NewsBytes Briefing: Snap's revenue grows; Moderna's vaccine won't be cheap
The big story in the technology world is: Snap reported its earnings for Q2 2020 with notable gains - 9 million new users and 17% YoY growth in revenue. However, it is not all good news for the company, as it is said to be investigating claims of racism and sexism alleged by ex-employees through an independent firm. Here are other major stories.
ByteDance is considering selling majority stake in TikTok
ByteDance, the Chinese giant that owns controversy-hit TikTok, is reportedly considering selling a majority stake in the video app to some of its US-based investors, a group that may include Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, SoftBank and New Enterprise Associates. The move is being mulled to take some political pressure off the service and save it from being banned in US after India.
US charges two Chinese hackers with stealing COVID-19 vaccine research
The US Justice Department has charged two Chinese hackers, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, with stealing valuable data from organizations around the world. The duo, according to reports, has targeted computers at several facilities over the last decade, including those at the Department of Energy's Hanford decommissioned nuclear production complex and at a Massachusetts-based biotech firm conducting COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research.
Big Tech: Updates from Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter
Facebook has announced that it will conduct an internal review of its algorithms to check if they are discriminative against Black, Hispanic, or other underrepresented groups. Microsoft teased an improved Office 365 interface and confirmed that Teams will support third-party applications. Meanwhile, Twitter removed over 7,000 accounts spreading the scarily popular pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon over 'offline harm' concerns.
Other important stories to note
Among other things, Spotify has launched video podcasts; Netflix is testing a new Rs. 349 Mobile+ plan with HD computer streaming support in India. Google, on the other hand, fixed the mess of a Search issue that failed to show indexed pages from websites on the results page. "This did not target [pages from] particular sites or political ideologies," the company has clarified.
Finally, COVID-19-related updates
In a shocker, the President of Moderna Therapeutics, the front-runner in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, has said they will not sell their shot at the cost of manufacturing - a departure from the not-for-profit stance taken by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Meanwhile, the antibody tests by Thyrocare have shown that 18 crore people in India might be immune to COVID-19.
