Axios Login: Biden's tech short list

Plus: Tinder background checks; e-commerce numbers soar | Monday, March 15, 2021

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Merck   Login By Scott Rosenberg ·Mar 15, 2021 Ina's taking a break this week, so I'm here to host Login till she returns. Yes, I know yesterday was Pi Day, but this weekend also marked another key milestone! Sorry — you'll have to read through to After you Login to find out what it was. Today's Login is 1,250 words, a 5-minute read.     1 big thing: Biden's tech short list Photo illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images   While the Biden administration has been slow to appoint the key decision makers at agencies overseeing technology issues, a handful of people are on the inside track to lead them, Axios' Margaret Harding McGill and Ashley Gold report. Between the lines: By and large, these likely appointees do not have direct ties to Big Tech companies and have advocated for tougher measures against the industry. Many also previously served in the Obama administration and fall in the progressive camp.  What to watch: Here are the names you'll hear a lot as Biden builds out his tech policy apparatus at the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission. Karl Racine: Sources tell Axios that Racine, the D.C. attorney general, is actively being vetted by the White House for an administration gig, potentially at the FTC. Racine has joined the multi-state antitrust lawsuits against Facebook and Google, and separately sued Facebook in 2018 over the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Alvaro Bedoya: Bedoya is being considered for a Democratic FTC commissioner slot. He's the founding director of the Center for Privacy and Technology at Georgetown Law School and an expert on data collection and surveillance. He previously was chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law, working on privacy and security legislation. Jon Sallet: Sallet is a candidate to lead the antitrust division at the DOJ, where he previously was the deputy assistant attorney general for litigation. He also served as the general counsel of the FCC during the Obama administration. Sallet advised the Colorado Attorney General in the multi-state antitrust lawsuit against Google. Jonathan Kanter: A longtime antitrust lawyer known for promoting aggressive enforcement, Kanter is in the running to head up the DOJ's antitrust division. He previously worked for the FTC's Bureau of Competition, challenging mergers and often testifying on the Hill. Kanter is well-liked and known among advocates for discarding the legal principle that antitrust cases must show financial harm to consumers. Gigi Sohn: Sohn previously advised former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler and has strong ties to public interest groups as a co-founder and former CEO of Public Knowledge. She's now a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law and Policy and a Benton Institute senior fellow and public advocate. Edward "Smitty" Smith: The former adviser to Wheeler served in the Biden transition as part of the FCC review team. Smith has been in private practice at DLA Piper (the former law firm of second gentleman Doug Emhoff). He also served as senior director for the National Urban League's digital equity proposal, known as the Latimer plan. Anna Gomez: The Wiley Rein attorney and former Commerce Department official was part of the Biden transition's Commerce review team. Gomez is seen as a contender for a commissioner position with the FCC. The big picture: Biden's tech direction began coming into focus last week with two well-known critics of Big Tech making headlines: Law professor Tim Wu joined the White House as an economic adviser. Antitrust expert Lina Khan is being vetted for a possible appointment as an FTC commissioner. Of note: Jessica Rosenworcel and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, the acting heads of the FCC and FTC, respectively, are also both seen as strong contenders to become the permanent heads of their agencies.     2. Pandemic added another Christmas for e-commerce Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios   A year of pandemic living drove U.S. consumers to spend an additional $183 billion online, according to a new study from Adobe released Monday. That's roughly the amount they spent during e-commerce's peak November-December holiday shopping season last year. The big picture: Adobe is predicting 2021's total e-commerce sales to land between $850 billion and $930 billion, with the figure topping a trillion for the first time in 2022. That's compared to $813 billion in 2020, which was a big leap up from $573 billion in 2019, the last pre-pandemic calendar year. Other findings: "Branded shopping days" — like Memorial Day or Thanksgiving's "Black Friday" and Cyber Monday — lost some of their importance. "Buy now, pay later" and "buy online, pickup in store" have both soared in popularity. Pandemic-driven shortages and price spikes meant consumers got fewer good deals and saw their purchasing power, which Adobe says normally rises about 4% each year, drop by 1% instead.     