The Briefing by Martin Peers, Jessica E. Lessin and the team at The Information

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The Briefing

By Martin Peers, Jessica E. Lessin and the team at The Information

Get smarter about the day’s news in tech, media and finance by following Silicon Valley’s most-read executive newsletter.

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Recent Editions

Art by Clark Miller

Will Meta's Olive Branch Hurt TikTok?

By Abram Brown · Jan 11, 2025 7:00am PST

Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: A casual sex website with an underage sex problem• Power and Influence: DOGE goes headhunting • The Top 5: Where to travel after Davos • Plus: When a corporate marvel may be a communist spy ring; piecing together “Severance”; and an uncomfortable masterpieceA couple years ago, ... Welcome, Weekenders! In this newsletter:• The Big Read: A casual sex website with an underage sex...

Art by Clark Miller; Ramaswamy via Getty.

Power and Influence

Inside the DOGE Recruitment Drive

By Julia Black · Jan 11, 2025 6:00am PST · 23 comments

For decades, the path toward federal government employment has involved a long and winding journey for full-timers and contractors alike. The Department of Government Efficiency, the pseudo-governmental entity run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is doing things differently. Recruitment to join DOGE, as the Musk-Ramaswamy group has styled... For decades, the path toward federal government employment has involved a long and winding...

Art by Clark Miller

Where Tech Leaders Travel After the World Economic Forum

By Todd Plummer · Jan 11, 2025 6:00am PST · 3 comments

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos is the Super Bowl of schmoozing. And let’s face it, after a week of nonstop on-calendar panel discussions, off-calendar networking and late-night parties—Google and McKinsey & Co. are known for throwing some of the best ones!—even the most extroverted movers and... The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos is the Super Bowl of schmoozing. And...

Creators outside of the Supreme Court this morning. Photo via Getty.

With TikTok Ban Likely, ‘Game of Chicken’ Begins

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 10, 2025 2:31pm PST

Creators outside of the Supreme Court this morning. Photo via Getty.

With TikTok Ban Likely, ‘Game of Chicken’ Begins

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 10, 2025 2:31pm PST

I was at the Supreme Court on Friday—and things aren’t looking too rosy for TikTok’s hopes to stay alive in the U.S. Judging from the justices’ questions and comments, it sounds like they’re inclined to uphold a U.S. law that could ban TikTok in just nine days. That’s the opening its potential suitors, such as Activision Blizzard’s former CEO,... I was at the Supreme Court on Friday—and things aren’t looking too rosy for TikTok’s hopes to...

Meta’s Community Notes: More Speech and Fewer Mistakes?

By Jessica E. Lessin · Jan 10, 2025 11:58am PST

This week on More or Less: The group takes sides on Meta's moderation overhaul. Plus, why we are happy we skipped CES. Apple Spotify This week on More or Less: The group takes sides on Meta's moderation overhaul. Plus, why we...

Art by Clark Miller.

How a Casual Sex Website Left the Door Open to Teens

By Paris Martineau and Cory Weinberg · Jan 10, 2025 9:14am PST · 3 comments

Kelly Weld didn’t know what to expect when she finally managed to unlock her son’s iPhone in February 2023. Still, she had hoped to find an answer as to why the then-16-year-old had recently started failing classes, skipping school and acting out at their home in central Florida. She found a disturbing explanation in his web-browsing... Kelly Weld didn’t know what to expect when she finally managed to unlock her son’s...

Pro Weekly: A Creator Economy Banker Predicts a Blockbuster Year for M&A

Pro Weekly: A Creator Economy Banker Predicts a Blockbuster Year for M&A

By Akash Pasricha · Jan 10, 2025 8:00am PST

Dealmakers have been busy in the early days of 2025, as we’ve noted. Creator economy companies have been in on the action. On Monday, YouTube production company Brat TV bought a similar digital video studio, Electric Monster, in a possible harbinger of more consolidation in the sector. Last week, influencer marketing company Later bought... Dealmakers have been busy in the early days of 2025, as we’ve noted. Creator economy companies...

