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January 2021 - Things of Interest


Apple’s iPhone 12 helped deliver a record $111.4 billion quarter. Delayed arrival of new 5G phones created pent-up demand but gave CEO Tim Cook less time for holiday sales [See also Financial Times]

Towards a Global Big Tech Clampdown? Is the tide changing for big tech companies? Legal challenges against them appear to be mounting across the world

Here are the top tech trends of 2021, according to 30+ experts. During the year ahead, technology will help us emerge from the pandemic in ways big and small, obvious, and surprising

The biggest technology failures of 2020. The Covid pandemic made this the year we counted on technology more than ever. Here's how it failed us.

Google has requested that a U.S. judge in Texas move its antitrust lawsuit to a court in California, citing that more relevant documents and witnesses are there. The state of Texas is serving as the lead on the joint lawsuit that was filed with nine other states (the lawsuit claims that Google broke antitrust laws to dominate the digital ad industry)

And Facebook may be building an antitrust lawsuit against Apple over iOS 14 privacy features [for background see here and here]. “Some employees are concerned that Facebook is not a compelling victim, given the company’s own legal issues and past mishandling of user data.” Also, Zuckerberg slams Apple in an earnings call, casting Facebook as a victim. The social giant tries to position a rival as anti-competitive while facing antitrust scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal says Facebook’s quarterly revenue was up 52% compared to the previous year

Apple retaliates. “At a moment of rampant disinformation and conspiracy theories juiced by algorithms, we can no longer turn a blind eye to a theory of technology that says all engagement is good engagement,” said Tim Cook. Apple to roll out privacy measures despite Facebook’s objections. Feature set for spring release will allow ad tracking only if consumers opt in on iPhone or iPad

Why Facebook and Apple are fighting over your privacy. Angry CEOs, operating system updates, and maybe even a lawsuit — the feud continues…

Designing Remedies for Digital Markets: The Interplay Between Antitrust and Regulation

The Government didn’t foresee how Facebook would behave. Today’s antitrust regulators should rein in the tech giants

China wants to work with foreign allies on antitrust issues

UK’s competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, probes $400m Facebook-Giphy deal. CMA cites possibility of ‘substantial lessening of competition’ from tech giant’s acquisition of image platform. Is this another Instagram moment?

Apple to roll out privacy measures despite Facebook objections. Feature set for spring release will allow ad tracking only if consumers opt in on iPhone or iPad

Global Privacy Regulations: hot spots to watch in 2021

US intel agencies blame Russia for massive SolarWinds hack

It’s Data Privacy Day - what exactly does that mean?

Identity thieves still raked in billions with your data, even as the number of breaches came down in 2020. On Data Privacy Day 2021, here's a reminder that breaches can affect you long after your data is stolen

A look at Data Privacy Laws around the world. Privacy Day aims to raise awareness among individuals and organisations on the importance of privacy and its continued protection

5 ways to finally fix data privacy in America

Brexit and GDPR, explained

MISTRUST: Why Losing Faith in Institutions Provides the Tools to Transform Them by Ethan Zuckerman asks how do we regain trust in institutions?

Jack Ma’s Ant plans major revamp in response to Chinese pressure. Fintech giant plans to become a financial holding company overseen by China’s central bank

Tesla makes money but competition in electric vehicles is increasing. Profits were held back by Elon Musk’s pay and cheaper models

Boeing reports record annual loss, hobbled by collapse in plane deliveries, with new 777X delayed until 2023

Who would have thought? Subway’s tuna is not tuna, but a ‘mixture of various concoctions,’ a lawsuit alleges

A Richard Branson’s Virgin Group-backed company is in talks to merge with 23andMe at $4 billion

Facebook revenue lifted by e-commerce push during pandemic. Despite earning record – quarterly revenue was up 52% from the previous year – it flags threat from Apple

IMF: Government support vital for global recovery. Even with vaccinations underway, countries will need to support economies to recover from the COVID-10 pandemic

Ruchir Sharma says deficits still matter and that President Biden’s plans for more stimulus risk exacerbating inequality and low productivity growth. Tom Friedman also sounds off, calling it socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest. And Kara Swisher asks who will pay to get America back on its feet? A one-time tax on those who have made lots of money during the pandemic may be an answer.

