Techmeme
April 16, 2021, 7:45 AM

Top News

Patrick Howell O'Neill / MIT Technology Review:
A look at Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm sanctioned by the US, which sources say provides hacking tools and ops support for Russian spies  —  Washington has sanctioned Russian cybersecurity firm Positive Technologies.  US intelligence reports claim it provides hacking tools and runs operations for the Kremlin.
NBC News:
US sanctions Russia for 2020 election interference and SolarWinds hack, blacklisting six tech companies that provide support to Russian intelligence services  —  The United States is hitting Russia with fresh sanctions for interference in the 2020 presidential election …
Naaman Zhou / The Guardian:
Australian Federal Court rules Google misled Android users into thinking it would not collect their location data when they turned location history off  —  Google collected data on some Android and Pixel phones even when customers ticked ‘No’ or ‘Do not collect’
Sam Machkovech / Ars Technica:
Executives from Intel, Nvidia, and TSMC say the global chip shortage will likely continue at least into 2022 and maybe into 2023  —  Companies reeling from natural disasters and massive demand from OEMs, consumers.  —  How many years will the ongoing chip shortage affect technology firms across the world?
The Guardian:
Facebook planned to remove a network of fake accounts that artificially inflated the popularity of an MP in India, until it realized it was for a BJP politician  —  Whistleblower points to double standard in Facebook's enforcement of rules against powerful  —  Facebook allowed a network …
Catalin Cimpanu / The Record:
Google's Project Zero updates its vulnerability disclosure policy to include a 30-day cushion before publishing bug details to give users time to apply patches  —  The Google Project Zero security team has updated its vulnerability disclosure guidelines today to add a cushion of 30 days …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Apple's App Store hosted kids' games that became crypto-based casinos if launched from some non-US locations  —  Kosta Eleftheriou has found another iOS scam  —  In popular culture, access to an illicit gambling den is as easy as stumbling into the right shop and saying the password — or greasing some palms.
David Priest / CNET:
Jeff Bezos says Amazon Prime now has 200M+ subscribers, up 50M from the beginning of 2020, and Amazon's net profit in 2020 was $21.3B  —  A new letter to shareholders from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos revealed that the tech giant's Prime service now has over 200 million subscribers.
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Facebook's own ads that display the number of Facebook Dating users in a specific region show the service may have far fewer users than competitors like Tinder  —  Dawn Hallson has tried nearly every dating app you can think of — Tinder, Bumble, eHarmony, Plenty of Fish, and Match, just to name a few.
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft launches a Kids Mode for Edge, with two age range options of between 5 to 8 years or 9 to 12 years  —  A free and simple tool for parents  —  Microsoft is launching a new Kids Mode for its Edge browser today.  It's built directly into Microsoft Edge on Windows and macOS …
Wall Street Journal:
FBI Director Wray says social media companies play a key role in disseminating the messaging of domestic violent extremists, similar to foreign disinformation  —  Christopher Wray's warning comes amid rise in homegrown attacks  —  WASHINGTON—Social-media companies play a central role …
Reuters:
Massachusetts seeks revocation of Robinhood's broker-dealer license, charging that it encourages inexperienced investors to place risky trades without limits  —  Massachusetts regulators on Thursday sought the revocation of Robinhood's broker-dealer licenseafter charging …
Cameron Faulkner / The Verge:
Oculus says developers can now sell recurring subscriptions to their Quest apps, and each subscription will have a free trial period  —  Each subscription will have a free trial period  —  Developers who have apps or games on the Oculus Store can now sell recurring subscriptions to their titles …
Megan Graham / CNBC:
KKR-backed mobile gaming company AppLovin closes down 18.5% on its first day of trading, after raising $2B in its IPO at a valuation of $28.6B  —  - Nine-year-old AppLovin, which has a portfolio of mobile games and also sells marketing services to game companies, began trading Thursday.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Officials say USAGM CEO Michael Pack and others pushed to subsidize software built by Falun Gong adherents, diverting OTF money from other tech for dissidents  —  Of all the disruptions unleashed by the Trump White House on how the federal government typically works, the saga of one small project …

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More News

Aparna Narayanan / Investor's Business Daily:
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Earlier Picks

Politico:
Benjamin Mayo / 9to5Mac:
Natasha Singer / New York Times:
Jay Peters / The Verge: