10 things in tech you need to know today

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday.

1. The US Navy banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices, citing a 'cybersecurity threat.' Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Uriah Orland said in a statement the order was part of an effort to "address existing and emerging threats".
2. Facebook says it removed fake accounts linked to a pro-Trump media outlet known to push conspiracy theories. The accounts pushed "anti-impeachment" and "pro-Trump" messages with AI-generated faces atop their profiles.
3. The Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly investigating the listings of a number of tech unicorns that went public on the New York Stock Exchange in the last few years, including Slack. The probe is focusing in particular on how trading was handled on the first day these companies went public.
   
4. After two years of unrest and employee protests inside Google, the sudden departure of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin has elicited a surprisingly passive, almost apathetic reaction within the company. That's according to current Googlers, who said the changeover felt anticlimactic.
   
5. An app developer is accusing Apple of quietly changing the way it ranks apps in the App Store, further fueling concerns about the influence of big tech companies. The company, Blix, says in new court filings that it had discovered evidence showing that Apple had altered the rankings of apps in its App Store.
   
6. Vision Fund chief executive Rajeev Misra defended chief financial officer Navneet Govil and managing partner Jeff Housenbold after a blistering Bloomberg Businessweek report about the allegedly macho culture of the fund. Misra wrote that the report contained "unsubstantiated and reckless personal attacks on our employees," and that the firm is "taking the appropriate next steps, including potential legal action."
   
7. Leading experts in the UK tech scene told Business Insider that London was "overcrowded" with too many accelerators producing too few successful companies. More than 150 accelerators currently operate in the UK, a figure that has increased tenfold over the past decade. 
   
8. The forgotten 'third founder' of Google is fighting a fierce legal battle against his wife, who says he purposely sold his startup in a 'fire sale' amid their divorce. Huynh, herself an entrepreneur who witnessed the early days of Google, is accusing Hassan of trying to sell their robotics startup called Suitable Technologies at a stunningly low price for a huge tax write-off and huge savings in his personal income taxes.
   
9. Publicis' ambitious AI project Marcel has been hit by delays and technical difficulties, costing up to $40 million and requiring the help of Google and Microsoft. Insiders estimate the AI, intended to make agency staff more collaborative, now won't launch until 2020.
10. San Francisco has amended its law banning facial recognition to now allow Face ID on iPhones. Originally, the ban meant the facial recognition unlock feature was illegal — even if it was switched off.

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Contributer : Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2SfbbI1

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