Techmeme
August 16, 2020, 5:15 AM

Top News

Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Telegram has launched an alpha version of one-on-one video calls in its Android and iOS apps, says all calls will be end-to-end encrypted  —  The company plans to add improvements to the alpha feature in coming months  —  Secure messaging app Telegram has launched an alpha version …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
With its ban on cloud gaming services and now the removal of Fortnite, Apple is at the risk of losing a generation of young, game-loving smartphone owners  —  Apple has always had a complicated relationship with the game industry, but this month that relationship slid into a bitter …
Nick Statt / The Verge:
Epic's Tim Sweeney says fight with Apple is about “the basic freedoms of all consumers and developers” to install and distribute apps as they choose  —  Sweeney says the explosive feud with Apple is not solely about money  —  Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has issued a series …
Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:
Most of Epic's complaints against Apple and Google apply to console makers, which Epic conveniently ignores; most gamers likely play Fortnite on consoles  —  Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo demand the same platform control—and the same 30% fee.  —  Yesterday, Epic used Fortnite …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Amit Katwala / WIRED UK:
Tens of thousands of high school students were downgraded from teacher estimates by an algorithm that replaced exams in UK, affecting university applications  —  Even with the late changes, GCSE and A-Level results still highlight the flaws in a biased education system
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook launches paid online events in 20 countries with waived fees during COVID-19, says Apple is hurting SMBs by refusing to waive its 30% cut on iOS  —  Facebook Inc. joined a growing list of developers to publicly criticize Apple Inc. over its revenue-sharing policy for in-app purchases …
Aliya S. King / LEVEL:
An oral history of hip-hop sites like UBO, Hookt, and 360HipHop which raised millions before becoming the early casualties of the first dot-com bubble  —  It wasn't just Pets.com and eToys — 20 years ago, a slew of hip-hop and ‘urban’ sites became early casualties of the first dot-com bubble
Parmy Olson / Wall Street Journal:
As companies start using AI-software to detect race or ethnicity, often as part of market research, researchers worry it will fuel bias and discrimination  —  When Revlon Inc. wanted to know what lipstick women of different races and in different countries were wearing, the cosmetics giant didn't need to send out a survey.
Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
While social media platforms did not create QAnon, they helped it go mainstream via recommendation systems designed to prioritize engagement  —  A supporter of the dangerous conspiracy theory is most likely headed to Congress.  The social media platforms have some soul-searching to do.

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