Techmeme: Apple open sources parts of its HomeKit Accessory Development Kit allowing anyone to prototype HomeKit devices (Andrew O'Hara/AppleInsider)

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December 19, 2019, 6:10 PM

Top News

New York Times:

Leaked dataset from a location data company reveals a log of the movements of 12M+ Americans with 50B location pings across major cities between 2016 and 2017 — 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 Authority, SiliconANGLE, Bloomberg, Thurrott, Input, Neowin, SlashGear, MSPoweruser, and KnowTechie

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

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Google acquires Montreal-based game developer Typhoon Studio to be integrated into its Stadia cloud gaming division — 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 to double …

More: The Keyword, Android Police, SlashGear, Polygon, PlayStation LifeStyle, Engadget, TechSpot, GameSpot, Android Headlines, PC Gamer, 9to5Google, Yahoo Finance, Variety, IGN, Droid Life, USgamer.net, Wccftech, 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, CNET, Adweek, The Hill, NPR, Business Insider, CNBC, Axios, IT Management, Input, Mashable, and Engadget

Tweets: @dseetharaman, @tonyromm, @sachabaroncohen, @vanitaguptacr, @b_fung, @digiphile, @raju, @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, International Business Times, Android Authority, The Seattle Times, Engadget, iDownloadBlog.com, TechCrunch, and WebProNews

Tweets: @chrisismills, @senrickscott, and @milliew_ng

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

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, Patently Apple, iPhone Hacks, iMore, The Mac Observer, iDownloadBlog.com, 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

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 6:10 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

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”, after CBS aired a Late Show rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump

Henry Blodget / Regenerator:

Bari Weiss' 60 Minutes decision may have been a way to both signal that she's serious about shifting CBS' sensibility to the right and “improve” a story

Rebecca Rubin / Variety:

Disney crosses the $6B milestone at the box office for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic; no other studio has managed to reach $6B since 2015

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Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:

Israel-based Gloat, an AI-powered career development platform for employees at companies like Unilever, Oracle, Cisco, and PayPal, raises $25M Series B

More: PR Newswire, NoCamels, Startups News, and FinSMEs

Celia Wan / The Block:

MakerDAO sells ~5.5% of available MKR stablecoins to Dragonfly Capital and Paradigm for $27.5M; the two VCs and a16z now control 11.5% of network's voting power

More: Altcoin Magazine and Messari Crypto. Tweets: @mdudas

Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:

Sources: Facebook is pursuing rights to music videos from record labels to boost interest in Watch, has already begun testing music videos in Thailand and India

More: CNET, Engadget, and Input

Tweets: @mattnavarra, @lucas_shaw, @lucas_shaw, and @bbgmedia

Nat Levy / GeekWire:

Evisort raises $15M Series A co-led by Microsoft's investment arm M12 for its AI-powered contract management software

More: FinSMEs and VentureBeat

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snackpass, an order-ahead takeout app with a social feed and shareable loyalty points, available on 11 college campuses across the US, raises $21M Series A

Tweets: @shawnxu, @anuhariharan, and @joshconstine. Thanks:@erinmfirst

Daniel Boffey / The Guardian:

Airbnb avoids stricter regulation in Europe as EU court rules the company does not require an estate agent license as it is an information society service

More: The Verge, TechCrunch, Financial Times, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Associated Press, PYMNTS.com, BBC, Associated Press, and Silicon Republic

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

Spanish startup Glovo, an on-demand delivery service for food, groceries, pharmaceuticals, and more, raises €150M Series E led by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala

More: PYMNTS.com, VentureBeat, FinSMEs, Tech.eu, CNBC, and EU-Startups. Thanks:@riptari

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

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, 9to5Mac, iPhone in Canada Blog, Thurrott, 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, Telecoms.com, iPhone in Canada Blog, 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, Tubefilter, Social Media Today, Android Central, Reuters, Observer, Gizmodo, Input, The Next Web, Los Angeles Times, Digital Trends, The Daily Dot, Mashable, New York Post, Axios, SlashGear, and Engadget

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”