Techmeme
February 5, 2021, 3:45 PM

Top News

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Google has patched an actively exploited zero-day vulnerability in its Chrome 88 update  —  Google Chrome 88.0.4324.150 released with a fix.  Users advised to update.  —  Google has released today version 88.0.4324.150 of the Chrome browser for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Snap says Apple's changes to IDFA will interrupt demand; Unity says IDFA changes will affect how mobile game developers “optimize lifetime customer value”  —  - Snap and Unity Software, which reported fourth quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, both warned of the upcoming impact …
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Ashley Gold / Axios:
Microsoft suspends contributions for the rest of the 2022 election cycle to all members of Congress who voted to object to the presidential election results  —  Microsoft announced Friday it will suspend contributions for the rest of the 2022 election cycle to all members of Congress who voted …
Associated Press:
Draft bill in Nevada to establish “Innovation Zones” would let tech companies with large areas of land to form governments with the same authority as counties  —  CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Planned legislation to establish new business areas in Nevada would allow technology companies …
Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Democratic senators' SAFE TECH Act will strip Section 230 immunity for any ads, and posts violating civil rights, antitrust, cyberstalking, human rights laws  —  Three top Democratic senators added to the stack of proposed Section 230 reforms Friday, introducing their own bill …
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Democrats' Sec. 230 bill is a dumpster fire of cluelessness that effectively wipes out protections for entire internet while pretending it's just a minor change  —  For the past few months we've been seeing a ton of terrible/ridiculous/awful/unconstitutio nal bills coming from mostly Republicans …
Ben Gilbert / Insider:
Mark Zuckerberg made a surprise appearance on Clubhouse on Thursday, discussing VR, AR, Facebook's Reality Labs group, and remote work  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on a Clubhouse talk show on Thursday evening.  — Zuckerberg appeared on The Good Times Show, a talk show on the buzzy new social networking app.
Ashwin Manikandan / The Economic Times:
PayPal says it will wind down its domestic payment operations in India by April 1 and focus on its existing cross-border trade business  —  Mumbai: PayPal Inc. will wind down its payment operations in India this year, a spokesperson said on the condition of anonymity.
Bloomberg:
Shares of Kuaishou jumped 161% in its Hong Kong debut, valuing the company at $159B, after the main rival of ByteDance in China raised $5.4B in an IPO  —  - Tencent-backed short-video startup raised $5.4 billion in IPO  — Debut performance is second best globally after Alibaba.com
Cherlynn Low / Engadget:
Google says Pixel users will be able to use their phone cameras to measure pulse and breath rates through the Google Fit app, starting next month  —  Like many of us, Google is getting more interested in our health.  The company is announcing today new features that will allow …
Michelle Chan / Nikkei Asia:
Users in mainland China are flocking to Clubhouse, a rare space outside the country's firewall where they can speak freely with people from Hong Kong and Taiwan  —  Audio-based social-media platform becomes free-speech haven for mainland users  —  The Clubhouse app had two million users globally as of Jan. 24.
Natasha Mascarenhas / TechCrunch:
Class, formerly ClassEDU, which makes a video-conferencing product for schools called Class for Zoom, raises $30M Series A, bringing its total raised to $46M  —  Class, launched less than a year ago by Blackboard co-founder Michael Chasen, integrates exclusively with Zoom to offer …
Orla McCaffrey / Wall Street Journal:
Filing: CFPB probes Venmo's debt-collection tactics; Venmo actions like threatening to send debt collectors after users who are scam victims are under scrutiny  —  The payment app's tactics—including threatening to send debt collectors after customers who are scam victims—have previously come under scrutiny
More: Bloomberg
Micah Singleton / Billboard:
Sources: SoundCloud is preparing to introduce a new payment system that would allow users to pay artists directly  —  The company is close to announcing an alternative streaming payout plan.  —  SoundCloud is preparing to introduce a new payment system that would allow fans to pay artists directly …
Konrad Krasuski / Bloomberg:
Huuuge raises $445M in its IPO, valuing the developer of mobile casino games at $1.1B and making it the second-biggest studio listed in Warsaw after CD Projekt  —  - CD Projekt's Cyberpunk glitches didn't dent investor sentiment  — Company to be Warsaw's second-largest listed gaming studio
Tweets: @thekenyeung
Megan Graham / CNBC:
Ad tech company Magnite, formerly Rubicon Project, to acquire SpotX, a platform for connected TV and video advertising, from RTL Group for $1.17B  —  - Ad tech company Magnite is acquiring SpotX, a platform for connected TV and video advertising, for $1.17 billion in cash and stock.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google starts rolling out Google News Showcase in Australia, paying local and regional publishers, amid an ongoing dispute over Australia's proposed media rules  —  Google has a $1 billion plan to pay publishers for content that appears in a cross-service “News Showcase” product.

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Earlier Picks

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Ryan Tracy / Wall Street Journal: