Image: Charles Deluvio / Protocol
What will Trump’s social network look like?

Good morning! Hope you had a great weekend, and sorry to everyone who ever thought they knew anything about college basketball only to have all your brackets brutally busted. This Monday, Trump has plans to get back into social, net neutrality is back, Facebook is defending its moderation efforts and Tesla says it doesn't spy in China.
Also, you'll notice we're back in your inbox a little earlier. After talking with lots of you, we definitely heard how many of you think of Source Code as part of your early-morning routine. And we're so glad to be with you! Thanks as always for the feedback, and keep it coming!
(Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get Source Code every day. And you can text with us, too, by signing up here or texting 415-475-1729.)
He's still not back on Twitter (where he's apparently banned forever), Facebook (we'll see what the Oversight Board decides) or YouTube (probably coming back soon). And he's not on Gab or Parler, both of which would be absolutely delighted to have him. But Donald Trump is getting ready to social again.
"I do think that we're going to see President Trump returning to social media in probably about two or three months here, with his own platform," Trump advisor Jason Miller told Fox News. "And this is something that I think will be the hottest ticket in social media. It's going to completely redefine the game, and everybody is going to be waiting and watching to see what exactly President Trump does. But it will be his own platform."
A Facebook competitor probably isn't in the cards, though details are pretty scarce right now. I'd bet on it looking more like a streaming company than a social one, allowing Trump to get his message out in a way that his supporters can interact with and amplify. Maybe Substack should be more worried than Twitter?
What do you think it will look like? Reply to this email with all your best ideas (and names) for Untitled Trump Social Network. If you end up being right, I'll send you a Protocol mug.
"Net neutrality simply preserves the environment that has allowed the internet to become an engine for economic growth." That's from a letter to Jessica Rosenworcel, from seven tech companies — Mozilla, Dropbox, Reddit, Vimeo, Wikimedia, Eventbrite and ADT — which are urging the FCC to bring net neutrality back to the law of the land.
Rosenworcel is obviously going to like this letter. She's been fighting for net neutrality for years, and told Protocol's Emily Birnbaum last year that she opposed the Trump administration's rollbacks on both substantive and procedural grounds.
The question now is one of priorities. While net neutrality is an issue that a lot of people support, it's still a fiercely political one in Washington. Rosenworcel isn't even the official permanent FCC chair yet, so picking that fight right now might not be all that appealing. And anyway, she's made clear that fixing the broadband gap is her No. 1 priority.
What would reinstatement of net neutrality look like? We're already starting to see some of the effects — and friction — that would come from such a move thanks to California's newly enforceable law. AT&T is awfully cranky about it, for one thing. And while the FCC might do something along those lines, everyone seems to agree that in the long run, the only way off this endless legal seesaw is for Congress to do something. And we know how that's gone so far.
A recent report studying voluntary increases to wages by businesses found that when Amazon raised its pay to $15 in 2018, it led to a 4.7% increase in wages for employees at other companies in the same market. The study also found no significant job losses in the community after the wage increase.
Facebook is dedicated to fighting misinformation, Guy Rosen said, and it cares more than you might think:
Teslas aren't used for spying, Elon Musk said, no matter what the Chinese government thinks:
Nokia hasn't been crunched by the semiconductor shortage, CEO Pekka Lundmark said, but he's still keeping an eye on it:
"Pretend empathy" is a troubling development in tech, Sherry Turkle said:
Melinda Gates said one way to fix workplace inequality is to keep women from having to leave the workplace:
Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey face Congress again on Thursday, to talk about misinformation. There's going to be a lot of yelling, a lot of talk about bias and probably a lot of strong and misguided feelings about Section 230. So, same as always.
Vizio is expected to IPO this week. The question to watch: Do investors see it mostly as a TV maker or an advertising/software company?
Adobe and Tencent both report earnings this week.
John Cleese — yes, that John Cleese — drew a picture of the Brooklyn Bridge on his iPad and is selling it as an NFT. It's not very good, but since when does that matter? Cleese set the buy-now price for "Brooklyn Bridge" at $69,346,250.50, which would put him two quarters over Beeple's record. I'd say that's impossible, but he's already up to $50,000 on OpenSea. So watch your back, Winkelmann.
A recent report studying voluntary increases to wages by businesses found that when Amazon raised its pay to $15 in 2018, it led to a 4.7% increase in wages for employees at other companies in the same market. The study also found no significant job losses in the community after the wage increase.
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.
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.