10 things in tech you need to know today
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1. Facebook's CTO is stepping down. Mike Schroepfer, Facebook's chief technology officer and one of Mark Zuckerberg's closest confidants, will be taking a role as "senior fellow" within Facebook next year. Everything we know about his departure, including his successor.
2. Apple CEO Tim Cook wants employees to stop leaking internal memos, according to leaked internal memo. In a note that was ultimately leaked to The Verge, Cook said people who leak memos "do not belong" at Apple, and that the company would track down whoever kept leaking internal documents. More on that ironic twist of fate.
3. Facebook and Instagram user satisfaction just dropped to all time lows. After surveying thousands of people, one of Wall Street's top internet analysts found that users are increasingly unhappy with the apps. Here's what else he found about the apps' downward spiral.
4. Bill Gates was questioned about his meetings with Jeffrey Epstein in a new PBS interview. Gates said he regretted having dinners with the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier, and that their meetings were a mistake. Here's what else he said.
5. Facebook overpaid the FTC by nearly $5 billion to "protect Zuckerberg," shareholders claim. In a lawsuit made public Tuesday, shareholders said after the Cambridge Analytica scandal Facebook overpaid the FTC to prevent it from suing Zuckerberg personally. Get the details on the payments they allege were meant to "make his problems go away."
6. Amazon gave $100,000 in cash to employees who proved they were vaccinated against COVID-19. The company dolled out cash prizes and cars worth as much as $40,000 to eight employees in a company lottery - and two grand prizes of $500,000 are still up for grabs.
7. Tesla drivers looked at the road less when using Autopilot, according to an MIT study. But researchers said the findings didn't necessarily mean the drivers were distracted - here's why.
8. Elon Musk just took his last house off the market. Musk pledged in 2020 to sell "almost all physical possessions" to fund the colonization of Mars - but seems to be hanging onto one final property. What we know about Musk's Bay Area mansion.
9. New documents show the behind-the-scenes battle between a powerful Google exec and a fired right-wing agitator. Emails obtained by Insider show previously unreported details in the dustup between SVP Urs Hölzle and Kevin Cernekee, an engineer who many Googlers considered a right-wing provocateur, and who was ultimately fired. Read our exclusive report.
10. Better quadrupled its workforce during the pandemic - and became one of America's top startups. The mortgage company hired 7,000 people during the pandemic, and was nominated by LinkedIn as the top startup in the US. Execs shared with us how they ramped up hiring and how they keep staff happy. Get the inside story on Better's rise to the top.
Compiled by Jordan Erb. Tips/comments? Email jerb@insider.com or tweet @JordanParkerErb.
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