Techmeme
March 14, 2020, 10:20 PM

Top News

Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple says it is closing all of its stores outside China until March 27 due to the spread of COVID-19 and plans to pay its hourly workers during the closures  —  Apple today announced that it is closing all of its retail locations outside of Greater China until March 27 due to the continuing spread …
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple will only accept COVID-19 related apps from recognized entities such as government orgs, health NGOs, and companies with health or education credentials  —  Apple today announced that it is evaluating COVID-19 coronavirus-related apps critically to ensure data sources are reputable …
Apple:
Peter Kafka / Vox:
Google confirms Verily is building a tool to expedite COVID-19 testing after Trump claims Google has 1,700 engineers working on the project  —  Dr. Debbie Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, speaks at a White House press conference on Friday, March 13, 2020.  SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
Despite Trump implying that a triage website for COVID-19 tests will be available nationwide soon, Verily says it will only launch in Bay Area within a few days  —  Instead, Verily is building a triage website just for the Bay Area  —  Google is not working with the US government in building …
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
After Amazon's crackdown on price gouging, some sellers who cleared out local stores are sitting on stockpiles, causing shortages of products like sanitizer  —  Amazon cracked down on coronavirus price gouging.  Now, while the rest of the world searches, some sellers are holding stockpiles of sanitizer and masks.
Microsoft:
Bill Gates has stepped down from the Microsoft's Board of Directors, will continue to serve as Technology Advisor to CEO Satya Nadella  —  REDMOND, Wash. — March 13, 2020 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Co-Founder and Technology Advisor Bill Gates stepped down from the company's Board …
Patricia Hernandez / Polygon:
Niantic has temporarily updated various Pokémon Go mechanics to limit the need for extended travel during gameplay due to “the current global health situation”  —  Monster collecting will be slightly easier now  —  As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the world …
Dan Guido / Trail of Bits Blog:
An independent audit of mobile voting app Voatz, which has been used in elections in four US states, details many critical vulnerabilities and recommends fixes  —  Voatz allows voters to cast their ballots from any geographic location on supported mobile devices.
Adele Peters / Fast Company:
Uncensored Library, a Reporters Without Borders project in Minecraft, lets people anywhere read articles from censored journalists and get info on press freedom  —  In countries where censorship is standard practice—such as China, where articles and social media posts about COVID-19 …
Gene Maddaus / Variety:
Broadcom sues Netflix for infringement of eight patents dealing with video playback and data transmission, claims cord-cutting reduced demand for Broadcom chips  —  Broadcom, a leading manufacturer of semiconductor chips for cable set-top boxes, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Netflix on Friday.
David Gilbert / VICE:
Experts say AC19, an Iranian government Android app that claims to diagnose coronavirus, is being used to track users' real-time locations  —  On Tuesday, March 3, the smartphones of tens of millions of Iranian citizens beeped in unison.  —  “Dear compatriots, before going to the hospital or health center …
Tony Romm / Washington Post:
AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, more ISPs join FCC-orchestrated “Keep Americans Connected Pledge”, will open Wi-Fi hotspots, not terminate service for late fees, more  —  AT&T, Comcast and Verizon joined dozens of telecom providers in agreeing to aid Americans who are out of work …

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