10 things in tech you need to know today

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Tim Cook talks to Donald Trump at a tech roundtable last year.

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

1. Apple CEO Tim Cook has met Trump at least five times in a year in a desperate bid to keep him on-side amid the trade war. There are signs that Cook's open dialogue with Trump has benefited Apple, with the company this week being granted a reprieve from Trump's 10% China import tariffs.
2. Facebook content moderation firm asked on-site therapists to disclose counseling details with employees, according to an Intercept report. The allegations were made on an internal employee message board, and contractor Accenture says it has investigated the claim and "confirmed that these allegations are without merit."
3. The US Commerce Department is expecting to extend Huawei's temporary trade license by another 90 days, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Huawei was given its initial license in May after it was designated a national security threat and placed on a blacklist.
4. SoftBank plans to lend its employees and CEO $20 billion to invest in its ambitious technology fund. The loans are likely to have an interest rate of about 5%, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a source.
5. Twitter user Pinboard spotted that Twitter was running ads from Chinese state media criticising the Hong Kong protests. The promoted tweets are from Xinhua News, and said the "escalating violence" in Hong Kong have taken a "heavy toll on the social order."
6. Protesters blocked Palantir's cafeteria on Friday to pressure the $20 billion big data company to drop its contracts with ICE. Activists said the protest was timely because Palantir is rumored to go public early next year, and they invited Palantir employees to take a stand.
7. Huawei's US chief security officer says he's been called a traitor for defending the Chinese tech giant. Andy Purdy maintains that his goal is to "promote a safer cyberspace."
8. Silicon Valley is benefiting from the "Jio effect", after Indian telco Reliance Jio launched free data plans in 2016. Facebook has posted consistent monthly active user growth for almost three years, thanks to the influx of new Indian users.
9. Amazon sellers are organizing against the retail giant as the FTC and DOJ continues their antitrust probe. Some sellers say that Amazon has an unfair advantage in accessing sales data on its third-party platform.
10. Amazon accidentally sent some customers emails containing other shoppers' names, addresses, and order information. "I'm angry," one Amazon customer who was impacted told Business Insider, "to have any personal information shared is a huge rights violation."

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