Techmeme
July 29, 2020, 10:50 AM

Top News

New York Times:
At the hearing, Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg, and Pichai will argue their businesses are relatively small, exist in competitive environments, and benefit consumers  —  The C.E.O.s are likely to argue before Congress that their companies aren't anticompetitive.  Here are the facts.
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Sundar Pichai will tell lawmakers that Google operates in a “highly competitive” market and that its free products benefit the “average American”  —  - Ahead of a Wednesday House Judiciary hearing, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai released opening remarks that show …
The Amazon Blog:
Bezos statement to US House underscores Amazon's job creation, investments in social causes, and its role in supporting small and medium-sized businesses  —  Testimony before the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law  —  Statement by Jeffrey P. Bezos Founder & Chief …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Tim Cook will tell US lawmakers that App Store has opened the “gate wider” for developers, Apple isn't anticompetitive, and doesn't have “dominant market share”  —  Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will tell U.S. lawmakers probing his company's market power …
Betsy Woodruff Swan / Politico:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
TikTok's new CEO Kevin Mayer says it'll release code driving its content moderation algorithms, accuses Facebook of maligning attacks “disguised as patriotism”  —  In his first public statement as CEO of TikTok, f ormer Disney exec Kevin Mayer says the company will be releasing …
Sam Shead / CNBC:
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter work to pull versions of a video touting hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 cure, after it was shared by Trump and his allies  —  - A Breitbart video containing dangerous coronavirus misinformation went viral on Facebook before it was removed.
Bloomberg:
Sources: Google and Samsung are in talks about giving Google products more prominence on Samsung phones, including more control over search  —  - Google Assistant, Play app store may gain more prominent roles  — Samsung seeks other revenue sources as handset demand drops
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Spotify reports Q2 revenue of €1.89B, up 13% YoY, with MAUs up 29% YoY to 299M, premium users up 27% to 138M, and ad-supported MAUs up 31% to 170M  —  In addition, ad revenue fell 21% — which Spotify blamed on the coronavirus pandemic — but the drop wasn't quite as bad as forecast.
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
AMC and Universal agree to shorten the theatrical window for films to 17 days, or 3 weekends, before Universal can release them onto premium on-demand platforms  —  Films only have to be in theaters for three weekends now before going to digital platforms  —  AMC Theaters and Universal …
Marc Santora / New York Times:
Alexandra Alper / Reuters:
US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says TikTok is being reviewed by CFIUS, which will make a recommendation to Trump  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Wednesday social media app TikTok is under federal government review and a recommendation will be made to President Donald Trump on it.
Nick Kolakowski / Dice Insights:
In July, a H-1B software engineers' median salary at Google, Microsoft, and Apple was at least $142K, a substantial increase from at least $120K in October 2019  —  How much are software engineers on the H-1B visa making at some of the nation's largest tech companies?  At first glance, the answer seems simple: quite a lot.
Campbell Kwan / ZDNet:
After seeking to dismiss charges against two ex-Twitter employees and a Saudi national, DOJ files a superseding indictment with seven charges, up from two  —  The charges have expanded from two to seven.  —  Fresh off dismissing spying charges against two former Twitter employees …
Olga Kharif / Bloomberg:
At least three streamers banned or suspended from Twitch and Facebook following accusations of sexual harassment have moved to YouTube  —  When a handful of streamers were recently banned or suspended by the live-streaming platforms Twitch and Facebook following accusations of sexual harassment, their careers didn't end.
Tweets: @lucas_shaw
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
TransferWise announces a new $319M secondary share sale round led by Lone Pine Capital and D1 Capital Partners at a $5B valuation  —  - TransferWise employees and early investors sold some of their stakes in a $319 million secondary deal.  — The company's $5 billion valuation makes …
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Toppr, an e-learning service in India covering 17 subjects and preparing students for five dozen competitive exams, raises $46M led by Foundation Holdings  —  Toppr, one of the largest online learning startups in India, has secured $46 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its platform including a new product.

Sponsor Posts

Okara:
Meet Okara, the AI platform that doesn't train on your data  —  Chat with 30+ open-source models (Llama, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek) through encrypted infrastructure.  Used by teams handling proprietary code and strategy.
Soxton:
AI-powered 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!
Zoho:
Zoho Books Launches CT600 & Final Accounts Filing for Micro-Entities in the UK  —  Tax compliance is the fulcrum of accounting and Zoho Books has come a long way in helping different business structures in the UK stay compliant with their tax obligations.
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.

Featured Podcasts

The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
An Intro to Data Centers
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Big Technology Podcast:
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis: AI's Next Breakthroughs, AGI Timeline, Google's AI Glasses Bet
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
Vinod Khosla and Keith Rabois from Khosla Ventures
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Chuck Klosterman on Why Football Owns TV (and Why It Won't Forever)
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.
The Social Radars:
Christina Cacioppo, Founder & CEO, Vanta
Come be a fly on the wall as Y Combinator's Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy talk to some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley about how they did it.
Subscribe to The Social Radars.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:50 AM ET, July 29, 2020.

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

Larry Dignan / ZDNet:

Earlier Picks

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
BBC: