Articles about Politics

Airbnb pushes back on new bill that would tax short-term rentals to fund housing in Washington

Opponents rallied at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on Tuesday to voice their displeasure for a bill being considered… Read More

Jeff Bezos congratulates Trump on ‘extraordinary’ comeback, wishes him success in uniting America

Jeff Bezos wasted no time in sending his good wishes to President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday morning, hours after Trump’s… Read More

Want a house in a neighborhood that matches your politics? Flyhomes releases tool sharing voting info

Seattle real estate startup Flyhomes has released a feature called NeighborVote that lets house hunters add politics to their search… Read More

BE-4 engines on Blue Origin New Glenn booster.

Space shots: A tangled web of speculation surrounds Boeing, Blue Origin and Bezos

Is Boeing thinking about unloading some of its space projects? Is Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture a potential buyer?… Read More

Jeff Bezos blamed for spiking Washington Post’s presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris

The Washington Post is getting out of the business of endorsing candidates for president, starting with the upcoming election between… Read More

Illustration: A stream of words about disinformation superimposed on image of a hand holding a mobile device

How to track what’s true as the AI war over disinformation in politics builds to a climax

Artificial intelligence is fueling an arms race between the purveyors of disinformation and those who are fighting it in this… Read More

Privacy engineer’s vision to use tech for good fuels his bid for Seattle City Council

Tariq Yusuf‘s wake-up call came from Google. He was working as a security software engineer for the tech giant when the… Read More

Amazon’s Twitch reinstates Trump account three years after suspension over Jan. 6 violence

Amazon-owned Twitch has reinstated the account of Donald Trump, three years after the former president was suspended indefinitely by the… Read More

After Trump shooting, UW researchers try to make quick sense of online reaction, rumors and more

The chaos and confusion in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump led many people… Read More

Can you spot deepfakes? New quiz tests how well people can identify manipulated images and videos

A new quiz from Seattle-based AI nonprofit TrueMedia tests how well people can spot deepfake images, videos and audio clips,… Read More

As elections loom, TrueMedia.org releases AI deepfake detector to identify fake content

Seattle-based nonprofit TrueMedia.org released a free AI-powered media verification tool Tuesday to help journalists and fact-checkers detect deepfakes and combat… Read More

Entrepreneurs who used TikTok to help build their businesses blast potential ban in U.S.

Seattle-based money expert and self-described financial feminist Tori Dunlap credits TikTok with transforming her business, HerFirst100k, an education platform that… Read More

Meta lawyer wants to build more public-private partnerships as he runs for Seattle City Council

Rob Saka, a University of Washington graduate, Air Force veteran and attorney who has worked for Microsoft and Meta, announced… Read More

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, long a thorn in Amazon’s side, won’t seek re-election

Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who took on Amazon and others over the years in an effort to tax big businesses, will… Read More

Is the tech industry doing enough to help fix Seattle’s problems? We asked 5 elected officials

Tech companies have transformed Seattle over the past decade, creating thousands of high-paying jobs and bolstering the region’s economy. But… Read More

Marketplace companies say change in tax policy creates unnecessary burden for online sellers

When Dan Marx helped launch a new startup this summer, he pictured himself having to learn more about bicycles and… Read More

GeekWire Summit 2022 recap: Tech and civic leaders share insights and vision for the future

Navigating the future of work. Learning how to fight against burnout. Taking on cybersecurity threats. Gathering community. Connecting with old… Read More

Dave Limp, Jay Carney and Jeff Bezos at Amazon Spheres

Jay Carney checks out of Amazon, lands at Airbnb: Inside ex-White House press secretary’s tech career

Jay Carney, a former White House press secretary under President Obama, will leave his role as Amazon’s senior vice president… Read More

Amazon and Microsoft deny using Flickr pics for facial recognition, as suits test limits of privacy law

Facing a pair of related lawsuits, Amazon and Microsoft both acknowledge that people working on their respective facial-recognition technologies downloaded… Read More

Bezos reignites Biden inflation feud, says president is misdirecting public or misunderstanding market

Updated below with White House response. Jeff Bezos called out President Joe Biden for telling gas station owners to lower… Read More

Podcast

Interview: Microsoft’s president on turbulent times for the company, country, and world

Brad Smith, like many in tech and the broader world, thought 2022 might bring a bit of a break. Halfway… Read More

White House and Jeff Bezos continue to trade jabs in dispute over inflation claims

The White House returned fire and Jeff Bezos took another swing Monday in a back-and-forth dispute between the Amazon founder… Read More

Where did Biden go for his private Seattle fundraiser? Of course, there are tech roots

President Joe Biden breezed into Seattle on Thursday, and continues his stay this morning with plans for Earth Day remarks… Read More

Podcast

How this former tech columnist bridged her family’s political divide, and what we can learn from it

What would happen to the divisions in our country if we set aside our phones, and our assumptions, and truly… Read More

Podcast

USAFacts founder and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer on the State of the Union in numbers

Understanding any subject requires knowing the numbers, and that includes looking at the long-term trends. That was one of Steve… Read More

Contributions from Amazon employees helped Councilmember Kshama Sawant defeat recall

Amazon employees were among the top contributors to the campaign that helped Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, an outspoken critic… Read More

Downtown Seattle in mayoral debate spotlight as candidates likely to sound off on tech hub’s future

The future of downtown Seattle could be in the spotlight tonight — alongside Bruce Harrell and Lorena Gonzalez — as… Read More

Opportunity zones are the tax shield tech wanted — but is it living up to expectations?

It’s been more than three years since a concept to encourage high-net worth Americans to invest in economically distressed areas… Read More

Senators spar over the idea of giving billions to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin venture for lunar lander program

The tussle over NASA funding for lunar landing systems has touched down in the Senate — with one leading senator… Read More

Amazon’s antitrust adversary: What Lina Khan’s Senate hearing reveals about Big Tech’s future

A decades-long policy of lax regulation of the technology industry could be coming to a close — and Lina Khan… Read More