1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tex Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: And how in the tech are you. It's time for 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:24,520 Speaker 1: the tech news for Tuesday, July twelve, two thousand twenty two. 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:29,080 Speaker 1: And let's start by talking about Uber. Now, long time 7 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 1: listeners have likely heard me talk about Uber's history, which 8 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:38,840 Speaker 1: has included unethical and at least in some cases, potentially 9 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: illegal activities. And there's really been no secret that Uber 10 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: engaged in lots of questionable practices in its history and 11 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: an effort to become the dominant ride hailing company and 12 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:56,720 Speaker 1: to quote unquote disrupt the hired car industry, taking aim 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: at taxis and town cars and such. And sure, Uber 14 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: kind of was marketed as a ride sharing service, but 15 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: in reality it's a ride hailing service. It's taking the 16 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: same place as you know, businesses like taxi companies. There 17 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: were tons of stories about Uber as well as rival 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 1: company Lift, engaging in Shenanigan's against each other in an 19 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,800 Speaker 1: effort to undermined or or sabotage the other company, including 20 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:32,839 Speaker 1: stories about employees allegedly arranging for rides on the competitor 21 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:37,160 Speaker 1: service and then canceling those requests later on in an 22 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: effort to tie up drivers and frustrate them and to 23 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: clog up the scheduling systems of the rival company. It 24 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,720 Speaker 1: all got really ugly. And now we're seeing more about 25 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: how ugly it actually got, thanks to a whistleblower who 26 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:56,520 Speaker 1: handed over more than a hundred twenty thousand internal Uber 27 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: files that were created between twenty seventeen to various media 28 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 1: outlets like The Guardian. The Guardian, by the way, has 29 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: actually named the whistle blower as a former Uber lobbyists 30 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: who worked in Europe named Mark McGann. McGann said that 31 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: Uber's modus OPERANDAI was to quote essentially break the law, 32 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,080 Speaker 1: show how amazing Uber's service was, and then change the 33 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:27,079 Speaker 1: law end quote, and that McGann's work was largely to 34 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,800 Speaker 1: smooth things over after Uber had gone and disrupted all 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: over the ding dang place, which sounds like a real 36 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: fun gig, right, Like the bully comes in, pushes people around, 37 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:40,119 Speaker 1: then you come around and say, hey, it's not that bad, 38 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 1: it's okay. We're gonna we're gonna get through. This guy's 39 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:48,200 Speaker 1: the internal documents paint a pretty gross picture. One was 40 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: something that actually reminds me of an older story, and 41 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: this was that Uber had a kill switch to prevent 42 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,800 Speaker 1: law enforcement from accessing company data. In other words, if 43 00:02:59,840 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: the police come knocking, you utilize the kill switch to 44 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,239 Speaker 1: get rid of any incriminating evidence. Now, for one, thing, 45 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 1: that makes me think of the good old days when 46 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: companies like Enron were accused of ordering employees to go 47 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: on a document shredding spree, Golli the late nineties man. 48 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: For another, this story actually reminds me of Uber itself, 49 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:28,360 Speaker 1: which you know, developed tools specifically to allow drivers in 50 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,799 Speaker 1: the Portland, Oregon region avoid law enforcement because that was 51 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,040 Speaker 1: a region where Uber was not given permission to operate. 52 00:03:36,080 --> 00:03:38,080 Speaker 1: In fact, it was expressly told it would not be 53 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: allowed to operate there. So Uber said, you know what, 54 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:43,880 Speaker 1: We're just gonna go ahead and operate there. We'll just 55 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: give our drivers the ability to detect police so that 56 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: they can appear to not be operating there whenever the 57 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: police are around, you know, everything on the up and up. 58 00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:00,080 Speaker 1: Other documents indicated more bad news about Travis Kalanik, the 59 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: former CEO of Uber, who either resigned on his own 60 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: accord or was strongly encouraged by the board of directors 61 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: to do so in the wake of multiple scandals about 62 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: Uber's corporate culture that all broke out in So in 63 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: this case, the documents suggests that kala Nik was aware 64 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 1: of and subsequently dismissed concerns about driver's safety, including instances 65 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: in which drivers were the victims of violence. Moreover, the 66 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: document show a pattern of strong arm tactics as well 67 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: as a rather unflattering betrayal of various government officials who 68 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 1: collaborated with Uber under ethically questionable circumstances. So, in other words, 69 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: these documents start to imply or at least tiptoe up 70 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: to a line that would mark illegal activities like bribery 71 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: and coercion, though it may very well be that to 72 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: the letter of the law, Uber was able to avoid 73 00:04:55,040 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: that distinction, not to mention, it also indicates processes on 74 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,560 Speaker 1: what to do if police were to rate a company 75 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 1: office you know that kill switch thing that that is 76 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: just straight out illegal, and other questionable activities as well, 77 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: such as paying academics enormous sums like up to a 78 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars in some cases. Two create reports that 79 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: helps steer press coverage to paint Uber in a positive light. 