Techmeme
January 28, 2020, 9:00 AM

Top News

Heather Stewart / The Guardian:
UK government announces it will allow Huawei to build non-core elements of Britain's 5G network but will ban the company from operating at sensitive sites  —  Chinese firm is designated ‘high-risk vendor’ but will be allowed to build non-core elements of UK 5G network
John Gruber / Daring Fireball:
Ten years after the iPad's launch, it has not come close to being revolutionary or living up to its potential because of its inconsistent multitasking software  —  Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the iPad on stage at the Yerba Buena theater in San Francisco.  It surprised everyone, in several ways.
Geoffrey Fowler / Washington Post:
Facebook announces its Off-Facebook Activity tool, which lets users clear all the data passed onto Facebook by other apps and sites, is now available globally  —  The new ‘Off-Facebook Activity’ tool reminds us we're living in a reality TV program where the cameras are always on.
Danny Palmer / ZDNet:
UK government proposes new IoT rules: firms must tell consumers how long security updates will be provided, ship individual devices with unique passwords, more  —  Proposed laws from the UK for Internet of Things security and suggests vendors will need to follow new rules to be considered secure.
Raymond Zhong / New York Times:
As China tries to contain the coronavirus, the sheer volume of criticism of the government overwhelms censors and tests China's ability to control the narrative  —  The sheer volume of criticism of the government, and the sometimes clever ways that critics dodge censors, are testing Beijing's ability to control the narrative.
Azeem Azhar / Exponential View:
As Alphabet and Microsoft clamor for regulation of tech like facial recognition, potential new rules and their obstacles pose existential threats to startups  —  You couldn't have missed it.  The world's largest tech companies have started to clamour for regulation in this hugely under-regulated sector.
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Google says it will shut down App Maker, G Suite's low-code environment for building custom business apps, on January 19, 2021  —  Google today announced it is killing off yet another service: App Maker, G Suite's low-code environment for building custom business apps.
Reuters:
Sources: Turkey-backed hackers have used DNS hijacking to obtain login credentials, targeting ~30 EU and Middle East governments and organizations since 2018  —  LONDON (Reuters) - Sweeping cyberattacks targeting governments and other organizations in Europe and the Middle East are believed …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
Swiss brand management platform Frontify raises €20.2M Series B led by EQT Ventures  —  The rise of design tools like Canva and the vast expanse of digital spaces where a company's name can appear these days have created a challenge for organisations: how best to make sure that what gets used …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
French startup ManoMano, which operates an e-commerce site for DIY, home improvement, and gardening products, raises $139M led by Temasek  —  French startup ManoMano is raising another mega round of funding.  The company operates an e-commerce website for DIY, home improvement and gardening products.
Alexa Pavliuc / Medium:
A visual analysis of six state-backed disinformation operations on Twitter, including from China and Russia, and how they have evolved over the last decade  —  Here's a bird's eye view of six state-backed information operations on Twitter, and how they evolved over the last decade.
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
ActiveCampaign, which helps businesses automate email marketing, CRM, and ad campaigns, raises $100M Series B led by Susquehanna Growth Equity  —  The global campaign management software market was valued at approximately $1.85 billion in 2017, and it's anticipated to grow at 15.65% from 2018 to 2025.

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's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Connecting, collaborating, and growing: Zoho Mail 2025 wrap-up  —  Your inbox has been home to a lot this year—quick updates, long threads, approvals, reminders, and the occasional late-night draft you weren't sure about.
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

Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
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.
The Social Radars:
Jessica & Carolynn Announce Season 5!
Come be a fly on the wall as Y Combinator's Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy talk to some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley about how they did it.
Subscribe to The Social Radars.
Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
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 Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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.
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 9:00 AM ET, January 28, 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

Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE:

Earlier Picks

Jean-Louis Gassée / Monday Note:
Tara Duggan / San Francisco Chronicle: