Axios

The Department of Homeland Security rolled out new cybersecurity rules for pipeline owners and operators Friday — marking a win for the pipeline industry, which spent the last year criticizing the directive that these new rules replace.

Why it matters: The pipeline business is among those with the strictest cybersecurity regulations, and agencies for other industries are following this saga closely before drafting their own cyber regulations.

A California judge granted preliminary approval today to a historic $100 million settlement between League of Legends studio Riot Games and women who sued the company over gender discrimination, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The settlement is a win for women who worked at Riot and for a California agency that had blocked an earlier, smaller deal.

Meta on Friday said it approved a new three-year, $150 million commitment to fund its global content oversight board, which it has designed to be independent and provides money for via a separate trust.

Why it matters: The board was created to help Meta make tough calls on content moderation, but the group's power has been challenged at times by the company's unwillingness to outsource some of its decisions.

Jay Carney, who was White House press secretary under President Obama, will move from Amazon to Airbnb as global head of policy and communications.

Why it matters: Carney — as Amazon's SVP of global corporate affairs, and one of the closest advisers to founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos — is among the nation's most powerful and prominent tech executives.

Twitter on Friday said Elon Musk’s contentious takeover bid, combined with macroeconomic factors affecting the ad market, were to blame for the tech giant missing Wall Street’s revenue expectations for the second quarter.

Why it matters: Twitter’s share price, which is typically a reflection of performance as well as other factors, could play a role in possible negotiations with Musk later this year, if the two parties decide to settle their dispute out of court.

Two different cases were filed yesterday against three people accused of insider trading on crypto tokens — one from the DoJ was about the commission of a crime, while the related SEC complaint seemed to be, deeper down, about something else entirely.

Why it matters: The two takes on one case has reignited a seemingly esoteric but central question for cryptocurrency companies aiming to operate in a way that complies with U.S. law: What is or isn't a security, as opposed to a commodity.

If you're on Philly TikTok, chances are you've run into Naked Philly — the content arm of real estate company OCF Realty — over the last few weeks, as their viral videos have racked up tens of thousands of views.

Why it matters: Even on a hyperlocal level, brands want to use engaging content as a way to break through the noise and make a connection — and ideally, get your business — while you endlessly scroll.

For all its size and power, people continue to underestimate Amazon by focusing on what the company is already doing, instead of looking where it will go next.

Why it matters: Amazon is never content with just growing its share of markets it's already in. It always has an eye toward what large market it can upend next.

Once Senate leaders opened the door to moving on a China competitiveness bill over the weekend, a bipartisan group of senators knew exactly what it had to do: use the slimmed-down package as a shell to stuff in as many priorities as possible.

Why it matters: The emerging legislation goes far beyond the narrow $52 billion bill to shore up domestic semiconductor manufacturing that even the Biden administration was willing to settle for this month.

Shares for Snap Inc. were down more than 26% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company said revenue growth would meaningfully slow in the months ahead.

Why it matters: In May, Snap warned investors it would miss its second quarter guidance. Wall Street's response to Snap's earnings report today, despite that mid-quarter warning, shows how spooked investors are by the severity of Snap's revenue headwinds.

The video game industry’s biggest trade group is weathering a revenue shortfall, even as it continues to shape public policy around games.

Driving the news: Revenue for the Entertainment Software Association dropped more than $10 million, or 25%, in the 12 months ending March 31, 2021, due to the lack of its E3 trade show in recent years, according to an Axios review of its tax filings.

YouTube will begin removing and labeling certain abortion-related content on the video-sharing platform, the company said Thursday.

Why it matters: As states pass new laws and rhetoric continues to heat up, tech platforms are grappling with how to treat online information about abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

Evgeny Gaevoy is one of the original cowboys, building a shop that enables digital assets trading in the midst of the 2017 crypto winter. Wintermute is now among the largest crypto market makers, providing liquidity on 65 exchanges.

Driving the news: Gaevoy, in an interview with Axios at an Ethereum conference in Paris, is stoic in the face of the current bear market and the mess left behind by the firms that loaned billions of dollars to the now-defunct Three Arrows Capital (3AC).

Meta announced major changes Thursday to the Facebook app that will transform its experience into a more TikTok-like selection of algorithmically chosen videos — and shunt off content posted by family, friends and groups into a separate side feed.

Why it matters: The move shifts Facebook further from a social network and toward an entertainment and shopping platform like TikTok, which has increasingly challenged Facebook's dominance in user engagement and mobile advertising.

Hopes for a congressional vote this summer on a major tech antitrust bill have all but fizzled out as the August recess quickly approaches.

The big picture: It's more likely than ever that this Congress will push efforts to pass Big Tech competition rules into the fall, where they will face slim chances with lawmakers distracted by midterm elections.

Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg and its departing COO Sheryl Sandberg will testify in a privacy lawsuit against the company that alleges Facebook illegally shared user data with analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters: Meta could lose millions of dollars if it does not win the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of consumers after it was revealed in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica obtained data on as many as 87 million users from a third party and used it to target voters with highly specific ads for former President Trump's 2016 campaign.