10 things in tech you need to know today
Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.
- US president Donald Trump said US firms could sell to Huawei, contradicting a Commerce Department ban on the Chinese firm in June. Confusingly, Trump wouldn't confirm that Huawei was formally off the trade blacklist, but said repeatedly the firm could buy from US companies.
- Apple is reportedly moving Mac Pro manufacturing to China, despite the looming issue of tariffs. The move comes at a time when the Trump administration has boosted tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports to 25% and has threatened to impose new levies on an additional $300 billion in Chinese imports.
- Instagram is recommending new users in the US follow an account linked to a "healer" who claimed he could use herbs to cure AIDS, cancer, and other diseases. "Dr. Sebi," whose clients reportedly included Michael Jackson and John Travolta, said that modern medicine was wrong and that all illnesses were ultimately caused caused by excess "mucus."
- Intel is putting about 8,500 of its 90,000 patents on the auction block as it exits the 5G smartphone modem market. The Santa Clara, California-based company told Business Insider it is looking to sell intellectual property assets related to 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular and wireless technologies.
- Analysts think that Jony Ive's departure is a sign that COO Jeff Williams is becoming even more powerful. Williams is now overseeing design at Apple, making him a convincing successor to CEO Tim Cook.
- YouTube deleted 130 rap videos to help police fight street gangs responsible for thousands of stabbings. The gangs use YouTube to threaten rivals and boast about their attacks, and the police have used YouTube videos as evidence against gangs in court.
- A Republican consultant working on Trump's 2020 election campaign has been running a fake but convincing Joe Biden site that features GIFs of the Democratic candidate touching women inappropriately and out-of-context quotes, according to The New York Times. Patrick Mauldin described the site as a parody, despite its similarity to Russian troll disinformation tactics.
- Advanced Micro Devices on Friday denied that the chip giant broke US laws after a news report said an AMD joint venture gave China access to state-of-the-art processors. The AMD partnership with a military contractor is helping China compete with the US in building the next generation supercomputer with AMD's chip technology, according to a Thursday report in the Wall Street Journal.
- Australia's prime minister Scott Morrison secured a deal with the leaders of other G20 nations to take on social media firms that don't tackle terrorist content. Social media platforms are expected to develop technology which will allow them to quickly identify extreme content, prevent its proliferation, and record who uploaded it so as to persecute offenders.
- Investors are pouring millions of dollars into 'virtual restaurant' startups such as Taster, which create takeaway-only food brands for platforms like Uber Eats and Deliveroo. Backers are betting on the idea that people will cook at home less, and rely more on ordering through food delivery services.
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