Techmeme
June 17, 2021, 7:50 PM

Top News

Bobby Allyn / NPR:
Snap eliminates Snapchat's speed filter, which let users show how fast they were moving, after a US court ruled that Snap could be sued for a fatal car crash  —  The maker of the Snapchat app is eliminating a feature known as the “speed filter” that lets users capture how fast they are moving …
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / VICE:
Researchers: encryption algorithm GEA-1, used in GPRS data in 2G networks, was deliberately weakened by its designers; ETSI blames export regulations  —  A new paper shows that two old encryption algorithms still used in mobile networks can be exploited to spy on phones' internet traffic.
Casey Newton / Platformer:
By acquiring promising VR games and software companies, Facebook seems to be cornering the VR market, reminiscent of its Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions  —  A recent shopping spree is giving some folks Instagram-in-2012 vibes  —  Imagine that, over the past year, Facebook had managed …
Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC:
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
Profile of Doug Guthrie, an advocate for doing business in China who advised Apple from 2014-2019, as he now warns of the risks of China's nationalist turn  —  Doug Guthrie, once one of America's leading China bulls, rang the alarm on doing business there.  He spoke about his time at Apple.
Bloomberg:
Wise, previously known as TransferWise, plans to go public on the LSE via a direct listing, the first company to choose an alternative listing in the UK  —  - Founders, employees get extra voting rights for limited time  — Direct listings are becoming more popular among U.S. startups
Joe Weisenthal / Bloomberg:
Mark Cuban calls for stablecoin regulation, after trading Iron Finance's algorithmic stablecoin DeFi Titanium, which then crashed from $60 to $0 in a day  —  Here's a chart you never want to see.  It's of the DeFi Titanium token, which in one day went from being valued around $60 to $0.
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Unit, which helps companies build financial and banking products, raises $51M Series B led by Accel, bringing its total raises to ~$70M  —  We've all heard the phrase, “Every company is a fintech.”  —  But these days, that's becoming more and more true as an increasing number of companies …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Instagram launches ads in Reels worldwide; the ads can be up to 30 seconds and vertical in format  —  Instagram Reels are getting ads.  The company announced today it's launching ads in its short-form video platform and TikTok rival, Reels, to businesses and advertisers worldwide.
Stephen Shankland / CNET:
Google says it is funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in Rust  —  Google said Thursday it's funding a project to increase Linux security by writing parts of the operating system's core in the Rust programming language …
More: OSnews, Phoronix, and TechRadar
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Danny Crichton / TechCrunch:
Neo4j, which offers a graph-centric database and related products, raises $325M Series F led by Eurazeo at a $2B+ valuation  —  Databases run the world, but database products are often some of the most mature and venerable software in the modern tech stack.
Johana Bhuiyan / Los Angeles Times:
Report: Ring provided at least 100 LAPD officers with free devices or discount codes and encouraged them to recommend its products to fellow LAPD and the public  —  In a bid to bolster its claims as a crime-fighting tool, Ring deployed a tactic popular in the business world: influencer marketing.
John Koblin / New York Times:
Nielsen announces a new metric, The Gauge, to measure streaming viewing in ~14,000 US homes via hardware that watches internet traffic passing through a router  —  The company known for measuring television ratings said Netflix and YouTube are far ahead of their digital competitors in time watched on TVs …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
UserLeap, which builds AI tools to give product managers user insights in real time, raises $38M Series B from a16z and others  —  Elevate your enterprise data technology and strategy at Transform 2021.  —  UserLeap, a platform for AI-powered, continuous research for product teams …
Strategy Analytics:
In Q1 2021, global 5G smartphone shipments grew 6% QoQ, with Samsung up 79% QoQ and Vivo up 62% QoQ, while Apple maintained its lead despite a 23% dip  —  BOSTON—(BUSINESS WIRE)— According to new research from Strategy Analytics, Samsung and Vivo were the world's fastest growing 5G smartphone vendors in the first quarter of 2021.
Elias Saba / AFTVnews:
Amazon Appstore unveils a new program that reduces its share of developer revenue from 30% to 20% for developers earning less than $1M per year, starting in Q4  —  The Amazon Appstore has announced that it will be reducing its cut of developer revenue from 30% to 20% for developers that earn less than $1 million in revenue per year.

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Reuters:
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