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Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Friday. Sign up here to get this email in your inbox every morning. The 10 Things in Tech newsletter will return on Tuesday September 1. - Walmart confirmed it's working with Microsoft in a bid to acquire TikTok's US business. TikTok's parent company ByteDance is expected within the next few days to announce a deal to sell off the app's US operations in an effort to avoid a nationwide ban on the app.
- Walmart reportedly tried to become TikTok's majority owner by teaming up with Alphabet and SoftBank before the Trump administration nixed the idea. According to CNBC, US government officials vetoed the idea saying that a tech company needed to lead the deal so that it could effectively secure TikTok's data.
- TikTok has enacted a hiring freeze and drawn up a shutdown contingency plan ahead of threat of a ban. Sources say the company isn't onboarding any new hires until after September 15.
- TikTok launched a store selling $70 "Not Going Anywhere" hoodies hours before CEO Kevin Mayer quit. TikTok said the store will sell other apparel, games, and more in the coming months.
- The next iPhone update will let you see COVID-19 exposure notifications without downloading any contact-tracing apps. Apple's COVID-19 contact tracing tech uses Bluetooth to notify people when their iPhone comes into close contact with someone who has self-identified as positive for COVID-19.
- Protesters set up a guillotine outside Jeff Bezos' mansion and demanded higher wages for Amazon workers after the CEO's net worth surpassed $200 billion. Protesters, led by former warehouse worker and outspoken Amazon critic Christian Smalls, called on the company to raise its minimum wage to $30 per hour.
- The DNC warned campaign staffers to "swipe carefully" on dating apps because matches could be political opponents digging for dirt. A Democratic official told Business Insider that the warning is "nothing new" and campaign staff are frequently reminded to be vigilant online.
- Trump got hit with another lawsuit over his executive order targeting social media companies, this time from voting rights groups who say he's suppressing accurate election info. The groups also argue that Trump is violating social media companies' First Amendment rights by retaliating against them for disagreeing with him.
- The PlayStation 5 will be in such limited supply that Sony's asking customers to sign up for the chance to preorder the console. Despite reports of increased production, Sony warned this week that only a "limited quantity" of PS5 consoles would be available via preorder at launch.
- Amazon announced its new wearable "Halo," which it says can judge the emotion in your voice and scan your body to calculate body fat. The launch is coming as tech giants like Apple and Google are diving more deeply into health.
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