This Week in Tech 740

This week's stories

•  The Chinese propaganda app that spies on all Chinese citizens
•  Chinese influence in video games, social media, and other industries - where do we draw the line?
•  What is Tencent? How much influence do they have over the world? Here's how to keep them from watching your iPhone
•  Can we still trust Apple? Can we trust anyone?
•  At what point do we admit that we are in a multi-state information war?
•  Is there any way to fine Facebook fairly? Bring back the Office of Technology Assesment!
•  Remember: the answer to bad politics is not "no politics". It is good politics.
•  Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency is falling apart
•  There is a very good reason why politicians can lie on Facebook
•  How Boris Johnson games Google
•  There are no political ads in France. Could we do that in America?
•  Which weird phone stands a better chance: the Essential Gem or Microsoft Duo?
•  Apple Arcade is still wonderful.
•  How much do Americans know about tech? Not a lot. What should we do about that?
•  SCOTUS decides websites must be accessible to blind people
•  Lithium-ion battery inventors win Nobel Prize 

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Links

• Sources: in early 2018, Eddy Cue and Morgan Wandell, Apple's international TV lead, asked some Apple TV+ show creators to avoid
• Apple Safari browser sends some user IP addresses to Chinese conglomerate Tencent by default
• Apple Removes App That Tracked Hong Kong Police - The New York Times
• Chinese propaganda app doubles as new spying tool for authorities, report says - The Washington Post
• Daring Fireball: Tim Cook's Company-Wide Memo on HKmap.live Doesn't Add Up
• US games company Blizzard kowtows to Beijing by banning gamer who dared to bring up Hong Kong
• Blizzard reinstates Hong Kong protestor’s prize, says “China had no influence”
• Riot doesn’t want League of Legends broadcasters discussing ‘sensitive topics’ on the air
• Unlike Blizzard, Epic Games says it won’t ban players for political speech
• Google pulls Hong Kong protest game for violating rules against ‘capitalizing on sensitive events’
• EBay, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe abandon Facebook's libra cryptocurrency
• Why Facebook can’t stop politicians from lying - The Verge
• Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress on Facebook's libra cryptocurrency
• EXCLUSIVE: Inside New York City’s Partnership With Israeli iPhone Hacking Company Cellebrite
• Andy Rubin’s Essential Gem Isn’t Just a New Phone | WIRED
• Americans and Digital Knowledge | Pew Research Center
• To curb lobbying power, Elizabeth Warren wants to reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment
• Essential reveals Project Gem smartphone with very long, unusual design