Techmeme
December 19, 2018, 3:45 PM

Top News

New York Times:
Internal docs show Facebook gave ~150 companies access to more user data than disclosed; some could read private DMs; Facebook says it didn't violate FTC decree  —  Internal documents show that the social network gave Microsoft, Amazon, Spotify and others far greater access to people's data than it has disclosed.
Konstantinos Papamiltiadis / Facebook:
Facebook says it shared data with integration partners only when users signed in with their Facebook accounts to access features on other platforms and devices  —  Today, we're facing questions about whether Facebook gave large tech companies access to people's information and, if so, why we did this.
Charlie Warzel / BuzzFeed News:
Report: apps using Facebook's SDK, from Grindr to Bible+, send user info to Facebook including location, where users click, and how long they use it  —  Facebook provided developers with tools to build Facebook-compatible apps like Tinder, Grindr and Pregnancy+.
Washington Post:
AG for District of Columbia Karl Racine files lawsuit against Facebook over allowing Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy, access to users' information  —  The attorney general for the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Facebook for allowing Cambridge Analytica …
Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple rolls out iOS 12.1.2 for iPhone with eSIM bug fixes and China-specific changes to address Qualcomm injunction, including a new app closing animation  —  Apple on Monday released iOS 12.1.2 exclusively for iPhones.  The software update fixes bugs related to eSIM activation on the iPhone XR …
Windows Experience Blog:
Microsoft debuts new test build of Windows 10 with a simplified Start layout, new Office launcher and hub for recent docs, kaomoji support, and more  —  Hello Windows Insiders, today we are releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18305 (19H1) to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring.
Mary Jo Foley / ZDNet:
New York Times:
Researchers discover breach at EU's diplomatic communications network, which yielded over 1,100 cables, and 100+ other orgs, likely occurring over several years  —  WASHINGTON — Hackers infiltrated the European Union's diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands …
Peter Bright / Ars Technica:
Google repeatedly pushes the web in a proprietary direction to improve its services on Chrome making Microsoft's adoption of Chromium a loss for the open web  —  Analysis: Microsoft adopting Chromium puts the Web in a perilous place.  —  With Microsoft's decision to end development …
Catalin Cimpanu / ZDNet:
NASA reveals data breach of employee information including Social Security numbers in October; scope of breach and number of impacted employees still unclear  —  Hack took place in October 2018.  Agency still doesn't know the number of impacted employees.  —  The US National Aeronautics …
Ian Hamilton / UploadVR:
Facebook open sources its DeepFocus VR research, which aims to create ultra-realistic visuals for eye-tracking headsets  —  Facebook is releasing public code and formally open sourcing its DeepFocus research into ultra-realistic visuals for VR headsets.  —  The DeepFocus approach …
Timothy B. Lee / Ars Technica:
An overview of how deep convolutional neural networks have gotten good at recognizing images, after a landmark 2012 paper called AlexNet transformed the field  —  A landmark 2012 paper transformed how software recognizes images.  —  Right now, I can open up Google Photos, type “beach,” …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources detail SoftBank Vision Fund investors' concerns, driven by Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi, about Masayoshi Son's plan to acquire a majority stake in WeWork  —  Saudi and Abu Dhabi funds question SoftBank's plan to take a majority stake in provider of shared office space
Jeff Engel / Xconomy:
Cambridge Mobile Telematics, which develops a platform for measuring driving performance, raises $500M from SoftBank's Vision Fund  —  Last month, Xconomy asked tech CEOs what $100 million in venture capital can buy.  How about $500 million?  —  Cambridge Mobile Telematics said Wednesday morning …

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Kashmir Hill / Gizmodo:

Earlier Picks

Emily Dreyfuss / Wired: