Techmeme
October 21, 2020, 10:35 AM

Top News

Anna Irrera / Reuters:
PayPal will let users buy and sell cryptocurrency using its online wallets in the coming weeks and shop at merchants on its network starting in early 2021  —  LONDON (Reuters) - PayPal Holdings Inc joined the cryptocurrency market on Wednesday, allowing customers to buy …
Kent Walker / The Keyword:
Karl Bode / Techdirt:
DOJ's antitrust suit against Google is being driven by cronyism and election season politics, not by a serious concern about monopoly power  —  Last month we noted how Bill Barr was rushing DOJ staffers (much to their chagrin) to launch his “antitrust inquiry” into Google.  Why?  Three reasons.
Wall Street Journal:
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
The Information:
Sources: Jeffrey Katzenberg tried to sell Quibi's catalog to NBCUniversal and Facebook, but both passed; Katzenberg told others he may shut down the company  —  Jeffrey Katzenberg may be nearing the end of the road with his mobile video streaming service Quibi.
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Netflix plans to test a 48-hour free weekend in India, dubbed StreamFest and scheduled for Dec. 4, and may bring the promotion to other countries later  —  Netflix is looking to promote its service with a 48-hour free streaming event, confirmed COO Greg Peters during the company's Q3 2020 earnings call Tuesday afternoon.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Netflix reports Q3 revenue of $6.44B, up 22.7% YoY, vs $6.38B est., and 2.2M paid net adds in Q3 vs 6.8M in Q3 2019 and 10.1M in Q2 2020  —  - It's the first report since longtime Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was promoted to co-CEO.  — Netflix told shareholders last quarter …
Ina Fried / Axios:
Over 430,000 viewers tuned in simultaneously to watch Rep. Alexia Ocasio-Cortez play Among Us on Twitch, the third highest ever for an individual Twitch stream  —  More than 430,000 people tuned in simultaneously to Twitch on Tuesday night to watch Rep. Alexia Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) …
Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
iPad Air (2020) review: has an excellent screen, very fast processor, and is compatible with iPad Pro accessories, but it's expensive and has no 128GB option  —  Despite the higher cost, this iPad is the one to get  —  If you're looking to get an iPad right now and can afford it …
Jake Tapper / CNN:
Sources: WH is seeking to fast-track a no-bid contract to lease DOD mid-band 5G spectrum to Rivada Networks, which has Peter Thiel and Karl Rove as investors  —  Washington (CNN)Senior officials throughout various departments and agencies of the Trump administration tell CNN they are alarmed …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Snap reports Q3 revenue of $679M, up 52% YoY, vs $555.9M est., DAUs were up ~18% YoY to 249M, average number of daily Snaps up 25% YoY; stock up 25%+  —  - Snap's stock price soared more than 15% after hours on Tuesday as the company posted an unexpected, adjusted profit along with positive user …
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook confirms it is testing a feature for users to connect with their neighbors, as rival Nextdoor considers options for going public  —  - Product for local connections is being tested in Canada now  — Nextdoor is considering options, including a public offering
Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese tech companies including Huawei have expressed strong concerns to local regulators about Nvidia's proposed acquisition of Arm  —  - China is unlikely to grant its unconditional blessing  — Arm may become another flashpoint in the U.S.-China tech war
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Report: at least 2,000 US law enforcement agencies, including 49 of the 50 largest police departments, have the tools to access locked, encrypted phones  —  At least 2,000 law enforcement agencies have tools to get into encrypted smartphones, according to new research, and they are using them far more than previously known.
More: Upturn and Forbes
Jay Peters / The Verge:
From today until “at least” the end of election week, Twitter will show the Quote Tweet composer when you click or tap the retweet icon, discouraging basic RTs  —  The changes will be in place until ‘at least’ the end of election week  —  Twitter is temporarily changing …

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