3. Tinder's background checks for potential dates Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   Tinder, along with its parent company Match Group, is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record, Axios' Ina Fried reports. Why it matters: Most people know very little about the person they have just met online. Garbo allows people to find out whether someone they are interacting with has a criminal record or other court actions, such as a restraining order. Details: Match Group expects to have Garbo's service integrated into Tinder later this year. After that, Match hopes to make Garbo available on its other dating services. Match will make a significant "seven-figure" contribution to Garbo. "This is an industry first," says Match Group safety head Tracey Breeden. Between the lines: Garbo is the brainchild of its CEO Kathryn Kosmides, herself a survivor of sexual assault. Kosmides said the service's reports include details of initial charges, as they often get watered down as part of a plea bargain. They exclude drug possession and other charges that tend to be disproportionately enforced against marginalized groups. "Our mission is trying to find the balance between protection and privacy," Kosmides said.     A message from Merck Merck launches digital series on health, policy and business trends     Teal Talks features bold, intelligent conversations with innovators, leaders and influencers from around the world. Watch the inaugural episode featuring founder of Thrive Global Arianna Huffington and chief leadership and human resources officer at Accenture Ellyn Shook.     4. Facebook pushes vaccines, studies "hesitation" Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said this morning that Facebook is building a tool to connect Americans to information about where and when to get a COVID-19 vaccine, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. The big picture: Facebook has been blamed for the spread of anti-vaccination misinformation during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Details: In a blog post, Zuckerberg said the company aims to help bring 50 million people "one step closer to getting vaccinated" by helping people "learn more about COVID-19 vaccines and find out when and where" they can get one. In a reversal from its previous position, Facebook said last month that it will take tougher action during the pandemic against claims that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccination, are not effective or safe. Meanwhile, Facebook is conducting a large-scale study of ways its platform may be spreading vaccine hesitancy, according to a Washington Post story. The study looks at posts that don't outright break Facebook's rules but raise questions about the COVID vaccines in ways that may still be causing harm in some communities. Researchers divided the U.S. population into 638 segments and found that "just 10 out of the 638 population segments contained 50 percent of all vaccine hesitancy content on the platform," and in those segments, "just 111 users contributed half of all vaccine hesitant content." The study has also identified "significant overlap" between communities with high vaccine hesitancy and those that embrace the QAnon conspiracy theory, according to the Post.     5. Chips are down, thanks to climate woes Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Austin-based NXP Semiconductor said it would likely lose $100 million thanks to a month-long shutdown in the wake of Texas' cold-weather-driven electricity-grid collapse, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Why it matters: A global chip shortage — stemming from pandemic-related supply-chain disruptions and climate-change-related disasters — has hobbled U.S. auto manufacturing and could threaten the vigor of a post-pandemic economic recovery. NXP's Austin plants are back online, but Samsung's have not resumed full production. In Taiwan, a major center for semiconductor production, a drought tied to climate change is threatening chip production, which depends on an abundant supply of water. An analysis at Seeking Alpha suggests that big tech companies like Apple have more experience at planning for long-term chip needs and have locked in their supplies whereas the auto industry, with its "just-in-time" production philosophy, may have a harder time.     6. Take note Trading Places Maya Watson, formerly director of editorial and publishing at Netflix, has joined Clubhouse as its head of global marketing. ICYMI Stripe raised $600 million at a new valuation of $95 billion, making it the most highly-valued U.S. "unicorn," topping SpaceX, Axios' Dan Primack reports. (Axios) Software bots are getting better at automating office work, Axios' Bryan Walsh reports. (Axios)     7. After you Login Illustration: Ina Fried/Axios   Ina may be taking the week off, but it was Login's fourth birthday over the weekend. To celebrate, here is one of the images she created to promote the launch. I'm pretty sure that's not her computer from four years ago, though. But shouldn't there be a C:> prompt somewhere?     A message from Merck One key to a resilient company: self-care     Self-care and well-being are important not just to individuals but to businesses and their success. The reason: Creating a shared success mindset where leaders invest in their people strengthens organizations. Learn how leaders can endorse the importance of well-being in the workplace.     Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: