Ellen Pao calls out Twitter’s ‘public town square’ model as flawed
Project Include CEO Ellen Pao, who has been working to foster diversity, inclusion and ethics in the tech industry, called out Twitter’s “public square” model as flawed — and a…
TikTok explains its ban on political advertising
Already under fire for advancing Chinese foreign policy by censoring topics like Hong Kong’s protests and pro-LGBT content, the Beijing-based video app TikTok is now further distancing itself from U.S….
Europe’s top court sets new line on policing illegal speech online
Europe’s top court has set a new line for the policing of illegal speech online. The ruling has implications for how speech is regulated on online platforms — and is…
Daily Crunch: Facebook faces VR challenges
The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you…
Instagram launches a ‘creators’ account to encourage more… creation
Instagram deployed a new tool today that should help it continue to build a more viable alternative to YouTube for individual creators looking to try a different platform. It’s a…
SmartNews’ head of product on how the news discovery app wants to free readers from filter bubbles
Since launching in the United States five years ago, SmartNews, the news aggregation app that recently hit unicorn status, has quietly built a reputation for presenting reliable information from a…
This Week in Apps: AltStore, acquisitions and Google Play Pass
The app industry shows no signs of slowing down, with 194 billion downloads in 2018 and over $100 billion in consumer spending. People spend 90% of their mobile time in…
Facebook tries hiding Like counts to fight envy
If their post has lots of Likes, you feel jealous. If your post doesn’t get enough Likes, you feel embarrassed. And when you just chase Likes, you distort your life…
Europe shows the way in online privacy
U.S. antitrust actions and privacy regulation create opportunities for privacy-first innovation Alastair Mitchell 1 week Alastair Mitchell Contributor Alastair Mitchell is a partner at multi-stage VC fund EQT Ventures and…
Voter manipulation on social media now a global problem, report finds
New research by the Oxford Internet Institute has found that social media manipulation is getting worse, with rising numbers of governments and political parties making cynical use of social media…