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Charity demands action after 5,000 online grooming offences were recorded by police in 18 months. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2GSnaX6

Facebook has changed its story after initially trying to downplay how it targeted teens with its Research program that a TechCrunch investigation revealed was paying them gift cards to monitor all their mobile app usage and browser traffic. “Less than 5 percent of the people who chose to participate in this market research program were teens” a Facebook spokesperson told TechCrunch and many other news outlets in a damage control effort 7 hours after we published our report on January 29th. At the time,  Facebook claimed that it had removed its Research app from iOS. The next morning we learned that wasn’t true, as Apple had already forcibly blocked the Facebook Research app for violating its Enterprise Certificate program that supposed to reserved for companies distributing internal apps to employees. It turns out that wasn’t the only time Facebook deceived the public in its response regarding the Research VPN scandal. TechCrunch has attained Facebook’s unpublished February 21st res

Forget the office ping pong table,  Cherry , a startup in Y Combinator’s latest batch, wants to let employees take company perks into their own hands. Cherry co-founders (and sisters) Gillian and Emily O’Brien say their Slackbot marketplace will let employees completely personalize the lifestyle benefits they get from their company, allowing them to set up a Spotify Premium account or buy a subscription to Classpass instead of just taking what perks their company dishes out at face value. Companies will pay huge amounts of money to deliver sweeping employee memberships or build a company gym even if there are only a few people interested in using them. Cherry could potentially eliminate a lot of wasted efforts while still managing to  potential recruits. The available subscriptions run the gamut from things like Classpass, Netflix, Spotify, Peloton, Postmates and other services that allow employees to feel like they’re getting. A sampling of Cherry’s 40+ available services. “Ther

By KATE CONGER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2GS6COH

By DAISUKE WAKABAYASHI from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2GPA3kB

Women’s health has long been devoid of technological innovation, but when it comes to fertility options, that’s starting to change. Startups in the space are securing hundreds of millions in venture capital investment, a significant increase to the dearth of funding collected in previous years. Fertility entrepreneurs are focused on a growing market: couples are choosing to reproduce later in life, an increasing number of female breadwinners are able to make their own decisions about when and how to reproduce, and overall, around 10% of women in the US today have trouble conceiving, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . Startups, as a result, are working to improve various pain points in a women’s fertility journey, whether that be with new-age brick-and-mortar clinics, information platforms, mobile applications, wearables, direct-to-consumer medical tests or otherwise. Although the investment numbers are still relatively small (compared to, say, scooters), t

Conservatives call for PayPal boycott after CEO says Southern Poverty Law Center helps ban users Paypal is under fire from conservatives after its CEO recently revealed they work with the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to help identify accounts to ban from the payment platform. The admission revived calls for a boycott for using a group that lists several conservative Christian organizations as "hate groups" or "extremists" simply for their religious views.

Is upgrading to 5G becoming a problem for wireless companies? Top mobile carriers are running into a 5G nightmare upgrading to the next generation of wireless service.

Customer experience management platform Medallia has filed to raise up to $70 million in Series F funding, according to regulatory documents obtained by the Prime Unicorn Index . The new shares were priced at $15 apiece, valuing the nearly two-decades-old business at $1.7 billion. We’ve reached out to Medallia for comment. Medallia is expected to finally transition to the public markets in 2019, a year chock-full of high-profile unicorn IPOs. The downsized round, which if raised at full is less than half of its Series E funding, will likely be Medallia’s final infusion of private investment. San Mateo-headquartered Medallia, led by newly-appointed chief executive officer Leslie Stretch, operates a platform meant to help businesses better provide for their customers. Its core product, the Medallia Experience Cloud, provides employees real-time data on customers collected from online review sites and social media. The service leverages that data to provide insights and tools to imp

Doctors on Facebook face harassment from anti-vaxxers Facebook is coming under fire because doctors are facing harassment on the platform by anti-vaccination activists.

New York requests documents from Facebook, apps on data sharing A New York regulator is ramping up a promised investigation of how Facebook Inc. gathered sensitive personal information from popular smartphone applications after a report by The Wall Street Journal revealed that many such apps were sending the social-media giant data, including users’ body weight and menstrual cycles.

The streaming platform is disabling comments on videos of children after paedophiles left predatory comments. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2tJG21Q

Is upgrading to 5G becoming a problem for wireless companies? Top mobile carriers are running into a 5G nightmare upgrading to the next generation of wireless service.

