Techmeme
February 19, 2016, 11:05 AM

Top News

New York Times:
Apple had asked the FBI to issue application for iPhone passcode cracking tool under seal, but government made it public, prompting Tim Cook's public remarks  —  How Tim Cook, in iPhone Battle, Became a Bulwark for Digital Privacy  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Letters from around the globe began pouring …
Edvard Pettersson / Bloomberg Business:
Sources: Apple given until February 26 to respond to court order in San Bernadino iPhone case  —  Apple Said to Get More Time to Fight Order to Unlock IPhone  —  Deadline for Apple to respond to court order is Feb. 26  —  FBI pushing Apple to help access California shooter's phone
Jessica Guynn / USA Today:
Facebook pledges to fight against demands to weaken system security, Twitter adds its support to Apple in San Bernadino iPhone case  —  Facebook sides with Apple in iPhone fight  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook sided with Apple in the public spat with the Obama administration over its refusal …
Maureen Morrison / Ad Age:
Israeli ad blocking company Shine partners with 30M subscriber-strong European carrier Three Group to offer network-level ad blocking  —  European Carrier Blocks Ads at Network Level  —  Shine and Three Group Team Up to Offer Ad Blocking  —  Using A CRM Budget To Start A Loyalty Program
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Report: Smartwatches outsold Swiss watches for the first time in Q4 2015 with 8.1M shipments, Apple accounted for 63% of smartwatches with 5.1M units  —  Apple Watch Sales Estimated at 5.1 Million in Holiday Quarter, Swiss Watch Sales in Trouble  —  The latest data from Strategy Analytics reveals …
Chelsey Dulaney / Wall Street Journal:
Yahoo forms committee of independent board members to explore options and create a process for reaching out to interested parties, hires bankers  —  Yahoo Forms Board Committee to Explore Options  —  Company hires advisers, says committee is made up of independent directors
TechCrunch:
Leaked document: Facebook will launch ads on Messenger in Q2, enabling brands to send message ads to customers who have previously initiated chats  —  Facebook Plans To Put Ads In Messenger  —  A leaked document Facebook sent to some of its biggest advertisers reveals that Facebook will launch ads within Messenger in Q2 2016.
Matthew Panzarino / TechCrunch:
Apple apologizes for Error 53, says it was designed to be a factory test, releases iOS update that restores bricked phones but doesn't re-enable Touch ID  —  Apple Apologizes And Updates iOS To Restore iPhones Disabled By Error 53  —  Earlier this month, a Guardian report flagged …
Nate Swanner / The Next Web:
Google Play Games is ditching Google+ tie-in for new Gamer ID profiles  —  Google Play Games is changing, and it may affect how you interact on the platform.  Starting today, you'll no longer need a Google+ account to have a profile on Play Games.  —  Instead, the company is launching Gamer ID …

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More News

Lance Whitney / CNET:

Earlier Picks

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Ram Ramanathan / Google Cloud Platform Blog:
James Vincent / The Verge: