 Welcome to Hillicon Valley, The Hill's newsletter detailing all you need to know about the tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. If you haven't already, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking HERE. Happy Monday! Follow our cyber reporter, Maggie Miller (@magmill95), and tech team, Chris Mills Rodrigo (@millsrodrigo) and Rebecca Klar (@rebeccaklar_), for more coverage. Tesla is in deep water after a series of crashes with emergency vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officially launched a probe into the electric car company on Monday. Meanwhile, journalists for American radio stations fear they may be targeted by the Taliban if they’re unable to safely leave Afghanistan. And the anonymous messaging app Yik Yak is back after a four-year shutdown — and not everyone is excited about the return. TESLA TROUBLES: The U.S. government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s partially automated Autopilot system after a series of crashes with emergency vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Monday in an advisory announcing the probe that it identified 11 instances since 2018 of Teslas hitting parked vehicles with flashing lights, flares, an illuminated arrow board or road cones. All vehicles had Autopilot or cruise control active before the crashes, according to the agency. The investigation will cover Tesla Models Y, X, S, and 3 vehicles released from 2014 through 2021. Tesla’s Autopilot technology has come under increased scrutiny from regulators after a series of accidents and misuses. The National Transportation Safety Board has investigated some of the crashes, but has no authority to force changes. It has recommended limiting when and where Autopilot can be used. Read more. RADIO RISKS: Afghan journalists working for American radio stations fear that they will be among the Taliban’s next targets as the insurgent group makes its way further into Kabul. The journalists are eligible to leave the country through a U.S. visa, but it’s unclear if they will be able to make a safe exit, The New York Times reported. The acting CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees U.S. civilian international media, Kelu Chao told staff on Sunday in email that they was doing everything they could to keep their journalists safe and “will not back down in our mission to inform, engage, and connect Afghans in support of freedom and democracy,” according to The Times. However, the Kabul bureau news manager of Radio Azadi, which is part of the Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty services, worried about the fate of journalists in the country. He told The Times in a phone interview on Sunday that he was not even sure if they would be broadcasting the next day. “Journalists are being left behind,” Rateb Noori told the news outlet. The journalists have been targets of the Taliban, including one Radio Free Afghanistan reporter who died during a bombing last November. Read more. YAK IS BACK: The anonymous messaging app Yik Yak has relaunched after a four year shutdown, the company announced Monday. The platform boasted that it is offering “the same Yik Yak experience millions knew and loved, and now you can live it again.” The app was available in the Apple App Store for users in the U.S. on Monday. It will be available for download in more countries and on more devices “soon,” according to Yik Yak. Yik Yak launched in 2013, and gained popularity largely on college campuses. The platform allows users to post anonymously on a range of topics and connect with users up to 5 miles away. The app was reportedly valued at $400 million around its peak popularity. But mobile payment company Square paid just $1 million before Yik Yak shut down to hire several of Yik Yak’s employees and acquire a non-exclusive license to some of Yik Yak’s intellectual property. Read more here. SPINNING TO A MAP NEAR YOU: Spin e-scooters and e-bikes will show up as a transportation option on Google maps, Ford announced Monday. Through integrating with Google maps, users will see in real-time the nearest available Spin rental. Google will also show how long it will take to walk to the vehicle, as well as an estimated battery range and arrival time, according to the announcement. Users will be directed to the Spin app to pay for and unlock the scooter or bike. “This collaboration with Google is our biggest platform integration yet with many more in the pipeline,” Spin CEO Ben Bear said in a statement. Read more here.
An op-ed to chew on: Beltway reporting of Afghanistan withdrawal a disservice to Americans Lighter click: you can’t make this up NOTABLE LINKS FROM AROUND THE WEB: Why no one really knows how bad Facebook’s vaccine misinformation problem is (Vox / Shirin Ghaffary) Conservatives want to treat Facebook like phone companies. It won’t work. (Protocol / Issie Lapowsky) Misinformation at public forums vexes local boards, big tech (The Associated Press / David Klepper and Heather Hollingsworth) | 
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