Techmeme
August 25, 2021, 11:20 AM

Top News

Insider:
In an abrupt reversal, OnlyFans suspends its October 1 policy change banning porn after securing “assurances” and aims to provide “a home for all creators”  —  - OnlyFans is reversing its recent decision to ban porn.  — It had planned to prohibit sexually explicit …
Patricia Nilsson / Financial Times:
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Facebook's David Marcus says Novi digital wallet is “ready now”, but will wait for the Diem currency, and it is “definitely looking at” building NFT features  —  Social network is ‘definitely looking’ at digital assets as part of push into financial products, executive says
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Fitbit announces Charge 5 with a rounded design, a larger and brighter color AMOLED display, GPS, and more, arriving in the fall for $179.95  —  It costs $179.95 and will be out this fall  —  Following a couple of big leaks, Fitbit is officially announcing the Charge 5 …
Washington Post:
A look at Vaccine Talk, a tightly moderated Facebook group for vaccine skeptics with ~70K members that aims to change their minds with evidence-based info  —  As social media giants struggle to crack down on false claims about covid, ordinary users are finding ways to reach vaccine skeptics — and win them over.
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Microsoft says that Xbox Cloud Gaming will expand beyond PC and mobile to its Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One consoles this holiday season  —  - Microsoft said its Xbox Cloud Gaming service will arrive on console this holiday.  — Cloud gaming lets people stream games over the internet rather than install them locally.
Sean Lyngaas / CyberScoop:
Interview with CISA Director Jen Easterly on attack prevention, hiring new staff, improving CISA's ability to scan federal networks for malicious code, and more  —  U.S. cybersecurity officials have scrambled to respond to one major hacking incident after another over the past nine months …
Joshua Benton / Nieman Lab:
Facebook's most-viewed story in Q1, from Chicago Tribune linking a doctor's death to COVID vaccines, shows why publishers should consider how content is shared  —  On Friday, The New York Times had a scoop.  Facebook — that known vector for the spread of kid photos, neighborhood goings-on …
Axios:
California expands lawsuit against Activision Blizzard to include temp workers and says the game maker interfered with investigation by shredding pertinent docs  —  California has expanded its anti-discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, adding temporary workers to the female full …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Balance, which offers a B2B checkout service for merchants and marketplaces, raises $25M Series A led by Ribbit Capital  —  Balance, a payments platform aimed at B2B merchants and marketplaces, has raised $25 million in a Series A funding round led by Ribbit Capital.
More: CTech and FinLedger
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Knoetic, which builds software for HR departments, comes out of stealth with $18M Series A led by Accel  —  Knoetic, a startup that has built a software analytics platform for chief people officers, emerged from stealth today with $18 million in Series A funding.
Jessica Guynn / USA Today:
Researchers: Trump tweets with fact-check labels spread further on Twitter than those without; tweets blocked by Twitter remained popular on Facebook and Reddit  —  Twitter blocked and labeled some Donald Trump's claims of election fraud in the run-up and aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.
Bahk Eun-ji / The Korea Times:
South Korea will abolish a decade-old law that stops kids under 16 from playing online games between 12AM and 6AM, after heavy criticism  —  The government has decided to abolish the game curfew for children, 10 years after the controversial rule was established, as the outdated law is not having …
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Last-mile delivery robot startup Coco raises $36M Series A led by Sam Altman, Silicon Valley Bank, and Founders Fund, bringing total funding to $43M  —  Los Angeles delivery robot startup Coco this week has announced $36 million in funding.  The Series A was led by Sam Altman …

Sponsor Posts

Clay:
Turn any GTM idea into reality  —  Clay helps GTM teams combine AI agents, enrichment, and intent data to move faster and turn insights into action.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Zoho Books Banking just got smarter: Here's what's new  —  Banking and accounting are crucial parts of every business.  And with the right tools in place, they don't have to be complicated or time-consuming.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
AI's Research Frontier: Memory, World Models, & Planning — With Joelle Pineau
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Moltbook Mania Explained
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
The Benchmark Partnership
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Who is Josh D'Amaro and Why is He Disney's New CEO?
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
The Social Radars:
Spenser Skates, Founder & CEO, Amplitude
Come be a fly on the wall as Y Combinator's Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy talk to some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley about how they did it.
Subscribe to The Social Radars.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:20 AM ET, August 25, 2021.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Will Knight / Wired:

Earlier Picks

Tom Warren / The Verge:
Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times:
Erin Woo / New York Times:
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Charles Riley / CNN:
New York Times: