10 things in tech you need to know today
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- Facebook tracked a rise in violent rhetoric. Signals Facebook flagged ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration included digital flyers promoting future protest, some of them featuring calls to arms or the insignia of militias or hate groups.
- Intel's CEO is stepping down. VMWare CEO Pat Gelsinger will take up his role.
- Signal downloads are skyrocketing. After WhatsApp said it would begin sharing more data with Facebook, the alternative messaging app shot to the top of app stores.
- GPS data showed the US Capitol mob made it deep into the building. The data, acquired by a hacker, showed rioters near Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's office, congressional chambers and in the hallways.
- Dropbox is laying off staff. The firm is laying off 315 employees, or 11% of its workforce, the company announced on Wednesday.
- TikTok made under-16s' accounts private. The firm has tightened the privacy settings of tens of millions of children's accounts in a movemeant to limit the ways groomers can interact with them on the app.
- Google is blocking all political ads. Google said it will block political ads and those referencing the US Capitol siege until at least the day after inauguration.
- Exclusive: Walmart is building a new health venture. The new venture, which has not been previously reported, will build programs that allow shoppers to make healthier choices based on their own shopping data.
- Exclusive: Some venture capitalists are unhappy Trump got booted from social media. Early Twitter investor Fred Wilson wrote that it was "problematic" Twitter had so much power.
- Fintech startup Rapyd is now worth $2.5 billion. The company raised $300 million and says it is planning big M&A deals.