Nearly 70 IT security and privacy academics have voiced concern that the UK’s Online Safety Bill could undermine strong encryption if it isn’t amended. In an open letter, 68 UK-affiliated security and privacy researchers warned the draft legislation threatens critical security technologies used to secure digital communications. We develop online …
Read More »Meta referral CJEU ruling could end surveillance capitalism
Calendarize it. European pals: July 4th could become independence-from-Meta-surveillance-capitalism day. Today’s long-awaited Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruling appears to have destroyed the social media giant’s ability to violate EU privacy law by denying users a choice over its tracking and profiling. The ruling stems from a …
Read More »ClickUp, a $4B productivity platform, cuts 10% of staff
ClickUp, a workforce productivity platform startup backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global, laid off 10% of its staff. It employs about 900 people. The company wants to improve efficiency and position itself for a public listing amid the market slowdown. Learned and confirmed via email that the San Diego …
Read More »Twitter said only verified users can access TweetDeck after 30 days
Twitter released a new version of TweetDeck on Monday after many users were unable to access parts of the web app. TweetDeck users must be verified in 30 days, the company added. Only Twitter Blue subscribers, verified organizations, and some Twitter-verified users can use TweetDeck. Twitter will import all saved …
Read More »Tiny buys HappyFunCorp, which built apps for Twitter, Amazon, and others, for $30M
Tech companies continue to pursue M&A and consolidation in a tight market. Startups, larger tech companies, and their partners are affected by this trend. HappyFunCorp, a product engineering firm that builds apps for Apple, Disney, Amazon, and Twitter, is being acquired by Canadian firm Tiny for $30 million. Tiny is …
Read More »Reliance launches $12 4G phone to expand reach
Reliance’s digital arm, Jio Platforms, has launched a new mobile handset and tariff plans to convert “trapped” 2G users. Jio Platforms’ 4G-enabled “Jio Bharat” phone has UPI mobile payments and access to Jio’s on-demand video and music streaming services, JioCinema and JioSaavn. The company will build the Jio Bharat and …
Read More »Deck maintenance robot RoboDeck raises $2M pre-seed
RoboDeck must be tired of being called a “Roomba for decks.” We did so in our Startup Battlefield write-up, and I did so above. It’s an impressive pitch. The system applies a sealant to the wood’s surface to protect it from outdoor elements, a tedious part of deck ownership. Two …
Read More »TweetDeck suffers from Musk’s Twitter read limits
Elon Musk limited daily tweet reading over the weekend to prevent data scraping. This measure has affected all Twitter users, but TweetDeck users are reporting major issues, including notifications and columns not loading. Musk initially limited verified users to 6,000 daily posts and unverified users to 600. He raised these …
Read More »Tesla sells record EVs with federal tax credits and price cuts
Tesla beat Wall Street delivery estimates in the second quarter of 2023 due to price cuts and the Biden administration’s federal electric vehicle tax credits. The Elon Musk-owned EV maker produced 479,000 units and delivered 466,140. That’s up 10% from the first quarter’s 422,875 Tesla EVs and 83% year-over-year. Delivery …
Read More »Snapchat+ has 4 million paid subscribers after a year
In its first year, Snapchat+ reached 4 million paid subscribers. Two new features for subscribers were also announced. The first feature, “Expressive Chat Messages,” lets users send larger font messages. “Custom Chat Colors” lets users choose their chat name color. Snapchat currently displays your name in red in chats, but …
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