Image: Protocol
How friction could save the internet

Good morning! This Monday, Twitter makes it harder to use Twitter, tech and media continue to clash, and Google might have to sell Chrome.
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Twitter did the unthinkable on Friday: It made it harder to tweet. Retweeting something that's been labeled as problematic now triggers a prompt urging you to read accurate information before you share. And then only quote-tweets are allowed.
I think Harvard's Evelyn Douek put it best: "Everything here is thinking outside the take-down/leave-up false binary of content moderation and that's excellent. Friction, baby!" The team at Twitter has arguably done a better job than any other in social of interrogating the way its own product works and how it can subtly tweak it.
Another potentially precedent-setting change: Twitter will no longer put tweets from people you don't follow into your timeline, with the "so and so liked" message you've surely seen. "This will likely slow down how quickly tweets from accounts and topics you don't follow can reach you," Twitter said, "which we believe is a worthwhile sacrifice to encourage more thoughtful and explicit amplification."
Twitter's only committing to these changesthrough the election, but the underlying issues here won't change overnight on Nov. 4. If it's serious about changing the nature of the conversations on Twitter, the company's going to make most of these tweaks permanent.
As always, the question will be execution. Can Twitter find this stuff fast enough and reliably enough for its well-intentioned systems to work? Can any company do that? The next three weeks are going to be a heck of a test.
So far, regulatory bodies have focused mainly on four companies: Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. Now the Financial Times reports that EU regulators are set to add to that list, putting together a "hit list" of up to 20 companies that will face "tougher regulation than smaller competitors."
I'm also curious who you'd put on the list. It's a fun thought exercise: If you could pick 20 companies deserving of extra scrutiny and regulation, who would you want to be sure was on there? If you email me, I'll share everyone's thoughts later this week: david@protocol.com, or just reply to this email.
The ongoing Tech vs. Tech Media spat flared up again over the weekend, with Suhail Doshi, Michael Arrington, Jason Calacanis and a handful of others continuing to argue that tech folks should think differently about the media.
This is one of those times where two things can be true: Direct marketing and journalism have coexisted for a long time! The whole conversation actually seems to be about something different, which is how tech companies tell their story to the public.
I don't want to litigate the debate itself, largely because it's gotten ugly and mean and mostly off-track on all sides. Also I'm obviously biased! (Please send me all your tips and story ideas.) But the trend here is clear.
Stronger care … from more efficient operations
In a defining moment for healthcare, it's even more crucial to deliver patient-centered care efficiently. At Philips, we are committed to providing intelligent, automated workflows that seek to improve patient care. More efficient healthcare means stronger, more resilient healthcare.
Lucid Motors is following — and hopefully improving on — the Tesla playbook, CEO Peter Rawlinson said:
Your Twitter thread of the week: All the replies to Senate candidate Lauren Witzke, who said that "most third-world migrants can not assimilate into civil societies."
Paul Graham has a theory about the next Big Tech company:
Apple's "Hi, Speed" event is Tuesday. 5G iPhones! HomePods! AirPods? Apple TVs? All I know is I hope "Ted Lasso" is involved. Either way, watch it here.
Conference season continues:The GeekWire Summit, Fortune's MPW NextGen, Black Tech Fest and DevNet Create are all running this week.
The Warriors are so 2019. The 49ers are all injured. The new hottest team in Silicon Valley? The San Francisco Shock, newly crowned as back-to-back champions of the Overwatch League. You can rewatch the Grand Finals, which were a pretty epic four hours.
Stronger care … from more efficient operations
In a defining moment for healthcare, it's even more crucial to deliver patient-centered care efficiently. At Philips, we are committed to providing intelligent, automated workflows that seek to improve patient care. More efficient healthcare means stronger, more resilient healthcare.
Today's Source Code was written by David Pierce, with help from Shakeel Hashim. Thoughts, questions, tips? Send them to david@protocol.com, or our tips line, tips@protocol.com. Enjoy your day, see you tomorrow.
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