Techmeme
August 7, 2019, 3:55 PM

Top News

Joseph Cox / VICE:
Source and documents show Microsoft contractors are listening to some Skype calls made using the app's translation service  —  Contractors working for Microsoft are listening to personal conversations of Skype users conducted through the app's translation service, according to a cache of internal documents …
Makena Kelly / The Verge:
Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony say they will require game publishers to disclose the odds of receiving types of in-game items from loot boxes starting in 2020  —  And a handful of publishers, too  —  The three major video game console manufacturers — Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo …
Bloomberg:
FedEx says it will not renew its ground-delivery contract with Amazon when it expires at the end of this month, as the e-commerce giant emerges as a competitor  —  FedEx Corp. is snipping another tie with Amazon.com Inc. as the e-commerce giant emerges as a competitor by building its own shipping network.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Facebook is rebuilding Instagram's messaging feature using Messenger tech, with Instagram's team reporting to Messenger; Instagram's look won't change  —  - Social network takes first steps to combine messaging products  — Instagram's direct messaging team now reports to Messenger
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Webflow, a simple website builder for non-coders, raises $72M Series A led by Accel, after previously raising only $2.9M; sources say valuation is $350M-$400M  —  Covering venture capital, software and startups  —  On his fourth attempt at building the company of his dreams …
Washington Post:
White House says it will hold a summit with tech companies on Friday to discuss violent online extremism, but does not say which companies are attending  —  The White House will host top tech companies to discuss the rise of violent online extremism on Friday, marking the Trump administration's …
Reuters:
Trump stepped up accusations against Google on Tuesday, claiming without evidence that Google worked against him in 2016 and warning he was watching it closely  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stepped up his accusations against Google, claiming without offering evidence …
Paul Roberts / The Seattle Times:
Epik, which serves sites like Gab.com and Daily Stormer, says it will not provide 8chan with DoS or CDN services through its BitMitigate division  —  A Seattle-area web-hosting firm has reversed course and decided not to host the 8chan web forum linked to Saturday's mass shooting in El Paso.
Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:
In a 130-page court filing, Kik says SEC's lawsuit manipulated facts and took comments out of context about its 2017 token sale, which raised $100M  —  The Takeaway:  — Kik claims the SEC took executives' comments out of context in a suit alleging the startup's 2017 token sale violated securities laws.
Greg Bensinger / Washington Post:
Investigation finds Amazon and Google listing firearm and gun accessories, such as ammunition, as recently as Monday, despite policies banning such items  —  Software algorithms are meant to catch and eliminate banned goods, but some items such as shotgun rounds slip through.

Sponsor Posts

Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning  —  SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds.  Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Zoho:
What's new in Zoho Tables with Apple's latest OS updates  —  Your work shouldn't slow you down when you're on the move.With our latest updates for iOS 27, we're bringing more of Apple Intelligence …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!

Featured Podcasts

Great Chat:
What does the tech industry owe San Francisco?
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
David George from a16z
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Big Technology Podcast:
SAP CEO: AI Won't Kill Software, But It Will Change Your Job — With Christian Klein
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
David Ellison's Paramount-Warner Empire & The Fight That Comes Next
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Sources:
Factory CEO on why AGI is already here
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.
Subscribe to Sources.
Invest Like the Best:
Noah Shinn - Building Instinct: The Personal Agent
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:55 PM ET, August 7, 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.

More News

Julia Alexander / The Verge:
Abhishek Baxi / OnMSFT.com:

Earlier Picks

Jennifer Surane / Bloomberg:
Jane Manchun Wong:
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Jason Gurwin / The Streamable:
Richard Milne / Financial Times: