Commerce Department announces that it will ban US downloads of and business transactions with TikTok and WeChat on Sunday
- The Commerce Department announced it will ban U.S. business transactions with China-owned social apps WeChat and TikTok on Sunday.
Banning TikTok from US app stores but allowing it to operate until Nov. 12 prevents TikTok from patching any security vulnerabilities found in the meantime
a move which is shortsighted, ridiculous, and likely unconstitutional. https://www.nytimes.com/... SIX / @sixiaotang : Tiktok will be fine; the no-compromise loss of WeChat access in the US is devasta...
Check Point: Iranian hacker group Rampant Kitten, which has been active for 6+ years, has developed an Android malware capable of stealing 2FA SMS codes
The malware could steal 2FA SMS codes for Google accounts. Also contained vague functionality to do the same for Telegram and various social networks.
Source: an agreement between ByteDance and Oracle includes creation of an oversight board approved by the US government, and a continuous third-party audit
Ina Fried / Axios :
Comcast reaches a deal with Roku to ensure NBCU's Peacock service is carried on Roku devices, after NBCU threatened to pull its TV Everywhere channels
- Agreement ensures Peacock is carried on streaming platform — NBC's threat came amid dispute with Roku over advertising
Unity raises $1.3B in its IPO, closing up 31.44% in first day of trading, giving the company a market cap of around $17B
- Shares of Unity, a video game software developer, jumped 31.44% in its market debut Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. — The stock priced late Thursday at $52 a share.
Tesla wins lawsuit against former employee Martin Tripp, accused of hacking Tesla and supplying sensitive info to unnamed 3rd parties; court will seal case
The automaker won its case against an ex-employee who sought whistleblower protections and was accused of hacking Tesla's Gigafactory.
In August Facebook said it would crack down on QAnon, but analysis shows QAnon is flourishing on the site, at times aided by Facebook's recommendation engine
The social network tried cracking down on the spread of the conspiracy theory and other extremist material. But QAnon groups are still flourishing on the site.
Epic says it will end macOS support for Fortnite: Save the World on September 23
Richard Lawler / Engadget :
DOJ charges six people who allegedly bribed Amazon employees and contractors since at least 2017 in a scheme to benefit some third-party sellers
Annie Palmer / CNBC :
Alibaba unveils Xunxi, a pilot factory it has been operating for three years for developing tech aimed at helping manufacturers adapt quickly to consumer demand
- Daniel Zhang is spearheading a drive into new manufacturing — Company wants to provide back-end technology to manufacturers
Google has restored India's Paytm app after pulling it from Play Store ahead of the IPL cricket tournament; sources say for violating its gambling policies
here's the full timeline Aamir Siddiqui / XDA Developers : [Update: Reinstated] Paytm removed from Google Play Store for policy violations, likely due to its fantasy gaming platform Saritha Rai / Bloo...
Apple says it will open its online store in India on September 23
Michael Steeber / 9to5Mac :
An inside look at how Microsoft tried and failed in creating a version of Windows for dual-screen devices like Surface Duo, and eventually picked Android
Curious what Surface Duo was like when it was a Windows device? Wonder no more. — Here at Windows Central …
Sources: Google's pro-privacy plan to block online ad trackers has boosted the US' antitrust probe, as publishers argue it would create an unfair playing field
Google has taken a lot of heat for violating people's privacy. Now it could get in trouble for trying to protect it. Tweets: @carnage4life , @jason_kint , @amir , and @jessicalessin See also Mediagaz...
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7, S7+ review: nice displays with snappy performance but DeX still feels unfinished and widescreen aspect ratio is bad for productivity work
24 of 35 living American Turing Award winners, including Alphabet chair John Hennessy, endorse Biden, citing the harm of Trump's immigration policies to tech
Cade Metz / New York Times :
Outschool, a marketplace for online classes, raises $45M Series B, says bookings grew 2,000%+ between Aug. 2019 and Aug. 2020 and it turned profitable this year
In the post about USV's initial investment in Outschool 16 months ago … Tweets: Adam Tzagournis / @adamtzag : Congrats to @outschool on their $45mm series B! This is the future of schooling, COVID or ...
Apple's subscription bundle Apple One will greatly help TV+ by keeping subscriber metrics high as the service grows, following a strategy similar to Prime Video
A big push ahead of the streaming service's anniversary — Apple's new Apple One bundle, which gives customers an assortment …
Neobank Chime raises $485M Series F at a $14.5B valuation; CEO says the startup will be IPO-ready within the next 12 months
Internet Archive says it is using Cloudflare's reconfigured Always On caching tools to improve its Wayback Machine archiving
Lily Hay Newman / Wired :
The FTC and DOJ antitrust divisions are underfunded, as current and ex-staffers say tech giants use close personal ties and deep pockets to stymie regulation
U.S. regulators don't have enough money to properly check the tech giants, according to firsthand accounts Tweets: @ozm , @tobaccowars , @b_fung , @proffionasm , @justinbrookman , @michael_kades , @kj...
Ericsson acquires Cradlepoint, a wireless wide area network gear maker, for $1.1B
Bevin Fletcher / FierceWireless :
A look at iOS 14's privacy-centric features including mic and camera access notifications, local network access control, compromised password warnings, and more
Behold: The useful and not-so-useful privacy features you've been waiting for. — Eleven months ago, Apple CEO Tim Cook declared privacy a “fundamental human right.”
Sources: mobile game maker Scopely is in discussions to raise at least $200M at a valuation of around $3B, up from a valuation of $1.9B in March
Katie Roof / Bloomberg :
WarnerMedia's streaming service DC Universe to rebrand as DC Universe Infinite and become a comics hub, with its scripted original series moving to HBO Max
Tim Baysinger / The Wrap :
Report: France's centralized StopCovid tracing app only has ~2.4M downloads, with ~700,000 users having uninstalled it and under 200 notifications sent so far
Chris O'Brien / VentureBeat : Tweets: @l0rdt0renn Tweets: @l0rdt0renn : StopCovid n'a même pas envoyé 200 notifications depuis son lancement. Le rapport qualifie ces chiffres de « pathétiques » Merci...
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