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February 21, 2021, 7:20 PM
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| BuzzFeed News: |
Sources: Zuckerberg's personal intervention to reduce the severity of Alex Jones' ban in 2019 slowed down Facebook's efforts to deal with dangerous content — In April 2019, Facebook was preparing to ban one of the internet's most notorious spreaders of misinformation and hate, Infowars founder Alex Jones.
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Washington Post and Slashdot
Tweets: @craigsilverman, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @juddlegum, @egkeller, @adamcbest, @jason_kint, @donie, @surlybassey, @davidmackau, @jason_kint, @blackamazon, @mollyjongfast, @cwarzel, @brij, @markruffalo, @heathergtv, @parkermolloy, @anthony, @slpng_giants, @jesselehrich, @chastaylor, @bruce_arthur, @aaschapiro, @gilmored85, and @philipoconnor
| Dan Goodin / Ars Technica: |
Researchers discover macOS malware dubbed “Silver Sparrow” on at least 30K Macs, which includes a native M1 version and leverages the Installer JavaScript API — With no payload, analysts are struggling to learn what this mature malware does. — A previously undetected piece …
Source:
Red Canary. More:
The Register, The Verge, CNN, Mashable, TechSpot, Patently Apple, Slashdot, AppleInsider, Apple Terminal, 9to5Mac, and MacRumors
Tweets: @binitamshah, @reybango, @johnkoetsier, @freethesandbox, @macroliter, @profwoodward, @kimzetter, @kimzetter, and @kimzetter
| Manish Singh / TechCrunch: |
WhatsApp says users who haven't accepted its new privacy policy by May 15 can receive calls and notifications “for a short time”, but not read or send messages — WhatsApp said earlier this week that it will allow users to review its planned privacy update at “their own pace” …
More:
Gizmodo, Insider, gHacks Technology News, MacRumors, SlashGear, Digital Trends, iPhone Hacks, AppleInsider, Mashable, and Pocketnow
Tweets: @tariqkrim and @raamana_
| David Uberti / Wall Street Journal: |
Accellion's file transfer software hack, which affected Jones Day, also impacted New Zealand's central bank, 1M unemployment benefits applicants in WA, and more — Like the SolarWinds breach, the incident highlights supply-chain vulnerabilities — The hack of software provider Accellion USA LLC …
More:
BleepingComputer, PR Newswire, KIRO, WXIX-TV, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, LawStreetMedia, and Forbes
Tweets: @dodegaard and @knash99
| Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal: |
For many services, moderating content has become an existential crisis; some services are even establishing rules that pre-empt the need for costly moderation — Content moderation rules used to be a question of taste. Now, they can determine a service's prospects for survival.
Tweets: @mims, @aditi_muses, @wsj, @markstenberg3, @roncharles, @jeffjarvis, @mims, @marklittlenews, @mims, @maxabrahms, @mims, @wiczipedia, and @shenlulushen
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
Margaret Mitchell, co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says she has been fired; Google says an employee conduct review confirmed multiple policy violations — Margaret Mitchell, the co-lead of Google's Ethical AI team, says that the company has fired her following an investigation into her use of corporate email.
