Major online platforms responded to events surrounding President Trump, Lenovo introduced an innovative screen design, and Roblox secured significant funding. This is the Daily Crunch for January 7, 2021.

Key development: Facebook suspends Trump’s accounts for two weeks

Following the disruption at the U.S. Capitol yesterday by supporters of President Trump, several internet platforms took steps to suspend accounts associated with the outgoing president.

For instance, Twitter temporarily restricted access to President Trump’s account for 12 hours after he published multiple tweets (which were later removed) that repeated his unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and showed support for those involved in the unrest, although he also called for a cessation of violence. Twitch also deactivated his channel for the remainder of his term, and Shopify removed online stores linked to the president and his campaign.

However, the most prominent action was taken by Facebook, which prohibited Trump from posting on both Facebook and Instagram for “at least the next two weeks,” extending until the end of his presidency. Mark Zuckerberg explained that this decision was necessary because of the “use of our platform to encourage violent actions against a legitimately elected government.”

Technology sector news

Waymo is discontinuing the use of the phrase ‘self-driving,’ a change not universally accepted within the industry — The company owned by Alphabet will no longer employ the term “self-driving” when describing its technology.

Lenovo unveils a new all-in-one computer featuring a rotating screen, an unconventional design choice — In the realm of established product types, why not explore something unique?

Samsung introduces a more affordable premium Chromebook — Samsung recently announced the Galaxy Chromebook 2, likely its most significant reveal at CES.

Startups, financing, and venture capital activity

SoFi will become a publicly traded company through a merger with Chamath Palihapitiya’s latest SPAC — The agreement, as confirmed by SoFi, values the fintech company at $8.65 billion.

Roblox obtains funding at a $29.5 billion valuation, preparing for a direct listing — Roblox is now among the most highly valued private companies globally.

News Break, a local news application, raises $115 million — CEO Jeff Zheng stated that there is “substantial user interest” in local news but a “limited supply” of it.

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Decrypted: Assessing the cybersecurity implications of the U.S. Capitol breach — The incident is expected to create a significant workload for the IT departments of Congress.

The rise of tech-enabled, efficient, and personalized tutoring sessions — Launching a tutoring marketplace is relatively straightforward, but achieving scalability often presents challenges.

With five new unicorns emerging in the first week of 2021, is a surge of unicorn companies anticipated this year? — The rate at which new unicorns are being announced appears remarkably fast.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service, dedicated to providing accessible information about startups. You can register here.)

Additional news

Hopin may represent one of the fastest-growing companies in recent times — The Equity team discusses Hopin’s acquisition of livestreaming provider StreamYard.

Elon Musk achieves the title of world’s wealthiest individual — He attained this position on Thursday due to Tesla’s substantial increase in stock value and a significant compensation package.

In remembrance of Hirohide Yoshida, TechCrunch Japan’s Editor-in-Chief (1971-2020) — TechCrunch Japan’s Editor-in-Chief, Hirohide Yoshida, passed away on New Year’s Eve at the age of 49.

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