10 things in tech you need to know today

Ralph Orlowski/Getty ImagesSergey Brin (left) and Larry Page.

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday.

1. Alphabet CEO Larry Page and President Sergey Brin are stepping down. Google CEO Sundar Pichai will succeed Page, who cofounded Google with Brin in 1998.
2. Elon Musk testified in his own defense during explosive opening day of defamation trial over his 'pedo guy' tweet. The Tesla chief testified that he was "upset" by an interview British diver Vernon Unsworth gave to CNN, saying, "I insulted him back."
3. 4 ex-Google employees who were fired over Thanksgiving are asking the US government to investigate. The former employees claimed in a statement Monday that they were fired for their attempts to organize a union at Google.
4. Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin wrote a goodbye letter to announce they're stepping down from their leadership roles at Alphabet. The letter reflects on their decision and the evolution of the company they founded in 1998.
5. A US citizen was arrested for visiting North Korea and giving a talk on cryptocurrencies, and an expert says such knowledge is hugely valuable to the hermit kingdom. 'Any interaction with a daily developer and user of cryptocurrency is likely to be valuable to North Koreans,' an East Asian cybersecurity expert told Business Insider.
6. Google has introduced yet another way to message people, and this one might actually stick around. Now you can share pictures in Google Photos without having to create a new album, and people can respond without leaving comments visible to everyone.
7. YouTube will no longer punish pro gamers for playing violent games like 'Mortal Kombat'. The video-sharing site has updated its policies to make it easier for creators to make money off violent video game content.
8. A California student is suing TikTok, alleging that it surreptitiously hoovered up her data and sent it to China. The student claimed that TikTok created an account for her without her permission using her personal data.
9. One of Facebook's key execs working on health initiatives has been poached by Google. Hema Budaraju worked on Facebook's blood donation tool and its Health Support Groups.
10. An internal memo has revealed Sony Music's plans to double down on podcast ad sales strategy with four new executive hires. The world's biggest music company has hired new executives from Pandora, Stitcher, Megaphone, and CBS Radio to boost its podcast business.

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