Techmeme
October 19, 2020, 8:50 AM

Top News

The Markup:
The Markup announces The Citizen Browser Project, an initiative with The NYT to analyze how the algorithms of Facebook and YouTube serve content to users  —  The Markup, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates how the world's most powerful institutions use technology to reshape society …
Agence France-Presse:
Nick Clegg says 2.2M proposed ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120K posts withdrawn for attempting to “obstruct voting” in the US elections  —  A total of 2.2m ads on Facebook and Instagram have been rejected and 120,000 posts withdrawn for attempting to …
BBC:
EU is investigating Instagram's handling of children's personal data, after complaints that contact information on business accounts was publicly visible  —  Instagram is being investigated by Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) over its handling of children's personal data on the platform.
Alex Konrad / Forbes:
Profile of Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and ex-Sequoia partner Matt Huang, whose VC firm Paradigm moved all $400M of its initial capital into Bitcoin in 2018  —  Covering venture capital, software and startups  —  An aggressive Bitcoin trade got crypto VC shop Paradigm flying out of the gate.
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Thoughts on Apple's “Hi, Speed” event: the iPhone 12 lineup, camera differences, missing chargers and earbuds, focus on 5G and Verizon CEO's cameo, more  —  Last month's “Time Flies” event for the Apple Watch Series 6 and new iPad Air was about an hour long; this week's “Hi, Speed” event ran just a bit longer at 70 minutes.
Filipe Espósito / 9to5Mac:
A filing with a regulator in Brazil says the iPhone 12 has a 2,815 mAh battery, and the iPhone 12 mini has a 2,227mAh battery  —  While the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro are now available for pre-order in the US, Apple is getting ready to bring its new smartphones to other countries as well.
Matthew Ball / MatthewBall.vc:
Audio, which struggled for decades as a media category, is breaking out now, as tech enables new content formats as well as new monetization and delivery models  —  As most of the major media categories — music, video and video games — have existed for decades, we tend to forget that media is technology.
BBC:
UK to make it illegal to use a mobile phone while driving from next year, closing a loophole that let drivers use a phone to take a photo or play a game  —  It will become illegal for anyone to pick up and use their mobile phone while driving, under new legislation to be enacted next year.
Anil Ananthaswamy / Knowable Magazine:
A look at “neurosymbolic AI”, which combines techniques of deep neural networks and “good old-fashioned AI”, with comments from its proponents and critics  —  The unlikely marriage of two major artificial intelligence approaches has given rise to a new hybrid called neurosymbolic AI.
Colum Murphy / Bloomberg:
China passes a new export control law, in effect from Dec. 1, that will let it take reciprocal measures if any country or regions abuse their export controls  —  China passed a new law to restrict sensitive exports to protect national security, helping Beijing gain reciprocity against U.S. as tech tensions mount.

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Featured Podcasts

Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Hollywood is Truly Freaked Out." Inside the Netflix/WBD Deal with Lucas Shaw
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.
Hard Fork:
OpenAI Calls a 'Code Red' + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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Lenny's Podcast:
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders" | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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Great Chat:
Code red: our favorite tech rivalries
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Earlier Picks

Laurens Cerulus / Politico:
Stephen Totilo / Kotaku:
Morgan Clendaniel / Fast Company:
Vijaya Gadde / @vijaya: