Monday's technology stories

Silicon Valley rep: Uber's tactics "deeply disturbing"
Silicon Valley congressman Ro Khanna isn't mincing words in response to a Friday New York Times report that Uber used an internal tool to dodge local officials who wanted to investigate the service. Here's what he had to say in a statement to Axios when asked about the report:
"Uber's practices of how it treats employees and how it has used technology to evade the law are deeply disturbing. Aldous Huxley showed that technology is amoral; it is not an end in itself. Technology companies must be guided by the values of decency and respect to make sure they are helping make a contribution to society. Uber is failing to live up to that standard."

Facebook's frantic live video push opened door to acts of violence
The launch of live video was so important to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg that he took 100 engineers from across the company, starting early last year, and placed them in "lockdown" to focus on getting the project done in just a few months. And he dedicated $100 million to pay big brands to bring their content to Facebook, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.
The down side: Neither Zuckerberg nor the team adequately prepared for potential negative uses of the service, especially as an outlet for gruesome violence. According to the Journal, Facebook Live has shown at least 50 acts of violence, including murder, a beating and multiple suicides. Its policy focuses on taking down only content that glorifies hate or violence.
Why it matters: Live video is a key growth area for social media, with Facebook facing competition from Twitter and Snapchat, among others. Getting it right could mean a generation of new users and big ad dollars, while missing out risks losing relevance.

Google's latest antitrust battle is in Turkey
Today's daily reminder that antitrust complaints can crop up anywhere comes from Turkey, which has launched a probe of Google, according to the New York Times. The move comes at the behest of Russian search giant Yandex, the Times said.
The background: Google already faces multiple antitrust inquiries from the European Union and has been fined in Russia.
Why it matters: Dealing with antitrust issues takes time and energy and changes made for one country often get made globally, although the smaller the country the less likely that is to hold true.

Netflix lets you literally choose your own adventure
With the click of your remote, Netflix is experimenting with ways to allow users to decide how their stories could unfold.
Per The Daily Mail, the tech giant is testing technologies that would create an interactive format for dramas that stream on the platform. Actors and producers will create multiple endings — some simple and linear, some complex and and cyclical — that would allow users to engage with stories in a more custom, intimate way. With more consumption data on user preferences, Netflix is hoping to better target recommendations and content to match users' biases and habits, similar to Facebook's strategy online.
Timeline: In the short-term, customizing user preferences will help Netflix continue to migrate dwindling cable TV subscribers to streaming services — most of whom watch Netflix on a TV box-top set rather than on mobile. In the long term, customization techniques will help pull users to their platform away from other streaming services, like YouTube, which offers content in nearly twice as many languages, and Amazon, which has ramped up content efforts in hopes of rivaling Netflix with its larger Prime member base.

Kalanick to get some help at Uber
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is looking for a second-in-command, the Information reports, and notes that Uber has never had a formal no. 2 executive at the company to help the founder.
Why this is happening now: Since a Feb. 19 blog post by a former employee alleging sexual harassment, Uber's had a very rough ride. Here are the 8 headlines prompting this move.




