Techmeme
January 28, 2019, 2:00 AM

Top News

Kurt Wagner / Recode:
Zuckerberg's WSJ op-ed and rumored push to unify messaging infrastructure across Facebook's apps may be signs of company's increased concern about regulation  —  It sure feels like regulation is coming for Facebook.  —  The threat of government regulation has been looming over Facebook …
Cade Metz / New York Times:
How satellite data startups like Orbital Insight and SpaceKnow track businesses, illegal mining, oil tankers, and more for clients like hedge funds and banks  —  SAN FRANCISCO — In October, the Chinese province of Guangdong — the manufacturing center on the southern coast that drives 12 percent …
Scott Shane / New York Times:
Distributed Denial of Secrets, a WikiLeaks-like online repository launched last month by transparency advocates, publishes 175 GB of leaked Russian documents  —  A group of transparency advocates on Friday posted a mammoth collection of hacked and leaked documents from inside Russia …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Japan amends law to let government staff scan 200M+ IoT devices and hack the ones with weak passwords, so they can then be secured ahead of 2020 Olympics  —  Japanese government wants to secure IoT devices before Tokyo 2020 Olympics and avoid Olympic Destroyer and VPNFilter-like attacks.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Virginia-based Urgent.ly, which offers a digital-first roadside assistance service, raises $21M Series B from venture arms of BMW, Jaguar, Porsche, and others  —  There's a healthy appetite among VCs for the vehicle assistance market — i.e., firms that connect drivers with providers that can change a tire …
More: PYMNTS.com
Randy Nelson / Sensor Tower:
Sensor Tower: mobile users spent an estimated $1.27B in the top 10 US streaming video apps in 2018, up 62% from $781M spent in 2017 and 3x the spending in 2016  —  Mobile users in the United States spent an estimated $1.27 billion in the top 10 subscription video on demand (SVOD) apps last year …
More: TechCrunch
James Vincent / The Verge:
Pictures of what appear to be the two models of Samsung's Galaxy S10 leak, showing “Infinity-O” display, very thin bezels, USB-C port, and a headphone jack  —  Well, the leaks start coming and they don't stop coming  —  There's less than a month to go before Samsung unveils …
Alison Griswold / Quartz:
The GOP-majority National Labor Relations Board voted that van drivers for Texas-based SuperShuttle are independent contractors, a win for companies like Uber  —  Buried by news of the US federal shutdown ending was a government decision that has staggering implications for Uber and companies like it.
Nicole Nguyen / BuzzFeed News:
Independent artists say Amazon has failed to implement even minor changes that would make it harder for merchants to sell goods that violate artist copyrights  —  Independent artists, who aren't afforded the same protection as big brands on Amazon, say that fighting copyright infringement by third-party sellers is never-ending.

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Box data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ted Sarandos: Netflix and how tech changed storytelling
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 2:00 AM ET, January 28, 2019.

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.

More News

Earlier Picks

Will Oremus / Slate:
Russell Brandom / The Verge:
Brookings:
Raphael Satter / Associated Press: