Techmeme: Google rolls out Daily Listen, which uses AI to generate a five-minute personalized audio overview of stories and topics that a user follows, to its mobile app (Abner Li/9to5Google)

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January 9, 2025, 11:20 AM

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Carly Page / TechCrunch:

Ivanti warns that threat actors exploited a critical-rated zero-day in its widely used Connect Secure VPN tool to compromise its corporate customers' networks — U.S. software giant Ivanti has warned that a zero-day vulnerability in its widely-used enterprise VPN appliance has been exploited …

More: Google Cloud Blog, Cybersecurity …, CRN, SecurityWeek, Ivanti, SC Media, The Register, BleepingComputer, Rapid7, Security Affairs, Tech Monitor, Infosecurity, DataBreachToday.com, MacSecurity.net, Cyber Security News, The Hacker News, Help Net Security, ISPreview UK, Cyber Daily, CSO, The Record, The Stack, Security Boulevard, and CyberInsider

Bluesky: @phillyfilly and @campuscodi.risky.biz. Mastodon: @carlypage@mastodon.social. X: @uk_daniel_card. Forums: Slashdot

Richard Lawler / The Verge:

Apple says it “has never used Siri data to build marketing profiles” and never sold it for advertising or other purposes, after paying $95M to settle a lawsuit — A Siri lawsuit settlement over privacy issues has dredged up old rumors about iPhone ad targeting …

More: Apple, The Record, TechSpot, MacRumors, PCMag, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The Economic Times, International Business Times, CPO Magazine, Cult of Mac, BGR, Neowin, Benzinga, BetaNews, Hindustan Times, O'Grady's PowerPage, iClarified, Moneycontrol, MySmartPrice, Gearrice, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, Bloomberg Law, Mobile World Live, and iLounge

Bluesky: @justinschuh.com and @davidcarroll.org. Mastodon: @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social

X: @verge, @aaronp613, @pkafka, and @pkafka

Financial Times:

Analysis: Elon Musk's UK obsession is driven by a few X accounts; an ex-Twitter exec says Musk may be the first tech leader to be radicalized by his own product — Tech billionaire's posts about grooming gangs scandal have elevated issue — Elon Musk's recent obsession with UK politics …

More: Ars Technica, modernity, Reclaim The Net, Metro.co.uk, Fortune, GB News, The Sun, and Semafor

Bluesky: @bucketshopbob, @rswestmore.land, @lylescout, @mostlymammoths, @kadriliik, @ianfraser, @anneapplebaum, and @josiah.writes.news

Mastodon: @ErikJonker@mastodon.social and @mimarek@universeodon.com. X: @aidnmclaughlin

Forums: r/technology and r/europe

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:

Google donates $1M to Trump's inauguration, saying the donation, a YouTube livestream, and a homepage link to the event are in line with previous inaugurations — Google donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund, becoming the latest major tech company to try …

More: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Block, Benzinga, Quartz, Politico, Forbes, Watcher Guru, Coinpedia Fintech News, Crypto Briefing, Fortune, The Dispatch, and Associated Press

Bluesky: @americaulied2me, @crazysaguaro.com, and @mgsiegler.com. Forums: r/technology

Julian Chokkattu / Wired:

A look at AI-enabled wearables like Bee AI and Omi that have embedded always-on microphones to record conversations around the user and give actionable insights — The latest crop of AI-enabled wearables like Bee AI and Omi listen to your conversations to help organize your life.

More: The Information, TechCrunch, The Verge, Interesting Engineering, NewsBytes, The Rundown AI, and Neowin. Forums: Slashdot

Abner Li / 9to5Google:

Google rolls out Daily Listen, which uses AI to generate a five-minute personalized audio overview of stories and topics that a user follows, to its mobile app — Google is kicking off a new experiment in Search Labs today called “Daily Listen.” It's a bit like NotebookLM's Audio Overviews, while there are also podcast parallels.

More: The Verge, ZDNET, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Indian Express, Android Authority, TechRadar, WinBuzzer, Android Headlines, Search Engine Roundtable, SiliconANGLE, MakeUseOf, Android Police, PhoneArena, Android Central, Mashable, The Decoder, and Search Engine Land

Bluesky: @smtuffy and @lorak. Mastodon: @glenngabe@mas.to. Forums: r/Android

See also Mediagazer

Vince Dioquino / Decrypt:

Filing: the Northern District Court of California gives the US government final approval to sell 69,370 BTC, worth $6.5B, seized in its Silk Road investigation — The ruling does not ensure immediate liquidation of the seized Bitcoin, as federal asset forfeiture requires several administrative processes.

