Welcome to the start of another week. Today, we're continuing our coverage of social media companies' responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Let's get started.
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1. Tech giants face increasing pressure over Ukraine. Social media companies have long held their ground as neutral parties, espousing freedom of expression. But as the conflict in Ukraine escalates, many are feeling pressure to take a firmer stance against Russia. Here's the latest:
- Scoop: OnlyFans is back up and running in Russia and Belarus after creators were temporarily cut off from payments. A spokesperson told Insider the firm is now working with processors including Paxum and Cosmo so Russian creators can continue to earn and access their money.
- Meta created a task force that will remove hate speech or content that incites violence, and label posts from state-controlled media and those that fact checkers have deemed false. It also said it would prohibit Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on its platform.
- Russia quickly hit back, saying it would partially limit Facebook access, accusing it of censorship and human rights violations.
- Following Meta's lead, YouTube said it would ban state-funded media channels from generating revenue. Hours later, Google announced it would also pause monetization of Russian state-funded media across its platforms.
- Ukraine's digital minister, Mikhail Fedorov, wrote to Apple CEO Tim Cook Friday asking him to pull all Apple services from Russia, including the App Store. Cook's only public statement on Ukraine so far has been to say he was "deeply concerned" by the situation.
In other news:
2. Elon Musk suggests SpaceX could protect the ISS from crashing into Earth. In a tweet, Russia's space chief said US sanctions could have severe consequences for the ISS, asking who would save it from crashing into the US or Europe — to which Musk responded with a photo of SpaceX's logo.
3. Amazon plans to sell digital advertising space inside its physical stores. Internal documents show that with its physical stores under pressure to become more financially self-sufficient, Amazon is considering targeted ad placements on Dash Carts and other in-store screens. Read more in our exclusive report.
4. A man is suing Amazon for $100 million. The man alleges that a crash with a delivery driver led to the amputation of his leg — and is arguing that Amazon is at fault for putting too much pressure on delivery drivers. Here's what we know about the suit.
5. Things are looking bleak for Robinhood. The investing app struck it rich by turning stock trades into a game. But within a year, its own stock has plunged 80% — and it'll have to start copying its old-school rivals if it wants to make it. What's next for Robinhood.
6. Elon Musk's recent attempt to haul the SEC to court has failed. The CEO filed a letter last week accusing the agency of "endless, unfounded investigations" into Tesla, but a federal judge dismissed his request to call the agency into court. Here's what went down.
7. Don't quit your day job — make TikToks about it. Videos of people's professional lives have become wildly popular across social media, from TikTok posts to YouTube videos. We spoke with influencers who are building careers by filming at work about how they turned it into a lucrative business.
8. A Japanese game studio is giving employees two days off to play Elden Ring. Employees had Friday and today off work to play the highly anticipated video game by "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin. Why the game merits its own "Elden holiday."
Odds and ends:
9. EV owners still pay more per mile of range than gas-powered car owners do. A new analysis finds EVs still lag behind gas cars in terms of retail cost per mile of range, and it could be years before that changes. Read the full comparison.
10. Apple may be working on a gadget with a 20-inch foldable display. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman described the device — which is still years away — as an "iPad/MacBook hybrid" in his newsletter. Get the rundown here.
What we're watching today:
- Zoom, HP, and Groupon are expected to report earnings today. Keep up with earnings here.
- The world's largest mobile telecoms event opens in Barcelona.
- Stephen Scherr is set to become Hertz's new chief executive officer.
Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email [email protected] or tweet @jordanparkererb.) Edited by Shona Ghosh in London.