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☆ GOP senator asks TikTok's CEO over and over if he's Chinese. He's Singaporean.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

During Wednesday's tense congressional testimony over online safety for children, Sen. Tom Cotton repeatedly asked Singaporean TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew if he's ever been a part of the Chinese Communist Party. An increasingly agitated Chew, who's no stranger to US politicians' prodding, tried repeatedly to shut down the line of questioning by telling the conservative senator that he's Singaporean. "Senator, I'm Singaporean, no," Chew responded. Chew was joined by four other social media companies' CEOs Wednesday for a combative hearing on protecting children online in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Zaveri put it this way:The rhetoric at times seemed to paint the Chinese people with a broad brush and conflated people of Chinese ancestry with the will of the CCP.

Persons: Sen, Tom Cotton, Shou Zi Chew, he's, Chew, Cotton, Jamie MacEwan, MacEwan, Paayal Zaveri, Zaveri, bungled Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Business, Enders Analysis, Committee, Energy, Commerce, CCP Locations: China, Beijing

☆ A TikTok ban in Montana points to how a US ban would play out: messy and hard to enforce
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Montana is the first US state to ban TikTok, as US lawmakers discuss a federal ban. US lawmakers have been talking about a possible TikTok ban over its ties to China. Montana's law suggests a federal ban would be hard to enforce — and might not solve anything. Last week, Montana became the first US state to ban TikTok — and the rule's implementation could show just how hard it would be to enact a federal ban. Montana's TikTok ban is hard to enforce from a tech standpointWhile the ACLU and other civil rights groups are questioning the legality of Montana's TikTok ban, even if it did stand up to a court challenge, it's hard to actually enforce.

Persons: TikTok, it's, Montana's, that's, Evan Greer, Aaron Mendes, Banning TikTok, Mendes, Donald Trump's, Karen Gullo Organizations: ACLU, TikTok, Apple, Washington Post, Facebook, Electronic Frontier Foundation Locations: Montana, China, British, TikTok

☆ The debate over banning TikTok has been poisoned by anti-Asian rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The TikTok CEO's testimony to Congress in March highlighted the anti-Asian rhetoric around the app. And second: The discourse around those issues, particularly talk of banning the app entirely in the US, has been poisoned by a surge in anti-Asian rhetoric, making it difficult to have a national conversation around TikTok in good faith. But what set the hearing with TikTok's CEO apart was the tone and personal nature of the questions, Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups said. That paints a target on the back of Asian Americans, Chinese nationals living in the US, and, by extension, all other Asian populations, advocacy experts said. The rhetoric has consequences for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the US economyAll this has implications for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the US and the global Asian diaspora.

☆ Microsoft made a big bet with ChatGPT. Months later, it’s already paying off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft bet billions on OpenAI — its gamble is already paying off. Some analysts said Microsoft's successful integration of AI signals that it has already pulled ahead of Google. They even projected that Microsoft's cloud service Azure could be on track to surpass long-dominant Amazon Web Services. My teammate Paayal Zaveri highlights how Microsoft's AI wager has made it a surprising leader in tech's hottest field. He hit $2 million by the end of 2020, and in 2022 alone, he sold $4 million worth of products.

☆ Microsoft's bet on AI is still in its early days. But there are signs it's already paying off.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI has lead to a new wave of innovation in artificial intelligence. There are already early signs that the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership is paying off, analysts say. Analysts say there is still work to be done, but "Microsoft is leading this tech AI arms race." Wall Street analysts took that as a sign that Microsoft's big bet on AI is already leading to financial gains. Ultimately, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said, "the AI story is still in the first inning," but, he said, "Microsoft is leading this tech AI arms race."

☆ America's best bet for banning TikTok would have terrible side effects
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

As talk of a TikTok ban builds, the leading legislation with bipartisan support is the RESTRICT Act. Here's why the RESTRICT Act has some people so worried — and what the experts say might be a better approach. The type of data TikTok collects is similar to what Facebook or Twitter collect from its users. What would actually solve the concerns about the Chinese government getting US user data is comprehensive data privacy legislation, he and other experts said. "What we're saying is that if you're concerned about the Chinese government getting user data from TikTok," Greene said.

☆ Microsoft should pay whatever it costs to replace Google on Samsung phones
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Samsung is reportedly looking to replace Google Search with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its phones. If Samsung follows through, Microsoft should pay whatever it takes to make it happen, analysts said. The fact that Samsung is even considering changing its default search engine presents a rare moment of weakness for Google, especially on smartphones. A vast majority of smartphones have Google set as their default search engine, Insider previously reported. Investing big to entrench Samsung as a partner now could pay dividends for Microsoft later, the experts said.

