Techmeme
April 28, 2020, 11:50 AM

Top News

Matt Stroud / OneZero:
The CEO of Banjo, a SoftBank-backed surveillance firm that's raised nearly $223M, was once a neo-Nazi and was involved in the drive-by shooting of a synagogue  —  magazine profiles and on conference stages, Damien Patton, the 47-year-old co-founder and CEO of the surveillance startup Banjo, often recounts a colorful autobiography.
Leo Kelion / BBC:
UK's NHS says it's making a contact tracing app that uses a centralized approach, giving it more insight into COVID-19's spread than Apple and Google's tools  —  The UK's coronavirus contact-tracing app is set to use a different model to the one proposed by Apple and Google, despite concerns raised about privacy and performance.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Shopify launches Shop, a consumer shopping app that allows users to browse recommended and local products and buy using the one-click Shop Pay checkout process  —  While Shopify is best-known for powering the online stores of more than 1 million businesses, the company is launching …
Gizmodo:
Parolees say technical issues of Guardian, an app that uses GPS and biometric data for tracking, are causing problems like losing jobs and reincarceration  —  On the day Layla got out of prison and back to her home in Georgia, she was told she would need to purchase a smartphone …
David Shepardson / Reuters:
Verizon and Comcast both say they will extend a commitment through June 30 to not cancel service or charge late fees because of the coronavirus pandemic  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), the largest U.S. wireless carrier, said Monday it will extend …
Washington Post:
Stanford Internet Observatory researchers say Facebook and YouTube should not allow paid political ads from state-controlled media outlets  —  Vanessa Molter is a graduate research assistant at the Stanford Internet Observatory.  Renée DiResta is the research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory.
Paresh Dave / Reuters:
Interviews show some companies and retail stores are equipping existing security cameras with AI software to track social distancing and mask-wearing  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Stores and workplaces eager to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus are equipping existing security cameras …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
British payments firm Checkout.com joins the Libra Association, the first payments processor to do so since Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe pulled out in October  —  - Checkout.com is the first payments firm to join the Libra Association after Visa, Mastercard and Stripe pulled out over regulatory concerns.
Vjeran Pavic / The Verge:
DJI unveils Mavic Air 2 with upgraded camera sensor that can take 48MP photos and shoot 4K at 60 fps, claims 34 minutes of flying time, shipping May 11 at $799  —  A bigger sensor, a bigger battery, and redesigned controller come to DJI's mainstream drone  —  Two and a half years …
Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:
Google's AI screening tool for diabetic retinopathy, trialed in Thailand, proved impractical in real-life testing, despite high theoretical accuracy  —  AI is frequently cited as a miracle workers in medicine, especially in screening processes, where machine learning models boast expert-level skills in detecting problems.
Marne Levine / About Facebook:
Facebook says it will stream a virtual graduation ceremony on May 15, with a commencement speech from Oprah Winfrey; highlights will be shared on Instagram  —  This is a bittersweet time for the Class of 2020.  As students head toward graduation, it's not the day they might have imagined …

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More News

Ben Sandofsky / Halide:
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

Elizabeth Dwoskin / Washington Post:
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Eduard Kovacs / SecurityWeek:
Adam Satariano / New York Times:
Neha Alawadhi / Business Standard: