Photo: The White House/Protocol
How to cancel the president

Good morning! This Friday, social platforms continue to deplatform the president, new apps rise in the wake, Signal's having a moment and your office's free lunch may not be there when you go back.
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There are two ways to read Mark Zuckerberg's decision — and don't be mistaken, it was absolutely and entirely Mark Zuckerberg's decision — to indefinitely ban President Trump from posting on Facebook and Instagram.
My sense is the reality is a bit of both. Zuck has a long history of sticking to his beliefs even when they make his life harder, but there's practically nothing in Zuckerberg's post explaining the move that hasn't also been true every day for the last four years.
Facebook is the biggest platform taking action against the president, but far from the only one:
Jack Dorsey, however, hasn't said anything. His silence has been deafening: Twitter is Trump's most-used platform, the place he spends most of his time and seems to do most of his governing. After Facebook's action, which would have given Dorsey plenty of cover to do almost anything, Twitter's slow reaction felt to a lot of people like an abdication of responsibility.
Every company is going to have to answer these kinds of questions, because issues of moderation and platform health eventually come for everyone. And it's time to dispense with the idea that platforms can be neutral, that having no opinion is the right opinion to have. For Zuckerberg and Facebook, there's no going back. And there shouldn't be for anybody else.
An entire universe of social networks has been waiting for something like this: a big event that got Trump or a subset of big conservative names kicked off the mainstream platforms, forcing them and their fans to go somewhere else. And now here we are.
The question is, where will the deplatformed go? Where will Trump himself go?
Both platforms would welcome Trump, but neither would give him the platform and reach that Twitter and Facebook currently do. With one tweet, he can control news cycles; people don't pay attention to Parler the same way. That's why deplatforming works, and it really does work.
That said, if anyone has the gravity to single-handedly bring a social network to the mainstream, wouldn't it be @realDonaldTrump?
Elon Musk, newly-crowned Richest Person in the World, tweeted some messaging-app advice yesterday: "Use Signal."
Why is Signal having a moment? Few things going on here: One, WhatsApp now requires users to agree to share information with Facebook. The company says it's only collecting that data for WhatsApp Business-related chats, and users aren't being required to share data, only to agree to the policy. But the app's new privacy policy allows for way more than that. And you know what they say about Facebook and privacy policies.
It all added up to a big day for Signal, which was getting so many new users it couldn't send out verification codes fast enough. And it helped prove exactly how powerful those nutrition labels are going to be. No wonder Facebook hates them so much.
Virtualized service business models previously on the horizon waiting for consumer habits to catch up have accelerated at break-neck speed. And consumers are tapping their feet, waiting for more. Now, think about the dilemma that consumers are faced with going into this tax season. Because of the pandemic, many tax situations seem more complex and are sparking questions never before imagined.
On Protocol: Ajit Pai said he won't be going going forward with Section 230 rule-making:
Innovating in fintech is different than in other businesses, Chime's Chris Britt said:
Facebook's moderation bed was made a long time ago, Chamath Palihapitiya said:
Nick Giovanni is Instacart's new CFO. He joins from Goldman Sachs, and replaces Sagar Sanghvi.
Simple, one of the earliest online banks, is shutting down. All its accounts will be transferred to BBVA, which bought the company in 2014.
SoFi is going public via a Chamath Palihapitiya SPAC, and will be valued at $8.65 billion.
Hopin bought StreamYard for $250 million as it tries to quickly scale up a full-fledged consumer video platform.
Hipcamp raised $57 million, making the Airbnb-for-camping app a $300 million company.
Katia Vaskys is the new GM of IBM Brazil, running the company's operations in the country. IBM also named Martin Schroeter the CEO at NewCo, the company's managed infrastructure spinoff.
SolarWinds hired Chris Krebs as a consultant. He'll work with Alex Stamos to lead its crisis response to the hack.
Literally! Tech companies all over are rethinking corporate perks, and Bloomberg reports that many are looking at cutting the same one: the company cafeteria, filled with free food all day and night. After all, what good is an office full of food when nobody's in the office anymore? Turns out, though, that the tech-company-food industry is a big one, and it's not going to be easy to adapt.
Virtualized service business models previously on the horizon waiting for consumer habits to catch up have accelerated at break-neck speed. And consumers are tapping their feet, waiting for more. Now, think about the dilemma that consumers are faced with going into this tax season. Because of the pandemic, many tax situations seem more complex and are sparking questions never before imagined.
Today's Source Code was written by David Pierce, with help from Anna Kramer and 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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