Mike Masnick / Techdirt:

Meta revamping its content moderation systems with Community Notes is good, but Zuckerberg pretending it's about free speech is bad, and the timing is stupid — from the misinformation-about-disinformation dept — When the NY Times declared in September that “Mark Zuckerberg is Done With Politics …

More: 404 Media, Wired, Open Rights Group, Reuters, YourStory, Beyond Search, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic, MarketWatch, Business Insider, AfroTech, Semafor, Popular Information, Security Affairs, BNN Bloomberg, and Platformer

Bluesky: @rani, @natecardozo, @joshsternberg.com, @0x0.boo, @0x0.boo, @karlbode.com, @mmasnick, and @viacristiano

Mastodon: @ethanz@social.coop, @stefthepef@mastodon.social, and @KimPerales@toad.social. Threads: @jtroll

X: @shayan86, @jonathanstray, and @_jaybaxter_

Forums: r/technology, r/KeepOurNetFree, and r/technology

See also Mediagazer

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Mastodon CEO Eugen Rochko says Meta's moderation changes are “deeply troubling”, and Mastodon will take action on Threads accounts violating Mastodon's policies

More: Financial Times, Silicon Republic, Business Today, The Citizen, Dan Sinker's Blog, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal

Bluesky: @willoremus.com. Mastodon: @Gargron@mastodon.social, @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social, @jerry@infosec.exchange, @wholegroanoats …, @peter@thepit.social, @Whiskeyomega@cupoftea.social, @Gargron@mastodon.social, @stux@mstdn.social, and @stux@mstdn.social. Threads: @wolfgangbremer

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Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:

xAI is testing a standalone iOS app for its chatbot Grok in several countries, like the US, Australia, and India; Grok was available only to X users until now — Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, is testing out a standalone iOS app for its chatbot, Grok, which was available only to X users until now.

More: MacRumors, 9to5Mac, Digital Trends, Tom's Guide, BGR, and NewsBytes

Bluesky: @germanshepherdgirl. Forums: MacRumors Forums

Bloomberg:

Sources: SoftBank and its majority-owned Arm are weighing acquiring Oracle-backed Ampere, which designs ARM-based server CPUs; Ampere is exploring its options — Talks could still fall apart, the people cautioned. It's also possible Ampere could end up being bought by another suitor.

More: DatacenterDynamics, Tom's Hardware, Benzinga, and Reuters

Annie Palmer / CNBC:

Amazon launches Amazon Retail Ad Service to let companies show ads in search results, product pages, and other areas of their own websites, initially in the US — Amazon has turned into an online ad juggernaut in recent years, with brands paying big bucks for premium placement on the retailer's websites.

More: Adweek, Ad Age, Retail Brew, and Forbes

Peter Eavis / New York Times:

US dockworkers and shipping industry officials reach a tentative labor agreement, overcoming their differences over automated cargo-moving machinery at ports — Dockworkers and employers on the East and Gulf Coasts had until Jan. 15 to reach a new agreement that settled differences over automation.

More: The Boston Globe and NBC News

Taylor Nicole Rogers / Financial Times:

Analysts say that contract negotiations between US dockworkers and the shipping industry over automation could help provide a template for agreements nationwide

More: New York Times, Associated Press, Transport Topics, CBS News, CNBC, FreightWaves, Yahoo Finance, CBS News, Reuters, Supply Chain Dive, and The Hill

Wall Street Journal:

Blackstone invests $300M in DDN, which helps firms more efficiently store and analyze data for AI and HPC, at a $5B valuation; it is DDN's first outside funding — The private-equity firm's deal values California-based DDN at $5 billion — Blackstone is investing in a company …

More: HPCwire, Blocks and Files, and Benzinga

Marina Temkin / TechCrunch:

Innovaccer, which aggregates medical data and plans to introduce multiple AI co-pilots and agents for the healthcare industry, raised a $275M Series F — When it comes to data, perhaps no sector has as much of it and in as many distinct silos as the healthcare industry.

Bluesky: @theopriestley.com

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From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:

On a staff call, Bari Weiss defends firing Scott Pelley, saying the foundation of “trust and mutual respect” was broken after Pelley's outburst on Monday

Bloomberg:

Bill Ackman's Pershing Square plans to sell its stake in Universal Music Group, days after the Amsterdam-listed group rejected his takeover bid

Washington Post:

Two Stars and Stripes advisory board members sue the US Defense Department, saying new restrictions on the paper violate the First Amendment and federal law

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More News

Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat / Reuters:

Frank McCourt's Project Liberty says it made a formal bid to ByteDance to buy TikTok's US assets and keep the app alive without its current algorithm

More: The Information, Forbes, CNBC, Voice of America, Tom's Guide, Quartz, Marketplace, Project Liberty, PhoneArena, Fast Company, USA Today, SOCi, Tech in Asia, Tech.co, and South China Morning Post

