Techmeme
January 15, 2020, 1:35 PM

Top News

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google Smart Lock on iOS now leverages Secure Enclave to enable the iPhone's use as a physical 2FA key to sign in to Google apps via Chrome on nearby devices  —  Last year, Google announced that all Android 7+ devices can be used as two-factor authentication when signing into Gmail, Drive, and other first-party services.
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
In a tweet, Trump criticizes Apple for refusing to unlock phones of violent criminals and says his administration helps Apple “all of the time” on trade  —  - In a tweet, president Donald Trump addressed the conflict between the FBI and Apple over locked iPhones used by the suspected Pensacola shooter.
New York Times:
Sources: Apple is preparing for a legal fight with the DOJ, similar to San Bernardino, which was not legally resolved before FBI dropped the case  —  The Silicon Valley giant is preparing for a legal fight over encryption, even as it works to reduce tensions with the Justice Department.
James Vincent / The Verge:
In a Q&A, Jack Dorsey discusses Twitter's thinking around an edit button and says “we'll probably never do it”  —  You've got to live with your mistakes, which includes joining Twitter  —  Twitter users have been asking for the option to edit tweets ever since the service launched in 2006 …
Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat:
Microsoft begins rolling out its Chromium-based Edge browser, available now for Windows and macOS  —  Right on schedule, Microsoft today launched its new Edge browser based on Google's Chromium open source project.  You can download Chromium Edge now for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 …
Bloomberg:
US and China sign a “phase one” trade deal that seeks to limit theft of American tech and trade secrets by Chinese companies, such as through joint ventures  —  - White House ceremony caps three years of acrimonious talks  — Big issues of Beijing's state-run economy left for phase two
Blake Hester / Polygon:
Former Microsoft employees and third-party developers reflect on the rise and fall of Microsoft Kinect, which was once billed as the future of Xbox  —  For a moment a decade ago, the game industry looked like a very different place  —  Illustrations by Cobysoft Joe for Polygon
Nicholas Thompson / Wired:
Interview with US CTO Michael Kratsios on the government's recent regulatory framework for AI, the potential for an AI cold war with China, and more  —  In a WIRED Q&A, the US chief technology officer warns against overregulating tech, underestimating the Chinese, and losing America's lead in quantum computing.
Ben Thompson / Stratechery:
Visa's Plaid acquisition will pay off if Visa can leverage Plaid's fintech network and make it worthwhile for banks to build out the APIs Plaid needs  —  Before the network, there is the job.  —  In the case of Visa, or, to be more exact, the Bank Americard that would eventually be spun …
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
6Sense, which helps automate B2B sales processes with AI, raises $40M Series C led by Insight Partners, bringing its total raised to $105M  —  Business-to-business buyers are typically 57% of the way to a buying decision before they engage with sales and marketing departments.
More: FinSMEs
Sophia Kunthara / Crunchbase News:
Austin-based startup FlashParking, which develops a parking management platform, raises $60M from L Catterton  —  Austin-based startup FlashParking has raised $60 million from L Catterton's Growth Fund, the company announced Wednesday.  —  FlashParking sells its parking technology to parking garage owners or managers.
Yuan Yang / Financial Times:
A look at how US pressure, driven by national security and trade concerns, has led to China seeking increased technological self-sufficiency  —  The acrimony between China and the US over technology transfers has created plenty of losers during the past year.
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat:
Google acquires no-code app development platform AppSheet, which had raised ~$19M to date, with plans to migrate AppSheet services to Google Cloud  —  Google is on something of a buying spree.  On the heels of its acquisition of retail inventory management startup Pointy …
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch:
French mobile payments app Lydia raises $45M Series B led by Tencent and says it has 3M users in France  —  French startup Lydia is raising a $45 million Series B round (€40 million).  Tencent is leading the round with existing investors CNP Assurances, XAnge and New Alpha also participating.
Thomas Germain / Consumer Reports:
New study shows how popular apps including Grindr, OkCupid, Tinder, and the period-tracking apps Clue and MyDays share intimate user data with data brokers  —  A new study shows how information about your sexuality, religion, and location is sent straight from phones to data brokers

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