Techmeme
October 15, 2020, 5:10 PM

Top News

Bloomberg:
Ajit Pai says FCC will start a rulemaking to clarify the meaning of Section 230, and social media doesn't have “special immunity denied to other media outlets”  —  - Agency chief says it will conduct rulemaking Trump sought  — Social media doesn't have special immunity, Chairman Pai says
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Facebook and Twitter deserve some credit for rapidly restricting the New York Post hack-and-leak operation that made allegations about Hunter Biden  —  In a New York Post report, Facebook and Twitter smell a rat  —  I.  —  In the run-up to the 2020 election, platforms have been preparing for all manner of threats.
BuzzFeed News:
Facebook limits the distribution of a New York Post story that makes disputed claims about Hunter Biden, pending fact-check, while Twitter blocks sharing  —  Facebook and Twitter said they will be limiting the distribution of or blocking a New York Post story making unverified claims about former vice president Joe Biden.
Wall Street Journal:
@twittersafety:
NBC News:
YouTube bans conspiracy theory content, such as QAnon or Pizzagate, that justifies “real-world violence”, but stops short of banning QAnon content outright  —  YouTube said Thursday that it would no longer allow content that targets individuals and groups with conspiracy theories …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Stripe acquires Nigerian startup Paystack, which enables integration of payments services using an API, sources say for $200M+  —  When Stripe announced earlier this year that it had picked up another $600 million in funding, it said one big reason for the funding was to expand its API-based payments services into more geographies.
Matthew Leske / The Keyword:
Google says Chat will be available as a free service next year, both as a standalone app and integrated into Gmail; Google will remove Fi support in Hangouts  —  Over the past few years, we've invested in building helpful and secure products you can use to communicate and stay connected with the people in your life.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google details how it is using AI to improve search, including indexing individual passages from webpages, allowing searches for songs by humming, and more  —  During a livestreamed event this afternoon, Google detailed the ways it's applying AI and machine learning to improve the Google Search experience.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Xbox Series X preview: focus on basics that matter like being quiet and cool, high frame rates, faster load times, accessory support, and backward compatibility  —  I haven't been using my Xbox One as much recently, as it just feels outdated.  As someone who plays primarily on PC …
Sophie Alexander / Bloomberg:
Source: Robinhood estimates that ~2,000 accounts were compromised in a recent hack; Robinhood said a “limited number” were affected by personal email breaches  —  - A fake Arizona ID offers clue on how a hacker accessed funds  — Some clients dispute assertion that email accounts to blame
Jon Porter / The Verge:
Apple confirms an upcoming update will let HomePod, but not HomePod mini, output Dolby Atmos as well as 5.1 and 7.1 channel audio from Apple TV 4K  —  With new home cinema feature  —  Apple's HomePod is getting a lot more useful as a home cinema speaker for Apple TV 4K owners.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Snapchat now lets iOS users add song clips from a curated catalog of music to their Snaps and Stories  —  Snapchat today is launching a new feature called Sounds — which, taking a page from TikTok, lets app users add song clips to their Snaps and Stories.  Currently, though, it's available only in the app for Apple's iOS.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Telegram says when Apple recently ordered it to delete specific posts, Apple demanded it not leave a notice explaining why, because such info was “irrelevant”  —  Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has been writing about a controversy that I think is fairly summarized as follows …
Kieren McCarthy / The Register:
Barnes and Noble confirms it was hacked, says some users' personal information may have been stolen; some customers were unable to download purchased e-books  —  Nook, line and sinker: Servers restored from backups, punters unable to download purchased e-books
Taylor Lorenz / New York Times:
How “Among Us”, an online social deduction game from 2018, took off among people of all ages during social distancing; one Discord server has 98,000+ fans  —  YouTubers, influencers and streamers popularized the multiplayer game.  Then their fans started playing too.
David Pierce / Protocol:
Pew: 92% of all tweets since last November were made by 10% of users, 69% of whom were Democrats; Trump's was the most-mentioned account followed by YouTube's  —  In case you needed a reminder that Twitter isn't the real world, the Pew Research Center found that 10% of users produced 92% of all tweets since last November.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Reimagine your photos with a prompt  —  Our new native image generation and editing is state-of-the-art, and ranked #1 in the world.  Try it for free in the Gemini app.
Zoho:
Ask an Expert: How to get business messaging right today  —  SMS has long remained one of the most preferred forms of business communication across the globe.  To keep it relevant and effective …
Sevalla:
Sevalla - PaaS from the future  —  Deploy your app before your coffee gets cold.  It's that simple.  Application, database, object storage and free static site hosting.  Start with $50 free credit!
Bitrix24:
Bitrix24 powers the next generation of high-performing businesses  —  Chat, projects, CRM, and automation — all in one place.  Replace dozens of tools so your team moves faster, collaborates smarter, and grows effortlessly.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Decoder with Nilay Patel:
The company at the heart of the AI bubble
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
"Dumbest idea I've heard" to $100M ARR: Inside the rise of Gamma | Grant Lee (CEO)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Great Chat:
Turns out, there's still a line (don't mock the pope)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Big Technology Podcast:
Could LLMs Be The Route To Superintelligence? — With Mustafa Suleyman
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:
Kyle Vogt from The Bot Company
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
What the Disney-YouTube Battle Tells Us About the End of Cable
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:10 PM ET, October 15, 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

ASPI:

Earlier Picks

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors: