Techmeme
December 3, 2021, 1:45 PM

Top News

Reuters:
Sources: the iPhones of at least nine US State Department employees were hacked using NSO's spyware in the past several months  —  Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were hacked by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by the Israel-based NSO Group …
Wall Street Journal:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Microsoft backtracks on Windows 11's controversial default browser changes, adds a “Set default” button for browsers in a preview build  —  Windows 11 will now make it easier to change default browsers  —  Microsoft is backtracking on changes it made to Windows 11 that made it more difficult to switch default browsers.
Drew Harwell / Washington Post:
An anti-fascist researcher says Twitter suspended her account after someone reported a 2019 tweet of hers following Twitter's updated Private Information Policy  —  Researchers fear the new ban on posts sharing people's private information will be ‘emboldening to the fascists’ eager to keep their identities concealed.
Jason Schreier / Bloomberg:
Sources: Sony plans to launch a subscription service, codenamed Spartacus, next spring that merges PlayStation Plus and Now, to compete with Xbox Game Pass  —  - Subscription offering would blend PlayStation Now and PS Plus  — Code-named Spartacus, launch is targeted for next spring
Wall Street Journal:
The FTC sues to block Nvidia's acquisition of Arm, arguing the chip deal is anticompetitive; the $40B deal has risen to ~$75B due to Nvidia's share price  —  The agency alleges the semiconductor deal is anticompetitive  —  WASHINGTON—The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday sued …
Jennifer Elias / CNBC:
Google says it will not require US employees to return to the office on January 10 as expected but encourages them to come in to build “muscle memory”  —  - Google's security VP, Chris Rackow, sent a companywide email Thursday that said Google will not require employees to return to offices on Jan. 10 as expected.
Dalvin Brown / Wall Street Journal:
Instagram has quietly rolled out a pop-up over the past year encouraging users to “try a new account” to help them “keep up with a smaller group of friends”  —  An in-app notice calls on users to ‘try a new account.’ Can a fresh start keep people from losing their enthusiasm for the platform?
Reuters:
Didi Global says it will begin the process of delisting from the NYSE and listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange, in an attempt to appease Chinese regulators  —  Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global (DIDI.N) said on Friday it will start work on delisting from the New York stock exchange …
The Verge:
Report: Google's Pixel hardware group is working on the company's first smartwatch, internally codenamed “Rohan”, which it plans to launch next year  —  A Pixel Watch is finally in the works  —  Google is finally making its own in-house smartwatch that's set to launch in 2022 …
Tim Copeland / The Block:
DeFi protocol BadgerDAO is investigating after security researchers say $120.3M was stolen from users via its compromised front end  —  Quick Take  — DeFi protocol BadgerDAO was exploited earlier today for $120 million.  — It appears that its front end was compromised and users were tricked into making unwanted transactions.

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