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Politico : A look at the increasing prevalence of facial recognition and AI tech across the globe, as the US and EU governments' efforts to limit their use have stalled   —  The result is an impasse that has left tech companies largely in control of where and how to deploy facial recognition. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2u0Hmkb

Paul Sawers / VentureBeat : ProtonMail launches E2E encrypted calendar app ProtonCalendar in public beta, tied to users' paid ProtonMail accounts, encrypting event info and participants   —  Encrypted email provider ProtonMail has officially launched its new calendar in public beta.  The move is part of the Swiss … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SJbBGW

Devin Coldewey / TechCrunch : Trump signs TRACED Act into law to increase robocall fines, extend statute of limitations from 1 to 4 years, and require carriers to deploy STIR/SHAKEN protocol   —  The Pallone-Thrune TRACED Act, a bipartisan bit of legislation that should make life harder for the villains behind robocalls, was signed into law today by the president. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2tibibm

ProPublica : IRS amends its deal with tax prep software firms, now barred from hiding free products from search, and ends its ban on making its own online filing system   —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2rOiICQ

Fred Wilson / AVC : Big trends and takeaways from the 2010s: the “capital as a moat” model has failed, machine learning has become table stakes for tech companies, and more   —  My friend Steve Kane suggested I take a longer view in my pair of year end posts this year: … And so I will. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2QdyoZC

Fox Business : WSJ: Cloud Hopper, a hacking campaign by Chinese state-sponsored group APT10, was far bigger than formerly known, hitting 12+ cloud providers including IBM, HPE   —  The hackers seemed to be everywhere.  —  In one of the largest-ever corporate espionage efforts, cyberattackers alleged … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/39tzxDV

Toby Sterling / Reuters : 2018 tax filings: Alphabet will no longer use the IP licensing scheme commonly called the “Double Irish, Dutch sandwich”, which had let it delay paying US taxes   —  AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Alphabet (GOOGL.O), the parent company of Google, will no longer use the intellectual property … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/39m5iyG

Dan Sabbagh / The Guardian : UK surveillance watchdog: public bodies have insufficient government guidance on when it's appropriate to use facial recognition, lip-reading tech, and more   —  CCTV commissioner says he gets many queries about facial recognition and other tools  —  Police forces, hospitals and councils struggle … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/35cfp5Z

Celia Chen / South China Morning Post : Research shows Tencent participated in 108 investment deals this year, compared to 162 in 2018, spending ~$4.9B in total, less than half of its 2018's total   —  Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, one of the most active investors in the tech world, put money into 108 deals this year compared … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36cQuk2

Eric Feng : Analysis of PitchBook data since 2005 shows that in 2019, the number of enterprise-focused seed deals overtook consumer-focused seed deals for the first time   —  I recently wrote a recommendation letter for a former coworker who wanted to change careers by going back to school. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2FdulWJ

Brenda Goh / Reuters : Huawei's Rotating Chairman Eric Xu estimates the company's 2019 revenue grew 18% YoY to $122B, says it shipped 240M smartphones, but forecasts “difficult” 2020   —  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies on Tuesday said its full-year revenue would likely jump 18% in 2019 to 850 billion yuan … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2ZBW7Wq

Bloomberg : Uber, Postmates sue CA to block AB5, days ahead of bill taking effect, say law unconstitutionally targets gig economy companies and benefits other industries   —  - Companies call labor rights measure unfair, unconstitutional  — A.B. 5 will qualify many contractors for employment benefits from Techmeme https://ift.tt/35cmpQn

Chris Welch / The Verge : Sonos should rethink its Trade Up program's “Recycle Mode”, which bricks old Sonos devices for a discount on newer ones, and consider a policy of reuse   —  An irreversible kill switch for a discount is a bad deal for the environment  —  Late last week, Sonos was called … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SFsamN

Kate Eichhorn / MIT Technology Review : Obsessive documentation of one's life online has made it hard for young people to shed their past identities and might have bad effects for society at large   —  As past identities become stickier for those entering adulthood, it's not just individuals who will suffer.  Society will too. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2F9baxj

Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet : Microsoft wins court order to seize 50 domains run by North Korean cyber-espionage group Thallium, the fourth APT Microsoft has combated with this tactic   —  Microsoft takes control of 50 domains operated by Thallium (APT37), a North Korean cyber-espionage group. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2F993cQ

Hannah Frishberg / New York Post : Report: in January, YouTube will expand limitations on the data that videos aimed at kids can collect and stop showing personalized ads to underage viewers   —  Children are worth their weight in data to YouTube creators, who're scrambling to stop the Federal Trade Commission from taking that income away. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2QzTzUC

Aria Bendix / Business Insider : Amazon is set to open a homeless shelter in its Seattle HQ with the capacity to serve 275 people, through an expanded partnership with nonprofit Mary's Place   —  - Amazon is building a homeless shelter on its Seattle campus.  — The shelter will be run by Mary's Place, a nonprofit that has worked with the company for years. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2u6ohx9

Yahoo News : Overview of the ongoing efforts by the US to modernize its spy operations, to contain the damage from the 2014 OPM breach, be more resilient to tracking, more   —  When hackers began slipping into computer systems at the Office of Personnel Management in the spring of 2014 … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2rF2f3B

Alistair Gray / Financial Times : US shoppers are expected to return $100B worth of unwanted goods bought this holiday season; online purchases 3x more likely to be returned than those in stores   —  US consumers are expected to send back a record $100bn worth of unwanted goods bought between Thanksgiving and Christmas as the rise of ecommerce causes a returns epidemic. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2rC6VqW

Ron Miller / TechCrunch : VMware completes its $2.7B acquisition of Pivotal, originally announced in August   —  VMware is closing the year with a significant new component in its arsenal.  Today it announced it has closed the $2.7 billion Pivotal acquisition it originally announced in August. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2QKcL2j

Reuters : Huawei says India has allowed the company to participate in upcoming trials for 5G networks   —  (Reuters) - The Indian government has allowed Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies Co to participate in trials for 5G networks, a company spokesman said on Monday. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2rH64p9

Marcia Sekhose / Hindustan Times : Snap is trying to expand Snapchat's presence in India by supporting more vernacular languages, rebuilding its Android app, and partnering with local companies   —  Back in 2017, Snapchat found itself at the center of a controversy after its CEO Evan Spiegel reportedly said the company … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/36bSxom

Tony Romm / Washington Post : Facebook has quietly started removing some misleading ads about HIV prevention drugs after activists said they could have caused a public-health crisis   —  The ads, first reported by The Washington Post, threatened to create a public health crisis, LGBT groups had said. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/37qD3gn

Eileen Yu / ZDNet : Grab partners with Singtel to apply for a Singapore digital banking license, with Grab owning a 60% share in the joint entity   —  Ride-sharing operator and telco plan to form a joint entity, with Grab owning a 60% share, and apply for a digital bank licence in Singapore, where they will look to target … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2QuX2nv

Peerzada Abrar / Business Standard : Report: Indian startups raised a record $14.5B in 2019, up from $10.5B in 2018 and $550M in 2010; Sequoia, Accel, and Tiger Global were the most active VCs   —  As the decade is coming to an end, it has seen an impressive 25x growth from a tiny $550 million in 2010 to $14.5 billion in 2019 … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2F1PALk

David Streitfeld / New York Times : How Amazon has shaped the economy of Campbellsville, KY, where it opened one of its first fulfillment centers and is now the town's largest private employer   —  In Campbellsville, Ky., the tech giant's influences abound.  The profits, not so much.  —  CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — In the late 1990s … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2SCduVF