Techmeme: Pan-African digital classifieds company Jiji raises $21M Series C and C-1 led by Knuru Capital, says it has 2M listings and reached 8M MAUs in 2018 (Jake Bright/TechCrunch)

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:

Google rolls out Chrome 79 adding security features like notifications for data breaches affecting users' passwords, new phishing prevention tools, tab freezing — Chrome 79 also ships with support for predictive phishing, for real-time Safe Browsing detections, and a built-in Password Checkup tool.

More: The Keyword, The Verge, Google Online Security Blog, XDA Developers, Thurrott, Engadget, PCWorld, Slashdot, BleepingComputer, 9to5Google, VentureBeat, Droid Life, and How-To Geek

Tweets: @laparisa, @ericlaw, and @campuscodi

Juli Clover / MacRumors:

Apple releases more pricing details for Mac Pro, now available to order: maxed-out 4TB model costs $50K+ and wheels are $400, delivering between December 19-27 — Apple's new Mac Pro became available for purchase today, giving us our first look at all of the available upgrade options and pricing tiers.

Ryan Mac / BuzzFeed News:

Facebook says it will not weaken end-to-end encryption across its messaging apps, in response to a letter from US AG Bill Barr and UK, Australian officials — Facebook said it would not weaken end-to-end encryption across its messaging apps, despite pressure from world governments …

More: New York Times, Reuters, MIT Technology Review, AppleInsider, CyberScoop, The Verge, MacRumors, CNBC, Engadget, About Facebook, CNN, MacDailyNews, CNBC, and BGR

Tweets: @jessekblum, @buzzfeeduk, @rmac18, @roi, @mosharrafzaidi, @zackwhittaker, @wcathcart, @martinsfp, @nytimesbusiness, and @lam_barrett

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Apple Card's interest-free iPhone installment plan goes live, now with 6% back on Apple purchases through December 31 — Apple is today launching a new feature for Apple Card which allows cardholders to purchase a new iPhone then pay it back over 24 months with no interest.

More: 9to5Mac, Apple Support, iDownloadBlog.com, VentureBeat, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, iMore, Wccftech, iPhone Hacks, CNET, WebProNews, and The Mac Observer. Tweets: @benedictevans

Shaun Nichols / The Register:

Apple sues former chief architect of the iPhone and iPad microprocessors, who quit in February to start data center chip startup Nuvia, for breach of contract — CEO accused of breaching contract with Cupertino, fires back in court — Apple is suing the former chief architect of its iPhone …

More: Axios, Engadget, AppleInsider, Bloomberg, Gizmodo, CNBC, Cult of Mac, iPhone Hacks, 9to5Mac, iPhone in Canada Blog, Business Insider, iMore, The Mac Observer, Firstpost Tech, and MacDailyNews

Tweets: @baxiabhishek, @patrickmoorhead, @rozzie, @reneritchie, @carnage4life, and @alistairmbarr

Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:

Microsoft is bringing its first Office app to Linux with Microsoft Teams, now in public preview — Microsoft today launched Microsoft Teams for Linux in public preview. No, that's not a typo — Microsoft Teams is indeed the first Office app that the company has ported to Linux.

More: TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM, ZDNet, GeekWire, ZDNet, Thurrott, The Verge, Petri, Softpedia News, and Seeking Alpha

Tweets: @harrymccracken, @bill_bliss, @microsoftteams, @lanceulanoff, and @epro

Chance Miller / 9to5Mac:

Apple releases watchOS 6.1.1 and version 13.3 for iOS, iPadOS, and tvOS, with updates to Screen Time, Apple News, support for physical security keys, and more — As expected, Apple today has released iOS 13.3, iPadOS 13.3, tvOS 13.3, and watchOS 6.1.1 to the public.

More: MacRumors, MacRumors, Ars Technica, MacRumors, The Verge, VentureBeat, Neowin, Softpedia News, Gotta Be Mobile, MacStories, and MacDailyNews

Tweets: @vcsjones, @stnwk, and @rstephens

Reuters:

How White House veterans helped the UAE build a surveillance unit in 9/11's wake that would go on to target activists and journalists as well as terrorists — In the years after 9/11, former U.S. counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke warned Congress that the country needed more expansive spying powers to prevent another catastrophe.

Tweets: @kimzetter, @campuscodi, @fpwellman, @attackerman, @sherifmnsour, @bing_chris, @stephennellis, @bing_chris, @dr_ulrichsen, @dnvolz, @reuters, @josephfcox, @evanchill, @bing_chris, @reuters, and @aaschapiro

Ben Thompson / Stratechery:

The differences between “platforms” and “aggregators” show that lawmakers must take different and opposing approaches when attempting to regulate the two — A prompt for writing this piece is a conference I will be participating in tomorrow entitled Antitrust in Times of Upheaval …

More: Boing Boing and Radar

Tweets: @nathanielpopper, @carnage4life, and @stratechery

Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:

Facebook has fired an employee who was paid thousands in bribes to reactivate banned ad accounts, after a BuzzFeed inquiry prompted an internal investigation — A Facebook employee was paid thousands of dollars in bribes by a shady affiliate marketer to reactivate ad accounts that had been banned due …

Sean Hollister / The Verge:

Google brings Android 10 to Android TV, with performance and security improvements, and unveils the ADT-3, a tiny full-fledged Android TV device for developers — Android 10 is also coming to Android TV today, but don't expect much — Today, Google is announcing that Android 10 is arriving on Android TV …

More: Android Developers Blog, XDA Developers, and Android Police

Kate Clark / TechCrunch:

VSCO acquires video editing startup Rylo, which had raised ~$38M, reached a valuation of ~$120.25M, and was backed by Sequoia Capital, among others — The photo-sharing app behind the 2019 meme craze “VSCO girls” has acquired Rylo, a video editing startup founded by the original developer of Instagram's Hyperlapse.

