Techmeme
January 11, 2020, 1:30 AM

Top News

Jillian D'Onfro / Forbes:
Alphabet's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond is leaving on January 31; company says he will not be receiving an exit package  —  Alphabet's controversial chief legal officer, David Drummond, is leaving the company, effective January 31.  —  Drummond, an employee of nearly 20 years …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple launches replacement program for Smart Battery Cases for iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR manufactured between January 2019 and October 2019  —  Apple today launched a battery case replacement program for Smart Battery Cases designed for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Ranjan Roy / Margins:
Facebook's corporate comms have felt combative and sloppy since late 2018, and now even rank and file employees are facing public vilification  —  Becoming the villain.  —  5 hr  —  Ranjan here, writing about how Facebook's communication operations feel completely broken and wondering whether …
The Information:
Sources: Quibi's projections from 2019 show the upcoming streaming service is expected to spend ~$1.5B in its first year; Quibi has raised $1.4B so far  —  If there's one thing to be said for Quibi, the short-form streaming service coming from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman this spring …
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Isobel Cockerell / Coda Story:
Instagram is removing posts and suspending accounts that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, says it is complying with US sanctions  —  News agencies, human rights activists and influencers have had their accounts deactivated.  —  After a U.S. drone strike killed …
DJ Pangburn / Fast Company:
No known arrests or prosecutions stemmed from San Diego's 7-year facial recognition program, which compiled 65K face scans; the program ended Dec. 31, 2019  —  Since 2012, the city's law enforcement agencies have compiled over 65,000 face scans and tried to match them against a massive mugshot database.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
PayU to acquire India-based PaySense at a valuation of $185M and will merge it with its credit business LazyPay; the combined entity will be valued at $300M  —  PayU is acquiring a controlling stake in fintech startup PaySense at a valuation of $185 million and plans to merge …

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's new AI commerce stack  —  Their VP of Product digs into just-launched products to help entrepreneurs and developers build with the latest AI and tech.
Zoho:
Connecting, collaborating, and growing: Zoho Mail 2025 wrap-up  —  Your inbox has been home to a lot this year—quick updates, long threads, approvals, reminders, and the occasional late-night draft you weren't sure about.
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

BG2 Pod:
AI Enterprise - Databricks & Glean
Open-source podcast on all things tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, hosted by Brad Gerstner.
Subscribe to BG2 Pod.
Great Chat:
The stories we told ourselves in 2025
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.
Grit:
How Brands Stay Visible When AI Decides | Profound CEO James Cadwallader
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The coming AI security crisis (and what to do about it) | Sander Schulhoff
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Potential, Google's Speedy Model, Copilot Hits Turbulence
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.
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.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:30 AM ET, January 11, 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

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Emily A. Vogels / Pew Research Center:

Earlier Picks

Bloomberg:
Lauren Goode / Wired:
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire:
Thomas Brewster / Forbes:
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Emma Williams / Microsoft 365 Blog:
Mike Isaac / New York Times: