Techmeme
December 27, 2019, 1:15 PM

Top News

Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Facebook Messenger now requires a Facebook account to sign up, removing the option to use a phone number, says a vast majority of users log in through Facebook  —  Facebook has quietly removed the ability to sign up for Messenger without a Facebook account, the company confirmed to VentureBeat this afternoon.
Chuin-Wei Yap / Wall Street Journal:
Huawei got ~$46B in loans from Chinese state lenders, saved $25B in taxes from state incentives, $2B in land discounts, and $1.6B in grants in the last 25 years  —  China's tech champion got as much as $75 billion in tax breaks, financing and cheap resources as it became the world's top telecom vendor
Sean O'Kane / The Verge:
NY governor has vetoed a bill that would have legalized e-bikes/scooters citing safety concerns; bill was overwhelmingly passed in June by the NY legislature  —  He just vetoed a bill that was overwhelmingly passed in June  —  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has vetoed a bill …
William Feuer / CNBC:
FAA proposes new rule requiring most drones to implement remote ID systems that allow tracking by law enforcement, envisions compliance within three years  —  - The rule will implement a remote ID system to identify and track drones in real-time.  — Such a rule has long been in the works.
George P. Slefo / Ad Age:
Spotify will suspend political ads in early 2020, citing the lack of tools to review them; source: political ads are not a significant source of its revenue  —  Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders and the RNC are among Spotify advertisers  —  Spotify is suspending the sale of political advertising …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Comcast is in advanced talks to acquire Xumo, which offers an ad-supported video streaming service, as Comcast prepares to launch NBC's Peacock  —  Deal would help cable giant's digital-video ambitions as it prepares to launch its own video-streaming service
Amanda Keton / Wikimedia Foundation:
Wikimedia says India's proposed intermediary liability rules will impact Wikipedia and limit access to information online, urges government to redraft rules  —  The Wikimedia Foundation is deeply concerned about new proposed changes to India's intermediary liability rules …
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
YouTube gives creators more ways to handle copyright disputes with a YouTube Studio update that includes an Assisted Trim tool to edit out claimed content  —  An automatic trim feature helps directly tackle the problem  —  YouTube's recent Studio update is finally giving people an easier way to deal with copyright claim disputes.
Ari Levy / CNBC:
A look at Netflix's meteoric growth in the past decade, which saw its stock deliver more than 4,000% return, the best performing among S&P 500 companies  —  - Netflix was by far the best performer in the S&P 500 during the decade among companies currently in the index.

Sponsor Posts

Okara:
Meet Okara, the AI platform that doesn't train on your data  —  Chat with 30+ open-source models (Llama, Kimi, Qwen, DeepSeek) through encrypted infrastructure.  Used by teams handling proprietary code and strategy.
Soxton:
AI-powered law for startups  —  Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better.  We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts.  Join the waitlist for early access!
Zoho:
Pro tips: 5 ways to simplify invoicing and payments in Zoho Books  —  Many businesses still rely on manual processes to collect payments and reconcile invoices.  This often results in delayed payments …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Access:
Where we'll go when the bots take over, with Sublime's Sari Azout
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Hard Fork:
Tech Grapples With ICE + Casey Tries Clawdbot, a Risky New A.I. Assistant + HatGPT
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Gokul Rajaram - Lessons from Investing in 700 Companies
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Lenny's Podcast:
Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Wellness Industry Pt. 1
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Special Edition: Key findings from the Microsoft AI Diffusion Report
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:15 PM ET, December 27, 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

Varun Mishra / Counterpoint Research:
Kim Zetter / Politico:
Associated Press: