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The top posts on SiliconBeat.com, our blog on Silicon Valley

GOOGLE GROUP BLASTS DMV AUTONOMOUS CAR

Google, Uber, Lyft, Volvo and other members of a coalition formed to spur selfdriving cars are warning that proposals from state officials could shackle their efforts to launch autonomous vehicles in California.

The Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets objected to Department of Motor Vehicles proposals to regulate the deployment of autonomous vehicles in the state.

“The DMV’s proposal contains a number of provisions that would hinder these efforts and, as a result, the coalition cannot support the revised draft regulations as currently written,” David Strickland, coalition spokesman stated in testimony at a DMV workshop.

The primary concerns are connected to provisions to ensure the technologies comply with local laws, including annual reports. California has 58 counties and 482 incorporated cities. DMV officials insisted they are working toward creating workable rules of the road for autonomous vehicles.

“The DMV’s goal is to ensure the safety of the motoring public as vehicle manufacturers introduce autonomous technologies in automobiles,” DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez said in comments emailed to this newspaper.

DMV officials didn’t have an estimated time for release of the final rules.

“We are years, not decades away from this becoming a reality,” Strickland said. “As it stands, the DMV’s proposal contains some provisions that

would create significant barriers to a rapid and full-scale commercial deployment of an autonomous fleet.” — George Avalos

TWITTER’S VR PROGRAM MANAGER SAYS HE WAS FIRED OVER COMMENTS ABOUT HOMELESS

Sometimes, social media posts can come back to haunt you.

Twitter’s virtual reality program manager, Greg Gopman, wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he was fired from the tech firm hours after TechCrunch published a story about offensive comments he made about the homeless three years ago. In a 2013 Facebook post, which has been deleted, Gopman referred to the homeless in San Francisco as “degenerates,” comparing them to hyenas who “spit, urinate, taunt you, sell drugs, get rowdy.”

Gopman apologized for his remarks on the homeless after he made them, which he called the “stupidest mistake” of his life. Twitter declined to comment. Twitter hired Gopman as a contractor and he had been employed for several weeks, according to a source familiar with the matter.

TechCrunch writer Lucas Matney questioned Twitter’s decision to hire Gopman, noting that the company has been dealing with harassment issues.

“Given Twitter’s troll problem, you wouldn’t think they would hire someone for their VR program whose past opinions read like some of the worst of the company’s user base,” Matney wrote.

Gopman, who was the founder and former CEO of AngelHack, was working at Upload VR for less than a year before he was hired by Twitter.

“Working at Twitter was actually awesome. Much better than I expected. I worked on an incredible team and we were doing really amazing things. Yesterday we were flying. And now it’s all over. I still love them and wish them the best,” Gopman told TechCrunch after he was fired. — Queenie Wong

MARK ZUCKERBERG POINTS TO FACEBOOK’S MISSION IN DEFENSE OF PETER THIEL

Connecting the world is Facebook’s mission, and Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, wove that mission in his defense of company board member Peter Thiel over his recent pledge of $1.25 million to GOP candidate Donald Trump.

In an internal company post, obtained by Hacker News and posted on Boing Boing, Zuckerberg backed Thiel, saying that Facebook can’t create a culture that supports diversity and then excludes “almost half the country” that supports Trump.

The tech industry has been in an uproar over Thiel’s donation to Trump, with calls for companies and organizations that associate with him to cut off ties.

Up until now, Facebook executives have been quiet. The Thiel issue comes after Facebook faced fierce criticism from conservatives earlier this year over whether it had a liberal skew to the news it highlighted in its Trending section. Zuckerberg broke the silence: “We care deeply about diversity. That’s easy to say when it means standing up for ideas you agree with. It’s a lot harder when it means standing up for the rights of people with different viewpoints to say what they care about. … There are many reasons a person might support Trump that do not involve racism, sexism, xenophobia or accepting sexual assault.”

Trump supporters may agree with the candidate’s positions on smaller government, different health care system, gun control and other positions, he added. — Michelle Quinn

FACEBOOK TRIES TO GET OUT OF THE CENSORSHIP GAME

It seems every other week brings a new dust-up about Facebook censoring content.

But that may be about to change. The social media company said in a blog post Friday that it would start to show more graphic content, both text and images, related to news.

Just this week, Facebook censored animated images related to a Swedish breast cancer awareness ad campaign. The nonprofit behind the ad switched to using two pink squares and wrote to the tech company, saying, “This cannot possibly offend.”

In September, Facebook censored the famous Vietnam War photo “Napalm Girl,” which a Norwegian journalist had posted. The company had to reinstate accounts it suspended and allowed the photo to be posted. Sheryl Sandberg, the firm’s chief operating officer, wrote a letter to the prime minister of Norway over the issue.

Meanwhile, Facebook employees internally have argued over whether to censor some posts by Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mark Zuckerberg, the firm’s CEO, weighed in to keep the posts, including one calling for a ban on Muslims coming into the country.

Now, Facebook appears to want to loosen its controls and get out of the headlines over these issues.

Facebook’s Joel Kaplan, vice president of global public policy, and Justin Osofsky, VP of global operations and media partnerships, wrote:

“In the weeks ahead, we’re going to begin allowing more items that people find newsworthy, significant, or important to the public interest — even if they might otherwise violate our standards. We will work with our community and partners to explore exactly how to do this, both through new tools and approaches to enforcement. Our intent is to allow more images and stories without posing safety risks or showing graphic images to minors and others who do not want to see them.” What that means is unclear. “As always,” Kaplan wrote, “our goal is to channel our community’s values, and to make sure our policies reflect our community’s interests. We’re looking forward to working closely with experts, publishers, journalists, photographers, law enforcement officials and safety advocates about how to do better when it comes to the kinds of items we allow. And we’re grateful for the counsel of so many people who are helping us try to get this right.”

Facebook might warn users inside a post about its graphic nature, TechCrunch speculates.

The company, which has strenuously held that it is a tech firm, not a media company, has essentially relaxed its editorial guidelines, TechCrunch writes, by allowing more of what it considers news even if it offends. — Michelle Quinn