Josh Constine
TechCrunch
San Francisco, CA, United States
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Recent articles by Josh:
Zuckerberg on Chinese censorship: Is that the internet we want? –
China is exporting its social values, political ads are an important part of free expression, and the definition of dangerous speech must be kept in check, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued today. He criticized how American companies that do business with China were becoming influenced by the country’s values. Chinese company TikTok now even censors […] → Read More
This app waits on hold for you –
DoNotPay helps you get out of parking tickets, cancel forgotten subscriptions, and now it can call you when it’s your turn in a customer service phone queue. The app today is launching “Skip Waiting On Hold”. Just type in the company you need to talk to, and DoNotPay calls for you using tricks to get […] → Read More
Libra claims 180 potential replacements for 7 mutineers –
Attempting to signal its popularity despite high-profile defections from Visa, Stripe, and more, the Facebook-led cryptocurrency Libra Assocation announced that 1,500 organizations have expressed interest in joining the Libra project. 180 of those meet eligibility requirements to become members, which could replace the 7 companies that dropped out of the Association this month including Kayak […] → Read More
Facebook should ban campaign ads. End the lies. –
Permitting falsehood in political advertising would work if we had a model democracy, but we don’t. Not only are candidates dishonest, but voters aren’t educated, and the media isn’t objective. And now, hyperlinks turn lies into donations and donations into louder lies. The checks don’t balance. What we face is a self-reinforcing disinformation dystopia. That’s […] → Read More
Why each Libra member’s mutiny hurts Facebook –
There’s a strategic cost to the defection of Visa, Stripe, eBay, and more from the Facebook -led cryptocurrency Libra Association . They’re not just names dropping off a list. Each potentially made Libra more useful, ubiquitous, or reputable. Now they could become obstacles to the token’s launch or growth. Fearing regulators’ inquiries not just into […] → Read More
Pegging Libra to just the $ could soothe regulators, a16z says –
What if Libra wasn’t backed by a basket of international currencies, but only the dollar? Regulatory pushback to the Facebook-led cryptocurrency Libra has caused major partners including Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and eBay to pull out of the Libra Association. But one of the remaining members has floated a major change to the stablecoin that could […] → Read More
To beat Amazon Go, Standard Cognition buys cashierless DeepMagic –
Valued at $535 million, autonomous retail startup Standard Cognition has emerged as a soon-to-be tech giant and the best hope for merchants to compete with Amazon Go. Cashierless checkout is poised to transform brick-and-mortar commerce, and shop owners fear having to battle Amazon’s technology alone or partner with it, exposing data it could use against […] → Read More
Instagram launches Create mode with On This Day throwbacks –
Instagram has finally turned Throwback Thursday into an official feature. Today Instagram launched “Create” mode in Stories, which brings the app beyond the camera and makes it a more omnipurpose social network. Instagram has added an “On This Day” option that shows a random feed post you shared on the same calendar date in the […] → Read More
Robinhood revives checking with new debit card & 2% interest –
This time it actually has insurance. Zero-fee stock trading app Robinhood is launching Cash Management, a new feature that earns users 2.05% APY interest on uninvested money in their account with the ability to spend it through a special Mastercard debit card. The waitlist opens today in the US with the first users to be […] → Read More
Get guaranteed rent for your home from new startup Doorstead –
Missing out on a month’s rent because you can’t find a tenant is a huge loss. Searching for someone to fill a home takes work, while property managers are incentivized to price your place too high leading to costly vacancies. But new startup Doorstead wants to take on the risk and the work for you. […] → Read More
$35M-funded Omni rental in acquihire talks with Coinbase –
Physical storage-turned-rentals startup Omni is dealing with layoffs today, two sources familar with the situation tell TechCrunch. Omni just shed seven operations team members. The startup is in talks to sell its engineering team to Coinbase after also receiving interest from Thumbtack. Omni’s rental business was doing poorly without enough users paying a few bucks […] → Read More
Zuckerberg says Facebook will sue to stop EU’s global content takedowns –
Facebook plans to challenge Europe’s top court, which today ruled that EU countries can order Facebook to globally remove content that violates local laws. Facebook currently complies with proper legal requests to remove content that breaks a nation’s laws, but can leave it up for global viewers if the post doesn’t violate its Community Standards. […] → Read More
We’ll have self-flying cars before self-driving cars, Thrun says –
Once you get up high enough, you don’t have to worry about a lot of the obstacles like pedestrians and traffic jams that plague autonomous cars. That’s why Sebastian Thrun, Google’s self-driving team founder turned CEO of flying vehicle startup Kitty Hawk, said on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF today that we should expect true […] → Read More
Instagram launches Threads, a Close Friends chat app with auto-status –
What if Instagram could automatically tell you’re Close Friends you’re 🏠 (home), 🤓 (working), 🚗 (on the move), or 🛋️ (chilling and might want to hang out)? That’s the idea behind Instagram’s new companion app Threads, a Close Friends-only messaging experience that opens to the camera with shortcuts for instantly sending specific people photos and […] → Read More
Lookout, Robinhood. E*Trade, Schwab, Ameritrade all go zero-fee –
The biggest players in online stock trading all just copied Robinhood by removing their fees for stock and ETF trading. Charles Schwab announced yesterday it would drop its $4.95 fee, leading to plummeting share prices for it as well as competitors. By the end of yesterday Ameritrade announced it too would axe its $6.95 fees, […] → Read More
A startup factory? $1.2B-exit team launches $65M super{set} –
Think Jack Dorsey’s jobs are tough? Well, Tom Chavez is running six startups. He thinks building businesses can be boiled down to science, so today he’s unveiling his laboratory for founding, funding and operating companies. He and his team have already proven they can do it themselves after selling their startups Rapt to Microsoft and […] → Read More
Zuckerberg misunderstands the huge threat of TikTok –
“It’s almost like the Explore Tab that we have on Instagram” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in leaked audio of him describing TikTok during an all-hands meeting. But it’s not. TikTok represents a new form of social entertainment that’s vastly different from the lifelogging of Instagram where you can just take a selfie, show something […] → Read More
Unagi is the iPhone of scooters you actually buy –
Can you never find a scooter to rent when you need one? Here’s a radical idea. Buy one. While Bird, Lime, Skip, Scoot, Uber, Lyft and more compete for on-demand micromobility, a new startup invented a vehicle worthy of ownership. The Unagi looks downright futuristic with its classy paint jobs, foldable body, LED screen, and […] → Read More
Knowable launches its “not a podcast” $100 audio classes –
Books on tape were the lifeblood of self-help. But eLearning startups like Khan Academy and Coursera demanded our eyes, not just our ears. Then came podcasts that make knowledge accessible yet rarely focus on you retaining and applying what they teach. Today, a new startup called Knowable is launching to provide gaze-free audio education at […] → Read More
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 embarassed. And when you just chase Likes, you distort your life seeking moments that score them, or censor it fearing you won’t look popular without them. That’s why today Facebook is officially starting to hide Like […] → Read More