Techcrunch blog!: Daily Crunch - Facebook tests a News Feed with less politics

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Facebook tries to get less political, Oracle’s TikTok acquisition may not be happening and Twitter says Donald Trump is banned forever. This is your Daily Crunch for February 10, 2021.

The big story: Facebook tests a News Feed with less politics

Facebook announced today that it’s testing changes to the News Feed that would downrank political content. The company says the results will help determine how it treats such content in the future; content from health organizations and official government agencies will not be affected.

Two years ago, Facebook said it would be downranking publisher content in favor of content from family and friends, but this time it’s targeting politics specifically. For now, this test is only being conducted with a small group of users in select markets, including the United States, Canada, Brazil and Indonesia.

The big story: Facebook tests a News Feed with less politics image

Image Credits: TechCrunch

'No-Touch' Software Experiences Needed Even After the Pandemic

The tech giants

TikTok's forced sale to Oracle is put on hold — The insane saga of a potential forced sale of TikTok's U.S. operations is reportedly ending.

Twitter says Trump is banned forever, even if he runs for president again — “When you're removed from the platform, you're removed from the platform,” said Twitter CFO Ned Segal.

Apple Maps to gain Waze-like features for reporting accidents, hazards and speed traps — The new features are live in the iOS 14.5 beta.

Image Credits: SOPA Images / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital

Israeli startup CYE raises $100M to help companies shore up their cyber-defenses — CYE conducts offensive operations against their customers (with their permission) to find weaknesses before malicious hackers do.

SecuriThings snares $14M Series A to keep edge devices under control — This could include devices like security cameras, access control systems and building management systems.

Podz turns podcasts into a personalized audio newsfeed — A new company from an old Startup Battlefield winner, backed by Katie Couric and Paris Hilton.

Startups, funding and venture capital image

Image Credits: Podz

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Three adtech and martech VCs see major opportunities in privacy and compliance — We asked them to update us on whether deal flow has recovered, and to look ahead at the possibility of additional regulation.

Dear Sophie: How can I improve our startup's international recruiting? — The latest edition of the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

How will investors value MetroMile and Oscar Health? — Last night, MetroMile and SPAC INSU Acquisition Corp. II completed their combination.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)