DIGITAL
- Demers v. Yahoo Inc: Québec Court Confirms that Québec Consumer Law Applies to Free Online Services
- Google Removed Catalonian Referendum App Following Spanish Court Order
- Another Court Rejects ‘Material Support To Terrorists’ Claims Against Social Media Sites–Gonzalez v. Google (Eric Goldman)
- Controversial “Gripe Site” Protected (Again) by the Communications Decency Act and Defeats Novel Copyright Attack with Website “Browsewrap” License to User Generated Content
- Spanski Enterprises, Inc. v. Telewizja Polska, S.A.: How Far Is Too Far When It Comes to the Extraterritorial Reach of US Copyright Law?
- Nielsen Data says 89% of OTT Viewing Takes Place on TV Sets
- Apple calls report of reduced iPhone X Face ID specs “completely false”: Apple says Face ID will still only have a one-in-a-million chance of failing.
- All The Face-Tracking Tech Behind Apple’s Animoji
- After Supreme Court detour, Apple v. Samsung goes to a fourth jury trial: Apple wields design as a weapon, a strategy that has led to judicial paralysis.
- Apple’s Billion-Dollar Bet on Hollywood Is the Opposite of Edgy: A conservative corporation takes its first steps into a new industry.
- Empathy – the latest gadget Silicon Valley wants to sell you: The tech world wants us to believe that virtual reality will unlock human understanding on a global scale. But it’s also a business strategy
- Vox Media Fires Editorial Director Lockhart Steele For Misconduct, Says Investigation Is “Ongoing”
- Open for business, ransomware authors and perpetrators cashing in on emerging dark web marketplace economy
- Two-week-old Pixel 2 XL displays are already showing burn-in: LG’s terrible OLED panels have yet another issue.
- Gab Drops Its Lawsuit Against Google; Considers Trying Its Hand At Lobbying
- Copyright Office Will Renew Previous DMCA Exemptions Without Much Fuss — But Why Is This Even Necessary?
- Report: Twitter CEO took a Russian impostor’s bait in 2016: The retweets were for innocent, “positive” stories.” And that was the point.
- Proposed law would regulate online ads to hinder Russian election influence: Honest Ads Act requires Google, Twitter, Facebook to open ads to public review.
- When Russian Trolls Attack: Anna Zhavnerovich knew she was taking a risk when she publicized the details of her assault online. But in doing so, she joined a growing movement of survivors fighting back against Russia’s Kremlin-influenced trolling machine.
- Political ads on Twitter will now be labeled with lots of spending data: Follows mounting congressional pressure about social media ads and disclosure.
- In its new timeline, Twitter will end revenge porn next week, hate speech in two: The company has laid out a “safety calendar” with changes through January.
- Lawyers: Trump’s Twitter Account Not Presidential; Also: Trump Is President, Can’t Be Sued
- Trump’s Favorite Law Firm Loses Massive RICO SLAPP Suit Against Greenpeace, But Has Another One Already Going
- This Week’s Best Twitter Is College Kids Pretending to Flunk Midterms for Viral Fame
- Mercedes handles the competition because it knows how to handle data, too: Ahead of (another) Mercedes win, Ars gets a look at the team’s network stack.
- High-tech mirror for cancer patients only works if you smile
- UK Gov’t Considering Redefining Social Media Services As Publishers To Make It Easier To Control Them
- How Social Media Endangers Knowledge
- How Fiction Becomes Fact on Social Media
- The Responsibility of Online Platforms: a Marginal Challenge in Québec
- Russian Cyberspies Are Rushing to Exploit Recent Flash 0-Day Before It Goes Cold
- Computer Parts Site Newegg Is Being Sued for Allegedly Engaging in Massive Fraud [Updated]
- Korean banks sue Newegg, allege online retailer aided massive fraud: Both Newegg, ASI will “vigorously defend” their companies and deny wrongdoing.
- When Government Fails, Social Media Is The New 911
- How blockchain technology can set us free from this Brexit time warp
- Blockchains Explained In Two Minutes
- MasterCard Announces That Payments Can Now be Made on Blockchain
- Your Browser Could Be Mining Cryptocurrency For A Stranger
- An AI god will emerge by 2042 and write its own bible. Will you worship it?
- Elon Musk Eviscerates People Who Discuss “A.I. Gods”
- Artificial Intelligence in Christian Thought and Practice: This series by Christian computer scientists introduces questions for Christians about AI and its role in society
- These Are The Ethical Dilemmas We Face As AI Takes Over Our Lives
- Using Abstract VR Art for Neural Entrainment & Brain Research + Can Creative AI Become Conscious?
- The Surreal Comedy Bot That’s Turning AI Into LOL
- Google Is Honing AI That Can Recognize Human Actions Using YouTube Videos
- Insights: Google Knits Artificial Intelligence Into Everything, But Are We Sure It Won’t Be Evil?
- Welcoming Our New Robot Overlords: Once, robots assisted human workers. Now it’s the other way around.
- The Future of Online Dating Is Unsexy and Brutally Effective
- Facebook is struggling to meet the burden of securing itself, security chief says: Chief Security Officer described security report as a “very painful process.”
- How People Inside Facebook Are Reacting To The Company’s Election Crisis
- Monopoly Power and the Future of Facebook
- Will Facebook Kill All Future Facebooks?
- Court Not Impressed With Sneaky Plan To Sell Patents To Native Americans To Avoid Review… But New Lawsuits Filed
- Several women accuse tech pundit Robert Scoble of sexual harassment
- Tech Writer Robert Scoble Accused of Sexual Harassment, Assault by Multiple Women
- The Slippery Slope of Internet Censorship in Egypt: In response to a recent, dramatic increase of Internet filtering in Egypt, Internet users take to social media and Google Drive to protest filtering and disseminate banned content.
- A Joke Tweet Leads To ‘Child Trafficking’ Investigation, Providing More Evidence Of Why SESTA Would Be Abused
- Beyond ICE In Oakland: How SESTA Threatens To Chill Any Online Discussion About Immigration
- Study On Craigslist Shutting ‘Erotic Services’ Shows SESTA May Hurt Those It Purports To Help
- Is Hollywood ‘Exploiting’ Anti-Trafficking Organization To Support SESTA?
- How A Startup’s Legal Battle With A Software Giant Could Redefine Tech Workers’ Rights
- Uber, Intel, and other tech firms will urge Congress to let “Dreamers” stay – Uber: “We plan to support Dreamers as long as they need help.”
- Regulators of ‘sharing economy’ platforms caught between competing interests
- Cities around US offer billions in tax breaks to be Amazon’s HQ2: Cities and states are trying to one-up each other, showing off their best features.
- Another German decision warns against broad application of GS Media presumption for for-profit link providers
- NAFTA Modernization and IP/E-commerce: My Appearance at the Senate Open Caucus (Michael Geist)
- Netflix Plans To Fund Its Increased 2018 Content Budget With Additional $1.6 Billion Of Debt
- Netflix to Raise $1.6 Billion More Debt Financing to Fuel Content-Buying Binge
- Nielsen Now Vends Ratings Info For Netflix Shows To Top Media Companies
- Using YouTube Takedowns As Extortion
- YouTube’s brilliant ad was one of the biggest stories from Game 1 of the World Series
- As YouTube TV Begins World Series Ad Campaign, Its Play Button Vexes Viewers
- Billboard Will Decrease Weight Of YouTube Views In Hot 100 Charts
- How YouTube Entrepreneurs In Their 20s Are Disrupting Traditional Record Labels
- “Despacito”, YouTube’s Most-Viewed Video, Was Shot In 14 Hours And Edited On Final Cut Pro X
- Amazon Video Direct Funds Programming For The First Time By Investing In Funny Or Die Shorts
- BroadbandTV Signs Yousef ‘FouseyTube’ Erakat, Bart Baker, And h3h3Productions
- Snap Has Hundreds Of Thousands Of Unsold Spectacles Sitting In Warehouses
- The Judge’s Code: Meet the judge who codes — and decides tech’s biggest cases
- Digital Goods Are Valued Less Than Physical Goods
- How has digital journalism changed your work day?
