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The Economic Times : Indian startups blame Google for “unfair exploitation” of Play Store's monopoly after Google began to enforce its in-app purchasing policy with 30% commission   —  Tech giant says companies have multiple store options, can also use websites  —  Indian startups are up in arms … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n31xVM

Karissa Bell / Engadget : Facebook says, as part of its recent crackdown on QAnon and militia movements, it has removed 6,500 groups belonging to 300 organizations   —  Facebook has removed more than 6,500 pages and groups associated with “militarized social movements,” since the company announced it would crack … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n65VU1

Salvador Rodriguez / CNBC : Facebook says it will ban Facebook and Instagram ads that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election, including calling specific voting methods fraudulent   —  - Facebook on Wednesday announced that it will not allow any ads on its service that seek to delegitimize the outcome of an election … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SfWS4O

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Google introduces a new Android feature called Hold for Me, which uses Assistant to monitor held phone calls and notify the user when taken off hold   —  Google has been pushing forward the capabilities of what a smartphone can do when it comes to one of the device's most basic — if these days often overlooked — features: phone calls. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2HOxi4Z

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch : Facebook unveils cross-app communication between Messenger and Instagram, which works even if an Instagram user doesn't have a Facebook account and vice versa   —  Facebook announced today it will begin rolling out new functionality that will allow Instagram and Messenger users to communicate across apps … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2G3B1uY

Samidha Sharma / The Economic Times : India-based news aggregator Inshorts raises $35M led by Lee Fixel's Addition to promote Public, its new location-based social network   —  The former Tiger Global executive is leading a $35 million round at Inshorts.  —  After a hiatus of almost two years, Lee Fixel, the media shy former … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n3HYg6

Reuters : Sources: China is considering an antitrust probe into Google, after allegations by Huawei that Google leveraged the dominance of Android to stifle competition   —  BEIJING/SINGAPORE/SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - China is preparing to launch an antitrust probe into Alphabet Inc's Google … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36kqF4k

Emily Birnbaum / Protocol : Some Black restaurant owners say initiatives announced by delivery apps, like Uber Eats and DoorDash, to support Black-owned businesses have fallen short   —  The relationship between restaurants and third-party apps can feel abusive and exploitative, and Black restaurant owners say the initiatives aren't fixing that. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/34dzIRY

Christopher Harland-Dunaway / The Verge : Profile of Tron founder and BitTorrent CEO Justin Sun, whose controversial reputation is built on a non-traditional leadership style and marketing stunts   —  When Chinese millionaire Justin Sun acquired BitTorrent, was he trying to skirt the trade war?  Or fly right in the face of it, no matter the cost? from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3jiQoxL

Shakeel Hashim / Protocol : Q&A with Etsy CTO Mike Fisher on moving Etsy's infrastructure to Google Cloud, handling a huge spike in demand during the pandemic, improving search, and more   —  CTO Mike Fisher on scaling up, fixing search and how Etsy's prepping for the holiday season. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3l3tU4v

Arjun Kharpal / CNBC : Baidu's Smart Living Group division, which focuses on voice assistants and smart devices, raises an undisclosed sum at a $2.9B valuation   —  - Chinese internet giant Baidu has raised an undisclosed sum of money for its business division focused on voice assistants and smart devices. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3kWnHak

Debby Wu / Bloomberg : Taipei-based travel startup KKday raises $75M Series C, says a pivot to domestic package tours has helped after sales plunged 90% in March   —  - KKday closes $75 million Series C funding despite Covid-19  — Sales from domestic travel in Taiwan grew five times in summer from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3igfoVh

DataBreaches.net : Yevgeniy Nikulin, a Russian national convicted by a San Francisco federal jury in July for hacking LinkedIn and Dropbox in 2012, sentenced to 7+ years in prison   —  More than two years after he was extradited from Czechoslovakia where he was arrested in 2016 for hacking LinkedIn, Dropbox … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2EL4IAd

Frank Chaparro / The Block : Coinbase offers an exit package with four to six months severance pay and six months COBRA for employees who are not comfortable with its apolitical mission   —  Coinbase is offering a package for employees seeking an exit after the release of a blog post from its CEO outlining … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2HF8SdT

Nilay Patel / The Verge : Sonos files another patent lawsuit against Google, alleging infringement of five wireless audio patents across the entire line of Nest and Chromecast products   —  Rocket docket, engage  —  Sonos has filed another patent lawsuit against Google, alleging that the search giant … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3cGLbgV

Reuters : Sources: DOJ is expected to sue Google as soon as next week and is currently urging state attorneys general to sign onto the lawsuit   —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is expected to sue Alphabet's Google as soon as next week, and is currently urging state attorneys general … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3igZYQy

Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge : LG says its Wing smartphone will be available in the US beginning October 15 from Verizon and later this fall from AT&T and T-Mobile, starting at $1,000   —  LG's wild sliding phone won't be cheap  —  LG's wild-looking Wing smartphone has gotten a US price and release date … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2GpvgaM

David Meyer / Fortune : Cloudflare launches a free “privacy-first” analytics tool to rival Google Analytics that records how users engage with websites without invasive tracking   —  The cybersecurity and content-distribution company Cloudflare has become a major part of the Internet's infrastructure … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/30llNYV

Bloomberg : Clubhouse courted fresh controversy after a conversation with hundreds of listeners devolved into a platform for anti-Semitic comments on a Jewish holy day   —  Controversial private social app Clubhouse was again the target of criticism on Monday, after a conversation with hundreds … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3kW5YQk

Mikey Campbell / AppleInsider : Apple and Epic Games stated in a court filing on Tuesday that their coming court battle should be decided in a bench trial by a judge, not a jury   —  Apple and Epic have agreed that the coming court battle should be decided in a bench trial by a judge, not a jury. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36jZwP4

Juli Clover / MacRumors : Apple says several of its services including App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade are facing outages   —  Top Rated Comments  —  I cannot access iCloud.com.  Getting server error/verification failed from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2HEQSQR

Reuters : Tencent to take private NYSE-listed Chinese search engine Sogou in a $3.5B deal; Tencent had previously revealed that it had a 39.2% stake in Sogou in July   —  (Reuters) - Sogou Inc said on Tuesday shareholder Tencent Holdings Ltd would take the web search firm private in a $3.5 billion deal … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3n64Rzl

Christina Farr / CNBC : DivvyDose, an online pharmacy competing with Amazon's PillPack and Walmart's CareZone, is acquired by UnitedHealth; source says deal was worth $300M+   —  - UnitedHealth Group has acquired DivvyDose, a competitor to Amazon-owned PillPack.  — A spokesperson declined to comment. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36igAF9

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet : Twitter hires Rinki Sethi as its new CISO following its July 15 hack; Sethi previously worked at cloud data management company Rubrik   —  Sethi previously served in security roles at Rubrik, IBM, Palo Alto Networks, Intuit, and eBay.  —  After leaving the position unfilled for months … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3jfEeFL

Wall Street Journal : Prior to their Wednesday direct listing debuts, the NYSE set reference prices for Palantir at $7.25 and Asana at $21 per share   —  Both companies are poised to do direct listings on Wednesday; only two other notable companies have done them before  —  Data firm Palantir Technologies Inc … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3jgMzJo