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August 25, 2020, 8:30 AM
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Top News

New York Times:
TikTok sues the Trump administration in federal court, arguing Trump's EO deprived it of due process  —  The suit escalates a bitter back-and-forth between the popular video app and American officials.  —  SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok sued the U.S. government on Monday, accusing the Trump administration …
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, two top investors in ByteDance, are key drivers in Oracle's bid for TikTok; Twitter's bid has made little headway  —  Investment firms with large existing stakes in ByteDance pursue deal for app's U.S. operations, as potential alternative to Microsoft
Alex Sherman / CNBC:
In its lawsuit with the US, TikTok says in the US it had 11.3M MAUs in January 2018, 91.9M in June 2020, and now has 100M+; globally it had ~700M MAUs in July
The Verge:
Judge denies Epic's motion to restore Fortnite to the App Store but orders Apple to not block Unreal Engine; full hearing scheduled for September 28  —  Epic Games won a temporary restraining order against Apple, at least in part  —  Epic Games just won a temporary restraining order against Apple — at least in part.
The Verge:
In a new filing, Epic says revocation of its developer tools by Apple will harm the developer ecosystem and adds a declaration of support from Microsoft
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg:
Sources: Nintendo plans to debut an upgraded model of its Switch console in 2021, possibly with 4K graphics, more computing power, and a lineup of new games  —  - Strong lineup of Nintendo games set to accompany new hardware  — Update would make the Switch Nintendo's most enduring console
Janko Roettgers / Protocol:
Apple acquires Spaces, a location-based VR startup that recently pivoted to videoconferencing  —  Spaces, a VR startup that got its start as a DreamWorks Animation project, has been acquired by Apple, Protocol has learned.  —  Apple confirmed the acquisition after this story was first published.
Saritha Rai / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to open an online store in India next month and is planning two retail stores in India next year, first in Mumbai and then in Bangalore  —  - Online store comes a year after India eases rules on retail  — IPhone maker also plans a second physical outlet in India
Bill Gurley / Above the Crowd:
The rise in SPACs is leading to improved terms for targeted companies and an overall lower cost of capital, as company underpricing in traditional IPOs worsens  —  If you are looking past or through Covid — and why not, all of Wall Street is — the topic du jour in Silicon Valley is Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs.
Rishi Iyengar / CNN:
Facebook says it is planning legal action to challenge a recent Thai government request to block a 1M+ member Facebook group critical of the Thai monarchy  —  (CNN Business)Facebook said it is planning legal action against Thailand's demand that forced the company to block a group deemed critical of the country's monarchy.
Pranob Mehrotra / XDA Developers:
Samsung adds ability, off by default, to find offline devices with its Find My Mobile feature, using other people's nearby Galaxy devices to help locate them  —  Samsung's Find My Mobile app is designed to help you remotely locate your device, back up data to Samsung Cloud, delete local data …
John Koetsier / Forbes:
Security research firm Snyk alleges that Chinese ad network Mintegral committed ad click fraud via its SDK across billions of installs of 1,200+ iOS apps  —  A Chinese ad network named Mintegral is accused of spying on user activity and committing ad fraud in more than 1,200 apps with 300 million installs per month since July 2019.
Crystal Tse / Bloomberg:
Asana files to go public via direct listing on the NYSE; source says Asana has recently been trading on the secondary market at a value of about $5B  —  Asana Inc., a corporate software maker started by a Facebook Inc. co-founder, filed to go public via a direct listing, revealing a net loss that has more than doubled year over year.
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Google is testing TikTok style videos in Discover, the section found to the left of most Android home screens and in the Google iOS app, fed by Trell and Tangi  —  TikTok has been or is in the process of being banned in some countries.  This has resulted in new or existing services trying …
CNBC:
Ant Group files for IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, reports $3.2B profit in H1 2020, up 1000% YoY and revenue of $10.48B, up 38% YoY  —  - Ant Group, which is still controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, reported a more than 1,000% jump in profits in the first half of 2020 from the same period last year.
James Vincent / The Verge:
iRobot is updating its Roomba vacuum cleaners with AI-based software that will add specific spot-cleaning, event-based automation, and more  —  To help Roombas know when and where to clean  —  iRobot is announcing what it's calling the biggest software upgrade to its robot vacuum cleaners since …
Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch:
UK-based MelodyVR, which creates immersive live music for VR headsets and phones, acquires Rhapsody International, owner of Napster, from RealNetworks for $70M  —  Napster, the pioneering digital music brand from way back when, is changing hands once more.  Today, a UK startup called MelodyVR …
Andrei Frumusanu / AnandTech:
TSMC says its 3nm process will hit volume production in 2022, and 5nm N5 chips, which should ship in products to customers this year, use 30% less power than N7  —  At TSMC's annual Technology Symposium, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer detailed characteristics of its future 3nm process node …

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:
Court docs detail a smear campaign against actor Blake Lively via media articles and social media posts after she accused director Justin Baldoni of misconduct

Max Tani / @maxwelltani:
Memo: WaPo's Matt Murray lays out plans for WP Ventures, the “third newsroom”; Krissah Thompson will be editor and Samantha Henig will be general manager

Leo Schwartz / Fortune:
Sources: CoinDesk owner Bullish fired three editors, including EIC Kevin Reynold, amid controversy over forcing editors to take down an article on Justin Sun

More News

Financial Times:
Sources: key ministries in India including its telecom department have indicated that local telcos should avoid using Huawei gear, but a formal ban is unlikely
Chaim Levinson / Haaretz:
Sources detail NSO Group's sales in Gulf states, where it has made deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years for its Pegasus spyware
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Audible debuts Audible Plus, a $7.95/month tier with unlimited access to a library of 11K+ titles spanning audiobooks, podcasts, and original productions

Earlier Picks

Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Unity Software, which makes a 3D engine for games and more, files for a US IPO, reports that in 2019 it had a $163.2M net loss on $541.8M in revenue, up 43% YoY
Reuters:
Sources: Foxconn, Pegatron, and others are considering shifting production to Mexico, as US-China tensions rise, with potential plans to make iPhones
Craig Silverman / BuzzFeed News:
Investigation: Chinese phone maker Transsion, which sells the ~$30 Tecno W2, preinstalled malware on some devices, leading to stolen data and money from users
Sidney Fussell / Wired:
US law enforcement agencies are getting more savvy about using information collected by smart speakers and other devices as part of criminal investigations
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