News of the Week

News of the Week; January 1, 2020

By Jon Festinger on January 5, 2020

DIGITAL

  1. European Court of Justice’s Landmark Decision on the Resale of E-Books
  2. U.S. Internet Access Provider Hit with a Billion Dollar Verdict for Copyright Infringement by its Subscribers
  3. Internet Access Provider Gets Another Devastating Result in a Secondary Copyright Infringement Case – Sony v. Cox (Eric Goldman)
  4. Huuuge Mistake in Contract Formation
  5. A Lost Gamble on Enforcement of Electronic Terms and Conditions in a Browsewrap Agreement
  6. Internet Access Provider Gets Another Devastating Result in a Secondary Copyright Infringement Case—Sony v. Cox (Eric Goldman)
  7. Federal Circuit Decides Apple’s Invalidity Challenges Were Properly Litigated; Are Precluded
  8. Sour Note: Mraz Sues MillerCoors for ‘I’m Yours’ Clip in Instagram Ad
  9. Doctor’s Promotion of ‘Vampire Facial’ a Pain in Kim Kardashian’s Neck
  10. FTC Approves Settlement with Former Cambridge Analytica CEO and Application Developer Over Claims of Deceiving Consumers
  11. Amid Ongoing ‘Explore’ Tab Tests, YouTube Makes ‘Creator On The Rise’ Shelves More Prominent
  12. Facebook Wants To License Official Music Videos — A Massive Draw On YouTube
  13. YouTube Takes Down Chanukkah Parody Of Old Town Road… Because It Infringes On A Date?
  14. Why the 2010s were the Facebook Decade
  15. Turkish Court Says Government’s Two-Year Ban Of Wikipedia Violates Freedom Of Expression Rights
  16. Driver training was reportedly too much of “a bottleneck” for Amazon
  17. Spotify will ‘pause’ political ads in early 2020: The platform says it does not have the capability to ‘responsibly validate’ ad content
  18. Spotify Says “No” to Political Advertising
  19. Cloudflare Removes Warrant Canary: Thoughtful Post Says It Can No Longer Say It Hasn’t Removed A Site Due To Political Pressure
  20. CMA seeks new regulatory regime to regulate online platforms
  21. “They’re abysmal students”: Are cell phones destroying the college classroom?
  22. Travis Kalanick quits Uber’s board, sells off all his Uber stock
  23. NYTimes Predicted San Francisco Would ‘Drown In Millionaires’ Post IPO Boom; Now Whines That It Never Happened
  24. NIST digitized the bullets that killed JFK
  25. GPS is going places
  26. 88% of Americans use a second screen while watching TV. Why?
  27. No foolin‘—the 2010s were a crazy decade for tech
  28. New Year’s Message: Opportunities Come From Unexpected Places

A.I.

  1. Enhanced Intelligence, VR Sex, and Our Cyborg Future: Recent progress in AI, many believe, makes the promise and peril of transhumanism increasingly possible.
  2. NIST Study Of 189 Facial Recognition Algorithms Finds Minorities Are Misidentified Almost 100 Times More Often Than White Men
  3. Counting the Countless: Why data science is a profound threat for queer people
  4. How AI helps unlock the secrets of Old Master and modernist paintings
  5. Attack of the terrifying robot vacuum
  6. Data Science as Political Action Grounding Data Science in a Politics of Justice (Ben Green)
  7. The Second Wave of Algorithmic Accountability (Frank Pasquale) 

COMMUNICATIONS  

  1.  Court backs Comcast, puts Maine’s à la carte cable law on hold
  2. Court Blocks Maine Attempt To Force Cable Providers To Sell Individual TV Channels
  3. New Law Finally Bans B.S. Cable TV Fees
  4. DOJ Antitrust Boss Delrahim Ignored Hard Data As He Rubber Stamped T-Mobile Merger
  5. Wired for sound: How SIP won the VoIP protocol wars
  6. FCC Postpones Filing Deadline for First Annual Children’s Television Programming Report and Announces Effectiveness of Other Changes in Children’s Television Rules

PRIVACY

  1. IoT vendor Wyze confirms server leak: Details for 2.4 million users were exposed online for 22 days.
  2. Employee error to blame for massive data leak, Wyze says
  3. Tracking College Students Everywhere They Go On Campus Is The New Normal
  4. Survey of Fortune 500 Companies’ Privacy Representations
  5. NAI Issues New Guidance on Consumer Opt-In Consent for Sharing of “Sensitive” Data
  6. SEC reminds public companies to assess technology and IP theft risks when preparing their disclosures
  7. The 2019 Privacy Legislation Bomb Cyclone

CREATIVITY

  1. UK Metropolitan Police Admit They’ve Finally Shelved ‘Investigation’ Into Journalists Who Reported On Snowden Docs
  2. Federal Court Blocks Unconstitutional Arkansas Law That Prevents Plant-Based Food Companies From Using Meat Words
  3. Chris Cornell’s Widow Sues Soundgarden for Copyrights to Unreleased Songs
  4. No Apologies: Marc Jacobs Pushes Back on Nirvana’s Copyright and Trademark Infringement Claims
  5. Washington Court Says Local Pot Dealers Can Hang Up Christmas Lights That Spell ‘POT’
  6. Austrian Hotel Drops Libel Lawsuit Against Guest Who Complained About Pictures Of Nazis In The Lobby
  7. Too Funny to Be Believed? NAD Says No.
  8. IP Alert: Copyright Course Correction of the Year
  9. Right of Publicity Punch: Bruce Lee Enterprises Sues Kungfu Catering
  10. Trump could mandate free access to federally funded research papers
  11. The 2010s were a veritable golden age of opening credits in television
  12. TV Technica 2019: These were our favorite shows and binges this year
  13. Journalists under siege around the world: The global assault on journalists continued unabated in 2019.
  14. Ars Technica’s best films of 2019
  15. 2019 – The Copyright Year
  16. The 2020 Intellectual Property Year in “Preview” Article

GAMES

  1. Running Man Stars Suing Epic Games for Fortnite Dance
  2. Fortnite Lawsuit a Battle Over Jack-o’-Lantern Figures
  3. Corinna Kopf Leaving Twitch to Stream Exclusively on Facebook Gaming
  4. Blog: Scalable content management with Unity addressables
  5. The one video game my kids played all year long
  6. How much of a genius-level move was using binary space partitioning in Doom?
  7. UK Charts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the final No.1 of the year – Official charts to change suppliers in 2020 and to include a digital chart
  8. Police Departments Are Using Swatting Registries To Help Protect Swatting Targets From Police Officers
  9. U.S. Patent no. 10,272,346: Bounded competitions in a video game framework
  10. The 2010s were full of video games we’ll gladly revisit for decades to come
  11. Best of 2019: How Steam users see your game
  12. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: 8 standout Apple Arcade games
  13. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: Bryant Francis’ Top 10 Games
  14. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: Chris Kerr’s Top 5 Games
  15. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: Alissa McAloon’s top 5 games (from 2018’s backlog)

Jon

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News of the Week; December 25, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 31, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. FTC Rules Political Ad Marketing Firm Cambridge Analytica Deceived Facebook Users
  2. FTC Approves Final Settlement Agreements Concerning Collection of Facebook Data
  3. Facebook vs. the FTC: It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
  4. 267 Million Names And Phone Numbers Leaked Online – And They’re All From Facebook
  5. Facebook removes accounts with AI-generated profile photos
  6. Facebook is working on its own OS that could reduce its reliance on Android
  7. Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook: CJEU ruling on online defamation and liability of hosting services providers under the e-Commerce Directive
  8. Schrems v Facebook: AG says Standard Contractual Clauses are Valid
  9. Facebook Releases New Advertising Rules for the 2020 Census
  10. ‘I am going to say quiet words in your face just like I did with Trump’: a conversation with the Zuckerbot -Mark Zuckerberg won’t talk to the Guardian. So we fed everything he says into an algorithm, and interviewed it
  11. Sorry, but cryptocurrency will likely make you uncomfortable in 2020: It might even piss you off.: Thanks, Libra.
  12. Financializing authoritarian capitalism: Chinese fintech and the institutional foundations of algorithmic governance (Julian Gruin)
  13. Beyond scandal?: Blockchain technologies and the fragile legitimacy of post-2008 finance
  14. Swiping right: face perception in the age of Tinder
  15. Cox Communications hit with $1 billion verdict over music piracy
  16. Dear Americans: Be Very, Very Afraid Of The EU’s New Copyright Rules
  17. Inside the Koch data mine: Meet the guys building the right’s new machine.
  18. The Surprising Nuance Behind the Russian Troll Strategy: We set out to study #BlackLivesMatter – instead, we were unintentionally learning about the Russian information operation to undermine democracy
  19. The case for publicly enforced online rights: Democracies should establish a single infrastructure for the digital identity (Evgeny Morozov)
  20. New German draft law to fight online hate speech obliges social media providers to notify police of suspicious online posts
  21. ECJ rules that the sale of second-hand e-books infringes copyright
  22. Indian Government Sets New Record For ‘Internet Shutdown By A Democracy’
  23. Canadian ISPs Subject to Site-Blocking Order
  24. Competition Bureau Hones in on #SponsoredContent and Social Media Advertising
  25. Losing Streak Continues For Litigants Suing Social Media Companies Over Violence Committed By Terrorists
  26. Report: Apple is developing satellites so the iPhone can skip wireless carriers
  27. Apple, Google, and Amazon create “CHIP,” a new smart home standard [Updated]
  28. Accountability Is Nowhere To Be Found For Foxconn’s Wisconsin Head Fake
  29. Google fined ~$166 million by France over search ads
  30. Chrome is getting a dedicated media control button
  31. The Canadian Digital Law Decade: The Ten Most Notable Cases, Laws, and Policy Developments (Michael Geist)
  32. CJEU rules that the provision of ebooks is an act of communication to the public (so there is NO digital exhaustion under the InfoSoc Directive) (Eleonora Rosati)
  33. Study: Hadopi Has Been Great For Big Artists And Labels, Bad For The Spread Of Culture And Smaller Or New Artists
  34. Contractor admits planting logic bombs in his software to ensure he’d get new work
  35. The Hassle of Housework: Digitalisation and the Commodification of Domestic Labour (Ursula Huws)
  36. Insanity (AKA Copyright Statutory Damages) Rules: Cox Hit With $1 Billion (With A B) Jury Verdict For Failing To Magically Stop Piracy
  37. Ghosh Yoga College Claims Copyright Infringement Over Netflix Documentary On Bikram Choudhury
  38. Dethroning the Digital Platform Champions
  39. Elon Musk And SpaceX Just Backed Down From Earlier Promise To Release SpaceX Photos To The Public Domain
  40. Jake Paul Sued For Copyright Infringement Over 2017 Holiday Track “Litmas”
  41. Influencers face backlash for promoting a Saudi Arabian music festival: And were reportedly paid six-figure sums
  42. ‘Influencing is heading into the void’: Natasha Stagg and Kate Durbin on the future of social media
  43. Tana Mongeau Lands ‘Here Comes Tana Claus’ YouTube Special At MTV
  44. Want to Become A World-Famous YouTube Personality? Don’t Forget the Fine Print
  45. Under the Influence: The Canadian Competition Bureau’s Stand on Misleading Product Endorsements
  46. Cameron Dallas To Star As Aaron Samuels In Broadway Adaptation Of ‘Mean Girls’
  47. Latte Lover Emma Chamberlain To Launch Her Own Coffee Business This Sunday
  48. In Just 55 Days, MrBeast And Mark Rober’s #TeamTrees Raised $20 Million To Plant 20 Million Trees
  49. Influencer marketing must be accurate and based on actual experience, says Competition Bureau
  50. #InfluencerMarketing and #Transparency in #Ads: Competition Bureau Sends Letters to Brands and Agencies
  51. How to Decrease Your Influencer Marketing Legal Risk
  52. Pixel Perfect: The Legal Implications of Virtual Influencers and Supermodels
  53. For Beauty Influencer Campaigns, YouTube Delivers
  54. Instagram To Enforce Ban On Sponsored Content Involving Weapons, Tobacco, Vaping
  55. Instagram To Enforce Ban On Sponsored Content Involving Weapons, Tobacco, Vaping
  56. Australian Millionaire Seeking Personal Instagram Photographer, At $55,000 Salary
  57. Instagram Announces Restrictions on Branded Content and Says Further Policies are Coming
  58. All Def Digital’s Assets Acquired, Content Slate To Be Rebooted By Startup Culture Genesis
  59. Not so IDLE hands: FBI program offers companies data protection via deception
  60. I went undercover as an Amazon delivery driver. Here’s what I learned about the hidden costs of free shipping
  61. Motorola gets cold feet, delays $1,500 Razr foldable days before launch
  62. Leaked images of new Samsung foldable surfaces: It’s a flip phone
  63. Is Your Website Accessible and Are You Liable if it Isn’t?
  64. Social Media Made America Tired of Rich People: It used to be easier to hide your wine cave.
  65. The 84 Biggest Flops, Fails, And Dead Dreams Of The Decade In Tech
  66. Tech regulation and protecting children online; latest thinking from the UK
  67. Reflections on 2019 in Technology Law, and a Peek into 2020
  68. Tech & Comms 2020 Predictions

A.I.

  1. World Intellectual Property Organization Weighs in on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property
  2. World Intellectual Property Organisation and UK Information Commissioner’s Office announce consultations on AI
  3. Patents Created by Artificial Intelligence?
  4. EPO refuses DABUS patent applications designating a machine inventor
  5. Towards a Critical Race Methodology in Algorithmic Fairness (Alex Hanna, Emily Denton, Andrew Smart & Jamila Smith-Loud)
  6. 2019 Quantified Self Report Card
  7. Artificial Intelligence Is Rushing Into Patient Care – And Could Raise Risks: AI systems are not as rigorously tested as other medical devices, and have already made serious mistakes
  8. Is the idea of ‘care robots’ an oxymoron?: Pursuing efficiency by seeking to dehumanise human interaction by use of robotic support is a worrying development
  9. United States – E-commerce and Big Data: Merger Control
  10. Intervention – “Is Legal Technology a New ‘Moment’ in the Law and Development Trajectory?”
  11. Do all marketing lists discriminate against consumers that exercise a right to be deleted?
  12. Why I dislike what “quantum supremacy” is doing to computing research
  13. Can Computers Dream? Refik Anadol Explores The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Anadadol’s installation at Light Art Space explores how our world will transform as humans and computers come closer together.  

COMMUNICATIONS

  1.  Touchdown! The Supreme Court of Canada simplifies the standard of review analysis in historic Super Bowl trilogy
  2. Supreme Court of Canada Establishes New Approach to Standard of Review 
  3. Phone companies must block scam calls starting today. Here’s what you can expect
  4. Congress Passes Bipartisan Robocall Legislation
  5. Congress passes legislation expanding robocall penalties
  6. T-Mobile/Sprint deal is good actually, Feds tell court in states’ lawsuit
  7. Spectrum Customers Stuck With Thousands In Home Security Gear They Can’t Use
  8. TV changed a lot in the 2010s, and the decade’s best reflects that
  9. What’s New in 5G – December 2019
  10. FCC Announces Improved Wireless Emergency Alerts 
  11. Supreme Court Declines to Overturn Landmark TCPA Jury Verdict
  12. GDPR and the Cloud – Helpful DPC Guidance for Organisations 

PRIVACY

  1. Data Protection Changes Are Coming to Canada
  2. Nearly 4,000 Ring Credentials Leaked, Including Users’ Time Zones And Device Names
  3. NY Times Shows The Scope Of The Cell Location Data Scandal Nobody’s Doing Anything About
  4. San Francisco Amends Facial Recognition Ban After Realizing City Employees Could No Longer Use Smartphones
  5. Second Circuit Says Warrantless Backdoor Searches Of NSA Collections Might Violate The Fourth Amendment
  6. Update privacy policies post-tech backlash, report tells smart watch and fitness tracker makers
  7. PoS malware skimmed convenience store customers’ card data for 8 months
  8. Dark Overlord taunted, threatened, and extorted. Now alleged member is behind bars
  9. The California Consumer Privacy Act Is Upon Us; Here’s What Your Company Should Be Doing
  10. Hospitality company’s bid to dismiss data breach suit rejected
  11. Attorney General issues opinion on validity of Privacy Shield and Model clauses
  12. Austria’s Top Court Says Police May Not Install Surveillance Malware On Computers And Phones, Nor Collect Vehicle And Driver Information Covertly
  13. Top EU Court’s Adviser Says Personal Data Can Be Transferred Using ‘Standard Contractual Clauses’ — But Also Suggests That Privacy Shield Should Be Ruled Invalid
  14. Giant surveillance balloons are lurking at the edge of space
  15. The Internet of Things (IoT) will see an increase in regulation and self-regulation
  16. How many websites are using opt-in, opt-out, or deemed consent cookie notices?
  17. How many third party behavioral advertising cookies deploy on most websites?
  18. Is Your Privacy Policy Ready for 2020?
  19. When We Fail To Understand Privacy As A Set Of Trade-Offs, Everyone’s ‘Solutions’ Are Unhelpful
  20. Rethinking privacy in the age of psychological targeting: Direct regulation of psychological targeting may lift from users the burden of actively protecting their privacy (Sandra Matz, Ruth Elisabeth Appel & Michal Kosinski)

CREATIVITY

  1. Paris Court of Appeal confirms that Koons’s ‘Naked’ sculpture infringes copyright in ‘Enfants’ photograph, rejecting freedom of the arts and parody defences (Eleonora Rosati)
  2. US government lists fictional nation Wakanda as trade partner
  3. No Surprise: Judge Says US Government Can Take The Proceeds From Snowden’s Book
  4. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson Is Trying To Use An Anti-SLAPP Law To Get Out Of Paying Anti-SLAPP Damages And It Ain’t Working
  5. Street art raises novel copyright issues – or does it?
  6. Guity v. Santos: Court dismisses copyright claims against Santos, finding plaintiff had not identified protectable elements that were allegedly infringed, and that parties’ songs in their entirety were not substantially similar.
  7. Remedies in IP antitrust cases in USA
  8. China and Hollywood: Is the romance over?
  9. ‘Cats’ Director Rushes Visual Effects Update Into Theaters After Disastrous Opening
  10. Minority Report: How Canada’s Electoral System Disrupts Copyright Reform
  11. The craziest Christmas patents you didn’t know existed
  12. Naughty or Nice? A Few Last Minute Tips for Using Santa Claus in Your Advertising
  13. Ars’ favorite movies of the 2010s (John Wick most definitely included)

GAMES

  1. Arsenal’s Mesut Özil removed from PES 2020 after criticising China’s treatment of Muslims: NetEase also pulls the midfielder from two other Chinese version of Konami’s football game
  2. Mesut Ozil removed from Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 in China: NetEase said Ozil’s comments ‘hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport’s spirit of love and peace’
  3. Police Arrest, Charge Twitch Streamer With Child Abuse After Receiving Tips From Community
  4. Mixer, Facebook Gaming chipped away at Twitch market share in 2019: But Twitch is still far and away the streaming giant, with 73% of all streaming hours watched
  5. Mixer Sees 149% Year-Over-Year Jump In Hours Watched, But Is Still Far From Challenging Twitch’s 9.3 Billion
  6. CD Projekt and The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski settle royalties disagreement
  7. The Witcher 3 sees jump in Steam players after debut of The Witcher Netflix show
  8. Every major older version of Dead Cells is now preserved and playable on Steam
  9. Ethics in the video game industry: A mythbusting and scientific approach
  10. Dangen Entertainment’s new CEO to let devs cancel existing contracts: Developers remain skeptical of plan to right the ship after former CEO accused of harassment, unethical business practices
  11. UK charity calls on government to regulate loot boxes: The Royal Society for the Protection of Health releases report on attitude of young people toward loot boxes
  12. Telltale Games revival is aiming for a “stable, non-crunch work environment”: “We are a new company – with different ownership and management, and a different approach as to how we structure a studio”
  13. Analyst: Red Dead Redemption 2 sold 400k copies on Epic Games Store
  14. Google acquires Typhoon Studios to boost Stadia-exclusive content
  15. Google Stadia acquires Typhoon Studios: Stadia head and Typhoon co-founders explain why the upstart studio is giving up being indie before its first game even launches
  16. Panic will ship Playdate preview units to curious devs ahead of full launch
  17. Facebook acquires cloud gaming service PlayGiga
  18. Facebook acquires cloud gaming company PlayGiga for $78 million
  19. Facebook acquires cloud gaming outfit PlayGiga: Madrid-based services provider reportedly cost $78m
  20. Tencent expands ‘Start’ cloud gaming platform in China
  21. Tencent launches its Start cloud gaming service: Blade & Soul, Path of Exile, Fortnite, NBA2K Online 2 are part of the beta test
  22. The Rainbow Six Siege core team is shifting to new Ubisoft projects
  23. After Inking Multiyear Endorsement Deal, Ninja Unveils First Adidas Sneakers
  24. Global Esports Federation announced, backed by Tencent: Federation aims to be “the voice and authority for the worldwide esports movement”
  25. Embracer Group acquires Little Nightmares developer Tarsier Studios
  26. Embracer Group acquires Little Nightmares dev Tarsier Studios for $10.5m: Also gains Statik IP, but Little Nightmares and Stretchers remain with their publishers
  27. Dragon Quest XI ships 5.5 million: Number includes digital sales and physical shipments of PS4, PC, 3DS, and Switch versions of Square Enix RPG
  28. The long game: Running PR in the games-as-a-service era – Prezly’s Kate Bystrova talks to PR experts on the unique challenge of getting exposure for games that can be played for years and years
  29. N3twork acquires Funko Pop Blitz after NBCUniversal winds down game business
  30. Half-Life: Alyx Hands-On! Tested on 8 VR Headsets
  31. 15 VR Games We Can’t Wait to Play in 2020
  32. Road to VR’s 2019 Game of the Year Awards
  33. In February, Apple TV+’s Mythic Quest is the next “game devs on TV” show
  34. Video: Crafting the unsettling sounds of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
  35. Blog: Pillars of playability – Exploring dynamic difficulty
  36. Blog: The mighty MMM concept in hyper-casual game design
  37. Blog: Engaging level design for combat – Part 3
  38. Blog: Why Epic’s attempt to go fee-free on Google Play is bad news
  39. Blog: Procedural texturing for hand-painted stylized character pipelines
  40. Blog: Improving resource harvesting in real-time strategy games
  41. Video Game Deep Cuts: 2019’s Best Best Best Best & Other Animals
  42. Death Stranding, Control and next-gen teases among industry’s 2019 highlights: We asked publishers, platform holders, developers and more for their favourite moments and games of the year
  43. Games of the Year 2019: The Outer Worlds – Obsidian Entertainment’s RPG showed what the studio can achieve with the time and space to express its talent
  44. Games of the Year 2019: Eastshade – Stopping a moment to paint the Bloomsacs. Then another moment. Then so many more
  45. 4 events that shook up the game industry in 2019
  46. What we can learn from…The Future – 2019 in Review: Department of Play’s Will Luton on the trends technologies and that will disrupt the games business over the next decade
  47. Mobile’s fast risers of 2019 could be leaders in 2020: Call of Duty and Mario Kart fell away in November, according to Sensor Tower, while Playrix’ Township and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle were ascendant
  48. 38 reasons why 2019 was not all bad: From charitable acts to crank-powered consoles, we round-up the best things to happen in the games industry over the past 12 months
  49. Best of 2019: Level design patterns in 2D games
  50. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: Katherine Cross’ Top 5 Games
  51. Ars Technica’s best games of 2019
  52. Console makers lay out their 2020 visions | Opinion: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all have very different ideas of where the console market is going in 2020 and beyond – and it’s even possible that they’re all correct
  53. U.S. Patent no. 10,265,627: Virtual reality simulation of a live-action sequence
  54. U.S. Patent no. 10,272,335: Systems and methods of serving video for remote play

