10 things in tech you need to know today
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1. Twitter agreed to demands by the Indian government to censor tweets critical of its handling of the pandemic. The firm censored tweets from a member of parliament, an actor, a former journalist, and West Bengal's minister of labor and law. More on that here.
2. A mysterious Florida internet firm took over millions of Pentagon IP addresses minutes before Donald Trump departed office. The company was identified as Global Resource Systems LLC, with headquarters in Plantation, Florida. Here's what we know.
3. Clubhouse has reached a turning point. The audio-only app's downloads are declining, and other platforms are launching copycats - leaving many to wonder what its future holds. Here's what four Clubhouse influencers think it should do.
4. Elon Musk said a Tesla on Autopilot is 10 times less likely to crash than the average car - but experts say that's misleading. Electric vehicle specialists say Tesla's statistics lack context and have some fundamental flaws. Why Musk's statement may not show the whole picture.
5. A glimpse into Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens shows a culture unchanged from his time at Uber. Kalanick refused to change "Happy Ending" branding for an Asian restaurant menu item, despite employee complaints over racism and misogyny. Plus, leaving work at 7 p.m. elicits jokes that you're a "part-timer." More on that here.
6. After a child died in a Peloton accident, US lawmakers push for new product recall powers. The bill comes after regulators asked Peloton to recall its Tread+ treadmill, deeming it unsafe. Peloton declined. Get the details on the proposed bill.
7. 4chan founder Chris Poole has left Google after five years and several job changes. Poole joined in 2016 as a product manager in the photos and streams team, and hasn't said what he'll do next. A look at his time at Google.
8. Barefoot, mullet-clad Elon Musk announced a $100 million XPrize Carbon Removal contest. Participants will create a project to rebalance the Earth's dangerously high carbon-emission trends, he said. He also talked about Mars travel - and said it's not just for the rich.
9. After a near-death caused by the pandemic, Rover is going public at a $1.35 billion valuation.The dog-walking startup was nearly decimated by stay-at-home orders - but a surge in new pet ownership has caused bookings to increase to near pre-pandemic levels. How "pandemic puppies" saved the startup.
10. $9 billion-plus Tanium hired a new CFO to assess the possibility of holding its IPO. The 14-year-old startup has debated going public for years, and CEO Orion Hindawi told Insider that Tanium's new CFO is assessing IPO readiness. Here's what you need to know.
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Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.
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