Photos via Getty and Meta. Art by Shane Burke.

Amazon Downplays DEI, Meta Plays Up Free Speech as Tech Tilts Right

By Theo Wayt, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Nick Wingfield · Jan 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Photos via Getty and Meta. Art by Shane Burke.

Amazon Downplays DEI, Meta Plays Up Free Speech as Tech Tilts Right

By Theo Wayt, Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Nick Wingfield · Jan 10, 2025 6:00am PST · 4 comments

Like most big technology companies, Amazon began publishing pages and blog posts on its corporate website in recent years declaring its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion along with other issues. Over the past few weeks, though, some of those webpages have been undergoing curious makeovers—or disappearing altogether. For... Like most big technology companies, Amazon began publishing pages and blog posts on its corporate...

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Photo via Amazon.

Amazon’s Dubious Ad Tech Expansion

By Theo Wayt · Jan 9, 2025 5:00pm PST · 2 comments

Amazon’s decision to stuff its search results and product pages with ads over the past several years might annoy some shoppers like me, but it’s paid off handsomely for the company. Those ads are thought to account for the lion’s share of the $50 billion in ad revenue it is expected to have taken in last year. Now Amazon is going to start... Amazon’s decision to stuff its search results and product pages with ads over the past several...

Fazal Merchant. Photo via Wiz.

Wiz Completes Piece of IPO Puzzle

By Cory Weinberg · Jan 9, 2025 3:13pm PST · 1 comment

Five-year-old Wiz, a $16 billion–valuation startup that sells cloud cybersecurity software to large companies, has always had a flair for the dramatic. A few years ago, CEO Assaf Rappaport declared it the fastest-growing software company ever. In 2023, it openly mulled a takeover of larger, publicly held SentinelOne. And last year Wiz told its... Five-year-old Wiz, a $16 billion–valuation startup that sells cloud cybersecurity software to...

Photo via Getty

Creator Economy

TikTok’s Vibe as It Heads to Supreme Court

By Kaya Yurieff and Wayne Ma · Jan 9, 2025 2:30pm PST

I’m in Washington D.C. ahead of oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Friday morning, where TikTok will argue against a U.S. law that could ban the app in 10 days if it doesn’t sever ties with its Chinese parent ByteDance. Despite this threat, TikTok is pushing forward as normal—so much so that this week at the major tech conference... I’m in Washington D.C. ahead of oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Friday morning, where...

Deel co-founder and CEO Alex Bouaziz. Photo via Getty.

Deel Accused of Money Laundering, Sanctions Failures in Lawsuit

By Michael Roddan · Jan 9, 2025 1:07pm PST · 1 comment

Deel co-founder and CEO Alex Bouaziz. Photo via Getty.

Deel Accused of Money Laundering, Sanctions Failures in Lawsuit

By Michael Roddan · Jan 9, 2025 1:07pm PST · 1 comment

Fast-growing human resources and payroll startup Deel has been dragged into a dispute involving a Florida Ponzi scheme, in the latest legal action connecting the firm to fraudulent or illegal movement of money. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida last week, Deel was accused of transferring money for a Ponzi operation the Securities... Fast-growing human resources and payroll startup Deel has been dragged into a dispute involving a...

Art by Shane Burke

Why Businesses Are Skipping Open-Source Models

By Jon Victor · Jan 9, 2025 10:38am PST · 1 comment

If there’s one thing artificial intelligence sellers learned in 2024, it’s that customers want AI to be a cinch to set up. Businesses are even willing to pay a premium and take their chances with AI models or chatbots like ChatGPT that have fewer built-in security features than they’re used to—as long as they just work out of the box.That... If there’s one thing artificial intelligence sellers learned in 2024, it’s that customers want AI...

The Information Welcomes Ken Brown as Senior Finance Editor

By The Information Staff · Jan 9, 2025 10:35am PST

The Information is pleased to announce that Ken Brown is joining The Information as senior finance editor. Ken’s name is synonymous with in-depth financial reporting about the biggest business stories of our time. As an editor at the Wall Street Journal, he has overseen investigative teams devoted to breaking news... The Information is pleased to announce that Ken Brown is joining...

Photo via Getty

Why Research Talent Still Costs So Much

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 9, 2025 7:20am PST

One of the rarest resources in artificial intelligence—perhaps even more than Nvidia servers or training data—is the people who make it. Founders tell me that the shortage of talent that can develop and improve language and vision models is still extreme, two years into the conversational AI boom.That’s demonstrated by recent developments at... One of the rarest resources in artificial intelligence—perhaps even more than Nvidia servers or...

Photos of Zhang Yiming by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok’s Fate Rests With ByteDance’s Elusive Founder

By Juro Osawa, Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Jan 9, 2025 6:18am PST · 3 comments

Photos of Zhang Yiming by Getty. Art by Mike Sullivan

TikTok’s Fate Rests With ByteDance’s Elusive Founder

By Juro Osawa, Jing Yang and Qianer Liu · Jan 9, 2025 6:18am PST · 3 comments

The business world is watching to see whether the Supreme Court—or possibly Donald Trump—saves TikTok. But another man may be more important to the app’s fate: Zhang Yiming, the elusive founder of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance. Zhang holds supervoting shares that give him effective control over ByteDance and its... The business world is watching to see whether the Supreme Court—or possibly Donald...

Photos: Getty

The Electric: China Wants to Block the West From Catching Up in Batteries

By Steve LeVine · Jan 9, 2025 4:30am PST

Less than two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the U.S. and China have escalated their tit-for-tat battery war, part of their rivalry to dominate the next generation of strategic technologies. Less than two weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the U.S. and China...

Jensen Huang at CES this week. Photo via Getty

At CES, Autonomous Cars Are Hot Again

By Martin Peers · Jan 8, 2025 5:00pm PST

If ever there was a moment for Alphabet to spin off Waymo, it would be now. Optimism about self-driving cars is back, driven (sorry for the pun!) by the very real success Waymo is having with its robotaxi service in markets like San Francisco. Elon Musk’s high-profile presentation last fall about Tesla’s robotaxi plans has surely fueled the new... If ever there was a moment for Alphabet to spin off Waymo, it would be now. Optimism about...

IJW co-founders, from left to right: Radu-Sebastian Amarie, Stefan-Gabriel Muscalu and Paul Robert Cary. Photo courtesy of company.

Creator Economy

A Startup Uses AI to Find the Perfect Video Clip

By Kaya Yurieff · Jan 8, 2025 2:00pm PST

Creators sometimes have trouble sifting through their vast libraries of videos to find a specific clip or sponsorship. A new artificial intelligence startup is developing new products to quickly surface those visual moments.IJW, which stands for It Just Works, plans to unveil its first offering, StarZero, on Sunday at the 1 Billion Followers... Creators sometimes have trouble sifting through their vast libraries of videos to find a specific...

Photo via Getty.

Chinese AI Hardware and Robotics Firms Flock to CES, Despite Tariff Threats

By Wayne Ma · Jan 8, 2025 10:35am PST

Photo via Getty.

Chinese AI Hardware and Robotics Firms Flock to CES, Despite Tariff Threats

By Wayne Ma · Jan 8, 2025 10:35am PST

LAS VEGAS—Donald Trump takes office in less than two weeks, vowing to impose a new round of tariffs on imports—particularly those coming from China. And yet Chinese electronics makers—including those in cutting-edge industries like clean energy, artificial intelligence, robotics and electric vehicles—are out in full force... LAS VEGAS—Donald Trump takes office in less than two weeks, vowing to impose a new round of...