Techmeme
September 14, 2021, 12:15 PM

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 it has taken few remedial steps  —  Its own in-depth research shows a significant teen mental-health issue that Facebook plays down in public
Bloomberg:
Last week's court ruling leaves the door open for Apple to still attempt to collect a 30% commission from app developers who use their own payment methods  —  - Judge questioned, but didn't lower iPhone maker's commission  — Maximizing revenue means logistical challenges, political risk
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 …
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
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:
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
Andrew Cunningham / Ars Technica:
Amazon rolls out an OS update with a new UI for Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Oasis, the first refresh since around 2016  —  Refined look and feel coming to most Kindles released since 2015.  —  Amazon's Kindle e-readers get new software updates regularly, and they're mostly of the nondescript …
Source: Amazon.  More: Thurrott, iMore, The Verge, and TechCrunch
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 …
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.
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.
Jack Poulson / American Prospect:
A former AI research scientist at Google details how tech companies and the US government hide their surveillance projects in plain sight  —  Learning about the Pentagon's drone program through FOIA requests and public filings  —  An MQ-9 Sea Guardian unmanned maritime surveillance drone flies …
Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters:
Amazon says it is increasing its US hourly starting wage to $18 and plans to hire another 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers  —  Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has increased its average starting wage in the United States to more than $18 an hour and plans to hire another 125,000 warehouse …
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 …
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 …
Brian Heater / TechCrunch:
Ambi Robotics, which builds autonomous hardware for supply chains, raises $26M Series A led by Tiger Global  —  Five months ago, Ambi Robotics emerged from stealth with a $6 million raise.  Today the Bay Area-based firm is back with several times that, announcing a $26 million Series A, led by Tiger Global.
Jaewon Kang / Wall Street Journal:
Kroger partners with Instacart to deliver food and household staples in as little as 30 minutes, after unsuccessfully testing quick deliveries two years ago  —  Partnership draws supermarket giant further into a crowded market  —  Kroger Co. said it is partnering with Instacart Inc …

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Josh Dzieza / The Verge:
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Kim Lyons / The Verge: