Techmeme
January 30, 2019, 3:00 PM

Top News

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Investigation finds that Facebook has been paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN to gather data on phone use habits on Android and iOS  —  Desperate for data on its competitors, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” …
The Verge:
Apple has shut down Facebook's ability to distribute internal iOS apps, blocking early releases of Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger  —  Facebook's internal iOS apps simply don't launch anymore  —  Apple has shut down Facebook's ability to distribute internal iOS apps …
Josh Constine / TechCrunch:
Apple says it revoked Facebook's Enterprise Certificate yesterday used to distribute the Research app outside of App Store, before Facebook could shut it down  —  In the wake of TechCrunch's investigation yesterday, Apple blocked Facebook's Research VPN app before the social network could voluntarily shut it down.
Rob Price / Business Insider:
Memo: Facebook confirms Apple disabled access to internal iOS apps and says it's “working closely” to reinstate “our most critical internal apps immediately”  —  - Facebook employees are furious after Apple temporarily crippled the company by revoking its developer certificate.
Reuters:
Sources detail UAE's Project Raven, a group of 12+ ex-US intel operatives that help surveil governments, militants, and critics, sometimes using NSA tactics  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two weeks after leaving her position as an intelligence analyst for the U.S. National Security Agency in 2014 …
Reuters:
Sources: UAE hacked iPhones of activists, diplomats, and rival foreign leaders using a spying tool called Karma, which exploited an iMessage vulnerability  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A team of former U.S. government intelligence operatives working for the United Arab Emirates hacked …
TechCrunch:
Google's Screenwise Meter app has coaxed users with rewards into sharing info since 2012, in a similar way to Facebook's Research app but with better disclosure  —  It looks like Facebook is not the only one abusing Apple's system for distributing employee-only apps to sidestep the App Store and collect extensive data on users.
Michael Bott / NBC Bay Area:
Unsealed court documents: FBI arrests second Chinese Apple employee for allegedly trying to steal trade secrets related to Apple's autonomous vehicles  —  For the second time in six months, an Apple engineer is accused of stealing intellectual property in order to benefit a China-based competitor
Apple:
Apple Q1: revenue from iPhone declined 15% YoY, but total revenue from all other products and services grew 19%; services revenue hit an all-time high of $10.9B  —  Services, Mac and Wearables Set New All-Time Revenue Records EPS Reaches All-Time High at $4.18 Cupertino, California …
Stephen Nellis / Reuters:
Taylor Hatmaker / TechCrunch:
WhatsApp hires EFF counsel Nate Cardozo and Facebook hires Open Technology Institute counsel Robyn Green, both as privacy policy managers  —  In an effort to bolster its public credibility in the wake of a very rough year, Facebook is bringing a fierce former critic into the fold.
Business Wire:
Alibaba Q3: revenue up 41% YoY, its weakest pace in three years, to ~$17B, driven by cloud computing revenue, up 84% YoY at $962M; net income up 33% to $4.5B  —  HANGZHOU, China—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
Apple:
Apple Music subscribers can stream music without paying for Wi-Fi on domestic American Airlines flights in the US starting February 1  —  Apple Music Subscribers can Stream Over 50 Million Songs, Playlists and Music Videos on US Flights  —  Starting Friday, Apple Music subscribers can enjoy …
Reuters:
Foxconn is reconsidering plans for its $10B Wisconsin plant, says it plans to hire engineers and researchers instead of manufacturing workforce promised earlier  —  (Reuters) - Foxconn Technology Group is reconsidering plans to make advanced liquid crystal display panels at a $10 billion Wisconsin campus …
Jack Nicas / New York Times:
An attempt to work out how many fake accounts are on Facebook, as the company ramps up efforts to remove them and provides confusing estimates  —  The social network has disclosed an estimate for years, but a closer look raises lots of questions.  —  Facebook sells advertisers on its access …

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The Intercept:

Earlier Picks

Nicole Perlroth / New York Times: