Hello and welcome to TechScape. Alex is now off on paternity depart, and in his place a rotating forged of writers will give their takes on the world of tech.

Apologies to any readers who’ve begged Alex for fewer tales about Elon Musk and crypto, however in a post-Twitter takeover world there are not any quiet weeks for tech reporters. In the previous few weeks, Musk has handed over paperwork for the newest version of the “Twitter Files” to controversial creator Alex Berenson (with the not-so revelatory information that Twitter was requested to not unfold vaccine misinformation); hinted that we’re getting 4,000-character long tweets; and tweeted messages about the arrest of disgraced influencer and the “king of toxic masculinity” Andrew Tate.

All of this has occurred whereas the share value of his electrical automotive firm, Tesla, has cratered. For good or unwell – and it seems principally, thus far, to be unwell – Musk grew to become the primary character of 2022, Trumping tech.

Which is why I hope you’ll forgive us for focusing fairly a lot on him – and persevering with to take action into 2023. Because, like Trump, Musk’s method of doing issues has a butterfly impact past Twitter. Musk (pictured above) is redrawing the TechScape, and the way we as journalists (and politicians as regulators) ought to deal with it.

Alex Hern has, like I’ve, lengthy handled massive tech with a wholesome dose of scepticism. The Guardian was among the many major retailers to carry Facebook’s ft to the fireplace throughout the Cambridge Analytica scandal; it uncovered issues with TikTok’s content moderation system; it (rightly) laughs at the metaverse. It’s lengthy been apparent that social media executives can’t at all times grapple with the problems they should, given their corporations’ central function in our society, and I personally have felt that they’re simply less than the job of understanding their very own affect.

Yet with hindsight we would now admire how fortunate we have been. Even if massive tech’s executives weren’t at all times as much as the duty, they recognised the enormity of the issue. Mark Zuckerberg made loads of dangerous choices and acted many occasions in his personal flagrant self-interest, however he appeared to understand his firm’s place in our lives meant he needed to try to preserve his platform in verify.

There’s little sense of that with Musk. The danger is that, simply as politicians began flouting the norms after they realised Donald Trump bought away with it, different tech executives may begin doing the identical. We could look again on 2022 and assume we by no means had it so good in relation to massive tech’s behaviour – which is a worrying thought.

The metaverse … lives?

Breaking information this week that the flatlining folly often known as the metaverse may – and I stress may – be resuscitated. Ever since Facebook overhauled its whole enterprise and rebranded itself as Meta in late 2021, the metaverse has been little greater than a dream of Mark Zuckerberg’s searching for a use case.

The purpose? No client needs to spend hundreds of kilos on digital actuality {hardware} (pictured above) that might enhance the chance of tripping in their very own residence simply to enter a universe with sub-Sims graphics.

Until now. Bloomberg reports that Apple is due this spring to unveil a digital and augmented-reality headset, in what’s the world’s worst-kept secret.

It’s a big second, not least as a result of there’s a supposition (which can be extensive of the mark) that Apple may do to digital actuality headsets, and due to this fact the metaverse, what it did to the smartphone in 2007. Back then, individuals didn’t see the purpose of getting an all-in-one machine that might change one’s digicam as adeptly because it may take a name. They didn’t at all times see the purpose of apps. But 16 years on, we’re in thrall to Apple’s world.

The concept is that the headset, which can be referred to as Reality Pro, may propel the metaverse out of the realm of wonky tech nerds and into the mainstream. But as with the whole lot Apple, it’ll come at a (hefty) value. The metaverse simply bought fascinating once more.

Ticktock for TikTok?

Another main information story broke within the tech world. TikTok slipped up for the primary time – and it was a biggie. Two days earlier than Christmas, TikTok despatched an inner electronic mail from mum or dad firm ByteDance normal counsel Erich Andersen revealing that employees members spied on reporters covering the company.

I’ve some experience covering TikTok and, like a phalanx of reporters, I’ve been looking for the story that torpedoes the corporate. Not out of malice, however as a result of each tech firm has skeletons within the closet. So far, loads of proficient reporters couldn’t discover a lot past the problems that blight each massive tech firm: bullying (£), content material moderation missteps and white lies (£) that intention to make the platform appear much less intrusive than it’s.

It seems that we didn’t have to dig to search out the smoking gun. TikTok did it for us.

It’s arduous to overestimate how a lot of an personal aim their spying is for TikTok. Sinosceptic politicians within the UK and US, as an illustration, may argue it confirms their fears that the corporate will not be actually westernising itself, they usually may argue that claims TikTok is unmooring itself from Chinese authorities management are little greater than lip service.

The spying choice is, in its personal method, as vital as Elon Musk ripping up of the rule e-book on find out how to be a giant tech government. It’s the worst doable begin to 2023 for TikTok, and means the corporate should rebuild belief not simply with politicians and customers but in addition with the reporters who cowl the corporate.

The wider TechScape

• The value of our comfort is laid naked in this Guardian report alleging that Amazon warehouse staff have been inspired to proceed working round a deceased colleague after he died of a cardiac occasion on the office.

• Maybe buying isn’t all it’s cracked as much as be? Following reviews in current months that TikTok Shop – the video app’s buying perform – was struggling within the US and Europe, Instagram has introduced it’ll be downplaying the function of e-commerce in its app, according to the Verge. However, the idea of in-app buying is flourishing in Asia, the place TikTok mum or dad firm ByteDance reported surging sales.

• Think you’ve had a nasty begin to the yr? Sam Bankman-Fried simply misplaced one of the best half of half a billion dollars because the US Department of Justice seized extra of the FTX founder’s property.

• Taiwan is planning to launch its own domestic satellite internet company (£), just like Elon Musk’s Starlink. “The project is part of Taiwan’s broader efforts to build communications infrastructure that could survive an attack by China,” the FT reviews.