Techmeme
August 25, 2020, 5:00 AM

Top News

New York Times:
TikTok sues the Trump administration in federal court, arguing Trump's EO deprived it of due process  —  The suit escalates a bitter back-and-forth between the popular video app and American officials.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok sued the U.S. government on Monday, accusing the Trump administration …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, two top investors in ByteDance, are key drivers in Oracle's bid for TikTok; Twitter's bid has made little headway  —  Investment firms with large existing stakes in ByteDance pursue deal for app's U.S. operations, as potential alternative to Microsoft
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
In its lawsuit with the US, TikTok says in the US it had 11.3M MAUs in January 2018, 91.9M in June 2020, and now has 100M+; globally it had ~700M MAUs in July  —  - TikTok revealed specific U.S. and global growth milestones for the first time in a lawsuit against the U.S. government.
Wall Street Journal:
The Verge:
Judge denies Epic's motion to restore Fortnite to the App Store but orders Apple to not block Unreal Engine; full hearing scheduled for September 28  —  Epic Games won a temporary restraining order against Apple, at least in part  —  Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part.
The Verge:
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Apple acquires Spaces, a location-based VR startup that recently pivoted to videoconferencing  —  Spaces, a VR startup that got its start as a DreamWorks Animation project, has been acquired by Apple, Protocol has learned.  —  Apple confirmed the acquisition after this story was first published.
Rishi Iyengar / CNN:
Facebook says it is planning legal action to challenge a recent Thai government request to block a 1M+ member Facebook group critical of the Thai monarchy  —  (CNN Business)Facebook said it is planning legal action against Thailand's demand that forced the company to block a group deemed critical of the country's monarchy.
Crystal Tse / Bloomberg:
Asana files to go public via direct listing on the NYSE; source says Asana has recently been trading on the secondary market at a value of about $5B  —  Asana Inc., a corporate software maker started by a Facebook Inc. co-founder, filed to go public via a direct listing, revealing a net loss that has more than doubled year over year.
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo plans to debut an upgraded model of its Switch console in 2021, possibly with 4K graphics, more computing power, and a lineup of new games  —  - Strong lineup of Nintendo games set to accompany new hardware  — Update would make the Switch Nintendo's most enduring console
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google is testing TikTok style videos in Discover, the section found to the left of most Android home screens and in the Google iOS app, fed by Trell and Tangi  —  TikTok has been or is in the process of being banned in some countries.  This has resulted in new or existing services trying …
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Audible debuts Audible Plus, a $7.95/month tier with unlimited access to a library of 11K+ titles spanning audiobooks, podcasts, and original productions  —  - Audiobook company goes after podcast listeners in new push  — Cheaper plan will include 11,000 titles, including originals
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Unity Software, which makes a 3D engine for games and more, files for a US IPO, reports that in 2019 it had a $163.2M net loss on $541.8M in revenue, up 43% YoY  —  - Unity boasts business from game makers such as EA, Microsoft, and Zynga.  — The company gains revenue as organizations develop …
Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer:
Zoom says it has now fixed the issues that caused major service outages across the UK and parts of the US  —  Zoom users around the world are currently unable to join meetings and video webinars using the Zoom web client and the desktop app just as students going back to school today …
Reuters:
Sources: Foxconn, Pegatron, and others are considering shifting production to Mexico, as US-China tensions rise, with potential plans to make iPhones  —  HONG KONG/TAIPEI/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Taiwan-based electronics manufacturers Foxconn and Pegatron are among companies eyeing new factories in Mexico …

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More News

Financial Times:
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Chaim Levinson / Haaretz:

Earlier Picks

Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Bloomberg:
Sidney Fussell / Wired: