UK Home Office confirms trial of web surveillance tool that can track users' browsing history in partnership with two unknown ISPs and National Crime Agency — The Investigatory Powers Act, or Snooper's Charter, was introduced in 2016. Now one of its most contentious surveillance tools is being secretly trialled by internet firms
A look at the history of Twine, an open-source tool for producing web-based interactive fiction and games with text, as it remains a significant force in gaming — IN THE VIDEO GAME Howling Dogs, released in 2012, players wake up in a prison with few options: a shower, a nutrient dispenser …
JD.com reported Q4 revenue of $34.4B, up 31% YoY, beating estimates, and FY 2020 net revenues of $114.97B; annual active customers grew 30% YoY to 472M in 2020 — (Reuters) - JD.com Inc's fourth-quarter revenue beat expectations on Thursday as more shoppers flocked to its website …
FalconX, a cryptocurrency exchange focused on institutional investors, raises $50M from Tiger Global and B Capital, and says net revenue grew 46x over past year — Tiger Global and B Capital are the primary investors in the latest round. They join Coinbase Ventures, Accel, FMR LLC and others in backing FalconX.
Sources: the Biden administration has informed some Huawei suppliers it is imposing more explicit prohibitions on the export of 5G components to the company — - Conditions for licensed exporters went into effect this week — Move builds on Huawei prohibitions implemented under Trump
Google is further integrating the Publisher Provided Identifier into its Ad Manager, aiding publishers' first-party tracking in lieu of third-party cookies — The PPID's technical setup works like this: the publisher will create a unique ID for users, based on a first-party cookie or a log-in ID.
Citizen Browser project's Split Screen tool shows Facebook's different News Feeds for Trump and Biden voters, based on data from 2,500+ users across the US — Facebook's recommendation algorithm shows different news, groups, and hashtags to different users. But who sees what?
How Facebook leadership weakened initiatives to clean up misinformation, sidelining AI experts, because doing so would undermine Zuckerberg's desire for growth — Joaquin Quiñonero Candela, a director of AI at Facebook, was apologizing to his audience.
Cowbell Cyber, which uses AI to assess risk and offer cyber insurance to companies with less than $1B in revenue, raises $20M Series A — Pleasanton, California-based Cowbell Cyber raised a $20 million Series A as more small and medium-sized enterprises look for insurance against the growing number of cyberattacks.
Sources: China is considering a record fine, exceeding Qualcomm's $975M fine, against Alibaba, which may face softer treatment if it distances from Jack Ma — E-commerce company to face softer treatment than its Ant affiliate, provided it distances itself from founder Jack Ma
Mike Winkelmann, the digital artist known as Beeple, sold an NFT of his work for $69M, through a first-of-its-kind auction at Christie's — Through a first-of-its-kind auction at Christie's — Until October, the most Mike Winkelmann — the digital artist known as Beeple — had ever sold a print for was $100.
Facebook is making in-stream ads available on one-minute videos and is testing ads that look like stickers in Stories — Ads integrated into content — Facebook introduced Stories to its platform four years ago, mostly as a way to encourage people to post content that wasn't highly produced or necessarily photogenic.
Crypto lending and borrowing service BlockFi raises $350M Series D at a valuation of $3B, bringing its total raised to around $450M — If there were any doubt about a cryptocurrency boom, we need look no further than at the explosion of growth of certain companies in the space.
Amazon has opened 11 Amazon Fresh stores around the US, with plans for at least 28 more — As many businesses struggled to survive the pandemic, Amazon.com Inc. was quietly building a national grocery chain. — The first Amazon Fresh store opened to the public in Los Angeles in September.
Google says it will give an option to Google Pay users to share transaction data with the company to make personalized offers, starting next week — Three and a half years after launching Google Pay in India, the Android-maker is paving the way to tap its users' transaction data for monetization purposes …
Oppo unveils Find X3 Pro with Snapdragon 888, 6.7-inch 120Hz QHD+ AMOLED display, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage, 4,500mAh battery, 50 MP main and ultrawide camera — The covers have now been lifted from the Oppo Find X3 series with three models — X3 Lite, X3 Neo, and X3 Pro — all being showcased during a live-streamed launch event.
License plate scanning is ubiquitous in the US, with few privacy protections; one company, Vigilant Solutions, promotes a database of 9B+ license plate scans — Mass surveillance, warrantless searches help police track down stolen cars, suspected Capitol rioters despite scant public awareness of data troves