- How Big Tech Became A Bipartisan Whipping Boy
CREATIVITY
- Eminem Wins New Zealand Copyright Lawsuit; Awarded Over 400K In Damages
- Author Who Lost Copyright Case Over The Da Vinci Code In The US In 2007 Looks To Revive It In The UK In 2017
- TV formats potentially eligible for copyright protection as dramatic works under UK law
- Forgetting Functionality (Christopher Buccafusco & Jeanne Fromer)
- Copyright Laws Make Photographs of the Eiffel Tower at Night Illegal
- Does a French copyright smell anything?
- Judge Bars News Station From Showing Pictures In News Story, Admits It’s Prior Restraint, Shrugs
- Hate speech is protected free speech, even on college campuses: My students trust colleges to control offensive speech. They shouldn’t.
- Communism’s Answer to Mickey Mouse Is Thrust Into a Very Capitalist Dispute
- Long Trail Brewing Sues East Coast Apparel Company Over ‘Take A Hike’ T-Shirt
- Harvey Weinstein Case Brings Sexual Harassment Back to the Spotlight
- Photographer Spends Eternity Waiting For Museum Visitors To Match Artworks And The Result Is Worth The Wait
- Serialized Television Has Become a Disease
- How (not) to protect an idea for a TV format
- Arnold Schwarzenegger Thinks Last Action Hero Bombed Because of Bill Clinton
MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY
- Government Rejects Call for an Internet Tax: “Conflicts With Principle of Affordable Access” (Michael Geist)
- Compliance and Enforcement Decision CRTC 2017-367: 3510395 Canada Inc., operating as Compu.Finder – Constitutional challenge to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
- Bill O’Reilly says he was one of many employees accused of sexual harassment at Fox
- James Murdoch Says Size of O’Reilly Settlement Was ‘News to Me’
- Local TV and radio stations no longer required to have local studios: Republicans eliminate rule, make it easier for stations to close local studios.
- The Main Studio Rule Is Dead; Long Live the Main Studio
- FCC Approves Repeal of Main Studio Rules and Starts Proceeding to Examine Broadcast Public Notices and Filing of TV Ancillary and Supplementary Revenue Reports
- FCC Likely To Use Thanksgiving Holiday To Hide Its Unpopular Plan To Kill Net Neutrality
- A Public Focused Approach To Net Neutrality
- Michigan Lawmaker Flees Twitter After Reports Highlight She Helped AT&T Push Anti-Competition Broadband Law
- Verizon brings back full-quality video streaming for $10 more: If you want your mobile video to stream in 4K on Verizon, you’ll need to pay extra. And have the right phone.
- Report: Verizon struggling to launch streaming TV service in crowded field – It’s had two delays and now plans to launch in the spring, says Bloomberg.
- Verizon’s Long-Shot Bet To Disrupt Google And Facebook
- Michigan Lawmaker Doesn’t Understand Her Own Bill Hamstringing Broadband Competition
- The Cable Industry’s Ingenious ‘Solution’ To TV Cord Cutting? Raise Broadband Rates
- After Report Suggests It Ripped Off Taxpayers, Frontier Communications Shrugs When Asked For Subsidies Back
- $100 Internet bill became $340 for no reason, Frontier customer says: Overcharges continue for months despite customer service promising a fix.
- Google Fiber is now in Louisville thanks to new fiber deployment strategy: Microtrenching sped up work in Louisville during court battle over utility poles.
- Wireless Carriers Again Busted Collecting, Selling User Data Without Consent Or Opt Out Tools
- Jails pocket up to 60 percent of what inmates pay for phone calls: “Site commissions” raise prices by sending up to 60 percent of revenue to jails.
SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY
- DOJ changes “gag order” policy, Microsoft to drop lawsuit – Brad Smith, Microsoft’s attorney: “It is an unequivocal win for our customers.”
- New DOJ Policy Restricts Use Of Warrant/Subpoena Gag Orders
- Government Drops Its Demand For Data On 6,000 Facebook Users
- Amazon Key Is Bigger Than Package Delivery
- Amazon Key unlocks your door for in-home package deliveries: Will you let Amazon be the gatekeeper to your home?
