Facebook's acquisition of Giphy, the platform for sharing animated images, could raise antitrust questions for the social network at a time when it is already under intense scrutiny.
The big picture: State and federal agencies are investigating Facebook for potential anticompetitive actions. The Federal Trade Commission is also reviewing a decade's worth of smaller acquisitions by Facebook and other tech giants.
The big picture: Google, along with Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, has faced scrutiny from regulators over a variety of concerns, including allegations of privacy violations, anti-competitive practices, political bias, and failure to limit the spread of misinformation.
Tech companies are gaming out how to bring employees back to the office, but many are expecting a new normal in which a significant portion of their workers stay home for good.
Why it matters: Some tech firms may find they are just as productive with a remote workforce. But a shift away from in-office work will have profound impacts on everything from the commercial real estate market to the vast number of support jobs that were built around serving Silicon Valley's sprawling campuses.
As they hope to weather the coronavirus crisis despite severe dips in business, Airbnb and Lyft have both made new hires focused on safety and community.
Driving the news:Airbnb announced yesterday it has hired AppleCare chief Tara Bunch as its new head of global operations, while Lyft recently brought on Jennifer Brandenburger as its first director of community safety.
Airbnb has hired Tara Bunch as its new head of global operations, overseeing customer service, trust and safety, and payments. Bunch is currently Apple's vice president of AppleCare.
The big picture: Bunch is filling a crucial gap since the departure of Airbnb's chief operations officer Belinda Johnson last year, especially as Airbnb, which has been hit hard by the collapse of the travel business during the pandemic, starts trying to make consumers comfortable staying in other people's homes again.
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn called on her fellow lawmakers to refuse meetings with representatives from Chinese companies, including video sharing app TikTok and telecom company Huawei, in a letter Thursday.
Why it matters: Companies with ties to China have been the target of ire and suspicion from lawmakers from both parties concerned about privacy and security.
As had been rumored, Apple is buying NextVR, an Orange County, Calif.-based startup best known for streaming sports, concerts and other live events in virtual reality. The company confirmed the acquisition first to Bloomberg, and also to Axios.
Why it matters: NextVR was struggling before the pandemic hit. The combination of slower-than-expected adoption of VR headsets and now a lack of live events put severe pressure on the company's ability to fundraise and build its business.
A group of House and Senate Democrats on Thursday announced legislation meant to ensure any tech tools used to combat pandemics don't violate Americans' privacy or introduce cybersecurity risks.
Why it matters: Americans report being wary of tech-based systems for coronavirus contact tracing — that is, identifying infected people and isolating those who've come in contact with them. A recent Axios-Ipsos survey found that just half of Americans would participate in a voluntary, cell-phone-based contact-tracing program.
Large smart city projects were getting a lot of attention and investment from city halls before the coronavirus pandemic. Now, those budgets have all but evaporated and priorities have shifted dramatically.
Yes, but: Some smaller-scale innovations could help cities as they fight to recover from the crisis.
A coalition of children's advocacy groups accused video-sharing platform TikTok of violating children's privacy and called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate in a complaint Thursday.
Why it matters: TikTok is facing heat from Washington over concerns about how well it's protecting kids who use its wildly popular app — and it paid $5.7 million last year to settle an FTC investigation alleging that a predecessor app illegally obtained children's personal information.
A loose constellation of tech veterans is lining up to support presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, forming a largely moderate, Beltway-fluent contrast to President Donald Trump's smaller bench of tech loyalists.
The big picture: Biden is drawing support from the technocratic circles that made for an amicable relationship between the Obama White House and Silicon Valley, including some people who once worked for Obama or Biden and now hold powerful positions at major tech firms.
A top tech trade group in a Wednesday letter to Vice President Mike Pence pushed the Trump administration to provide clear nationwide guidance on how companies should approach reopening during the coronavirus pandemic.
Why it matters: Conflicting guidance from federal, state and local authorities on how to safely get back to work is muddying an already daunting prospect.
Snapchat is working to get younger users to register to vote ahead of the 2020 general election, executives tell Axios.
Why it matters: The company was able to successfully register 450,000 people through its app during the 2018 midterms. Now, new data shows that 50% of those registered actually went out and casted ballots.
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