Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – December 12th

Bitcoin mining recovers from Chinese crackdown – 12/10

Data from Blockchain.com reveals bitcoin mining recovered from the Chinese crackdown earlier this year which took more than 50% of the world’s bitcoin miners offline. Hashrate describes the computing power of the bitcoin miners in the network and measures the recovery rate. In five months, the hashrate is up at 113%.

Before the Chinese government implemented the ban, China accounted for between 65 to 75% of the world’s bitcoin mining. Experts predicted recovery would take up to a year and did not anticipate the network would bounce back quickly. Likewise, experts expected crypto mining would come back strong in the United States since U.S.-based mining operators started building mining ecosystems in the country. Based on the data from Cambridge University, for the first time, the United States surpassed China as the primary destination for bitcoin miners.

However, some bitcoin miners who could not relocate their operations from China found other ways to keep mining. Some divided their operations into smaller farms (and less likely to be detected by the government) or started drawing the power directly from energy sources.

A report claims H-1B workers were underpaid by millions – 12/9

A think-tank Economy Policy Institute published a report alleging thousands of migrant workers on H-1B visas have been underpaid by $95 million annually.

The report investigates HCL Technologies. It is an Indian-based company that provides H-1B visas for highly-skilled workers in the STEM field and places them in companies in the United States. In 2020, HCL placed 104 workers at Google, 45 at FedEx, and 25 at Disney, with the Department of Labor approving these visas. However, the report suggests companies pay migrant workers less than their American counterparts even though they fulfill the same roles.

Economy Policy Institute examined the data from an internal document released as a part of the whistleblower lawsuit filed in September. The data serves as the basis for the report. The lawsuit alleges HCL committed visa fraud under the False Claims Act. The report also suggests U. S. workers are affected by the decline in wages when companies pay migrant workers less. Likewise, they are laid off when companies hire migrant workers. HCL Technologies denies the allegations and released a statement saying: “HCL Technologies is strictly compliant with all relevant rules and regulations and is committed to pay wages to all employees in accordance with applicable laws.”

Meanwhile, the report’s authors claim it is industry-wide practice: “HCL did not invent nor pioneer the exploitation of the H-1B program… Its exploitation of the H-1B program is standard industry practice, not an outlier.”

A report reveals Apple’s concessions to China – 12/10

A report published by the news outlet the Information revealed compromises Apple made to conduct business in China. Internal documents and information obtained from unnamed sources serve as the basis for the report.

One of the key documents in the memorandum of understanding between China’s National Development and Reform Commission and Apple. Tim Cook allegedly signed the document during his trip to China in 2016. The purpose of the trip was to deal with the repeated regulatory action against Apple. The memorandum is valid for five years (and can be extended for another year). By signing it, Apple promises to invest, provide training, and close business deals worth an estimated $275 billion. In October, Apple became the biggest smart phone brand in China. Likewise, the company built new R&D centers in the country.

The report also documents a request made by China regarding Senkaku Islands, small uninhabited islands which China and Japan are in dispute over. Allegedly, China asked the Maps team to make the islands appear larger on the maps.

Instagram boss calls for industry-wide regulation – 12/10

In a Senate hearing held this Wednesday, Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, called on the lawmakers to regulate how the social media sites can operate industry-wide. Mosseri attended a hearing in the Senate to answer questions about the negative effect social media has on the mental health of teenagers. Likewise, Mosseri suggested the creation of an oversight body. Its role would be the creation of an industry-wide standard for social media platforms and apps. These would include parental controls and age verification.

Mosseri stated in his opening remarks: “I want to assure you that we do have the same goal. We all want teens to be safe online. The internet isn’t going away, and I believe there’s important work that we can do together – industry and policymakers – to raise the standards across the internet to better serve and protect young people… The reality is that keeping people safe is not just about one company. An external survey from just last month suggested that more US teens are using TikTok and YouTube than Instagram.”

Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat Senator and the chair of the Senate’s consumer protection subcommittee, said: “the time for self-policing is over.”