10 things in tech you need to know today

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1. Apple is getting into search. Apple now shows its own results through a search box on iPhone home screens amid a DOJ investigation into Google’s search dominance. 

2. Twitter defended its moderation policies. CEO Jack Dorsey told lawmakers during a Senate hearing that Twitter’s “moderation policies are to protect the conversations and the integrity of the conversations around the elections.“

3. Facebook says it barely profits from political ads. Since May 2018, almost 11 million ads pertaining to politics, election, or social issues have run on the platform, amounting to $2.2 billion in ad spending.

4. WeWork is demanding overdue rent. The office-sharing firm has taken a more aggressive stance toward nonpaying members than at the start of the pandemic and is threatening to send collection agencies. 

5. A former senior Uber exec is being sued. Fraser Robinson, whose new freight startup Beacon is backed by Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt, has been accused of fraud and theft in a California lawsuit.

6. Joe Rogan hosted Alex Jones on Spotify. Jones, a conspiracy theorist who has repeatedly claimed that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, was booted from Spotify’s platform in 2018 for violating its “prohibited content” policies.

7. Spotify has justified Jones’ appearance. In an internal email obtained by BuzzFeed, execs said they wouldn’t ban individuals from appearing on shows on its platform.

8. Facebook is being sued. Mass legal action is being launched against Facebook for failing to protect users’ information during the Cambridge Analytica scandal, per the BBC.

9. A meme-focused super PAC is exploding on TikTok. MemePAC is run by teenagers who want Trump out of office and the group’s TikTok account is bigger than The Lincoln Project, the super PAC founded by Republicans.

10. Jack Dorsey invited Malala to Twitter’s board. The Twitter CEO said he has admired the Pakistani activist Yousafzai for several years, previously calling her the person who inspires him the most.