Image: Gage Skidmore / Flickr
What’s at stake in California’s recall election

Good morning! This Tuesday, Gavin Newsom's recall election is today, Apple fixes a major security flaw, Pinterest's co-founders are being sued, and the answer to the climate crisis might be woolly mammoths.
(Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get Source Code every day.)
If polls are to be believed — and at this point in election history, that's a big if — Gavin Newsom should handily win today's gubernatorial recall election in California. For the vast number of tech workers and major donors who have supported the current governor, including Reed Hastings and Laurene Powell Jobs, a win for Newsom would constitute a crisis averted.
That's not just because Newsom's most formidable challenger, conservative talk radio host Larry Elder, is a climate change skeptic who has vowed to repeal mask and vaccine mandates, which have widespread approval among the tech set. It's also because Elder and Newsom couldn't be more different in terms of their relationship to tech.
Elder has lashed out at Big Tech, repeating the same talking points about political bias on social media that have become ubiquitous in national Republican politics.
Meanwhile, Newsom's ties to tech run deep. As mayor of San Francisco he made a pit stop at TechCrunch Disrupt. And as lieutenant governor, he worked out of a "private clubhouse" for entrepreneurs because he said he wanted "to bring innovation back to our state government."
But Newsom's tech ties don't get him very far in the eyes of tech leaders who support the recall, including investors Chamath Palihapitiya and David Sacks.
There's a lot at stake with the vote, starting with the fate of the Senate. With speculation swirling about Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's possible retirement, Democrats want Newsom, not Elder, in place in case he needs to pick her replacement. But if he stays in office, Newsom will also have a stacked agenda that touches various corners of the tech world.
That's to say nothing of the state's COVID restrictions and mandates, which will undoubtedly continue to affect California's tech companies, and which Newsom will have a heavy hand in crafting. If polling and fundraising figures are any indication, Newsom will likely get to see those policies through. And maybe this time, he'll follow them, too.
Facebook supports updated regulations, including four areas where lawmakers can make quick progress:
Walmart and Litecoin's fake deal announcement was was "fishy," says Christine Parlour, a UC Berkeley Haas School of Business professor:
China's EV industry needs to consolidate, says Xiao Yaqing, minister for industry and information technology:
Don't disregard China, even with all its regulations, Martin Sorrell says:
On Protocol: Ben Lamm wants to resurrect the woolly mammoth — and help save the planet while he's at it:
Intuit is buying Mailchimp for around $12 billion in cash and stock. It's among the biggest exits ever for a bootstrapped company, and a big win for the email lovers out there.
Epic paid Apple $6 million, as ordered in the Epic v. Apple ruling. Tim Sweeney even joked about using Apple Pay.
Gary Gensler is fielding questions on crypto regulation. The SEC chair is facing the Senate Banking Committee today to discuss bitcoin, stablecoins and other digital assets.
Mike Amend is Ford's new chief digital and information officer. Amend is a former president at Lowe's.
Alvaro Bedoya is President Biden's next FTC nominee. He's a known critic of corporate data practices.
Robert Krakowiak joined Vroom as CFO. He previously served as the CFO of Stoneridge.
If Ben Thompson and Bill Simmons had a baby, Packy McCormick said it would look something like his newsletter, Not Boring. The former Breather exec and investment banking associate started the newsletter a little over a year ago, writing twice a week about startups, big public companies and investment memos. He's quickly become a favorite read of ours, and a lot of folks in the tech world.
McCormick also has a Public portfolio, where people can discuss potential investors and companies to bet on. Maybe some of his past banking jobs were, well, boring, but his self-started hustle is certainly trying to make that world less so.
We're featuring tech-industry creators and leaders we think you might like here every Tuesday. If you have folks you think everyone should know about, send them our way!
Advertising means something different than it did 25 years ago—the last time comprehensive internet regulations were passed. At Facebook, we've already implemented the Ad Library and a 5-step verification process for political advertisers. See why we support passing the Honest Ads Act.
Are you tired of explaining the tech news of the day to your co-workers every morning? Let us do the heavy lifting and refer them to Source Code.
Send them your referral link via Slack, text, email or carrier pigeon and we'll send you your very own Protocol mug after you refer five friends!
Your referral link:*|RH_REFLINK|*
Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to sourcecode@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. If you continue browsing. you accept our use of cookies. You can review our privacy policy to find out more about the cookies we use.