Jon

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News of the Week; December 18, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 23, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. People who are given correct information still misremember it to fit their own beliefs: “What we have had in lieu of a well-informed citizenry is what might be termed a  myth – the myth of the attentive public.”
  2. Can fact-checkers save Taiwan from a flood of Chinese fake news?
  3. Change to Chinese university’s charter dropping ‘freedom of thought’ stirs debate
  4. Chinese students denounce limits on free speech, in a rare protest
  5. Iran Accelerates Longstanding Quest To Cut Itself Off From The Internet
  6. Nevada’s Top Court Says The State’s Journalist Shield Law Also Applies To Bloggers
  7. Maryland Disclosure Requirements for Online Political Ads Violates the First Amendment–Washington Post v. McManus (Eric Goldman)
  8. Breach of Contract/Promissory Estoppel Claims Bypass Section 230 But Fail Anyways—Yue v. Miao (Eric Goldman)
  9. AG William Barr Attacks Section 230… Even Though It Doesn’t Hinder The DOJ At All
  10. Engineer says Google fired her for browser pop-up about worker rights
  11. This 3D-printed Stanford bunny also holds the data for its own reproduction
  12. Russian media group Rambler attempting to hold Nginx hostage
  13. Facebook fails to convince lawmakers it needs to track your location at all times
  14. Twitter and Facebook Want to Shift Power to Users. Or Do They?: A decentralized internet was hailed as a way to dethrone Twitter and Facebook. But to the tech giants, the idea could unload some of their burdens.
  15. Hungary Has Fined Facebook For ‘Misleading Consumers’ Because It Promoted Its Service As ‘Free’
  16. FTC may block Facebook from integrating messaging apps, per WSJ report
  17. Regulator weighs action against Facebook over plans to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger
  18. Instagram to start warning users before they post ‘potentially offensive’ captions: The AI-powered feature came to comments earlier this year
  19. Instagram Launches AI Tool That Warns Users Before They Post Potentially Offensive Captions
  20. Instagram now lets you upload multiple photos on one Story post with ‘layout’ feature: A third-party tool brought inside
  21. Instagram Won’t Pull These Racist, Violent, Russian-Inspired Accounts: Neo-Confederates are posting racist memes – and reusing material from Kremlin trolls. But Instagram says the accounts don’t violate its rules.
  22. Sons Of Confederate Veterans Sued Over Bogus DMCA Takedown
  23. NC, Or Not NC: Why Suing The Sons Of Confederate Veterans In N.D.Cal For Violating The DMCA Makes Sense
  24. Bing’s Top Search Results Contain an Alarming Amount of Disinformation
  25. Are you sharing too much about your kids online? Probably
  26. Lumen Presents Comments to the Third Meeting of the Stakeholder Dialogue on Art. 17 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market in Brussels
  27. Shedding light on fraudulent takedown notices: Berkman Klein Center’s Lumen database helps bring attention to falsified court orders
  28. Beware your automatic email footer!
  29. Where’d You Get Your Tech? New Rules May Allow the U.S. Government to Unwind Your Latest IT Purchase
  30. Samsung chair imprisoned and 24 others found guilty in union-busting case
  31. Netflix docuseries Broken highlights prevalence of counterfeit cosmetics products on online marketplaces
  32. Another ex-Google employee accuses company of union busting: A fifth fired worker attests company let her go for coding internal notification about workers’ rights
  33. Trump administration says employers can ban organizing via company email
  34. Rather Than Radicalize, YouTube’s Algorithm Brings Viewers Toward “Mainstream” Content, CEO Says
  35. Robert Downey Jr.’s Long-Awaited YouTube Original To Drop Dec. 18
  36. Susanne Daniels, Robert Kyncl Talk Pros And Cons Of YouTube’s Switch To Ad-Supported Originals
  37. Billboard 200 to Include Official Video Plays From YouTube, Streaming Services
  38. These Are The 10 Most-Viewed YouTube Ads Of The Year
  39. Ryan Kaji Is Reportedly YouTube’s Top-Earning Creator This Year, Raking In $26 Million
  40. For The First Time, YouTube Consumption Will Inform The ‘Billboard 200’ Albums Chart
  41. YouTube Music gets Spotify-like personalized playlists
  42. Apple’s new Screen Time Communication Limits are easily beaten with a bug
  43. iPhones and iPads finally get key-based protection against account takeovers
  44. Mac Pro teardown finds a largely traditional desktop inside
  45. Apple Filed A Silly, Questionable DMCA Notice On A Tweeted iPhone Encryption Key… Before Backing Down
  46. Bogus DMCA Notices Still A Huge Problem As Apple Gets Unfairly Blamed For Reddit Takedown
  47. Abbott Laboratories Sends Heavy-Handed Copyright Threat To Shut Down Diabetes Community Tool For Accessing Blood-Sugar Data
  48. Copyright Trolls Go Mostly Silent In US Federal Courts
  49. Yup, Strike 3 Is Going The Prenda Route By Filing ‘Pure Discovery’ Suits In FL State Court
  50. Spotify debuts a new original podcast that looks back on the last decade in music
  51. Spotify prototypes Tastebuds to revive social music discovery
  52. Sponsorship: good faith and measuring the value of influencers
  53. Tana Mongeau, Jake Paul Land Linear MTV Series ‘Bustedness’
  54. Snap Dropping Complex-Produced Doc About Incarcerated Rapper Tekashi69
  55. Deji Olatunji Appealing U.K. Court’s Decision To Euthanize His Dog After “Nasty” Attack
  56. Bretman Rock Lands ‘No Filter’ Digital Reality Series At MTV
  57. Streamys Bestows ‘Premiere’ Awards To Ninja, JoJo Siwa Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Flagship Ceremony
  58. Here Are Your 2019 Streamy Awards Winners
  59. NLRB Restores Employers’ Right to Restrict Employees’ Personal Use of Company Email and Other IT Resources
  60. Be Careful What You Wish For: TikTok Tries To Stop Bullying On Its Platforms… By Suppressing Those It Thought Might Get Bullied
  61. Parents Sue TikTok for COPPA Violations, Settle for $1.1M
  62. VidCon 2020 Goes All In On TikTok With Featured Creators Andre Swilley, ThunThun Skittles, More
  63. VidCon Makes Middle Eastern Foray In 5-Year Deal With Abu Dhabi Tourism Department
  64. TikTok Inks Deal With WWE For 30 New Wrestler Accounts, Entrance Music Licensing
  65. Amazon bans third-party merchants from shipping with FedEx
  66. Some junk for sale on Amazon is very literally garbage, report finds
  67. Amazon Prime Reportedly Lands Rihanna Documentary For A Cool $25 Million
  68. Amazon and Google Are Practically Giving Away Smart Speakers. Here’s Why.
  69. Hulu debuts a new type of ad that will reward binge-watchers
  70. Large tech merger provides an early opportunity to test the fitness of the competition regime in 2020
  71. What’s App? – End of Year Round-up on mHealth App Developments
  72. Trust, Decentralization, and The Blockchain
  73. Exhume dead cryptocurrency exec who owes us $250 million, creditors demand
  74. This alleged Bitcoin scam looked a lot like a pyramid scheme
  75. Controversial sale of .org domain manager faces review at ICANN
  76. The idiot’s guide to why you should not steal a domain name at gun point
  77. This “essential piece of computing history” just sold for $43,750
  78. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 36: The Year in Canadian Digital Law and Policy (Michael Geist)

A.I.

  1. A sobering message about the future at AI’s biggest party
  2. I created my own deepfake—it took two weeks and cost $552
  3. Owning Intelligence: The United States Patent and Trademark Office is trying to answer a very complicated question: who owns artificial intelligence?
  4. Does AI generated work give rise to a copyright claim?
  5. Deep Learning breakthrough made by Rice University scientists
  6. Rigid machines meet human creativity: Advising on data strategies

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. The CRTC Imposes New Obligation on Telecommunications Service Providers to Combat Nuisance Calls
  2. Mozilla, Consumer Groups Petition For Rehearing of Net Neutrality Case
  3. FCC’s “illogical” claim that broadband isn’t telecommunications faces appeal
  4. Bernie’s Broadband Plan Gives A Big Green Light To Community Broadband 
  5. CRTC Enforces CASL in Case of Malware Distribution 
  6. CASL Enforcement Action – $115,000 in Penalties for Distributing Malware
  7. Netflix Data Suggests Streaming Giant Spending One-Third of Canadian Revenues on Film and TV Production in Canada (Michael Geist)
  8. Tax Policy Confusion: What Digital Taxes are on the Canadian Government’s Agenda? (Michael Geist)
  9. New communications law research platform will strengthen policymaking: Analyzing millions of pages of legal documents, new tools will simplify legal data for the public
  10. AT&T Said Trump Tax Cuts Would Create Thousands Of Jobs. Instead, AT&T’s Laying Off Thousands.
  11. AT&T doesn’t want you to see its slow Internet speed-test results 
  12. The FCC Helped AT&T Hide Its Crappy Broadband Speeds 
  13. FCC Proposes Fines of Over $600,000 to Two Boston-Area Pirate Radio Operators 
  14. Cheaters Never Prosper: FCC Proposes $10MM Fine On Man Who Used His Business Rival’s Phone Number on Spoofed Robocalls
  15. TCPA Legislative Update — After Much Negotiation, House Passes Consensus Robocall Legislation; Senate Vote Imminent
  16. Constitutional Challenges to TCPA: What’s Next?
  17. TCPA Regulatory Update — FCC Wakes from TCPA Hibernation with Orders Granting Two Petitions
  18. FCC Admonishes and Cites ISPs for Failure to Comply with the Transparency Rule
  19. FCC Seeks Comment on Cable Service Change Notifications 
  20. FCC Seeks Comment on Establishing 988 Suicide Crisis Hotline 
  21. FCC Announces Deadlines for the Next Auction for New FM Channels – And a Filing Freeze 
  22. FCC Adopts Changes to Rules for New Noncommercial FM and LPFM Stations – Changing Application Processing Procedures and Holding Periods
  23. No-fiber zone: FCC funds 25Mbps, data-capped satellite in rural areas
  24. 5G deployment stands ready to supercharge the Internet of Things 
  25. 5G Phones Will Be Bigger & More Expensive With Crappy Battery Life. Excited Yet? 
  26. Commerce Department Takes Steps To Thwart Use of Information and Communications Technology and Services Associated With Foreign Adversaries 
  27. What now for UK telecoms regulation? 
  28. The Access Act: Can Data Portability Increase Online Platform Competition? 
  29. €2.6bn for the Irish National Broadband Plan Approved by the European Commission
  30. 988 will be the new 911 for suicide prevention—by sometime in 2021 

PRIVACY

  1. Avast CEO Downplays Collection Of 400 Million Users’ Browsing Data
  2. Guess What? Many Cookie Banners Ignore Your Wishes, So Max Schrems Goes On The GDPR Attack Again
  3. Recent Developments on Cookies – a Pan-European Overview
  4. Chrome’s data disaster: Browser update wipes out Android app data
  5. Chrome 79 will continuously scan your passwords against public data breaches
  6. Building trust as a foundation for a growth mindset around data
  7. Nebula VPN routes between hosts privately, flexibly, and efficiently
  8. Feds reap data from 1,500 phones in largest reported reverse-location warrant
  9. Michael Hayden Ran The NSA And CIA: Now Warns That Encryption Backdoors Will Harm American Security & Tech Leadership
  10. Florida Appeals Court Says Govt’s Lack Of Good Faith Can’t Save A 2012 Warrantless Stingray Deployment
  11. Inspector General’s Report On Investigation Of Trump Campaign Finds More FISA-Related Abuse By The FBI
  12. FISA Court Benchslaps FBI For Its Abuse Of The FISA Warrant Process During The Trump Campaign Investigation
  13. Hackers steal data for 15 million patients, then sell it back to lab that lost it
  14. LifeLabs pays ransom after cyberattack exposes information of 15 million customers in B.C. and Ontario
  15. What is the IAB’s CCPA Compliance Framework for “Do not sell my personal information?”
  16. The CCPA is Only Two Weeks Away and Only 6% Of Companies Have Deployed a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” Link
  17. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) – You are not California Dreamin’!
  18. Resetting the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)…with 2 Weeks To Go! (Part 1 of 3) (Eric Goldman)
  19. Some Lessons Learned from the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), 18 Months In (Part 2 of 3) (Eric Goldman)
  20. Eric Goldman’s Comments to the California DOJ Draft Regulations for the Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) (Part 3 of 3) (Eric Goldman)
  21. EDPB Publishes Guidelines on the Right to Be Forgotten in Search Engine Cases
  22. Purple Communications, Inc. Overruled: Employees have no presumptive statutory right to use employer equipment, including email systems, under the NLRA
  23. Privacy Peril: Is Your Smart TV Too Smart?
  24. Wave of Ring surveillance camera hacks tied to podcast, report finds
  25. Online Forum Members Exploited Weak Credentials To Turn Ring Cameras Against Their Owners
  26. Privacy Tip #219 – Holiday Shopping Tip for Internet-Connected Gifts
  27. A new draft code of practice for consumer IoT devices – hardening IoT supply chains
  28. Evaluating Risks in the IoT Supply Chain
  29. The IOT is Here and so is the Regulation
  30. Upload – 2019 Data Protection update

CREATIVITY

  1. Objections Filed re Access Copyright Proposed Post-Secondary Tariff for 2021-2023 and Update re 2011-2017
  2. Why Are Members Of Congress Telling A Private Organization Not To Comment On Copyright Law?
  3. Free-riding on reputation of LOUIS VUITTON mark
  4. Pepsi Scores Dismissal Of Copyright Dispute Over Super Bowl Ad
  5. Arsenal’s Mesut Özil Slams Uighur Repression and China Pulls Premier League Game: The move puts Beijing in conflict with a second major global sports league
  6. Hallmark Apologizes for Pulling Commercials That Show Brides Kissing
  7. Does Elon Musk’s Defamation Defense Verdict Spell “Open Season” for Social Media Insults? Answer: Nope.
  8. Robyn Openshaw, ‘The Green Smoothie Girl,’ Threatening SLAPP Suits Over Mediocre Reviews
  9. Tennessee Doctor Decides He Wants To Take The State’s Anti-SLAPP Law For A Spin, Files Bogus Defamation Lawsuit Over A Negative Review
  10. No, Filing A Defamation Lawsuit Is Never The Only Way You Can Clear Your Name
  11. Teespring Takes Down Our Copying Is Not Theft Gear, Refuses To Say Why
  12. Why Intermediary Liability Protections Matter: Our ‘Copying Is Not Theft’ T-Shirt May Be Collateral Damage To A Bad Court Ruling
  13. Delhi High Court Rules That Making A Copy Of The Film Is Not Only Restricted To Making A Physical Copy Of The Film But It Also Includes A Substantial And Fundamental Reproduction Of The Original
  14. US government is entitled to all Snowden book proceeds, judge rules
  15. Restaurant Association Looks To Take Back Taco Tuesday For The People
  16. Beyond The Taco: Someone Is Now Trying To Trademark ‘Breakfast Burrito’
  17. Copyright in designs: G-Stars in their Eyes
  18. University of Phoenix Settles FTC Deceptive Advertising Law Allegations
  19. Intellectual Property Rights and the Employer-Employee Relationship: A Canadian Law Q&A
  20. At Oral Argument Justices Consider Copyright Protection for Legal Annotations
  21. European Copyright: Memes, GIFs, and Other Images on the Internet

