Day: October 3, 2019

Mark Zuckerberg says he’s convinced that the future of Facebook is private. He now has the first test of that conviction.

The Justice Department is preparing to ask Facebook to slow down its plan to encrypt its messaging services across its platforms, setting up a possible standoff between Facebook and the federal government. Facebook has made this encryption a centerpiece of its corporate future, both as a business strategy but also as a way to position Facebook as friendly to its users amid new scrutiny from privacy activists and regulators.

But it turns out that the federal government isn’t happy …

Nobody goes looking for a meeting with HR. That had always been Maya’s* thinking. Even after she was sexually harassed by wealthy board members on the job, rather than report the incidents to HR, she did what so many employees do — she tried to manage it.

“I side-stepped hugs and squeezes, redirected conversations when it turned to my appearance, and politely ask not to be called ‘doll’ or ‘kitten,’” she told me.

However, when a board member made sexual advances to a college intern on her team, Maya felt differently. She was compelled to report the incident to HR. …

One of Peter Thiel’s closest associates is seriously considering running for US Senate, a bid that would test Thiel’s political heft against a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump.

Blake Masters, one of Thiel’s senior-most aides, is preparing for a possible GOP primary challenge to Martha McSally, the Arizona senator appointed earlier this year to replace John McCain, Masters confirmed to Recode on Wednesday. The Arizona Republic first reported that Masters is laying the groundwork to run for office.

“We need to keep this seat Republican. And we need a GOP that puts voters before donors. Martha McSally lost a winnable …

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Harvard wins lawsuit against its affirmative action program; Peru faces leadership and constitutional crisis.

A win for affirmative action (for now)

Steven Senne/AP

• A district court ruled the Harvard University admissions process doesn’t discriminate against Asian Americans — the first step on a long road that’s likely to end with another challenge to affirmative action at the Supreme Court. [Boston Globe /