More: VSCO Press and Engadget

Tweets: @vsco, @kateclarktweets, @byjoshg, @joeldflory, and @kateclarktweets

Adi Robertson / The Verge:

Magic Leap is renaming its AR headset from the Magic Leap One Creator Edition to the Magic Leap 1, as it pivots from consumers to business customers — The same headset, aimed at a different market — Magic Leap is pitching its headset to businesses with a new name.

More: Financial Times, GamesIndustry.biz, and Light Reading

Tweets: @reckless, @alexeheath, @tomemrich, @yoda, and @mcwm

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat:

North stops selling its Focals smart AR glasses 14 months after debuting them, says it plans to launch a sleeker version with 10x higher resolution in 2020 — North, an augmented reality (AR) wearables company backed by Amazon and Intel, has announced that it's pulling its current Focals smart glasses off …

More: Tom's Hardware, In Focus - North, The Verge, BetaKit, 9to5Mac, The Next Web, TechCrunch, and 9to5Google

Tweets: @focalsbynorth and @paulg

Michael Potuck / 9to5Mac:

Report: since Apple debuted Intelligent Tracking Prevention, the cost for advertisers to reach Safari users has dropped 60%+, as such ads are less desirable — In the two years since Apple released Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention feature that keeps websites from tracking users around the web …

More: The Information, AppleInsider, iMore, The Overspill, Seeking Alpha, Daring Fireball, Cult of Mac, iPhone Hacks, and The Mac Observer

Tweets: @carnage4life and @jbenton

See also Mediagazer

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

Researchers find Facebook's ad targeting tools, which charge less for ads to users already interested in the content, have worsened polarization in US politics — For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a skew in the delivery of political ads based on the content of those ads alone.

More: arXiv.org, The Daily Dot, and The Hill

Tweets: @kevinsleahy, @sivavaid, and @sivavaid

Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News:

Analysis find that at least 14 known startups working on AI-driven healthcare chatbots have collectively raised $800M+, with Babylon Health accounting for $635M — We all want to get healthier. However, most of us would prefer if it didn't have to involve things like vigorous exercise …

More: Undark Magazine

New York Times:

The UK general election provides new insights into how disinformation spreads online, showing many in the ruling Conservative Party have joined in the practice — Foreign meddling was once the most feared source of online deception before critical elections. Now, some candidates themselves are turning to such manipulative tactics.

More: BBC. Tweets: @obornetweets, @nytimesbusiness, @janebsinger, @karaswisher, @lukewsavage, and @dpatrikarakos

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Iterable, which offers SMS, email, and app notification growth marketing services, raises $60M Series D led by Viking Global Investors — A startup that's built cross-channel growth marketing platform — used by businesses to capture customers across whatever digital media they happen to be using …

Tweets: @crv. Thanks:@ingridlunden

Ben Gilbert / Business Insider:

Google's virtual assistant-powered robocall screening feature is coming to Pixel 4 this month and to all Pixel devices with Android 10 over the coming weeks — - Google's journey to end automated telemarketing — also known as “robocalls” — is taking another step forward this week …

More: Android Police, Android Central, and 9to5Google

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

India proposes new data protection bill requiring companies to garner consent from citizens before collecting and processing users' personal data — India has proposed groundbreaking new rules that would require companies to garner consent from citizens in the country before collecting and processing their personal data.

More: MediaNama, New York Times, The Economic Times, and Firstpost Tech. Tweets: @omertene

Greg Kumparak / TechCrunch:

Y Combinator says its online Startup School course will begin running multiple times a year, not just once, and will move to a shorter eight-week format — Back in 2017, Y Combinator began offering a 10 week, once-a-year online course called Startup School.

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:

Lenovo's Smart Clock gets a Google-powered feature that creates alarm tones with machine learning that are based on the time and weather — Coming first to the Lenovo Smart Clock — Google has an update that might make you hate your alarm a little bit less: a new feature lets …

More: Digital Trends, 9to5Google, VentureBeat, and Android Police

Mike Butcher / TechCrunch:

FintechOS, which helps traditional banks and insurers quickly deploy new cloud-based services to compete with fintech startups, raises $14M Series A — Over the last few years, we've seen the rise of FinTech startups like N26 and Monzo to challenge the incumbents with new products like challenger banks.

More: PR Newswire, Emerging Europe, Red Herring, IBS Intelligence Market News, and FinSMEs

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