POLICY

Up the Stack

Since we last published the newsletter, more tech platforms have restricted the accounts of President Trump, his campaign, and certain affiliated online communities. The full list, c/o Axios: Reddit, Twitch, Shopify, Twitter, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Apple, Discord, Pinterest, and Stripe. 

The big story over the weekend 

Parler, which bills itself as “non-biased, free speech social media focused on protecting user’s rights,” has become a go-to app for conservatives and far-right extremists. A few days ago, Apple and Google suspended Parler from their app stores due to its lack of content moderation policies and because it was used to incite violence. 

At 12:00 AM today, Amazon Web Services suspended Parler’s account. Getting the boot from AWS is rare. It’s usually difficult to migrate cloud services, especially under such short notice, because developers build and configure apps specifically for AWS. Spinning up your own infrastructure is a whole other story. 

“Parler is not a surveillance app, so we can’t just write a few algorithms that will quickly locate 100% of objectionable content, especially during periods of rapid growth and the seemingly coordinated malicious attacks that accompany that growth,” CEO John Matze said. 

AWS recently wrote to the company: “Over the past several weeks, we’ve reported 98 examples to Parler of posts that clearly encourage and incite violence,” per BuzzFeed News. 

Takeaways

This is still a developing story with exceptional circumstances. But there are some clear trends: 

• Tech companies are gatekeepers with enormous power. Day-to-day moderation involves humans and algorithms, but for big decisions, the buck starts and stops with humans. 
• Moderation moved up the stack to payment processors and cloud services. These infrastructure operators—and internet service providers—typically don’t make moderation decisions. If that becomes the norm, activists worry, governments could use this infrastructure as a chokepoint to shut off encrypted services like Signal.
• Speaking of Signal…online communities could shift to encrypted messaging apps, or to censorship-resistant decentralized networks, which are more difficult to police.

EVS

Eyes on the Road

This weekend was pretty big for car tech. Buckle up: It’s time for a check-in. 

Accelerator: Turns out a version of the famed Apple Car might be here sooner than we thought. On Friday, Hyundai said it’s in early-stage talks with Apple to develop autonomous electric vehicles—which led to a ~20% spike in the car manufacturer’s shares. 

• There’s reportedly even a chance that a “beta version” of the car could be released next year. 

Brakes: The current state of the semiconductor? Supply <<< demand. The chips now have more uses than ever—smartphones, communication base stations, you name it—and sky-high demand is making it harder for automakers to get the chips they need.

• Automakers like Volkswagen, Honda, Nissan, and Ford have had to roll back production of vehicles, including EVs, due to the global shortage. 

U-turn: On Friday, GM debuted a new logo for the first time in ~60 years. The company reportedly wanted something more tech-y, modern, and approachable as it moves toward an “all-electric future.” 

• The same day, Cruise, GM’s AV subsidiary, made a high-profile hire: Gil West, Delta Air Lines’s former COO. That may be a sign it’s closing in on a commercial offering, reports WSJ.

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CES

All Aboard the CES Express

Welcome to day one of our CES coverage. All week, we’ll be updating you on the most noteworthy gadgets, near-future tech trends, and—of course—the most bizarre things we see at this year’s virtual conference (throwback to the toilet paper delivery robot). 

Here’s what we already know: 

AI and 5G: Surprise, surprise—these two themes will “run across the entire spectrum” of CES this year, according to Jean Foster, an SVP at the Consumer Technology Association. But when it comes to AI, we’ll see more of a focus on bias, implications, and regulation. 

Digital health: Digital health will shine even brighter this year, especially when it comes to robotics, personalization, and AI in diagnostics. We’ll see a lot of new gadgets, too—from personal air purifiers to UV-C disinfecting lights. 

Electric vehicles: In the 2020 rear-view: the electric Hummer, Tesla (almost) meeting its 500k sales goal, 50% of Norway’s car sales going electric, and more. 

• We’ll see the tech advancements represented by CES regulars (like GM) as well as newcomers to CES (like Volvo). And according to our sources, some are planning  big-ticket digital activations. 

See you on our CES coverage hub. We’ll be updating every day. 

BITS & BYTES

Stat: Six in 10 Americans aged 18 to 34 already own smart home technology, according to a December survey—like smart TVs, home speakers, doorbells, robo-vacs, or thermostats. Interest has spiked during the pandemic. 

Quote: “How strange….Well, back to work.” —Elon Musk, in response to his new status as the world’s richest man. 

Read: Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web over three decades ago, spoke with the Times about his ideas to remake the digital world. 

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WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• App Store users spent $1.8 billion during the week of Christmas. 
• 2021 will be the year of universal basic income pilots. 
• CRISPR could help cure progeria, a medical condition that causes rapid aging. 
• Downloads of Signal have spiked after Elon Musk and former Facebook exec Chamath Palihapitiya encouraged followers to switch to the encrypted messaging app.
• Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has responded to the SEC’s lawsuit against his company.
• Kohler debuted a $16,000 hot tub. Chalk it up to CES craziness? 

THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING

As you know, we’ll be watching for announcements from CES all week. 

Also today: A US ban on investing in 35 Chinese companies kicks in. The list includes telecoms and SMIC, China’s biggest chipmaker.

On Thursday, as CES wraps up, another virtual event begins. Samsung will host the Galaxy Unpacked event, where the company is expected to unveil its new mobile devices. We’ll be watching to see if Samsung can deliver its cheapest 5G flagship yet.

PATENTS ARE A VIRTUE

Apple is staying busy. One new filing describes using hand gestures to control the interface of AR glasses; another outlines behavior planning software for autonomous vehicles. Most relevant to all of us: Two new patents point to Macbooks wirelessly charging an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. 

Elsewhere in the Dept. of Emerging Tech, a new Walmart patent describes a drone package retrieval system to be mounted to buildings. And Waymo literally filed a patent for a go button.

ICYMI

Catch up on the top Emerging Tech Brew stories from the past few editions: 

• What a Democratic Congress means for tech 
• Inside the new Alphabet Workers Union
• What to expect at the first all-virtual CES