Network Support Blog

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: OfferUp says it has combined marketplaces with letgo, its former top rival, following OfferUp's acquisition of it earlier this year  —  Earlier this year, online marketplace OfferUp raised $120 million and acquired a top competitor, letgo as a part of the fundraise led by letgo's majority investor, OLX Group. https://bit.ly/3jBCeaD

CNBC: Sources: TikTok has chosen a buyer for its US, New Zealand, and Australian businesses, expected to be for $20B-$30B, and could announce as soon as Tuesday  —  - TikTok has chosen a bidder for its U.S., New Zealand and Australian businesses and could announce the deal as soon as Tuesday. https://bit.ly/2YT5sKu

Todd Bishop / GeekWire: Kymeta raises $85M led by Bill Gates as it prepares to launch a flat panel antenna for cellular and satellite broadband connections  —  Bill Gates is boosting his bet on next-generation satellite broadband technology, leading a new $85 million funding round for Kymeta as the Redmond, Wash. … https://bit.ly/2YRxSo1

Fred Lambert / Electrek: Tesla releases new software update to visually detect speed limit signs, and more  —  Tesla has started pushing a new version of its software update to now visually detect speed limit signs, and more.  —  For a while, there has been speculation about to what degree Tesla … https://bit.ly/3julUIV

Nico Grant / Bloomberg: Okta, which provides identity management service for companies, has been a big beneficiary of remote work during lockdown with its stock rising 106% since March  —  - Businesses, schools tap firm's tools to secure online access  — McKinnon stays cautious on outlook as investors seek growth https://bit.ly/2EPum6k

Dara Kerr / CNET: How a law professor became the target of posts on conservative sites, social media harassment, and PR firms hired by gig economy companies, for supporting AB5  —  Labor activists are targeted in a social media campaign as gig economy companies spend millions to prevent workers from becoming employees. https://bit.ly/3hFKd6g

Matthew Boyle / Bloomberg: Walmart sells Shoes.com and Bare Necessities lingerie brand as a part of a broader streamlining of its digital businesses to focus on its main website  —  - Retailer is offloading Shoes.com and Bare Necessities  —  Walmart Inc. is divesting two more of its online brands … https://bit.ly/2EIryYO

Aliide Naylor / Gizmodo: How Belarusians turned to VPNs and a private Telegram channel to bypass censorship when its internet was shut down using deep packet inspection  —  Illustration: Elena Scotti (Photos: Getty Images, Screenshots via Twitter)  —  In early August, Belarus—sometimes called Europe's last dictatorship … https://bit.ly/2YMSI7X

Caixin Global: Viva Republica, the parent company of the popular South Korean P2P payments app Toss, raises $173M at a valuation of $2.6B, bringing its total raised to $530M  —  Viva Republica, the operator of peer-to-peer payment service Toss, has raised $173 million in a round led by existing investors … https://bit.ly/2Qxig4w

Todd Haselton / CNBC: Apple says Fortnite users have been directed by Epic to contact AppleCare and those requests caused support and refund quality issues for its users globally  —  - Apple suspended Epic Games' developer account on Friday.  — It means Epic Games can no longer make apps for iPhone, iPad or Mac. https://bit.ly/3lvK9bB

Louise Matsakis / Wired: Citizen Lab: between January and May 2020, China censored over 2000 terms related to coronavirus on WeChat to control the narrative about China and the disease  —  In China, the messaging platform blocked thousands of keywords related to the virus, a new report reveals. https://bit.ly/3b5aSqm

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: Facebook sues MobiBurn, which provides SDK to embed ads in apps, claiming it illegally collected Facebook users' data and failed to comply with an audit  —  Facebook also sued the operator of a website selling Instagram followers, likes, and comments.  —  Facebook has filed lawsuits today … https://bit.ly/2YYAzo3

Jeff Stone / CyberScoop: Q&A with TikTok's global CSO Roland Cloutier on accessing US user data outside the country, sharing data with China, protecting younger users, and more  —  Roland Cloutier, the global chief security officer for TikTok, says he still doesn't understand why the U.S. government has labeled … https://bit.ly/3lrSCwc

Jeremy Horwitz / VentureBeat: Opensignal report: US average 5G speeds (50.9 Mbps), just 1.8x 4G speeds (28.9 Mbps), lag behind the rest of the world; South Korea and Saudi Arabia lead  —  It's no surprise at this point that United States rollouts of 5G networks haven't delivered on the next-generation cellular standard's promise … https://bit.ly/3hCFQso

Financial Times: Leaked memo: TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigns after Trump threatened to ban app; Vanessa Pappas, currently general manager of TikTok, will become interim head  —  Former Disney executive resigns just months after appointment by Chinese video platform  —  Kevin Mayer has quit TikTok just months … https://bit.ly/2QvPOjE

Ari Levy / CNBC: Salesforce to cut ~1,000 jobs, 1.8% of its workforce, including some Tableau employees, and will give those affected 60 days to find a new role in the company  —  - The cuts amount to about 2% of Salesforce's workforce, but employees affected will have 60 days to find a new position at the company. https://bit.ly/2D5SpO4

Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch: Grid, a SaaS startup that lets users turn spreadsheets into visual “narratives”, raises $12M Series A led by New Enterprise Associates  —  Grid, a SaaS startup founded in Iceland that lets you turn spreadsheets into visual “narratives,” has closed $12 million in Series A funding. https://bit.ly/34xZVws

Ari Levy / CNBC: In a letter included in Palantir's S-1, CEO Alex Karp says the “engineering elite” of SV do not know “how society should be organized or what justice requires”  —  KEY POINTS  — In Palantir's filing to go public on Tuesday, CEO Alex Karp said Silicon Valley engineers … https://bit.ly/3grZSVb

Jordan Novet / CNBC: Salesforce reports Q2 revenue of $5.15B, up 29% YoY, vs. $4.90B est., gives Q3 revenue guidance of $5.24 to $5.25B, up 16% YoY; stock jumps 11%+ after hours  —  - A gain on investments benefited Salesforce's adjusted earnings in the quarter.  — The company's full-year guidance beat expectations … https://bit.ly/32nEUC4

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: UK-based MelodyVR, which creates immersive live music for VR headsets and phones, acquires Rhapsody International, owner of Napster, from RealNetworks for $70M  —  Napster, the pioneering digital music brand from way back when, is changing hands once more.  Today, a UK startup called MelodyVR … https://bit.ly/2FT8YxD

Pranob Mehrotra / XDA Developers: Samsung adds ability, off by default, to find offline devices with its Find My Mobile feature, using other people's nearby Galaxy devices to help locate them  —  Samsung's Find My Mobile app is designed to help you remotely locate your device, back up data to Samsung Cloud, delete local data … https://bit.ly/3gvMQpI

Christina Farr / CNBC: Google is investing $100M in telehealth provider Amwell, which will use Google Cloud and has filed to go public after seeing revenue jump 77% in H1 2020  —  - Google Cloud is investing $100 million into AmWell, formerly known as American Well, in a concurrent private placement with its IPO. https://bit.ly/3lhp8B6

Eric Pfanner / Bloomberg: UK grocery giant Tesco says it will create 16,000 permanent jobs in its e-commerce division, on top of the 4,000 already created during the pandemic  —  Tesco Plc plans to create permanent roles for 16,000 new workers in its online business, underlining a pandemic-fueled shift … https://bit.ly/3hpRKpn

Sidney Fussell / Wired: US law enforcement agencies are getting more savvy about using information collected by smart speakers and other devices as part of criminal investigations  —  Requests are rising from law enforcement for information on the devices, which can include internet queries, food orders, and overheard conversations. https://bit.ly/3j5klRx

Rita Liao / TechCrunch: China's IT ministry picks Gitee, a company that claims to have hosted 10M+ open source repositories, to build an alternative to GitHub amid US-China tensions  —  The technological decoupling between the U.S. and China has been a boon to Chinese firms from chipmakers for smartphones … https://bit.ly/32hHyJr

David Berreby / National Geographic: A detailed look at some key developments/breakthroughs in robotics, amid an increasing interest in robots during the pandemic, and what to expect in the future  —  Machines now perform all sorts of tasks: They clean big stores, patrol borders, and help autistic children.  But will they make life better for humans? https://bit.ly/31jJmSR

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: Freepik, a popular freemium stock photos marketplace, discloses data breach and says hacker obtained info of 8.3M users, including usernames and password hashes  —  Freepik is one of the most popular websites on the internet, currently ranked #97 on the Alexa Top 100 sites list. https://bit.ly/3hnm2t8

Wall Street Journal: As workspace usage of Slack and Microsoft Teams soars, lawyers see an uptick in harassment claims, as messaging is more informal and often misinterpreted  —  Chat applications have become a major way employees stay connected, but some see an uptick in agitation and bullying https://bit.ly/34qajGk

Bloomberg: Chinese food delivery giant Meituan had sales of $3.6B, net profit of $317M in the June quarter; Meituan stock is up 2x+ in 2020, taking its market cap to $186B  —  - Food delivery, groceries were bright spots in the June quarter  — Meituan shares jumped 4.5% before earnings were released https://bit.ly/2YqsRCH

MyBroadband: Experian South Africa CEO claims someone posing as a client tricked the company into giving up personal information of an estimated 24M SA citizens in May  —  Experian South Africa CEO Ferdie Pieterse downplayed the seriousness of a data breach at his company which exposed the personal details of 23.4 million South Africans. https://bit.ly/2FD73gv

Kif Leswing / CNBC: In a legal filing, Apple accuses Epic Games of anticompetitive behavior, producing three emails from Tim Sweeney to show that Epic asked for a special deal  —  - Apple responded to Epic Games' lawsuit accusing it of anticompetitive behavior in its control of the App Store in a legal filing on Friday. https://bit.ly/3gkbfOT

Eric Slivka / MacRumors: Kuo: Apple is looking to offset cost of new 5G tech in iPhone 12 by using a simpler battery board design that will be 40%-50% cheaper than the one in iPhone 11  —  Apple is looking to put a pricing squeeze on component suppliers for the upcoming iPhone 12 lineup to help offset increased costs … https://bit.ly/34gEa4a

Cade Metz / New York Times: Ann Syrdal, AT&T researcher who helped give computers a female voice and laid the groundwork for digital assistants like Siri and Alexa, dies at 74  —  As a researcher at AT&T, she helped lay the groundwork for modern digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. https://bit.ly/3j4oxB5

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC: Facebook confirms Mark Zuckerberg testified before FTC this week, as part of the agency's antitrust probe  —  - Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week testified at a Federal Trade Commission investigative hearing related to the federal agency's antitrust investigation into the tech company, the company confirmed to CNBC on Thursday. https://bit.ly/2Q8EWb4

Loni Prinsloo / Bloomberg: Huawei is prospering in Africa as countries move toward 5G amid US-led boycott, partly due to Huawei's work in remote areas and long-term ties with governments  —  A year ago in June, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa got a letter that painted an alarming picture of his country's economic prospects. https://bit.ly/2EbHKSj

Kate Cox / Ars Technica: New York and Miami Police have reportedly used facial recognition software to arrest people who allegedly committed crimes during Black Lives Matter protests  —  Cops' use of the tech among the list of things protesters are demonstrating against.  —  Law enforcement in several cities … https://bit.ly/2DZU3RV

Benedict Evans: With ~1B active iPhones and an est. ~500M weekly active App Store users, it's time for Apple to play by new rules, and legal fights in EU and US might make it  —  I write a weekly newsletter around tech and media, picking the 10-20 pieces of news that actually mattered and explaining what they mean … https://bit.ly/34hN1T8

Jared Council / Wall Street Journal: US Department of Energy and Microsoft partner to develop AI-based disaster response tools, which could help first responders in events like fires and floods  —  The technology could help first responders more quickly address fast-moving events like fires, floods and windstorms https://bit.ly/2Q6OXFJ

