What's Popular on Techmeme
Critics say bug bounty programs buy researcher silence, may violate labor law, and are less effective when they are closed and have NDAs placed on them
Zoom is being banned over security concerns by some US school districts, including NYC, which is directing teachers to switch to Microsoft Teams
US Small Business Administration issues new guidance for the $350B stimulus program that still seems to exclude most VC-backed startups
iOS 14 code indicates that Apple is working on a new feature codenamed "Avocado" to enable real, movable widgets on iPad and iPhone home screens
UK researchers are using Google's mobile location data collected from apps like Google Maps to help track and predict the spread of COVID-19 across Europe
A look at how tech's lobbying efforts in the US are quietly pushing for long-held goals in the frantic political and economic environment amid COVID-19 outbreak
Profile of Larry Ellison, who has turned the Hawaiian island of Lanai into a data-powered wellness lab and is building a COVID-19 database for the White House
4Paradigm, a China-based startup providing AI-powered real-time data analytics, raises $230M from Cisco, Lenovo, and others, at a post-money valuation of ~$2B
Telecom engineers, considered essential workers in the UK, are facing harassment from anti-5G conspiracy mongers, linking the deployment of 5G to coronavirus
Report: Russia delays the implementation of a law banning devices not pre-installed with Russian software, by six months until January 1, 2021
China's efforts to track COVID-19 cases using personal data has been messy, partly due to sporadic coordination between different agencies and local governments
Sources: Apple is in the process of acquiring the California-based VR startup NextVR in a deal valued around $100M
US federal law enforcement warns that invading Zoom meetings to broadcast "disruptive content" will result in fines or possible imprisonment
Qcraft, which is developing simulation software to help train autonomous vehicle systems, raises a seed round in the "dozens of millions", led by IDG Capital
Google temporarily rolls back its SameSite policy in Chrome, to allow stability for essential service websites that may not meet third party cookie requirements
Insight Partners closes a $9.5B Fund XI, says it will be "hyper-focused on supporting its portfolio companies" with ongoing and near-future funding
Apptopia and Braze study: with 59M global installs, Netflix led rivals YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ in Q1, but more time was spent on YouTube Kids
Apple has acquired Dublin-based AI startup Voysis, which developed a platform for digital assistants to better understand people's natural language
Microsoft's Azure Cognitive Services gets new voice styles designed to help developers tailor the voice of their apps and services to their brand or scenario
Pinterest CEO and a team of multi-disciplinary scientists launch How We Feel app to collect global COVID-19 data daily while respecting user privacy
Source: Airbnb CEO told staff at a company-wide meeting that the company lowered its internal valuation to $26B, a 16% drop since its last funding round
Civil liberties advocates say a data-driven approach to pandemic response is compatible with individual rights, but with limits and justifications at every step
The new iPad Pro gets a privacy feature, first introduced on 2018 MacBooks, that disconnects hardware microphones when an attached MFi compliant case is closed
Profile of Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, who says the company will "probably" suspend all tracking on Zoom's sites and consider open-sourcing its code in the future
In a court filing, CEO of NSO Group says Facebook representatives approached NSO in 2017 to buy parts of Pegasus to monitor phones of users who installed Onavo
Apple Arcade launches new RPG Legend of the Skyfish 2
OctoML, which wants to use ML to make machine learning models run more efficiently on different types of hardware, raises $15M Series A led by Amplify
Thousands of Zoom calls found via web search using Zoom's default file naming scheme after users saved them in unprotected spaces like open AWS S3 buckets
Justin Trudeau says Canada has signed an agreement with Amazon to distribute critical medical supplies across the country
finance.yahoo.com · 5 days ago
Internal docs: Amazon to postpone Prime Day at least until August, expects a potential $100M hit from excess devices it may now have to sell at a discount
reuters.com · 5 days ago
Four democratic senators send a letter to Apple, asking whether its COVID-19 app and website comply with HIPAA and seeking info on its agreements with the govt
Facebook announces new measures to help businesses including a gift card registry, says applications for its $100M SMB grant program will open next week
Leaked memo: Apple told employees that its retail stores in the US will remain closed and work-from-home procedures will remain in place until early May
Researchers are using Facebook's location data to provide daily updates to US cities and states evaluating the effectiveness of social distancing amid COVID-19
Source: Apple's new entry level iPhone will be called iPhone SE, available in white, black, and red, with 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB storage options
FCC approves $200M COVID-19 Telehealth Program to help cover the cost of new telehealth services and devices with up to $1M in funding for medical providers
Apple references its rumored AirTags item tracking tags in a video uploaded to its Apple Support channel on YouTube
Instacart says it will start providing free health and safety kits with a face mask, hand sanitizer, and a thermometer to its full-service shoppers
European countries, including France and Germany, are offering billions of euros to support tech startups during COVID-19; the UK is facing calls to do similar
A deep dive into the deal between Apple and Amazon which lets the retail giant process some payments in Prime Video app, and the motivations of both companies
daringfireball.net · 6 days ago
Zoom has issued a patch for a vulnerability in its Windows client that let attackers steal Windows login credentials from malicious chat links
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says VC-backed startups will become eligible for $350B in small business loans guaranteed via the CARES Act
eBay says it will waive seller fees for new businesses through June 30 as part of a new Up & Running program to help owners of shuttered physical stores
Sources: SoftBank-backed online lender Kabbage suspended credit lines to its small business clients in the past week without notice
How Toast, a cloud-based restaurant management software provider, is supporting its clients' transitions from in-person dining to takeout and delivery services
Spyware firm NSO Group is marketing software that uses mobile phone data to monitor and predict the spread of COVID-19, says some countries are testing it
Zoom says it's now disabled a feature that let users covertly access data from some people's LinkedIn profiles, even when they were in the meeting anonymously
Facebook launches a standalone Messenger app for MacOS and Windows with unlimited, free group video calls, support for Dark Mode, and more
Amazon says it plans to roll out temperature checks and masks for staff at its US and European warehouses and will use ML to improve social distancing measures
reuters.com · 6 days ago