Weekly Refresh: Are the Bay Area’s Tech Giants Monopolies?

by Mae Rice
July 31, 2020
header san francisco tech news
Sign Outside Facebook's Menlo Park Headquarters. | Photo: Shutterstock

Are Facebook, Apple and Google monopolies? On Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified before Congress — alongside Amazon’s Jeff Bezos — about how their multi-billion-dollar companies approach competition. Zuckerberg faced questioning about Facebook’s potentially anti-competitive purchase of Instagram; Cook responded to concerns over how Apple treats competitors’ apps in its app store; and Pichai met scrutiny about how Google prioritizes its own pages in its search engine. All three CEOs defended their business practices — Zuckerberg, for instance, argued that Instagram couldn’t have become a Facebook competitor without Facebook’s early investment. Lawmakers may conclude that the tech giants have become monopolies that need to be more tightly regulated, or broken up into smaller companies. [NPR]

Googlers won’t go back to the office until 2021. On Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Google will extend its work-from-home option through July of 2021 for almost all of Google’s 200,000 employees. Part of the reasoning behind the decision: Many employees have children whose schools may not re-open for the 2020–21 school year. [CNET]

A controversial Caltrain sales tax made it to San Francisco’s November ballot. The measure would slightly raise sales tax on Caltrain tickets, bringing in more than $100 million in revenue per year. Caltrain could use this revenue infusion to roll out electric train services, increase train frequency and generally improve Bay Area commutes. However, the San Francisco Board of Superintendents passed a “dirty” version of the measure, some transit advocates say, amending it in such a way that ostensibly could make it less likely to pass. [SF Streetsblog]

Google highlights Black-owned businesses in its maps and search functions. Starting Thursday, U.S. business owners with a verified Google business profile can list themselves as “Black-owned,” which adds a black heart icon to their profiles’ highlights section. This is just one facet of Google’s effort to support Black-owned businesses, which also includes an in-house startup accelerator specifically for Black founders. [Google]

Bay Area medical startups announce $100 million in funding. This past week, medical device startup Eargo and telehealth startup Lemonaid Health announced $71 million and $33 million in funding, respectively — making it a robust week for Bay Area medical startups. [Built In SF]

San Francisco startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Top Software Engineer Jobs in San Francisco
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in San Francisco
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in Tech: San Francisco Bay Area
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Sales Jobs in San Francisco Bay Area