News of the Week; January 6, 2021

DIGITAL

1. Bucking Trump, NSA and FBI say Russia was “likely” behind SolarWinds hack
2. DoJ says SolarWinds hackers breached its Office 365 system and read email
3. Pro-Trump reporter gloats over access to fleeing Hill staffer’s computer
4. Court says Uber can’t hold users to terms they probably didn’t read
5. Ticketmaster admits it hacked rival company before it went out of business
6. Laura Loomer Loses Another Lawsuit Related to Her Twitter Ban–Illoominate v. CAIR (Eric Goldman)
7. Defamation Law Can Slow the Plague of Fake News: Challenging falsehoods about voting machines is a good place to start. (Cass Sunstein)
8. Cass Sunstein’s No Good, Horrible, Very Bad Idea For Using Defamation To Fight ‘Fake News’
9. Study: Folklore structure reveals how conspiracy theories emerge, fall apart
10. Women’s victimization by online hate impedes their democratic participation: LEAF
11. Activist hedge fund advises Intel to outsource CPU manufacturing
12. Why don’t PCs use error correcting RAM? “Because Intel,” says Linus
13. 60 Minutes Episode Is Pure Misleading Moral Panic About Section 230; Blames Unrelated Issues On It
14. Parler, Desperate For Attention, Pretends It Doesn’t Need Section 230
15. Content Moderation Case Study: Dealing With Controversial & Sexual Fan Fiction (May 2007)
16. WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using the app
17. Google and Facebook Sued for Antitrust Violations in the U.S
18. Too big not to fail? Google’s antitrust woes
19. Google employees announce union open to all Alphabet workers
20. Google employees kick off union membership drive for 120,000 workers
21. Amazon promises $2B for affordable housing projects near its corporate offices
22. European Commission Unveils Sweeping Proposals to Regulate the Digital Sector
23. Regulating the Internet, at Last? The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act
24. Use of fake identities found deceitful in commercial email — why not elsewhere on the Internet?
25. UK blocks Assange extradition due to suicide risk, poor US jail conditions
26. Judge Refuses To Extradite Julian Assange, Citing US Prison Conditions & Assange’s Mental Health
27. Logan Paul Sued By Production Company Over Fallout From Aokigahara Video
28. Top 50 Most Viewed US YouTube Channels • Week Of 12/28/2020
29. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 12/28/2020
30. Ars Technica’s 2021 Deathwatch—2020 was just the beginning
31. After Months of Deadlock, Congress Extends Lifeline for the Arts and Entertainment Industry through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program
32. ASA publishes 12 month review of gender stereotyping rule in advertising
33. Cryptocurrency stealer for Windows, macOS, and Linux went undetected for a year
34. United States President’s Working Group on Financial Markets Releases Statement on Regulatory and Supervisory Considerations for Stablecoin Arrangements
35. Synchronized violin players reveal uniqueness of human networks
36. Seven Years Ago, CERN Gave Open Access A Huge Boost; Now It’s Doing The Same For Open Data
37. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 4 (FOSTA) (Eric Goldman)

A.I.

1. House of Lords Committee publishes new report “AI in the UK: No Room for Complacency”
2. AI Council publishes roadmap for UK AI strategy
3. When AI goes wrong, how will the courts determine why?
4. Facial Recognition Technology Involves More Than Meets the Eye
5. Artificial intelligence and transparency in the public sector
6. How Smart Software And AI Helped Networks Thrive For Consumers During The Pandemic
7. Waymo CEO: Building safe driverless cars is harder than rocket science
8. Birds of a feather flock together, but patterns change with the mission
9. You can’t unsee Tedlexa, the Internet of Things/AI bear of your nightmares 

COMMUNICATIONS

1. Broadband Infrastructure Companies Ripe for M&A, Experts Say
2. Pudding-Brained 5G Conspiracies Somehow Get Even Dumber 
3. FCC Issues Ruling Limiting Call Volumes Permitted Under TCPA Exemptions
4. FCC issues voluntary caller id authentication best practices for Voice service providers
5. FCC Takes A Break From Not Caring About Consumers To Hassle Some Landlords Over Pirate Radio
6. ViaSat Asks FCC To Investigate Space X For Space Pollution
7. President Trump Issues Executive Order Banning Transactions Involving Eight Chinese Software Applications
8. Comcast data cap blasted by lawmakers as it expands into 12 more states
9. Lawmakers Complain About Comcast’s Bullshit Expanded Usage Caps
10. Frontier agrees to fiber-network expansion in plan to exit bankruptcy
11. Last-minute Brexit deal extends free flow of personal data to UK with 6 months

