Month: September 2020

In the wake of the arrest of four employees of San Francisco-based startup PandaDoc, the tech industry in Belarus has rallied support for the company and the pro-democracy movement in the country.

Representatives of the tech community recorded a video which has had wide circulation on social media, supporting the detained employees.

“Our strength is in solidarity,” they say in the video, which also has English subtitles, and which features a litany of tech industry workers, many of whom say that state harassment could lead to the destruction of the tech industry in Belarus.

Earlier today TechCrunch heard from PandaDoc’s CEO Mikita Mikado who conformed that his employees have since been charged with up to 10 years in prison by the Belarus Police on what he says are trumped-up charges as revenge for his personal agitation again the Lukashenko regime.

Alphabet’s Wing is among the companies leading the way for building a sustainable and scalable way for drones and other aircraft to share the skies and build a capable and safe aerial transportation network. Wing’s Head of Policy, Regulatory and Community Affairs Margaret Nagle will join us at TC Sessions: Mobility this year to talk about the work the company is doing to unlock the potential of this path forward for city skies, and what the landscape looks like from the perspective of someone who works at the linkage point between public and private sectors.

Wing’s primary business is building and deploying a local drone delivery service that works through an app on your phone to allow you to quickly and easily order items from its partner businesses. To make the deliveries possible, Wing uses a custom multi-rotor/fixed wing hybrid aircraft that uses an all-electric power source to operate emission-free. The roughly 4’x’3 vehicle can fly at up to 70mph, and can carry payloads of up to 3.3 lbs on board. Currently, Wing is engaged in trial service deployments in Finland, the U.S. and Australia.

Margaret Stewart Nagle, Head of Policy, Regulatory and Community Affairs at Wing

The company also created OpenSky, a platform designed to help drone operators (both individuals and companies) to understand flight restrictions and regulations for their area, in order to fly safely. Wing ultimately wants to help manage air traffic control across multiple drone delivery and logistics companies and operators, and OpenSky is one part of that longer-term goal, which will also involve working closely with local airspace regulators and oversight agencies.

Nagle’s work at Wing taps into her extensive experience working with public sector stakeholders at Google’s X Moonshot devision, as well as at Yahoo prior to that. She’s responsible for helping to pioneer brand new use cases for aviation, and evaluate and demonstrate its impact for communities large and small all around the world. We’ll be talking to Nagle about what Wing has already seen with its live service deployments, and what potential it could hold for the future in terms of changing the communities where it operates.

Get your tickets for TC Sessions: Mobility to hear from Margaret Nagle, along with several other fantastic speakers from Porsche, Waymo, Lyft and more. Tickets are just $145 for a limited time, with discounts for groups, students and exhibiting startups. We hope to see you there!

We all know times are incredibly tough, and everyone’s working overtime on steroids to keep their startup dreams alive. Disrupt events have a reputation for serving up a tasty helping of fun along with the main dish: opportunity. We refuse to host virtual conference without providing time for levity, swag and kick-ass entertainment.

TechCrunch Trivia on Trivia Royale

It’s time to get your trivia on, startup fans. Download the Trivia Royale app (Google Play) (App Store) and start playing TechCrunch Trivia. It’s live right now and runs throughout Disrupt 2020. What’s a trivia battle without a prize? Boring, that’s what. Whoever ranks number one on the leaderboard at 1 p.m. (PT) on September 18 receives a TC Swag Bag mailed to their location. Nobody swags like TechCrunch.

Wave XR Concert with Lindsey Stirling

Did someone say kick-ass entertainment? Why, yes — yes, we did. Get ready for a live, virtual concert on Wednesday, September 16 at 1:30-2:30 p.m. (PT).

We’re tapping Wave technology to present Lindsey Stirling, an American violinist, songwriter and dancer.  She’s racked up tens of millions of followers worldwide and more than 3 billion total views on YouTube. Stirling is a performing powerhouse who’s latest album “Artemis” debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. 

Wave specializes in creating live, immersive virtual concerts. The company combines “cutting-edge gaming and broadcast technology with an interactive concert experience to help fans and artists more deeply connect with each other and express themselves in innovative ways.”

