Nextdoor, the neighborhood-based social network, wants to remind the world that it operates very differently from its giant competitors, as the Wednesday release of its first-ever transparency report underscores.

Why it matters: The report emphasizing Nextdoor's community moderation approach comes as the U.S. and other countries weigh efforts to tighten regulation of the industry.

By the numbers: Nextdoor is highlighting data points that it says show its focus on community-based moderation can get results.

• Over the past year, Nextdoor says that more than 233,000 community volunteers around the world voted on whether to take action on at least one piece of reported content.
• For posts that were ultimately taken down, Nextdoor says that the median time to remove reported content was 4.6 hours.
• As for government requests, Nextdoor said it received 18 U.S. subpoenas, 11 search warrants and provided content related to two child safety reports.

Between the lines: Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar says that she hopes the report will show lawmakers that Nextdoor differs from its peers and that regulations should take that into account.

• "One size does not fit all," Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar told Axios.
• She also says that the platforms themselves can use technology to help identify and limit the spread of problematic content. "There is still a lot of white space for platforms to go innovate," she said.
• And, she adds, Nextdoor is proof that companies can verify that users are who they say the are, and do so without relying on facial recognition. (Nextdoor verifies users and their address using a variety of techniques including location data and public/private databases.)

The big picture: Nextdoor, which focuses on connecting people who are physically close to one another, has been growing in recent years, with a spike in use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• In the U.S., about one in three adults use Nextdoor, up from one in five a couple years back.

Yes, but: Nextdoor is still working to address its early reputation as a haven for neighborhood busybodies, some of whom resorted to racial profiling.

• "There definitely was real work to be done," Friar said.
• Friar noted the company's work with an outside advisory group that includes the head of the NAACP and academic experts in bias.

With the latest version of iOS, currently in testing, Apple is offering a Siri voice that is less explicitly male- or female-sounding, Axios confirms.

Why it matters: It's part of an effort by Apple to offer a more diverse array of options for its virtual assistant. Last year it added two Siri options recorded by Black voice actors.

Details: The voice, option No. 5 in the Siri UI menu, was added with the beta versions of iOS 15.4 that were released to developers and the public on Tuesday.

• As of last year, Siri no longer defaults to a female voice — users must pick their preference from the available options.
• Apple confirmed the new voice was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but did not offer further details.

Tech companies were among the first to send workers home, and they're likely to have vast numbers of jobs that can be done fully remotely — but they're still betting that offices will be the future, Erica writes.

Stunning stat: Tech companies held 36 of the 100 biggest office leases in 2021, up from 18 in 2020, per a new CBRE analysis.

• That amounts to 11.4 million square feet of office space.
• In second place is the federal government, which has 5.1 million square feet of the 100 biggest leases — less than half of what the tech industry has.

The bottom line: The fact that some of the most remote-capable companies in the country are gobbling up office space and expecting employees to come back to work in person signals that fully remote work won't be the norm once the pandemic is behind us.

Go deeper: Companies might face resistance as they call workers back

A proposed class-action lawsuit against Sony over alleged discrimination of women lacks sufficient facts and would put some female PlayStation workers in conflict with themselves, a lawyer for the game maker argued in a legal filing Tuesday.

Driving the news: Sony is asking the court to dismiss the suit, filed by former PlayStation IT security analyst Emma Majo, and is denying any wrongdoing, Axios' Stephen Totilo reports.

• "Despite the sweeping breadth of her lawsuit, the allegations in which [Sony Interactive Entertainment] categorically denies, she fails to plead facts to support either her individual claims or the claims of the broad-based classes of women she seeks to represent," the company's lawyer wrote.

Between the lines: Sony's pushback largely consists of relentless criticism of a lack of facts, damning or otherwise, in the Majo suit.

• Majo had alleged that Sony systematically paid women less than men for similar work and she was ignored by male superiors. She said she'd been passed over for promotions before being fired last year after submitting a gender bias complaint to the company.
• In response, Sony says Majo "fails to identify a single policy, practice or procedure at SIE that allegedly formed the basis of any widespread intentional discrimination or had a discriminatory impact on women."

The big picture: Scrutiny of gender discrimination in major video game companies has intensified in recent years, following an investigation and landmark lawsuit against League of Legends maker Riot Games.

• Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard and Assassin's Creed publisher Ubisoft have both been mired in sexual misconduct scandals in recent years.
• Last month, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer discussed with Axios Microsoft's and his Xbox division's own 2019 reckoning regarding mistreatment of women at the company, calling the episode "painful."

On Tap

• Facebook is holding an online "Inside the lab" event looking at its metaverse-related AI work, starting at 9am PT.
• Today's earnings reports include eBay and Booking.com.

Trading Places

• Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is taking its marketing beyond headline-grabbing sports deals with the hiring of beauty entrepreneur Lauren Remington Platt as its new head of global luxury partnerships.

ICYMI

• Sony revealed the design for its second-generation PlayStation VR headset. (CNBC)
• Activision CEO set for $15M "golden parachute" in Microsoft deal. (Axios)
• Facebook is expanding Reels, its TikTok rival short-form video format, to 150 countries. (CNET)

Continuing our artsy streak, check out the work of Alexey Kondakov, who superimposes classical images in modern settings. His work includes a powerful (and suddenly timely) series that uses Kyiv, Ukraine, as the backdrop.