What Coursera’s most popular classes reveal about 2020. From how to be a contact tracer to how to find happiness, here’s what everyone wanted to learn this year.

The 50 best memes of 2020, explained. 50 of this year’s funniest, weirdest and most chaotic viral internet videos, images and jokes

These are five statistical thresholds that will probably be breached in 2021

Joe Biden’s foreign policy worldview doesn’t belong to a single school of thought—and that’s a good thing

Saudi Arabia and three others end their embargo of Qatar, instigated in 2017 on the accusation it sponsored terrorism

Klaus Schwab, WEF’s founder and executive chairman, invoked the need to help provoke a “great reset” around the world in the wake of the pandemic. “The covid-19 crisis has shown us that our old systems are not fit anymore for the 21st century,” he said in a podcast ahead of events this week. Schwab and his colleagues are pushing the concept of “stakeholder” capitalism — an approach to business and economic policymaking that looks beyond the interests of shareholders and toward the well-being of society (and fleshed out now in a new book by Schwab and his colleague Peter Vanham)

Corruption kills people, says Transparency International in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index

Amazon says it wants to help President Joe Biden with the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine. The letter to the Biden administration on Wednesday offering to use its “operations, information technology, and communications capabilities” to help with the national effort. The letter also reiterates Amazon’s request to have its front-line workers vaccinated “at the earliest appropriate time.”

WHO recommends most pregnant women not use Moderna, Pfizer vaccines

16 reasons why all countries should pursue a Covid-19 elimination strategy and not a suppression one

Should smartphone data be harnessed to track mental health? Even the best digital phenotyping systems will be imperfect

Some times of the day are better for exercise than others for some people. And brown fat is good for you

What the distinctive brains of resilient people can teach us

Is there something you've always meant to do, wanted to do, but just ... haven't? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days

The Biden Administration needs to revamp the federal tech workforce

An amazing man, the Spirit of Neil Peart. Rush’s virtuoso drum hero lived by his own rules, to the very end

Pakistan’s digital landscape post-Covid. Digital connectivity has improved as organisations invest in improving consumer experience

‘A Japanese Schindler’: The remarkable diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during WWII. It seems like a little while ago that I saw Schindler’s List even though it has been more than 25 years in a city far away

Sad and tragic. The blaze that killed the former Zappos chief executive, Tony Hsieh, may have been caused by “carelessness or even an intentional act,” Connecticut fire and police officials said

How Anthony Fauci survived Donald Trump. The new White House chief medical adviser explains what it was really like to work for an administration that tried constantly to undermine him.

WhatsApp updates its privacy policy and things become interesting as Signal and Telegram gain popularity. Express Tribune, WhatsApp loses millions of followers after announcing new terms. Signal gained 7.5 million users globally, according to figures shared by the UK parliament’s home affairs committee. The Guardian: WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update. Poorly-executed change to terms of service sends messaging app’s subscribers flocking to competitors

Google threatens to shut search engine in Australia over news row. Landmark proposal would force US group and Facebook to pay publishers for content

Related: Big Tech is trying to take governments’ policy role. Google, Facebook, and others want to set the rules, but without a mandate or oversight. FT’s editorial board on big tech’s big reckoning, here

Facebook to develop tools for advertisers to tackle harmful content. In July 2020, companies including Coca-Cola and Starbucks boycotted Facebook for not doing enough to curb hate speech

Facebook is hated — and rich! It is embroiled in a different scandal each week, and yet, it’s making so much money

Gillian Tett, author of The Silo Mentality (also here) wants to know if time lost all meaning for you? ‘Covid-19 is teaching us that the symbols and structures that give shape to our lives do not need to be set in stone

What the new science of narcissism says about narcissists

1,273 people share their best life lessons from 2020

There’s a reason you miss the people you didn’t even know that well. Weak ties have been severed. These are acquaintances, people you see infrequently, and near strangers with whom you share some familiarity. They’re the people on the periphery of your life—the guy who’s always at the gym at the same time as you, the barista who starts making your usual order while you’re still at the back of the line, the co-worker from another department with whom you make small talk on the elevator. Is loneliness upon us all?

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