Wave has clearly tapped into something big, as indicated by Lindsey Stirling most recent concert. More than 400,000 people, across YouTube, Twitch and Lindsey’s own Facebook page, tuned in to her performance.

Don’t miss your chance to have some fun while you increase your startup skills, learn the latest tech trends, expand your network, meet with investors and drive your business forward.  Buy your pass today and get ready for five days of Disruption.

Facebook is firing up its lawyers to try to block EU regulators from forcing it to suspend transatlantic data transfers in the wake of a landmark ruling by Europe’s top court this summer.

The tech giant has applied to judges in Ireland to seek a judicial review of a preliminary suspension order, it has emerged.

Earlier this week Facebook confirmed it had received a preliminary order from its lead EU data regulator — Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) — ordering it to suspend transfers.

That’s the logical conclusion after the so-called Schrems II ruling which struck down a flagship EU-US data transfer arrangement on the grounds of US surveillance overreach — simultaneously casting doubt on the legality of alternative mechanisms for EU to US data transfers in cases where the data controller is subject to FISA 702 (as Facebook is).

Today The Currency reported that Dublin commercial law firm, Mason Hayes + Curran, filed papers with the Irish High Court yesterday, naming Ireland’s data protection commissioners as defendant in the judicial review action.

Facebook confirmed the application — sending us this statement: “A lack of safe, secure and legal international data transfers would have damaging consequences for the European economy. We urge regulators to adopt a pragmatic and proportionate approach until a sustainable long-term solution can be reached.”

In further remarks the company did not want directly quoted it told us it believes the preliminary order is premature as it said it expects further regulator guidance in the wake of the Schrems II ruling.

It’s not clear what further guidance Facebook is hankering for, nor what grounds it is claiming for seeking a judicial review of the DPC’s process. We asked it about this but it declined to offer any details. However the tech giant’s intent to (further) delay regulatory action which threats its business interests is crystal clear.

The original complaint against Facebook’s transatlantic data transfers dates all the way back to 2013.

Ireland’s legal system allows for ex parte applications for judicial review. So all Facebook had to do to file an application to the High Court to challenge the DPC’s preliminary order is a statement of grounds, a verifying affidavit and an ex parte docket (plus any relevant court fee). Oh and it had to be sure this paperwork was submitted on A4.

The DPC’s deputy commissioner, Graham Doyle, declined to comment on the latest twist in the neverending saga.

Apple today is releasing updated App Store Guidelines with the goal of clarifying how it will approach new technologies, like game streaming services, App Clips and widgets, in addition to better detailing its stance over how and when it will collect in-app purchases from certain categories of apps. The changes arrive at a time when Apple is battling in court with Epic over its requirements regarding the use of in-app purchases. The company is also seeing its App Store business scrutinized by regulators over monopolistic practices in the  U.S., E.U. and Australia, and elsewhere.

Some of the updates simply put to writing how Apple’s rules apply to technologies it’s introducing with its new mobile operating system, iOS 14, due out later this fall.

The revised guidelines (2.5.16) cover new iOS features, specifically App Clips (slimmed down versions of an app with limited functionality), widgets, extension and notifications. The guidelines require that the content in all of those formats be related to the content and functionality of the app — so it can’t just be random additional features. Also, they have to be included in the main binary (the main executable file) and cannot include advertising. 

One key change in the new guidelines explain how Apple will approach game streaming apps, like Microsoft xCloud and Google Stadia. The rules now say Apple will allow these services to operate on its App Store, so long as each individual game title offered by the service is submitted individually to Apple’s App Review for vetting and has its own App Store listing.

Separately, the game streaming service will be able to offer its catalog app where customers are able to subscribe to the service itself. This catalog app will link out to the individual gaming titles its subscription offers, and this can now include games from multiple publishers. This is a similar model to the one that Apple already approved for the third-party app catalog, GameClub. Though not a streaming gaming service, GameClub is a subscription-based service for classic games where each game has its own separate listing.

Apple says the reason it wants to have individual game listings is so it can review them for meeting its content guidelines, terms, and for rating purposes. In addition, this model allows customers to rate and review each individual title, as well.

In practice, this means customers will need to subscribe to the game streaming service through in-app purchases within the service’s “catalog app” in order to play the associated gaming titles that are linked under that subscription. However, if the customer had already subscribed to the service on a different platform, Apple will allow the customer to log-in without having to pay twice.

