Facebook launches research initiative, Amazon outspends on R&D

This is cnet and this is the story that matter right now. Facebook is launching a new initiative design to help scholars research the impact of social media on election. The timing couldn't be more appropriate as Mark Zuckerberg himself is set to testify before congress this week on data that was misapprpriated and used by Cambridge Analytica during 2016's presidential election campaign. Facebook hopes to have the research data available before the midterm elections. Uber has purchased the bike sharing service Jump for around $200 million. Jump had a partnership previously with Uber, and will continue to operate independently. Surprisingly enough Jump's 250 bike fleet is still only available in San Francisco And still needs to be evaluated by the city's transit authority before expansion. And finally, a report from Recode shows that Amazon spent more in 2017 on research and development than any other company. A whopping $22.6 billion was spent, which not only includes technology, but also content spending as well. Google parent company Alphabet came in second with $16.6 billion spent, with Intel, Microsoft and Apple making up the rest of the top five. You can stay up to date with the latest by downloading the CNet Tech Today app in the Apple or Google Play store.