10 things in tech you need to know today
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- TikTok's sale in the US could be thrown into chaos after China rewrote its export rules to give itself a new veto. China's government on Friday issued an update to its regulations governing how technology can be exported, adding 23 new categories of technology which require government approval before being sold.
- Neuralink, the neural tech company founded by Elon Musk in 2016, held a live demo Friday showing off its ability to read the brain activity of a pig with a surgically implanted chip that transmits data wirelessly. Musk described Neuralink's AI-powered "brain chip" as "a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires" and predicted the technology could one day give people telepathy, cure paralysis, or enable superhuman vision.
- Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook should have taken down the page and event listing promoting a militia group that called for armed citizens to defend Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid ongoing protests there. The event listing was removed after 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was accused of opening fire in Kenosha on Tuesday, killing two people.
- Zoom reported 355% revenue growth from a year prior in its second quarter earnings on Monday. Zoom reported revenue of $663.5 million in its second quarter, much higher than the $500.2 million analysts forecast, thanks to stunning growth during the coronavirus pandemic.
- The Federal Aviation Administration has issued Amazon permission to begin conducting delivery drone operations. The Part 135 air carrier certificate allows Amazon to use "unmanned aircraft systems" in a commercial operation.
- LinkedIn billionaire Reid Hoffman and Zynga founder Mark Pincus have joined forces to raise $600 million from the public for their new "blank-check" special purpose acquisition company. They have launched a SPAC in the hopes of buying a highly valued tech startup.
- Gaming giant Ubisoft has apologized after its use of a raised first in the "Tom Clancy's Elite Squad" smartphone game drew criticism, and said it will remove the imagery in an upcoming update. The raised fist — also known as the Black Power fist — is a decades-old protest symbol closely associated with the Black rights movement in the United States.
- A US Army officer is being investigated after a TikTok video of him making disparaging remarks about Jews and the Holocaust surfaced on social media. The video appears to show 2nd Lt. Nathan Freihofer, who says that a "Jewish person's favorite Pokémon character" is Ash, in a reference to the Nazi's extermination of 6 million European Jews as part of the Holocaust.
- Twitter said Monday it is making it easier for users to find accurate voter registration information as the 2020 presidential election draws near. When users search for keywords related to voter registration, a blurb will appear offering to redirect people to a website with information on how to register in every state.
- UK startup investment bounced back in June, with health and edtech among the biggest winners, new data suggests. Investment in healthtech startups has surged by 600% in three months, data from SeedLegals suggests.
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