Skip to main content

10 things in tech you need to know today

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Monday. * Amazon sent an email to employees telling them to delete TikTok from their phones because of "security risks," then said the email was sent in error. TikTok's data-collection practices have come under scrutiny from US lawmakers.  * Facebook is reportedly considering a "blackout" on political ads in the days running up to the US presidential election. Facebook hasn't officially decided whether it will introduce the ban and it's not yet clear how long it might last, per Bloomberg. * President Trump told the Washington Post he authorized a cyberattack on a notorious Russian troll farm to try to deter it from interfering with the 2018 mid-terms. This is the first time Trump or the White House has confirmed the operation took place. * Three more executives are leaving French gaming company Ubisoft over allegations of sexual harassment, The Guardian reports. This brings the total of departed executives up to five after employees started detailing allegations of sexual misconduct on social media. * Microsoft founder Bill Gates said COVID-19 drugs and vaccines should not go "to the highest bidder" at a virtual conference, Reuters reports. "One of the best lessons in the fight against HIV/AIDS is the importance of building this large, fair global distribution system to get the drugs out to everyone," Gates said at the conference, which was hosted by the International AIDS Society. * Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says ride-hailing will make up only 50% of the company's business moving forward. The coronavirus pandemic has decimated Uber's core ride-hailing business, with trips plummeting as much as 94% earlier this year and the company losing $2.9 billion last quarter. * The new CEO of Intercom, a $1.3 billion startup backed by Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, says she'll lead the company to profitability and an IPO in a 'few years.' In June, the former CIO of $1.3 billion customer messaging startup Intercom — Karen Peacock — took the role of CEO, replacing cofounder Eoghan McCabe.  * Tesla slashed the price of its Model Y by $3,000 on Saturday, Electrek reported. The cheapest version of the Model Y has now been reduced to $49,990. * Tesla confirmed its annual meeting and highly anticipated "battery day" will be held in-person on September 22 at its Fremont factory. Both events have previously been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic that's also forced shutdowns of Tesla's factories in California and China. * A document published by TikTok's parent company ByteDance says its sister app Douyin uses facial recognition to keep foreigners out, The Telegraph reports. The system described in the document scans users' faces and matches them with state ID cards, automatically booting out foreigners. Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings. You can also subscribe to this newsletter here — just tick "10 Things in Tech You Need to Know. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: How waste is dealt with on the world's largest cruise ship
https://bit.ly/2Oj6Dx9

Popular posts from this blog

Apple has backed down in its latest developer fight, apologizing to WordPress after it pressured the website-builder to add in-app payments

* Apple has apologized after it tried to force WordPress to add in-app payment options to a free app. * WordPress' founder said on Friday that Apple was refusing to allow any updates to the WordPress iOS app until the website builder added in-app purchases, from which Apple takes a 15-30% commission. * Apple is in a fierce fight with developers including "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and Spotify over its rules on in-app purchases. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple has backed down in its latest skirmish with a developer over its App Store rules. The tech giant on Sunday issued a rare apology to WordPress after it pressured the website builder to add payment options to its free iOS app, or else be blocked from updating. "We believe the issue with the WordPress app has been resolved," an Apple spokesman told The Verge. "Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free st...

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX.  Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

What an independent contractor actually is and how it's classified under California's Assembly Bill 5, the gig worker law Uber, Lyft, and others are fighting with a November ballot measure

* California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) went into effect in January, adopting a narrow definition of independent contractor that forces Uber and other gig economy businesses to choose between reclassifying workers as employees or risking significant liability for misclassification. * The law serves as a reminder to California businesses to be careful when classifying workers as contractors.  * Classifying independent contractors falls into two main categories: the "right to control" test (often called the "IRS test") and the tougher "ABC test" recently adopted in AB5. * Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have recently poured $30 million into Proposition 22 — a ballot measure intended to exempt major ridesharing and food delivery companies from AB5. If California residents vote the measure into effect in November, Uber and Lyft can continue classifying drivers as contractors.  * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In September 2019, Californ...