Techmeme
January 8, 2020, 7:25 AM

Top News

New York Times:
Andrew Bosworth / Facebook:
Andrew Bosworth publicly releases his internal post on Facebook's role in 2016 election, Cambridge Analytica, polarization, algorithmic transparency, and more  —  The NYT recently obtained a copy of a post I made to the wall of my internal profile within Facebook.
New York Times:
Sonos sues Google, seeking financial damages and a ban on the sale of Google's speakers, smartphones, and laptops in US for allegedly infringing on five patents  —  The maker of home speakers said Google and Amazon stole its technology and abused their power, but it could only risk suing one.
New York Times:
TikTok says it has fixed major security vulnerabilities that could have let hackers manipulate content, gain access to private videos, and extract personal data  —  The vulnerabilities, which the app says it has fixed, could have let attackers manipulate content and extract personal data.
Khari Johnson / VentureBeat:
Google says Assistant now has 500M users and announces upcoming features: Scheduled Actions, privacy-focused voice controls, longform reading, and Sticky Notes  —  Google Assistant is now used by 500 million monthly active users, and today Google is previewing features on the way in 2020 …
Cory Weinberg / The Information:
Sources: Softbank-backed car-rental startup Getaround plans to lay off ~150 employees, or about a quarter of its staff, to mitigate rising costs  —  Car-rental startup Getaround plans to lay off roughly 150 employees, or about a quarter of its staff, in a bid to reduce rising costs, people familiar with the matter said.
BuzzFeed News:
A look at the worldwide industry of PR and marketing firms offering disinformation services including fake accounts, false narratives, and pseudo news sites  —  Peng Kuan Chin pulled out his phone, eager to show the future of online manipulation.  —  Unseen servers began crawling the web for Chinese articles and posts.
Natasha Mascarenhas / Crunchbase News:
Report: pizza-making robot startup Zume, which raised $375M from SoftBank Vision Fund in 2018, plans to lay off up to 400 staff, or about 80% of its employees  —  In a little over a year, pizza-making robot startup Zume has gone from getting $375 million from SoftBank, to pivoting …
Anna Baydakova / CoinDesk:
Telegram says it will not integrate TON Blockchain and a Gram cryptocurrency wallet into its messenger app for now  —  Telegram will not integrate a crypto wallet into its messaging app, at least until it gets the green light from U.S. regulators, the company said Monday on its official website.

Sponsor Posts

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!
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.
Zoho:
Zoho Solo 2025 recap: The tools that put solopreneurs in control  —  Every solo business starts with an idea that slowly grows into something bigger.  As that growth happens, so do the responsibilities of running everything on your own.
Techmeme Leaderboards:
Discover the top reporters on AI chips, robotics, stablecoins, and much more  —  We've analyzed Techmeme's news crawl to identify the most influential and prolific writers on 50 topics.  Download reports immediately for just $100.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
We replaced our sales team with 20 AI agents—here's what happened | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)
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 Talk Show With John Gruber:
'2025 Year in Review', With Rene Ritchie
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Access:
ACCESS Wrapped: Our favorite guest moments so far
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Big Technology Podcast:
Best of Big Technology: Demis Hassabis On AGI, Deceptive AIs, Building a Virtual Cell
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.
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Craig Finn on Friendship, Fans and The Hold Steady's Second Life
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.
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 7:25 AM ET, January 8, 2020.

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

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

Earlier Picks

James Vincent / The Verge:
Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge:
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget: