Daily Crunch - Facebook's Australian news ban is pretty broad

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( Thursday, February 18, 2021 • By [Anthony Ha]( We explore the fallout of Facebook’s news ban, WhatsApp addresses privacy concerns and Perseverance lands on Mars. This is your Daily Crunch for February 18, 2021. [The big story: Facebook's Australian news ban is pretty broad]( Yes, this was the lead story in yesterday’s newsletter, but 24 hours later, we have a better sense of how things are playing out. A quick refresher: As the Australian government is debating a law that would require tech platforms to pay media companies for linked content, Facebook has gone ahead and started blocking the sharing or viewing of news. The move has been criticized as censorship and even “an assault on a sovereign nation,” but also [praised as a reasonable stand]( against a “link tax.” (Google made a similar threat but has instead been striking deals with Australian publishers.) Regardless of how you feel about the decision in theory, the initial implementation has left something to be desired, with the Facebook Pages of hospitals, universities, unions, government departments and the bureau of meteorology [all wiped clean](. When reached for comment, Facebook confirmed that it applied an intentionally broad definition of news, designed to reflect the law “as drafted.” [Read more]( [The big story: Facebook's Australian news ban is pretty broad image] Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images [Flatfile is bringing no-code B2B data migrations]( Sponsored by [Flatfile]( [Introducing Flatfile Concierge: invite customers to securely import, format, or merge spreadsheet data. No fumbling with FTP uploads, or formatting yet another CSV template, 100% no code. Get access today.]( [Read more]( The tech giants [Following backlash, WhatsApp to roll out in-app banner to better explain its privacy update]( — If users choose to review the changes, they’ll be shown a deeper summary, including added details about how WhatsApp works with Facebook. [Apple TV+ arrives on Google TV devices, starting with Chromecast]( — It will also become available on Google TVs from both Sony and TCL, with expansions to other Android TV-powered devices in the months to come. [Microsoft announces the next perpetual release of Office]( — If you use Office, Microsoft would really, really, really like you to buy a cloud-enabled subscription to Microsoft 365, but it will continue to make a standalone, perpetual license for Office available, too. [The tech giants image] Image Credits: Getty Images Startups, funding and venture capital [Robinhood goes to Congress]( — Alex Wilhelm did not enjoy watching. [Math learning app Photomath raises $23M as it reaches 220 million downloads]( — Chances are, you might already know about the app if you have a teenager in your household. [Wholesale marketplace Abound raises $22.9M]( — The marketplace helps independent retailers stock their shelves with new products from up-and-coming brands. [Startups, funding and venture capital image] Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch [Why do SaaS companies with usage-based pricing grow faster?]( — Public SaaS companies that have adopted usage-based pricing grow faster because they’re better at landing new customers, growing with them and keeping them as customers. [Creating a prediction machine for the financial markets]( — Data is the backbone of any prediction machine. [Check out the incredible speakers joining us on Extra Crunch Live in March]( — Our March slate starts with Sarah Kunst of Cleo Capital and Julia Collins of Planet FWD. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. [You can sign up here](.) [Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch image] Image Credits: John Lund / Getty Images Everything else [Perseverance lands safely on Mars and sends back its first images of the surface]( — Perseverance landed after a white-knuckle descent that involved picking a landing spot just moments before making a rocket-powered sky-crane landing. [Tired of ‘Zoom University’? So is edtech]( — A wave of startups is trying to disrupt the virtual school day. [California DMV warns of data breach after a contractor was hit by ransomware]( — Automatic Funds Transfer Services, which the DMV said it has used for verifying changes of address, was hit by an unspecified strain of ransomware earlier this month. [Everything else image] Image Credits: NASA [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Banner Developer at Horry Georgetown Technical College (Conway, SC, USA)]( - [Network Engineer at Horry Georgetown Technical College (Conway, SC, USA)]( - [Head of Technology at West Coast Search Fund / PE Firm (Phoenix, AZ, USA)]( - [Computer Systems Administrator at Federal Public Defender (Little Rock, AR, USA)]( - [Back-End Ruby Developer (Remote, USA) at Whiplash (Ypsilanti, MI, United States)]( [See more jobs on CrunchBoard]( [Post your tech jobs]( and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Flipboard]( [View this email online in your browser]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2021 Verizon Media. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103