- Court Has No Problem With All House Residents Being Forced To Hand Over Fingers To Law Enforcement
- Judge: MalwareTech is no longer under curfew, GPS monitoring – Marcus Hutchins, awaiting trial, can now live and work unencumbered in LA.
- New Ransomware Linked To Notpetya Sweeps Russia And Ukraine
- New wave of data-encrypting malware hits Russia and Ukraine: Highly advanced “Bad Rabbit” hits train stations, airport, and media.
- DOJ Subpoenas Twitter About Popehat, Dissent Doe And Others Over A Smiley Emoji Tweet
- The DOJ’s Bizarre Subpoena Over An Emoji Highlights Its Ridiculous Vendetta Against A Security Researcher
- The Reaper IoT Botnet Has Already Infected A Million Networks
- Equifax Deserves The Corporate Death Penalty
- Key e-mail from feds got caught in body-cam maker’s spam filter: Axon hopes “to resolve these matters as expeditiously as possible.”
- Police body cams had no “statistically significant effect” in DC: “There was no indication that the cameras changed behavior at all.”
- NYPD Tells Judge Its $25 Million Forfeiture Database Has No Backup
- NYPD can’t get story straight on evidence system backups: Deputy commissioner says the system is “backed up”; IT staff affidavit says otherwise.
- FBI director: Unbreakable encryption is a “huge, huge problem”: “I get it, there’s a balance that needs to be struck,” Christopher Wray said.
- Law Prof Argues Cell Location Records Shouldn’t Need Warrants Because Cell Phones Have Encryption
- Time For The Feds To Say What They Know About Kaspersky
- Worker who snuck NSA malware home had his PC backdoored, Kaspersky says: Kaspersky presses its case it didn’t knowingly help Russia steal NSA secrets.
- Kaspersky pledges independent code review to cast off spying suspicions: After accusations by DHS of ties to Russian intel, company seeks to reassure customers.
- Crippling crypto weakness opens millions of smartcards to cloning: Gemalto IDPrime.NET almost certainly isn’t the only smartcard vulnerable to ROCA.
- How To Avoid Future Krack-Like Failures: Create Well-Maintained ‘Fat’ Protocols Using Initial Coin Offerings
- “Security concerns” lead to LTE service shutdown on Chinese Apple Watches: The Chinese government doesn’t know what to do with eSIMs yet.
- Amazon Key Puts Deliveries—And Delivery People—In Your Home
- Computer hacking victims to receive up to £6,000 compensation for ‘distress’ caused by cyber crime, under new plans: There are fears the EU regulations will spark industry of bogus hacking claims – Companies with millions of customers could be left crippled if they have to pay – Bill would give right for payout for ‘psychiatric and psychological damage’ – In 2013 157,000 TalkTalk customers were affected when it was hacked – If everyone affected claimed, the company would have to pay £471 million
- On Internet-Connected Toys and Human Flourishing: Hello, Privacy
- Police Camera Study Shows New Tech Having Little Effect On Misconduct And Excessive Force
- Google, Facebook & Comcast Jointly Lied to California Lawmakers To Scuttle Broadband Privacy Bill
- How lobbyists convinced lawmakers to kill a broadband privacy bill: Leaked documents reveal scare tactics that helped ISPs avoid privacy rules.
