AB 5 disrupted the gig economy. What’s next?

[No one knows what’s next after AB 5.]( In May, California [passed the landmark legislation]( AB 5 that rewrote the rules for the gig economy, including the more than 300,000 drivers who work for companies like Uber and Lyft in the state. The bill is expected to compel Uber, Lyft, and other gig economy companies to reclassify their contract workers as employees. But so far, Uber and Lyft say they don’t plan to change anything. There is no clear path forward, but what happens next could set the standard for the gig economy in California, and for other states that will follow its lead. - And drivers are worried. Some driver organizers see unions as one way to negotiate potential new decisions around driver flexibility and earnings. But organizing hundreds of thousands of drivers in different locations is complicated, and unions appear split on the best way to move forward because some have concerns that industry-wide bargaining may end up giving too much leverage to Uber and Lyft. [[Shirin Ghaffary and Alexia Fernández Campbell / Recode](] [Tim Cook advocates for Apple’s interests while avoiding political backlash.](When Apple stood to lose billions in August because of a tariff Donald Trump planned to introduce, CEO Tim Cook went to Jared Kushner, according to the Wall Street Journal. Within days, the tariff plan was changed to exempt many electronics, including iPhones. The events show how Cook has cultivated a relationship and rapport with the president and his family. Not only does Cook have close ties with Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, but he also dined, had personal calls, and attended publicly promoted meetings with President Trump. - The Apple CEO has done what others in Silicon Valley have failed at: Cook is one of the few tech executives “who has managed to both support and challenge the president’s agenda in a way that has kept him in Mr. Trump’s good graces while avoiding any public backlash from either employees or customers,” the Wall Street Journal points out. Most Apple employees donated to Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections, but employees haven’t publicly criticized Cook for engaging with the president. [[Tripp Mickle / The Wall Street Journal](] [Maybe your phone addiction is your own fault.](Nir Eyal wrote the book on how to create habit-forming tech products by grabbing and keeping people hooked by pleasures that come at unpredictable intervals. But now, Eyal talked to the New York Times about his new book on tech. But he maintains that tech is not the problem. He says that we are. He told the Times that the solution is to reclaim responsibility. - This pivot is everywhere: The New York Times points out that others, like Google’s former in-house ethicist, Tristan Harris, “have popularized the idea that phones are unhealthy and addictive.” And former executives at Facebook and WhatsApp have become critics. [You can listen to Harris’s arguments for how tech is “downgrading” humanity on Recode Decode.]( [[Nellie Bowles / The New York Times](] [Prepare to see more streaming fights.]( On Friday, Amazon’s Prime Video app briefly disappeared from Apple’s app stores. It reappeared not long after, and an Amazon spokesperson told Recode it was the result of a technical glitch. But when the app first disappeared, most people assumed Apple had removed it from its App Store. The situation tells us a lot about the state of streaming in 2019 — and the state of the big tech platforms in general — that it was reasonable to wonder if Amazon’s disappearance was due to a dispute between the two companies. As more companies launch competing streaming services, former allies and frenemies are now drawing sharper lines between each other. - Where we see tension: Disney is going to stop running ads from Netflix on most of its TV channels and digital properties as Disney prepares to launch a streaming service next month that will directly take on Netflix. And Netflix has stopped selling subscriptions for its service on Apple’s app stores. Expect to see more of this in the year ahead. [[Peter Kafka / Recode](] [Join Recode's Peter Kafka at Code Media in Los Angeles this November 18 and 19.](#) The man who runs HBO, CNN, and Warner Bros, John Stankey, is about to take on Netflix, Disney, and the rest of the media world with a new streaming service. But he’s also facing restless shareholders. Come hear him discuss all of this [live at Code Media in Hollywood]( where he’ll join a great lineup of speakers at [our annual conference dedicated to the intersection of tech and media](. [Insert alt text here] [Former HP CEO Carly Fiorina says Trump is doing lasting damage to the Republican Party](. Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of HP who ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2016, talks to Kara Swisher about campaigning against Donald Trump, her friendship with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and the over-concentration of power among a handful of CEOs in the tech industry. [Listen to the latest episode of Recode Decode here](. [Insert alt text here] [Why candy corn should have a better rap.]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( to receive fewer emails, or [unsubscribe]( to stop receiving all emails from Vox. 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