Facebook fails a civil rights audit, college campuses will be "mini-Wuhans", and can the Trump admin ban TikTok?

Kara and Scott talk about an audit released about Facebook's lack of civil rights practices, the groups that have pushed them on moderating their platform, and Sheryl Sandberg's first public response. They also discuss the US' possible ban on TikTok, the China based social media app. In Listener Mail, we get a question about why colleges are not lowering...

9h

Uber buys Postmates, Taylor Lorenz talks Clubhouse, and Big Tech will testify in Congress — but Congress has already lost

Kara and Scott talk about Uber's acquisition of the food delivery company Postmates and what that means for the future of that market and the ride-hailing company. Also, they discuss the big four tech CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai all headed to congress as part of antitrust investigations. Then, we are joined by Friend...

3d

Facebook changes its speech policy, Amazon moves into driverless cars, and a Friend of Pivot on how suspension of visas will affect Silicon Valley

Kara and Scott talk about Facebook announcing it would change its policies around hate speech on the platform after mounting pressures from Civil Rights organizations and company ad boycotts. They also discuss Amazon buying Zoox, an autonomous ride-hailing company to start competing in delivery and ride share. We are joined by Friend of Pivot Sayu Bhojwani...

2w

Square withholds from its merchants; Twitch’s female streamers have had enough and a Listener Mail on contact tracing apps

Kara and Scott talk about how Square has been taking about 20% off of merchant transactions, as Jack Dorsey helms both Twitter and Square. Meanwhile, Twitch has been facing backlash from womxn gamers who are alleging that the company is allowing for sexual harassment and assault, while they create content for the company. This comes several years after...

2w

TikTokers take down Trump in Tulsa, a former-Google exec starts an anti-Google Google and John Rice on how to get more Black people in leadership

Kara and Scott talk about TikTokers pranking Trump out of rally goers and a new potential competitor to Google's search engine. They also discuss more issues of racism reported at Pinterest. They are joined by Friend of Pivot John Rice, the Founder of the non-profit Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) about how companies can better strategize in...

3w

Twitter’s new audio innovation, Apple’s dominance gets a closer look and a prediction on the impact of online trading apps on mental health

Kara and Scott talk about Twitter's new feature that allows certain users to post audio recordings. They also get talk about Pinterest reconciling with claims from Black employees that the company has internal racist practices. In big stories, the Department of Justice released a recommendation that portions of Section 230 be repealed. Meanwhile, Basecamp's...

3w

Bezos offers to testify, COVID-19 infections are up and Suze Orman on why emergency savings are more important than ever

Kara and Scott talk about the possibility that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos might speak to the House Judiciary Committee as a part of a broad antitrust investigation into big tech. Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo warns that the state’s reopening might need to be delayed after widespread violations of social distancing orders. Then we hear from personal...

4w

Amazon suspends facial recognition technology, Starbuck’s closes 400 stores and a prediction on Apple and search

Kara and Scott talk about Amazon and IBM moving away from their facial recognition technology because of algorithm's known racial biases. They also discuss Biden's petition to Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg to change his hands-off approach with political speech on the platform. They talk about HBOMax taking down "Gone with the Wind" and whether platforms...

4w

Amazon warehouse workers issue lawsuit, Alexis Ohanian steps down from Reddit board and a deeper debate on Section 230

Kara and Scott talk about a new lawsuit waged by Amazon warehouse workers alleging the company did not follow CDC protocol well enough to stop the spread of COVID-19. They discuss Alexis Ohanian's decision to step down from Reddit's board of the directors in order to leave space to elevate a black person to his empty seat. In Friend of Pivot we hear...

Jun 2020

Zuckerberg does nothing about Trump, Google’s Incognito is not Incognito?, Amazon bonds and a prediction about 2020 IPOs

Kara and Scott talk about Zuckerberg doubling down on Facebook policy that allows Trump to continue posting inflammatory content on the platform. They also discuss a new lawsuit against Google that says the company may be breaking Federal wiretap laws when people use private browser modes. Plus a listener mail question on Amazon bonds and a prediction...

Jun 2020