalry with a certain competitor. — In Beijing, it's often cheaper to have food delivered than to get it yourself.

Tweets: @venkatananth, @luluyilun, and @pelstrom. Thanks:@pelstrom

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Google CEO Sundar Pichai met with President Trump to discuss contracts and other ongoing partnerships with the US government — ‘Meeting ended very well,’ Trump tweeted — On Wednesday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai met with President Trump to discuss contracts and other ongoing partnerships with the US government.

More: IEEE Spectrum, Axios, PYMNTS.com, PhoneArena, Bloomberg, Business Insider, and CNET

Tweets: @realdonaldtrump, @politico, @daiwaka, @daiwaka, and @verge

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Verizon rolls out a free version of Call Filter, its $3/month spam and robocall protection service — Now you don't have to pay extra money to battle against spam and robocalls — Verizon is taking new steps to combat the unrelenting nuisance of spam calls.

More: CNET and Verizon Fios & Custom TV. Tweets: @db

Nick Statt / The Verge:

Twitch launches Squad Stream, a new feature that will let up to four Twitch streamers go live simultaneously in one window, available for Partners first — A feature perfect for battle royale games — Twitch today announced a new feature designed to help creators boost the profile …

More: Twitch Blog, The Next Web, TechCrunch, Engadget, VentureBeat, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, KnowTechie, SlashGear, Tubefilter, CNET, VG247, bit-tech.net, Variety, and GeekWire. Tweets: @twitch

Jeff John Roberts / Fortune:

As market for facial recognition software heats up, concerns about how and when facial data is collected remain largely unaddressed due to lack of regulations — While you weren't looking, tech companies helped themselves to your photos to power a facial recognition boom. Here's how.

More: BREAKERMAG. Thanks:@jeffjohnroberts

M.G. Siegler / 500ish Words:

Apple's “It's show time” event was weird, with very little tech, a focus on content and star power, and Oprah basically pitching others to sign up with Apple — Some thoughts on Apple's truly bizarre “It's Showtime” event — Note: this preamble was adapted from my newsletter published yesterday.

Tweets: @stevecheney

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:

Rela, a popular Chinese lesbian dating app, exposed data on 5M users, including dates of birth, height and weight, and sexual preferences, since June 2018 — Rela (.), a popular dating app for gay and queer women, has exposed millions of user profiles and private data because a server wasn't protected with a password.

More: Silicon Republic, The Mac Observer, Gizmodo, and TechNode

Sponsor Posts

Google:

Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life

Shopify:

Transform ML Experimentation with Tangle — Save months of compute time with Tangle, built by Shopify. Try this open-source platform to simplify ML workflows, ensure reproducibility, and seamlessly share with collaborators.

Zoho:

Contract Signed. Project Ready. Tasks Created. — Every project begins with a promise; a contract that outlines the deliverables, the timelines, and the terms. But for most businesses …

Bitrix24:

Bitrix24 powers the next generation of high-performing businesses — Chat, projects, CRM, and automation — all in one place. Replace dozens of tools so your team moves faster, collaborates smarter, and grows effortlessly.

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.

Sponsor Techmeme

Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:

OpenAI Calls a 'Code Red' + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop

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:

Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO

A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.

Subscribe to Access.

Decoder with Nilay Patel:

Anthropic's quest to study the negative effects of AI is under pressure

A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.

Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.

Lenny's Podcast:

Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders" | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)

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.

Great Chat:

Code red: our favorite tech rivalries

A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.

Subscribe to Great Chat.

Big Technology Podcast:

How An AI Model Learned To Be Bad — With Evan Hubinger And Monte MacDiarmid

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.

Add your podcast here

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:15 PM ET, March 28, 2019.

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.