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TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Australian, The Verge, Sky News, Mashable, Wired, Bloomberg, Android Central, The Guardian, New York Times, Input, Fortune, Forbes, CNET, VentureBeat, CNN, and The Next Web
Tweets: @mmitchell_ai, @kishau, @pedro_bcn_mx, @ant_pruitt, @rvaithianathan, @hkanji, @telegraphtech, @raminskibba, @k_chirp, @evanmiltenburg, @elliotkoss, @dinabass, @kentbye, @zoeschiffer, @bloombergquint, @wired, @androidcentral, @rabble, @dimillian, @aweiss, @gadgetlab, @wired, @scottthurm, @inafried, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @jamesrbuk, @azeem, @devindra, @timnitgebru, @jsnell, @timnitgebru, @lizthegrey, @shannoncoulter, @daiwaka, @nitashatiku, and @dinabass
| Ina Fried / Axios: |
More:
OneZero , TechCrunch, The Hill, Engadget, Bloomberg, Insider, and CNET
Tweets: @timnitgebru, @techgirlwonder, @mchardcastle, @timnitgebru, @inafried, @jmesole, @dinabass, @lilahsturges, @timnitgebru, @histoftech, @timnitgebru, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @azeem, @timnitgebru, @kimcrayton1, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @ohthatflo, @timnitgebru, @anna_c_kramer, @timnitgebru, @timnitgebru, @aaschapiro, @stephentyrone, @dlowd, @shanavwhite, @axios, @inafried, @shannonvallor, @inafried, and @inafried
| Ashlee Vance / Bloomberg: |
Profile of Youyang Gu, a 27-year-old data scientist whose ML model most accurately predicted COVID-19 death totals which the CDC used on its forecasting website — Spring 2020 brought with it the arrival of the celebrity statistical model. As the public tried to gauge how big a deal …
More:
Newcomer
| Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: Toast, a cloud-based restaurant management software provider, is planning an IPO that could value it at ~$20B; in Feb. 2020 it was valued at $4.9B — Toast taps Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to underwrite a possible listing later this year — Toast Inc. is planning …
Tweets: @edbott
| Ian Carlos Campbell / The Verge: |
App Annie: Australian Broadcasting Corporation's news app was briefly the most downloaded app on the AU App Store after Facebook's news ban and is now second — Readers may be going directly to the source — The Australian Broadcast Company's ABC News app shot to the top of Apple's App Store charts …
More:
MIT Technology Review, MUO, Vox, iPhone in Canada Blog, Techdirt, and Micky
Tweets: @caseynewton, @justinhendrix, @umabp, @producing2power, @justinhendrix, @informor, @justinhendrix, @eileenguo, @freakboy3742, @cterp23, @jamescridland, @steipete, @chrisapplegate, @jesseweigert, @glenngabe, @carissaveliz, @soloversal, @juliepsamuels, @jeunj, @sarthakgh, @glenngabe, @stanfordcis, @gumleafwhistler, @chrismessina, @paulbrislen, @macaulaybalkan, @neilwrites, @cameronwilson, @nathanblawrence, @macotani, @neerajka, @umabp, @brianboyer, @brooklynmarie, @umabp, @umabp, @rasmus_kleis, @karlbode, @dhh, and @umabp
| Sheldon Chanel / The Guardian: |
More:
BIG by Matt Stoller. Tweets: @dailypostdan, @glynmoody, @susanamet, @ahawatson, @politicoryan, @robpegoraro, @bendohertycorro, @matthewstoller, @tmcw, @tmcw, and @tmcw
| Anthony Ha / TechCrunch: |
Abound, a wholesale marketplace for both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers that launched in Oct. 2019, raises $22.9M Series A led by Left Lane Capital — Abound, an online marketplace that helps independent retailers stock their shelves with new products from up-and-coming brands …
More:
FinSMEs and PYMNTS.com
| Rich Mogull / TidBITS: |
Apple's new Platform Security user guide follows the industry trend of growing vertical hardware, software, and cloud integration to improve ecosystem security — Even as a security professional, it's easy to get lost within the digital covers of Apple's latest Platform Security user guide.| Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch: |
Titan, which offers online investment management services to both accredited and unaccredited investors, raises $12.5M Series A led by General Catalyst — Titan, a startup that is building a retail investment management platform aimed at millennials, has closed on $12.5 million in a Series …
More:
Titan and FinSMEs
Tweets: @aplusk, @bayareawriter, @ycombinator, @nkatragadda, @jta4t, @titanvest, and @bingchen
| Reuters: |
Facebook deletes the main page of the Myanmar military for “repeated violations of Community Standards prohibiting incitement of violence and coordinating harm” — (Reuters) - Facebook on Sunday deleted the main page of the Myanmar military under it standards prohibiting …
More:
Boing Boing. Tweets: @haritho, @militarymonitor, @watchingmyanmar, @arvindhickman, @iainlevine, @walone4, @moui, and @donk_enby
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Tweets: @jerseejess, @progintl, @dealbook, @r0wdy_, @ungoldman, @vanishingcorp, @gideonresnick, @benwerd, @clairegilch, @rahrahraina, @quatoria, @hal_coi, @greenhousenyt, @sarahljaffe, and @quinnypig
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