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. The Copyright Board Begins 2021 with Less Transparency and More Potentially Dysfunctional Delays
2. UK Music Rights Group Demands Payment From A Pub That Isn’t Playing Any Music Because It’s Closed Due To COVID
3. U.S. Amends the Copyright Act to Establish Copyright Small Claims Tribunal 
4. Why You Should Be Cautious of the New Copyright Small Claims Court
5. Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. v. ComicMix LLC (USCA, 9th, 12.18.20): Unauthorized Dr. Seuss & Star Trek mash-up “Oh, the Places You’ll Boldly Go!” was not fair use of copyrights because the book did not parody or critique
6. A New CJEU Judgment on Copyright-Related Geoblocking – One Step Forward or One Step Back in the EU Commission’s Fight Against Geoblocking? (Eric Goldman)
7. 1925 Was an Annus Mirabilis for Culture
8. Ferrari‘s Testarossa passes the “Test of Genuine Use” before CJEU 
9. Battle of the Bentleys: Bentley Motors loses trade mark appeal against Bentley Clothing
10. USA: 25% Fee hike for Trademark Applications via Madrid Protocol 
11. US Trademark Modernization Act Provides New Relief to Trademark Owners
12. Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 – Use It or Lose It 
13. What to Know About the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020
14. 2H 2020 Quick Links, Part 3 (Trademarks) (Eric Goldman) 
15. Battle of the ballet shoes: UK court finds infringement of registered community design
16. Software and Business Method Patents – How to Improve Your Chances?
17. Court Interprets Purported Contour Lines in Design Patent Drawings as Claimed Features 
18. No Simulating Alice Requirements: Application of Abstract Ideas Alone Cannot Transform Patent Ineligible Subject Matter 
19. Twelve Cannabis Plant Patents and Counting 
20. Looking for a patent database? Need a little Inspire-ation?
21. Patent Licensors Can Prevent Challenges to Patent Validity
22. 2021 Intellectual Property Primer: Cases to Watch this Year 

PRIVACY

1. Child’s Play: Federal Judge Shuts Down Privacy Litigation Brought Against Tech and Toy Companies Alleging They Violated Kids’ Privacy Rights
2. Government Users of Facial Recognition Software Sued by Plaintiff Alleging Wrongful Imprisonment Over Case of Mistaken Identity
3. FBI Warns Assholes Are Now Combining Compromised IoT Devices With Swatting Because That’s The Hell We Now Live In
4. Telegram feature exposes your precise address to hackers
5. FTC Focuses on Privacy Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Companies
6. FTC’s Confusing Guidance on How Merchants Should Manage Their Consumer Reviews (Eric Goldman)
7. Update on global privacy expectations of Video Teleconferencing companies
8. Global Privacy Roundup: The World Beyond Europe and California
9. Data Breach Litigation Without a Data Breach? Not So Fast Walmart Says…
10. Federal Court Grants Preliminary Approval of First CCPA Settlement
11. Portland’s Ban on Facial-Recognition Technology Takes Effect
12. New York Temporarily Bans Facial Recognition Technology in Schools
13. En Banc First Circuit Will Decide Whether Government Needs a Warrant to Put Pole Camera Outside Your Home
14. Obscure Analytics Tool Helps Cops Make Sense Of All That Location Data They’re Grabbing Without A Warrant
15. COVID-19 contact-tracing data is fair game for police, Singapore says
16. Surprise! Singapore Backtracks On Privacy Pledge And Opens Contact Tracing Data To Police
17. What the heck is a token, and is it considered personal information in California and Europe?
18. 10 Areas Of Privacy Law That Look Ripe For Change In 2021

GAMES

1. The Sinking City returns to stores as legal dispute over publishing rights continues
2. CD Projekt gearing up for ‘vigorous action’ against investor lawsuit
3. Apple removes 39,000 games from the App Store in China
4. Apple removes 39,000 games from China store in biggest single-day takedown
5. Microsoft calls for Xbox drift lawsuit to be handled by arbitration
6. Koei Tecmo’s sites offline following cyber attack
7. Netflix producer, Yoozoo Games CEO Lin Qi dead at 39 amid poisoning probe.
8. Washington ALJ Rules Video Game Developer’s Attendance at Trade Show Created Substantial Nexus
9. A closer look at Raw Fury’s publishing contract
10. Tencent and Huawei resolve revenue share dispute
11. Minecraft Earth shutting down
12. Minecraft Earth is going dark at the end of June
13. Saving video gaming’s source code treasures before it’s too late
14. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
15. Where do we go from here? Analysts give 2021 predictions
16. Analysing the major mobile game design and feature trends of 2020
17. 2020’s most disappointing games, as led by Blizzard’s WarCraft III: Reforged
18. Quantifying the Xmas day video game sales bump
19. Call of Duty: Mobile makes $14m in first week in China
20. Football Manager 2021 has sold over 1 million copies in record time
21. Animal Crossing: New Horizons ends 2020 at the top | UK Boxed Charts
22. Fall Guys, Doom and Cyberpunk represent 2020 in Steam’s top earners of the year
23. Polygon’s 50 most anticipated games of 2021
24. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
25. Ubisoft’s game subscription service now supports Google Stadia for free.
26. Sony discontinues all but one PS4 model in Japan
27. PS4 Pro and most other models discontinued in Japan
28. Sony Pictures Developing 3 Movies, 7 TV Shows Based On PlayStation Games
29. Tenet director Christopher Nolan is ‘definitely interested’ in adapting his films into games.
30. Nintendo’s Power-Up Band—a physical key to Japan’s upcoming Super Nintendo World
31. Nintendo acquires Next Level Games
32. Nintendo acquires Luigi’s Mansion 3 developer Next Level Games
33. Xbox once pitched an acquisition of Nintendo, and was met with laughter
34. The SpongeBob SquarePants effect: Why THQ Nordic is doubling down on licenses
35. Niantic acquires community gaming platform Mayhem
36. Pokemon Go maker Niantic acquires community platform Mayhem
37. Epic Games acquires shopping mall for new headquarters
38. Spotify is the first nongaming app on the Epic Games Store, and Epic says it won’t be the last.
39. Honor of Kings foresees a borderless, mobile future
40. How Riot Games is gunning for its second big esports with Valorant.
41. Blog: How I wasted time and money developing a game that earned $30
42. Blog: Historians discuss Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
43. Blog: An empathy-driven way to design games
44. Video: Clint Hocking’s 2011 game design keynote
45. Gamasutra’s Best of 2020: The top 10 game developers of the year

Jon