Virgin Orbit runs low on cash, ByteDance pushes a TikTok replacement, and Canoo settles with the SEC

It’s the weekend, party people, and you know what that means: It’s Week in Review (WiR) time. For the uninitiated, WiR is where technewss recaps all the tech news that took place for the week. It’s like the morning paper, but in digital form, and without all the extraneous stuff

Twitter reveals some of its source code, including its recommendation algorithm

As repeatedly promised by Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Twitter has opened a portion of its source code to public inspection, including the algorithm it uses to recommend tweets in users’ timelines. On GitHub, Twitter published two repositories containing code for many parts that make the social net

What’s going on with the TikTok ban?

With a U.S. ban of TikTok looming, it might look like game over for the hit video sharing app, which has taken the world by storm in recent years, reshaping every aspect of culture in the process. Uncertainty abounds right now, but TikTok's fate is far from sealed. We've answered some commo

Meta disputes it can be sued in Kenya, again

A Kenyan court has today upheld interim orders issued last week temporarily barring Meta from engaging its new content moderation subcontractor, Majorel, pending determination if the social media giant can be sued in the East African country. This is not the first time that Meta is claiming to be a

Twitter is dying

It’s five months since Elon Musk overpaid for a relatively small microblogging platform called Twitter. The platform had punched above its weight in pure user numbers thanks to an unrivaled ability to both distribute real-time information and make expertise available. Combine these elements w

Elon Musk says Twitter will only show verified accounts on its algorithmic timeline

In the latest chapter in the saga of Elon Musk and his strange Twitter decisions, the social network’s CEO has declared that Twitter will only show verified accounts on the algorithmic “For You” timeline starting April 15. In a tweet, Musk justified the move by saying this was the

‘So infuriating’: TikTokers are fuming over potential ban

In the aftermath of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s brutal five-hour Congressional hearing on Thursday, TikToker and disinformation researcher Abbie Richards summed up what so many creators were thinking: “It’s actually remarkable how much less Congress knows about social media than the

Snap quietly acquired 3D-scanning startup Th3rd last year

Snap quietly acquired Amsterdam-based 3D-scanning studio Th3rd in the second quarter of last year, at a time when the company was looking to bolster its AR-powered commerce ambitions. A spokesperson for the company confirmed to technewss that four team members from Th3rd, who are based in the Neth

Metaverse is just VR, admits Meta, as it lobbies against ‘arbitrary’ network fee

Meta, the self-styled “metaverse company” formerly known as Facebook, has taken on a novel role de-hyping the virtual world technology its founder bet the farm on just a few short years ago. No, it hasn’t announced another pivot — rather it’s been forced to dial down t

TikTok CEO says it wasn’t ‘spying’ when ByteDance employees surveilled journalists

At Thursday’s House hearing, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced a barrage of questions over concerns that data collected on U.S. users might be vulnerable to surveillance by China. Chew’s response to one of those questions in particular likely dug the company’s hole even deeper when it

China reminds US that it can and will kill a forced TikTok sale

China pushed back against the U.S. government’s proposal to force a sale of TikTok on Thursday, rejecting the possible solution to ongoing national security concerns around the app. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before Congress on Thursday morning, facing questions from U.S. lawmakers that

In congressional hearing, TikTok commits to deleting US user data from its servers ‘this year’

In his testimony before the U.S. Congress this morning, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the company plans to delete all U.S. user data from company servers by year-end. The commitment was shared as part of Chew’s opening statements, which detailed the company’s initiative known as Project

YouTube shutting down Indian social commerce app Simsim

YouTube is shutting down its live social commerce app, Simsim, less than two years after acquiring the Indian startup. However, the video platform insisted that it is committed to building “a seamless shopping experience for viewers and supporting creators’ businesses.” Simsim sou

Meta barred by Kenyan court from engaging its new content moderation partner

Meta has been temporarily barred by a Kenyan court from engaging its new content moderation subcontractor, Majorel, pending the hearing of a new case, filed by 43 content moderators yesterday over illegal sacking and blacklisting. The interim injunction has also barred Sama, Meta’s outgoing c