Why it matters: From the Valley to D.C., Big Tech players like Facebook, Google and Amazon are under more scrutiny than ever as new technology develops and privacy and antitrust concerns grow in lockstep with companies’ ambitions.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
School districts are taking it upon themselves to help families get connected to the internet as they face down a long future of virtual learning.
Why it matters: In the COVID-19 era of education, broadband is an essential service that families need to stay connected — and that school systems require to equitably educate children in their districts.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
SoFi, the fin-tech "unicorn" best known for refinancing student loans, has applied again for a bank charter with the Office of the Currency Comptroller, the company tells Axios.
Flashback: SoFi first sought a bank license in 2017 so it could offer deposit accounts, but withdrew its application following the ouster of former CEO Mike Cagney.
Intellectual Ventures founder Nathan Myhrvold. Photo: Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images
Intellectual Ventures has hired former TiVo executive Arvin Patel to run its giant patent fund.
Why it matters: The Seattle-area company, run by former Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold, has become one of the world's largest patent holders through a variety of mean including licensing, strategic partnerships and patent sales.
Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
TikTok, the short-video platform popular among teens for sharing funny moments and dance moves, is getting pulled into the deadly serious geopolitical conflict between China and the U.S.
The big picture: More than any other Chinese-owned app, TikTok has found success outside of its homeland. But as the U.S. sounds security alarms and China turns the legal screws on Hong Kong, the company is fighting to prove that it's not beholden to Beijing — and to forestall a threatened ban by the Trump administration.
Sign on Beijing headquarters of TikTok parent company ByteDance. Photo: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
TikTok offered a detailed look at its removal of videos around the globe Thursday as the popular video-sharing app faces pressure in the U.S. and abroad over its ties to China.
The big picture: The Trump administration says it's considering a U.S. ban on TikTok, which is Chinese-owned. India last month banned the app along with more than 50 other Chinese mobile apps.