| | | | | | | Presented By Qualcomm | | | | Axios Login | | By Ina Fried · May 24, 2022 | | It's hard to believe GDPR, the European data privacy law, is already four years old. I remember when it was just this tiny little check box uttering its first words — "Click here to accept all cookies." Today's newsletter is 1,168 words, a 4-minute read. | | | | | | 1 big thing: Free speech concerns shift from tech to media |  | | | Illustration: Megan Robinson/Axios | | | | America's free speech frustration has pivoted from tech companies to media publishers, according to this year's Axios Harris Poll 100, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. Why it matters: It's a sign of growing hostility toward publishers, with little recourse for people who think they don't do enough to guard against bias or misinformation. - The lines between publishers (like the Washington Post) and platforms (like Twitter), where their stories might appear, are becoming increasingly blurred — making it harder to be sure exactly who the public is blaming when they don't like the content.
- Tech firms are protected by internet laws that shield them from liability for what users post. But there's bipartisan momentum around changing those rules.
- The Axios Harris Poll 100 is an annual survey to gauge the reputations of the most visible brands in the country.
Details: A majority of Americans (57%) say publishers are responsible for content that goes against their personal values, not platforms. - Only 43% said platforms were more responsible.
Most Americans (58%) say technology companies are promoting free speech rather than hurting it, but major political divide persists. - An overwhelming majority of Democrats (72%) say tech companies promote free speech vs. only (41%) of Republicans.
Yes, but: The gap between the two parties in terms of trust in media reached an all-time high during the Trump administration, which could impact how they approach the free speech debate. - When asked who is responsible when content is published on a media platform that goes against their personal values, Democrats are evenly split (49% platform vs. 51% publisher), compared to Republicans (59% publisher vs 41% platform).
Between the lines: In the wake of the 2020 election, skepticism of mainstream media has intensified on the right, while frustration with coverage from Fox News has intensified on the left. - Last year, Democratic lawmakers held a hearing about the role of cable and broadcast companies in disseminating disinformation and extremist content.
- A Pew Research Center poll from July found that Republicans are less likely to trust a media source if it's viewed as "mainstream."
The big picture: Tech firms are still some of the worst-performing companies in the Axios Harris 100 poll. - Meta/Facebook ranked 97th of 100 brands on the poll, followed by Twitter, which ranked 98th. TikTok ranked 94th.
Go deeper: Friendly brands poisoned by politicsFull results and methodology |     | | | | | | 2. Markets shiver after Snap warns of slow growth |  | | | Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios | | | | Shares for Snap were down more than 25% in after-hours trading Monday after the company warned investors of slowed growth in the months ahead, Sara reports. Why it matters: The news comes as the entire tech sector, but particularly social media, struggles to maintain the unprecedented growth it saw during the pandemic. Details: In a regulatory filing submitted Monday, Snap said the company expects to miss its own revenue and profit targets for the current quarter. As a result of the slowed growth, the company plans to slow hiring for the remainder of the year, according to a note sent to employees by CEO Evan Spiegel and obtained by Axios. The note was first reported by CNBC. - "We will continue to hire new team members, including recruiting for open roles," the memo said. "We will slow our pace of hiring for unopened roles for the remainder of the year, as well as push some planned hiring into next year."
Yes, but: Spiegel notes that the company expects to hire more than 500 new team members between now and the end of the year, "representing nearly 10% company-wide headcount growth over the next seven months," he wrote. - Other tech firms have also slowed or frozen hiring.
The big picture: Shares for tech companies are down across the board as the market begins to course correct from inflated pandemic valuations. - Tech giants have continued to blame macro-economic factors, including advertising slowdowns in markets impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, for slowed advertising growth.
- Snap and other advertising-supported social media firms have also suffered to varying degrees from Apple's privacy settings changes.
| | | | | | | | 3. Larry Summers' new inflation target |  | | | Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images | | | | Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers has found a new target for his war on inflation: President Biden's antitrust policies, much of which target Big Tech, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: Top administration officials are super-sensitive to criticism from Summers, a former Harvard president who served in senior economic roles in the last two Democratic administrations. Driving the news: "Policies that attack bigness can easily be inflationary if they prevent the exploitation of economies of scale or limit superstar firms," he tweeted late Sunday night. - That Twitter thread, which followed a blistering Bloomberg TV interview Friday, ricocheted around Democratic economic circles, daring officials to reconsider their positions.
- Summers told Axios in an interview on Monday that "while the primary responsibility with inflation rests with the Fed, there are micro-policies that also matter," referring to regulatory decisions that can affect prices.
The big picture: Biden has made antitrust rhetoric a mainstay of his approach to addressing inflation, but officials acknowledge that they have limited tools to immediately bring down prices. Go deeper: Last summer, Biden decided to become the trustbuster-in-chief, signing an executive order that promised to promote competitiveness and subject corporate merger to the highest scrutiny. - Biden's antitrust enforcers, including FTC chair Lina Kahn, a prominent Amazon critic, now has a Democratic majority on the commission to pursue her progressive agenda on Big Tech.
| | | | | | | | A message from Qualcomm | | Applied research: the DNA of Qualcomm | | |  | | | | Qualcomm is constantly evolving its technologies, keeping users top of mind. The background: Qualcomm was founded on the idea of studying emerging research trends across academia and industries, taking those new ideas, and applying them to products. Learn more. | | | | | | 4. Quick takes | | 1. Drone delivery for everyday orders is coming to Walmart customers in six states, with items promised at their door in under 30 minutes, Axios' Joann Muller reports. - Why it matters: This will be the first large-scale drone delivery operation in the U.S. So far, drone deliveries have been available only in a few small towns, with customers selecting from a short list of items.
2. A Federal appeals court dealt a blow to Florida's controversial law aimed at stopping "censorship" on social media platforms Monday, ruling that the law is likely unconstitutional and a lower court's injunction against the law should stand. - The big picture: Republican-run states are flocking to punish social media companies for what they see as bias against conservatives, and the U.S. Supreme Court is about to issue a ruling on a Texas law similar to Florida's.
3. Quality assurance workers at Activision-owned development studio Raven Software voted to unionize Monday, setting up what would be the first union at a big American game publisher, Axios' Stephen Totilo reports. - Why it matters: A labor movement has been brewing in the games industry, as workers raise concerns about long hours and alleged misconduct at numerous publishers and studios, big and small.
| | | | | | | | 5. Take note | | On Tap ICYMI - New Jersey's acting attorney general launched an investigation into Twitch and Discord after the Buffalo mass shooting. (Axios)
| | | | | | | | 6. After you Login | | Check out Imagen, Google's new AI text-to-image system along the lines of OpenAI's DALL-E 2. Here are a few examples of what it can do. Screenshot: Axios via Imogen project website. | | | | | | | | A message from Qualcomm | | What's next for Snapdragon | | |  | | | | Qualcomm, a leader in the premium smartphone industry, is constantly innovating its already cutting-edge technologies. What you need to know: The company's SVP and GM of mobile handsets, Christopher Patrick, says the company is focusing on expanding Snapdragon beyond mobile. See what's next. | | |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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