Techmeme
December 30, 2020, 8:30 AM

Top News

Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:
Federal judge dismisses Apple's claims that mobile device virtualization company Corellium violated copyright law with its software to run iOS on PCs  —  Corellium helps customers find bugs in Apple's mobile operating system.  Apple aimed to shut it down.  —  Corellium, a security research firm sued …
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
Analysis of internal data at Coinbase through 2018 highlights pay inequity for women and Black employees; Coinbase says it implemented a new compensation plan  —  An analysis of internal pay data at the San Francisco company Coinbase shows disparities that were much larger than those in the tech industry.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Google is testing an expansion of its “Short Videos” feature at the top of mobile search that will surface TikTok and Instagram videos in a dedicated carousel  —  Google is testing a new feature that will surface Instagram and TikTok videos in their own dedicated carousel …
Flurry:
Survey: US smartphone activations on Christmas Day fell 23% YoY as iPhones dominated the top 10 activated smartphones and budget devices, like LG K30, surge  —  Christmas day in the United States is the single greatest day for new smartphone activations.  And despite supply chain delays caused …
Emily Birnbaum / Protocol:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is tying the fate of $2,000 stimulus checks to the repeal of Section 230  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is tying the fate of $2,000 stimulus checks to the repeal of Section 230, an effort that will likely doom both pieces of legislation in the Senate.
Jaewon Kang / Wall Street Journal:
Some US supermarkets say they aren't making money through Instacart due to the service's 10% commission on each order  —  Some supermarkets plan to stick with delivery service despite fees; Instacart says it lets grocers expand e-commerce without building their own infrastructure
Svea Herbst-Bayliss / Reuters:
In a letter, an activist hedge fund pushes Intel to explore strategic alternatives, like whether it should remain an integrated device manufacturer; stock up 5%  —  (Reuters) - Activist hedge fund Third Point LLC is pushing Intel Corp to explore strategic alternatives, including whether …
CoinDesk:
Coinbase says it will suspend trading of XRP on January 19, 2021, following the SEC's suit against Ripple  —  Coinbase said it will suspend trading of XRP, the cryptocurrency the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claimed last week is really a security.
Rohit Prasad / Fast Company:
The head scientist for Alexa argues that Turing Test, designed as a thought experiment, is no longer relevant for building AIs that are designed to help humans  —  This year marks 70 years since Alan Turing published his paper introducing the concept of the Turing Test in response to the question, “Can machines think?”
Tweets: @edbott
Wall Street Journal:
France says it has resumed collecting its digital services tax, as the UK and Italy prepare to collect their own; France's 3% levy brought in €400M in 2019  —  Dispute centers on cross-border revenue at Google, Facebook, Amazon and other tech firms  —  Detente is ending in the global fight over tech taxes.

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:
Give your projects a “signature” upgrade with the Zoho Sign extension for Zoho Projects  —  Well-orchestrated project management keeps people, priorities, and processes all working in sync toward a shared goal.
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:
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
AI Is Upending Law. Is That A Sign For The Rest Of Us? — With Melia Russell
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.
[trading places]:
Ben Black Akkadian Ventures🏆 | Secondaries Secrets 💎 | RAISE Conf 🎯 | Vercel $9B 🚀
a very bad podcast about broken unicorns & busted carry hosted by dave mcclure and aman verjee
Subscribe to [trading places].
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Lachlan Cartwright Started in Tabloids. Now He's a Must-Read Media Gossip.
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Gavin Baker - Nvidia v. Google, Scaling Laws, and the Economics of AI
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 8:30 AM ET, December 30, 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

Dave Lee / Financial Times:
Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:
Reed Albergotti / Washington Post:
Bloomberg:
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Anthony G. Attrino / New Jersey Online:
David Shepardson / Reuters: