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Google seeks compromise, Facebook opts for defiance

Good morning! This Wednesday, Google is making compromises, Facebook is pushing ahead with its integration plans, and a new Section 230 bill wants to stop online drug deals.
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When the specter of regulation looms, your tech company has two main options. You can dig in, fight back and hope that life carries on as normal. Or you can work with regulators, try to assuage their concerns and make sure that regulation at least partly benefits you.
On Tuesday, Google took the second approach.
"We have been working with the European Commission," a Google spokesperson said, referring to new commitments it's made regarding its Fitbit acquisition. That acquisition is currently under scrutiny by European regulators, who are concerned that the data and hardware-software ties Google gains from the deal might stifle competition.
Meanwhile, Google said a compromise was achievable in Australia, over the country's draft legislation that would make platforms pay publishers for news. "We're asking for it to be fair," Mel Silva, Google's managing director for Australia and New Zealand, told Bloomberg, adding that "we really do think we can get there."
Not everyone wants to compromise, though. Facebook has gone on the offensive in Australia, threatening to block users from sharing news if the draft legislation becomes law. (And it's still pushing forward with its Grand Unification — more on that below.)
But it's unclear how wise a hostile approach is, because compromise seems to be working. The FT reported that the European Commission is "poised to approve" the Google-Fitbit deal thanks to Google's concessions, which might not have happened without them. With regulators emboldened, fighting back might no longer work so well.
Speaking of compromise and defiance, Facebook took another step toward resisting regulation on Tuesday with its latest attempt to unify its products. The company announced its Accounts Center, a new section in Facebook, Instagram and Messenger that lets users manage their Facebook account across all those apps.
This is the latest in a series of integration steps. Last month, Instagram started testing a DM redesign that looks an awful lot like Messenger. (It even uses the Messenger icon.) And a couple weeks ago, Facebook launched a tool that allows businesses to manage their accounts across Facebook and Instagram.
It seems that we're getting very close to Mark Zuckerberg's ultimate vision: One backend, with many interchangeable front ends. Now we just have to wait and see whether regulators try to unscramble the omelette Mark has hurriedly made.
Emily Birnbaum writes: There's another bipartisan Section 230 bill. This time, it's from Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Sen. John Cornyn, and they're targeting the social media platforms for facilitating the online sale of opioids and illicit drugs.
The legislation would require reporting of illegal activity by Facebook, Google and other social media companies when they identify it on their platforms — or else they'd lose their liability protections.
It's an issue that Manchin in particular has been talking about for a long time — which makes sense, considering he's the senator from West Virginia, which has been brutally hit by the opioid epidemic.
Rick Lane, a former lobbyist for the Chamber of Commerce and 21st Century Fox who advocated for the bill, said it's significant to see "senators from different parts of the country and different parties agreeing that the sale of illegal drugs online and other major crimes is a critical problem that needs to be addressed on social networking sites."
The See Something, Say Something Online Act probably won't see the light of day this year, but now it's in the mix as Democrats and Republicans get closer to Section 230 reform.
Introducing QuickBooks Commerce, a new way for small businesses to grow
Small businesses need to attract and sell to new customers, but many worry about adding operational complexity – especially right now. QuickBooks Commerce is a new platform to manage multiple online and in-store sales channels and better maintain inventory while getting profitability insights – all from one central hub.
Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg telling him that Facebook is not doing enough to stop disinformation:
Dania Rajendra, director of anti-Amazon group Athena, was not pleased by Reveal's report about Amazon hiding rising injury rates at its warehouses:
Coinbase's Brian Armstrong offered a severance package to employees who want to leave after he published that blog post decrying workplace activism:
Alex Schultz is Facebook's new chief marketing officer. He was on the growth team, and replaces Antonio Lucio.
Shopify had a big management shakeup. Chief product officer Craig Miller is leaving, with CEO Tobi Lütke taking on his responsibilities. Harley Finkelstein is now president, and Toby Shannan replaces him as COO.
Doc.ai made lots of changes, too. CEO Walter De Brouwer changed role to chief scientific officer, Sam De Brouwer took over as CEO, and Dr. Nirav Shah is the new chief medical officer.
Charles Phillips joined the board of Compass. He's the third person to join the board this year, as the company reportedly preps for an IPO.
Amazon is leasing around 90,000 square feet of office space in Singapore, reports Bloomberg. Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance are all reportedly expanding in the city, too.
The biggest public listing of the year isn't Palantir, or Snowflake: It's Ant Group. And ahead of its listing, it's absolutely crucial that you watch this video, of a senior citizen choir, dressed up as ants, singing about the merits of Ant's blockchain solution. "Store your pretty pics on blockchain, protect copyrights, protect copyrights, do you know?" they sing. If you want mass adoption of your blockchain products, this might be the way to go.
Introducing QuickBooks Commerce, a new way for small businesses to grow
Small businesses need to attract and sell to new customers, but many worry about adding operational complexity – especially right now. QuickBooks Commerce is a new platform to manage multiple online and in-store sales channels and better maintain inventory while getting profitability insights – all from one central hub.
Today's Source Code was written by Shakeel Hashim. Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to shakeel@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
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