silicon valley giants have become so powerful and massive, and particular google, facebook, and apple are akin to public utilities, to almost their own private nationstates than they are to average corporations that have competition. eliminatee power to someone from facebook is almost the power to eliminate them from the internet. to hear facebook say it is the u.s. government, the donald trump administration has the power to tell us who will use facebook and who cannot is extremely chilling. especially since already last year they prove they were willing to do the same thing when it came to the israeli government. there was an article in the new york times detailing that the israeli right, the dominant faction in israel, is finally open about the fact that the real goal is not a two state solution or a peace process, it is the annexation of the west bank. these politicians openly advocating this are the same ones who summoned facebook executives in october of last and directedting them to delete the accounts of a huge number of palestinian activists, journalists, college hitters, and

protection for the dream is to continue more than four hundred companies including facebook and silicon valley giants are backing those efforts they say scrapping the program will reduce the talent pool for staff but trump and his allies say tackle and unless congress agrees to policy changes on immigration and border security some african migrants are going to extraordinary lengths to find a new life in europe teenagers have been found trekking across the snow covered alps in their bare feet sylvia lennon has that story. over the last three months at least fifteen hundred migrants have embarked on this perilous track over the alps crossing from italy into france defying freezing temperatures and heavy snow rescue workers say they're totally ill equipped for the arduous journey around a dozen migrants reach france every day but some won't make it mountain guide say they will perish in the attempt to reach france rescue workers expect to discover the bodies of african migrants when the snow melts in the spring is smile and now is seventeen years old from guinea sit there. for more it wasn't easy at al

for the dream is to continue more than four hundred companies including facebook and other silicon valley giants are backing their efforts but champneys allies said the measures will be scrapped and this congress agrees to wider immigration and border security policy changes daniel awareness is co-founder of dream in mexico this is a group that helps undocumented migrants living in the u.s. and assists those who've been deported joins a skype from one to how what in mexico very good to have you with us what are your expectations for the coming year what do you think needs to be done which will be best for the dreamers. yes thank you for inviting me my name is daniel yes i think that in this following year more dreamers should consider all the options they have what we have seen here in mexico is that several dreamers that have returned better opportunities here in mexico and other parts of the world and other countries of the world so if any dream or that it is in the us and is not living in an ideal situation it is not able to obtain their goals or continue with their life project they should c

facebook under new fire tonight from three silicon valley insiders who accuse the tech giant of profiting at the expense of users like you and they say warnings were ignored as facebook focused on its bottom line, opening the door for russia to exploit its platform during the 2016 election. all three sat down with our business correspondent jo ling kent. >> reporter: tonight a stunning charge against facebook. >> facebook is a living, breathing crime scene for what happened in the 2016 election and only they have full access to what happened. >> reporter: from three silicon valley insiders. >> did facebook neglect its responsibility to its users? >> in retrospect, definitely >> absolutely. >> yes. >> reporter: roger, early facebook investor and former mentor to ceo mark zuckerberg, sandy, a former facebook manager, and tristan harris, a former design assistant at google. together they accuse facebook of prioritizing profits over people, pointing to russia's 2016 misinformation campaign against american voters carried out in part through targeted ads on facebook. this man who worked for fa

enlightenment to happen, and our own age, where technology and emanating largely from silicon valley, has made it possible for giantsocial networks, facebook for example, to exert in arms -- us our miss -- enormo disruptive power relative to governments. katty: you talk about the constant tug-of-war in history between hierarchies and networks, or let's call them the masses. in the age of facebook and twitter, how does that actually work? how are the masses taking power away from the hierarchies? niall: well, it is not so much the masses, because that seems like language from another era, the era of class conflict, when the organized working-class were going to sweep to power. what is characteristic about these giant social networks is the way in which they tend to be polarized. liberals retweeting liberals and conservatives retweeting conservatives. to speak of the masses is not perhaps quite right. what is striking is the advent of giant social networks has changed the political game in all democracies. we saw that in 2016 not only in the united states, but in the u.k. during the brexit referendum. katty: if the n

in our own age, emanating from silicon valley, it has become possible for giant social networks, likevernments. you talk about a constant tug—of—war in history between networks or hierarchies, let's call them the masses. in the age of facebook and twitter, how does it actually work? how are the masses taking power from the hierarchies? it isn't so much the hierarchies? it isn't so much the masses. that seems like language from another era, the era of class conflict when the working class were going to sweep to power but what is characteristic of these giant social networks is the way in which they tend to be polarised. liberals retweeti ng tend to be polarised. liberals retweeting liberals and conservatives retweeting conservatives. to speak of the masses isn't quite right but what is striking is the extent to which the advent of giant online social networks has changed the political game in all democracies. we saw that not only in the us in 2016 but also the uk. during the referendum. not only in the us in 2016 but also the uk. during the referendumm networks can be, i'm not sure of