Founders. This is your shot. TechCrunch is officially in the hunt for the most disruptive startups for this year’s Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2019 . Startups can apply here to compete on our world-famous stage for a $100,000 equity-free prize and the coveted Disrupt Cup. With more than 10,000 attendees, hundreds of press outlets and top investors from around the world, your company will launch to the most influential players in tech. The application. Simple. Fill out your app here. There is no cost to apply or participate. TechCrunch does not take any fees or equity. Early-stage startups from any country and any vertical are eligible. TechCrunch’s editors will review the applications and select the most promising startups to pitch the world’s top VCs on the main stage at Disrupt SF (October 2-4) — set to be the biggest event in TechCrunch’s history. The training. The Startup Battlefield team will work intensively over many weeks with the Startup Batt

Navy builds new massive undersea attack drones The Navy has taken several new steps in its development of several large underwater drones designed to conduct undersea reconnaissance, search for and destroy mines, and possibly launch attacks.

A report by the lead data watchdog for a large number of tech giants operating in Europe shows a significant increase in privacy complaints and data breach notifications since the region’s updated privacy framework came into force last May. The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC)’s annual report , published today, covers the period May 25, aka the day the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation ( GDPR ) came into force, to December 31 2018 and shows the DPC received more than double the amount of complaints post-GDPR vs the first portion of 2018 prior to the new regime coming in: With 2,864 and 1,249 complaints received respectively. That makes a total of 4,113 complaints for full year 2018 (vs just 2,642 for 2017). Which is a year on year increase of 36 per cent. But the increase pre- and post-GDPR is even greater — 56 per cent — suggesting the regulation is working as intended by building momentum and support for individuals to exercise their fundamental rights. “The phenomen

Disney is in discussions to buy AT&T’s 10 percent stake in Hulu, which it comes into by way of its WarnerMedia acquisition, according to a report from Variety this morning. The news is not surprising – AT&T had already said it was exploring a sale. And Disney has been looking to increase its stake in Hulu following its deal for 20th Century Fox which, when closed, will see Disney picking up Fox’s 30 percent share in Hulu. Currently, Disney owns a 30 percent stake in Hulu’s streaming service. That means the Fox deal will give it a 60 percent stake in Hulu. Snagging AT&T’s Hulu share would bring Disney’s ownership to 70 percent. Comcast/NBCU is Hulu’s other major owner, but isn’t currently prepared to sell, Variety said. AT&T had detailed its streaming plans to investors in November, noting at the time it was thinking of selling its Hulu stake as part of its larger goal to “monetize assets” that were not essential to its current strategies and to help pay down its d

Navy builds new massive undersea attack drones The Navy has taken several new steps in its development of several large underwater drones designed to conduct undersea reconnaissance, share combat essential data with submarine “motherships,” search for and destroy mines and - in some cases - launch attacks on enemy surface and undersea vessels

The future of healthcare isn’t entirely digital. For encounters as intimate as the client-therapist dynamic, a face-to-face relationship is still key. For those able to afford tech-enabled therapy services, Two Chairs , a San Francisco-headquartered mental healthcare business, may be of interest. The startup believes in the power of in-person therapy, as opposed to the new variety of affordable digital tools meant to replace or coexist with therapy services. Today, the company is announcing a $7 million Maveron-led Series A financing to open additional brick-and-mortar clinics and build out its client-therapist matching app, which leverages technology to pair its customers with a therapist best-tailored to their needs. The company currently operates four clinics in the Bay Area, where patients can access individual or group therapy. Each of those clinics was built with modern, young professionals in mind using “thoughtful design” to create “non-judgmental spaces.” A Two Chairs clin

Figure , a 13-month-old, San Francisco-based company that says it uses blockchain technology to provide home equity loans online in as little as five days, has raised a whole lot of money in not a lot of time: $120 million to date, including $65 million in fresh funding from RPM Ventures and partners at DST Global, with participation from DCG, Nimble Ventures, Morgan Creek and earlier investors Ribbit Capital and DCM. The money isn’t entirely surprising, given who founded the company — Mike Cagney, who founded SoFi and built it into a major player in student loan refinancing in the U.S. before leaving amid allegations of sexual harassment and an anything-goes corporate culture that saw at least two former employees sue the company. Today, SoFi has moved on under the leadership of CEO Anthony Noto, a former Twitter executive who is working to reshape SoFi from a lending company into more of a full-fledged financial services company , with savings and checking accounts, as well as exc

By NATHANIEL POPPER and MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2IGTA8H

Ceros  allows marketers to create animated, interactive content — but don’t call it a content marketing company. “We think content is just a dry, bland, over-leveraged, oversaturated space,” said founder and CEO Simon Berg. “The goal is not to hack the system, the goal is to make a great experience for your customers.” That’s why he describes Ceros as a platform for creating experiences. The company is focused on powering beautiful, well-designed graphics and web pages, instead of blog posts or white papers that mostly exist to snare search traffic. Ceros is announcing today that it’s raised $14 million in Series C funding. Ceros previously raised $19.5 million in funding, according to Crunchbase . The new round was led by Greenspring Associates, with participation from Grotech Ventures, CNF Investments, Sigma Prime Ventures, StarVest Partners, Greycroft and Silicon Valley Bank. “Ceros is well known for empowering marketers to think creatively, but we have also come to know Ceros

Robocalls skyrocket by 325 percent worldwide, as people demand protection The global scourge of robocalls shows no sign of stopping.