GAMES

  1. Russia’s Rambler Group suing Twitch for $2.8 billion: Internet giant takes takes legal action against streaming service in the region over pirated football broadcasts
  2. Twitch facing $2.9 billion lawsuit over broadcast of pirated soccer streams
  3. Nreal files motion to dismiss Magic Leap copycat suit
  4. Company fined nearly $100k for publishing unapproved game in China: Chinese law allows companies to be fined between 5 and 10 times their revenue for unlicensed titles
  5. Dangen chief Judd steps down following harassment, mismanagement allegations
  6. Ben Judd departs Dangen, DDM amid accusations of harassment, bad business: Sources allege Judd mishandled communications and payments, publicly exposed himself, upheld harmful power dynamic
  7. Bethesda adds John Romero Sigil mod to Doom console ports: Publisher recognises unofficial sequel alongside other free community mods
  8. Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s next console, launching holiday 2020
  9. Xbox’s next-gen Project Scarlett revealed as Xbox Series X
  10. The Xbox Series X will support backwards compatibility at launch
  11. The next Xbox has a name and a new design: Behold, 2020’s Xbox Series X
  12. Microsoft returning to simpler “Xbox” branding for next gen hardware: Xbox Series X is not the brand, Microsoft says, and name will allow “room for additional consoles in the future”
  13. Nintendo Switch outsells Xbox One worldwide
  14. Developing Switch-first eases the porting process, says Axiom Verge dev
  15. Sony launching DualShock 4 rear button attachment: Plug-in peripheral will let players map actions to two new buttons on the back of the controller
  16. Apple Arcade introduces a cheaper annual subscription option
  17. Apple Arcade rolls out $50 yearly subscription option
  18. Apple Arcade now has a cut-price annual payment tier: New subscription option gives a year’s access for the price of ten individual months
  19. Atari details revenue splits, engine partnerships ahead of Atari VCS 2020 launch
  20. Atari offers 88% of revenue to exclusive VCS games: Non-exclusive games will get an 80/20 revenue split from sales through the VCS store
  21. Gameloft teams up with Blacknut for new cloud gaming service
  22. Why new consoles probably won’t be enough to save GameStop
  23. Mortal Kombat 11 will soon bring cross-console ‘Krossplay’ into the fray
  24. Mario has the most fans in the US, but Call of Duty ranks higher for most people: Over 44% of Americans are fans of Nintendo’s mascot, but 26% put Activision’s shooter in their Top Five
  25. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare narrowly beats Star Wars ahead of UK Christmas chart – There are nine Mario-related games in the Top 40
  26. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has topped $1 billion in sell-through revenue
  27. FIFA 20 is still at the top of the EMEAA charts: EA’s latest entry returns to No.1 for the sixth week since its launch
  28. Mobile games made 15 times more revenue than entertainment apps in a single year: Liftoff report on app industry shows games leading the way in downloads, in-app revenue and number of new releases
  29. Survey finds parents getting stricter on kids’ in-game spending: ISFE finds parents more likely than last year to have an agreement with children regulating purchases or to forbid children from in-game spending entirely
  30. Undead Labs setting up new studio, game development academy in New Orleans
  31. Warcraft III: Reforged will release on January 28, not in 2019
  32. Rainbow Six Siege switches core team: Leroy Athanassoff to lead new group as Xavier Marquis and Alexandre Remy move on to new projects at Ubisoft
  33. Animoca Brands buys Power Rangers: Legacy Wars developer nWay
  34. Animoca Brands acquires Power Rangers developer nWay: Studio behind mobile fighting game Legacy Wars purchased for $7.69 million
  35. Brawl Stars brought in $422m in its first year: Sensor Tower – Supercell’s multiplayer arena brought in $94m in South Korea alone
  36. Final Fantasy XIV Online has passed 18 million registered players
  37. Wargaming finally branching beyond World of Tanks with UK studio’s new IP: CEO Victor Kislyi and UK studio director Sean Decker discuss how the publisher’s newest team aims to conquer the West
  38. Zynga opens new UK mobile studio to expand racing game portfolio
  39. Zynga starts a new racing game studio in United Kingdom
  40. Analyst: Clash of Clans claimed the most consumer spend of any mobile game this decade
  41. Riot Forge is publishing two new League of Legends games
  42. Dobre Brothers Launch ‘Dobre Dunk’ Mobile Game With BroadbandTV
  43. Just 15% of Shroud’s US audience followed him to Mixer: Shroud’s US audience on Mixer is one-third of what it was on Twitch
  44. Game.tv raises $25 million to bring esports to Discord, Twitter, and Facebook
  45. Esports platform Game.tv secures $25 million in funding: Also launches AI-driven platform via Discord and web app
  46. EA, Respawn announce Apex Legends Global Series: $3m at stake in the game’s first international, multi-tournament esports program
  47. League of Legends World Championship 2019 was the most-watched LoL esports event ever: The Finals reached an average minute audience of 21.8m, and 44m peak concurrent viewers
  48. Local split-screen has been added to Fortnite on the PS4 and Xbox One
  49. PewDiePie Quits Twitter Over Amount Of “Virtue Signaling,” Says He’ll Take A Break From YouTube In 2020
  50. Playable Gothic prototype will let fans decide direction of possible remake
  51. High Fidelity lays off half of studio in pivot away from VR
  52. High Fidelity lays off half of staff, pulls plug on open-source VR platform: Company cuts headcount for second time this year, says it is refocusing on new project early in development
  53. Boneworks review: An absolute VR mess—yet somehow momentous
  54. Blog: Analyzing the pitfalls of the Virtual Boy
  55. N3twork acquires Funko Pop! Blitz: The game, along with several key developers, picked up from defunct NBCUniversal gaming arm
  56. Why the creator of Kerbal Space Program is returning to the troposphere: After leaving Squad, Felipe Falanghe has created his own two-person studio to make Balsa Model Flight Simulator
  57. How ArenaNet is rewriting the narrative for its narrative writers: Novera King and Bobby Stein discuss the studio’s first run of a narrative writing mentorship program — and its next iteration
  58. A QA breakdown of The Outer Worlds’ elusive companion killing bug
  59. Watch the lead dev of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition break down the game’s rebirth
  60. Blog: Building a fantasy VR world in Unity
  61. Blog: Practical tools for game designers
  62. Video: Designing efficient, effective branching narratives for games
  63. Video: To make 1997’s Blade Runner, Westwood first had to create the universe
  64. Video: Inside the UX of onboarding and player engagement 
  65. Case Study: A ‘peek’ at Golf Peaks’ multiplatform sales
  66. Industry vet Kate Edwards to be honored with Ambassador Award at 2020 GDCAs!
  67. Kate Edwards to be honored with GDCA’s Ambassador Award: Former IGDA head and current executive director of Global Game Jam to accept award at GDC in March
  68. Naughty Dog to donate all cash from Jak and Daxter re-releases to charity
  69. The 12 biggest announcements from The Game Awards 2019
  70. Sekiro claims GOTY, but Disco Elysium leads The Game Awards winners
  71. The Game Awards: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice takes game of the year
  72. The Game Awards reached 7.5m concurrent viewers: Total livestreams of the event were up 73% from last year to 45.2m
  73. People of the Year 2019: From charity pioneers and environmental movements to legendary designers and AAA studios, our choices reflect the depth and breadth of the modern games industry
  74. Epic’s exclusivity push leads to ugliness – 2019 in Review: How consumer grumbling over Steam’s newest competition snowballed into outright abuse
  75. People of the Year 2019: Respawn Entertainment – Starting with Apex Legends and finishing with Jedi Fallen Order, in 2019 Respawn became EA’s single most important studio
  76. Analyst: Clash of Clans claimed the most consumer spend of any mobile game this decade
  77. Subway Surfers is the top mobile game of the decade by downloads: Clash of Clans was No.1 in consumer spend from 2010 to 2019
  78. The 50 best games of 2019
  79. Games of the Year 2019: Sea of Thieves – Rare’s pirate adventure offered an object lesson in how service-based games can get better and better with age
  80. Games of the Year 2019: Untitled Goose Game: Is the goose horrible, or is it me?
  81. Games of the Year 2019: Heaven’s Vault – Inkle delivers a deep adventure where everything from the world’s history to individual puzzles is open to interpretation
  82. Games of the Year 2019: Divinity: Original Sin II – The Switch version of Larian’s latest captures the feel of pen-and-paper role-playing in ones and zeroes
  83. Games of the Year 2019: Super Mario Maker 2 – Nintendo delivered the sequel Super Mario Maker deserved this year and finally learnt to trust its community
  84. Best of 2019: Designing the gameplay and aesthetic of Diablo IV
  85. Best of 2019: Former Fortnite UX lead digs into ethical game design
  86. Gamasutra’s Best of 2019: Alex Wawro’s top 5 games
  87. Video Game Deep Cuts: (More Of) The Best Games Of 2019 
  88. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Games of the Year 2019 – Download the latest episode now to find out which games have most impressed the editorial team this year
  89. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2019: Find out this year’s global games market value, biggest games on social media, speediest digital discounts and more
  90. U.S. Patent no. 10,265,621: Tracking specific gestures related to user movement

Jon

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News of the Week; December 11, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 22, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. American WeChat Users Getting Banned For Celebrating Hong Kong Election Results
  2. TikTok settles children’s data lawsuit one day after it was filed
  3. The USA is investigating social media app TikTok – what does this mean for social media platforms & transparency?
  4. TikTok CEO Cancels Capitol Hill Meetings Amid Investigation Into Chinese Surveillance, Censorship
  5. TikTok Wraps 2019 With First-Ever Top 10 Lists Of Creators, Videos, Memes
  6. TikTok’s Parent Company Piloting Spotify Competitor ‘Resso’ In Emerging Markets
  7. Russia Blocks All Of Shutterstock Due To ‘Offensive’ Image Involving The Russian Flag
  8. Russian ‘Evil Corp’ Was Behind a Decade of Hacks, U.S. Says
  9. Kingpin of Evil Corp lived large. Now there’s a $5 million bounty on his head
  10. FTC Slaps Cambridge Analytica With An Order Barring The Already Defunct Company From Illegally Collecting Data Ever Again
  11. DHS Sued Over First Amendment-Trampling Social Media Vetting Program
  12. Critics say Facebook’s powerful ad tools may imperil democracy. But politicians love them.
  13. Trolling The Trademark Troll: Lemonade CEO Releases Chrome Extension To Remove Magenta From Websites
  14. Senate Judiciary committee interrogates Apple, Facebook about crypto
  15. Who’s Spreading Disinformation in U.K. Election? You Might Be Surprised
  16. Social media platforms leave 95% of reported fake accounts up, study finds: Fake accounts are easy to buy and make, and platforms are bad at yanking them.
  17. Twelfth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Retana v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
  18. The Subtweet Defense Wins: Elon Musk Cleared In Defamation Case
  19. Jury sides with Elon Musk in “pedo guy” defamation case
  20. Lawyer Asks Racists To Use Sketchy Millions They Got From UNC To Fund Scholarships For Black Students To Avoid Lawsuit For Bogus Takedown
  21. 3D printing can keep aging Air Force aircraft flying
  22. DOL’s $400M pay-discrimination suit is unconstitutional, Oracle argues
  23. Pinning Copyright Violations on Pinterest
  24. Digital Entrepreneur To Serve 14 Years For Criminal Plot To Wrest Domain Name
  25. Failed plot to steal domain name at gunpoint brings 14-year prison term
  26. ADA Website Compliance: It’s back to the trial court for Domino’s Pizza
  27. Verizon To Lay Off 150 More Employees From ‘Media’ Division
  28. Verizon lays off more Yahoo/AOL employees after another drop in revenue
  29. Verizon Media Pacts With Advisory Chair Serena Williams On Branded ‘Yahoo Shopping’ Series
  30. Verizon reportedly blocks archivists from Yahoo Groups days before deletion
  31. Verizon Is Undermining Efforts To Archive Yahoo Groups…For No Coherent Reason
  32. Sledgehammer or scalpel? EU policy makers and industry debate digital regulation
  33. Europe’s bid to re-nationalise tech
  34. Alibaba and the forty infringers: IP enforcement with China’s biggest online marketplace
  35. France, As Promised, Is First Out Of The Gate With Its Awful Copyright Directive Law: Ignores Requirements For User Protections
  36. Sony Music Entertainment v. Cox Communications: Summary judgment for copyright holders, finding that ISP had specific knowledge of copyright infringement by subscribers on its networks and was contributorily liable.
  37. Revolving Door Revolves Some More: Head Of Copyright Office Leaves To Join MPAA
  38. Why Won’t Creative Future’s Members Comment About This Hollywood Front Group Smearing A Well Respected Law Professor?
  39. Disney’s Decision Not To Renew SecuROM License Bricks ‘Tron: Evolution’
  40. Disney+ Has Gotten 22 Million App Downloads In One Month (Report)
  41. Netflix To Develop Limited Series About The Birth Of Spotify
  42. Netflix Orders Limited Series Chronicling Origins Of Fellow Streamer Spotify
  43. Hulu is finally offering 4K and 5.1 audio on Roku devices
  44. Instagram Will Ask New Users For Birthdays
  45. Instagram Is Finally Asking New Users If They’re Over 13, But Will That Protect It From COPPA?
  46. Mraz Sues Festival Sponsor Over Use of Footage
  47. Building a More Honest Internet: What would social media look like if it served the public interest? (Ethan Zuckerman)
  48. The memefication of knowledge (Andres Guadamuz)
  49. Netflix And Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’ Brought 17 Million TV Viewers In First 5 Days
  50. Netflix Is Spending $420 Million on Indian Content, CEO Says
  51. Platforms, publishers, and the end of scale
  52. Fewer than 10% of Americans are buying $1,000 smartphones, report says
  53. Apple to speak at CES for first time in decades
  54. Digital Kids’ Content Company ‘Moonbug’ Launches VOD Channel On Apple TV
  55. Devin Nunes’ Virginia SLAPP Suits Causing Virginia Legislators To Consider A New Anti-SLAPP Law
  56. Amazon: Trump used “improper pressure” to block AWS from DOD cloud contract
  57. Amazon Secures Live Champions League Rights In Germany
  58. Amazon Creates a Cost-Effective and Efficient Patent Infringement Remedy for Infringing Products Sold on its Marketplace by Third Parties
  59. Ex-Governor Tries To Silence A Critic With A Bar Complaint; Gains Critic 70,000+ New Twitter Followers
  60. Twitter is funding research into a decentralized version of its platform: The outside research team will be called Bluesky
  61. Twitter Unveils New ‘Retweets’ Account To Fete User Community
  62. Twitter Makes A Bet On Protocols Over Platforms
  63. Snapchat Cameos edit your face into videos
  64. It Doesn’t Take A Genius To Recognize How Dumb Genius’ Lawsuit Against Google Is Over ‘Stolen’ Lyrics
  65. New YouTube policy tries to ban “implied” threats, “malicious” insults
  66. YouTube Asks The FTC To Give Creators Clearer COPPA Guidelines Ahead Of Jan. 1 Enforcement
  67. YouTube asks the FTC to clarify how video creators should comply with COPPA ruling
  68. YouTube’s Revamped Harassment Policy Will Remove Videos With Insults Based On Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation
  69. Michelle Obama, Liza Koshy, Julia Roberts Venture To Vietnam For YouTube Learning Original
  70. YouTube Treads Safe Approach To This Year’s ‘Rewind’, With Series Of Data-Driven Lists
  71. Shane Dawson, MrBeast, James Charles, Jeffree Star In YouTube’s Top Trending Videos Of 2019 Amid More Rewind Lists
  72. Michelle Khare Debuts ‘YouTube Rewind 2019: The Musical,’ Chronicling Creator Community’s Successes And Scandals
  73. Streamys Announces Host-Less Ceremony In Lieu Of ‘Collaborators’ Brandon Rogers, Mark Rober, Emma Chamberlain, Hannah Stocking, And More
  74. Hyperlinks killed the radio star: High Court of England and Wales “Tunes In” to the radio streaming debate
  75. BuzzFeed Loses 3 More Creators, Who Have Exited To Launch Indie Studio ‘Watcher’
  76. BroadbandTV Reorganizes Music Services Under ‘Opposition’ Division
  77. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 35: Allen Mendelsohn on Canada’s Copyright Site Blocking Saga (Michael Geist)
  78. Hosted copyrights – are you bound by the EU directive?
  79. Canadian Copyright 2.0: A look back at the 2019 statutory review recommendations for guidance on the future of copyright reform in Canada
  80. OSC Orders Approval of Prospectus for Canada’s First Bitcoin Investment Fund
  81. Patenting Blockchain Technologies
  82. Electronic signatures – progress, but don’t throw away your pen
  83. Australia remains closed for business on computer implemented business method patents
  84. Insights: Seven Social Media Trends That Point To A Vexing 2020 For Creators, Brands

