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The 22 biggest tech scandals of 2020, from the unprecedented Twitter hack to the makers of 'Fortnite' declaring war on Apple
The 22 biggest tech scandals of 2020, from the unprecedented Twitter hack to the makers of 'Fortnite' declaring war on Apple
Avery HartmansJan 1, 2021, 19:56 IST
Quibi CEO Meg Whitman in January.Reuters
Good news: 2020 is finally over.
It was a long year, and one in which the coronavirus crisis and the US presidential election dominated the news. Yet the tech industry still managed to embroil itself in scandals of its own.
2020 began with revelations about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' phone hacking and a Microsoft employee getting caught stealing millions from the company.
Soon after, however, Silicon Valley largely closed its doors and the tech world faced a new work-from-home reality — complete with Zoom trolls.
In the months that followed, Twitter was hacked, "Fortnite"-maker Epic Games declared war on Apple, and the much-hyped Quibi launched — and then shut down for good.
Here are the major scandals that rocked the tech industry in 2020.
Did we forget anything? Let us know by contacting Business Insider reporter Avery Hartmans via email (ahartmans@businessinsider.com).
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JANUARY: New details emerge about Jeff Bezos' iPhone hack
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (left) and Jeff Bezos.
AP
FEBRUARY: A former Microsoft engineer is convicted of stealing $10 million from the company
Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
Stephen Brashear
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MARCH: Trolls start invading Zoom calls to share porn or racial slurs
A Zoom call.
Getty Images
APRIL: A leaked memo reveals that Amazon planned to discredit a warehouse worker who was fired after protesting coronavirus working conditions
A protester outside of one of Amazon's New York City warehouses.
REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
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APRIL: Elon Musk rails against stay-at-home orders, calling them "fascist"
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
APRIL: Bill Gates ends up in the center of coronavirus conspiracy theory
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates .
Yana Paskova/Getty Images
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MAY: People set cell towers on fire due to a 5G conspiracy theory
The aftermath of a fire at a 5G cell tower in the Netherlands.
Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
JUNE: T-Mobile experiences a massive outage
A live T-Mobile outage map from Down Detector.
Down Detector
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JUNE: Fintech company Wirecard is embroiled in an accounting scandal
Former Wirecard CEO Markus Braun.
Peter Kneffel/picture alliance via Getty Images
JUNE: The Department of Justice charges former eBay employees in connection with a cyberstalking campaign against critics
An exterior view of eBay headquarters in San Jose, California.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Images
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JUNE: Microsoft shuts down its Twitch competitor, Mixer
Tyler "Ninja" Blevins signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft's Mixer in the summer of 2019.
Screenshot/Business Insider
JUNE: Hackers leak sensitive files from over 200 police departments amid the George Floyd protests
US Department of Homeland Security; Wikimedia Commons; Courtesy of Emma Best; Samantha Lee/Business Insider
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JULY: Twitter experiences a massive hack that compromises the accounts of Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Barack Obama, and other notable figures
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
JULY: Major advertisers pull their ads from Facebook following its lack of action against President Donald Trump's posts threatening George Floyd protesters
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
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AUGUST: Epic Games, the company behind "Fortnite," files a lawsuit against Apple
A scene parodying Apple CEO Tim Cook from the video "Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite."
Epic Games
SEPTEMBER: Trump attempts to force the sale of TikTok to US firms
TikTok users in the US have been reacting to the news of a potential ban of the popular app for months.
Photo Illustration by Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via Getty Images
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SEPTEMBER: Electric-car company Nikola's $2 billion deal with GM falls apart after a string of controversies
Nikola founder Trevor Milton.
REUTERS/Massimo Pinca
OCTOBER: Twitter blocks a New York Post story about Hunter Biden, inciting backlash from conservatives
From left: Donald Trump, Hunter Biden, Joe Biden.
Associated Press/Evan Vucci, AP
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OCTOBER: Mobile-video service Quibi announces it's shutting down
Quibi CEO Meg Whitman in January.
Reuters
NOVEMBER: Former Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh dies suddenly at age 46
Tony Hsieh in 2014.
Andy Cross/The Denver Post/Getty Images
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DECEMBER: Hackers breach IT firm SolarWinds, resulting in an unprecedented attack on federal agencies
A SolarWinds banner hangs at the New York Stock Exchange.
Reuters/Brendan McDermid
DECEMBER: The highly anticipated launch of "Cyberpunk 2077" is derailed by major bugs