Crisis Text Line CEO Nancy Lublin was ousted by the nonprofit's board of directors on Friday, in response to allegations of racism and mistreating staff.
The big picture: The crisis hotline has emerged as a key mental health resource — particularly for younger people — amid the coronavirus pandemic, as individuals grapple with how to cope in a drastically changed world.
House antitrust investigators are pressing Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook to say by Sunday whether their CEOs will testify as part of the Judiciary Committee's tech competition probe, Axios has learned.
The big picture: The public grilling of the heads of the biggest tech companies would come as scrutiny over the power of their platforms heats up.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has sent a list of questions to U.S. video-conferencing company Zoom after it closed the accounts of several Chinese activists at Beijing's request.
Why it matters: Zoom is now used by hundreds of millions worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic, making its security and privacy policies a matter of widespread concern.
Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Mike O'Rielly said he's unsure whether his agency has the authority to carry out President Trump's executive order targeting tech firms' legal protections.
Why it matters: Trump's order seeks to have the FCC craft regulations limiting the scope of legal immunity that online platforms have under federal law. All three commission Republicans would need to support such regulations for them to pass, as the FCC's two Democrats are certain to oppose them.
Tech companies are starting to open their wallets to confront racial inequities, but the issues that the industry needs to address go far beyond just writing checks.
The big picture: The lack of black and Latinx representation in the tech workforce is well documented, but the industry also must grapple with the vast impact its products can have in healing inequality — or worsening it.
Democratic lawmakers demanded more transparency Friday into how the Federal Communications Commission is doling out $200 million in coronavirus telehealth funding.
Why it matters: The FCC has awarded about half the money, but lawmakers want to know more about health care providers whose applications have not yet been approved.
The United Kingdom's competition authority announced an investigation Friday into Facebook's acquisition of Giphy, and ordered the social media giant to halt integration of the animated images platform.
Why it matters: Facebook acquired Giphy last month as antitrust enforcers both in the U.S. and around the globe have increased their scrutiny of the power of major U.S. tech companies.
White House Chief Digital Officer Ory Rinat is leaving the Trump administration later this month to launch a new technology company focused on influencer marketing, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Rinat was instrumental in crafting the White House’s digital strategy and policy over the past three years. He has been with the White House since 2017.
The Biden campaign won't rely on the tech and ad agency with close ties to Mike Bloomberg to run its digital operation in 2020, people familiar with the process tell Axios.
Why it matters: Hawkfish billed itself as the digital savior for the Democratic Party in 2020, a plug-and-play technology that could go toe-to-toe with Team Trump. But the flashy-yet-unproven NYC-based agency lost its luster when Bloomberg underperformed in the presidential primaries after spending $1b+.