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Steven Scheer / Reuters:

Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz names veteran exec Fazal Merchant as president and CFO to prepare for a US IPO; sources: Wiz has annual revenues of ~$500M

More: The Information, CRN, and Wall Street Journal

Paul Sawers / TechCrunch:

Dublin-based Xocean, which provides ocean data to the energy and hydrography industries using uncrewed surface vessels, raised €115M, taking its total to ~$189M

More: Tech.eu, Silicon Republic, XOCEAN, The Irish Times, and Silicon Canals

Lillian Rizzo / CNBC:

Disney says it has an estimated 157M global MAUs watching ad-supported content across its streaming services Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, including 112M US users

More: The Streamable, Proactive, Storyboard18, 9meters, Benzinga, Deadline, TVNewsCheck, IndieWire, Media Play News, The Desk, Adweek, The Wrap, and Bloomberg

Forums: r/stocks, r/Piracy, r/technology, and r/cordcutters

See also Mediagazer

Sarah Emerson / Forbes:

Sources: Eric Schmidt has spent the last few months working on Hooglee, an AI startup that describes its mission as “democratizing video creation with AI”

Bluesky: @criticismkumar, @tompaine1776, and @lauridonahue. X: @mathewi

Yimou Lee / Reuters:

Taiwan's National Security Bureau says daily average cyberattacks on government departments doubled YoY to 2.4M in 2024, and most were by Chinese cyber forces

More: SC Media, The Guardian, and The Federalist

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:

Istanbul-based gaming startup Grand Games, the publisher behind Magic Sort and Car Match, raised a $30M Series A led by Balderton, after a $3M seed in 2024

More: FinSMEs, Game Developer, GamesIndustry.biz, Tech.eu, and Tech Funding News. X: @ingridlunden

Alicja Ptak / Notes From Poland:

Putin, a new English-language Polish film about Vladimir Putin in which AI is used to superimpose his real face onto an actor, sparks a debate about AI use

More: Telewizja Polska S.A, The Sun, and Telegraph

X: @grochowa2 and @telegraph

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Earlier Picks

Marissa Newman / Bloomberg:

How wartime GPS jamming has negatively impacted agriculture in Israel; in 2021, ~70% of Israeli farmers used GPS-guided equipment and precision-farming tech

X: @oliviasolon. LinkedIn: Dror Meiri

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:

Source: Flipkart hires Kabeer Biswas, co-founder of Dunzo, an Indian delivery startup that had raised $500M+, to lead its quick commerce unit, Flipkart Minutes

More: The Economic Times, Moneycontrol, and YourStory.com

Steven Scheer / Reuters:

YL Ventures: Israeli cybersecurity firms raised $4B in 2024, up 100%+ YoY from $1.89B, across 89 rounds, including 50 seed or early stage that totaled $400M

More: YL Ventures, VCWire, YL Ventures, Forbes, Cybersecurity Dive, and Tech in Asia

LinkedIn: Barak Schoster Goihman and Ofer Schreiber

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:

Microsoft is reverting to an older DALL-E 3 model version for Bing Image Creator, after the latest version, codenamed PR16, got many complaints on X and Reddit

More: Windows Central, Cryptopolitan, Neowin, WinBuzzer, The Verge, Digital Trends, Search Engine Land, and Windows Latest. Forums: Slashdot

Mari Yamaguchi / Associated Press:

Japan says Chinese hacking group MirrorFace is linked to 200+ cyberattacks from 2019 to 2024 targeting the country's national security and advanced tech data

More: TechCrunch, CSO, TechRadar, CyberInsider, Digital Journal, The Hacker News, The Register, The Record, The Japan Times, and Kyodo News+. Forums: Beehaw

Ben Lang / Road to VR:

Infinite Reality, which is building an engine for creating immersive web content, says it has raised $3B from an unnamed private investor at a $12.25B valuation

More: VentureBeat, Silicon Republic, Auganix.org, GamesIndustry.biz, Infinite Reality, Pulse 2.0, PitchBook, Reuters, and VC News Daily

Richard Lawler / The Verge:

Adam Mosseri says Meta is adding political content recommendations to Instagram and Threads; Threads' political content control setting will have three options

More: PCMag, Gizmodo, BBC, PhoneArena, Business Today, and Engadget

Threads: @mosseri, @mosseri, @zuck, @technologizer, @mosseri, @mommasgonecity, @hunterreesepena, @david_ingram, @guillecummings, @richardlawler, @celozaga, @peggykolm, @adisruptivekid, and @wongmjane. X: @maxwelltani

See also Mediagazer

Cheyenne Ligon / CoinDesk:

Do Kwon's criminal fraud trial in the US is scheduled for January 2026; prosecutors expect challenges accessing encrypted devices and translating communications