☆ How Larry Page's flying-car company of the future turned into a stunning failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Although I'm currently pretty homesick and jet lagged, I'm blessed with "the life-changing magic of working from home." One worker told my colleague Rebecca Knight how remote work transformed her life and how returning to the office has killed company morale. The stunning failure of Google founder Larry Page's flying-car company. In April 2022, company morale plummeted when it axed one of its most promising projects, those former insiders say. The company put together a thorough document to help managers navigate pay-related conversations with employees, and Insider got a look.

☆ Why banning TikTok could be a bad idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Download Insider's app here. Screenshots from Lemon8 app, Ese Nuesiri / Shantania Beckford1. The rise of Lemon8 proves how pointless a TikTok ban would be. The US government wants to ban TikTok, but its parent company ByteDance is coming out with a new app aimed at the US market. Paayal writes that even if the US banned TikTok, Lemon8 would still exist.

☆ The viral success of Bytedance's new app Lemon8 shows just how pointless a TikTok ban would be
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amid talk of a TikTok ban, its Chinese parent company Bytedance is pushing a new app in the US called Lemon8. The early success of Lemon8 shows how banning TikTok wouldn't actually solve anything, experts say. As calls for a national TikTok ban escalate, its China-based parent company Bytedance is pushing a new app in the US called Lemon8. In fact, beyond TikTok and Lemon8, Bytedance has another success in its US portfolio: CapCut, a video-editing app. For Lemon8, Bytedance is pushing hard to get creators on the new app.

☆ Why cutting middle management is a bad idea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The push to cut middle managers will backfire on tech. Companies like Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce embarked on cost-cutting efforts that "flattened" org charts by removing middle managers, starting a trend across Silicon Valley. Middle managers, or what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls "managers managing managers," saw their roles shrink in the past year as tech companies focus on "individual contributors," increasingly requiring managers to do coding work themselves. But losing middle managers could also impact team morale and how employees look at their futures in the company. It comes despite Musk recently signing an open letter calling for an industry-wide halt to any AI training for several months.

☆ Amazon, Meta, and other tech giants are cutting middle management to be more efficient. It's a risky move that could backfire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big Tech's latest cost cutting move is "flattening," or removing middle management from the org chart. This is likely to work in the short term, but removing middle management has long-term consequences. The move comes as the Big Tech companies reel from the consequences of overhiring, as the pandemic turned into an unexpected boon to their businesses. While that all sounds good, experts warn removing middle management roles have other consequences that Big Tech will have to deal with. Middle managers set the tone and cultureAdditionally, middle managers have more influence on shaping a company's culture and can affect whether or not employees feel engaged in their jobs, as Insider's Aki Ito reported.

☆ A top TikTok lawyer reportedly laughed when an employee asked about a potential ban in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A top TikTok lawyer was reportedly asked what the company would do if the app was banned in the US. Several countries banned TikTok on government devices, and India has an outright ban on the app. Australia recently moved to ban TikTok on government devices, a move that the United States, Canada, France, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom previously made. India has had an outright ban on TikTok in place since 2020. Still, experts have said a full TikTok ban in the US is the last possible option for the US.

☆ San Francisco's homicide rate is low compared to other big cities, but the killing of tech founder Bob Lee shows that doesn't tell the whole story
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The tragic killing of tech founder Bob Lee has reignited the debate over crime in San Francisco. Those stats compare relatively favorably to other big cities in the US, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing FBI data. Meanwhile, the homicide rate in San Francisco was 5 per 100,000 in 2020, the FBI's crime data shows, as analyzed by the San Francisco Chronicle. It's also lower than other cities of comparable sizes to San Francisco, including Columbus, Ohio. Additionally, the San Francisco Police Department must conclude its investigation before the DA's office can step in, Randy Quezada, communications director at the San Francisco District Attorney's office, told Insider's Grace Kay and Sindhu Sundar.

☆ Big tech companies continue cost cutting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tech companies have chased short-term fads in a desperate attempt to win the favor of Wall Street investors — and it's making the online experience worse. As tech companies continue to focus on efficiency, it's clear that one metric is the most important: revenue per employee. After years of over-hiring, tech companies are now looking to squeeze the most efficient performance from each worker, my colleague Hasan Chowdhury reports. But it's another sign that tech companies are drifting away from pro-remote work policies. Google, Meta, and Microsoft have all failed to make their AR and VR devices into mainstream successes.

☆ Salesforce employees are not happy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

That said, there's plenty happening in tech news, from Salesforce layoffs to an unusual new perk for Meta employees. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Salesforce1. Employees aren't happy about how the cloud giant is handling its plan to cut 10% of its workforce. The cost-cutting did help Salesforce avoid a proxy battle for control of its board, as activist investors pushed for Salesforce to focus on efficiency. Read why Salesforce employees are upset at how the company is handling layoffs.

