Jul 30, 2020 - Podcasts

Big Tech hearing chair on which companies should be broken up

Chief executives of Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google testified in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, ostensibly about antitrust issues. It was the highest-profile showdown to date in the increasingly fraught relationship between Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley, which could culminate in efforts to break up one, or more, of the companies.

Axios Re:Cap speaks with Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), chair of the subcommittee on antitrust, about what he learned, why he wanted the quartet to testify together, and which companies he thinks should be broken up.

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Ina Fried, author of Login
23 hours ago - Economy & Business

Apple-Google search deal faces antitrust spotlight

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Google hands Apple billions of dollars annually to be the default search engine on the iPhone giant’s devices, an arrangement that’s coming under renewed scrutiny as part of the government's antitrust suit against Google.

Why it matters: Google is the go-to search engine on mobile devices due to this deal, together with other pacts with wireless carriers and Android device makers. Google says users would pick it anyway, but antitrust enforcers contend the deals give Google a huge advantage over its search rivals.

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Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
4 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Pre-bunking rises ahead of the 2020 election

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Tech platforms are no longer satisfied with debunking falsehoods — now they're starting to invest in efforts that preemptively show users accurate information to help them counter falsehoods later on.

Why it matters: Experts argue that pre-bunking can be a more effective strategy for combative misinformation than fact-checking. It's also a less polarizing way to address misinformation than trying to apply judgements to posts after they've been shared.

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Kendall Baker, author of Sports
58 mins ago - Sports

Locker Room wants to reinvent how fans talk sports

Courtesy: Betty Labs

Locker Room, a social audio app where fans can talk sports and spontaneously join live conversations, launches Tuesday on the App Store.

The state of play: The company behind Locker Room, Betty Labs, has raised $9.3 million in seed funding led by Google Ventures with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Axios has learned.

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