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December 20, 2018, 1:15 PM
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Ime Archibong / Facebook:
Facebook confirms Spotify, Netflix, Dropbox, and RBC had read/write/delete access for messaging integrations, says it was experimental and ended three years ago  —  In the past day, we've been accused of disclosing people's private messages to partners without their knowledge.
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed News:
Report: some apps using Facebook's SDK, like Grindr and Bible+, send user info to Facebook, including location, where users click, and how long the app is used
Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg:
Facebook's stock closed down 7% on Wednesday following a New York Times story and a lawsuit from the District of Columbia's AG
Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Apple says it will stop selling iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in its 15 retail stores across Germany after Qualcomm was granted an injunction by a Munich court  —  - Last week, a Chinese court ordered an injunction against Apple over an alleged patent violation filed by chipmaker Qualcomm.
BBC:
UK's Gatwick airport was shut down on Wednesday and Thursday after drones were seen flying over the runway; about 760 flights were due to fly on Thursday  —  Tens of thousands of passengers have been disrupted by drones flying over one of the UK's busiest airports.
CNBC:
DOJ charges two alleged members of China's state sponsored hacking unit APT10 with stealing data from at least 45 US tech companies and government agencies  —  - They are accused of stealing information from at least 45 U.S. tech companies and government agencies.
Washington Post:
Sources: US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Germany to issue an unprecedented mass condemnation and impose sanctions on China for IP theft and cyberattacks  —  The Trump administration and international allies are expected to call out Beijing on Thursday for what they say are China's persistent efforts …
Arno Schuetze / Reuters:
Amazon gives a German Alexa user, who requested his personal data under GDPR, access to 1,700 audio files of another user; Amazon says it was due to human error  —  FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A user of Amazon's (AMZN.O) Alexa voice assistant in Germany got access to more than a thousand recordings …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Apple says some 2018 iPad Pros ship with a very slight bend in the aluminum chassis due to their manufacturing process but doesn't consider it to be a defect  —  Apple has confirmed to The Verge that some of its 2018 iPad Pros are shipping with a very slight bend in the aluminum chassis.
Bijan Stephen / The Verge:
Sources: blockchain incubator ConsenSys, which helps ~36 startups, will spin some of them off; source speculates layoffs will be between 600 and 700  —  As many as 50 to 60 percent of the company's employees could be let go  —  Layoffs are coming to ConsenSys, the Ethereum-focused startup incubator …
More: CoinDesk
Dara Kerr / CNET:
Uber says it will bring its self-driving cars back on the road on Thursday in Pittsburgh, nine months after a fatal crash  —  Uber took its self-driving cars off the road last March, after a fatal accident, the first known pedestrian death caused by a vehicle in full autonomous mode.
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Slack is deactivating accounts it says are linked to Iran to comply with US sanctions without warning the users  —  ‘They are either incompetent at OFAC interpretation or racist’  —  This morning, many Slack users with ties to Iran discovered their accounts had been abruptly deactivated.
More: 9to5Mac
Scott Moritz / Bloomberg:
Sources: T-Mobile is delaying the launch of its TV service, which was planned for this year, after the project proved more complex than expected  —  - Carrier has been touting project as a way to disrupt cable TV  — Delay comes at awkward time for Sprint deal's regulatory push
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
Uber fined €400,000 by the French data protection watchdog CNIL for a 2016 data breach and coverup that exposed the personal details of 1.4M users in France  —  One by one, European countries are slapping Uber with a penalty for the way it handled its 2016 data breach.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify settles the $1.6B copyright lawsuit by music publisher Wixen, which represents artists like Tom Petty, Missy Elliot, Stevie Nicks, and Neil Young  —  Spotify has settled the $1.6 billion lawsuit filed by music publisher Wixen Music Publishing in December 2017.
More: Variety
John D. McKinnon / Wall Street Journal:
Congress approves bill aimed at speeding quantum computer development by establishing a National Quantum Initiative Program; Trump is expected to sign it  —  The emerging technology has potentially revolutionary uses in cybersecurity and other areas  —  WASHINGTON—Congress on Wednesday approved …
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Microsoft releases out-of-band security update for Internet Explorer that fixes a remote code execution vulnerability allowing attackers to hijack computers  —  Microsoft has released an out-of-band security update that fixes an actively exploited vulnerability in Internet Explorer.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:15 PM ET, December 20, 2018.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

From Mediagazer

Eric Fisher / Front Office Sports:
Nielsen: Netflix's Sept. 10 49ers-Rams NFL game in Australia averaged 18.5M US viewers, matching YouTube's 2025 Brazil game, and 3.2M abroad, vs. YouTube's 1.2M

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Board letter: Comcast and Paramount Skydance are launching a “review of strategic options” for their European joint venture streaming service SkyShowtime

New York Times:
CBS News' 60 Minutes, returning under Nick Bilton, featured new correspondents and a refreshed stopwatch, and was more of a tweak than an overhaul

More News

Earlier Picks

Windows Experience Blog:
Microsoft debuts new test build of Windows 10 with a simplified Start layout, new Office launcher and hub for recent docs, kaomoji support, and more
Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook open sources its DeepFocus VR research, which aims to create ultra-realistic visuals for eye-tracking headsets
Washington Post:
The AG for the District of Columbia files lawsuit against Facebook over allowing Cambridge Analytica access to users' information
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Google repeatedly pushes the web in a proprietary direction to improve its services on Chrome, making Microsoft's adoption of Chromium a loss for the open web
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