The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 A suspected Chinese ‘spy balloon’ is flying over the US
Officials are hesitant to shoot it down in case it injures someone. (BBC)
+ The balloon doesn’t pose a threat to people on the ground. (WSJ $)
+ How China built a one-of-a-kind cyber-espionage behemoth to last. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Things are going from bad to worse for Big Tech
Earnings are sluggish, and jobs are still at risk. (WP $)
+ Apple, in particular, fell short of expectations. (WSJ $)
3 The Kremlin seems to be tracking Russian dissidents through Telegram
The app, which is supposed to be encrypted, has reportedly been compromised. (Wired $)
4 The motley crew behind the Tether cryptocurrency
Including a former plastic surgeon and child actor. (WSJ $)
+ We’re happy to be regulated, the crypto industry tells UK officials. (FT $)
+ Exchange Binance has started operating in South Korea again. (CoinDesk)
+ What’s next for crypto. (MIT Technology Review)
5 ADHD patients are suffering from an Adderall shortage
We don’t know why supplies are so low—and officials aren’t upping the quotas. (The Guardian)
6 Native American peoples are fighting for visibility on Wikipedia
Editors are at loggerheads over how to cover indigenous history. (Slate $)
+ Authorities in Pakistan have ordered Wikipedia to remove content. (The Register)
7 Those horrible website clickbait ads aren’t going anywhere
The unnerving images drive clicks, unfortunately. (Fast Company $)
8 The downsides of paying social media users to post
The Philippine central bank didn’t look favorably on it, for one. (Rest of World)
9 TikTok loves Manhattan’s veteran watch dealers
It’s pure Uncut Gems. (NYT $)
10 Virtual reality is getting sexy
Explicit content is banned on the VRChat platform, but people are attending virtual orgies on there anyway. (BuzzFeed)
