Techmeme
June 17, 2020, 1:10 PM

Top News

David Pierce / Protocol:
Shortly after Basecamp debuted its email service, HEY, it says its next iOS app update was rejected because Apple wasn't getting its cut of subscription revenue  —  Right around the time the team at Basecamp was launching their Hey email service to the public on Monday, Zach Waugh …
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
The distinction of business vs. consumer as a justification for Apple's rejection of HEY from the App Store for not using in-app purchases is flimsy  —  This statement is paraphrased by Pierce, not a direct quote, but on its surface this business/consumer distinction seems untenable.
Mark Zuckerberg / USA Today:
Facebook launches Voting Information Center for accurate election information and tools for voter registration, aiming to help register 4M people via its apps  —  The 2020 election is going to be unlike any other.  It was already going to be a heated campaign, and that was before the pandemic …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Facebook and Instagram will allow some US users to turn off political ads starting Wednesday; the feature will roll out to all US users over the next few weeks  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday announced the social network will allow its users to turn off seeing political ads.
Wall Street Journal:
Trump administration official says DOJ will propose limiting Section 230 legal protections for online platforms like Facebook and Twitter  —  The action follows President Trump's executive order seeking to weaken broad immunity enjoyed by Facebook, Twitter and other platforms
Margaret Harding McGill / Axios:
Sen. Josh Hawley announces a bill targeting Section 230, letting consumers sue platforms with 30M+ US MAUs over alleged censorship of political speech and more  —  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) Wednesday will introduce legislation that would give consumers grounds to sue companies like Facebook …
Bloomberg:
Apple says its head of diversity and inclusion Christie Smith, who joined in 2017, is leaving  —  - Apple VP of Diversity and Inclusion Smith had joined in 2017  — Company planning $100 million initiative to promote equality  —  Apple Inc.'s head of diversity and inclusion Christie Smith is leaving the iPhone company.
Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:
Uber to sell the software that powers its ride-hailing business, starting with public transit agencies; California Marin county is first to buy Uber's software  —  - Ride-hailing giant partners with California county officials  — Program is Uber's first software sale with a third party
Aaron Holmes / Business Insider:
Google cracks down on The Federalist and ZeroHedge for violating policies on race-related content and may permanently suspend their access to Google Ads revenue  —  - Google is cracking down on two right-wing outlets, ZeroHedge and The Federalist, for violating its policies on race-related content.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
Microsoft details efforts to increase Azure durability amid pandemic by expanding submarine cable bandwidth, server scaling changes, and capacity forecasting  —  Microsoft has been making lots of under-the-covers changes to how it runs its cloud services, including Azure-based Teams, to meet demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Boston Dynamics says Spot, its quadruped robot, is now available to businesses in the US as part of a developer kit for $74,500  —  Boston Dynamics today opened commercial sales of Spot, its quadruped robot that can climb stairs and traverse rough terrain.  Businesses can purchase …
VICE:
Investigation into a “supply chain” of people who scrape OnlyFans content en masse before reposting it for free, often on other adult websites or Discord  —  In late February, rumors of a massive database of adult content stolen from OnlyFans subscription-only accounts spread through social media.
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
Unbounce, which builds optimized landing pages for SMBs using automation, raises ~$38.4M led by Crest Rock Partners  —  Landing page optimization company Unbounce is announcing that it has raised $52 million Canadian (approximately $38.4 million in US dollars).
Jennifer Alsever / Marker:
A look at OATV's Indie.vc, a VC firm that invests modest amounts between $100K to $1M to power more sustainable tech startups and fund more diverse founders  —  Why a new approach to venture capital is powering more sustainable startups — and funding more diverse founders
Noah Smith / Washington Post:
Major video game publishers have released statements in support of racial justice, but offer few details about stamping out racism in their online communities  —  In the wake of George Floyd's death and the ensuing mass protests, a number of major video game publishers and console makers released statements …
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Headless CMS company Contentful raises $80M Series E led by Sapphire Ventures, bringing its total raised to $158.3M  —  Headless CMS company Contentful today announced that it has raised an $80 million Series E funding round led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst …
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Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal: