Techmeme
August 15, 2024, 3:45 PM

Top News

Kenrick Cai / Reuters:
Google expands AI Overviews in Search to Brazil, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and the UK in local languages, and adds links beside the AI-generated answers  —  Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O) said on Thursday it was expanding its AI-generated summaries for search queries to six new countries …
Bloomberg:
Some publishers say they can't block the Googlebot crawler that covers AI Overviews without hampering their discoverability, as the crawler also covers Search  —  Publishers say blocking the company's AI bot could also prevent their sites from showing up in search
Joseph Menn / Washington Post:
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Threads announces new features, like the ability to store multiple drafts and an analytics page, rolling out on the web, and plans to test a scheduling feature  —  Meta's X rival Threads announced a number of new features today, including the ability to store multiple drafts …
Financial Times:
Sources: SoftBank held talks with Intel about making an AI chip to compete with Nvidia, but Intel couldn't meet the requirements; SoftBank is talking to TSMC  —  Son hopes to put Japanese group at centre of artificial intelligence boom but talks with US chipmaker failed to progress
Shawna Chen / Axios:
California announces support for adding driver's licenses or state IDs to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, rolling out “in the coming weeks”  —  - They will be authorized for use in TSA screenings, select apps and select businesses, such as Circle K. Participating airports in the state include SFO, SJC and LAX.
Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:
Unit 42: open-source projects from Google, Microsoft, AWS, Red Hat, and others leaked GitHub auth tokens via GitHub Actions; GitHub chose not to fix the issues  —  Multiple high-profile open-source projects, including those from Google, Microsoft, AWS, and Red Hat, were found …
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
Google says Iran-backed hacking group APT42 has targeted the Trump and Biden campaigns, as well as Israeli military, government, and diplomatic organizations  —  APT42, which is believed to work for Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, targeted about a dozen people associated with both Trump …
Reuters:
New Zealand signs an extradition order for Kim Dotcom to the US, where he faces criminal charges related to Megaupload; Dotcom has fought extradition since 2012  —  Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct file-sharing website Megaupload, will be extradited …
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Q&A with Google SVP Rick Osterloh on the Pixel 9 devices, Android, the smartphone's history, smartphone integration, AI smartphones, Pixel trade-offs, and more  —  An interview with Google SVP Rick Osterloh about the Made with Google event, and understanding the company's approach …
Ryan Browne / CNBC:
Klarna debuts a checking account-like service and a cashback offering in its app in 12 markets, including the US and across Europe, as it prepares for a US IPO  —  Financial technology firm Klarna is pushing deeper into banking with its own checking account-like product and a cashback offering …
Sean Hollister / The Verge:
Aisha Counts / Bloomberg:
A survey of 430 first-time US Gen Z voters: 60%+ oppose requiring under-16s to get parental consent to use social media and 85%+ oppose notification time limits  —  - Survey polled 430 first-time voters from across the US  — Lawmakers have criticized Instagram, TikTok over child safety
Joseph De Avila / Wall Street Journal:
CNN:
A look at the five-person Gen Z team running Kamala Harris' TikTok account @KamalaHQ, capitalizing on the VP's viral moments and averaging 6M views per post  —  Vice President Kamala Harris, quoting her mother, told a group of newly sworn-in commissioners for a White House initiative …
Danny Gallagher / Engadget:
The US FTC announces a final rule banning the sale of fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated ones, with fines as high as $50K per violation  —  The new rules prohibit the selling of fake and AI-generated reviews and testimonials in several forms.
Reuters:
CFIUS fines T-Mobile a record $60M for allegedly failing to prevent and report unauthorized access to sensitive data after its Sprint merger in 2020  —  A powerful U.S. committee that scrutinizes foreign investment for national security risks fined T-Mobile (TMUS.O) $60 million …
Zheping Huang / Bloomberg:
Alibaba reports Q1 revenue up 4% YoY to ~$34B, below ~$34.9B est., and net income down 27% YoY to ~$3.4B, after aggressive promotions failed to drive spending  —  - Net income dived 27% as spending on promotions ballooned  — Commerce shrank in a worrying sign for Chinese consumption

Sponsor Posts

Termina:
AI Powered Diligence at Scale  —  VCs and founders deploy Termina AI Scans on >12% of all known series A+ deals to uncover hidden risks and opportunities.  Explore how you too can invest and build better companies with AI.
Intel:
Intel Delivers powerful CPUs for AI and Networking  —  With the onset of AI, businesses demand powerful and efficient CPUs.  Explore new Intel Xeon 6 processors, for the broadest set of workloads with leadership performance and lower TCO.
Zoho:
The future of remote AR support: Why Zoho Lens is the ideal choice  —  Imagine this: Your field technician is on site assessing malfunctioning heavy machinery.  Instead of waiting for an expert to travel to the location …
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

Techmeme Ride Home:
E2EE For All!
The day's tech news, every day at 5pm ET. Fifteen minutes and you're up to date.
Subscribe to Techmeme Ride Home.
Decoder with Nilay Patel:
Why Trump can't be trusted with Congress' new anti-deepfake bill
A show from the Verge about big ideas - and other problems.
Subscribe to Decoder with Nilay Patel.
Lenny's Podcast:
Inside Bolt: From near-death to ~$40m ARR in 5 months--one of the fastest-growing products in history | Eric Simons (founder & CEO of StackBlitz)
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.
The Logan Bartlett Show:
Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen Breaks Down the Global Impact of Trump's New Tariffs
A podcast hosted by Logan Bartlett, an investor at Redpoint Ventures, covering tech with industry insiders.
Subscribe to The Logan Bartlett Show.
Generative Now:
Dan Shipper: The First MultiModal Media Company
A podcast from Lightspeed dedicated to highlighting the stories, strategies and insights behind today's most exciting AI companies.
Subscribe to Generative Now.
Spotlight On:
Nebius's Arkady Volozh on What it Takes to Build Infrastructure Needed for the AI Era
A podcast from Accel about how companies are built, from the people doing the building.
Subscribe to Spotlight On.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 3:45 PM ET, August 15, 2024.

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

Earlier Picks

Maxwell Zeff / TechCrunch:
Emilia David / VentureBeat:
Amanda Silberling / TechCrunch:
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Ari Levy / CNBC:
Joseph Menn / Washington Post: