Good morning, Quartz readers!
Here’s what you need to know
It’s official: Joe Biden won. The US electoral college formally affirmed the president-elect’s victory, which he said showed democracy’s triumph over “unconscionable” attacks on voting. Meanwhile, US attorney general William Barr resigned following public clashes with president Donald Trump.
Boeing widened inspections of its 787 Dreamliners. While the newly discovered defect isn’t an immediate safety hazard, it will likely ramp up a federal review of passenger jet’s production safeguards. The issue is unrelated to design flaws that grounded the 737 Max for nearly two years.
Pinterest settled a gender discrimination lawsuit. In one of the largest publicly announced payouts of its kind, the social media firm agreed to pay its former chief operating officer Françoise Brougher, who said she was fired after pushing for equal pay and speaking up against mistreatment.
Australia accused China of “diplomacy by media.” After Chinese state media reported that the country will ban Australian coal imports, Canberra’s trade minister said Beijing was violating diplomatic protocols and potentially flouting international trade rules.
The International Criminal Court rejected calls to investigate China for genocide. It can’t proceed with a complaint filed by exiled Uyghurs because of jurisdictional constraints. It’s a blow to the Muslim minority in Xinjiang, where new research shows hundreds of thousands are being forced to work on cotton fields.
Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok face huge fines in the UK. New rules proposed today would fine the three social media companies up to 10% of global revenue if they fail to remove and limit the spread of illegal content.
California subpoenaed Amazon over worker safety. The state is ordering the online retail giant to provide more information on how it protects its employees from Covid-19, including sick leave policies and cleaning procedures.
What to watch for
The European Union is gearing up for a new wave of antitrust lawsuits. Today, the bloc will formally propose the Digital Markets Act, which will give regulators new firepower to go after Big Tech companies for anticompetitive practices. Companies that break these rules would face escalating fines and the threat that regulators will break up their businesses.
So far, however, fines have failed to meaningfully change the way the world’s biggest digital platforms operate—and Europe’s anti-monopoly czar Margrethe Vestager has said that breakups are a “nuclear option” of last resort. Real, structural changes will probably come out of US courts, which will soon hear new cases against Facebook and Google.
Charting Walmart’s international reshuffle
Walmart may be the world’s largest retailer, but its international growth is stalled. Between 2015 and 2020, while US sales rose steadily, Walmart’s international sales actually shrank. To fix that, the retailer has its eyes on four markets in particular: Mexico, India, China, and Canada.
Other countries are getting cut. Since October, Walmart has offloaded assets in the UK and Japan, while completely giving up on Argentina. “The opportunity that we have in India is enormous,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon explained during a recent presentation to Morgan Stanley. “Contrast that with the opportunity in Argentina. It makes sense that we would spread our energy over a place that’s got tremendous upside.”
The Estonia of Africa?
To remain competitive in an increasingly integrated Europe, Estonia is focused on developing technology-driven government services, like e-Residency, which allows entrepreneurs to form a EU company no matter where they live. With Africa’s economy set to become far more connected under the African Continental Free Trade Area, we look at which countries on the continent are best positioned to follow Estonia’s lead:
🇷🇼 Rwanda has already developed a world-class online business registration system, which could be adapted to administer an e-Resident program.
🇲🇺 Mauritius ranks among the best countries in the world when it comes to ease of starting a business and is a leading international financial hub for Africa.
🇬🇭 Ghana is one of Africa’s economic growth hotspots, and is generally considered well-governed and politically free.
✦ Consider an e-Residency, er, membership at Quartz. Try it free for seven days.
Surprising discoveries
A 17th-century charter could help Belgian fishermen. If the EU and UK fail to reach a trade deal, the document issued by Charles II would give 50 fishermen from the Flemish city of Bruges access to UK waters.
Faster and fluffier than Usain Bolt. America’s fastest dog is a four-year-old rescue from Maryland.
England has discovered 47,000 new artifacts this year. Whoever buried this small trove of 16th-century gold coins probably doesn’t need them now
Scientists found 20 new species in the Andes. Say hello to the Lilliputian frog, Bolivian flag snake, and mountain fer-de-lance viper.
New species are more likely to crop up in less biodiverse areas. These evolutionary hotspots tend to be inhospitable, so new species also die out faster.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, backyard archaeological finds, and new patriotic species to hi@qz.com. Get the most out of Quartz by downloading our iOS app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was brought to you by Mary Hui, Alex Ossola, Tripti Lahiri, Liz Webber, and Susan Howson.