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More than half of world population now uses the Internet

Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker speaking Wednesday at Code Conference. Photo by Asa Mathat for Vox Media.

Venture capitalist and former Wall Street analyst Mary Meeker today presented her annual Internet Trends report, which is eagerly anticipated and analyzed by tech executives and investors.

Top trend: "At 3.6 billion, the number of Internet users has surpassed half the world’s population. When markets reach mainstream, new growth gets harder to find — evinced by 0% new smartphone unit shipment growth in 2017."

  • Adults spend an average of 5.8 hours per day with digital media, 3.3 hours of which is via mobile devices.
  • 20% of all purchases in China are e-commerce, which is the highest such mark.
  • Amazon has expanded its e-commerce marketshare from 20 to 28%, based on GMV. 49% of users begin products searches at Amazon, versus 36% via traditional search engines.
  • 6% of all e-commerce referrals now come via social media like Facebook and Twitter.
  • American IT companies represent 25% of MSCI market cap, compared to 33% at the dotcom peak.
  • More Chinese Internet users are willing to share personal data in exchange for benefits than are U.S. users (38% vs. 25%).
  • Meeker, while presenting her report at the Code Conference, said that "Google, in effect, is evolving from an ad platform to a commerce platform," while Amazon is doing the reverse.
  • She also said that direct-to-consumer retail is booming, fueled by the impact of social media as a source for referrals, and that "shopping is increasingly entertainment."

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Scoop: Gina Haspel threatened to resign over plan to install Kash Patel as CIA deputy

CIA Director Gina Haspel. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.

Why it matters: The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences — and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone — stopped it.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Health: Coronavirus deaths reach 4,000 per day as hospitals remain in crisis mode — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden says, "We will manage the hell out of" vaccine distribution — Biden taps ex-FDA chief to lead Operation Warp Speed amid rollout of COVID plan — Widow of GOP congressman-elect who died of COVID-19 will run to fill his seat.
  3. Vaccine: Battling Black mistrust of the vaccines — "Pharmacy deserts" could become vaccine deserts — Instacart to give $25 to shoppers who get vaccine.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again — Fed chair: No interest rate hike coming any time soon —  Inflation rose more than expected in December.
  5. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
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John Weaver, Lincoln Project co-founder, acknowledges “inappropriate” messages

John Weaver aboard John McCain's campaign plane in February 2000. Photo: Robert Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)

John Weaver, a veteran Republican operative who co-founded the Lincoln Project, declared in a statement to Axios on Friday that he sent “inappropriate,” sexually charged messages to multiple men.

  • “To the men I made uncomfortable through my messages that I viewed as consensual mutual conversations at the time: I am truly sorry. They were inappropriate and it was because of my failings that this discomfort was brought on you,” Weaver said.
  • “The truth is that I'm gay,” he added. “And that I have a wife and two kids who I love. My inability to reconcile those two truths has led to this agonizing place.”
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