What's Next: Tech vs. Trump: The leaders of Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and other tech firms are calling on President Trump to reverse his "zero tolerance" immigration policy that is still separating families at the US-Mexico border.
• Apple CEO Tim Cook, to the Irish Times: "It's heartbreaking to see the images and hear the sounds of the kids. Kids are the most vulnerable people in any society. I think that what's happening is inhumane, it needs to stop. We've always felt everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. In this case, that's not happening."
• Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk: "Ripping children from the arms of their parents is heartless, cruel, immoral and counter to American values of belonging. The US government needs to stop this injustice and reunite these families. We are a better country than this."
• Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg have both donated to a fundraising campaign led by former Facebook employees that has raised nearly $5 million to reunite immigrant families. "We need to stop this policy right now," Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. "Listening to the cries of children separated from their parents is unbearable," wrote Sandberg.
• YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: "Regardless of your politics, it's heartbreaking to see what's happening to families at the border. Here are some ways you can help."
• Microsoft, which has been criticized for providing its Azure cloud software to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement: "Family unification has been a fundamental tenet of American policy and law since the end of World War II. As a company Microsoft has worked for over 20 years to combine technology with the rule of law to ensure that children who are refugees and immigrants can remain with their parents. We need to continue to build on this noble tradition rather than change course now. We urge the administration to change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children are no longer separated from their families."
The Big Picture: These tech leaders join a chorus of critics that includes Democratic and Republican lawmakers and former First Ladies. But so far, their influence seems to be limited ... | | | PACIFIC
The Agenda Welcome to PACIFIC. One of the conceits of this venture is that Silicon Valley may ultimately have more influence on the future of society than Washington. The situation on the border is a powerful reminder that there are some areas -- like immigration policy -- where that is very much not the case.
Last night on Twitter ...
@ElonMusk: "I hope the kids are ok."
@Somospostpc: "Could you just make a more powerful statement? It's a heartbreaking issue and your words and actions could matter more than a tweet."
@ElonMusk: "I couldn't even keep the US in the Paris Accord, but if there is some way for me to help these kids I will do so."
This morning ...
@Jack: "Do everything it takes to #KeepFamilesTogether. ... What are the highest impact ways to help?" | | SoCal Saboteur
Elon Musk's paranoia
Elon Musk has claimed in an email to Tesla employees that one of their colleagues "conducted quite extensive and damaging sabotage" to the company's operations by making code changes to the operating system and sharing "sensitive" data with third parties.
What's telling about Musk's letter to employees, however, is his paranoia about Tesla's critics and competitors:
• "As you know, there are a long list of organizations that want Tesla to die. These include Wall Street short-sellers, who have already lost billions of dollars and stand to lose a lot more."
• "Then there are the oil & gas companies, the wealthiest industries in the world – they don't love the idea of Tesla advancing the progress of solar power & electric cars."
• "Then there are the multitude of big gas/diesel car company competitors. If they're willing to cheat so much about emissions, maybe they're willing to cheat in other ways?"
The tone of the email is reminiscent of Musk's recent tirade against the media, when he claimed that reporters were pushing an anti-Tesla narrative because "fossil fuel companies & gas/diesel car companies are among world's biggest advertisers."
The Big Picture: Musk is in overshare mode. He's writing lengthy notes to staff and sharing all manner of opinions, relevant and irrelevant to his business, on Twitter.
"It is kind of amazing that Elon Musk wakes up with billions of dollars, a space colonization company and creative genius girlfriend, and still decides to ruin his mornings exactly the same way I do -- arguing with idiots on social media," Twitter user Robert Wiblin wrote over the weekend.
Musk responded: "The enemy of my enemy is myself."
All this feels liable to blow up at some point. | | | 'ALEXA, ORDER ROOM SERVICE'
"Amazon is partnering with Marriott to add Amazon Echo smart speakers into a select number of rooms," PACIFIC's Jordan Valinsky reports: "Guests can use the Alexa-enabled device to order room service, turn on the lights, set alarms, notify housekeeping, ask for hotel information, call the front desk, play music and other typical Alexa functions." | | | The Trust Crisis
AT&T, Verizon end location sharing
AT&T and Verizon have both said they will stop selling phone owners' location data to third parties, a move that comes amid heightened pressure from Sen. Ron Wyden and others on data sharing practices. Both companies had provided third parties with the ability to access the location of people's wireless devices without their knowledge.
How It Worked, via CNET's Alfred Ng:
• "Major wireless carriers are allowed to sell real-time location data to third-parties, which is often used for targeted advertising from advertisers."
• "The service allowed people to find anybody using their phone number, tracking them down based on location data that wireless carriers provided."
• "That location data had been abused, where a former Missouri sheriff used Securus Technologies, a service for monitoring calls to prison inmates, to track down a judge and five other police officers."
What's Next: Verizon says it will not start any new agreements until it feels "comfortable that we can adequately protect our customers' location data." AT&T says it will end its work "as soon as practical in a way that preserves important, potential life-saving services like emergency roadside assistance." | | Zuck Watch
Facebook misses deadline
"Facebook missed a deadline to respond to questions from two top U.S. senators on its sharing of user data with device makers, the latest delay by the social network in addressing lawmakers' queries about its privacy lapses," Bloomberg's Ben Brody and Sarah Frier report:
• "Senators John Thune and Bill Nelson ... asked the company in a June 5 letter to answer five questions on data sharing with telecom companies by the end of the business on Monday. The company told the committee it would not meet the requested response date ..." | |  | VALINSKY'S LINKS Lyft quietly eyes a scooter feature (TC)
Snap adds new programs (Variety)
IBM dominates the patent game (CNNMoney)
Amazon creates new Hub lockers (CNET)
California creates an online college (CNNMoney) | | Talk of Tinseltown
Facebook vs. YouTube
"Facebook will soon open up its Watch platform to a broader group of video creators," CNBC's Michelle Castillo reports. "It is Facebook's latest attempt to encroach upon YouTube's dominance in the online video market":
• "Digital video advertising revenue is projected to hit $19.81 billion by 2020, according to eMarketer."
• "Google's YouTube is considered the main home for online creator-made video content."
• "Facebook, however, is trying to encroach on that territory with Tuesday's announcement, which follows reports of plans to expand the length of Instagram videos and introduce original Instagram shows."
Facebook is also launching a series of game shows on Watch from BuzzFeed, Insider and Fresno.
Bonus: "Facebook is putting autoplay video ads inside Messenger," via Recode's Kurt Wagner: "Some users will start to see autoplay video ads appear in their inbox right next to messages from friends and family."
The Big Question: When will autoplay die? | | | | |
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