The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 What other sanctions can be imposed on Russia?
Cracking down on crypto, and banning oil and gas are hot topics among leaders. (FT $)
+ Russia may start accepting bitcoin from China and Turkey for its oil and gas. (CNBC)
+ How the far right fell for Russian misinformation about Ukraine developing biological weapons with the US. (NPR)
+ Four Russian officials have been charged with hacking the US energy sector. (WP $)
2 New York City’s long-running beef with Uber seems to be over
After years at each other’s throats, Uber is adding New York’s iconic yellow cabs to its ranks. (WSJ $)
+ It’s the end of the road for the company’s ‘brilliant jerks’ era. (The Information $)
+ Over on the west coast, Waymo claims it’ll soon start operating fully-driverless taxis. (Quartz)
+ Bad news for people who game while they drive in the UK. (BBC)
3 Europe has agreed laws to squash Big Tech monopoly abuse
WhatsApp, iMessage and Facebook Messenger will be forced to interoperate with smaller players. (Politico)
+ ButGoogle and Apple aren’t planning on making less money on their apps. (FT $)
4 Apple is reportedly considering a hardware subscription plan 📱
In a bid to encourage customers to keep buying increasingly-expensive devices. (Bloomberg $)
5 It’s time to rethink how we treat online game cheats
Working out what motivates players to cheat can make a game significantly better. (Ars Technica)
6 Social media’s response to Ukraine may come back to bite it
Tech giants weren’t prepared for war in Europe, and hasty new policies won’t help prime them for the future. (WP $)
+ TikTok must not fail Ukrainians. (Wired $)
7 A mysterious ‘Fabergé egg’ space circle sighting has excited radio astronomers
They don’t know yet what caused it. (Nature)
+ An astronaut found water inside his helmet at the end of his first space walk. (CNN)
8 Seattle Pride has parted ways with would-be sponsor Amazon 👋
Organizers rejected the opportunity to rename the event ‘Seattle Pride Parade Presented by Amazon.’ (Quartz)
+ Amazon’s Staten Island employees are preparing to vote on whether to join a union. (NYT $)
9 Another day, another NFT scam
Unfortunate news for fans of colorful ice cream characters. (Protocol $)
10 Would you eat a fish if it could scream in pain?
We’re less adept at empathizing with non-verbal animals. (CNET)
