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December 6, 2021, 9:45 AM

Top News

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Many customers complain that T-Mobile and Verizon have failed to deliver promised rebates for promoted Apple products in a straightforward manner — Some customers are finding that wireless carriers are denying rebates used to promote Apple Inc.'s newest iPhones, iPads and watches.

More: XDA Developers, Forbes, Macworld, MacRumors, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, iThinkDifferent, MacRumors, TechRadar, KnowTechie, iMore, BGR, iPhone in Canada Blog, AppleTrack, MacRumors, Gizchina, Mashable, iPhone Hacks, iThinkDifferent, Wccftech, Benzinga, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, 9to5Mac, and AppleInsider

Tweets: @lukemiani, @VadimYuryev, @robz2687, @harrymccracken, @markgurman, and @scobleizer

Reuters:

Alibaba says it will appoint a new CFO and reorganize its e-commerce businesses under two new divisions, one domestic and one international — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK) said Toby Xu, will succeed Maggie Wu as the company's chief financial officer from April, a move it described …

More: Alizila, The Economic Times, Financial Times, Silicon Republic, Coinspeaker, Bloomberg, Winvesta Crisps, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, TechCrunch, The Register, Benzinga, Tech in Asia, and TechNode. Tweets: @alibabagroup

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile all have programs that collect additional data, like app usage and web history, on their customers, and they are generally opt-out — Verizon says it's to better “understand your interests” — The My Verizon app might be collecting information about your browsing history …

More: Input, Reclaim The Net, and IT Management

Tweets: @emroth08 and @rtphokie

Ben Smith / New York Times:

A document from TikTok's engineering team in Beijing details the product's addictive algorithm, which optimizes for “retention” and “time spent” — It's the most successful video app in the world. Our columnist has obtained an internal company document that offers …

Tweets: @acerbialberto, @akcronin, @jerrydunleavy, @gwbstr, and @jimbethell

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From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “pathetic trainwreck” and “CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW”, after CBS aired a Late Show rerun in which Colbert mocked Trump

Zachary Leeman / Mediaite:

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calls for CBS staff who “revolted” over Bari Weiss' decision to postpone 60 Minutes' CECOT segment to be fired

Todd Spangler / Variety:

Comcast extends Mike Cavanagh's contract through January 1, 2029, and grants a ~$35M performance-based stock package; he's set to become co-CEO in January 2026

Upcoming Tech Events

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More News

The Guardian:

The EU has spent hundreds of million euros over the past decade on tech, including drones and sensor systems, to track down refugees at its borders

Kyle Alspach / VentureBeat:

LogDNA, a centralized log management service for developers, raises a $50M Series D led by NightDragon, bringing its total funding to $110M

More: SiliconANGLE and NightDragon

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:

Nearside, an online bank for SMBs, raises a $58M Series B led by Valar Ventures, after raising a $20M Series A in April 2021

Dave Lee / Financial Times:

DoorDash hires 60 couriers as full-time employees, starting at $15/hour, to launch fast grocery deliveries in New York, shifting from its gig worker model

More: Protocol and Axios

Bloomberg:

Everphone, which lends and refurbishes phones for businesses, raises a Series C with $65M in equity and $135M in debt at a $170M valuation led by Cadence Growth

More: GlobeNewswire News Room and Tech.eu

Financial Times:

SoftBank Group shares fell as much as 8% on Monday, their seventh consecutive day of losses, amid mounting problems at Didi and Arm

More: Reuters, CNBC, and Bloomberg

Financial Times:

SenseTime seeks to raise between $750M and $767M in its Hong Kong IPO, at a valuation of between $16.5B and $17B; the company previously hoped to raise $2B

More: South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, and Reuters

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

Behind the scramble to revamp the White House's plans for the Alliance for the Future of the Internet, meant to rally countries behind a vision for an open web

More: Washington Post. Tweets: @marietjeschaake, @issielapowsky, @brianfishman, @anupamchander, and @gwbstr

Earlier Picks

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Sense, whose HR software helps recruit blue-collar workers, raises a $50M Series D led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2; source says Sense is now valued at $500M

More: VentureBeat

Mary Ann Azevedo / TechCrunch:

Hotel Engine, an online hotel booking and management service for business travel, raises a $65M Series B at a $1.3B valuation, up from $150M in 2019

More: FinSMEs, Bestgamingpro, Business Travel Newss, Skift, PR Newswire, PYMNTS.com, PhocusWire, and Denver Business Journal. Tweets: @bayareawriter

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:

A look at the challenges of developing a mass-market augmented reality headset as Apple reportedly prepares to launch its own mixed reality device in 2022

More: The Overspill. Tweets: @bengeskin, @mchui, @dclblogger, @pinboard, @matthewcrowley, @chrismattmann, @parismarx, and @originalspin

Emma Roth / The Verge:

Google is investigating a report that a Pixel 5a, sent to an official repair center in Texas, was used to bypass 2FA on several of the owner's accounts

More: Android Police, Engadget, SlashGear, Techaeris, Pocketnow, IT Management, fossbytes.com, and PhoneArena

Tweets: @avantgame, @avantgame, @avantgame, @swiftonsecurity, @swiftonsecurity, @swiftonsecurity, @avantgame, @pomeranian99, @thisisjeron, @avantgame, @t3dotgg, @avantgame, @avantgame, and @evacide

Katie Schoolov / CNBC:

Amazon's shipping investments, like chartering cargo ships, making its own containers, and chartering long-haul planes, are helping it avoid supply chain chaos

More: Stratechery, Big Dumb Machine, and Blue Potion

Tweets: @jhweissmann, @carnage4life, @stratechery, @cgarber8, @jgarzik, @crampell, @colemanmulkerin, @wwwojtekk, @zachweinberg, @sub8u, @cantpretendtoo, @avidcommentator, @ozziesap, and @ophirgottlieb

Tim Copeland / The Block:

Crypto exchange BitMart says it was hacked, resulting in the loss of ~$150M in crypto after its Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain hot wallets were breached

Max Read / Read Max:

As Web3 takes proliferate, it's worth noting there are two distinct “is Web3 bullshit?” questions: an open-ended technical question, and whether it will “win”

More: Micky. Tweets: @timbray, @elonmusk, @carnage4life, @sama, @rozzie, @atomkirk, @tmcw, @shortformernie, @_am1t, @sriramk, @rjcc, @timbray, @chronotope, @carnage4life, @cdixon, @jmhodges, @rharter, @kungfusquirrel, @mykola, @bnox, and @goldman