The 18 biggest tech scandals of 2018 (FB, TWTR, GOOGL, TSLA, AAPL)

REUTERS/Leah Millis

• From Facebook's Cambridge Analytica debacle to Google's sexual misconduct investigations, 2018 has been a year rocked by scandal in tech industry. 
• Here are the 18 biggest tech scandals that happened this year.

In the tech world, 2018 was rocked by scandal. 

Over the last 12 months, many tech companies have found themselves at the center of our country's most pressing social and political issues. 

Facebook provided Cambridge Analytica — a data firm used by President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to target voters — with 87 million users' personal information without obtaining proper consent. 

Google reportedly paid an executive tens of millions of dollars after he was let go over a sexual misconduct investigation.

And WhatsApp became a hotbed of misinformation, influencing political elections and costing people their lives. 

What follows are the 18 biggest scandals in the tech industry over the course of the last year:

February: Uber and Waymo go to court over stolen trade secrets regarding self-driving car technology.

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In February, Uber and Google's self-driving car spinoff, Waymo, went to court over allegations that Uber stole trade secrets relating to Waymo's self-driving-car technology.

The case centered around Anthony Levandowski, a high-profile engineer who was accused of taking information with him when leaving Google and bringing that information to Uber when he joined the company.

The trial was hugely anticipated among those in tech, as it included two of Silicon Valley’s largest companies, and even featured testimony from Uber's former CEO, Travis Kalanick.

Ultimately, Uber agreed to pay Waymo $245 million in equity.

• Read more:
• Read the text messages from Travis Kalanick and Anthony Levandowski that Uber fought to keep sealed in its legal battle with Waymo
• Uber and Waymo are finally going to trial in an epic war over self-driving tech that could reshape Silicon Valley
• Google spinoff Waymo calls Uber a bunch of cheaters as the long-awaited self-driving car trial kicks off
• The Silicon Valley judge presiding over the Uber and Waymo is so full of blistering criticisms that he's getting his own fan base
• Uber and Waymo have reached a $245 million settlement in their massive legal fight over self-driving-car technology

March: Google’s Project Maven contract to partner with the Department of Defense on AI technology is revealed.

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In March, a report by Gizmodo revealed that Google had a contract in place with the US Department of Defense for the use of artificial intelligence technology, known internally as Project Maven.

Critics of the AI tech — which speeds up the process of analyzing video images — believed it could be used for increasing the accuracy of drone-missile strikes, which often result in civilian casualties. As a result, thousands of Google employees signed a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, urging the company to end the contract, saying: "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war."

In June, after facing intense internal and external pressures, Google announced it would not renew its current contract with the DoD, which expires in 2019.

• Read more:
• Google's military work reverses one of its oldest values — and it could jeopardize the company's biggest asset
• Thousands of Google employees asked CEO Sundar Pichai to stop providing AI tech for the US military's drones
• A small military contract started an internal war at Google that's tearing the company apart
• After a dozen employees quit in protest, Google has reportedly decided not to renew its contract for military drone initiative Project Maven
• 'Things have changed at Google': An engineer who quit to protest Project Maven explains why the company's changing values forced him out

March: A self-driving Uber car hits and kills a woman in Arizona.

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In March, a woman in Tempe, Arizona, was killed by a self-driving car operated by Uber. It was the first time a pedestrian had been killed by an autonomous vehicle.

Uber, which had been competing with companies like Waymo and GM to bring self-driving services to market, subsequently paused all of its autonomous vehicle testing.

Now, as the company prepares to return its cars to the roads, new reports from Business Insider have revealed the internal debates and dysfunction leading up to March’s tragic accident.

• Read more:
• Self-driving cars could face a 'huge setback' after the tragic death of a woman struck by an autonomous Uber
• Uber removed the second backup driver from its self-driving cars ahead of the crash that killed an Arizona pedestrian
• 'We have screwed up': Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says in an all-hands meeting that the company deserves some fault after its self-driving car killed a pedestrian
• Uber insiders describe infighting and questionable decisions before its self-driving car killed a pedestrian

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• Google in 2018: The good, the bad, and the ugly
• A rail-guided Tesla and flamethrowers: Inside Elon Musk's exclusive Boring Company tunnel launch party
• The 10 best smartphones made in 2018 that are worth your money

from Business Insider https://read.bi/2QTdd0Z