Good morning! Peiter Zatko testified before Congress yesterday, adding more details to his initial whistleblower complaint. The long and short of it: Twitter has struggled with its data handling.
Data, the root of all evil
Twitter whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko’s testimony before Congress yesterday can be summed up in three words: sloppy data management.
Twitter has a lot of user data and doing a pretty bad job of managing it, Mudge told lawmakers.
- Among Zatko’s gripes: Too many engineers have too much access to too much data, making it difficult to monitor and opening the door for bad actors to use the data in bad ways.
- “They just lack the basic skills to hunt down foreign intelligence agencies and take them out on their own,” he said during testimony.
- However, Twitter is not the only social media company with this level of data collection. Many mobile apps collect the data Zatko described. And Zatko deals with potential risks, rather than actual chances of harm.
Twitter leaders also did not see security as a major concern, which is an issue Zatko described in his original whistleblower complaint.
- Instead of dealing with security problems, Zatko explained that management solved their issues by lying to the FTC or hiding the fact that most employees could take over Twitter accounts if they wanted to.
- Twitter doesn’t fear the FTC as much as it does European regulators, especially in France, because those agencies tend to dig deeper and impose tougher restrictions, Zatko said.
Elon Musk is not really a highlight of the testimony, in case you were wondering. Lawmakers did not ask too many questions about the acquisition, although Twitter shareholders approved the deal during a seven-minute meeting held yesterday.
So what’s going on now? Zatko didn’t offer any suggestions for what Washington could do beyond having more oversight of social media companies’ data practices. So as always, we may just have to wait for Washington to decide what it wants to do next. And that can take a while.
— Sarah Roach
The cornerstone corner store
If there’s one reliable mainstay in the retail world, it’s the corner store. And it’s not just useful when you need that late-night snack: Corner stores hold many opportunities for fintech.
Customers in emerging markets depending on the corner shops more than ever, according to new data from fintech VC firm Flourish Ventures.
- Fintech companies are uniquely poised to fill the needs of these stores, including helping often cash-based businesses transition to digital payments or making short-term credit more manageable, Protocol reports. Fintech reporter Veronica Irwin.
- It also benefits traders. United Nations Global Pulse research suggests that fintech can accelerate financial inclusion by serving “micro-merchants” who do not have adequate access to traditional banking services. Digitizing things like inventory, store analytics or bookkeeping can also help their bottom line.
- Investors take note: Three companies in Y Combinator’s latest batch plan to offer services to convenience store merchants.
There is a huge opportunity here: Getting fintech solutions right for these merchants isn’t just good for business; it’s important to the broader economy, Flourish managing partner Arjuna Costa told Veronica. “We can have this big of an impact on the corner store owner and the customer, so shouldn’t we collectively put our best minds and our capital against getting the … experience right?”
— Nat Rubio-Licht
Can mapping make cycling more attractive?
Google Maps can make driving easier. Cycling, not so much. Making the app more bike-friendly could make people less dependent on cars, which is particularly urgent, since the transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, writes Protocol Climate reporter Lisa Martine Jenkins.
- Setting up a mapping algorithm for cycling is not as easy as for cars, as finding the best route is more qualitative. Cyclists may not only care about speed, but also about things like safety or air quality.
- A quiet residential road with fast bumps but no bike lanes, for example, may be more comfortable for bikers — especially new bikers — than a busy street with a painted bike lane.
This brings enormous opportunities for tech companies willing to take on the challenge of becoming a single, comprehensive bike-routing app. Read the full story here.
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Combining the power of innovative technology, effective governance principles and a civic movement, Project Liberty is changing how the internet works and who it works for. Join us at Unfinished Live, September 21-24, to learn more and get involved.
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People are talking
Justin Trudeau criticized political rival Pierre Poilievre for crypto promotion:
- “Telling people they can opt out of inflation by investing in cryptocurrencies is not responsible leadership.”
Uber’s Dara Khosrowshahi says inflation is bringing in more drivers:
- “If anything, 72% of US drivers say that one of the considerations of their signing up to drive with Uber is actually inflation.”
Making moves
George Arison will be the new CEO of Grindr next month as the company prepares to go public. Vanna Krantz of Passport Labs also joined as CFO.
Bob Iger has joined Thrive Capital as a venture partner. Instagram, Spotify and Stripe are among the companies Thrive has backed.
Jim Bartolomea is ClickUp’s new SVP and global head of people and places. He previously served as ServiceNow’s VP of people.
Reena Choudhry is Obsidian Security’s first CRO. Choudhry recently held the same role at Very Good Security.
Lindsey Scrase joins Checkr as CRO. Scrase previously led the SMB and startups unit at Google Cloud.
Patreon has laid off 17% of its staff. The company plans to continue investing in its product, engineering and design teams but reduce its efforts in marketing, recruiting and other internal support resources.
In other news
The EU fined Google over $4 billion for using its Android operating system to fend off competitors. This is a record fine for an antitrust violation.
Google is also facing claims for up to $25.4 billion in damages over its ad tech practices in two lawsuits to be filed in the coming weeks by British and Dutch courts.
And South Korea fined Google and Meta over $70 million for violating privacy laws. The country’s watchdog said the two companies did not obtain legitimate consent for collecting user information.
Apple is expanding its ad inventory. The company plans to introduce new “ad placements” later this year, CNBC reported.
Signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom is a bill which requires social media companies to post their policies related to issues such as hate speech and report data on their enforcement of those rules.
Adam Neumann is giving away part of the holdings of his new startup in exchange for a $350 million investment from Andreessen Horowitz, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
The FBI seized MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s phone in a case involving a Colorado county clerk accused of tampering with voting equipment.
Meta combines its integrity and ad moderation teams, according to Axios. CISO Guy Rosen will lead the new integrity unit.
The US Commerce Department signed a deal with Google to research chips to be used in the development of nanotechnology and semiconductor devices.
SpaceX superfans
Elon Musk has attracted a following. But some have taken super-fandom to a whole new level, flocking to what is now known as “Rocket Ranch,” an isolated piece of land in the small Texas town of Boca Chica, to show their support. in Musk. The town is home to Starbase, the main site where SpaceX builds and tests its Starship. From the Rocket Ranch, fans can see the launches from afar. And some superfans even moved there to watch the rockets fly.
A MESSAGE FROM PROJECT LIBERTY
Combining the power of innovative technology, effective governance principles and a civic movement, Project Liberty is changing how the internet works and who it works for. Join us at Unfinished Live, September 21-24, to learn more and get involved.
Learn more
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