• President Joe Biden signed an executive order prohibiting the U.S. government’s use of commercial spyware, which comes as a senior administration official said that at least 50 U.S. government personnel in at least 10 countries overseas have been hacked by the use of some of the now-restricted surveillance tools. The executive order, which will not apply to tools built by American intelligence agencies, will prevent federal agencies and departments from using commercially purchased spyware that could be abused by foreign governments, used to target Americans overseas or present a potential national security threat if installed on U.S. government networks. (The New York Times)
• Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, speaking at the 2023 Annual Antitrust Enforcers Summit, said her agency would protect competition in the artificial intelligence industry and warned Big Tech firms like Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. not to attempt to block competition through unlawful practices. Khan said that incumbent companies often panic during moments of technological transition and “resort to anticompetitive tactics to protect their moats and protect their dominance.” (The Wall Street Journal)
• Following a notice that Twitter Inc. will remove all “legacy” verified badges from profiles on its platform next month, Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that only verified accounts will appear on the curated “For You” page and will be able to vote in polls, indicating that only companies, government entities or Twitter Blue subscribers will have access to the features. Musk claims the decision is “the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over.” (The Verge)

Happening today: 

• The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will host a hearing titled “Preserving Free Speech and Reining in Big Tech Censorship.” Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Bob Latta (R-Ohio) teased in a press release it would feature “several people who’ve been silenced by Big Tech.” 
• The Free State Foundation will host its 15th annual Policy Conference, which will focus on internet and communications laws and regulations. Speakers at the event include Federal Communications Commissioners Brendan Carr (R) and Nathan Simington (R), Federal Trade Commissioner Christine Wilson (R) and Chris Lewis, president and CEO of Public Knowledge.
• The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing on the fiscal year 2024 budget requests for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Jen Easterly, director of CISA, will testify. 
• The Information will host an online webinar titled “Silicon Valley Bank Imploded. Startup Leaders Tell us What’s Next.” Speakers include Superhuman founder and CEO Rahul Vohra, Astrapilot founder Hayley Leibson and Mercury co-founder and CEO Immad Akhund.

The teen mental health crisis: a reckoning for Big Tech

Financial Times

Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Chills Start-Up Funding

Erin Griffith, The New York Times

Two weeks after the bank failed, the fallout has hit the start-up market as investors pull back further and fear has risen.

Musk’s brain implant company in search of human trials partner

Marisa Taylor and Rachael Levy, Reuters

Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink has approached one of the biggest U.S. neurosurgery centers as a potential clinical trials partner as it prepares to test its devices on humans once regulators allow for it, according to six people familiar with the matter.

Amazon seller consultant admits to bribing employees to help clients; will plead guilty

Annie Palmer, CNBC

An influential consultant for Amazon sellers admitted Monday to bribing employees of the e-commerce giant for information to help his clients boost sales and to get their suspended accounts reinstated.

U.S. issuing new childcare guidance for semiconductor chips subsidy program

David Shepardson, Reuters

The Biden administration on Monday will release new guidance for its $52 billion U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research program detailing how companies seeking major awards must provide affordable high-quality childcare.

Amazon Starts Warning Customers About ‘Frequently Returned’ Items

Theo Wayt and Ann Gehan, The Information

Amazon’s free and easy return policy for the vast majority of its items is a key part of its pitch to consumers, but a new feature the company is rolling out shows it’s trying to get customers to send purchases back less often.

Amazon loses bid to toss consumer antitrust lawsuit

Mike Scarella, Reuters

Amazon.com Inc must face consumer claims that its pricing practices artificially drove up the cost of goods sold by other retailers in violation of U.S. antitrust law, a federal judge has ruled.

Huawei reportedly says it has developed domestic chip design tools despite U.S. sanctions

Arjun Kharpal, CNBC

Eric Xu, rotating chairman at Huawei, said the company along with other domestic firms, jointly created electronic chip design tools required to make semiconductors at 14 nanometers and above.

German regulator launches antitrust proceedings against Microsoft

Rachel More, Reuters

Germany’s antitrust regulator said on Tuesday it had launched proceedings against Microsoft to examine whether the U.S. tech giant is “of paramount significance for competition across markets”.

Microsoft’s Activision deal will not harm competition -Japan watchdog

Kiyoshi Takenaka, Reuters

Japan’s antitrust watchdog said on Tuesday it did not expect a merger between Microsoft Corp and Activision Blizzard to stifle competition, helping clear the way for the Xbox maker’s $69 billion acquisition of the “Call of Duty” creator.

For Chip Makers, a Choice Between the U.S. and China Looms

Yuka Hayashi and Jiyoung Sohn, The Wall Street Journal

Semiconductor companies seeking federal grants under the Chips Act could face a tough decision: take Washington’s help to expand in the U.S., or preserve their ability to expand in China. 

Alphabet seeks dismissal of US antitrust lawsuit over Google’s online ads

Diane Bartz, Reuters

Google parent Alphabet asked a U.S. federal judge on Monday to dismiss a Justice Department lawsuit alleging that the search giant illegally abused its dominance of online advertising.

Zoom’s new AI features help you catch up on meetings you’re late to

Emma Roth, The Verge

The video conferencing app is adding several new AI-powered features — along with new Mail and Calendar integrations — to compete with Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, and Salesforce’s Slack.

Tinkering With ChatGPT, Workers Wonder: Will This Take My Job?

Lydia DePillis and Steve Lohr, The New York Times

Artificial intelligence is confronting white-collar professionals more directly than ever. It could make them more productive — or obsolete.

Generative AI set to affect 300mn jobs across major economies

Delphine Strauss, Financial Times

Technology could boost global GDP by 7% but also risks creating ‘significant disruption.’

