• Tesla Inc. employees had access to images and video captured from cameras built into the company’s cars, including recordings of drivers in compromising and embarrassing situations and of crashes, and shared them via an internal messaging system, according to interviews with nine former employees. While the company has assured customers that “camera recordings remain anonymous and are not linked to you or your vehicle,” former employees said location data was available and could reveal where a driver lived. (Reuters)
• The early success of artificial intelligence chatbots released by Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google has led to a willingness to take greater risks, according to 15 current and former employees and internal documents from the companies. In an internal email, Microsoft Deputy Chief Technology Officer Sam Schillace said it would be an “absolutely fatal error in this moment to worry about things that can be fixed later,” and five current and former employees say the company has not consistently enforced or followed its own responsible AI policies. (The New York Times)
• Executives at companies including McDonald’s Corp. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. have expressed concerns that Elon Musk’s own comments about race and the willingness of Twitter Inc. to host racist speech under his ownership have made the platform toxic to advertisers. Musk is set to appear at the Possible conference, a major marketing and advertising event, where he is expected to make the case to advertisers to return to Twitter after many top brands have slowed spending on the platform since his takeover. (Semafor)

Happening today: 

• The Washington Post will host a conversation discussing U.S. military readiness and innovation in a new technological era with Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

We analyzed Apple’s revenue per employee to show how it’s avoided tech bloat and delayed layoffs

Insider

Why Amazon quashed an Oregon bill that aimed to curb data center emissions

Annie Palmer, CNBC

Amazon helped quash a bill in Oregon that aimed to curb the carbon output of data centers and crypto mining facilities. The company said the legislation failed to address gaps in infrastructure that are needed to bring more clean energy online.

Samsung to Cut Memory Chip Output After Worst Profit Since 2009

Sohee Kim and Youkyung Lee, Bloomberg

Samsung Electronics Co. is cutting memory chip production after reporting its slimmest profit since the 2009 global financial crisis, a significant step for the industry after oversupply caused prices to crater. Shares rose.

Apple’s Irish Operation Profits Rise to $69.3 Billion

Peter O’Dwyer, Bloomberg

Apple Inc.’s main Irish-registered company made pre-tax profits of $69.3 billion last year as its income soared to $222.8 billion, company filings show.

Apple’s $165 Billion Cash Hoard Creates M&A Mirages

Jeran Wittenstein and Ryan Vlastelica, Bloomberg

Apple Inc.’s slowing growth and cash-rich balance sheet are again fueling speculation that the world’s most valuable company should make a big acquisition.

US, Microsoft reach settlement over tech firm’s sanctions violations

Kanishka Singh, Reuters

The United States and Microsoft Corp reached a settlement on Thursday over the tech firm’s apparent violations of sanctions and export controls, which it disclosed voluntarily, the government and the company said.

The Latest Existential Threat Facing Traditional Media: Chatbots

Gerry Smith, Bloomberg

Ask Microsoft Corp.’s new Bing chatbot about Donald Trump’s indictment and the artificial intelligence tool delivers a response that strikes fear in media executives.

Former Google CEO Rejects AI Research Pause Over China Fears

Ben Westcott, Bloomberg

Putting a temporary pause on artificial intelligence development would only hand an advantage to competitors in China, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said, after more than 1,000 researchers signed a letter warning of the consequences of moving too quickly on AI research.

Microsoft’s rolling out Edge’s AI image generator to everyone

Mitchell Clark, The Verge

Microsoft is making its DALL-E-powered AI image generator “available on desktop for Edge users around the world.” The company announced it’d be coming last month when it integrated the image generation tech into its Bing chatbot, but this move could make it available to a much wider audience.

How A.I. and DNA Are Unlocking the Mysteries of Global Supply Chains

Ana Swanson, The New York Times

Firms are turning to advanced technologies to help answer a surprisingly tricky question: Where do products really come from?

Boost Mobile expands distribution with Walgreens

Monica Alleven, Fierce Wireless

Boost Mobile is expanding into more retail locations, with customers now able to sign up for new service at Walgreens stores.

Comcast, Verizon, Shentel score as Maryland awards $92M for broadband

Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom

Comcast and Verizon each bagged more than $10 million this week, winning substantial sums as the state of Maryland awarded 35 broadband grants totaling $91.6 million.

Microsoft adds Bing AI chat to its SwiftKey keyboard for Android

Lance Whitney, ZDNet

Now available in the latest beta release of Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard, the Bing AI will help you with searches, rewrite your text, and respond to your requests via chat.

Best Buy Now Sells Unlocked iPhones, But Not the Latest Models

Joe Rossignol, 9to5Mac

Best Buy today announced that it now sells unlocked iPhones in the U.S., but only older models are available, including the iPhone 12, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13, and third-generation iPhone SE. An unlocked iPhone can be used with a wide variety of carriers.

Privacy is at risk as HIPAA fails to keep pace with digital health

Erin Brodwin and Tina Reed, Axios

Nearly three decades old, HIPAA appears obsolete and riddled with new technology-induced gaps.

US, S.Korea, Japan concerned over N.Korea’s ‘malicious’ cyber activities

Soo-Hyang Choi and Ju-min Park, Reuters

The United States, South Korea and Japan expressed deep concern over North Korea’s “malicious” cyber activities to support its weapons programmes, in comments released in a joint statement on Friday.

Microsoft and cybersecurity firm Fortra go after top hacking tool

Sam Sabin, Axios

A group of cybersecurity companies, including Microsoft, are launching a full-scale legal crackdown today against one of the top hacking tools malware groups use in their attacks.

India to require Facebook and Twitter rely on gov’t fact checking

Manish Singh, TechCrunch

India amended its IT law on Thursday to prohibit Facebook, Twitter and other social media firms from publishing, hosting or sharing false or misleading information about “any business” of the government and said the firms will be required to rely on New Delhi’s own fact-check unit to determine the authenticity of any claim in a blow to many American giants that identify the South Asian market as their largest by users.

Elon Musk says NPR’s ‘state-affiliated media’ label might not have been accurate

Bobby Allyn, NPR News

Twitter CEO Elon Musk said the platform’s recent labeling of NPR as “state-affiliated media” might not have been accurate during a series of email exchanges that provided a glimpse into the billionaire’s thought process on decisions that reverberate far beyond the social network.

How Creators Are Making Money From ByteDance-owned CapCut

Isabelle Sarraf, The Information

The video-editing app, launched globally in 2020, has skyrocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store free-app charts in recent weeks, an indicator of recent popularity and number of downloads. 

TikTok’s Next Big Ban Showdown Is in Montana

Stu Woo and Georgia Wells, The Wall Street Journal

Chinese-owned app is lobbying against bill to ban TikTok for all Montanans, in effort to avoid domino effect.

US senators defend push to give Biden new tools to ban TikTok

David Shepardson, Reuters

Two U.S. senators proposing to give the Biden administration new powers to ban Chinese-owned short video app TikTok on Thursday rejected criticism arguing it is the best way to address security concerns about a broad range of foreign-owned apps.

Twitter’s API shutdown and botpocalypse begins

Jay Peters, The Verge

Twitter appears to finally be replacing its free API tier with a “paid basic tier,” and the changes could have an enormous effect on the Twitter ecosystem as we know it. (The change was going to happen on February 9th but was delayed and then delayed again.) Popular Twitter bots like the Thread Reader App have relied on that free tier, but they may now be forced to pay potentially exorbitant prices or cease operations entirely.

Twitter cuts off Substack embeds and starts suspending bots

Mitchell Clark, The Verge

Writers trying to embed tweets in their Substack stories are in for a rude surprise: after pasting a link to the site, a message pops up saying that “Twitter has unexpectedly restricted access to embedding tweets in Substack posts” and explaining that the company is working on a fix. The unfortunate situation comes on the heels of Substack announcing Notes, a Twitter competitor.

Senior Twitter Lawyer Resigns, the Latest in a Series of Executive Departures

Ryan Mac and Kate Conger, The New York Times

The lawyer had been closely involved in the company’s talks with the Federal Trade Commission over promises it had made on privacy.

Leaked memo says Amazon plans to reduce employee stock awards in 2025, signaling a potentially major shift in its approach to compensation

Eugene Kim, Insider Premium

Amazon is trimming the number of shares it plans to give employees as part of their compensation, a move tied to a potentially broader effort to adjust the company’s approach to pay in the midst of economic uncertainty.

What Happened When Uber’s CEO Started Driving for Uber

Preetika Rana, The Wall Street Journal

Dara Khosrowshahi and other executives realized drivers’ complaints were valid. They revamped the app, helping Uber attract workers and extend its lead on Lyft. Driver pay remains a sticking point.

A tech company posted a job seeking only white applicants with the note ‘don’t share with candidates’

Sarah Jackson, Insider

A tech company has gotten swift backlash for listing a job post seeking white candidates only — alongside a note not to publish that information. Arthur Grand Technologies, an IT services firm founded in 2012 and based in Ashburn, Virginia, posted a business analyst position on Indeed. The post, however, also included a note: “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX. [Don’t share with candidates.]”

These Tech Workers Say They Were Hired to Do Nothing

Te-Ping Chen, The Wall Street Journal

Amid layoffs, former workers in tech are venting about jobs with little to do; ‘hoarding us like Pokémon cards.’

Tesla nominates former CTO JB Straubel to board

Hyunjoo Jin and Akash Sriram, Reuters

Tesla Inc on Thursday nominated former Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel to the electric-vehicle maker’s board.