|
December 22, 2020, 4:35 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Wall Street Journal: |
Draft lawsuit filed by ten US states last week says Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” against possible antitrust action — Draft lawsuit quotes Facebook's Sandberg saying Google pact was a ‘big deal strategically’
More:
CNBC, Ars Technica, SiliconANGLE, The Verge, CNET, Gizchina, PYMNTS.com, coinspeaker.com, AppleInsider, Android Central, Slashdot, TheStreet, Thurrott, New York Post, Business Insider, Politico, and The Irish Times
Tweets: @rmac18, @tupp_ed, @davidpepper, @hawleymo, @jeffhorwitz, @stshank, @johnbattelle, @jesselehrich, @tonytassell, @mhbergen, @lizzadwoskin, @nickbaumann, @vijayshekhar, @wsj, and @cristinagberta
| Washington Post: |
Sources: in the early stages of US antitrust investigations, Facebook offered to help others build a social networking competitor using its network and code — The company ramped up its lobbying, hired high-powered lawyers and launched a slew of internal initiatives as the government prepared to sue … | Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: |
Three VPNs popular with criminals and active for over a decade have had their servers and web domains seized by law enforcement from US, Germany, France, others — The three VPN services provided safe haven for cybercriminals to carry out ransomware attacks, web skimming operations, spearphishing, and account takeovers.
More:
Europol, U.S. Department of Justice, BleepingComputer, and Security Affairs
Tweets: @europol, @campuscodi, and @zackwhittaker
| Alex Gallagher / NME: |
The COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress includes the Felony Streaming Bill, which makes illegal streaming for profit a felony, with up to 10 years jail time — Targeting illegal for-profit streaming providers, not individual users — The US Congress has passed a COVID-19 stimulus bill …
More:
Hollywood Reporter, The Verge, The Verge, Techdirt, The Independent, Input, AFTVnews, Kotaku, TechCrunch, Thom Tillis …, and Mashable
Tweets: @mmasnick, @senthomtillis, and @quinnypig
| Mike Masnick / Techdirt: |
More:
Gizmodo, Fight for the Future, TorrentFreak, and GeekWire
Tweets: @aoc, @ericgoldman, @artramp, @adamscrabble, @charlespulliam, @callforcongress, @fightfortheftr, @ltpietrzak, @malcolm_flex48, @fightfortheftr, @fightfortheftr, @itsdansheehan, @dangillmor, @arossp, @stopskeletons, @sdkstl, @mmasnick, @ronwyden, @sbjohnsrpi, @ovenotter, @mmasnick, and @xirzon
| Dana Mattioli / Wall Street Journal: |
Investigation details Amazon's campaigns over the years to steamroll rivals and partners, including those on its marketplace, sometimes with Bezos' involvement — CEO Jeff Bezos still runs the e-commerce giant with the drive of a startup trying to survive, and that strand of its corporate DNA is becoming a liability
More:
The Verge. Tweets: @wsj, @paulpage, @benfritz, @ryan_knutson, @emilyglazer, @stevekopack, @s8mb, @awilkinson, @jeffhorwitz, @repkenbuck, @anthony, @eugenekim222, @katemilani, @quinnypig, and @matthewstoller
| Shoshana Wodinsky / Gizmodo: |
Analysis: of the 60 biggest brands that paused Facebook ads in 2020, only ~10 continue to do so, and some of those have kept spending using other Facebook tools — This past summer, dozens of major brands pulled their ad dollars from Facebook in a protest of the company's handling of the hate speech and disinformation.| Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: |
Facebook's small advertisers say that the company's inflexible account blocking tools and lack of customer assistance is hurting their businesses — - Marketers find ads still running after losing account access — Social network's automated tools ‘not perfect,’ company says
More:
BuzzFeed News, Social Media Today, and Ad Age
Tweets: @anomielol, @samharrelson, @mattnavarra, @psawers, @ellismbeh, @cgcmh1, @jeromysonne, @mattnavarra, and @kurtwagner8
| Jennifer Epstein / Bloomberg: |
Biden transition team says Twitter told it current followers of @POTUS won't carry over to Biden, whose @POTUS account will start at zero, a reversal from 2017 — - Followers were transfered to Trump from Obama in 2017 — First lady, press secretary accounts also reset to zero
More:
Wall Street Journal, The Verge, The Hill, Business Insider, The Daily Dot, Engadget, and TechCrunch
Tweets: @rob_flaherty, @yashar, @jeneps, @bidenwarroom, @joycewhitevance, @timsteno, @jeneps, and @emmakinery
| Electronic Frontier Foundation: |
The US government's proposal for crypto exchanges to collect identity data from users with self-hosted crypto wallets will expand the US' financial surveillance — One of the most important aspects of cryptocurrencies from a civil liberties perspective is that they can provide privacy protections for their users.