: while silicon valley rising delivered a letter outlining its requests to google, the pro-business silicon valley leadership group urged san jose to welcome google and the benefits a tech giant can bring. >> first, we have an iconic, well-respected company like google who wants to invest an additional 20,000 high-skill, high-tech, high-wage jobs right in downtown san jose, right where it belongs. >> reporter: a battle between growth and those worried they'll be left out of the tech boom. now, google released a statement earlier this afternoon saying this is a long term project, and they plan to work with the city to try to find something that will work for both techies and local residents. reporting live in san jose, scott budman, nbc bay area news. >>> worry over affordable housing is also triggering new action to protect teachers in palo alto. sky high rents have made it impossible for teachers to live in the city. the board of supervisors voted unanimously to back a new plan to provide housing for those teachers, built on county-owned land in palo alto. it calls for nearby school districts to partner on funding this new complex. >>> the newest members of baseball's hall o

silicon valley might be behind it. venture capitalist peter thiel made a giant bet on the volatile cryptocurrency. hillary vaughn has the details. >> hey, dagen, "the wall street journal" reports that peter thiel's venture capital firm, founders fund, bought $15 billion worth of bitcoin currency several months ago. neil told investors that that investments is worth hundreds of millions of dollars but it is worth even more today, because bitcoin jumped 11% on the news that up with of silicon valley's elite is putting his money where his mouth is. neil in october told fox business's maria bartiromo last fall that he thinks the cryptocurrency is a safe bet. >> this bitcoin end up being the cyber equivalent of gold and it has, it has a great potential left. it is a very different kind of thing from what people, people in silicon valley normally focus on companies not, you know, algorithms or protocols but this may be, this may be one exception that's very underestimated. >> but not everyone is convinced the crip cocurrency is a safe bet for investors. some worry hackers, levying cyber attacks on the c

silicon valley. why some say tech giants like facebook and amazon should be broken up and regulated like at&t and standard're going to stay tuned, hear more aboutthis in just a moment you are watching "squawk box" on cnbc >>> time now for today's aflac trivia question. who invented the first mechanized milking machine the answer when cnbc's "squawk box" continues and a gentle wave-like motion... liberate your spine... aflac! and reach, toes blossoming... not that great at yoga ya but when i slipped a disc, he paid my claim in just one day. so he had your back? yup in just one day, we process, approve and pay. one day pay. only from aflac of emerging markets obsolete? at pgim, we see alpa in the trends, driving specific sectors of out performance. where a rising middle class powers a booming auto industry. a leap into the digital era draws youthful populations to mobile banking and e-commerce. trade and travel surge between emerging markets. everyday our 1,100 investment professionals around the world search out opportunities for alpha. partner with pgim, the global investment management businesses of prud

that this liberal community here in silicon valley which loves to preach the virtues of decentralization -- we're all supposed to be net citizens these days in a giantcommunity -- must i think admit it is somewhat hypocritical in many of the claims it makes. i point out in "the kwsquare an the tower" one thing is to create enormous wealth for a small number of people, namely the founders and early investors of the companies. >> and you said that the internet may pose a bigger threat to democracies. let me ask you the last point on that, it has been said the liberal world order the u.s. pioneered and led around the world is very much at risk right now. at a who are going to save this world order if it should be saved? >> history, going back to the industrial revolution through the creation of electricity, through the creation of the computer, is that new technologies drive the world forward but they don't do it all steps forward. there's some steps forward and some steps back, and they need to be regulated and appropriate policies need to be set and social networks aren't going to be any different. it is going to be a huge public policy challenge. >>

libertarian attitude in silicon valley and tekin general about information and media, let the market sort it out that has proven not to work at least in the way the tech giantsted is there a different philosophy? facebook and others resist taking a journalistic stand, they fall back to something algorithmic. is there anyone pushing back on that and presenting a different philosophy >> there are some, tristan harris, who has become one of the leadinge ethicists mark zuckerberg is trying to they end up giving more power to the company themselves if they white list certain news companies, they become more powerful in the news business than less powerful they get to decide who gets the bulk of facebook traffic versus who doesn't and pick winners and losers maybe a lot of people might object to that in the long run too. i think one of the problems is that every time you come up with a solution, it end up giving power to one of the companies over another and in the long run ends up being a lot of power >> as we've seen over time guys, don't go anywhere. want to check in with julia boorstin monitoring capitol hill >> good morning to you, carl that's right executive