80 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:28,520 Speaker 1: So essentially, Uber was paying for positive academic studies, and 81 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: that says a lot both about Uber and the academics 82 00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:37,840 Speaker 1: who accepted such payments and massaged facts to fit Uber's narrative. 83 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: You might tell that I'm more than a little upset 84 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:47,159 Speaker 1: about that. So side note, any academic who does this 85 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,520 Speaker 1: is acting terribly. In my mind, it's the kind of 86 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: crap that brings doubt into any sort of report. Now, 87 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: you should always look at reports with some skepticism, right, 88 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: You should ask questions like who funded the study? Who 89 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: funded the research? That's always going to be important because 90 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,920 Speaker 1: if it turns out that the reports were paid for 91 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: by whatever entities were being reported upon, then it's kind 92 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: of hard to make an argument that the work is unbiased, right, Like, 93 00:06:18,400 --> 00:06:21,840 Speaker 1: if the checks are coming from the subject of the report, 94 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,800 Speaker 1: then how critical will the report be? Not in some 95 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:29,719 Speaker 1: cases it may still be unbiased, but it does raise 96 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,839 Speaker 1: those sort of questions, And in this case, Uber was 97 00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:37,840 Speaker 1: expressly paying for biased reports that are being presented as unbiased, 98 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: which is pretty gross. Uber, for its part, has said 99 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: that McGann's documents are about the Uber of the past, 100 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:49,600 Speaker 1: you know, pre twenty eighteen Uber, and that the company 101 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 1: has since made great strides to clean up its act. 102 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: And there is no doubt that much of Uber's more 103 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,919 Speaker 1: recent history has been about damage control and addressing system 104 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,920 Speaker 1: problems in corporate culture. But the company has also continued 105 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,120 Speaker 1: to resist calls to designate drivers as employees. I mean, 106 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: it's impossible to deny the fact that Uber has acted, 107 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: in extreme cases to try and head off any attempts 108 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: to classify Uber drivers as employees. Uber also somewhat snarkily 109 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: pointed out the McGann had demanded a bonus payout upon 110 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 1: leaving Uber and seemed reticent to come forward until the 111 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: check cleared, which you know, shots fired. And maybe that's 112 00:07:35,040 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: the case. Maybe McGann was like, I want to make 113 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: sure I get paid before I start blowing the whistle. 114 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: And that can raise questions about McGann's own motivations, but 115 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: it doesn't change the content of those internal documents, right, Like, 116 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: we can say McGann's actions might be somewhat questionable, but 117 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,800 Speaker 1: that doesn't change that there are really concerning things within 118 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: these documents. If Uber has fundamentally put that stuff behind it, 119 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: that's great. Um, it's the fact that this has come 120 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:13,679 Speaker 1: to light and Uber has not really reckoned with that 121 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,120 Speaker 1: that I think has raised concerns in a lot of 122 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 1: people's minds. Let's stick with some more car news now. 123 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 1: Have you ever sat in your car and thought, gosh, 124 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: if only car companies could sell options on a subscription model, 125 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: sort of like how I subscribed to streaming media or 126 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:36,840 Speaker 1: two Xbox game pass, wouldn't that be something No? Well, 127 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:40,080 Speaker 1: BMW clearly has thought about this, because the company is 128 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 1: now offering up a subscription service in some markets for 129 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:50,880 Speaker 1: the luxury of drumroll please, heated seats. So to be clear, 130 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: these vehicles have all the technology that's needed to heat 131 00:08:56,000 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: the seats that's there in the car right off the 132 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:04,319 Speaker 1: manufacturing law. However, to enable that ability, the driver will 133 00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: have to subscribe to a service, paying approximately eighteen dollars 134 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: a month to have it activated. Now, the driver could 135 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: also choose to subscribe for a whole year for a 136 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: hundred eighty bucks per year or three years, which would 137 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: cost three thirty dollars, or to go unloaded access for 138 00:09:20,559 --> 00:09:23,679 Speaker 1: four fift bucks. Now, this is not the first time 139 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: BMW has done this sort of thing. By the way, 140 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: though it's the first I've actually heard of it. There 141 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: are some other high end features in some BMW models, 142 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: like adaptive cruise control, that in some markets are also 143 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,480 Speaker 1: subscription based. Now we don't hear about this much in 144 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:42,440 Speaker 1: the United States because BMW hasn't really rolled out most 145 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: of those features as subscriptions over here. But seeing car 146 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: manufacturers embrace micro transactions should have folks a little bit concerned, 147 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: simply because we could see similar strategies deployed in all 148 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: sorts of different products. It's a proven revenue generating model, 149 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: and if something works that comes to making money, you 150 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: can bet that that strategy will proliferate across different businesses. 151 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: Now let's get back to BMW. So with some features, 152 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: there is an ongoing cost to BMW. There are back 153 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:16,680 Speaker 1: end operations necessary to make certain kinds of options work, 154 00:10:17,240 --> 00:10:20,240 Speaker 1: and in those cases, a subscription model could be a 155 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:24,439 Speaker 1: very valid argument. It could be justifiable. You're thinking, well, yeah, 156 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: I have to pay per month to have access to 157 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: this ability in my car, but then BMW has to 158 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: maintain that service in the back end, so that makes sense. 159 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: But for something like heated seats, where the entire system 160 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: is already in the car from the get go. That's 161 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,599 Speaker 1: a harder sell. In that case, what you're doing is 162 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: paying a fee to BMW to remove a restriction that's 163 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: on the vehicle, rather than to provide a new ongoing service. Anyway, 164 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:53,960 Speaker 1: in the old days, you would just pay extra upfront 165 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: to buy a car model that has additional options, you know, 166 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: like heated seats. BMW appears to want to change that. 167 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: Maybe in the future all models will have all the options. 168 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: You'll just have to pay an ongoing fee to access them. 169 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:12,440 Speaker 1: Fun times. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll 170 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:22,559 Speaker 1: be right back after these messages. We're back with more 171 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: car news. So over in the EU, the General Vehicle 172 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: Safety Regulation has taken effect, and part of that regulation 173 00:11:30,679 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 1: includes a requirement that's starting in July of four, all 174 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: vehicles sold in the EU must include Intelligent Speed Assistance 175 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 1: or I s A. And you might be thinking, what 176 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,280 Speaker 1: the heck is I s A. Technically, it's an it's A. 177 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:51,040 Speaker 1: It's a group of anti speeding technologies, and the specific 178 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: technologies vary from implementation to implementation, because what's really important 179 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: is the intended goal of this technology. You know, there 180 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 1: are a lot of different ways of making it happen. 181 00:12:01,559 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: The important thing is that it happens. So the goal 182 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,280 Speaker 1: is to use technology to first detect what the road 183 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: speed limits are on whatever road the vehicle is on 184 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 1: at the time, and then adjust operations within the vehicle 185 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:17,400 Speaker 1: so that the car is not exceeding those road speed limits. Now, 186 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 1: apparently this can go so far as to cut power 187 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:22,959 Speaker 1: to the engine in the event of someone speeding, which 188 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: sounds to me like that would be a bit of 189 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 1: a risky move, but less drastically, it's meant to signal 190 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,600 Speaker 1: the driver should they be going a bit too fast. 191 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: I've been in a car that had a feature like that. 192 00:12:34,280 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: It was a car that was imported from Japan, and 193 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: it would chime at us whenever we would hit the accelerator, 194 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:43,840 Speaker 1: which was sometimes necessary to do things like past another vehicle, 195 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,760 Speaker 1: and it was incredibly irritating, but you know, effective, it 196 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: convinced us not to drive too fast because we didn't 197 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 1: want to hear that chime over and over again. And 198 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: the goal here is to cut back on traffic accidents 199 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,760 Speaker 1: and injuries and fatalities, and we see that in results. 200 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 1: If we see that those numbers are much lower, it 201 00:13:04,679 --> 00:13:07,080 Speaker 1: would be very hard to argue against this kind of 202 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: technology because more people being alive really wins out against 203 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:16,080 Speaker 1: just wanting to avoid a frustrating driving experience. Earlier this year, 204 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: I covered the company Peloton. Actually might have been the 205 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,439 Speaker 1: end of last year, but that's the company that makes 206 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: exercise equipment, including the famous bikes and the infamous treadmills, 207 00:13:26,320 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 1: and really makes its money by having a subscription based 208 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:33,079 Speaker 1: service to train on those. You have training sessions that 209 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,679 Speaker 1: you can take using this equipment. The brand got very 210 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: popular early on in the pandemic, and the company ramped 211 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:44,240 Speaker 1: up production, and then demand slacked off rapidly and the 212 00:13:44,280 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 1: company found itself overstocked with products. It was stuffed with 213 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,320 Speaker 1: inventory and in a lot of trouble, and there were 214 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: a lot of other problems as well, But I don't 215 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: want to rehash my old Peloton episode. Instead, the news 216 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: today is that Peloton will no longer be manufacturing it's 217 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,680 Speaker 1: own equipment. Instead, it will be partnering with a company 218 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: in Taiwan and outsourcing its production. The current CEO, Barry McCarthy, 219 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,360 Speaker 1: is trying to turn the company around, and that's gonna 220 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: mean cutting way back on expenses. So that explains the 221 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 1: decision to outsource manufacturing. Peloton has received a lot of abuse, 222 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: some of it I think is justifiable, but I never 223 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: really want to see a company fail, you know, unless 224 00:14:26,880 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: that company is just pure evil. My hope is that 225 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: Peloton will course correct and will find a business model 226 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 1: that is sustainable and be able to reset from there. 