Nvidia shows new research on using AI to improve chip designs

Stephen Nellis, Reuters

Nvidia Corp, the world’s leading designer of computer chips used in creating artificial intelligence, on Monday showed new research that explains how AI can be used to improve chip design.

Europol sounds alarm about criminal use of ChatGPT, sees grim outlook

Foo Yun Chee, Reuters

EU police force Europol on Monday warned about the potential misuse of artificial intelligence-powered chatbot ChatGPT in phishing attempts, disinformation and cybercrime, adding to the chorus of concerns ranging from legal to ethical issues.

Can a Machine Know That We Know What It Knows?

Oliver Whang, The New York Times

Some researchers claim that chatbots have developed theory of mind. But is that just our own theory of mind gone wild?

China’s Baidu reveals more capabilities of AI-powered chatbot Ernie

Eduardo Baptista, Reuters

Chinese search engine Baidu on Monday shared pre-recorded videos of its AI-powered chatbot Ernie summarising financial statements and producing powerpoint presentations, among other industry-focused capabilities.

Starlink rival OneWeb aims for global satellite internet coverage after passing a key milestone

Ryan Browne, CNBC

OneWeb, a rival to Elon Musk’s Starlink internet satellite venture, is aiming to roll out coverage globally after successfully launching the final batch of satellites needed for its broadband service over the weekend.

AirPods Pro with USB-C are supposedly on the way

Emma Roth, The Verge

Apple could soon launch a USB-C version of its second-gen AirPods Pro. That’s according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes the company could start shipping the earbuds with a USB-C case during the second and third quarters of this year.

Russia Supplies Iran With Cyber Weapons as Military Cooperation Grows

Dov Lieber et al., The Wall Street Journal

Russia is helping Iran gain advanced digital-surveillance capabilities as Tehran seeks deeper cooperation on cyberwarfare, people familiar with the matter said, adding another layer to a burgeoning military alliance that the U.S. sees as a threat.

Popular apps with Chinese ties can gather more data than TikTok

Joseph Menn, The Washington Post

As Congress weighs an unprecedented ban of the wildly popular Chinese-owned TikTok over supposed security concerns, millions of Americans are downloading Chinese-designed apps to their phones that pose greater privacy risks with no outcry from lawmakers or regulators.

The secret list of Twitter VIPs getting boosted over everyone else

Zoë Schiffer, Platformer

Twitter does have a different standard for celebrities – including Musk himself. For months, the platform has maintained a list of around 35 VIP users whose accounts it monitors and offers increased visibility alongside Elon Musk, according to documents obtained by Platformer.

Democrats and Republicans are talking TikTok, but a deal is no guarantee

Morgan Chalfant, Semafor

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas has spent weeks pushing his bill to empower the White House to ban TikTok. After a bipartisan grilling of TikTok’s CEO last week, something close to that policy is looking likelier than ever, and he’s working with Democrats to negotiate a unified approach.

US Spy Agency Cyber Chief Warns TikTok Is China’s ‘Trojan Horse’

Margi Murphy, Bloomberg

Rob Joyce, the head of the US National Security Agency’s cybersecurity arm, said popular video-sharing app TikTok is China’s “Trojan horse” and poses a long-term, strategic cybersecurity concern. 

Polish council recommends banning TikTok on public administration phones – media

Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Reuters

A Polish government advisory body has recommended banning the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on the work phones of public administration employees, Polish media reported on Monday.

How could a TikTok ban be enforced?

Rebecca Klar, The Hill

Bipartisan support to ban TikTok in the U.S is mounting, but carrying out the action will likely be trickier than gaining the political power to enact it. 

Anti-Palestinian hate on social media is growing, says a Facebook partner

Alice Speri and Sam Biddle, The Intercept

Social media users in Israel are increasingly using platforms like Facebook and Instagram to launch hate speech at Palestinians.

Apple illegally fired five labor activists, union says

Lauren Kaori Gurley, The Washington Post

Apple fired five union organizers in Kansas City, Mo., in retaliation for union activity, the Communications Workers of America alleged in charges filed with the National Labor Relations Board on Monday.

GitHub slashes engineering team in India

Manish Singh, TechCrunch

GitHub, the popular developer platform, has laid off virtually its entire engineering team in India in an unusual move as the Microsoft-owned firm cuts its expenses amid the weakening global market conditions.

Amazon loses bid to throw out case by UK drivers seeking worker rights

Sam Tobin, Reuters

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) has lost a bid to throw out three sample lawsuits brought by British delivery drivers seeking employment rights including the minimum wage and holiday pay.

Facebook Parent Plans Lower Bonus Payouts for Some Staff

Salvador Rodriguez, The Wall Street Journal

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. plans to lower some bonus payouts and will more frequently assess employee performance, according to an internal memo, part of a sweeping revamp of the social-media company that includes large head-count reductions. 

Lyft CEO and president to step down, former Amazon exec David Risher named as replacement

Rohan Goswami, CNBC

Lyft’s cofounders, CEO Logan Green and president John Zimmer, will soon step back from their day-to-day roles, the company announced on Monday.

Snap Hires Microsoft Exec in Key Ad Sales Role

Sahil Patel, The Information

Snap has hired former Microsoft advertising executive Rob Wilk as president of Americas, reporting to the company’s COO Jerry Hunter. It’s a top ad sales role at Snap, which has sought to replace executives Jeremi Gorman and Peter Naylor after they departed to lead Netflix’s advertising business last year.

Snap exec and head of growth Jacob Andreou heads to Greylock

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

Snap’s head of growth and previously longtime product head Jacob Andreou is leaving the social media company after eight years to join Greylock as a general partner. The exec announced his transition plans via a Twitter post noting he would be leaving Snap in May, which Snap also confirms, in order to focus on partnering with the “next generation of consumer founders.”