company tore discrimination after the tech giant "fired him for penning a memo saying the company created a monoculture. charles: a blockbuster from the silicon valley james damore has filed a class action lawsuit against google for allegedly discriminating against men and conservatives. he claims women on average have more eroticism and google should have diversity. some are calling your memo a manifesto. some of the observations you made. they have a feel towards aesthetics, rather than ideas. also neuroticism and higher anxiety and slower stress tolerance. you say it's why they haven't advanced as far in companies like google. >> they suggested to look for ways to make google more welcoming for women. after that page i have ideas how to make it a more welcoming place for women. charles: why did they just look at the argument. >> they thought it was a challenge to orthodoxy so they smeared me and anyone that supported me. charles: there is no doubt silicon valleyed the last few years admitted to challenges when it comes to blacks, hispanics and women. where do you think they differ with the root causes from your memo? they admitted there is a hist

here in mountain view, tech giant google gets an earful from affordable housing advocates. silicon valleyusing network, the south bay labor council and other groups calling on google to be a good neighbor as it moves ahead with plans to expand into downtown san jose. worried google's mega campus near diridon station will lead to rent hikes and the eviction of current residents,the activists are demanding google set aside a quarter of any housing it builds as affordable housing. in san jose rob fladeboe kron 4 news in san francisco... interim mayor mark farrell spent part of his day reassuring small business owners in the west portal neighborhood, who saw their shops suffer damage during an overnight fire... that the city will make funds available to help the businesses get back up and running.voted in as interim mayor last night after the board of supervisors voted to remove london breed from the position. she had served as interim mayor since the passing of former mayor ed lee last month. farrell says the move was made because he and others on the board believed breed had too much power,

giant promising it won't make your internet slower. >>> and here is something very unusual, silicon valley says no, we can't, when "today in the bay" continues. >>> good wednesday morning. right now at 6:14 you step out the door and it's dry, but we do have some rain on the way and it will be heavy and that's the reason why we are in a microclimate weather alert. as we get a live look outside in palo alto, clear visibility here. as we go through the day it will be a chill yes start, some peeks of sunshine, and the rain moving into palo alto right at about 3:00 this afternoon and getting heavier in time for the evening commute. we will talk more about how this will impact your evening commute and how much rain we're going to get that's coming up at 6:19. >>> right now impacting your morning drive through the south bay, highway 87 builds on a couple more minutes, that's a tough drive from capitol expressway to curtner because of a crash that's in lanes. we will give you the latest on what chp says about the specifics they have just arrived. >>> san francisco could ban the sale of fur today. supervisors committee will consider the ban at 10:00

giant. this is bloomberg. ♪ ♪ cory: he has been part of the fabric of silicon valley for a while. ceo of c3iot. he is focused on software for what he calls the digital transformation. whenever we sit down, he seems to have some big ideas. tom: we are working with some of the world's largest corporations to apply cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and take advantage of the internet of things to basically engage in what is being called digital transformation. cory: basically, taking companies that are not yet digital in all the ways in they can work in getting there. tom: yes. they are now using this new generation of information, this new step function that has come online in the 21st century to change everything about the way they manage their business processes, design products, deliver products, and deliver services. this is really like nothing we have seen before. cory: i love your idea about how we kind of look at technology to see new things. you found this idea of punctuated equilibrium, a notion sort of from geology, which basically says -- tell me if i am paraphrasi

giants has its investing billions of dollars in its u.s. operations pledging thousands of new jobs and a new tech center. apple may repatriate $245 billion, nearly all of its overseas cash. while silicon valley barely left the trump tax cuts, it is still leaning left politically. the founder of s&p disco area start-up that specializes in free range artisanal organic customized digital marketing. she says she has a theory. "no educated person wants to live in a s-hole with stupid people who are violent, racist, and/or misogynistic." she has said she spoke inartfully. chelsea manning announced a run for senate. manning is a former army intelligence analyst who was convicted of leaking thousands of classified documents. former president obama commuted manning's 35 year prison sentence some on the left think manning's background could be a plus. spokesman for democracy for america says "folks that are applying litmus test for candidates based on criminal record and extremes with police, that's one of the many reasons why we don't have the diversity of representation that we need in the u.s. senate. we are glad to see she is running and we will be watching that race." we will too. unrivaled or un

investors, jana partners and calstrs urging the tech giant to take action against growing smartphone addiction in children. >> the culture of silicon valley'sbeen about disruption for so long that people have forgotten that there are consequences to disruption and at the scale that the tech guys are at now, they have to take some responsibility. >> dow lower by 17 points, but as you can see there, everybody else closing higher. that puts them in record territory once again >> general electric was the dow's worst performer last year, but it's up almost 5% so far in just a couple of trading days in 2018 what is the bullish case to be made for this stock? joining us now, "fast money" traders guy adami and pete najarian hey, guys. >> hi, kell. >> hi. guy, all right, what's the case? not the case for, ike, a one o two-day bounce here, what's the, like, sort of the case for owning ge in 2018? >> it's very hard for me to make that case. i'll play the game with you. they're going to tread water now for the next six to nine months on valuation, people will say it's attractive and can hold on to this thinking the floor's been put in, hoping they'll t

giant high heeled shoe to welcome in 2018. key west was not only different than the ball drop in times square, it was warmer of course, temperatures in the 70s. >>> two cities in silicon valleybegin offering one of the highest minimum wages $15 an hour. cornell bernard has details on the new year race. >> reporter: it's music to the ears of many workers in mountain view. >> it is so expensive to live here. >> reporter: brother and sister jordan and naomi zimmerman happy to hear the minimum wage is jumping to $15 an hour on new year's day. >> i'm looking for a job second semester. >> reporter: so extra money will help, right? >> definitely does. >> reporter: mountain view and neighboring sunnyvale made it a joint effort by raising to $15. servers and cooks just learned they're getting a raise. >> very happy. new year, more money. very happy. >> reporter: both cities wanted to give workers a fighting chance in a region where sky high rents and million dollar real estate is the new normal. >> the country is doing very well. that hasn't translated to worker wages. and we're the most expensive region to live in the country. we felt we had to act. >> our prices will be going up wi

. >>> welcome back streaming giant netflix has a revolutionary culture, it's you a unique even to silicon valleyy mccord has a book called "powerful" that shares her tips for building a culture of freedom and responsibility thank you very much for being here >> thank you >> i was thinking about this last night this morning, thinking through the things you talked about at netflix, things that worked there. like no vacation policies, treating people like adults, paying them well if you value them and having no problem saying good-bye if things don't work out it's great, it's interesting not sure it would work everywhere tell us about the basic premises you tell companies to treat people like adults >> we have a big saying now in my field called empowering people it makes me crazy, that's why i named the book "powerful." the reason we have to empower everybody is because we took it all away you walk in the door with power, if you recognize that about the people we work with, we will quit doing a bunch of crazy stuff we do that doesn't matter. >> like what >> like annual performance reviews. everybo

of whole foods and this year the online giant may do an even bigger deal >>> and bitcoin, speaking of which, is getting a little boost today after a silicon valley bigwig amassed a huge position d disclosed it to investors. tell you about that when the "closing bell" comes right back. your brain changes as you get older. but prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered... in jellyfish. in clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve short-term memory. prevagen. the name to remember. >>> well, the new year has barely begun and the m&a predictions are already if play. probably heard famed analyst munster says amazon is going to buy target this year and analysts at ci iti says there's 40% chance apple will buy netfl netflix. 60% chance they won't. >> 40% is always a good number joining us is russ, along with ed lee, cnbc contributor from recode welcome to you both. ross, what do you make of all the speculation? we've heard a million combinations about, you know, who these companies should buy who do you think is a wise target for apple >> well, first of all, you know, i was with some of the people who were working with

giants from the inner circle. jo ling kent has this for us this morning. >> reporter: facebook has 2 billion users every month. but this morning, three silicon valley against the powerful social network in an exclusive interview. >> what the russians did in 2016 was to use facebook the way it was designed to be used. but they used it for a really awful purpose. >> reporter: roger is an early facebook investor and former mentor to ceo mark szuckerberg. together, these silicon valley insiders are accusing facebook of damaging american democracy. >> facebook is a crime scene for what happened in the 2016 election. only they have full access to what happened. >> reporter: they're pointing to russia's 2016 misinformation campaign against american voters, carried out, through targeted ads on facebook and beyond. worked for facebook in 2011 and 2012, is speaking on camera for the first time. >> there were a lot of people who were trying to take some kind of malicious activity using facebook's platform. >> reporter: he says he warned executives that the social network could be misused by foreign governments to target individuals. >> it makes me terrified t

silicon valley now and with a larger technology world, issues of privacy, issues of commercialization, issues of users being assessed in ways they may not agree to, only some of the companies that are major giantscurrently google being the one that one of sticks outd really started with an ethos that was entirely against all of those things. can you speak to how did we get here? >> i want to pick up on the way sarah mentioned was spot on. i was reading the report she wrote that she classifies critics. i can see myself in it, and i think what she's talking about is practical ways of trying to get to a better place anything in this book i was looking at the history, also kind ask bigger picture kind of questions. think of the efficiency argument. argument. it's not in the book but this idea that in the bible there is this instruction given here you should just get it one pass in harvesting it. you should go back a second time and efficiently get every little fruit and colonel you miss because part of the ecosystem of people are traveling or four people who live off this. again, the efficiency would be like i have a form, i need to get all the content, that's what i do, i'm a former. or you could