Techmeme
August 15, 2023, 5:50 PM

Top News

Washington Post:
X added five-second delays, some now removed, on t.co links to Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Substack, the NYT, Reuters, and other sites Musk attacks  —  The site formerly known as Twitter has added a five-second delay when a user clicks on a shortened link to the New York Times …
Andrew Paul / Popular Science:
To comply with a state law requiring that school library books be “age appropriate”, an Iowa school district used ChatGPT to find books depicting “a sex act”  —  Faced with new legislation, Iowa's Mason City Community School District asked ChatGPT if certain books 'contain …
Reed Albergotti / Semafor:
OpenAI says the company has been using GPT-4 to enforce its content policies and says some of its customers are already using the LLM for content moderation  —  ChatGPT creator OpenAI has been using its most advanced large language model to enforce the company's content policies …
Ash Parrish / The Verge:
Xbox debuts a strike-based enforcement program, to improve “player transparency” and clear up confusion; eight strikes over six months results in a one-year ban  —  Today, a new strike-based enforcement program is coming to Xbox.  The system is meant to clear up confusion regarding …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google adds an experimental browsing feature that summarizes page content to Search Generative Experience, first in the Google mobile app for Search Labs users  —  Google today is rolling out a few new updates to its nearly three-month-old Search Generative Experience (SGE) …
Jon Porter / The Verge:
YouTube starts mass removing videos promoting “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or discouraging “seeking professional medical treatment”  —  YouTube will remove content that promotes “cancer treatments proven to be harmful or ineffective” or which …
Rick Porter / The Hollywood Reporter:
Nielsen: in July, linear TV made up less than 50% of all US TV usage, a first in over two years of tracking, and streaming hit a record 38.7% high of TV usage  —  Nielsen's monthly platform rankings show broadcast and cable making up less than half of all TV use.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube updates YouTube Music on iOS and Android with Samples, a music discovery feed featuring vertically cropped, 30-second clips uploaded directly by artists  —  While there have been modernizations, YouTube's music streaming service has remained functionally and visually the same since its launch.
WABetaInfo:
WhatsApp beta for Android now lets a limited group of testers use generative AI to create custom stickers; inappropriate stickers can be reported to Meta  —  WhatsApp is rolling out a new update through the Google Play Beta Program, bringing the version up to 2.23.17.14.  —  What's new in this update?
Patrick Sisson / New York Times:
Drones, cameras, apps, robots, and ML are helping speed up huge construction projects; one company expects to cut up to 5% off a UK railroad project's $11B cost  —  Developers are embracing artificial intelligence tools like drones, cameras, apps and robots, which can reduce the timelines …
More: The Hill
Malcolm Owen / AppleInsider:
Setapp, known for its Mac and iOS app subscription service, plans to open an alternative iOS and iPadOS app store in 2024 in the EU, taking advantage of the DMA  —  Setapp is planning to launch its own alternative App Store in the EU in 2024, taking advantage of law changes …
Sara Fischer / Axios:
Email: X no longer lets advertisers promote accounts within the platform's timeline to gain followers; a source says Follower Objective ads made $100M+ annually  —  X, the company formerly known as Twitter, will no longer allow advertisers to promote their accounts within the platform's timeline …
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Comcast launches the Xfinity Storm-Ready WiFi, a cellular backup internet device to weather storms and power outages, for $252, or $7 per month for 36 months  —  Comcast is launching a new cellular-equipped backup internet device that's designed to keep customers connected during storms and localized outages.
Timmy Shen / The Block:
Filing: BAM Trading, which runs Binance.US, seeks a protective order limiting the US SEC to four depositions and accusing the agency of “a fishing expedition”  —  - BAM Trading, the company behind Binance.US, filed a motion on Monday to seek a protective order against the SEC.

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More News

Chelsey Cox / CNBC:
Patrick Wingrove / Reuters:

Earlier Picks

Timmy Shen / The Block:
Sarah Wynn / The Block:
Luc Cohen / Reuters:
Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Haleluya Hadero / Associated Press: