Daily Pulse: Bill Gates Backs the FBI, Uber Defends Its Background Checks, Zuckerberg to Telecoms: We're Not the Enemy

Uber responds: The company's security chief Joe Sullivan says a different sort of background check wouldn't have helped prevent the Kalamazoo, MI shootings. Jason Brian Dalton, who was arrested Sunday, was an Uber driver with a 4.73 (out of 5) rating and no criminal record. Uber controversially doesn't use fingerprinting in its background checks, but hires a company to go through seven years of court records. “I don’t think that we will change our screening processes of Uber drivers as a result of this incident," Sullivan says, although the company continues to test security features, including a panic button in India. 

Bill Gates zigs when the rest of tech zags: While Mark Zuckerberg was the latest tech luminary to show support for Apple, Bill Gates is backing the FBI. In an interview with the FT (paywall), Gates rejected the idea that the FBI is looking to set precedent; 

“It is no different than [the question of] should anybody ever have been able to tell the phone company to get information, should anybody be able to get at bank records. Let’s say the bank had tied a ribbon round the disk drive and said, ‘Don’t make me cut this ribbon because you’ll make me cut it many times’.”

Meanwhile, Tim Cook is proposing a government commission on encryption. 

Do you pinky swear? Zuckerberg says Facebook is friend, not foe, to telecoms. He calls the relationship 'symbiotic', although acknowledges that "there might be tension in any relationship." (Ya think?) Facebook Messenger has disrupted business models for telecoms companies, but Zuck points out that many networks are moving toward revenue streams from data transmission, not voice or text messages. Facebook needs strong mobile networks as it continues to build VR and video (especially live video) products.

We are the goon squad and we're coming to town: Instead of fast fashion following the runways, the runways are adapting to fast fashion. Burberry's latest show at London Fashion Week was the last to go on a time delay; from September, Burberry's catwalk will coincide with clothing hitting stores. Tommy Hilfiger and Tom Ford are making similar changes. Retail analyst Paula Rosenblum explains one need for the shift: "Under the old calendar, all a Fast Fashion retailer needed to do was send a representative to the runway show, take a few photos, send photos to product designers, and produce a tweaked version of the product within its 3-6 week production cycle. Just like that, the best ideas would be available at a dramatically lower price point!" 

#Quote

In his latest post, Bill Gates explains why his Annual Letter is focused on energy.

"Few of the crazy ideas will pay off. But we’re betting that within 15 years, scientists and engineers will develop big breakthroughs that will put us on a path to zero carbon emissions and make energy more affordable for everyone."

Authentication via duck face: MasterCard is ushering in a password-free world: the company will soon let users verify online purchases with fingerprints or selfies. Enterprise security solutions president Ajay Bhalla predicts the technology will be used around the world within five years. Big banks in the US, UK, Canada, and some European countries will be rolling it out over the next few months, and users will have to download a MasterCard app.

Tell us something we don't know: A study from USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism finds that Hollywood "still functions as a straight, white, boy's club." The study "is based on 414 stories produced by 10 companies through movies, TV and digital platforms. It involved more than 11,000 speaking characters as well as 10,000 people working behind the scenes." It finds that women hold 28% of all speaking roles, and two-thirds of film characters are male. More than half of all stories didn't feature any Asian characters, and 22% didn't feature any black characters, even as extras. LGBT actors represent less than 2% of speaking roles. From the study:

"The complete absence of individuals from these backgrounds is a symptom of a diversity strategy that relies on tokenistic inclusion rather than integration."

Cover Photo: Founder and CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg delivers his keynote conference on the opening day of the World Mobile Congress at the Fira Gran Via Complex on February 22, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world's largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets. 

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What you may have missed — and really should read:

• Bill Gates just wrote a rallying cry for clean energy. But is it enough? Gates discusses his letter in our interview.
• Joe Nocera is not on good terms with the NCAA: Is it exploiting young athletes? 
• As MWC starts, TED ends: Here's what Bill Gross learned in Vancouver.
• Two responses to "An Open Letter To Yelp CEO": Takeaways For Millennials & Companies, and A Lesson in Emotional Intelligence

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Missed the last update? Catch up: ‘Apple Isn't Winning Hearts & Minds, Oil Patch Investment Tanks, Airbus Wants to Sell Seating, not Seats'

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