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Techmeme
September 14, 2021, 9:23 AM

Top News

Wall Street Journal:
Internal docs: Facebook's own research shows Instagram is harmful to a sizeable percentage of users, especially teen girls, but has taken few remedial steps  —  Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue that Facebook plays down in public
Jeff Horwitz / Wall Street Journal:
Internal Facebook documents detail XCheck, a program that shields VIP users from normal content enforcement policies, which included over 5.8M users in 2020  —  A program known as XCheck has given millions of celebrities, politicians and other high-profile users special treatment, a privilege many abuse
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Citizen Lab says it found evidence of ForcedEntry on an activist's iPhone and the exploit worked on iPads, Macs, and Watches as well, prior to recent updates  —  Citizen Lab says the ForcedEntry flaw affects all iPhones, iPads, Macs and Watches  —  Apple has released security updates …
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg:
South Korea fines Google $177M for abusing market dominance, saying it prevented companies like Samsung from developing or using modified versions of Android  —  - Company said to have impeded development of competing software  — Regulator orders change to Google contracts with manufacturers
Samantha Subin / CNBC:
Intuit says it has agreed to acquire Mailchimp for $12B in cash and stock  —  - Intuit will buy email marketing company Mailchimp for $12 billion, the companies announced Monday.  — Intuit said it will use the acquisition to accelerate growth among small business clients.
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
Biden to nominate Georgetown law professor Alvaro Bedoya, who focuses on privacy issues, to be a commissioner at the FTC  —  Alvaro Bedoya has spearheaded pivotal research into how the government's use of facial recognition software hurts America's most marginalized
Josh Dzieza / The Verge:
A look at the harsh reality of working for on-demand delivery apps in NYC, including fluctuating pay and relentless time pressure, and labor organizing efforts  —  Exploited by apps.  Attacked by thieves.  Unprotected by police.  The city's 65,000 bikers have only themselves to count on.
Sun Yu / Financial Times:
Chinese police are using a state-backed anti-fraud app, installed on 200M+ devices, to identify and question people who have viewed overseas financial news  —  Police identify and question people on back of software meant to prevent online scams  —  Chinese police are using …
Karen Hao / MIT Technology Review:
Researcher discovers an AI-powered service that makes it incredibly easy for users to generate nonconsensual deepfake porn by uploading a picture of a face  —  Deepfake researchers have long feared the day this would arrive.  —  The website is eye-catching for its simplicity.
Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Litecoin spiked ~20% after several news outlets, including Reuters and CNBC, reported that Walmart would begin accepting it based on a fake press release  —  GlobeNewswire, the site where the hoax release was posted, said it came from a fraudulent user account.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
A breakdown of Apple vs. Epic decision, which was a near total victory for Apple, and the limitations of the injunction on App Store's anti-steering provision  —  The vast majority of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers decision in Epic v. Apple is both straight-forward and predictable …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Neosec, which offers tools to secure APIs, emerges from stealth with $20.7M Series A from True Ventures and others  —  The Transform Technology Summits start October 13th with Low-Code/No Code: Enabling Enterprise Agility.  Register now!  —  Neosec, a cybersecurity platform designed to secure APIs …
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Amazon announces an OS update for Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Oasis with a new UI, the first refresh since around 2016, rolling out now  —  Refined look and feel coming to most Kindles released since 2015.  —  Amazon's Kindle e-readers get new software updates regularly …
Source: AmazonMore: The Verge, TechCrunch, and Engadget
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
London-based PassFort, which helps companies with KYC and AML requirements, raises $16.2M Series A led by Level Equity  —  London-based PassFort, a SaaS provider that helps business meet compliance requirements such as KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) reporting …
More: Finextra and FinSMEs
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
What to expect from Apple's September 14 event: narrower iPhone 13 notch, LTPO displays on Pro models, redesigned Watch Series 7, no M1X MacBook Pros, and more  —  This week: The long-awaited ruling in Apple Inc.'s suit with Epic Games Inc. arrives just before the iPhone 13 …

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Earlier Picks

Dina Temple-Raston / The Record:
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times: