Techmeme
January 17, 2020, 11:45 AM

Top News

David Ruddock / Android Police:
Kan Liu, the Director of Product Management for Chrome OS, says Google is working to bring Steam support to Chrome OS  —  Last week at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, I spoke with Kan Liu, Director of Product Management for Google's Chrome OS.  In a wide-ranging discussion about the Chrome platform …
New York Times:
In a Q&A, Joe Biden says Section 230 should be immediately revoked for Facebook and other platforms and that Zuckerberg should be submitted to civil liability  —  The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: Facebook puts off its effort to build ads into WhatsApp as it focuses on B2C communications, but will sell ads in WhatsApp's Status at some point  —  Social-media giant scraps earlier strategy, seeks other ways to monetize messaging service used by 1.5 billion
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: some FBI officials were stunned by AG Barr's use of the Pensacola case to rebuke Apple as they believe Apple had already provided ample assistance  —  Attorney general's earlier service, telecom experience shaped his views; some bureau officials were stunned by his rebuke of Apple over Pensacola shooter's iPhones
Julia Alexander / The Verge:
NBC says Peacock will launch on July 15 and have a free tier with limited programming and two premium tiers, at $4.99/month with ads and $9.99/month with no ads  —  Comcast is introducing three different subscription tiers  —  NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock …
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Study finds the worlds' biggest brands, including Samsung and L'Oreal, are unknowingly running ads inside climate misinformation videos on YouTube  —  Avaaz says firms are unaware commercials being played alongside misleading videos  —  Some of the biggest companies in the world …
Sean Endicott / Windows Central:
Microsoft partners with T-Mobile to provide 4G SIM cards to students in underserved areas  —  Microsoft announces partnership and new features to improve education.  —  What you need to know  — Microsoft and T-Mobile will test a program that provides students in underserved areas with 4G SIM cards.
#PayUp:
DoorDash pay data analysis: the average contractor earns $1.45/hour, nearly 33% of jobs pay less than $0 after expenses, and only 11% pay more than minimum wage  —  Food delivery app DoorDash has grown rapidly into the national industry leader, serving all 50 states and outpacing GrubHub …
Rachel Metz / CNN:
How the increasing use of AI to vet job applications is forcing career counselors at universities to prepare students on how to impress the AI algorithms  —  San Francisco (CNN)College career centers used to prepare students for job interviews by helping them learn how to dress appropriately or write a standout cover letter.
CNBC:
Investigation finds illicit THC products are being openly hawked on Instagram and Facebook; Facebook removed 19 groups and Instagram removed posts and hashtags  —  - NBC News found that countless purveyors of illicit THC products are hawking their wares in plain sight on social media pages, especially Instagram and Facebook.
Ron Miller / TechCrunch:
Cyral, which helps protect data stored in cloud repositories, announces $11M Series A and reveals a previously undisclosed $4.1M angel investment  —  Cyral, an early stage startup that helps protect data stored in cloud repositories, announced an $11 million Series A today.
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
FBI: nation-state hackers breached the networks of two US municipalities last year, targeting a Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability that was patched in February  —  The SharePoint CVE-2019-0604 vulnerability has been one of the most targeted security flaw  —  Nation-state hackers have breached …

Sponsor Posts

Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro  —  Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
Shopify:
Shopify: Revolutionizing Commerce with Winter Edition '26  —  Over 150+ new features transform how merchants build, design, and grow—with technology that amplifies creative vision.
Zoho:
Email fatigue is real: Here's how smart email tools help you regain control  —  Picture this: It's Monday morning.  You walk into the office feeling energized and ready to take on the week.
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.

Featured Podcasts

Lenny's Podcast:
Why humans are AI's biggest bottleneck (and what's coming in 2026) | Alexander Embiricos (OpenAI Codex Product Lead)
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's 2026 Priority, Disney's AI Play, Datacenter Buildout Trouble
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.
Hard Fork:
Australia Kicks Kids Off Social Media + Is the A.I. Water Issue Fake? + Hard Fork Wrapped
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.
Access:
Why the next AI frontier is phone calls, with Beside CEO Maxime Germain
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Great Chat:
So what happens after AGI?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
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 11:45 AM ET, January 17, 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

Ryan Gallagher / Bloomberg:
Brad Smith / The Official Microsoft Blog:

Earlier Picks

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
New York Times:
Frederic Lardinois / TechCrunch:
Alan Boyle / GeekWire:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: