Techmeme
December 8, 2021, 1:00 PM

Top News

Patrick McGee / Financial Times:
Sources: Meta, Snap, and other iOS developers still collect anonymized and aggregated user data for targeted ads despite Apple's ATT changes  —  Group's unacknowledged shift lets companies follow a looser interpretation of its privacy rules  —  Apple has allowed app developers to collect data …
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Kuo: AirPods Pro 2, the first update since 2019, will launch in Q4 2022 with a new design similar to Beats Fit Pro, improved chip, 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.
Sami Fathi / MacRumors:
Kuo: Apple's first AR headset, weighing 300g-400g, will enter mass production in late Q4 2022; Apple plans to launch a lighter second-gen headset in 2024  —  Apple is already working on its second-generation AR headset, which will feature a lighter design, adopt a new battery system …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
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.
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
Twitter is testing a process for reporting harmful tweets that lets US users describe what happened and will use the data to improve its responses  —  Twitter is trying out some changes to the way that users report tweets that they believe might break Twitter's rules.
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Roku says it has agreed a multi-year extension with Google for distribution of YouTube and YouTube TV apps on Roku devices; Roku stock up 8%+  —  Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV apps to be distributed on Roku.
Sebastian Herrera / Wall Street Journal:
As US companies fight to attract workers in a tight labor market, Amazon has emerged as the de facto wage-and-benefit setter, 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
Bloomberg:
Steve Lohr / New York Times:
Meta, Nike, CVS, GM, IBM, Walmart, and others join the Data & Trust Alliance, which has developed an anti-bias scoring system to analyze AI usage during hiring  —  The organization has created a format for evaluating the technology, which is often used to screen job candidates.
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:
The AWS outage took down Amazon's Flex and Dolphin apps for logistics and time tracking, halting some deliveries  —  There's a mix of frustration and joy from workers as AWS outages cause chaos with Amazon's delivery infrastructure during its busy season.  —  Websites and online services …
Richard Lawler / The Verge:
Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:
Report details the supply chain issues that forced Apple to significantly scale down its iPhone and iPad production plans  —  As Apple's ever-important holiday shopping season continues, the company is facing what a new report from Nikkei Asia describes as the “nightmare before Christmas.”
Jamie Tarabay / Bloomberg:
Google sues two Russians it claims help run a botnet that has infected 1M+ devices and uses command-and-control server addresses stored on Bitcoin's blockchain  —  - Complaint says the two created a sophisticated ‘botnet’  — Glupteba sells stolen logins, credit cards, Google says
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Gaming hardware company NZXT raises $100M led by Francisco Partners, its first outside funding since launching in 2004  —  NZXT has raised funding for the first time since it debuted as a PC gaming hardware company in 2004.  It's a whopper of a round at $100 million.
More: NZXT
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Synthesia, which uses AI to create virtual avatars, raises a $50M Series B led by Kleiner Perkins, bringing its total funding to $66.5M  —  Synthesia, a company leveraging AI to generate videos of avatars, today announced that it raised $50 million in a series B round, bringing its total raised to $66.5 million.

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Bloomberg:
Bloomberg:
Andrew Hayward / Decrypt:
Zac Hall / 9to5Mac:
David McCabe / New York Times: