Techmeme
January 11, 2020, 1:00 AM

Top News

Jillian D'Onfro / Forbes:
Alphabet's Chief Legal Officer David Drummond is leaving on January 31; company says he will not be receiving an exit package  —  Alphabet's controversial chief legal officer, David Drummond, is leaving the company, effective January 31.  —  Drummond, an employee of nearly 20 years …
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
Apple launches replacement program for Smart Battery Cases for iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR manufactured between January 2019 and October 2019  —  Apple today launched a battery case replacement program for Smart Battery Cases designed for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and iPhone XR.
Ranjan Roy / Margins:
Facebook's corporate comms have felt combative and sloppy since late 2018, and now even rank and file employees are facing public vilification  —  Becoming the villain.  —  5 hr  —  Ranjan here, writing about how Facebook's communication operations feel completely broken and wondering whether …
The Information:
Sources: Quibi's projections from 2019 show the upcoming streaming service is expected to spend ~$1.5B in its first year; Quibi has raised $1.4B so far  —  If there's one thing to be said for Quibi, the short-form streaming service coming from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman this spring …
Alex Hern / The Guardian:
Isobel Cockerell / Coda Story:
Instagram is removing posts and suspending accounts that voice support for slain Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, says it is complying with US sanctions  —  News agencies, human rights activists and influencers have had their accounts deactivated.  —  After a U.S. drone strike killed …
DJ Pangburn / Fast Company:
No known arrests or prosecutions stemmed from San Diego's 7-year facial recognition program, which compiled 65K face scans; the program ended Dec. 31, 2019  —  Since 2012, the city's law enforcement agencies have compiled over 65,000 face scans and tried to match them against a massive mugshot database.
Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
PayU to acquire India-based PaySense at a valuation of $185M and will merge it with its credit business LazyPay; the combined entity will be valued at $300M  —  PayU is acquiring a controlling stake in fintech startup PaySense at a valuation of $185 million and plans to merge …
Emily A. Vogels / Pew Research Center:
Pew survey of 4,272 US adults: ~21% use a smart watch or fitness tracker, with women more likely than men to say they regularly use these devices (25% vs 18%)  —  As 2020 begins - and health-related New Year's resolutions take effect - roughly one-in-five U.S. adults (21%) …

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More News

Lauren Feiner / CNBC:
Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Lauren Goode / Wired:
Ian Sherr / CNET:
Monica Nickelsburg / GeekWire:
Thomas Brewster / Forbes:
Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios:
Emma Williams / Microsoft 365 Blog:
Mike Isaac / New York Times: