10 things in tech you need to know today

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10 things in tech you need to know today
The TikTok app is displayed on an Apple iPhone on August 7, 2020 in Washington, DC.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Wednesday. Sign up here to get this email in your inbox every morning.

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  1. TikTok is hiring hundreds more US staff in a show of confidence against Trump. Many of the listings involve the company's trust-and-safety team, which has been tasked with proving the app does not harvest or handle data differently from other platforms.
  2. An anti-vaxxer group is suing Facebook for putting fact-checking labels on anti-vaccine posts. The complaint accuses Facebook of violating the First Amendment — a law that only applies to government entities and not private companies.
  3. Alphabet's Wing named a new head of operations as the drone-delivery company looks to expand its global reach. David Kunst will oversee "a further expansion of our global operations and the use cases we can support," a Wing spokesperson said.
  4. Experts say Oracle's reported interest in buying TikTok could be a ploy to drive up the price for the popular video app, which rival Microsoft is looking to acquire. Buying a popular consumer brand doesn't make sense for an enterprise powerhouse like Oracle, analysts say.
  5. Uber and Lyft are considering franchise models to avoid shutdowns in California. Uber and Lyft are considering a gig-work model that harkens to the days of livery cab fleets.
  6. Amazon is investing $1.4 billion to expand into 6 cities outside of Seattle. The move could allow Amazon to expand its talent pool and potentially adjust salaries down in more affordable cities.
  7. Netflix has canceled 'Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj' as it continues to struggle with topical talk shows. The streaming giant has struggled with the talk show genre, having previously canceled shows like "Chelsea," "The Break with Michelle Wolf," and "The Joel McHale Show" after one or two seasons.
  8. Oculus will require people to log in through Facebook before they can use its VR devices. The move comes as Facebook remains subject to a congressional antitrust probe investigating the firm and other tech giants over anticompetitive business practices.
  9. Elon Musk has tripled his wealth during the pandemic, joining a list of 12 Americans collectively worth more than $1 trillion. Musk's wealth climbed another $8 billion Monday as Tesla stock soared to an all-time high, making him the fourth wealthiest person in the world.
  10. Carnival says ransomware hackers were able to access personal data of cruise ship guests and workers. The cruise operator said it had launched an investigation into a ransomware attack on one of its brand's IT systems.

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