Techmeme: Spotify is prototyping Tastebuds, a discoverability feature that lets users explore the music tastes of their friends by looking at what they have played most (Josh Constine/TechCrunch)

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December 19, 2019, 7:00 PM

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New York Times:

Leaked dataset from a location data company with a log of the movements of 12M+ Americans shows how “anonymous” location data can be used to track people — EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY, everywhere on the planet, dozens of companies — largely unregulated, little scrutinized …

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Report: Facebook has tasked a co-author of Windows NT with building an OS from scratch, in order to stop relying on Android for products like Oculus and Portal — Facebook doesn't want its hardware like Oculus and Portal to be at the mercy of Google because they rely on its Android operating system.

Source: The Information. More: The Verge, Engadget, Android Central, Android Authority, Bloomberg, SiliconANGLE, PYMNTS.com, SlashGear, Neowin, Input, Thurrott, MSPoweruser, and KnowTechie

Tweets: @andrestaltz, @tomwarren, @joshconstine, @joshconstine, @amir, @riptari, @joshconstine, @scobleizer, @marceloplima, @benbajarin, @ddiakopoulos, @alexeheath, @nickwingfield, and @oduneweniyi

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Google acquires Montreal-based game development house Typhoon Studios as part of its plan to create exclusive content for Stadia — Google's Stadia cloud gaming division has acquired Typhoon Studio, a Montreal-based triple-A game development house. — The move is part of Stadia's plan …

More: The Keyword, SlashGear, Polygon, PlayStation LifeStyle, Android Police, GameSpot, TechSpot, Variety, 9to5Google, Engadget, Droid Life, Android Headlines, USgamer.net, Wccftech, TechCrunch, IGN, PC Gamer, Neowin, Hollywood Reporter, MSPoweruser, Gamasutra, and Gematsu

Tweets: @domsplaying and @nextgenplayer

Tony Romm / Washington Post:

Facebook bans misleading posts, photos, ads, and other content about the 2020 US Census, even if posted by a politician, on Facebook and Instagram — The new rules, announced Thursday, includes those placed by politicians — SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook will remove posts …

More: About Facebook, CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, Adweek, CNET, NPR, Business Insider, The Hill, CNBC, Axios, IT Management, Input, Engadget, and Mashable

Tweets: @jgreenblattadl, @dseetharaman, @tonyromm, @b_fung, @digiphile, @sachabaroncohen, @raju, @vanitaguptacr, @vanitaguptacr, @rashadrobinson, @daviduberti, @terri_rupar, @adamiss, @oneunderscore__, and @ilvestoomas

Makena Kelly / The Verge:

Congress passes the TRACED Act, enabling fines of up to $10K per robocall and requiring carriers to deploy STIR/SHAKEN protocol to identify spoofed numbers — A holiday gift for anyone with a phone — After months of negotiations, Congress approved a landmark bill on Thursday to stop the flood of illegal robocalls.

More: The Hill, Android Authority, International Business Times, The Seattle Times, Engadget, iDownloadBlog.com, TechCrunch, and WebProNews

Tweets: @chrisismills, @senrickscott, and @milliew_ng

Andrew O'Hara / AppleInsider:

Apple open sources parts of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit allowing anyone to prototype HomeKit devices — Apple has published an open-source version of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit, allowing more users to experiment with the development of HomeKit accessories.

More: Apple Developer, TechCrunch, MacRumors, iPhone Hacks, Patently Apple, iMore, iDownloadBlog.com, The Mac Observer, and iPhone in Canada Blog

Tweets: @ckindel and @atulbutte

Arno Schuetze / Reuters:

German court bans Uber in the country, says it is using rental cars without a necessary license; source: Uber will change the way it operates in Germany — FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A German court on Thursday banned Uber ride-hailing services in Germany, arguing the U.S. company lacks …

More: Engadget, TechCrunch, WebProNews, Boing Boing, and PYMNTS.com. Tweets: @reutersbiz

Drew Harwell / Washington Post:

Study of 189 facial recognition algorithms shows they misidentify people of color more often than white people, confirming facial recognition tech's racial bias — Facial-recognition systems misidentified people of color more often than white people, a landmark federal study released Thursday shows …

More: New York Times, Associated Press, NIST, The Next Web, Business Insider, The Hill, Axios, and Boing Boing

Tweets: @drewharwell, @emilyrauhala, @schock, @dataeditor, @victorerikray, @lesarchivistes, @allie_elisabeth, @wsisaac, @blmohr, @shannonvallor, @agidari, and @profferguson

Todd Spangler / Variety:

TiVo to merge with technology licensing company Xperi; the combined company will have a fully diluted equity value of $2.4B, with TiVo owning ~53.5% of it — TiVo has scrapped plans to split itself into two separate companies, and instead announced a $3 billion merger with Xperi …

More: TiVo Corporation, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Neowin, MarketWatch, Hollywood Reporter, TechSpot, Liliputing, Engadget, The Mac Observer, and Fortune. Tweets: @harrymccracken

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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:00 PM ET, December 19, 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.

From Mediagazer

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:

Mediaite launches One Sheet, a daily media newsletter curated by reporter Colby Hall that aggregates media news from other media newsletters, for $8 a month

Perry Stein / Washington Post:

WaPo files a court motion, demanding the return of two phones, two laptops, a Garmin watch, and other devices seized from reporter Hannah Natanson's home

Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:

NYT launches Crossplay, its first two-player competitive word game, as a standalone iOS and Android app, as it seeks a bigger share of the mobile gaming market

More News

Chris Eggertsen / Billboard:

Jury finds Cox Communications liable for its customers' piracy of 10,000+ musical works, awards $1B to Sony Music, EMI, Universal, and Warner Music

Earlier Picks

Antoine Gara / Forbes:

A look at Cross River, a bank that is underwriting loans at a rate of $1B+ per month to customers of some popular fintech apps, including Affirm and Upstart

Tweets: @mdudas, @antoinegara, and @jake_bernstein

Los Angeles Times:

MyShake, an app that uses data from the USGS alert system that senses earthquakes, sent out its first public alert for a 4.3 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday

More: Engadget, 9to5Mac, Input, Android Central, NBC Bay Area, MacDailyNews, and Mashable

Tweets: @pnsn1, @latimes, and @uofcalifornia

Dave Muoio / MobiHealthNews:

Boston-based OM1, a healthcare industry startup which organizes and analyzes large datasets to measure and predict clinical outcomes, raises $50M Series C

More: PR Newswire

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Spotify is prototyping Tastebuds, a discoverability feature that lets users explore the music tastes of their friends by looking at what they have played most

More: Digital Trends, Gizmodo, iPhone Hacks, KnowTechie, iPhone in Canada Blog, Thurrott, 9to5Mac, Firstpost Tech, Engadget, Input, BGR, TechSpot, Pocket-lint, Neowin, iDownloadBlog.com, Android Police, SlashGear, Cult of Mac, and The Verge

Tweets: @wongmjane, @arainert, @pugson, @chiefofstuffs, @renkiger, @chrismessina, @caseynewton, and @joshconstine

Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post:

US government says Uber will pay $4.4M to victims of alleged gender discrimination and strengthen sexual harassment defenses, following an EEOC investigation

More: EEOC, New York Times, The Daily Dot, TechCrunch, Engadget, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Slashdot, Seeking Alpha, CNET, CNN, Business Insider, Financial Times, and Axios

Tweets: @useeoc, @nytimesbusiness, @nytnational, @nytimesbusiness, @useeoc, @susanthesquark, @lauren_feiner, and @faizsays

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:

Lawmakers balk after Facebook explains how it collects and monetizes smartphone location data of users who have location tracking turned off for its app

More: The Hill, International Business Times, TechSpot, KnowTechie, Gizchina, iPhone in Canada Blog, Telecoms.com, The Mac Observer, IT Management, Slashdot, Firstpost Tech, Boing Boing, BGR, and iMore

Tweets: @hawleymo, @birnbaum_e, @theophite, @ai6yrham, @hypervisible, @llsethj, @giano, and @aqsa9990

Megan Graham / CNBC:

Facebook says it will ban any branded content, including influencers' posts, promoting tobacco products, vaping, or weapons on Facebook and Instagram

More: Instagram for Business, Social Media Today, Tubefilter, Android Central, Reuters, Observer, Gizmodo, Input, The Next Web, Los Angeles Times, Digital Trends, The Daily Dot, New York Post, Mashable, Axios, and SlashGear

Tweets: @ashorg, @danielmarans, @emilybell, and @matthewstoller

Todd Haselton / CNBC:

Apple, Amazon, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance announce a partnership to create a universal smart home standard, called the “Project Connected Home over IP”