☆ Potential regulator challenges to Big Tech M&A may have far-reaching consequences for the tech ecosystem
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

M&A deals involving large tech companies may get harder as US regulators ramp up scrutiny. If regulators increase scrutiny, it could deter other large tech companies from buying startups. More challenges to proposed tech M&A deals may also mean that the pool of potential acquirers shrinks. Of course, there are cases where a large tech company seeks to buy out a smaller, more innovative competitor because it is scared of getting displaced. "There has to be the hope and dream of selling to a larger tech company some day," Sherman said.

☆ Tech leaders are urging caution on AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Insider asked ChatGPT, the viral AI chatbot sweeping the internet, to whip up a layoff memo for a pretend tech company, Gomezon. Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, researchers at Alphabet's DeepMind, and other AI leaders are calling for a pause on training AI models more powerful than OpenAI's GPT-4. My colleague Emilia David looked at why Elon Musk and other tech leaders are right: AI needs to slow down. An Apple Watch is an essential for many of us these days, but the right band can make all the difference. Check out Insider's review of the 18 best Apple Watch bands in 2023.

☆ Tesla rival Lucid plans layoffs, as manufacturing and production challenges mount for EV startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Lucid, a Tesla rival, is planning layoffs. The EV startup is planning to lay off hundreds of employees, my colleague Alexa St. John reported. Lucid has had a challenging few months, as it works to nail down manufacturing and production and get cars on the roads. It's not the only EV company that's struggling. Insider's Tim Levin tested out charging a KIA EV at a former Tesla supercharger that's open to all EVs.

☆ TikTok wants its advertisers to know the 'myths vs. facts' after its CEO's day in Congress
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Now, it seems, TikTok wants to clear up some facts that lawmakers may have gotten wrong. TikTok wants to clear up "Myth vs Fact." After the TikTok CEO's 5-hour hearing at Congress last Thursday, the company wants to reassure advertisers that it'll be fine. The document states: "TikTok does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model." Advertisers make up a large chunk of TikTok's user base, which the company says is now at 150 million monthly active users in the US.

☆ Twitter and Apple are cracking down on return-to-office mandates. Other tech companies will likely start too.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Major tech companies are taking in-person work pretty seriously. They were early return-to-office tech companies. So their crackdowns give a glimmer of how tech companies issuing similar mandates now will enforce them going forward. Amazon, Oracle, Salesforce, and many other tech companies recently announced the end to remote work. Check out our list of major companies with return-to-office mandates — they could eye policy enforcement soon.

☆ Tech CEOs increasingly admire Elon Musk's harsh leadership style, but they should actually take cues from Apple's Tim Cook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Experts attribute Apple's stability and durability to CEO Tim Cook's steady leadership style. Experts say that Cook, not Twitter's Elon Musk, is the model that more execs should look to. The lessons CEOs can learn from Cook, the experts say, are that quiet prudence and practicality are always in fashion. By contrast, Cook's approach at Apple is often described as "pragmatic" and "risk averse," as Insider previously reported. Some workers see it as a precursor to the company firing employees who don't meet the requirement, Bloomberg reported.

☆ The TikTok CEO's day in Congress was a 'disaster' that failed to prove a sale or ban isn't the only way forward, Wall Street says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in front of US Congress, amid calls for a forced sale or ban. But after hours of grilling, the testimony likely had the opposite effect. Thursday's hearing likely gave lawmakers even more fuel for the argument in favor of a sale or a ban. A sale or ban of TikTok is still likelyWithout a radical shift in the conversation, the status quo is upheld. "It's very possible that Congress advances these bills and, and passes them, but those bills won't ban TikTok," he said.

☆ America needs immigration reform, or it risks of losing an entire generation of tech workers to countries like Canada, the UK, and Japan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Emilia David | Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

While the US still attracts talent, workers increasingly go to places like the UK or Canada. With other countries easing immigration for tech workers, the US may find itself lagging. Without change, and fast, experts say this could mean an entire lost generation of tech talent for American tech. "Foreign countries have figured out ways to more aggressively attack top-tier tech talent," Hiba Anver, an immigration attorney with Erickson Immigration Group, told Insider. America's loss is other countries' gainMeanwhile, other countries are making it easier for tech workers like Negandhi and students to immigrate.

☆ The US is bleeding tech workers to other countries — it needs to move fast or risk falling behind.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US is losing tech workers to other countries. And so, many tech workers are opting to move and work there instead of the US. Plus, many of these countries are making their immigration systems easier for tech workers. My teammates Emilia David and Paayal Zaveri break down how the US is on the brink of losing an entire generation of tech workers. And it showed that Boomers and Gen Z both love many of the same cars, including the Toyota RAV4.

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