GLOBAL POLICY
Russia is bringing a case against Google for not removing prohibited content. (Reuters)
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Pen said he will be moving forward with a digital tax plan, despite opposition from Washington. (Politico)
Britain's competition regulator may be launching its own investigation into Google, the agency said. (Reuters)
US POLICY
Uber and Lyft landed a massive new contract with the federal government of up to $810 million. (Verge)
A spokesperson for Dominion Voting Systems said on Sunday it is "not physically possible" for the machines to change a voter's selection. (The Hill)
President Trump fired CISA's director, but the agency is poised to grow in stature and purview in the new administration. (MIT Tech Review)
The LAPD barred the use of third-party facial recognition software. (LA Times)
Zuckerberg and Dorsey faced questioning from lawmakers about the 2020 election and disinformation. (NYT)
TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Facebook uses AI modeling to determine which U.S. counties most at-risk for COVID-19 surges. (Facebook)
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen created an open-source algorithm that assess the carbon footprint of deep-learning models. (Anthropocene)
Researchers trained an AI to be more persuasive with its language by playing a text-based multiplayer game developed by Facebook. (MIT Tech Review)
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CORPORATE POLICY
Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and others lobby Biden administration for facial recognition regulation. (Wired)
Twitter faces criticism for releasing "fleets," tweets that are available for 24 hours. (Engadget)
Airbnb, C3.ai, Wish, Roblox, and Affirm all file for IPO as the year closes. (TechCrunch)
Amazon opens online pharmacy, allowing customers to order medications or prescription refills. (AP)
ETHICS & THE RULE OF LAW
Apple Head of Global Security Thomas Moyer is accused of offering $70,000 worth of bribes to get concealed firearms licenses. (BBC)
Gender bias revealed in AI image-labeling programs used by Google, Microsoft, others. (Wired)
IBM apologizes for firing transgender woman Lynn Conway 52 years ago, giving her a lifetime achievement award. (NYT)
Facebook content moderators claim Zuckerberg required unsafe working conditions in a pandemic. (Mashable)
EXTRAS
Former Alexa engineers starts "MeowTalk," an app that translates cat sounds. (GeekWire)
GalaxySpace raises $1.2 billion to become the first unicorn in China's satellite internet industry.
Parler, the new wild-west of social media that's becoming a favorite among the far right. (Wired)
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