Apple announces a surprising delay, Facebook bans new political ads for the week leading up to the US election, and SpaceX is testing its Starlink Internet system. This is your daily crisis for September 3, 2020.
The big story: Apple is delaying ad tracking changes
At this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that app developers in iOS 14 (currently in public beta) will need to ask users if they want to be tracked for promotional purposes.
The move appears to be a direct win for privacy, but some developers and advertisers have been quite concerned – Facebook, for example, has predicted that this could make the Audience Network’s ad network completely ineffective. That’s why Apple announced today that it is delaying the changes until early next year.
“We want to give developers the time they need to make the necessary changes, so the requirement to use this tracking permission will go into effect early next year,” Apple said in a statement.
The technology giants
Facebook blocks new political ads 1 week before November 3rd and adds more tools and rules for fair elections. Campaigns can continue to run ads to encourage people to vote, and they can continue to run older political ads.
Nintendo’s latest trick is to turn the Switch into an RC controller for an AR Mario Kart game. The idea is that you can control real RC cars in your home.
Amazon launches an Alexa service for property managers – the company’s goal is to offer Alexa a tool for smart home management, even for those without their own Amazon account.
Startups, Financing and Venture Capital
SpaceX confirms the ongoing private beta version of Starlink Internet with low latency and speeds of over 100 Mbps. While the current private beta is limited to SpaceX employees, the company announces that Starlink’s public beta is on the right track later this year.
Optimistically Taken Over by Content Management Company Episerver – In a statement, Episerver CEO Alex Atzberger said this was “the most significant change in our company’s history – one that will set a new industry standard for digital experience platforms.”
India’s Zomato Raises $ 62 Million From Temasek – The grocery delivery startup announced in January that Ant Financial has committed to raise $ 150 million, but apparently the company still has two-thirds of that capital to deliver.
Advice and analysis of extra crunch
9 Top Real Estate and Proptech Investors: Cities and Offices Still Have a Future – Optimism for startup hubs and supercities such as New York and San Francisco is still high.
Media Summary: Patreon Joins Unicorn Club, Facebook Could Ban News In Australia – Are You Interested In The Media Business? Do you appreciate my message collecting skills? Then this is the summary for you!
What happens if public SaaS companies fail to meet increased investor expectations? – The lesson for startups is clear: you better be damn impressive.
(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program designed to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
Spirit Airlines begins testing biometric check-ins – it begins at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.
NSA Call Record Collection Illegal by US Court of Appeals – The Ninth Circle Court of Appeals found that the NSA’s “bulk capture” of call records is against the law, but the judges have not ruled the program unconstitutional.
Disrupt 2020 Labor Day Flash Sale – Starting today, save $ 100 off the price of a Disrupt Digital Pro Pass.
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