227 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:40,520 Speaker 1: And though I don't own any Peloton products, I don't 228 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,840 Speaker 1: have any stake in the company, I just kind of 229 00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: hope that the executive team can fix things. I mean, 230 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,120 Speaker 1: I don't think I know anyone personally who actually owns 231 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: a Peloton bike or treadmill, but I do know that 232 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: the enthusiasts who have them are very passionate about the 233 00:14:56,160 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: the brand and the training sessions. So I think anything 234 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,920 Speaker 1: that gets people to exercise is you know, that's kind 235 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:07,640 Speaker 1: of a good thing. I sure, as heck, could use 236 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,760 Speaker 1: more exercise in my life. But yeah, that's why I 237 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: kind of hope that they succeed. Nothing other than that. 238 00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,520 Speaker 1: The left leaning media watchdog Media Matters has reported that 239 00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 1: Facebook and Instagram, both of which are owned by Meta, 240 00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:25,720 Speaker 1: played host to a great deal of anti lgbt Q 241 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,040 Speaker 1: misinformation and hate speech over the course of June, which 242 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:34,160 Speaker 1: of course was Pride Month. The organization accuses Meta of 243 00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:37,600 Speaker 1: trying to cash in on Pride by claiming to support 244 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: the l g B t Q community while simultaneously failing 245 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: to stop the spread of hate speech and misinformation targeting 246 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: that same community. Media Matters says that right wing media 247 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: outlets spread lies about Pride events, including allegations that people 248 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,760 Speaker 1: within the events were specifically attempting to groom children. There's 249 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,360 Speaker 1: that narrative that we see over and over and in 250 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: certain extremist literature and media outlets. The organization said, META 251 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 1: has failed to enforce its own policy regarding misinformation and 252 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 1: hate speech while simultaneously trying to position itself as being 253 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,920 Speaker 1: kind of a champion of the community. And that's not 254 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: a good look. The organization pointed out this past Pride 255 00:16:20,560 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: Month had several events that were targeted by extremist groups, 256 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: and Media Matters argues that the lack of enforcement of 257 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:32,560 Speaker 1: policies on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can contribute to 258 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 1: those kinds of real world outcomes. And you know, we've 259 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: talked in the past about how these platforms can reinforce 260 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:46,280 Speaker 1: beliefs and can promote radicalization and also can serve as 261 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 1: a platform for people to plan specific UH activities like 262 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: like violence or protests at different events, and considering the 263 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: extent that we've seen some of that via Lens as 264 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: well as kind of a general move in this country, 265 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 1: that being the United States to really push back against 266 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: the l g B t Q community. It's it's a 267 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: dangerous thing. It's a dangerous thing for a very vulnerable population. 268 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 1: In other Meta news, a couple of different media outlets 269 00:17:19,160 --> 00:17:21,919 Speaker 1: have reported moves within the company indicating that Meta may 270 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 1: be headed towards holding mass layoffs. First, The Information reported 271 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,520 Speaker 1: that managers received note to identify people on their teams 272 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: who quote unquote need support and that poor performers should 273 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: be moved to exit just kind of a lame euphemism 274 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: for being terminated or fired anyway. The Washington Post subsequently 275 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: reported that this directive was the first step in managers 276 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: creating performance improvement plans, which could then be used as 277 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: sort of a guide for layoffs. And this is not 278 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,120 Speaker 1: that big of a surprise. Mark Zuckerberg himself has told 279 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: employees that the company will be more aggressive in setting 280 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: employee goals and expectations, and that this might commence some 281 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 1: folks to leave meta, which is all aces in Mark 282 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: Zuckerberg's book. And I've said this before, but a lot 283 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:06,600 Speaker 1: of company leaders seem to feel that it's better to 284 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,320 Speaker 1: make a workplace less hospitable and thus push employees to 285 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:14,320 Speaker 1: quit rather than to hold layoffs, particularly in cases where 286 00:18:14,359 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: the company might be on the hook to cover a 287 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: severance package. It's way easier to move on if the 288 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,160 Speaker 1: employee has decided to leave the company on their own, 289 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,600 Speaker 1: which is again gross. Okay, that's it for the news 290 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: for today. That's Tuesday, July twelve, two twenty two. If 291 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,679 Speaker 1: you have suggestions, please let me know. Easiest way to 292 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: do that is on Twitter. The handle for the show 293 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:38,919 Speaker 1: is tech Stuff hs W and I'll talk to you 294 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:49,360 Speaker 1: again really soon. Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. 295 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:52,399 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i 296 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 297 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.