Apple’s rules also specify that the game services can’t disadvantage non-subscribers. In other words, a customer should be able to download any of the individual games in the game streaming service to their device and begin playing instantly, even if they haven’t subscribed. But Apple says this can be an introductory experience, not the full game. For example, a customer could play a level or two and then get pitched the upsell to buy the full subscription.

There are a number of updates to the App Store rules beyond game streaming, too.

Another change applies to apps like Kindle and Netflix, which have been able to get around Apple’s App Store fees by offering a limited “reader” experience — in other words, users create an account and pay elsewhere, but they can log into the iOS app to read e-books or watch movies included in their subscription.

Under the new guidelines, these reader apps will also to offer account creation within iOS, as long as it’s for the free tier of the product. They can also include “account management functionality.”

Apple also clarifies its rules around “enterprise apps,” meaning those where a developer sells to organizations or groups for employee or student use. These, which could include an app like Slack, can use alternative purchase methods in addition to in-app purchases to collect payments.

Apps that offer person-to-person experiences, like tutoring or telehealth, can also use alternative methods of payment beyond in-app purchases. The clarification is that these can only be between two individuals. If it’s a one-to-many service, it must use an in-app purchase instead.

In addition, Apple has also introduced a rule that seems tied to its recent dispute with Basecamp, developers of the Hey email app. It’s now allowing developers to offer free standalone apps (a separate category from reader apps) that offer services like VOIP calling, storage or email. These apps don’t have support in-app purchases and the resulting Apple fees — as long as there are no purchases in the app, and no calls to action for purchasing elsewhere. This allows apps, like Hey, to charge users elsewhere as long as it doesn’t call to action within the app.

It also addresses issues like the one that just cropped up with WordPress. Apple had temporarily blocked WordPress from updates as a web view directed users to a payment page.

One more change impacts all personal and loan apps, requiring them to clearly disclose all loan terms, including, but not limited to, equivalent maximum annual percentage rates and payment due dates. These apps may not charge a maximum APR higher than 36%, including costs or fees and fees, or require payment in full in 60 days or less.

The updates also now state that music and video subscriptions, with Apple’s approval, can be bundled into carriers’ data plans and offered in cellular carrier apps. And it introduces the new policy that says Apple will not delay bug fixes even when an app has been rejected for violations.

Developers will receive a few more clarifications, too, around what not to do, like hiding features, or not being clear about an app’s functionality. One of the more interesting tweaks is that Apple says developers have to actually say what an app update includes, as it will reject generic descriptions in the Notes for Review section of App Store Connect.

Apple laid out some interesting updates to its App Store rules this morning, the most headline-grabbing of which was a section dedicated to cloud gaming platforms like Microsoft’s xCloud and Google’s Stadia.

This comes after very public complaints from Microsoft regarding xCloud’s rejection from the App Store, which Apple denied because its App Store rules fundamentally did not allow game-streaming platforms on it. The outcry from gamers was notable given how hyped this launch is to the Xbox platform. This saga was also timed alongside Epic Games’ broader complaints about in-app purchases on the games store.

It was clear that Apple’s antiquated App Store rules needed an update, but now that we see their solution, it’s clear that things are going to be very messy for platform operators and game developers that were hoping for an easy solution.

The gist is that, Apple will allow game-streaming platforms like xCloud and Stadia to operate but each game in their library will need to have its own separate App Store listing and that each title will have to be “downloaded” from the Store. Each of these games will be discoverable inside the App Store, potentially meaning that the same game will exist inside multiple pages for multiple streaming platforms. xCloud and Stadia will also be able to house their own “catalog” apps but they will still have to kick users to the App Store when they want to score a new title.

The end result is that this solution is incredibly less plug-and-play for game developers, and developers will have to integrate their payment systems with Apple’s in-app purchase frameworks. It also means that developers are going to have to balance the in-app purchases cut for Apple with whatever deals they have worked out with the streaming platforms.

It’s far from the ideal solution for the cloud gaming platforms, but this is likely as good as it was going to get. This will likely strengthen the popularity of these platforms by having multiple entry-points to buying a subscription, something Apple will assuredly highlight amid any complaints, but it will also increase the likelihood that a consumer purchasing a subscription may be doing so from Apple and thus paying the Apple tax on their subscription.

Let’s get to the letter of the law, as Apple is a stickler for precision when it comes to these rules.

4.92 Streaming Games

Streaming games are permitted so long as they adhere to all guidelines — for example, each game update must be submitted for review, developers must provide appropriate metadata for search, games must use in-app purchase to unlock features or functionality, etc. Of course, there is always the open Internet and web browser apps to reach all users outside of the App Store.

4.9.1

Each streaming game must be submitted to the App Store as an individual app so that it has an App Store product page, appears in charts and search, has user ratings and review, can be managed with ScreenTime and other parental control apps, appears on the userʼs device, etc.

4.9.2

Streaming game services may offer a catalog app on the App Store to help users sign up for the service and find the games on the App Store, provided that the app adheres to all guidelines, including offering users the option to pay for a subscription with in-app purchase and use Sign in with Apple. All the games included in the catalog app must link to an individual App Store product page.

Updating

With the election looming and a pandemic still raging through the U.S., a shortage of poll workers is just one of many threats to voting this November — but it’s a big one.

In a Facebook post Friday, Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will launch a poll worker recruitment drive on the platform. Beginning this weekend, U.S. Facebook users over the age of 18 will see a message on their news feeds linking them to state poll worker registration pages. The company also includes that information in its voting information center, a hub of U.S. election resources that the company launched last month.

Facebook will join a number of other large employers including Microsoft, Starbucks, Old Navy and Target in offering paid time off to employees who want to volunteer at the polls. The company has also offered free advertising to state election authorities for the poll worker recruitment push and expects several states to be joining California in running those campaigns soon.

While poll worker shortages were already an issue, a dearth of poll worker is a much bigger concern in 2020. Poll workers skew older, making them generally more vulnerable to the threat of COVID-19 and making poll worker recruitment even more essential than it would be in a normal year.

As a Pew state policy report observed in 2018, poll workers are critical to elections running smoothly. A shortage of poll workers could mean “long lines, mass confusion and miscounted ballots.” And that’s without even taking the pandemic into account.

“They greet you at the plastic folding table set up in your neighborhood’s library, church or fire station, asking you for your name, address and, depending on your state, photo ID before handing you a ballot or directing you to a voting machine,” the Pew report reads.

“More than just glorified receptionists, these underpaid few are really the gatekeepers to democracy.”

TikTok has fixed four security bugs in its Android app that could have led to the hijacking of user accounts.

The vulnerabilities, discovered by app security startup Oversecured, could have allowed a malicious app on the same device to steal sensitive files, like session tokens, from inside the TikTok app. Session tokens are small files that keep the user logged in without having to re-enter their passwords. But if stolen, these tokens can give an attacker access to a user’s account without needing their password.

The malicious app would have to exploit the vulnerabilities to inject a malicious file into the vulnerable TikTok app. Once the user opens the app, the malicious file is triggered, letting the malicious app access and send stolen session tokens to the attacker’s server silently in the background.

Sergey Toshin, founder of Oversecured, told TechCrunch, that the malicious app could also hijack TikTok’s app permissions, allowing it access to the Android device’s camera, microphone, and the private data on the device, like photos and videos.

TikTok said it fixed the bugs earlier this year after Oversecured reported the vulnerabilities.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to build the safest and most secure platform in the industry, we constantly work with third parties to find and fix bugs,” said TikTok spokesperson Hilary McQuaide. “While the bugs in question would only pose a risk if a user had also downloaded a malicious application onto their Android device, we have fixed them. We appreciate the researcher reporting this issue to us so that we could fix it, and we encourage all of our users to download the latest version of the app.”

News of the bugs come just days before an anticipated ban on TikTok is set to take effect. The Trump administration declared the video sharing app a threat to national security earlier this year over its ties to China.

ByteDance, the Beijing-headquartered parent company of TikTok, has denied the claims, and sued the federal government to challenge the allegations.

TikTok, which is not accessible in China, said it had “never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”

Chartable, a startup known for its authoritative podcast download charts, is announcing that it has raised $2.25 million in seed funding.

Founders Dave Zohrob and Harish Agarwal previously worked together at AngelList, and they also created Hacker Daily, a podcast recapping the headlines from Hacker News. Zohrob (who’s also the startup’s CEO) told me that their experience hosting a podcast convinced the pair to create an analytics product like Chartable.

“Podcasting is a weird market,” he said. “One day, our downloads went from 4,000 a day to 5,000 a day. Why did that happen? We had no idea.”

So they created Chartable to give publishers and advertisers the insights they need to understand their audience and their business.

That means creating industry-wide charts, but also helping publishers aggregate their listening data across different podcast apps and launching products like SmartAds (to measure the effectiveness of podcasting advertising), SmartLinks (to track the effectiveness of digital marketing campaigns at driving podcast downloads) and SmartPromos (an attribution product for cross-podcast promotional campaigns).

Founded in 2018, Chartable says it’s now tracking 1 billion podcast downloads and ad impressions every month, compared to 100 million downloads a year ago. While the startup offers a free version for independent podcasters, Zohrob noted that it’s currently working with eight of the 10 biggest podcast publishers globally.

Chartable founders Harish Agarwal and Dave Zohrob

He argued that in some ways, history is repeating itself, and that Chartable serves a similar function for podcasts as analytics companies like App Annie do for the App Store. At the same time, he suggested that podcasting is a very different market.

“It’s more fragmented, it’s not just Apple and Android, and there’s a billion different business models,” Zohrob said. “There’s a lot more complexity.”

As for whether upcoming privacy changes in iOS could affect Chartable’s attribution tools, Zohrob said it shouldn’t make “a huge difference,” because the data for podcast attribution is so limited already.

“Ultimately what’s happening with the rest of digital advertising is that it’s going to start to look like podcast advertising, which is kind of funny,” he said. “Maybe they’ll end up meeting somewhere in the middle.”

The funding was led by Initialized Capital, who also contributed to Chartable’s $1.5 million round last year. Other investors include Naval Ravikant, Greycroft Partners, The Fund, Weekend Fund, Jim Young and Lukas Biewald.

“Chartable is the authority on podcast analytics and attribution,” said Initialized co-founder Alexis Ohanian in a statement. (He led the Chartable investment before leaving Initialized.) “We couldn’t be happier to support them as they build the tools that brands and publishers need to advance the podcast industry.”

Esports, an already booming industry, have taken on an even greater significance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. With traditional sports stalled or… er, different, esports and gaming in general have given folks a fresh way to enjoy competition.

Perhaps no esports organization has more clout or recognition than FaZe Clan. That’s why we’re so pleased to have FaZe Clan CEO Lee Trink, investor Troy Carter, and world-famous streamer Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff join us on the Disrupt 2020 stage next week (September 14-18) to talk all things esports.

Trink, cofounder and CEO of FaZe Clan, has a rich history in the media and entertainment industries, serving as General Manager and COO of virgin Records before being promoted to President of EMI’s Capitol Music Group. At the helm of FaZe Clan, he’s helped build out one of the most followed esports organizations in the world.

Troy Carter has had an equally impressive career in media and entertainment. He was instrumental in building the career of Lady Gaga, among other artists, and also served as head of global creator services at Spotify. He’s now the CEO and founder of Atom Factory and an investor in FaZe Clan.

Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff is a professional gamer and streamer who rose to fame as a competitive Fortnite streamer. Uniquely, Nickmercs uses a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard, which has further popularized him among other controller players who crowd to his stream each day. He is currently the most-watched Call of Duty streamer across any platform and is consistently among the top five watched channels on all of Twitch.

We’re excited to chat with this illustrious panel of experts about the evolution of esports, what sets FaZe Clan apart, and what entrepreneurs can learn from the viral growth of the organization over the years.

Pick up your pass to join us at Disrupt 2020 happening from September 14-18. You can get access to this session, founder how-to content on the Extra Crunch stage, tons of networking opportunities and access to hundreds of startups in Digital Startup Alley with a Disrupt Digital Pro Pass for just $345 for a limited time. Or for those on tighter purse-strings, you can get access to the Disrupt stage, breakout sessions and the expo for just $45. Join us today!