Techmeme
February 16, 2022, 8:40 PM

Top News

Daisuke Wakabayashi / New York Times:
Google plans to bring Privacy Sandbox to Android, preserving its Ad ID system for two years, and says it'll be less disruptive than ATT for advertisers and devs  —  It says it will give other companies plenty of time to adapt to changes to its Android software.  Similar changes made by Apple affected big internet companies.
Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Mark Zuckerberg names Nick Clegg as President of Global Affairs, which would mean less involvement in future policy decisions for Zuckerberg and Sandberg  —  Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has promoted his top policy executive, Nick Clegg, to an even greater role inside …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Windows 11 Preview build includes a customizable Start menu, five new touch gestures, Snap Layouts improvements, Live Captions, Task Manager redesign, and more  —  Microsoft is also bringing drag and drop back to the taskbar  —  Microsoft is bringing new touch gestures, Start menu folders …
Corin Faife / The Verge:
CISA, FBI, and NSA say Russian state-sponsored hackers targeted US defense contractors for at least two years, acquiring export-controlled technology and more  —  The state-sponsored actors acquired information on weapons, aircraft design, and combat communications systems over a period of years
CoinDesk:
Canadian authorities have ordered regulated financial firms to cease transactions from 34 crypto wallets, worth over $870K, tied to funding the “Freedom Convoy”  —  Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Monero and Cardano addresses are all on the list.  —  The Ontario Provincial Police …
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft details changes to AltspaceVR to improve safety and moderation, including removing social spaces and making users sign in with a Microsoft account  —  You'll also need a Microsoft Account for AltspaceVR soon  —  Microsoft is removing all social hubs hosted in AltspaceVR …
DKB:
Google search quality is declining because of too many ads, SEO, and “smart” AI, prompting people to append “reddit” to queries to get more authentic results  —  Reddit is currently the most popular search engine.  The only people who don't know that are the team at Reddit …
Ashley Carman / The Verge:
Spotify is acquiring Chartable and Podsights, two podcast analytics companies that let podcasters and networks include tags in shows to track listeners  —  Chartable and Podsights are being bought  —  Spotify is making more podcast acquisitions.  The company announced today it's acquiring …
Casey Newton / Platformer:
Q&A with longtime Wikipedia contributor Molly White about her website “Web3 is going just great”, why Web3 won't create new Wikipedia-style projects, and more  —  Q&A with Molly White of Web 3 Is Going Just Great … Whenever a fresh disaster happens on the blockchain …
Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Twitter says CEO Parag Agrawal will take “a few weeks” of parental leave, less than three months after taking the job, a rare move for a Silicon Valley CEO  —  Parag Agrawal, 37, is just getting started in one of the technology industry's highest-profile jobs …
Cat Zakrzewski / Washington Post:
Senators Blumenthal (D) and Blackburn (R) unveil the Kids Online Safety Act, requiring platforms offer extra safety and privacy tools for users under 16  —  A bipartisan pair of senators on Wednesday unveiled a sweeping bill that aims to give parents more control over their children's time online …
Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:
Denver-based Nomad, a startup that offers financial services for small-time landlords, renters, and potential home buyers, raises a $20M Series A  —  Nomad, a marketplace that aims to provide small-time rental property owners with “guaranteed rent,” has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Silicon Valley Bank Capital.
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Uber will let riders see a breakdown of their average ratings starting today and publishes data on US cities with the highest and lowest ratings  —  Also available: five-star ratings  —  For the first time, Uber is allowing its customers to see how many five-star ratings they've received from drivers …
IEEE Spectrum:
Blind patients with Second Sight's electronic retinal implants are in danger of losing their artificial vision as the tech becomes obsolete and unsupported  —  Second Sight left users of its retinal implants in the dark  —  Barbara Campbell was walking through a New York City subway station during rush hour …

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