Techmeme
December 8, 2021, 8:45 PM

Top News

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Instagram plans to bring back “a version” of its chronological feed in Q1 2022, as it experiments with other options for users including a “favorites” feed  —  After more than five years, Instagram plans to bring back “a version” of its chronological feed next year, the company's top executive said on Wednesday.
C-SPAN.org:
Video of Adam Mosseri's testimony before a Senate Commerce subcommittee examining Instagram's negative effects on teen mental health  —  Instagram CEO testifies on impact of platform on young users before a Senate Commerce subcommittee.
Bloomberg:
Adam Mosseri proposes updating Section 230 so that tech companies are only protected if they follow kids' safety rules set by a new government oversight body  —  - Mosseri proposes new oversight body to create standards  — Senators say they're unconvinced by Instagram's new features
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
A US appeals court grants a stay in the Epic v. Apple ruling, letting Apple keep its IAP system as the sole source of iOS in-app payments as the case proceeds  —  Apple can maintain its App Store payment monopoly while the case proceeds  —  An appeals court has paused one of the most consequential parts …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apologizes for how he handled firing ~900 employees, 9% of his workforce, over Zoom, as a report says Better.com is delaying its SPAC  —  Better.com CEO Vishal Garg apparently realizes he's done wrong.  —  (As if the barrage of negative publicity wasn't enough evidence of that.)
Jackie Davalos / Bloomberg:
Kickstarter plans to transition its crowdfunding site to a newly created blockchain-based protocol in 2022, and will offer tools for others to build on it  —  It's creating a new company to develop and distribute the technology.  —  For more than a decade, Kickstarter PBC has convinced …
Patrick McGee / Financial Times:
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Roku says it has agreed to a multi-year extension with Google for distributing YouTube and YouTube TV apps on its devices; Roku's stock is up 18%+  —  Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV apps to be distributed on Roku.
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Facebook is testing a Professional Mode, letting eligible creators monetize their profiles, including the Reels Play bonus program that offers up to $35K/month  —  Facebook has launched a new professional mode for profiles that will let eligible creators earn money without the need to create a separate Page.
Neal E. Boudette / New York Times:
After Tesla added over 12 video games that can be played while driving, critics argue the company is compromising road users' safety, on top of Autopilot issues  —  The feature raises fresh questions about whether Tesla is compromising safety as it rushes to add new technologies.
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Kuo: AirPods Pro 2, the first update since 2019, will launch in Q4 2022 with a Beats Fit Pro-like design, an improved chip, fitness tracking, and more  —  The AirPods Pro 2, the first update to the AirPods Pro since its debut in 2019, will launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo.
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
Amazon has emerged as the de facto wage-and-benefits setter as US companies fight to attract workers in a tight labor market, causing ripples across the economy  —  In local markets throughout America, the e-commerce giant's facilities have an impact on inflation, job markets and labor standards
Rebecca Torrence / FierceHealthcare:
Robin Healthcare, which offers an AI-powered smart speaker to record patients' talks with providers and help with administrative tasks, raises a $50M Series B  —  Robin Healthcare didn't set out to create an Amazon Alexa for healthcare.  The startup first tried using a webcam …
Andrew Tangel / Wall Street Journal:
The FAA outlines flight restrictions, including limiting bad weather automated landing systems to avoid interference with the C-band 5G spectrum from January 5  —  Agency's order could disrupt air travel with limits to cockpit systems needed in poor weather; new 5G services expected to go live Jan. 5
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Reddit to launch a Spotify Wrapped-like recap featuring statistics for users like time spent and popular content; users created 366M posts in 2021, up 19% YoY  —  Reddit is launching a new personalized Spotify Wrapped-like recap feature for all users tomorrow.
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Meta, Nike, GM, IBM, Walmart, Deloitte, Mastercard, and others join the Data & Trust Alliance, which built an anti-bias scoring system for AI used in HR tools  —  The organization has created a format for evaluating the technology, which is often used to screen job candidates.
Queenie Wong / CNET:
Meta says its new AI system, Few-Shot Learner, needs little training data to quickly adapt to fighting new types of harmful content like COVID-19 misinformation  —  Meta, formerly known as Facebook , said Wednesday it has created artificial intelligence technology that can adapt more quickly …

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