Gun safety devices get caught in online advertising bans As more Americans keep loaded guns in their homes, efforts to sell them new kinds of safety locks are getting stuck by policies intended to block ads for firearms online.

A company that sold "ineffective" fat-fighting herbal supplements is facing a $12.8m (£9.6m) fine. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2IIAxL1

Three US senators write to Google, asking questions about the hidden microphone in Nest devices. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2BUG7o0

Ride-sharing isn’t just for transporting teenagers and adults anymore. Zūm, a ridesharing startup for kids, just raised a $40 million Series C round led by BMW i Ventures with participation from Spark Capital and Sequoia Capital. This brings the company’s total funding to $70 million. Zūm is a mobile app that enables parents to schedule rides for their kids from fully-vetted drivers. It also partners with school districts to support their transportation needs. To date, the company has partnered with 150 school districts across the country and transported more than 500,000 students. “Zūm has proven itself as a force to be reckoned with in a market that has a lot of untapped opportunity,” BMW i Ventures Managing Partner Ulrich Quay said in a statement. “Its leadership is strong not only because of their drive to help working families, but because they themselves have families and understand the need for better child transportation, today. We’re proud to be supporting Zūm and look forw

'Momo suicide challenge’ continues to spread worldwide and prompt police warnings How the 'Momo suicide challenge’ continues to spread worldwide and prompt police warnings.

Thailand’s government passed a controversial cybersecurity bill today that has been criticized for vagueness and the potential to enable sweeping access internet user data. The bill ( available in Thai ) was amended late last year following criticism over potential data access, but it passed the country’s parliament with 133 positives votes and no rejections although there were 16 absentees. There are concerns around a number of clauses, chiefly the potential for the government — which came to power via a military coup in 2014 — to search and seize data and equipment in cases that are deemed issues of national emergency. That could enable internet traffic monitoring and access to private data, including communications, without a court order. The balance of power beyond enforcement has also been questioned. Critics have highlighted the role of the National Cybersecurity Committee, which is headed by the Prime Minister and holds considerable weight in carrying out the law. The Commit

Teen video app Musical.ly agrees to $5.7 million FTC fine The operator of a video-sharing app popular with teenagers agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle federal allegations it illegally collected personal information from children.

Regulator Ofcom says providers must offer "clear, honest" information to consumers. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Nywhwx

French startup Mirakl raised a $70 million funding round. Bain Capital is leading the round with existing investors 83North, Felix Capital and Elaia Partners also participating. If you’ve bought a few products from a third-party seller on an e-commerce website that isn’t Amazon or Alibaba, chances are you’ve used Mirakl in the past. The company has built a solution to manage the marketplace of your e-commerce platform. While Mirakl doesn’t have a ton of customers, each customer is very valuable. The company has worked with some of the biggest names in e-commerce so that they could add a new revenue stream with a marketplace. Examples include Best Buy in Canada, Walmart in Mexico, Office Deport and Darty. The startup also lets you create B2B marketplaces for bulk selling and other complicated transactions. Sellers can set minimum and maximum quantities and customize their listings. In 2018, the startup managed to add 60 customers and launch 37 marketplaces — it doubled the gross

The ghoulish meme known as "momo" is a hoax, fact-checkers and charities say. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2Vp16q3

Exchange between Cohen and congresswoman turns into instant meme Michael Cohen, President Trump’s ex-fixer, delivered a hard-hitting testimony before Congress on Wednesday that, most would agree, was devoid of any humor.

Customers suffer during regular operational and security incidents, BBC analysis of new data reveals. from BBC News - Technology https://ift.tt/2EBNpib

Return of 'Momo suicide challenge' sparks fear among parents It’s been in other parts of the world, but may be trying to invade America.

By RAYMOND ZHONG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2XuNo7c

By ADAM SATARIANO and EDU BAYER from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2ViMsRk

By CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/2H6U5X2

The “restaurant of the future” may elicit thoughts of a chrome diner with robot servers and an otherwise hefty amount of Tokyo futurist kitsch, but the fact is that the forthcoming sit-down dining experience may just end up looking a lot like ordering from a takeout app. Presto is working with restaurants to update the 21st century dine-in experience, letting customers order and pay from their table with a tablet device while also providing hardware like wearables for servers so they can be alerted when they are needed by customers. The company announced today that they’ve raised $30 million in growth funding from Recruit Holdings and Romulus Capital. I2BF Global Ventures, EG Capital and Brainchild Holdings also participated in the raise.  Considering how much online shopping has shaped commerce and apps like Instacart and Uber Eats are changing how we get food delivered to our houses, it’s a bit peculiar that physical restaurants with hundreds of locations have been so slow to shi