Techmeme
December 9, 2021, 5:35 AM

Top News

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.
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.
Bloomberg:
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 …
Kollen Post / The Block:
At a congressional hearing with six crypto executives, committee members voiced concerns about stablecoins and exchanges but showed a warming up to crypto  —  Quick Take  — Today's hearing before the House Financial Services Committee confirmed: Congress is warming up to crypto.
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 …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google confirms a permanent fix is coming for a bug that prevents some Android users from calling 911 if Microsoft Teams is installed but they are not logged in  —  Last week, a user reported that their Pixel 3 was not able to dial 911 (emergency services in the US).
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.
New York Times:
EU Commission proposes rules turning gig workers into employees, affecting up to 4.1M workers; EU estimates 28M work through digital labor platforms in the bloc  —  A proposal with widespread political support would entitle drivers and couriers for companies like Uber to a minimum wage and legal protections.
Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:
Robotic Research, which makes on and off-road autonomous vehicles for the US DoD, raises a $228M Series A led by SoftBank Vision 2 and Enlightenment Capital  —  Robotic Research, a self-driving technology company that has spent the last two decades developing on and off-road autonomous vehicles …
Bloomberg:
A look at the ethical minefield of VCs making personal startup bets ahead of follow-up investments from their VC firms, like at GV, BlackRock, DST, and others  —  Making personal investments in startups is common for VCs but can be an ethical minefield.  —  Consider this scenario …
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.)

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
From content collaboration to content intelligence: Zoho WorkDrive's 2025 journey  —  As 2025 draws to a close, we're reflecting on a year marked by meaningful progress, purposeful innovation, and continuous learning at Zoho WorkDrive.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
Why Roomba Died + Tech Predictions for 2026 + A Hard Forkin' Xmas Song
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
Sam Altman: How OpenAI Wins, AI Buildout Logic, IPO in 2026?
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.
Access:
Betting on reality with Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
"Neither Side Is Used to Losing." Lucas Shaw on What's Next for Netflix and Paramount in the Battle for Warner Bros.
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
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 5:35 AM ET, December 9, 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

Queenie Wong / CNET:

Earlier Picks

Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Neal E. Boudette / New York Times:
Bloomberg:
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt: