Techmeme: How predators are using multiplayer games and chat apps for sextortion of children; DOJ says sextortion is “the most significantly growing threat to children” (New York Times)

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December 9, 2019, 3:05 AM

Top News

Australian Financial Review:

Beijing orders all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign PC equipment and software within three years, allowing only Chinese-made tech — Yuan Yang and Nian Liu — Beijing has ordered all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign computer equipment …

More: The Guardian, ZDNet, and TweakTown News

Tweets: @edbott, @markghuneim, @baldingsworld, @nouriel, @yuanfenyang, @ophirgottlieb, @gs_capsf, @campuscodi, @brad_setser, and @jmzbeijing

Cheng Ting-Fang / Nikkei Asian Review:

A look at Arm China, which has become a key player in China's chip industry and sources say has doubled staff since SoftBank sold control to a Chinese venture — Since SoftBank sold control, venture doubles staff and develops cryptographic IP — TAIPEI — Arm China …

Tweets: @hkworldcity

Financial Times:

China accounted for nearly half of the global facial recognition business in 2018 per IHS, but it is facing competition from rivals from Japan, US, and Israel

More: Antonio A. Casilli. Tweets: @alykhansatchu, @alykhansatchu, @sammartino, @yuanfenyang, and @financialtimes

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

Snapchat is testing Cameos, a Bitmoji alternative that lets users replace the faces of people with selfies in Snapchat-made short looping videos — Snapchat is preparing to launch a big new feature that uses your selfies to replace the faces of people in videos you can then share.

More: USA Today, SlashGear, Engadget, and Mashable. Tweets: @joshconstine

New York Times:

How predators are using multiplayer games and chat apps for sextortion of children; DOJ says sextortion is “the most significantly growing threat to children” — Criminals are making virtual connections with children through gaming and social media platforms.

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Apple says the updated Mac Pro, starting at $5,999, and the Pro Display XDR, starting at $4,999, will be available to order on December 10 — Apple this evening has sent an email blast announcing that the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR will be available to order on December 10.

More: TechCrunch, CNET, MacRumors, Firstpost Tech, AppleInsider, The Verge, Gizmodo, Thurrott, Digital Trends, MacDailyNews, Neowin, Engadget, SlashGear, and MobileSyrup

Tweets: @mkbhd, @kfury, @mgsiegler, and @bzamayo

Ed Bott / ZDNet:

Pundits proclaimed the death of the PC since the iPad was announced nearly a decade ago, but with 250M+ sold annually, PCs, while not growing, are far from dead — Back on January 27, 2010, a very Big Thinker declared the PC dead. A decade later, the PC is very much alive, although a time traveler from 2010 might not recognize it.

Tweets: @mattwbaker, @marshacollier, and @jshuey

Geoffrey A. Fowler / Washington Post:

Dara Khosrowshahi on Uber's safety report, why two-thirds of rape cases haven't been reported to the police, and Uber's approach to driver and rider safety — Uber is a ‘reflection of society,’ says ride-hailing chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi — Uber provided many numbers this week …

More: CNET and Washington Post

Tweets: @geoffreyfowler, @ekp, @kateconger, @geoffreyfowler, @geoffreyfowler, @ewarren, and @faizsays

Usman Pirzada / Wccftech:

Intel CEO blames the company's focus on having 90% CPU marketshare for missing opportunities, explains 10nm CPU delays and the 7nm roadmap, and more — Just like AMD, Intel also presented at the annual Credit Suisse technology conference and Bob Swan, Intel's CEO, had some very interesting thoughts to share about his vision for Intel.

More: SiliconANGLE, TweakTown News, TechSpot, HotHardware, and Fast Company

Tweets: @trengriffin and @underfox3. Thanks:@usmanpirzada

Margaret Harding McGill / Axios:

Nancy Pelosi is pushing to remove language similar to Section 230 from the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, which could delay its passage in the House — New opposition from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week left the tech industry at risk of losing a cherished trade deal provision that could help cement its liability shield.

Source: Wall Street Journal. More: Washington Post, CNBC, and The Hill

Tweets: @cagoldberglaw, @tonyromm, @jason_kint, @raficarone_21, @paulvieira, @karaswisher, @jeffjarvis, @jennfranconews, @mgeist, and @jamespoliti

Connie Loizos / TechCrunch:

Dolls Kill, an SF-based online boutique for counter-culture fashion, raises $40M Series B from Sequoia, bringing its total raised to $60M — When the storied venture firm Sequoia likes a deal, it will sometimes not only lead one of its financing rounds but fund it exclusively — no matter how that impacts earlier investors.

