Techmeme
August 20, 2021, 2:55 AM

Top News

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
OnlyFans says it will prohibit users from posting any sexually explicit conduct starting in October, but will allow them to post nude photos and videos  —  - Popularity of the website has exploded during the pandemic  — Many sex workers use OnlyFans to charge customers online
Dan Primack / Axios:
Sources: OnlyFans is struggling to find investors, possibly due to hosting adult content; pitch deck shows it predicts $5.9B GMV in 2021 and $1.2B net revenue  —  OnlyFans, the online creator platform known for its adult content, is struggling to find outside investors, according to multiple sources.
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
FTC files a new antitrust complaint against Facebook, after a judge dismissed the first complaint in June; Facebook has until October 4 to respond  —  - The Federal Trade Commission filed a new antitrust complaint against Facebook on Thursday.  — A federal judge dismissed …
The Verge:
FTC's new suit says Facebook has a monopoly in “US personal social networking services”, distinguishing it from TikTok, and Lina Khan will not recuse herself  —  FTC chair Lina Khan will not recuse herself from the case  —  The Federal Trade Commission has filed …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
An overview of the most interesting internal emails from the Apple v. Epic trial, including discussions about an “iPhone nano” and lowering App Store fees  —  In May, the world watched as Epic Games dragged Apple to court, challenging the most profitable company in the world …
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Microsoft says it will raise the prices of commercial Microsoft 365 subscription bundles in March 2022, the first major price change since their 2011 launch  —  - This is the first major price change for Office 365 since Microsoft launched it in 2011.  — Microsoft has also expanded Office …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Internal memo: Apple is delaying return to corporate offices from October until January at the earliest because of surging COVID-19 cases and new variants  —  - Company pushes back return from October, encourages vaccines  — Apple doesn't plan to close stores, offices on rising cases
Sean O'Kane / The Verge:
Elon Musk says Tesla is working on a humanoid robot which will handle “tasks that are unsafe, repetitive or boring”, will build a prototype “sometime next year”  —  A prototype is supposedly coming ‘sometime next year’  —  Tesla CEO Elon Musk says his company …
Alex Heath / The Verge:
Facebook announces Horizon Workrooms, a virtual meeting space with avatars, spatial audio, a whiteboard, and more, in beta on Oculus Quest 2  —  It wasn't long into a recent press briefing I attended in virtual reality when Mark Zuckerberg showed up to talk about the metaverse.
Bloomberg:
Adobe says it will acquire Frame.io, which makes video collaboration software, for about $1.3B in cash  —  - Frame.IO adds to Adobe creative cloud unit, home of Photoshop  — Frame.io serves broadcasters, media agencies and brands  —  Adobe Inc. is acquiring Frame.io …
Gavin Butler / VICE:
How the Taliban moved away from its technophobic roots and began using WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook to launder its brand and advance its agenda  —  The modern, tech-savvy Taliban aren't the same as they were 20 years ago.  Now they're using the internet to control the narrative—and assert their dominance.
April Glaser / NBC News:
Caroline O'Donovan / BuzzFeed News:
Around 1,500 Stitch Fix employees quit after new CEO announces they will no longer have flexible work hours and part-timers must work at least 20 hours per week  —  Employees are departing the clothing subscription company, while those who remain fear their jobs are gradually being replaced by an algorithm.
Emily Flitter / New York Times:
Binance is aiming for an IPO for its US division after an unsuccessful VC deal and the resignation of its CEO  —  The founder of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, needs investors for its U.S. unit after a recent venture capital deal fell through — a setback that cost him a C.E.O.
Emily Birnbaum / Politico:
Library of Congress bomb suspect livestreamed on Facebook for 71 minutes as he sat in his car surrounded by federal agents before Facebook took down his account  —  The man suspected of making a bomb threat in front of the Library of Congress posted lengthy Facebook livestreams several times throughout the morning.
The Economic Times:
India-based AgNext Technologies, which uses AI to assess food quality and accelerate trade, raises $21M Series A led by Alpha Wave Incubation fund  —  AgNext Technologies has raised $21 million in its Series A round, led by Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI), in the largest Series A funding received by an Indian agri-tech startup so far.
More: Agnext and Tech in Asia
Joe Pinsker / The Atlantic:
How Amazon contributed to the drop in the number of babies named Alexa in the US, UK, and Canada, after an initial surge upon the device's 2014 release  —  Alexa used to be a name primarily given to human babies.  Now it's mainly for robots.  —  Seven years ago, Amazon released Alexa …

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Earlier Picks

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Wall Street Journal:
Ethan Zuckerman:
Joseph Cox / VICE: