Facebook executives dodged saying how many more employees they're willing to hire to review nefarious content on its platform.
Why it matters: It's clear that human content reviewers are needed to address some of the biggest safety and security concerns on the platform, like suicide warnings and egregious content. Facebook has committed to doubling the number of staff monitoring content but it's not clear if that is a viable long-term strategy given Facebook's more than 2 billion users.
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has joined the board of medical office software company Kareo, according to a memo obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: This is the first new business responsibility that Kalanick has assumed since being fired last summer by Uber, where he remains a director.
Twitter is submitting a metrics proposal about how its platform contributes to the overall health of the public conversation. In a tweet, co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey concedes that executives didn’t fully predict or understand the real-world negative consequences of its platform until now.
Our thought bubble: The level of transparency with this announcement is a sign of maturity for the 11-year-old company, which is now trying to build its business moving forward by focusing on consumers' health and democracy.
Tune in as Axios Managing Editor Kim Hart interviews Facebook's head of global safety policy, Antigone Davis and vice president of product management, Guy Rosen.
Placed, the Seattle-based measurement company acquired by Snap last year, rolled out a free service Thursday that will provide metrics around store visits for 2,000 businesses.
Why it matters: Foot traffic is a crucial metric for marketers looking to measure how advertising directly impacts sales, but access to this type of technology can be expensive. Providing it for free mirrors Snap's commitment to working with advertisers that are actively looking to sell things, not just enhance their brands.
Axios' Mike Allen hosted a trio of conversations in D.C. on how 5G, the next phase in super-fast networks, will affect self-driving cars. He discussed the roles of government and tech in facilitating the adaption of these vehicles with:
T.H. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
IBM is picking up its fight against the big web platforms by endorsing legislation to regulate digital ads and fighting to keep liability protections out of a renegotiated trade agreement.
Why it matters: IBM is one of several big corporate players who have taken advantage of rising anti-big-tech sentiment to build their own profile. IBM’s Chris Padilla says that with recent efforts they want to “show responsible stewardship as we usher in new technologies to help business and society work smarter.”
Uber has launched a new service that will allow hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other health care organizations to order and schedule car rides for patients. Uber is not charging a fee to use the service. The health care providers only have to pay for the ride.
Why it matters: Uber sees a huge untapped market in the roughly 4 million people who skip or delay health care visits every year because they don't have reliable transportation. Hospitals, doctors and other providers could be eager to pay for those rides if it means more on-time appointments and fewer no-shows — which translates into more revenue in their pockets.
Javier Soltero, who rose to a top role on the Office team after selling his startup to Microsoft, is taking on a big new challenge, Axios has learned. He's about three weeks into a new job as the corporate VP overseeing Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant.
The big challenge: Cortana, though omnipresent on the Xbox and Windows 10, has only limited use outside of Microsoft hardware and therefore gets far less attention, from both developers and consumers, than assistants from Amazon, Google and Apple.