More: Footwear News, Sourcing Journal, and Axios

Caroline Spivack / Curbed NY:

Report: Amazon leases 335K square feet of office space in NYC without any tax incentives, less than a year after pulling out of its larger HQ2 campus deal — Amazon is renting new office space in the Hudson Yards neighborhood. Max Touhey — The e-commerce titan remains interested in the Big Apple

Ariana Mirian / Communications of the ACM:

Report on the hack-for-hire market: attacks that phish 2FA to access email accounts cost $100-$400; such attacks can be prevented with physical security keys — Communications of the ACM, December 2019, Vol. 62 No. 12, Pages 32-37 … A single email address often underpins one's entire online identity …

Tweets: @uhoelzle and @dinodaizovi

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From Mediagazer

Benjamin Mullin / New York Times:

Arkansas PBS severs ties with the PBS network, the first state public TV system to do so since Congress cut CPB funds, citing the annual $2M+ membership cost

Financial Times:

OpenAI hopes the Disney deal boosts Sora, which has high costs and limited traction; Sensor Tower: users average 13 minutes per day on Sora vs. 90 on TikTok

Sam Roberts / New York Times:

Arthur L. Carter, who started a Connecticut newspaper in 1981, bought and sold The Nation, and founded the New York Observer in 1987, has died at 93

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Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India-based B2B logistics network Shadowfax raises $60M Series D from Flipkart, others, bringing its total raised to $100M, sources say at a valuation of ~$250M

More: VCCircle

Cameron Wilson / BuzzFeed:

Admins of local Facebook groups, which are often a town square, neighborhood watch, and an emergency info service rolled into one, on what it's like to run them

Tweets: @cameronwilson and @buzzfeednews

Deanna Ting / Eater:

A look at Airbnb's efforts to profit from a consumer culture that values experiences with locals, simultaneously personalizing and commoditizing food activities

Tweets: @p_brady, @curbed, @lennyice, @eater, @eater, and @eater

Rob Pegoraro / Ars Technica:

An overview of 5G rollout plans in the US, technical limitations of millimeter-wave, mid-band, and low-band 5G frequencies, the state of 5G hardware, and more

More: Mashable. Tweets: @trengriffin, @dsilverman, @robpegoraro, and @hiprocessor

Matthew Boyle / Bloomberg:

The Amazon threat is forcing the risk averse grocery industry to experiment with tech like smart carts, dynamic price tags, and automated in-store warehouses

Tweets: @trengriffin, @robertcaruso, @drorpoleg, @humanprogress, and @wolfejosh

Earlier Picks

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:

Report: BMW discovered and monitored Vietnam-backed hackers who stayed active on its network since at least the spring of 2019; Hyundai was also targeted

More: SiliconANGLE and ZDNet

Tweets: @jorgeorchilles and @adam_k_levin

Reuters:

Ericsson admits it has bribed officials while selling telecom equipment in Asia, agrees to pay $1.1B in fines to US DOJ and SEC

More: Ericsson.com, Engadget, DW.COM, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, BBC, Financial Times, and U.S. Department of Justice

Tweets: @anais_auvray and @angel5christine

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Reddit says a leak of official US-UK trade documents on its platform was part of a Russian political influence campaign, bans 61 accounts and one subreddit

More: The Guardian, NBC News, Gizmodo, Reddit, Mashable, ITV, TIME, Boing Boing, The Daily Dot, CNN, TechCrunch, Engadget, Yahoo Finance, CNET, Politico, and BBC

Tweets: @shehabkhan, @samagreene, @raymserrato, @benimmo, @markdistef, @mrjamesob, @emptywheel, @zachjourno, and @jettgoldsmith. Thanks:@campuscodi

VICE:

A look at the creation of a new kind of nonconsensual porn, which combines deepfakes with 3D avatars that can be manipulated to do whatever their creators want

Tweets: @incontentlaw, @brittanheller, @yucipaloosi, @m4riam7, @mathewi, and @zenalbatross

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

Report: Magic Leap sold ~6,000 headsets in six months after release, compared to a goal of 100,000 in the first year, and recently laid off dozens of employees

Source: The Information. More: The Overspill, Digital Trends, UploadVR, brw., and Wccftech