A.I.

  1. Biased Algorithms Are Easier to Fix Than Biased People: Racial discrimination by algorithms or by people is harmful — but that’s where the similarities end.
  2. Addressing indirect discrimination and gender stereotypes in AI virtual personal assistants: the role of international human rights law (Rachel Adams & Nora Ni Loideáin)
  3. Who Owns an AI-generated Invention?
  4. Does the FTC’s Recent Influencer Guidance Address Robots?
  5. Best of 2019: How GoldenEye 007 set a new standard for video game AI
  6. Video: The alchemy and science of machine learning for games
  7. The case for artificial intelligence: 2020 will be the year for broad AI adoption in Canada, argues Sean Lynch
  8. Bringing a balance of arms to communications policy making: CIPPIC and vLex deploy expert knowledge and artificial intelligence to improve the ability of Canadian citizens to make a difference.
  9. Public opinion lessons for AI regulation
  10. Biased Algorithms Are Easier to Fix Than Biased People
  11. How Deepfakes Scramble Our Sense of True and False
  12. Emotion-sensing robot launches to assist space station astronauts
  13. Chatbots – Trends, Predictions and Five Key Legal Issues
  14. An intersection of technology and life sciences: The impact of big data and social media 
  15. The “Ghost Workers” Underpinning the World’s Artificial Intelligence Systems: Ron Orol speaks with Mary Gray, author of a book on the unseen labour that powers the internet 
  16. Competing in an AI-driven world 
  17. AI and healthcare
  18. Cloudy with a chance of neurons: The tools that make neural networks work

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Court of Appeals Finds Maryland Law Imposing Political Disclosure Obligations on Online Platforms to be Unconstitutional – Finding Different Treatment of Broadcasters is Justified
  2. Tucker Carlson and the Russification of the GOP
  3. Fox News Is Now a Threat to National Security: The network’s furthering of lies from foreign adversaries and flagrant disregard for the truth have gotten downright dangerous.
  4. Bernie Sanders vows to break up huge ISPs and regulate broadband prices
  5. Study Says US Ranked 68th Out Of 100 In Mobile Video Quality
  6. As Trial Begins, Evidence Shows Sprint, T-Mobile Know Merger Will Raise Prices
  7. AT&T raises DirecTV prices again despite losing millions of customers
  8. AT&T Says The Real Problem With The Internet Is We Pay Too Much Attention To Giant ISPs
  9. Lawsuit forces CenturyLink to stop charging “Internet Cost Recovery Fee”
  10. Huawei sues FCC to stop ban on Huawei gear in US-funded networks
  11. FCC proposes new rules and spectrum reallocation that could change the future of auto safety communications – agency seeks comments and input
  12. Another Day, Another Telecom Giant Caught Taking Taxpayer Subsidies They Didn’t Deserve 
  13. Franken FMs – The FCC Asks if It Should Continue to Allow Channel 6 LPTV Stations to Operate as FM Broadcasters
  14. FCC Issues New Radio Frequency Safety Rules, Seeks Comment on Additional Measures
  15. FCC Grants Waivers of Geocoded Location Data Deadline 
  16. FCC Plans Major Overhaul of Suspension and Debarment Rules for its USF, TRS, and Other Funding Programs
  17. FCC Issues New Radio Frequency Safety Rules, Seeks Comment on Additional Measures 
  18. FCC Rules That Unsolicited Ads Sent to Online Fax Services are not Prohibited 
  19. New York Enacts New Telemarketing Law 
  20. 5G Spectrum Auctions in Kinstellar Jurisdictions
  21. Can 5G replace everybody’s home broadband?
  22. Google Fiber ends $50, 100Mbps plan, but 1Gbps is still $70 with no data cap 
  23. CIPPIC and Legal Tech Firm vLex Partnering on LFO-Funded and AI-Fueled Communications Policy Analysis Project 

PRIVACY

  1. The Afghanistan Papers v. The Pentagon Papers: How A Whistleblower Worked Much Better Than Endless FOIA Litigation
  2. Foreign Companies Can Use 28 U.S.C. § 1782 to Unmask Anonymous Internet Posters
  3. Colorado Appeals Court: Three Months Of Surveillance Via Pole-Mounted Camera Is Unconstitutional
  4. California Supreme Court Closes Warrantless Vehicle Search Loophole
  5. Another Federal Court Says Compelled Production Of Fingerprints To Unlock A Phone Doesn’t Violate The Constitution
  6. NYPD Finally Releases A Body Camera Policy That Gives The Department Plenty Of Ways To Withhold Footage
  7. The FBI Says Your TV Is Probably Spying On You
  8. DOJ Headed By William Barr Asked To Explain Warrantless Bulk Data Collection William Barr Authorized 27 Years Ago When He Was The Head Of The DOJ
  9. Do cookie banners receive different acceptance rates on desktops and on smartphones?
  10. Does the placement of a cookie banner impact user acceptance rate?
  11. Do cookie banners receive different acceptance rates depending upon how many choices are provided to website visitors?
  12. Getting Cookie Consent Right
  13. EDPB Finalizes Guidance on GDPR Applicability Outside EU
  14. The Fate Of EU Legislation Designed To Bolster Data Protection Beyond The GDPR, The ePrivacy Regulation, Hangs In The Balance
  15. Framing a Federal Privacy Standard: Congressional Efforts Continue
  16. Intel’s SGX coughs up crypto keys when scientists tweak CPU voltage
  17. Defense Department To Congress: ‘No, Wait, Encryption Is Actually Good; Don’t Break It’
  18. Keybase moves to stop onslaught of spammers on encrypted message platform
  19. Newly discovered Mac malware uses “fileless” technique to remain stealthy
  20. Louisiana State Government Systems Down Following Ryuk Ransomware Attack
  21. Pensacola confirms ransomware attack but provides few details
  22. Maze ransomware was behind Pensacola “cyber event,” Florida officials say
  23. Fund Managers Targeted in Sophisticated Cyberattacks
  24. The iPhone 11’s U1 chip necessitates constant geolocation checks, Apple says
  25. Cops Offered Deeper Discounts On Ring Cameras Depending On How Much Of The Neighborhood The Cameras Would Surveil
  26. Uploaded Ring footage reportedly provides location to the square inch

CREATIVITY

  1. Taking Value out of the Copyright Tariff Process: The Copyright Board’s Access Copyright Post-Secondary Tariff Decision (Michael Geist)
  2. Making the Best of a Bad Provision: Why Canada Should Work Toward a Copyright Term Extension Registration Requirement (Michael Geist)
  3. Ad Agency Loses Copyright Infringement Attack on Pepsi
  4. Ben and Jerry’s Hit With Two Sticky Suits
  5. Last Christmas – Copyright and sound recordings
  6. Marvin Gaye Family Not Done With Pharrell Just Yet: Bring Him Back To Court Claiming Perjury
  7. The £90,000 banana – Why is it so appealing to the art market?
  8. Questions Raised Over Marketing Restrictions on Olympic Athletes
  9. Bias Disguised as Neutrality Gives Rise to False Advertising Claims
  10. Spate of FDA and FTC Warning Letters Sets Stage for Wave of False Advertising Consumer Class Action Lawsuits
  11. Smells Like Infringement: Court’s Refusal to Dismiss Copyright and Trademark Claims Makes Nirvana Smile
  12. Standing Up for Stand-Up Comedy: Joke Theft and the Relevance of Copyright Law and Social Norms in the Social Media Age (Hannah Pham)
  13. Watch: The Law of Advertising
  14. Judge Orders Man Who Violated Recording Ban To Publish An Essay About Respecting The Court AND To Delete All Negative Comments From Readers

