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Recode Daily: Trump picks a big company lawyer to head the agency that watches big companies

Plus: Russian agents used Facebook’s Messenger to muddy the waters, the first hard numbers on Silicon Valley diversity statistics, and Lego launches “Women of NASA.”

This sculpture, one of a pair found outside of the Federal Trade Commission Building, is entitled "Man Controlling Trade" and was completed for the FTC Building in 1942 by New York sculptor Michael Lantz.
This sculpture, one of a pair found outside of the Federal Trade Commission Building, is entitled "Man Controlling Trade" and was completed for the FTC Building in 1942 by New York sculptor Michael Lantz.
FTC.gov

U.S. President Donald Trump wants to nominate antitrust lawyer Joe Simons as the next chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Simons has previously represented big tech companies including Microsoft. Trump's pick means that he's unlikley to back up previous promises to break up big companies, particularly in media and telecom. [Tony Romm / Recode]

Misinformation campaigns have been top of mind in Silicon Valley since last year’s U.S. presidential election. Just yesterday, a top Facebook exec admitted that Russian agents had used the company’s popular Messenger platform. But a new study of tech experts found that more than 50 percent don’t believe the “information environment” has a chance of improving. And the more hopeful experts put their hopes in … technology. [Kurt Wagner / Recode]

Blue Apron is laying off 6 percent of its staff — more than 300 employees. The meal-delivery startup has had a rough go as a public company since its June IPO. [Jason Del Rey / Recode]

The Los Angeles Police Department will be the largest U.S. police force to rely on drones. As part of a year-long pilot program, drone flights will be restricted to SWAT team members in dangerous situations, such as when a heavily armed suspect is on the loose, and for search-and-rescue missions. Each flight must be approved, documented and reviewed, and there's a ban on facial-recognition software. [Jon Fingas / Engadget]


Recode presents ...

AT&T veteran John Stankey will be the boss of one of the biggest media companies in the world, once AT&T completes its $86 billion deal to acquire Time Warner. Effectively replacing outgoing Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, Stankey will oversee HBO, Warner Bros., CNN, TNT and more. What’s his plan? We’ll ask him at Code Media next February in Huntington Beach, California. Register now and save $500 with the First Mover Price.


Top stories from Recode

Amazon’s invasion of Kohl’s has begun.

An unlikely tie-up begins.

Square and Pinterest's newly released employment data reveals a lack of diversity in top ranks

Have a look at the top brass.

An Abu Dhabi sovereign fund is doubling down on tech with more cash, more office space and more SoftBank.

Mubadala is here to stay.

TV producers can now see how many people are watching Netflix shows.

Netflix viewership is no longer a black box.

Former Chartbeat CEO Tony Haile wants to save the media industry — by blocking ads.

His new startup, Scroll, will charge consumers once for an ad-free experience across many news sites on all platforms.

AI can take over our mundane tasks. Here’s how human workers can learn new, more stimulating skills.

The “coaching cloud” will create the first Facebook-scale enterprise business.

This is cool

Lego is launching a “Women of NASA” set.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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