Hillicon Valley: Poll finds Americans eager to regulate Big Tech | Protesters heap pressure onto ShotSpotter | Twitter debuts shopping feature
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A poll released today by CAP Action and Public Citizen shows just how far out of public favor America’s Big Tech companies have gotten. Not only are Americans worried about the size and influence of the companies but, according to the survey, they support taking steps to regulate them. In other news, activists in Chicago rallied Thursday calling on the city to end its contracts with the controversial gun detection company ShotSpotter.
BAD POLL FOR BIG TECH: The approval ratings of America’s biggest tech companies are all underwater, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, Apple and Amazon all had net unfavorable ratings in the survey conducted by Change Research on behalf of the progressive groups CAP Action and Public Citizen.
A majority of respondents also showed an openness toward regulating and even breaking up the companies.
“I think the honeymoon phase of the American public with Big Tech is over,” Public Citizen’s Jane Chung told The Hill.
The release of the poll comes as Congress works to iron out its strategy for taking on the country’s biggest tech companies.
SHOTSPOTTER PRESSURE: Local activists staged a protest demanding that Chicago end its police contracts with the gunshot detection company ShotSpotter.
The rally kicked off at the site where 13-year old Adam Toledo was killed earlier this year by police who were dispatched by a ShotSpotter alert.
Toledo’s killing has brought new scrutiny onto the technology which is now being used by police departments in over a hundred cities in the U.S.
SHOP TILL YOU DROP: Twitter is testing a shopping feature that allows users to purchase items directly from a business’s account without leaving the platform, the social media company announced Wednesday.
Its Shop Module will roll out with a “handful of brands” in the U.S. on iOS devices, but the company said it plans to unveil additional shopping-focused features after the pilot program.
The Shop Module feature gives businesses a place at the top of their accounts to showcase products through a carousel of images for users to browse through and make purchases.
TESLA’S REVENUE REPORT: Tesla reported more than $800 million in revenue from its energy business in the second quarter.
The company raked in $801 million in revenue from its energy business, including solar photovoltaics and energy storage systems for homes, businesses and utilities, last quarter, which is a 60 percent increase over the first quarter, according to CNBC.
Tesla reported an overall $1.14 billion in net income last quarter, which marked the first time it topped $1 billion, CNBC reported.
A FINE FOR GOOGLE: A Russian court on Thursday ordered Google to pay a fine after the tech giant refused to keep personal data belonging to Russian users on servers that are based in Russia.
Google must now pay a fine of 3 million rubles, equivalent to about $41,000, which is the first financial penalty the technology company has ever received in Russia for issues involving data storage regulations, The Associated Press reported.
Russia’s latest move against Google is part of its wider mission to tighten its control of online activity, the news service noted.
An op-ed to chew on: Bipartisan policies put America back into the 5G race against China
Lighter click: Inhaling trade rumors as we speak
NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB:
The Children of Tech’s Guest Workers Are Pushing For Immigration Relief (The Verge / Tanvi Misra)
Why Turkey’s Regulators Became Such a Problem for Google (The New York Times / Adam Satariano and Daisuke Wakabayashi)
‘NO DASHER = NO DELIVERIES:’ DoorDash Drivers Strike for Tip Transparency (Motherboard / Lauren Kaori Gurley)
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