Axios

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company has taken steps to curb hate speech on its platform after a white nationalist protest that led to violence. Zuckerberg said that the site has "always taken down any post that promotes or celebrates hate crimes or acts of terrorism — including what happened in Charlottesville."

He added: "With the potential for more rallies, we're watching the situation closely and will take down threats of physical harm. We won't always be perfect, but you have my commitment that we'll keep working to make Facebook a place where everyone can feel safe."

Key context: Zuckerberg's statement — which included a broader condemnation of bigotry — comes as tech firms are under new pressure to deal with extremist content. Facebook has been criticized for how long it took to delete an event page associated with the Charlottesville protests. It has since banned an account associated with white nationalism.

General Motors' Maven unit, which has been experimenting with short-term car rentals and car sharing, is reportedly exploring whether to someday debut ride-hailing and delivery services that would compete with Uber and Lyft, according to a report by Reuters citing anonymous sources.

Awkward: If it does decide to, the move would be mostly notable because of GM's relationships with Uber and Lyft. While its a partner to Uber, providing its drivers with short term car rentals, it has a deep relationship with Lyft, in which it invested $500 million in early 2016. The two have also said they're working on self-driving cars together.

"Maven Gig is not a ride sharing company," a Maven spokesperson said in a statement. "Through Maven Gig we supply vehicles to drivers that can be used on ride-sharing platforms or delivery services."

Scientists in Brussels have engineered soft robots that can use heat to heal their own wounds, barely leaving "scars." The key is rubbery material called elastomers that can change shape when exposed to mild heat.

Why it matters: "The lifespan of the robot is increased," Bram Vanderborght, one of the researchers, told Axios. Soft robots are unique in their adaptability — they're malleable and can navigate unknown environments. Most recently, Stanford researchers developed a vine-like soft robot that can "grow" like a plant and could potentially guide a patient's catheter in the future. These new self-healing properties could make robots resilient in potentially destructive environments.

Facebook has banned the Facebook and Instagram accounts of a white nationalist user, the AP reports. A Facebook spokeswoman says Christopher Cantwell's page and a page linking to his podcast have been removed. Facebook says they have removed eight accounts in total connected to the white nationalist movement. Cantwell is an active member of the movement.

Why it matters: Facebook was criticized for not acting quickly enough to take down the event pages promoting the Charlottesville rally this weekend. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has condemned the attack, but Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has yet to publicly comment.

The protests planned to be held at several U.S. Google offices this weekend have been postponed by organizers. The so-called March on Google was announced after the company fired the author of a controversial memo about Google's diversity efforts and women's affinity for technical roles.

Details: In a statement posted online Jack Posobiec — the pro-Trump activist who organized the event — said that "credible Alt Left terrorist threats for the safety of our citizen participants" was a reason behind the decision. The statement said a "threat was made to use an automobile to drive into our peaceful march." No future date was given.

Context: The phrase "alt left" was used by President Trump yesterday to describe counter-protestors in Charlottesville during the white supremacist event that turned violent this weekend. Posobiec is a conspiracy theorist who has publicized things online like "Pizzagate," which alleged Democratic politician involvement in a child-sex ring.

Apple is dumping $1 billion into creating original content in an effort to compete with other major tech giants, mainly YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Facebook, The Wall Street Journal reports. The investment is pretty big compared to what cable companies (other than HBO) spend on original content, but small compared to the investments already being made by other tech companies. For context:

1. Netflix: ~$6 billion annually
2. Amazon: ~$4.5 billion annually
3. HBO: ~$2 billion annually

Why it matters: It's another sign that tech platforms have the budgets and clout to compete with traditional TV for for viewers' eyeballs and attention. It's also representative of the saturated U.S. display advertising market. The tech companies are now all vying to win a chunk of the $70 billion TV ad market by giving brands video content to run ads between on their platforms.

Apple could acquire and produce as many as 10 television shows, sources familiar with the initiative tell The Wall Street Journal. The push is a part of Tim Cook's vision to expand Apple's services business, which includes apps, software, etc and Apple's content SVP Eddy Cue's vision of offering high-quality video. The investment comes just months after Apple poached two executives from Sony's production arm to launch a push into the original programming business.

Our thought bubble: There's going to be a lot more premium video inventory on the major platforms for marketers, and the quality of the content, as well as mobile and digital TV delivery, will be a big part of what drives buys.

Gut check: Digital video ad spend is growing, but TV is still huge.

No good legal dispute these days is complete without a good string of private text messages between the key players. On Friday, after several complaints from Waymo, Uber finally submitted to the court scores of pages of messages between former CEO Travis Kalanick, and Anthony Levandowski, the former Uber and Alphabet employee at the center of the dispute.

Background: After Levandowski left Waymo in early 2016, he started his own self-driving truck company, which Uber acquired several months later. Waymo says the whole thing was a plot to steal and use Waymo's trade secrets.

Takeaway: The exchanges provide a glimpse into the relationship between two men, bonded over their ambition to "take over the world... [o]ne robot at a time," as well as their big worries at the time: completing their secret acquisition and staying ahead of competitors. Key excerpts: On a DMV investigation into Otto, which Levandowski was then running out of his home in Palo Alto: 4/22/2016 Levandowski: Just wrapped with the DMV. it was the city of Palo Alto freaking out about AV trucks testing and were asked to investigate. The guys were happy with our answer and were in the clear. On competition from Google parent Alphabet: Both Kalanick and Levandowski had ongoing concerns about competition from Alphabet and its multiple relevant units like self-driving car unit Waymo and navigation app Waze. This growing competition led to Alphabet chief legal officer David Drummond's departure from Uber's board in August 2016. 5/18/2016 Levandowski: This scares the shit out of me: http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/android-auto-waze 6/13/2016 Kalanick: Just go word from Drummond that g-co [Uber-Alphabet partnership] is out 6/13/2016 Levandowski: Wow, at least now we know it's a zero sum game On competition with Tesla: In October 2016, Tesla announced its new cars would come with all the sensors necessary for full autonomous driving (pending future software upgrades to activate the full capabilities). 9/22/2016 Levandowski: Yo! I'm back at 80%, super pumped… we've got to start calling Elon on his shit. I'm not on social media but let's start "faketesla" and start give phyiscs lessons about stupid shit Elon says like this. 10/20/2016 Levandowski: Elon is going to make going to [self driving] not as big of a scary thing for the public... which should be good 10/20/2016 Kalanick: Got to get software runnin 10/20/2016 Levandowski: Amen

Venture capitalist and Uber investor Shervin Pishevar has ramped up his battle with Benchmark Capital, based on a new letter obtained by Axios.

Quick history: Benchmark last week sued former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick for fraud, in an effort to get him booted from the company's board of directors. Pishevar and two other Uber shareholders launched a petition to get Benchmark to instead step down from the board and to divest enough of its shares to remove its board appointment rights. Benchmark replied with its own open letter to Uber employees, while Kalanick also has begun fighting back.

Alphabet's self-driving branch is getting some more Washington firepower. Waymo has hired Senate Commerce Committee staffer David Quinalty as its new Head of Federal Policy and Government Affairs. He'll interface with lawmakers and federal transportation regulators as part of the job.

Why it matters: Self-driving technology is moving full speed ahead in Silicon Valley, and Washington in trying to keep pace. Lawmakers in both chambers — including the committee Quinalty currently works for — are working on bills related to autonomous vehicles. If the companies are able to secure federal preemption of state regulations, it would be a huge win that they say would make it much easier to roll out the technology nationwide.