Techmeme
January 12, 2021, 9:40 PM

Top News

Gizmodo:
GPS metadata from videos posted to Parler on Jan. 6 shows several users deep inside the Capitol; source: FBI has expressed interest in examining the data  —  At least several users of the far-right social network Parler appear to be among the hoard of rioters that managed to penetrate deep inside …
Andy Greenberg / Wired:
After reports of all of Parler's data being downloaded by third parties, analysis shows Parler lacked basic security measures to prevent such a data breach  —  The “free speech” social network also allowed unlimited access to every public post, image, and video.
Nick Statt / The Verge:
WhatsApp clarifies its new data sharing policy with Facebook, which mostly concerns businesses, after recent backlash and surge in Telegram and Signal downloads  —  The company is trying to contain fallout over a privacy policy update  —  WhatsApp has published a new FAQ page …
Nathaniel Popper / New York Times:
A look at those unlucky enough to forget the password to access their bitcoin; Chainalysis says 20% of all bitcoin, or ~$140B, appears to be lost or stranded  —  Bitcoin owners are getting rich because the cryptocurrency has soared.  But what happens when you can't tap that wealth …
Wall Street Journal:
Visa is abandoning its $5.3B planned acquisition of fintech firm Plaid after the DOJ sued over antitrust concerns in November  —  Justice Department sued in November to challenge $5.3 billion deal  —  Visa Inc. is abandoning its $5.3 billion planned acquisition of Plaid Inc. …
Sean O'Kane / The Verge:
Sources: Apple held talks with EV startup Canoo in 2020; Apple was largely interested in Canoo's unique scalable electric vehicle platform  —  As part of the Silicon Valley giant's secretive push into the automotive space  —  Apple held meetings with California EV startup Canoo in the first half …
Dean Takahashi / VentureBeat:
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
CrowdStrike details Sunspot, a newly discovered malware strain that was the first to be used in the SolarWinds supply chain attack, beginning in September 2019  —  CrowdStrike, one of the two security firms formally investigating the hack, sheds some light on how hackers compromised the SolarWinds Orion app build process.
Zoe Schiffer / The Verge:
Report: GitHub fired an employee who used the term “Nazis” in an internal Slack during the US Capitol riot; ~200 staff signed a letter questioning the firing  —  Roughly 200 employees have signed an open letter asking for answers  —  GitHub reportedly fired a Jewish employee …
Jeff Stone / CyberScoop:
Europol says it has shut down DarkMarket, the largest online marketplace for illicit goods with 2,400+ vendors, and apprehended a suspect, an Australian man  —  German law enforcement has shut down an internet market where users bought and sold narcotics, stolen data and hacking tools, authorities said Tuesday.
Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:
Samsung unveils the Exynos 2100 flagship SoC, produced on a 5nm process node, touting 19% better single core and 33% better multi-core performance than last gen  —  Today, Samsung LSI took the virtual stage to announce the new Exynos 2100 flagship SoC.  The new chip is quite special …
Jeff Grubb / VentureBeat:
Nvidia unveils RTX 3060, 3070, and 3080 GPUs, suited for mobile gaming, and says laptops with the RTX 3070 and 3080 will start rolling out this month  —  Nvidia's Ampere architecture is going mobile.  The company revealed its plans and partnerships to bring GeForce RTX 30-series GPUs to more than 70 laptops throughout 2021.
Alex Heath / The Information:
Memo: following its Trump ban, Facebook has told employees to avoid wearing company-branded apparel in public as it might put staff at risk  —  Facebook on Monday told employees to avoid wearing or carrying company-branded clothing and other items in public following the company's suspension …
Dave Nyczepir / FedScoop:
White House launches the National AI Initiative Office, which will implement national AI strategy and coordinate research across gov., industry, and academia  —  The White House on Tuesday fulfilled its requirement to establish an office responsible for coordinating artificial intelligence research …
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Facebook expands its Access Your Information tool, adding six new categories of data, a search tool, and more, available now on its Android and iOS apps  —  Facebook today is rolling out an update to its Access Your Information tool with the goal of making the tool easier to both use and navigate …
Pew Research Center:
Survey of 9,220 US adults: 53% get news from social media at least sometimes; 36% regularly get news from Facebook, 23% from YouTube, 15% from Twitter  —  Facebook stands out as a regular source of news for about a third of Americans … As social media companies struggle to deal …
Will Knight / Wired:
After an outcry, HireVue, which offers automated assessments of job applicants, will stop using facial analysis but will still analyze intonation and behavior  —  But it's still using intonation and behavior to assist with hiring decisions.  —  JOB HUNTERS MAY now need to impress …
Shibani Mahtani / Washington Post:
Chinese authorities are ramping up the use of digital tools to clamp down on Hong Kong activists, including website blocking, as some fear broader surveillance  —  HONG KONG — The police officers who came to take away Owen Chow on national security grounds last week left little to chance.
Faiz Siddiqui / Washington Post:
Gig workers and unions sue in CA Supreme Court to have Prop 22 overturned, alleging it violates the state constitution and limits the power of legislators  —  The lawsuit alleges Prop 22 violated the state constitution, and limited the powers of legislators to provide labor protections they are authorized to grant.

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