On November 6, 2024, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch posted on X: 'Congrats President Trump. Excited about the impact X, prediction markets, citizen journalism, podcasts, and the open web played in fostering democracy and a free media. It's a new world.'
Activity
Incidents and actions from tracked entities.
Posted public congratulations to Trump after election victory, pledging to work with administration
Nov 6, 2024On November 6, 2024, hours after Trump's election victory, Greg Brockman posted on X: 'Congratulations to President Trump! I'm encouraged by the tech-forwardness of his campaign. Leading in technology generally—and AI in particular—is how America can continue to lead the world and protect democratic values. Looking forward to working with his administration.'
Elon Musk donated over $277 million to support Trump's 2024 campaign and Republican causes, making him the single largest individual political donor in American history. The bulk went to his America PAC super PAC, which focused on voter turnout in swing states.
Throughout 2024, Elon Musk posted at least 87 claims about US elections that fact-checkers rated as false or misleading, amassing over 2 billion views. None received Community Notes fact-checks. He promoted the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory claiming Democrats were 'importing voters' (747 million views across 42 posts), spread voting machine fraud conspiracies, and shared an AI deepfake of Kamala Harris (133 million views). The Center for Countering Digital Hate estimated his political reach would have cost a campaign $24 million in ads.
Adopted human rights policy and launched temporary accounts system to protect editor privacy
Nov 5, 2024The Wikimedia Foundation adopted a formal Human Rights Policy in December 2021 embedding privacy protection into its mission. In November 2024, the Foundation launched temporary accounts to replace IP-based editing, providing better privacy protection for logged-out editors while maintaining accountability. The Foundation practices data minimization, collects very little personal information, and does not sell user data. It maintains a Country and Territory Protection List limiting data publication for at-risk regions, updated in January 2024. The Foundation also adopted differential privacy techniques in partnership with Tumult Labs to release 8 years of pageview data while protecting individual users.
Donated over $214,000 to Democratic candidates and committees including Biden, Clinton, and the DNC
Nov 1, 2024Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei donated more than $214,000 to Democratic candidates and committees, including former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee. Before the 2024 election, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. In a now-deleted pre-election Facebook post, he called Trump a 'serious and legitimate threat to the rule of law' and compared him to a 'feudal warlord.'
Peter Thiel donated approximately $1.7 million to Republican candidates and PACs during the 2024 election cycle, including contributions to various GOP Senate candidates and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Mandated 50% in-office work despite having 3x more employees than desks, sparking resignations
Nov 1, 2024In November 2024, Starling Bank mandated hybrid employees work in the office 50% of the time, despite having more than three times as many employees as in-office desks. Internal Slack posts called the change 'rammed down everyone's throats' and accused new CEO Raman Bhatia of creating a 'bland grey corporate hellscape.' Glassdoor reviews said the bank treats staff like 'subservient children' and the mandate caused 'complete dismay.' Employees have been resigning in response.
Cerebral paid $3.6M DOJ settlement for pressuring providers to overprescribe ADHD stimulants
Nov 1, 2024DOJ settlement found Cerebral engaged in practices encouraging unauthorized distribution of controlled substances (Adderall, Ritalin) from 2019-2022. Company set internal targets to increase 'Initial Visit Rx Rate' for prescribing stimulants, used financial incentives to pressure providers to meet prescribing metrics, and considered disciplinary measures for providers who didn't prescribe enough stimulants.
Lyft rolled out nationwide rider verification system with verification badges for driver safety
Nov 1, 2024Following successful regional pilot in 9 cities (Seattle, Detroit, Jacksonville, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Chicago, Denver, Miami) starting August 2024, Lyft rolled out rider verification nationwide in November 2024. System cross-checks rider's legal name and phone number using trusted third-party databases. If information can't be validated, riders asked to upload government-issued ID. Verified riders receive verification badge on profile. Drivers see rider's name, verification badge, rating, and photo before accepting ride, providing greater peace of mind and helping confirm riders are who they say they are. Verifying millions of riders to enhance driver safety.
OSHA cited Tesla for exposing Austin Gigafactory workers to hexavalent chromium without training
Nov 1, 2024In November 2024, OSHA penalized Tesla nearly $7,000 after discovering that four employees at the Austin Gigafactory had been exposed to hexavalent chromium, an extremely hazardous carcinogen, without appropriate training or safety precautions. Workers in the Cybertruck body area were exposed to significant health hazards because they lacked the necessary training to handle hazardous materials.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in October, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas refused to say how Perplexity defines 'plagiarism' when directly asked. He stated 'No one has a copyright or ownership over truth or facts' and claimed that content publishers 'wish this technology didn't exist' and 'prefer to live in a world where publicly reported facts are owned by corporations.'
Graham gave a lukewarm endorsement of Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, stating 'Harris is a typical politician. But Trump is a crook. You can't have that sort of person as president.' He cited Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election as 'banana republic stuff.'
Dropbox cut 20% of staff and pivoted to AI in fourth major workforce reduction in two years
Oct 30, 2024On October 30, 2024 Dropbox CEO Drew Houston announced the company would cut approximately 528 employees, around 20% of its workforce, the fourth significant workforce reduction since 2021. Houston framed the cuts as a pivot toward AI-focused product development and away from legacy infrastructure work. The cuts came despite Dropbox remaining profitable.
The Financial Conduct Authority fined Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for breaching senior manager conduct rules by failing to notify the FCA of his significant tax issues for over seven months between February and September 2021. The FCA said his approach was 'careless rather than deliberate or reckless' but prevented real-time assessment of his fitness and propriety. He received a 30% discount for agreeing to settle. The FCA made no adverse findings on his fitness to continue in his roles.
CEO Kristo Käärmann fined £350K by FCA for failing to disclose tax default, added to HMRC defaulters list
Oct 28, 2024UK FCA fined Wise CEO Kristo Käärmann £350,000 for failing to disclose his inclusion on HMRC's deliberate tax defaulters list. Käärmann failed to pay £720,495 in capital gains tax from a 2017 share sale and was separately fined £365,651 by HMRC. The FCA found his approach 'careless rather than deliberate' but his failure to disclose prevented assessment of his fitness for senior management roles.
Khosla aggressively opposed California SB 1047 AI safety bill, called author 'clueless' and 'not qualified'
Oct 28, 2024In 2024, Khosla publicly opposed California's SB 1047 AI safety bill, writing an opinion article in The Sacramento Bee arguing the bill could harm national security. He called the bill's author, Senator Scott Wiener, 'clueless about the real dangers of AI' and 'not qualified to have an opinion' on global national security issues. While Khosla supports AI safety research funding, he opposed legislative safety frameworks that could constrain AI development.
On October 25, 2024, Jeff Bezos killed The Washington Post's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, overruling the editorial board. The decision led to 200,000+ subscriber cancellations and two columnist resignations. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago the same day. Bezos defended it as 'principled' but critics called it capitulation to Trump.
Stepped down as WiseTech CEO amid sexual misconduct allegations involving multiple women
Oct 24, 2024Richard White resigned as CEO in October 2024 amid allegations he paid millions to settle claims, had relationships with employees, and gifted a $7M house to one partner. Multiple women alleged he expected sex in exchange for business investments. Share price plummeted, costing $2B in personal wealth.
LinkedIn fined EUR 310 million by Irish Data Protection Commission for GDPR violations in targeted advertising
Oct 22, 2024In October 2024, the Irish Data Protection Commission fined LinkedIn EUR 310 million for processing personal data for behavioral analysis and targeted advertising without valid lawful basis. The investigation originated from a 2018 complaint by French nonprofit La Quadrature Du Net. The DPC found LinkedIn's consent was not freely given, its legitimate interests claims were invalid, and it violated GDPR fairness and transparency principles. LinkedIn was ordered to bring processing into compliance within three months.
Plaid endorsed CFPB Section 1033 personal financial-data access rule supporting consumer banking-data portability
Oct 22, 2024Plaid publicly endorsed and helped shape the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's October 2024 finalised Section 1033 rule under the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires banks to allow consumers to share their financial data with third-party fintech services on demand and free of charge. Plaid's lobbying and amicus participation supported a positive consumer-protection outcome despite the rule's competitive implications for incumbent banks. The rule was a major win for open-banking advocates and consumer data portability.
In October 2024, Dow Jones and New York Post filed a lawsuit against Perplexity alleging copyright infringement. News Corp CEO Robert Thomson stated Perplexity 'perpetrates an abuse of intellectual property that harms journalists.' Forbes had earlier publicly criticized Perplexity for publishing stories largely copied from their proprietary articles. Copyleaks analysis found one summary paraphrased 48% of a Forbes article, with 7% direct plagiarism.
Musk offered $1M daily sweepstakes to registered voters in swing states during 2024 election
Oct 19, 2024In October 2024, Musk pledged through America PAC to give away $1 million per day to a registered voter in swing states who signed his petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. Legal experts and election law scholars raised concerns the sweepstakes could violate federal law prohibiting paying people to register to vote. Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit alleging the program was an illegal lottery. A judge allowed the sweepstakes to continue. The program ran primarily in battleground states including Pennsylvania, a key swing state.
Linux kernel removed 11 Russian maintainers citing sanctions compliance with disputed legal basis
Oct 18, 2024In October 2024, Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman removed 11 Russian nationals from the MAINTAINERS file, citing vague 'compliance requirements.' The Software Freedom Conservancy later argued that the relevant US Executive Order 14071 did not legally require this removal. Critics noted the lack of transparency, the failure to credit removed developers, and the precedent of geopolitics influencing open source contributor access. Linus Torvalds defended the decision.
Linux kernel removed approximately 12 Russian maintainers citing US sanctions compliance
Oct 18, 2024In October 2024, the Linux kernel removed about a dozen maintainers associated with Russian entities from the MAINTAINERS file, citing 'various compliance requirements.' The changes were made without review by other developers or the affected maintainers. Torvalds affirmed the decision, referencing Russian sanctions and his Finnish heritage. Community members criticized the lack of transparency and the process used.
NHTSA opened investigation into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles over FSD crashes in low-visibility conditions
Oct 17, 2024In October 2024, NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation of 2.4 million Tesla vehicles (2016-2024 model years) over the safety of Full Self-Driving technology. The probe was triggered by four FSD-engaged collisions in low-visibility conditions (glare, fog, dust), including a November 2023 fatality in Rimrock, Arizona where a 71-year-old pedestrian was killed by a FSD-equipped Model Y. NHTSA also expressed concern in November 2024 that Tesla was endorsing distracted driving with FSD in its social media messaging.
Revolut CEO and co-founder Nik Storonsky officially changed tax residency from UK to United Arab Emirates in October 2024 according to Companies House filings. Move could save him more than £3 billion in UK capital gains tax. Storonsky had been critical of UK's 'extreme bureaucracy' and regulatory landscape. Changed residence from England on October 16, 2024.
FTC under Khan saved consumers $11B via junk fees ban, click-to-cancel rule, and non-compete ban
Oct 16, 2024During Lina Khan's tenure as FTC Chair (2021-2025), the FTC enacted significant consumer protection rules: a ban on hidden junk fees saving consumers an estimated $11 billion, a click-to-cancel rule for subscriptions, a ban on non-compete clauses affecting 30 million workers, a $245M Epic Games settlement over children's privacy, and secured $1.5 billion in direct consumer refunds. The Amazon Prime dark patterns case resulted in a $2.5 billion settlement.
Nikolay Storonsky changed tax residency from UK to UAE, potentially avoiding £3 billion in capital gains tax
Oct 16, 2024In October 2024, Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky relocated his tax residency from the UK to the UAE. This move could allow him to avoid approximately £3 billion in capital gains taxes that would have been due on his Revolut stake if sold while a UK resident. The UAE has no capital gains tax, making it a popular destination for wealthy tech executives.
Updated Responsible Scaling Policy with enhanced capability thresholds and safety case methodologies
Oct 15, 2024Anthropic published major update to RSP adding new capability thresholds, refined evaluation processes inspired by safety case methodologies, and measures for internal governance and external input. Established specific thresholds for ASL-3 (CBRN assistance) and ASL-4 (autonomous AI research).