Tim Wu / New York Times: A ban on TikTok is overdue as the US confronts China's asymmetrical “net nationalism” and fights for the future of the open internet  —  Critics say we shouldn't abandon the ideal of an open internet.  But there is such a thing as being a sucker. https://bit.ly/34h9ZK3

Cody Toombs / Android Police: Android 11 to remove the camera picker, often seen in 3rd-party apps, defaulting instead to the built-in camera; Google says it's to protect privacy, security  —  Android may have started with the mantra that developers are allowed to do anything as long as they can code it … https://bit.ly/3iStLQ7

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat: SpyCloud, which offers account takeover and fraud investigation tools, raises $30M Series C led by Centana Growth Partners, bringing its total raised to ~$60M  —  Cybersecurity firm SpyCloud today closed a $30 million venture financing round, which cofounder and CEO Ted Ross says will be used … https://bit.ly/2YbOl5Y

Ellen Huet / Bloomberg: Many Silicon Valley startups are offering virtual fall internships, as college students consider taking a gap semester/year to avoid online classes  —  To many college students, the prospect of a year of school during a pandemic—with virtual classes, restricted movements and no parties—is a huge bummer. https://bit.ly/322Q7Yh

Nathan Crooks / Bloomberg: TikTok starts a Twitter account and website, aggregating positive news stories, to “set the record straight” about “misinformation” regarding TikTok  —  TikTok said Monday that it started a website and Twitter account to address what it called rumors in real time … https://bit.ly/315jIB9

David Shepardson / Reuters: US says it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei's access to semiconductors and add its affiliates in 21 countries to the government's economic blacklist  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is set to announce on Monday it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co … https://bit.ly/31ZczBJ

Rebecca Heilweil / Vox: A look at Remark Holdings, supplying 100+ Chinese schools, and a Las Vegas school, with AI-powered thermal imaging tech to monitor COVID-19 safety compliance  —  This fall, AI could be watching students social distance and checking their masks.  —  Thousands of schools nationwide will not be reopening this fall. https://bit.ly/2PZzc3i

Dan Primack / Axios: As schools adopt remote learning or hybrid reopening models, US students face a laptop shortage, particularly of low-cost Chromebooks popular at K-8 schools  —  American students are facing a shortage of laptops, particularly low-cost Chromebooks popular in K-8 schools … https://bit.ly/32103S2

Amit Katwala / WIRED UK: Tens of thousands of UK high school students were downgraded from teacher estimates by an algorithm that replaced exams, affecting university applications  —  Even with the late changes, GCSE and A-Level results still highlight the flaws in a biased education system https://bit.ly/320oHm3

Kim Lyons / The Verge: Telegram has launched an alpha version of one-on-one video calls in its Android and iOS apps, says all calls will be end-to-end encrypted  —  The company plans to add improvements to the alpha feature in coming months  —  Secure messaging app Telegram has launched an alpha version … https://bit.ly/3avh4b5

Charlie Warzel / New York Times: While social media platforms did not create QAnon, they helped it go mainstream via recommendation systems designed to prioritize engagement  —  A supporter of the dangerous conspiracy theory is most likely headed to Congress.  The social media platforms have some soul-searching to do. https://bit.ly/2PSvjxc

Mark Sullivan / Fast Company: Interview with Facebook AI's Mike Schroepfer, Yann LeCun, and Jerome Pesenti discussing their efforts to use computer vision to combat toxic content on Facebook  —  Advancements in AI have dramatically improved the company's ability to identify written hate speech. https://bit.ly/3h3qEEG

Kim Lyons / The Verge: In a new Instagram update, Facebook has started replacing the Instagram DM icon with Messenger's logo, although cross-messaging is still not functional  —  You might see this pop-up when you open Instagram  —  Facebook appears to flipping the switch on integrating the chat systems for Instagram and Messenger. https://bit.ly/3g5PnXG

Bloomberg: VC firm Initialized raises $230M for its fifth fund and says the fund was “heavily oversubscribed” despite the departure of co-founder Alexis Ohanian  —  - Existing portfolio includes unicorns Instacart, Coinbase, Ro  — Fifth fund “heavily oversubscribed” despite co-founder exit https://bit.ly/31SFbfV