- A comparative guide to data security penalties in 10+ jurisdictions
GAMES
- Slot machine denies Horizon: Zero Dawn DLC trademark – US patent office suspends The Frozen Wilds DLC trademark for similarities to mobile game Frozen Wild
- ‘Hey dude, do this’: the last resort for female gamers escaping online abuse – In the toxic environment of online gaming, women play incognito, pretend to be male or say nothing to avoid harassment
- The games industry responds to #MeToo: “By acting now, we can save countless individuals from physical, mental, and emotional pain, suffering, and distress”
- Implied sexual assault scene in Call of Duty modified for Australia: The “threat of sexual violence” no longer listed as content warning, but title remains rated R18+
- What’s next for Activision Blizzard’s $300m merchandise business: Consumer Products CEO on Activision Blizzard’s new franchise philosophy
- Hearthstone Player Waves His Hand, Sets Off Controversy
- Game Boss interview: How Zoe Quinn survived Gamergate and lived to fight Internet hate
- NeoGAF goes offline in wake of sexual assault allegations: “The story doesn’t reconcile logically with the facts,” says site founder
- Community Fallout from UploadVR’s Harassment Settlement, and Bearing Witness to Testimony
- Andromeda dev chalks up some of the game’s problems to a lack of diversity
- What do you do when a hate group steals your logo?: How a Star Citizen player group responded to white nationalists adopting their branding, and what publishers could learn from Cloud Imperium’s response
- NPD: Loot box controversy having no impact on game sales – Despite consumer outcry, the analysis firm tells GamesIndustry.biz AAA titles with microtransactions still appear among biggest sellers
- Destiny 2 PC Players Reporting Mass Bans, And No One Has Explained Why
- Bungie denies reports that innocuous apps led to PC Destiny 2 bans: But hundreds of angry players say they’ve been banned “for nothing.”
- Why LeBron James Doesn’t Own the Rights to His Tattoos
- How GTA Online painfully pulled Rockstar into the ‘live games’ biz
- Rockstar wants to return to single-player DLC in future games: GTA V was “very, very complete,” and absence of add-on content wasn’t a “conscious decision”
- EA ‘pushing for more open-world games [because] you can monetise them better,’ says ex-Bioware dev – Manveer Heir: “I’ve seen people literally spend $15,000 on Mass Effect multiplayer cards.”
- Opinion: The game industry must face up to its gambling problem
- Harmonix lays off 14 in bid to ‘reduce overhead’
- Gaming’s Fall Season Ain’t What It Used To Be
- Facebook updates Instant Games platform with video ads and ‘robust’ dev tools
- Facebook Instant Games trialling monetisation options for developers: In-app purchases and ads coming to a select set of games
- Mobile App Sweepstakes and Social Media – A Legal Perspective
- Google Play and App Store downloads and spending hit record levels
- Mobile downloads and consumer spending hit record high: iOS and Google Play enjoyed a 28% year on year growth in revenue for Q3, report says
- Adding multiplayer would “dilute” Wolfenstein’s storytelling: MachineGames’ Tommy Tordsson Björk on the benefits of single-player focus to “pushing the boundaries” in The New Colossus
- Gran Turismo Sport review: A brilliant, but very new, direction for the series: The latest game in this legendary franchise is all about racing online and e-sports.
- Nintendo Switch surpasses 2M sales in the U.S.
- Nintendo Switch passes 2 million US sales: Console was the best-selling games device in America for third consecutive month, according to NPD data
- Skipmore’s Kamiko sells 150,000 on Switch: Two-person Japanese studio sees a big return on Nintendo’s new console
- Switch update brings video capture and pre-purchasing
- Nintendo Switch’s first portable dock offers freedom, but with new shackles: Nyko dock delivers a much-needed option—but it comes with serious dealbreakers.
- Nintendo revisiting freemium model in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
- Nintendo fully embraces in-app purchases with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: Publisher moves past its “deep-rooted suspicion” of free-to-play for next mobile release
- Nintendo quietly adds GameCube controller support in latest Switch update
- Your old GameCube controllers now work with the Nintendo Switch: Stealth update could pave the way for Virtual Console, new Smash Bros..
- Unreleased Super NES game to come packed with every Analogue Super Nt – Super Turrican: Director’s Cut unearths the uncut 6 Mbit version of the game.
- Denuvo’s DRM now being cracked within hours of release: Best-in-class service can’t even provide a full day of protection these days.
- Multiple Titles Using Denuvo Cracked On Release Day As Other Titles Planning To Use It Bail On It Completely
- Devs tell tales of what happens when you give your game to pirates: “It’s definitely been a good decision. Your game is going to end up on piracy websites regardless, and you might as well have fun with it, and in a way prevent it from being a virus or some malicious software.”
