Technology

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Huawei, the world’s biggest smartphone vendor, says it’s running out of processor chips because of US sanctions against the company, The Associated Press reported. And according to Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s consumer business unit, as of next month the Chinese phone manufacturer will no longer be able to make its own Kirin chipsets due to the ongoing economic pressure from the US. “Unfortunately, in the second round of U.S. sanctions, our chip producers only accepted orders until May 15. Production will close on Sept. 15,” Yu said at a conference August 7th. “This year may be the last generation of Huawei Kirin high-end chips.” Huawei’s upcoming Mate 40 phone, scheduled for release in September, could be the last phone with a Kirin… Continue ...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter has had preliminary discussions about a “combination” with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported, making the social media platform the latest possible suitor for the popular video-sharing app. As the WSJ notes, it’s not clear whether Twitter would pursue a possible acquisition of TikTok, and any such deal would have big obstacles. The biggest challenge to any deal is the Trump administration’s executive order from August 6th, which bars TikTok parent company ByteDance from handling transactions in the US. The order takes effect within 45 days. The administration considers the Chinese-owned app a potential security threat, despite no evidence indicating ByteDance or TikTok has ever shared Americans’ data with the Chinese… Continue rea...

Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images An agreement between the US government and Kodak to develop generic drug ingredients appears to be on hold, after the US International Development Finance Corporation tweeted that “recent allegations of wrongdoing raise serious concerns.” “We will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared,” the agency tweeted, without specifying what the allegations were. Kodak said Friday it was conducting an internal review of recent activity by the company in connection with a $765 million loan it would receive under the Defense Production Act to produce pharmaceuticals. The company’s stock price surged in the days before the deal was announced, CBS News reported, leading Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to call for the Securities and… Con...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In a move that may forever change what it means to be ratio’d, Twitter is testing some new language on tweet metrics, making quotes (also known as retweets with comments) visible on each tweet, the company confirmed Saturday. “A few months ago, we’ve made Retweets with Comments more visible when you tap to see Retweets on a Tweet,” a Twitter spokesperson wrote in an email to The Verge. “This is available to everyone. Now, we’re testing making Retweets with Comments accessible directly on the Tweet and new language (Quotes) to see if this makes them easier to access and more understandable.” A Verge reader tipped us to the feature’s new name, which lists the number of times a tweet is quoted alongside likes and retweets: In… Continue reading&hel...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration over the president’s executive order banning the app in the US, and the company may file the lawsuit as early as Tuesday, NPR reported. According to NPR, the lawsuit will argue the president’s action is unconstitutional because TikTok did not have time to respond. The lawsuit also will allege that the president’s justification for the ban— that the company is a threat to US national security— is baseless, NPR reported. Under the executive order the president signed Thursday, the US will block all transactions with TikTok parent company ByteDance within 45 days, in order to “address the national emergency with respect to the information and communication technology supply chain.” “The United… Continue...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge New Jersey’s Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is moving to dismiss the harassment charges against five people who tweeted or retweeted a police officer’s photo. Asbury Park Press reported the news on Friday afternoon, quoting spokesperson Katherine Carter saying that “after reviewing the cases, we concluded there was insufficient evidence to sustain our burden of proof.” The Nutley Police Department filed a criminal complaint in July against protester Kevin Alfaro, who tweeted a photograph of Detective Peter Sandomenico during a Nutley For Black Lives demonstration in June. Alfaro’s tweet asked “if anyone knows who this bitch is throw his info under this tweet,” something Sandomenico said caused him to fear for the safety of his family…. Contin...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge President Trump’s executive order banning WeChat could have far-reaching consequences for almost the entire technology industry, thanks to the app’s parent company, Tencent, having investments in companies like Riot Games and other US-based brands. But the ban could also have a big impact on Apple, which is deeply entrenched in China. Apple has a significant Chinese customer base, and nearly all of its critical manufacturing and assembly partners are based there. Trump’s ban might not only force Apple to remove WeChat from its App Store — which would destroy Apple’s Chinese smartphone business — it could existentially change how Apple is able to build and sell new products in the future. It’s hard to emphasize the prominence of WeChat… Continue...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge President Trump’s advisors got into a “knockdown, drag-out” fight in the Oval Office late last week during discussions about a TikTok ban, the Washington Post reported. Trade advisor Peter Navarro accused Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin of being soft on China, as Navarro pushed for an outright ban of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app, according to the Post, as Mnuchin had been arguing for a TikTok sale to a US company. Navarro told the Post in a statement that President Trump relies on “strong, often opposing views,” when making decisions. “Because this is true, it is critical for a strong America that ‘what happens in the Oval Office, should stay in the Oval Office’ so I have no comment on what is clearly a malicious leak riddled… Continue...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook removed dozens of accounts it says were part of a troll farm pretending to be African-Americans in support of President Donald Trump and QAnon supporters, the company said, for violating its policies against coordinated inauthentic behavior. According to a report on its July enforcement activity, Facebook removed 35 Facebook accounts, three pages and 88 Instagram accounts for “violating our policy against foreign interference, which is coordinated inauthentic behavior on behalf of a foreign entity.” Activity by the pro-Trump network originated in Romania, Facebook said, and posted on Instagram using hashtags such as “BlackPeopleVoteForTrump.” The pages had about 1,600 followers on Facebook, and about 7,200 people followed the… Continue...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has described the company’s potential TikTok deal as a “poison chalice.” In a wide-ranging interview with Wired, Gates makes it clear that Microsoft acquiring parts of TikTok won’t be easy or simple. “Who knows what’s going to happen with that deal,” says Gates. “But yes, it’s a poison chalice.” He also notes that being a big player in the social media business “is no simple game,” as Microsoft will have to contend with a whole new level of content moderation. Asked if Gates is wary of Microsoft getting into the social media game, he suggests that Facebook having some more competition is “probably a good thing” but that “having Trump kill off the only competitor, it’s pretty bizarre.” Gates seems as… Continue rea...

Facebook has removed one of the largest public QAnon groups for violating the company’s policies on misinformation, bullying, hate speech, and harassment, Reuters reported. The group, called Official Q/Qanon had almost 200,000 members, was deleted after numerous posts were taken down. A Facebook spokesperson told Reuters that the company was monitoring other QAnon groups as well. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that claims, among other things, that President Donald Trump is secretly planning to arrest high-profile Democratic politicians and celebrities for pedophilia or cannibalism. It’s become widespread across several social media platforms, and about a dozen Republican candidates for office have expressed support for QAnon’s views…. Continue reading… You Deserve to Make Money ...