More:
The Coinbase Blog, Kraken Blog, CoinDesk, Decrypt, NewsBTC, Cryptonews, Crypto Briefing, and BitcoinExchangeGuide
| Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet: |
Group of 19 security firms and tech companies including Microsoft and McAfee form Ransomware Task Force to develop a standard framework to deal with ransomware — The newly-founded Ransomware Task Force will work to put together a standard framework for dealing with ransomware attacks.
More:
Institute for Security …, Engadget, Neowin, PCMag, MSPoweruser, Tech.co, Windows Central, TechSpot, TechRadar, and infosecurity-magazine.com
Tweets: @security_score and @ist_org
| Dave Lee / Financial Times: |
Study: tens of thousands of sellers use Shopify to scam consumers and sell counterfeit goods, with ~21% of sampled merchant sites posing a risk to shoppers — Ecommerce platform's rapid growth during the pandemic has left it exposed to con artists — Tens of thousands of sellers are using … | Laura Kreutzer / Wall Street Journal: |
Mobile app marketing optimization service Liftoff says Blackstone Group has made a majority investment in the company; source: the amount is close to $400M — Liftoff Mobile uses machine learning to help app marketers improve and track performance — Blackstone Group Inc. is betting … | Matt Day / Bloomberg: |
Amazon says it will delay a planned raise in merchant fees for storing and shipping items until June 2021 in the US, EU, and Japan — - Largest online retailer to hold fees steady in U.S., EU, Japan — UPS, FedEx had already announced shipping price increases
More:
About Amazon
| Alexander Osipovich / Wall Street Journal: |
SEC approves NYSE's plan to let companies raise capital and issue new shares via direct listings, potentially helping startups save on bank fees — Proposal lets companies raise capital through direct listings — The Securities and Exchange Commission will allow companies … | Reuters: |
Lidar sensor manufacturer Ouster says it will go public through a SPAC, raising up to $200M at a valuation of ~$1.9B, the fifth lidar manufacturer to do so — (Reuters) - Ouster Inc, a U.S. startup that makes lidar sensors for self-driving cars and smart cities, said on Tuesday it has agreed … | Jessica Bursztynsky / CNBC: |
IAC says it plans to spin off its full stake in Vimeo, making it an independent, publicly trade company in Q2 2021; IAC stock rises 13%+ — - IAC announced it is spinning off its full stake in Vimeo. — Vimeo will become an independent publicly traded company after the deal closes, expected in the second quarter of 2021.| Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk: |
SEC sues Ripple Labs, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and Chairman Chris Larsen, alleging they violated federal securities laws in selling XRP to retail consumers — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) believes Ripple Labs violated federal securities laws in selling the XRP cryptocurrency to retail consumers.| Paul Page / Wall Street Journal: |
Logistics startup project44, which helps companies track shipments and spot issues, raises $100M Series D led by Insight Partners — Latest funding round will support expansion of the company's visibility platform, boosting its services and geographic reach on the way to possible public offering
More:
Chicago Business Journal and PYMNTS.com
| Raphael Satter / Reuters: |
Microsoft, Alphabet, Cisco, LinkedIn, GitHub, VMware, and the Internet Association file an amicus brief in support of WhatsApp in the WhatsApp v. NSO Group case — (Reuters) - Tech giants Microsoft, Alphabet , Cisco, and VMware on Monday joined Facebook's legal battle against hacking company NSO … | Simon Parkin / New Yorker: |
Q&A with Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto on what excites him about his work, his strengths and weaknesses as a boss, avoiding abuse of power, ambitions, more — The legendary designer on rejecting violence in games, trying to be a good boss, and building Nintendo's Disneyland.
Tweets: @williams_paige, @newyorker, @polimayo, @ign, @mobymartin, @langealexandra, @wallelawal, @jamie_ful, @simonparkin, @panzer, @ghoulyboy, @cvanduyn, @knowsworthy, @jordanlkim, @ermonacelli, @genepark, @yumecaty, @chapperschapman, @pavanrajam, @nomoredaniels, @amandalkirk, @dylancuthbert, and @beenisch
| New York Times: |
Sen. Ron Wyden says the US Treasury Department acknowledged that its email system used by senior leadership was breached by SolarWinds hackers beginning in July — The disclosure was the first acknowledgment of a specific intrusion in the vast cyberattack.
More:
CNBC, Bloomberg, Engadget, TechSpot, The Hill, Fox News, CNET, CyberNews, Politico, The United States …, SlashGear, and Tech Xplore
Tweets: @davidgura, @ronwyden, @nytpolitics, @carriecordero, @kylegriffin1, @vickypjward, @nytimes, and @nytimes
Sponsor Posts
Google:
Try Gemini 3 Pro — Google's newest and most intelligent AI model that helps you bring any idea to life
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.
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.
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.
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
Acquired:
10 Years of Acquired (with Michael Lewis)
Learn the playbooks that built the world's greatest companies - and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.
Subscribe to Acquired.
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.
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 4:35 PM ET, December 22, 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.
From Mediagazer
Chris Morris / Variety:Brian Steinberg / Variety:
Scott Fitzgerald / Wall Street Journal:
Upcoming Tech Events
Earlier Picks
| Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat: |
More:
Livemint, TechCrunch, Times Now, The Economic Times, KrASIA, Inc42 Media, TechCircle, and Bloomberg
Tweets: @shrinivassg, @srinivaskc, @madhavchanchani, @chandrarsrikant, and @sub8u
| Vikas SN / The Economic Times: |
More:
Bloomberg, Android Police, Official Google India Blog, Android Central, Inc42 Media, and Tech in Asia
Tweets: @tsuvik, @tsuvik, and @adetolaov
| Reuters: |
More:
Bloomberg, TheStreet, CNBC, Business Insider, Redmond Pie, Bloomberg, iLounge, The Mac Observer, Apple Must, CNN, BGR, The Hill, 9to5Mac, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Tom's Guide, coinspeaker.com, Patently Apple, KnowTechie, iPhone in Canada Blog, MakeUseOf, Silicon Republic, Wccftech, .濟日報, appleosophy.com, WRAL TechWire, Pocketnow, and TechRadar
Tweets: @profgalloway, @hassel_chris, @vijayshekhar, @mattyglesias, @lanceulanoff, @alternatejones, @teslatested, @model3owners, @jbarro, @erinbiba, @model3owners, @garyblack00, @whatthebit, @greengart, @brianroemmele, @thetrudz, @teslacharts, @thetomzone, @modeledbehavior, @benedictevans, @andresegers, @rdrv3, @mattlynley, @upulie, @omojuwa, @da_667, @can, @can, @discreetlatino, @samabuelsamid, @jonyiveparody, @ronamadeo, @raywongy, @pitdesi, @jonerlichman, @kenli729, @kfury, @asymco, @wongmjane, @stephennellis, @reuters, @deitaone, @deitaone, @deitaone, @deitaone, and @deitaone
| Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer: |
More:
TechCrunch, BTCMANAGER, Cryptonews, Coin Journal, and Decrypt
Tweets: @ledger, @oddslotcom, @ledger, @nathanielpopper, @cointracker, @ledger, @timccopeland, and @bleepincomputer