- Eye Tracking Shows Where ELEAGUE Gamers Look On The Screen
- New York Yankees invest in Vision Esports: Most valuable team in baseball ventures into the world of competitive video games
- Why the NCAA doesn’t have a place in esports
- Investors pour $25M into eSports team Cloud9
- Esports firm Cloud9 raises $25m in latest funding round: Investors include WWE, Beverly Hills Sports Council, Washington Wizards owner and more
- Intel: VR is “eye-opening moment” for computing – Kim Pallister, director of the Intel VR Center of Excellence, on the chip maker’s goals for VR and why it sees VR making esports more accessible
- From taverns to tournaments: The rise of Gwent as an esport: CD Projekt Red’s Rafał Jaki explains why the studio’s competitive gaming ambitions are “not some calculated decision based on a spreadsheet”
- Microsoft launches TruePlay, an anti-cheat for UWP games
- Windows now includes gaming cheat detection at the system level: Optional “TruePlay” protects game memory, monitors OS for common cheating patterns.
- Microsoft introduces anti-cheating tool for UWP games developers: TruePlay aims to help studios monitor their games for common attacks, locks opt-out players from selected modes
- Microsoft kills the Kinect as production shuts down
- Microsoft discontinues Kinect: Depth-sensing Xbox camera shelved after seven years and 35 million units sold
- Microsoft Fully Discontinues The Kinect
- Microsoft has stopped making the Kinect, and that makes me sad: Robbing the Xbox of its eyes and ears makes it a lesser platform.
- Now we know why Xbox One backward compatibility took so long: Response to “always on” Internet fiasco put “back compat” on the backburner.
- Steam users can now send gift cards digitally
- Five reasons why Christmas 2017 might not be a disaster for games retail: It hasn’t started well, but there are still reasons to be hopeful
- Researchers expect close holiday competition between Xbox One X and PS4 Pro
- Xbox publishing head: Single-player games aren’t dead, just more complicated
- Sony: Planet of the Apes and PlayLink will help us reach non-gamers – Platform holder expects recognisable IP to play a big role in selling PlayStations to the masses
- Does Visceral’s closure prove AAA single-player games are dying?
- Ex-Visceral dev calls death of single-player fears “totally absurd”: Studio’s former level designer saddened by studio closure, but supports EA’s shift towards service games
- What the F&*K is a Gamerunner, and why do we need them?
- 666M tuned in to video game streams and videos last year, says SuperData
- A game dev’s romp through interesting 2017 game market data
- Over three times as many video game projects fail than succeed on Kickstarter: Video games continue to stagnate on the platform while board games are breaking records
- Interview With Ryan Morrison, Video Game Attorney – High Noon Hot Seat
- Gaming video content has an audience of 665 million: SuperData report forecasts ads and direct consumer spending to push GVC earnings to $4.6 billion in 2017
- Making the industry’s voice heard on Brexit: Exiting the EU is one of the biggest challenges the UK games sector has ever faced; the industry desperately needs its access to skilled staff to be protected
- Games for the Many: how Labour plans to win elections with video games – Designer Rosa Carbó-Mascarell on using video games to make politics accessible
- Gabe Newell’s $5.5bn net worth puts him in US’ top 100 wealthiest: Valve boss reaches No.97 on latest Forbes rich list, believed to own just over half his company
- Keywords agrees to $66.4M deal for game testing giant VMC
- British Games Institute seeking support from UK government
- Cognitive Biases to Watch Out For When Running a Games Business
- The Philosophy of Grinding and how to Reduce it
- Devs push back on Patreon’s ‘clearer stance’ regarding adult content
- A Brief History of Rappers Who Dress Like JRPG Villains
- Engare review: The geometry of Islamic art becomes a treasure of a game
- How games media can work more effectively with PR: LittleBig PR’s Gareth Williams offers a counterpoint to our recent piece on the relationships between journalists and the industry
- Returning to Second Life: Long after its grandest ambitions have faded, the platform still boasts people and profit.
- How Neopets influenced a generation of devs
- UNC Star Joel Berry II Loses Video Game, Punches Door, Breaks Hand
Jon
