Techmeme: Sensor Tower: $277M was spent on apps across Google Play and App Store on Christmas Day, up 11.3% YoY; PUBG, the top grossing game, earned $8.5M, up 431% YoY (Dean Takahashi/VentureBeat)

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January 2, 2020, 8:50 AM

Top News

Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:

In its first transparency report, TikTok says it received most requests for user data and content takedowns from India and USA, claims zero requests from China — The highest number of requests came from India and the US — TikTok released its first transparency report yesterday …

ProPublica:

IRS amends its deal with tax prep software firms, now barred from hiding free products from search, and ends its ban on making its own online filing system — Finding free online tax filing should be easier this year for millions of Americans. — The IRS announced significant changes Monday …

Fred Wilson / AVC:

Big trends and takeaways from the 2010s: the “capital as a moat” model has failed, machine learning has become table stakes for tech companies, and more — My friend Steve Kane suggested I take a longer view in my pair of year end posts this year: … And so I will.

More: AVC and Business Insider

Tweets: @zooko, @mikejcasey, @mdudas, @carnage4life, @_jcmurray, @mrp, @mdudas, @fredwilson, @bwertz, and @semil

Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:

Imagination Technologies says it has inked a new multi-year IP licensing agreement with Apple, replacing an agreement first announced in February 2014 — Today Imagination Technologies has announced that Apple the two companies have signed a new multi-year licensing with the company …

More: Imagination, MacRumors, Business Insider, 9to5Mac, Engadget, Bloomberg, AppleInsider, Financial Times, Light Reading, iDownloadBlog.com, MSPoweruser, Cult of Mac, Apple Must, Seeking Alpha, SlashGear, and iPhone Hacks

Tweets: @ruskin147, @ryansmithat, and @iancutress. Thanks:@iancutress

Fox Business:

WSJ: Cloud Hopper, a hacking campaign by Chinese state-sponsored group APT10, was larger than formerly known, and may have been active as late as November 2019 — The hackers seemed to be everywhere. — In one of the largest-ever corporate espionage efforts, cyberattackers alleged …

Source: Wall Street Journal. More: The Verge, iPhone in Canada Blog, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @kentthornhillmp, @dnvolz, @lewisshepherd, @robert_spalding, @kennwhite, @jessefelder, @carter_pe, @ericgarland, @mitchparkerciso, @jamesliamcook, @jchengwsj, @petertinti, @batchelorshow, and @dnvolz

Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch:

Trump signs TRACED Act into law to increase robocall fines, extend statute of limitations from 1 to 4 years, and require carriers to deploy STIR/SHAKEN protocol — The Pallone-Thrune TRACED Act, a bipartisan bit of legislation that should make life harder for the villains behind robocalls, was signed into law today by the president.

More: The White House, CNET, O'Grady's PowerPage, AppleInsider, Engadget, CNN, ZDNet, International Business Times, New Jersey Online, and Gizmodo

Tweets: @83txochair, @agcurtishill, @senschumer, and @uscto

Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:

Sensor Tower: $277M was spent on apps across Google Play and App Store on Christmas Day, up 11.3% YoY; PUBG, the top grossing game, earned $8.5M, up 431% YoY — Consumer spending on mobile games grew 8% to $210 million on Christmas, according to a report by mobile analyst firm Sensor Tower.

More: Sensor Tower Blog, TechSpot, and Firstpost Tech

Tweets: @modestproposal1 and @dez_blanchfield

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

ProtonMail launches E2E encrypted calendar app ProtonCalendar in public beta, tied to users' paid ProtonMail accounts, encrypting event info and participants — Encrypted email provider ProtonMail has officially launched its new calendar in public beta. The move is part of the Swiss …

More: ProtonMail Blog, TechSpot, Engadget, TalkAndroid.com, The Verge, Tom's Hardware, XDA Developers, Android Police, Neowin, Gizmodo, SlashGear, BetaNews, iPhone in Canada Blog, Understandably, Input, and The Mac Observer

Tweets: @protonmail and @infosecsherpa

Harry McCracken / Fast Company:

Twitter execs including VP of Product Kayvon Beykpour talk about their focus on Lists and Topics, which help new users find tweets relevant to their interests — The service now lets you follow subjects you love—from anime to archaeology—and is upgrading its long-dormant lists feature.

More: Social Media Today. Tweets: @harrymccracken, @dsgnrsteve, @yun, @carnage4life, @harrymccracken, and @kayvz. Thanks:@technologizer

Laura Bliss / CityLab:

A look at how telemetry reshaped urban living in the 2010s when a slew of on-demand services made physical proximity less important — In 1964, scientists in the Galápagos Islands fed radio transmitters wrapped in chunks of food to a bunch of giant tortoises.

More: Slashdot. Tweets: @citylab, @citylab, and @citylab

Dougal Shaw / BBC:

A look at dating apps like Lumen and OurTime that cater exclusively to users over 50, who often find being approached by much younger users unsettling — Is your new year's resolution to find true love? If so, you may well be considering a dating app for your phone.

Tweets: @foxnic, @mrsnickyclark, and @alexalexyang

Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News:

Analysis: VC funding in North American consumer electronics startups was $1.74B in 2019 vs. $2.45B in 2018, with significant slowdown at the Series B stage — Venture investors love technology. But lately they've been much less keen on the kind you buy in a box and take home from the store.

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From Mediagazer

Jake Kanter / Deadline:

Sources: new Doctor Who episodes are likely to remain off TV until at least 2028; the BBC says it will use a competitive process to find producers for Season 16

Sara Fischer / Axios:

Disney study: the Toy Story franchise has driven $16B in total revenue for the company over 30 years; nearly half of the revenue was generated domestically

Sarah Rumpf / Mediaite:

The Washington Post faces a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the company covertly used surveillance pricing to charge loyal subscribers higher rates

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More News

Nicole Wetsman / The Verge:

Study of depression management and suicide prevention apps shows many aren't following best practices and some even contain inaccurate hotline contact info

Tweets: @coyneoftherealm and @ethics13

Dr. Ian Cutress / AnandTech:

Interview with AMD CTO Mark Papermaster on AMD's release schedule and future products, partnerships with TSMC and Samsung, driving industry standards, and more

More: Wccftech. Tweets: @anandtech. Thanks:@iancutress

Politico:

A look at the increasing prevalence of facial recognition and AI tech across the globe, as the US and EU governments' efforts to limit their use have stalled

More: MacDailyNews. Tweets: @mikelarsenoh, @viacristiano, and @vmanancourt

Toby Sterling / Reuters:

2018 tax filings: Alphabet will no longer use the IP licensing scheme commonly called the “Double Irish, Dutch sandwich”, which had let it delay paying US taxes

More: The Verge, International Business Times, Wccftech, Telegraph, 9to5Google, WebProNews, iPhone in Canada Blog, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @dave_universetf, @dhh, @steveklabnik, @ron_miller, @lindsaytedds, and @dhh

Dan Sabbagh / The Guardian:

UK surveillance watchdog: public bodies have insufficient government guidance on when it's appropriate to use facial recognition, lip-reading tech, and more

Tweets: @ioannislianos and @petterbb

Celia Chen / South China Morning Post:

Research shows Tencent participated in 108 investment deals this year, compared to 162 in 2018, spending ~$4.9B in total, less than half of its 2018's total

Earlier Picks

Eric Feng:

Analysis of PitchBook data since 2005 shows that in 2019, the number of enterprise-focused seed deals overtook consumer-focused seed deals for the first time

More: TechCrunch. Tweets: @ljungman, @tanayj, and @semil

Brenda Goh / Reuters:

Huawei's Rotating Chairman Eric Xu estimates the company's 2019 revenue grew 18% YoY to $122B, says it shipped 240M smartphones, but forecasts “difficult” 2020

More: Telecoms.com, Axios, Wall Street Journal, Gizchina, Financial Times, ZDNet, TechCrunch, Nikkei Asian Review, Tom's Hardware, TechSpot, Thurrott, International Business Times, and Slashdot

Tweets: @hardmaru, @danwwang, @yuanfenyang, @reutersbiz, and @jchengwsj

Bloomberg:

Uber, Postmates sue CA to block AB-5, days ahead of bill taking effect, say law unconstitutionally targets gig economy companies and benefits other industries

More: TechCrunch, Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Postmates, Los Angeles Times, Silicon Valley Business …, PYMNTS.com, NEWS 1130, WebProNews, The Hill, SiliconANGLE, and Engadget

Facebook: Lydia Olson. Tweets: @sergioaved, @a_w_gordon, @carnage4life, @veenadubal, @gregbensinger, @sozh, @leimer, and @yoda

Chris Welch / The Verge:

Sonos should rethink its Trade Up program's “Recycle Mode”, which bricks old Sonos devices for a discount on newer ones, and consider a policy of reuse

More: ExtremeTech, Engadget, iPhone in Canada Blog, Business Insider, Kirkville, Gizmodo, The Daily Dot, SlashGear, PCMag, and Input

Tweets: @atomicthumbs, @repaircoalition, @halkyardo, @amyhoy, @devindra, @lindsaypb, @tonyromm, @charlesarthur, @dez_blanchfield, @johnwilson, @joxman, @mariegardiner, @tapbot_paul, @dlberes, @reckless, @ow, @chriswelch, @backlon, and @charlesarthur

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Microsoft wins court order to seize 50 domains run by North Korean cyber-espionage group Thallium, the fourth APT Microsoft has combated with this tactic

More: Microsoft on the Issues, CyberScoop, CNN, Gizmodo, HackRead, Financial Times, Tom's Hardware, CNET, New York Post, CNN, WinBuzzer, Dark Reading, Beyond Search, GeekWire, Softpedia News, CNBC, PYMNTS.com, SiliconANGLE, CircleID, Seeking Alpha, Reuters, Input, MSPoweruser, and BleepingComputer

Tweets: @jfslowik, @tomburt45, @rungrage, @w7voa, @blaw, @cristingoodwin, and @campuscodi