GAMES

  1. German regulator prompts Valve crackdown on Steam Nazis: Valve pledges to better train moderators after media agency finds dozens of banned symbols, slogans, anti-Semitism
  2. Epic Games files preemptive lawsuit against Dancing Pumpkin Man: Fortnite developer responds to cease and desist letter with a lawsuit
  3. Epic Games Store implements in-game purchases for third-parties: Developers who use their own payment tools will not share revenue with Epic on in-game transactions
  4. Epic Games Store policy change expands in-game payment options for devs 
  5. Indies hit with takedowns over trademarked ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ term
  6. Chooseco Chooses An Adventure In Bullying Indie Game Devs Over Trademark
  7. Ex-Razer employees accuse CEO of abusive behavior: Former employees say Min-Liang Tan yelled, threw objects, made threats, demanded unreasonable overtime, and was verbally abusive
  8. Latest Rocket League update replaces loot boxes with an item store
  9. Chucklefish apologizes after casting white voice actors for non-white characters
  10. Chucklefish apologizes for Wargroove’s whitewashed voice casting: Developer says it made decision based only on audio files, pledges to be more sensitive in the future
  11. Federal Communications Commission Rules Require Communications in Video Games to Be Accessible and Usable
  12. 2K opens new in-house studio to work on BioShock franchise
  13. 2K opens Cloud Chamber to build “another unforgettable BioShock experience”: We speak to the publisher’s first female studio head Kelley Gilmore about continuing Ken Levine’s acclaimed franchise
  14. Nintendo Switch faces an uphill slog in China | Opinion: China is a country with little interest in consoles, so success for the Switch will require building a whole market segment from nothing
  15. Nintendo Switch sold estimated 50k units in China on launch day: Niko Partners – Console on track to reach 100k units in the country by the end of 2019
  16. Nintendo stock rises following Switch launch in China: Share price up 2.9%, reaching highest intraday level since May 2018
  17. Nintendo Indie World showcase talks exclusives, sequels, and 2020 lineup
  18. Sony will bring MLB: The Show to rival console platforms ‘as early as 2021’
  19. Sony’s MLB The Show will be released on rival consoles: No new platforms confirmed for baseball series, but both Nintendo and Microsoft have shared the news
  20. Sony pulls PS4 Lineup video after accusations of plagiarism: Video showcase appeared to directly copy animation styles from multiple other properties
  21. Resident Evil 2 remake has passed 5 million sales
  22. Resident Evil 3 remake headlines a handful of PS4 announcements
  23. Sony announces plan to publish PlayStation games on non-PS consoles [updated]
  24. PS4 finally gets Minecraft cross-platform play with Bedrock Edition – Sony overcomes worries about “safety risk” a year and a half after all other platforms connected
  25. Minecraft update brings cross-platform play to PlayStation 4
  26. Minecraft beats Fortnite and GTA as YouTube’s most-watched game of 2019
  27. Choose Your Own Adventure publisher cracks down on Itch.io devs: Chooseco issues trademark infringements to four developers
  28. Starbreeze exits reconstruction, looks toward continued Payday development
  29. Payday 2 won’t see parity on consoles and PC, future Switch updates ‘unlikely’
  30. Starbreeze completes reconstruction process after 12 months: It’s been a “toilsome journey” says CEO Mikael Nermak
  31. Layoffs as mobile developer Gameloft closes UK office
  32. Gameloft UK shuts down: Seven staff affected as mobile giant ditches British presence
  33. Avakin Life dev Lockwood Publishing closes Leamington Spa studio: All four members of staff declined opportunity to move to growing Nottingham studio
  34. The dawn of streaming requires contract revisions: Beiten Burkhardt’s Dr Andreas Lober explains why developers and publishers should check their contracts as services like Google Stadia emerge
  35. Some Stadia games cost more than their downloadable counterparts
  36. E3 without the lines: System Shock, other games to get 48-hour Steam demos
  37. Important Updates to Google Play Developer Policies
  38. Google refuses to budge on Play Store fees after Epic asks for Fortnite exemption
  39. Kongregate acquires mobile and browser battle royale shooter Surviv.io
  40. Kongregate acquires browser and mobile 2D battle royale Surviv.io: This marks the publisher’s second acquisition this year, more planned to come
  41. Playrix acquires Eipix Entertainment: Homescapes creator enters Serbian market to create more free-to-play mobile games
  42. Voodoo acquires mobile dev Gumbug
  43. Voodoo acquires Gumbug: Mobile publisher picks up London-based developer of Smash Supreme and Notorious 99
  44. Wildlife Studios raises $60m, now valued at $1.3b: Benchmark leads funding for Sao Paulo studio to grow mobile reach
  45. Tatsuya Minami reportedly starts new, Capcom-backed studio M-Two Inc: Former PlatinumGames president’s Osaka-based team said to be contributing to Resident Evil 3
  46. NetEase launches its own cloud gaming platform in beta: Service currently supports 38 games on mobile, but testers are waiting in long queue times to play
  47. 12 years later, players somehow keep Team Fortress 2 alive on the PS3
  48. The modders who spent 15 years fixing Knights of the Old Republic 2: From missing planets to missing romance options, players are restoring a classic.
  49. FIFA 20 returns to No.1 on EMEAA charts for fifth week since launch: No new major releases and holiday sales kept momentum for Pokemon, Star Wars
  50. UK Charts: No new releases means Mario Kart 8 Deluxe races back to No.3 – Nintendo racer boosted by new Switch bundle, FIFA and COD still top
  51. Sales down 25 percent at close of GameStop’s third quarter 
  52. GameStop Q3 global sales down again, expected full-year decline in the high-teens: Collectible sales was once again the only segment that showed any year-over-year growth
  53. GameStop plans to wind down Nordic presence, close more stores to cut costs
  54. GameStop winding down operations in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden: 140 stores globally have been closed already this year, 250 to 300 total closures planned by end of 2019
  55. GameStop CEO: Financial struggles are a console issue, not a GameStop issue – George Sherman says industry headwinds are “having an outsized impact on our business”
  56. Black Friday saw US mobile game spending hit nearly $70m: Sensor Tower Marvel Contest of Champions led record single day sales for mobile in the US
  57. Call of Duty Mobile made almost $87m in its first two months: Sensor Tower reports Activision’s smartphone shooter has been downloaded 172 million times
  58. Resident Evil 2 remake surpasses five million sales: Franchise lifetime sales at 94 million
  59. Review aggregator site GameRankings is shutting down
  60. GameRankings to close down after 20 years: Site will go offline on December 9
  61. Rental kiosk Redbox is giving up on video game rentals
  62. Redbox will no longer rent video games: Games will still be sold through the end of the year before it goes movies-only
  63. CD Projekt Red ending Gwent console support to focus on PC and mobile
  64. Mobile developer Wildlife Studios nets $60 million in funding
  65. GAME’s Belong esports division opens 100-seat venue in London: Oxford Street location will be the home of the London Lionhearts esports team
  66. PatronGG secures $1m for esports engagement app Kokyo: Bitkraft leads funding to continue its string of esports investments
  67. Pole to Win opens product development unit: Orange Rock Studios will also contain Orange Rock Esports division
  68. Canada a hub for booming esports industry, says lawyer
  69. TV Academy Unveils First Emmy Category for Esports
  70. The Emmys Adds First Category For Esports, Recognizing Outstanding Journalism
  71. Riot teams up with Louis Vuitton for League of Legends clothing
  72. Riot Games opens publishing label for League of Legends games from other devs 
  73. Amid Flurry Of Departures, Twitch Locks Down DrLupo, LIRIK, TimTheTatman In Exclusive Deals
  74. Twitch signs three exclusivity deals with major streamers: Video platform responds to Ninja and Shroud departure with own deals
  75. Twitch just locked down top streamers DrLupo, TimTheTatman, and Lirik: According to the e-sports consultant Rod Breslau, the deals are potentially worth millions
  76. Skybound Entertainment to make TV series based on DrDisrespect: Scripted, narrative series to focus on origins of popular, contentious Twitch streamer Guy Beahm’s character
  77. Pokemon Go developer Niantic raised $100,000 for STEM programs in 2019
  78. Niantic releases 2019 social impact report: Pokémon Go dev has raised $100,000 for STEM programs, hosted 90,000 players at charity events and picked up 20 elephants’ worth of trash
  79. Niantic and Qualcomm collaborating on augmented reality glasses: Multi-year partnership will see Pokémon Go developer working on hardware and software for new AR platform
  80. ‘Apollo 11 VR’ Studio to Launch ‘Shuttle Commander’ Next Week on PSVR
  81. Fast Travel CEO navigates VR’s speed bumps: With two new VR titles launching in quick succession, Oskar Burman talks about how far the market has come and where it can improve
  82. Oculus is rolling out controller-free hand tracking for the Quest this week
  83. Surprise! Oculus Quest becomes first VR set with native hand tracking—this week
  84. Oculus Quest Hand-tracking Starts Rolling Out This Week, Developer SDK Next Week
  85. Report: Magic Leap laid off ‘dozens’ following slow sales of its debut AR headset
  86. Magic Leap launches upgraded headset, reportedly lays off dozens: Company said to have planned to sell over 100k Magic Leaps in first year, only sold 6k in six months
  87. Niantic and Qualcomm join forces to create new AR glasses
  88. Adobe acquires 3D VR sculpting tool Medium from Facebook
  89. Behind the ingenious audio design of action RPG classic Diablo II
  90. How MechWarrior’s return took me back to the early ‘90s mall in my mind
  91. Brenda Romero breaks down Empire of Sin’s complex relationship system
  92. BioShock will return, but without Ken Levine
  93. Halo Reach on PC is the customizable combat we’ve been wanting—but just barely
  94. How Angry Birds broke the limits for mobile games: Marking the original game’s ten-year anniversary, we take a look at the impact the series had on the industry and the resilience of Rovio
  95. How God of War converted a non-believer – Why I Love: Double Eleven’s Matt Dunthorne says the 2018 revamp turned him from uninterested onlooker into full-on fanboy
  96. Bethesda updating Doom 1, 2 to include select mods like John Romero’s Sigil
  97. Bethesda suspends The Elder Scrolls Legends development
  98. Betheda has halted development on The Elder Scrolls: Legends
  99. Elder Scrolls Legends development “on hold for the foreseeable future”: Bethesda no longer making new content for fantasy card battler, but will continue support with monthly rewards and regular events
  100. Minecraft is most popular game on YouTube in 2019 with 100bn views: Controversial YouTuber Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg drives popularity of Minecraft as Fortnite settles
  101. People of the Year 2019: Sam Barlow: We speak to the Telling Lies director about showcasing the true potential of interactive narrative in video games
  102. Rockstar and Nintendo fill top five in Metacritic’s Games of the 2010s: Mario Galaxy 2, Breath of the Wild, Red Dead 2, GTA V and Mario Odyssey all had 97 average ratings
  103. IndieBI: Superhot Team’s biz dev platform that helps indies stay indie – Business developer Tomas Kaczmarczyk on why good business intelligence benefits the whole industry
  104. Kalypso opens third internal studio to work on ‘next-gen’ Commandos title
  105. Kalypso opening third German studio: New team will work on next-gen Commandos title from the greater Frankfurt area
  106. Report: iDreamSky in talks to acquire Leyou Technologies for $1.4 billion 
  107. iDreamSky in talks to buy Leyou: Mobile publisher would get controlling interest in fellow Chinese outfit with stakes in Digital Extremes, Splash Damage, SNK Playmore
  108. Imgur Launches New ‘Melee’ App Where Users Can Host, Discover Gaming Memes
  109. Staying Alive: How some indies are setting their studios up for survival
  110. Blog: How Ghost Recon Breakpoint broke the rules of player intel
  111. Blog: How do bullets work in video games?
  112. Blog: Building a procedurally generated Hearthstone
  113. Blog: Five books to help you better understand player behavior
  114. Blog: Sharing accessible narratives through environmental design
  115. Blog: Emotional context in decision design
  116. Blog: Turning a negative Steam review into a positive
  117. Blog: Getting your big break as a game composer (2020 edition)
  118. Watch Russ Bullock break down the dev process for MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries
  119. Video: How women-in-games initiatives make a difference
  120. Video: How Eve Online addressed exploit abuse with customer care
  121. Best of 2019: Designing Baba is You’s delightfully innovative rule-writing system
  122. Best of 2019: Dissecting the development of Dwarf Fortress with creator Tarn Adams
  123. Best of 2019: Designing Baba is You’s delightfully innovative rule-writing system
  124. Best of 2019: Exploring the secret depths of Bubble Bobble’s design
  125. People of the Year 2019: Yu Suzuki – Shenmue III came out 18 years after its predecessor and picked up exactly where it left off
  126. People of the Year 2019: Media Molecule – The full version of Dreams will launch on February 14 — and Media Molecule spent 2019 paving the way for its success
  127. People of the Year 2019: Hermen Hulst – Guerrilla Games’ former MD on the journey from Killzone to Horizon Zero Dawn, and his next challenge as PlayStation’s head of Worldwide Studios
  128. The Year of PR Disasters – 2019 in Review: Industry figures and companies said or did ridiculous, inappropriate, and outright harmful things… and got away with it
  129. The state of PC gaming in 2019.
  130. Video Game Deep Cuts: PlayStation’s 25th, Top Games Of 2019
  131. Industry-backed campaign encourages gamers to vote: Gamechanger Giveaway offers prizes in effort to increase voter turnout
  132. Steam to host demos for The Game Awards digital spin-off event The Game Festival
  133. Mourning the end of the video game rental era
  134. A nebbishy bank teller discovers he’s trapped in a video game in Free Guy

Jon

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News of the Week; December 4, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 11, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. China Uses DNA to Map Faces, With Help From the West: Beijing’s pursuit of control over a Muslim ethnic group pushes the rules of science and raises questions about consent.
  2. Ukraine condemns Apple for calling Crimea part of Russia in its apps
  3. Apple ‘looking at how it handles borders’ after Crimea map controversy
  4. Apple ‘taking a deeper look’ at map policies after calling Crimea part of Russia
  5. Apple ‘looking at how it handles borders’ after Crimea map controversy
  6. When politi-fact veers into politi-fiction, broadcast and internet advertising rules diverge sharply
  7. As Devin Nunes Threatens More SLAPP Suits, He May Have To Explain Why Cows Can Type In His First SLAPP Suit
  8. Devin Nunes Follows Through And Sues CNN In Laughably Dumb SLAPP Suit
  9. Tony Robbins Crosses The Atlantic For Some Libel Tourism In Ireland; Files SLAPP Suit Against Buzzfeed
  10. Human rights standards apply to online sellers on sites such as Kijiji, says N.L. Human Rights case­­­­­­­­­­­­
  11. Copyright Troll Threatens Criminal Charges In Germany Against Domain Registrar
  12. Warner Music and Sony Music win copyright case against internet music radio service TuneIn
  13. Capitol Records v ReDigi appeal decision
  14. TekSavvy Appeals Canada’s First Site-Blocking Order
  15. Canadian ISP Teksavvy Fights Back Against Overbroad Copyright ‘Blocking Order’ For GoldTV
  16. A Tale of Two Copyright Decisions: Canada’s Federal Court Issues First Site-Blocking Order & Denies Certification of Reverse Class Action Test Case
  17. Justices debate allowing state law to be “hidden behind a pay wall”
  18. Copyright Clash to Receive Supreme Treatment
  19. The US’s reaction to France’s DST
  20. Notifying Twitter of TOS Violations Isn’t Tortious Interference–Illoominate v. CAIR (Eric Goldman)
  21. Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible: That Time Twitter Nazis Got A Reporter Barred From Twitter Over Some Jokes
  22. Online harmful content: the race to regulate
  23. Bipartisan Bill Seeks to Increase Internet Transparency and Consumer Control Over Content
  24. Microsoft shareholders reject call for gender pay gap report: Additional proposal to report on employee representation on board of directors also dismissed
  25. Twitter introduces a Privacy Center to keep users informed: Its new privacy policies go into effect January 1st.
  26. Intimidation or Free Speech: Are Trump’s Tweets Witness Tampering?
  27. Study Says Russian Trolls Didn’t Have Much Influence On Election; But It’s More Complicated Than That
  28. Assessing the Russian Internet Research Agency’s impact on the political attitudes and behaviors of American Twitter users in late 2017
  29. Facebook Now Altering Users’ Posts To Add Singapore Government’s ‘Fake News’ Warnings
  30. Facebook updates crisis response tools, adds WhatsApp integration
  31. UNC Gave Racists $2.5 Million To Settle A Lawsuit That Hadn’t Been Filed Yet, And The Racists Are Abusing The DMCA To Hide The Details
  32. Amazon Faces Widening U.S. Antitrust Scrutiny in Cloud Business
  33. Intellectual Property Alert: Amazon Creates a Cost-Effective and Efficient Patent Infringement Remedy for Infringing Products Sold on its Marketplace by Third Parties
  34. CreateSpace Isn’t Liable for Publishing Allegedly Infringing Uploaded Book–King v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
  35. Copyright, State Sovereignty, and Pirates: Some Thoughts on Oral Argument in Allen v. Cooper
  36. This free tool maps propaganda and misinformation as it goes viral
  37. The Baby Yoda gif debacle exposes the messy world of meme law: Gifs from The Mandalorian went viral on social media. But then they disappeared
  38. Why Baby Yoda Unequivocally, Unfortunately Rules (Column): The breakout star of ‘The Mandalorian’ is impossibly cute for a reason.
  39. TikTok Moderators Were Told To Suppress Videos Made By Marginalized Users Because They Might Be Bullied
  40. TikTok Apologizes After Banning A Teen Whose Video About Muslims In China Went Viral
  41. TikTok’s parent company sued for collecting data on kids: Everything’s coming up COPPA
  42. CJEU: Courts may Order Host Providers to Take Down Illegal Content
  43. Instagram finally launches 13+ age checkups
  44. Quibi Picks Up Kendall Jenner-Produced Series Based On Parody Instagram Account
  45. Insta-Famous Lil Bub, A Special Needs Cat Known For Her Altruism, Has Passed Away At Age 8
  46. Insights: ‘Tis The Season For Instagram Sponsored Posts, But Perhaps ‘Tis Too Much?
  47. Sundar Pichai becomes CEO of Alphabet and Google, as Larry Page steps down
  48. Facebook’s new tool lets you transfer pictures to Google Photos: Available worldwide in first half of 2020
  49. Fired Google employees accuse company of union-busting: Group will take grievances to National Labor Relations Board “as a first step”
  50. Google workers fired amid organization efforts file retaliation complaint
  51. Certiorari Granted in Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc.
  52. Google attempts to protect users from sketchy stem cell clinics
  53. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin step back from executive roles: Sundar Pichai to assume role as CEO of both Google and Alphabet, founders will remain on board
  54. YouTube says viewers are spending less time watching conspiracy videos. But many still do.
  55. YouTube Says Watch-Time On ‘Borderline’ Content By Non-Subscribers Has Dropped 70% This Year
  56. YouTube Has Removed At Least 300 Donald Trump Campaign Ads Since 2016
  57. YouTube Says Creators Could See Subscriptions Drop As It Purges Shuttered Accounts
  58. Olivia Jade Returns To YouTube Nine Months After College Admissions Scandal
  59. YouTubers Attempt Levitation In BBC Original ‘The Edge Of Science’
  60. Netflix And YouTube’s Share Of Daily Viewership To Drop As Field Grows (Study)
  61. How To Make A ‘Heist’: Markiplier’s Interactive Special Is A Whole New Kind Of Content For YouTube
  62. TYT Launches 24-Hour Channel On Xfinity X1, As Election Coverage Looms
  63. BBTV Signs Five Creators, Including Purposeful Prankster ThatWasEpic, Rapper-Skater Roy Purdy
  64. FTC Releases Disclosure Manual for Social Media Influencers
  65. Retailer Reminder: FTC Releases Guidance for Social Media Influencers
  66. Collab Asia, A Spin-Off Of The U.S.-Based Influencer Network, Raises $7.5 Million Series B
  67. Updated Advice and Practical Tips from the FTC for Social Media Influencers and the Companies that Hire Them
  68. Content Changes Challenge YouTube Creators; FTC to the Rescue
  69. The FTC Issues a New Disclosure Guide for Influencers
  70. Spotify offers half-price annual subscription in India
  71. Online shopping on Thanksgiving hit $4.2B, up 14.5% on 2018, 45% of sales via mobile
  72. Black Friday shoppers spent more in stores, broke records online over the weekend
  73. Never mind the naysayers: Emoji are a vital part of online communication
  74. ICANN report wipes the smile off emoji domains
  75. Blockchain Basics: Global Regulations
  76. Developer faces prison time for giving blockchain talk in North Korea
  77. Blockchain and the Financial Industry
  78. The Future of Stablecoins—Anything But Stable?
  79. Lawyer ‘monopoly’ hampers consumer access to legal tech, says former AG Chris Bentley
  80. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 34: The Fight to Save the Dot-Org (Michael Geist)
  81. Honouring Ian Kerr’s Legacy: University of Ottawa Launches the Kerr Fellows Program (Michael Geist)
  82. Half an operating system: The triumph and tragedy of OS/2
  83. Geo-blocking or global take-down
  84. What You Should Know before Launching a Website or App
  85. Tech Regulation Series: The End of Permissionless Innovation?
  86. Ambush Marketing in the Digital Age
  87. Cross-Border Supplies of Intangible Services, Digital Content and Rights: Global VAT Guide – Fourth edition – November 2019
  88. Launch of .ευ
  89. Brexit from another angle: Domain names and donkeys
  90. Competition Law and the Digital Economy in Canada

A.I.

  1. Senators want answers about algorithms that provide black patients less healthcare
  2. To stop a tech apocalypse we need ethics and the arts
  3. How neural networks work—and why they’ve become a big business
  4. Life Under the Algorithm: How a relentless speedup is reshaping the working class
  5. Quantum computing’s also-rans and their fatal flaws 
  6. The Rise of Artificial Intelligence Will Usher Changes to Patent Law
  7. Patents – When artificial intelligence authors the invention
  8. Designing strategically intelligent AI in Halo Wars 2
  9. AI Innovators Should Be Listening to Kids: Input from the next generation is crucial when it comes to navigating the challenges of new technologies. (Urs Gasser)
  10. Robots Are Taking Over (the Rental Screening Process): Landlords are using artificial intelligence to vet prospective renters
  11. What should newsrooms do about deepfakes? These three things, for starters: Researchers argue the dangers of deepfakes are overblown, but require journalists to give thought to how they handle unconfirmed information. 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Canada’s New Internet Code
  2. Huawei funds $56M in academic research in Canada. That has some experts concerned
  3. Huawei is now shipping smartphones with zero US components
  4. Current “Whole of Government” Approach to Perceived National Security Risks from Chinese Technology Reflected in the FCC’s Latest Universal Service Fund Order
  5. The True Impact of the Chinese Telecom Ban on Government Contractors
  6. FCC Seeks Comment on All-Digital AM and Radio Non-Duplication NPRM
  7. DOJ Wimps Out On Wireless Sector eSIM Antitrust Investigation
  8. Mobile industry has stifled eSIM—and the DOJ is demanding change
  9. Prison Telecom Monopolies Bring Their ‘Innovation’ To Prison Ebooks
  10. Priority Filing Deadline Set for Tribes’ Access to Spectrum
  11. 5G on the horizon: Here’s what it is and what’s coming
  12. T-Mobile’s ‘Nationwide’ 5G Isn’t Nationwide, Only Slightly Faster Than 4G
  13. T-Mobile touts “nationwide 5G” that fails to cover 130 million Americans
  14. FCC tries to bury finding that Verizon and T-Mobile exaggerated 4G coverage
  15. FCC to Propose National Crisis Hotline, Tackle Mid-Band Spectrum Items at December Meeting
  16. FCC Suspends the Processing of Renewal Applications for the 470-512 MHz Spectrum Band (T-Band)
  17. Vulnerability in fully patched Android phones under active attack by bank thieves
  18. Librem 5 backers have begun receiving their Linux phones
  19. What is a Prerecorded Call for TCPA Purposes?: The Czar and the Baron Speak with the FCC to Push for Clarity on this Critical Issue 
  20. IoT Update: FCC Proposes New Spectrum Plan for Vehicle Safety and Unlicensed Uses
  21. Today’s Hot Topic: News Simulatio
  22. AMFM Act Introduced in Congress to Impose Sound Recording Performance Royalty on Broadcast Stations
  23. Telecoms Law Update – The Right to Survey Clarified by the Court of Appeal 
  24. Court of Appeal confirms that telecoms operators can obtain Code rights to carry out site visits
  25. AT&T says TV losses have peaked after latest loss of 1.3 million customers 

PRIVACY

  1. Cell Phone Searches at the Border: What you need to know
  2. Egyptian Government Plans To Track The Movement Of 10 Million Vehicles With Low-Cost RFID Stickers
  3. New Iranian wiper discovered in attacks on Middle Eastern companies
  4. Cops Are Running Ring Camera Footage Through Their Own Facial Recognition Software Because Who’s Going To Stop Them
  5. Draft Code of Practice: securing the Internet of Things for consumers
  6. IoT patent owners still hold the future in their own hands – but the clock is ticking
  7. HackerOne breach lets outside hacker read customers’ private bug reports
  8. Code Blue: Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities for Medical Device Makers Require Urgent Care
  9. Ring Coyness About Adding Facial Recognition Tech To Its Cameras Doesn’t Extend To Its Marketing Materials
  10. Wireless ISP Starry Says It Will Apply California’s Privacy Requirements Nationwide
  11. Payment card-skimming malware targeting 4 sites found on Heroku cloud platform
  12. The (Extra) Territorial Scope of the GDPR: The Right to Be Forgotten
  13. Revised Guidelines on the Territorial Scope of the GDPR and Local Representatives
  14. The Right to be Forgotten Shoots the Shark
  15. Privacy & Cybersecurity Update: November 2019
  16. EU Cookie Compliance: Getting Ready for 2020
  17. The Digitization of Vehicles: Privacy Concerns
  18. New crypto-cracking record reached, with less help than usual from Moore’s Law

CREATIVITY

  1. Federal Court rejects controversial copyright litigation strategy
  2. Right of publicity in Canada
  3. Artist wins court battle to stop luxury watchmakers from cutting up his painting
  4. Intellectual Property Update – Is there protection in an idea?
  5. Copyright licenses are as easy as a quick few words
  6. New Balance v Liverpool FC
  7. Want To See Pete Davidson Do Standup? There’s An NDA You Have To Sign First…
  8. Musk takes the stand in first day of “pedo guy” trial
  9. Proving bad faith at registration time could be a good ‘Techtrend’
  10. Tenuous Common-Law Trademark Rights Inadequate to Sustain UDRP Complaint
  11. Exhaustion of trademark rights: Barcelona Court of Appeal rules in Schweppes case
  12. Cambridge University repatriate bronze cockerel to Nigeria
  13. Eco-friendly or falsely advertised? Sustainable fashion advertising in Europe: do’s and don’ts
  14. State’s Rejection Of Driver’s ‘IMGOD’ Vanity Plate Unconstitutional, Federal Court Rules
  15. Author Tries To Trademark The Word ‘Dark’ For All Of Literary Fiction

GAMES

  1. Riot Games to pay $10 million in gender discrimination settlement
  2. Riot Games to Pay $10 Million to Settle Gender-Discrimination Lawsuit
  3. Riot Games offers female employees $10 million in settlement
  4. Riot Games to pay out $10m to former employees in gender discrimination settlement: Total will be spread across up to around 1,000 former women employees
  5. Ragnarok files legal complaint against Human Head Studios over Rune II assets
  6. Ex-Human Head devs sued by Rune II publisher: Ragnarok Game accuses defunct studio and its co-founders of fraud, holding game assets hostage
  7. Pausing the Game: Take-Two Seeks to Pause WWE Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
  8. EA removes Marco van Basten from FIFA 20 after Nazi comment: Former Netherlands striker was suspended from working at Fox Sports last month
  9. Are publishers doing enough with their brands? | Opinion: EA hasn’t produced much with the Star Wars brand, and it’s not alone among publishers in the west — it’s high time they took some lessons from Japan
  10. Quantic Dream on the hook for €7,000 for allowing vulgar images to circulate
  11. Quantic Dream to pay former employee €7,000 over offensive photoshopped image: Tribunal found the Detroit Become Human developer guilty of having breached the security obligation it has towards its employees
  12. Overcoming unconscious bias in the games industry: Diversity advocates Cinzia Musio and Leon Killin discuss the dangers of unconscious bias, and how to foster an inclusive studio
  13. Atari VCS enters final stages of pre-production following series of delays: “Atari will always prioritise delivering a high-quality product over a self-imposed deadline,” says Atari VCS COO
  14. Patrice Désilets: Ancestors fell foul of critics’ expectations – “People expected my studio of 35 people to ship a game that is close to Assassin’s Creed — and it’s just not possible”
  15. Campo Santo’s In the Valley of the Gods on hold as team shifts to Valve projects
  16. Firewatch developer’s next game “on hold” after Valve acquisition
  17. A group of senior Ubisoft devs have joined Google’s in-house Stadia studio 
  18. Google hires senior Assassin’s Creed developers to build Stadia games: Three experienced Ubisoft staff join Jade Raymond’s Stadia Games and Entertainment studio
  19. Important Updates to Google Play Developer Policies
  20. Call of Duty Mobile is Google Play’s best game of 2019: Tencent and Activision collaboration won top award as well as users’ choice and best competitive
  21. Report: A cheaper Project Scarlett alternative remains in Xbox’s next gen plans
  22. The next Xbox is in the wild, connecting to current-gen Xbox One players
  23. Xbox One was the UK No.1 games console over Black Friday: It narrowly beat Switch, but Nintendo generated the most revenue from hardware sales
  24. Microsoft’s cheaper, discless next-gen Xbox reportedly still in the works: New report indicates Lockhart still planned as a logical fit with Game Pass, xCloud
  25. Valve Index Backordered Until After Christmas Due to “recent high demand” in Some Regions
  26. Half-Life Alyx changes the game for VR exclusives | Opinion: Never mind the hardware — Valve is dipping deep into its own playbook to become the default storefront for VR software
  27. Why Steam’s discoverability improvements may still mean your game won’t sell
  28. CD Projekt dismisses investor fears over Cyberpunk and Half-Life: Alyx release clash: “That niche is very, very, very — and I could add a few ‘verys’ here — small”
  29. CD Projekt Red will shut down Gwent on consoles: Players will be able to copy accounts to PC, mobile via GOG
  30. ‘Angry Birds Movie 2 VR’ Studio Raises $2M to Continue Development on AR/VR Games
  31. Microsoft Affirms VR Isn’t a Focus for Xbox Scarlett
  32. Phil Spencer: “Nobody’s asking for VR” on Xbox – Xbox boss cites concerns with VR’s form and popularity in strategy around Microsoft’s next console
  33. Xbox boss: We want to deliver a new first-party game ‘every three or four months’
  34. XR Games secures £1.5m investment: Virtual and augmented reality studio looks to grow team and portfolio
  35. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: How unconscious bias is holding back the industry – This week the team discuss the dangers of unconscious bias, the benefits of diversity, and the slow progress of virtual reality
  36. Rocketwerkz CEO shares how and why the studio offers unlimited time off
  37. Dean Hall’s Rocketwerkz offers unlimited annual leave: Most experienced staff get unlimited sick days, and four weeks minimum annual leave with no cap
  38. Super Mario Maker 2 becomes Super Zelda Maker with playable Link
  39. Super Mario Maker 2’s first big update brings new mode, playable Link
  40. Nintendo Switch sees best US sales week ever: Thanksgiving week saw a total of 830k Nintendo Switch and Lite units sold
  41. The Switch sold over 830,000 units during Thanksgiving week alone
  42. Nintendo and Tencent have set a launch date for the Switch in China
  43. Tencent launching Nintendo Switch in China next week: Will cost 2,099 yuan (approx $300), comes with New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe demo and a one-year warranty
  44. Nintendo to launch Switch in China on Dec. 10 priced $300
  45. Nintendo Switch sees best ever week of sales in US as it prepares to enter China
  46. Football Manager 2020 releases at No. 1 in EMEAA charts: Football Manager beats out Q4 big-hitters, but otherwise charts remain steady as holiday season looms
  47. Sea of Thieves is No.4 as Black Friday transforms UK Charts: FIFA 20 is No.1 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare takes No.2
  48. Black Friday weekend digital game spending reached record $4.36b: In-game spending in free-to-play games up 13% YOY as digital interest continues to grow
  49. Shenmue III comes up short in the Japanese chart: Ys Net’s sequel failed to make waves in its home market, with less than 18k sales on PS4
  50. The truth about revenue sharing | Opinion: Revenue sharing has allowed great games to be made, says Unlock Audio’s Elliot Callighan, but it’s also used as a crutch by inexperienced teams
  51. An inside look at one indie dev-publisher relationship (with contract details!)
  52. What will the next UK gaming IPO look like? | Opinion: Liberum’s Andrew Bryant reflects on the flood of floatations in the last two years, and discusses why the next will need to be different
  53. Codemasters acquires Project Cars developer Slightly Mad Studios
  54. Codemasters acquires Project CARS developer Slightly Mad Studios: Racing studio grows to 700 people
  55. Codemasters buys Slightly Mad Studios for $30m: Project CARS studio will join the UK publisher in a deal that could rise by $67m based on three-year earnout clause
  56. Persona 5 has topped 3.2 million sales worldwide
  57. In the Valley of Gods “on hold” indefinitely: Former Campo Santo devs now at Valve have moved to other projects, including Half-Life: Alyx
  58. Pathfinder: Kingmaker dev Owlcat Games raises $1 million to fund new project
  59. Peripheral maker Logitech pledges to become carbon neutral by 2030
  60. YouTube no longer equates video game and real-world violence for age restrictions
  61. YouTube’s new gaming policy will allow creators to produce more violent footage: Advertising concerns are still high on creators’ agendas
  62. YouTube lightens restrictions on violent video game content: Policy update aims to better reflect difference between real-world and simulated violence
  63. YouTube Officially Separates Ad Policies For Video Game And Real-World Violence
  64. Dicebreaker launches news and reviews site to serve thriving tabletop community: Editor-in-chief Matt Jarvis discusses how the games industry can capitalise on the explosive growth of board games
  65. Streaming startup Genvid nets $27 million to expand ‘dev-grade’ broadcasting platform
  66. Twitch introduces new dashboard so more people can create livestreams
  67. ESL reportedly shuts down Spain, France branches, UK is “at risk”: Esports league tells GamesIndustry.biz no offices have closed, but are being restructured
  68. Counter-Strike World Champions Aim for First Esport Team IPO
  69. Astralis Group plans first ever IPO for an esports team: Danish Counter-Strike outfit seeks as much as €20 million from December 9 listing
  70. Esports Laws of the World
  71. Star Citizen hits $250m raised through crowdfunding: Almost 2.5m players have now funded the game, which is closing in on $300m in total investment
  72. Genvid closes $27m Series B round: Interactive streaming tech firm has also opened new offices in Berlin and California
  73. Area28 raises $2.15m for cloud-based development platform: Technology will add “significant value to the game development process” says Alibaba investor
  74. XR Games raises £1.5 million for new projects and staff
  75. Owlcat Games raises $1m for new Pathfinder video game: Gem Capital and My.Games investment arm lead funding for Moscow studio’s second foray into Pathfinder
  76. Persona 5 has sold 3.2m copies worldwide: Latest edition Persona 5 Royal has sold 400,000 copies in Japan, series’ lifestime sales now past 11 million
  77. Meet the young developer turning her severe anxiety into a games career
  78. “Winning and measuring engagement is no longer enough”: Midia’s Karol Severin warns entertainment firms should be measuring positive sentiment in this age of abundance
  79. Over 450 million PlayStation home consoles have been sold in 25 years
  80. PlayStations 1 to 4 have sold more than 450 million systems: Sony touts Guinness record for “best-selling home video game console brand ever”
  81. Don’t Miss: A brief history of PlayStation, from one-time frontman Phil Harrison
  82. The $0 marketing game guide
  83. Blog: Breaking down the Steam sales of Battle Royale Tycoon
  84. Blog: An introduction to wargame design – Part 1
  85. Blog: The perception of fairness in games
  86. Blog: Lessons learned from building a digital board game business
  87. Video: Breathing life into the machines of Horizon Zero Dawn
  88. Video: How Oddworld solved its narrative problems with mind control
  89. Video: A game dev’s guide to designing games with social impact
  90. Best of 2019: The ‘Door Problem’ of combat design
  91. Best of 2019: Downscaling, upscaling, same-scaling – Porting to Switch and under-powered consoles
  92. How “randomizers” are breathing new life into old games
  93. Video Games Without Borders wins UN Refugee Agency’s Innovation Award: Non-profit studio was selected from 259 entries for its mobile game promoting literacy and well-being among Syrian children
  94. Logitech commits to carbon neutrality by 2030: “We want to leave our mark on the future. We know that mark can be positive or negative, depending on the large and small decisions we make every day,” says CEO
  95. People of the Year 2019: Jeffrey Rosen and John Graham – We explore the legacy of Humble Bundle’s co-founders in the first of this year’s series on outstanding contributions to the industry
  96. People of the Year 2019: Remedy Entertainment: The Finnish studio’s bid for independence was about building a more stable future — Control proved it was also about creating the best possible games
  97. People of the Year 2019: SonicFox and Blitzchung – In a year where major industry figures were increasingly reluctant to take stances, two esports pros used their reach to demand change
  98. People of the Year 2019: Playing for the Planet Alliance – Unifying against climate change is the first of many steps the games industry must take
  99. The state of Xbox One in 2019.
  100. The state of the PlayStation 4 in 2019.
  101. The state of the Nintendo Switch in 2019.
  102. EA donating $500,000 to Team Trees: Donation, in the name of new Plants Vs Zombies game, will see half a million trees planted by January 1, 2020
  103. Apple has named the best iOS games of 2019
  104. Sky Children of the Light and Hyper Light Drifter among Apple’s Games of the Year: Meanwhile, Mario Kart Tour and Minecraft top most downloaded charts and The Gardens Between honoured in Apple Design Awards
  105. Google Play names Call of Duty: Mobile as best Android game of 2019
  106. Did “Fewer, Bigger, Better” actually work? – 10 Years Ago This Month: Major publishers have been narrowing their release slates for years, but has it produced the intended results?
  107. The Game Theorists’ Star-Studded Stream Raises $1.3 Million — And Counting — For St. Jude
  108. E3 media study shows declining media attendance, coverage: ESA says over 3,700 members of the media attended E3 in 2019
  109. U.S. Patent no. 10,258,880: Dynamic selection of voice quality over a wireless system
  110. U.S. Patent no. 10,258,882: Recording companion

Jon

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News of the Week; November 27, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Surprised about Mark Zuckerberg’s secret meeting with Trump? Don’t be
  2. Facebook and Twitter data was exposed to developers through app store bug
  3. Facebook is building an Instagram-style Close Friends feature: ‘Favorites’ sorts your actual friends from your Facebook acquaintances
  4. Instagram Campaign Use Grows — But What Could The Removal Of Likes Mean For Creators?
  5. Instagram’s @bitch Isn’t Your Typical Social Video Aggregator. It Actually Credits Content Creators And Licenses Their Work.
  6. Singapore Government Tests Out Its Fake News Law Against An Opposition Party Leader
  7. TikTok issues public apology for suspending the account of the teen behind the viral Chinese takedown video disguised as a makeup tutorial
  8. YouTube Is Still Struggling To Label Videos From State-Controlled Outlets
  9. Germany’s CDU, Angela Merkel’s Party Of Fuddy-Duddies, Decides To Join The Cool Kids: Backs Open Standards, Open Source, Open Data, Open APIs — Open Everything
  10. Google fires four employees at center of worker organization efforts
  11. Google Photos rolls out manual face tagging: Tutorial, benefits, and a big asterisk
  12. Google bans microtargeting and “false claims” in political ads: Google’s new policy, like Twitter’s, is a shot across Facebook’s bow.
  13. Google Permits Sports Betting Advertisements
  14. Google Updates Its Political Advertising Policies
  15. Supreme Court to Weigh in on Google-Oracle Copyright Dispute
  16. A seismic cert – what to watch out for following the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Google v Oracle
  17. Copyright Troll Mathew Higbee Demands ~$1,000 For Image Only His Team Viewed
  18. Indiana manipulated report on Amazon worker’s death to lure HQ2, investigation says
  19. State ignored worker death to lure Amazon business, report says
  20. Amazon: Cops Can Get Recordings From Ring, Keep Them Forever, And Share Them With Whoever They Want
  21. Court Says It’s Not Tortious Interference To Report Your Account Or Ask Twitter To Ban You
  22. Twitter halts plan to remove inactive accounts until it can memorialize dead users: The company apologized for confusion around its plan to remove accounts
  23. Twitter Just Confirmed A Better Way To Secure Your Account
  24. Twitter will remove inactive accounts and free up usernames in December: No exact date for when usernames will be available
  25. When Does a Tweet Fall Afoul of Regulation FD
  26. Photographer Doubles Down On Tweet Copyright Protection
  27. The Sketchy, Sketchy Case Of ICANN Execs And Self-Dealing Regarding The .Org Domain
  28. Love Baby Yoda, you must
  29. People can’t stop sharing Baby Yoda memes (and we don’t want them to)
  30. Baby Yoda GIFs Removed Over Disney Copyright Issues: Leave our precious powerful alien infant alone!
  31. Adorable ‘Baby Yoda’ GIFs return after Giphy mix-up: Disney wasn’t responsible for removing the cute little scamp.
  32. Disney+’s The Mandalorian joins a long list of fake HDR content, analysis finds
  33. Viacom’s Pluto TV Launches 24-Hour AwesomenessTV Channel In The U.K.
  34. Former Devin Nunes’ Aide Uses Nunes’ Lawyer To File SLAPP Suit Against Politico
  35. Alexander Vindman Now Threatens Bogus SLAPP Suit Against Fox News & Laura Ingraham
  36. Google Will No Longer Allow Political Ad Targeting Based On Party Affiliation, Voter Records
  37. Google Assistant can now navigate websites, book movie tickets
  38. Google will pay $1.5 million for the most severe Android exploits
  39. Google is killing Google Cloud Print
  40. Rehearing Briefs in Enigma Software v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
  41. Review Services Aren’t Liable for Removing Business Profiles (and Associated Reviews)–PCS v. HomeAdvisor (Eric Goldman)
  42. More Evidence That Print-on-Demand Vendors May Be Doomed–Greg Young Publishing v. Zazzle (Eric Goldman)
  43. Be careful with your AdWords: The German Federal Court of Justice sets a limit on the use of keywords for online advertising
  44. Content and Conduct: How English Wikipedia Moderates Harmful Speech
  45. Why can’t Internet companies stop awful content? – Opinion: Section 230 already got the balance right.
  46. Sacha Baron Cohen Is Wrong About Social Media, Wrong About Section 230… And Even Wrong About His Own Comedy
  47. Potential Amendments To CDA Section 230 Relating to Immunity Provided To Internet Intermediaries
  48. Despite clear warnings, Europe is out of IP addresses—again
  49. CCPA – Adtech Update
  50. The Impact of Uber Eats, SkipTheDishes, and Other Online Ordering and Delivery Platforms on your Franchise Agreement
  51. Netflix Starts To Harden Its Stance On Password Sharing
  52. Netflix Clinches More K-Dramas In Multiyear Deals With Studio Dragon, JTBC
  53. Netflix cancels its Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival
  54. The Librem 5 has been “shipping” for a month—but not to backers
  55. Bill Nye, Casey Neistat, iJustine Among Guests For Marques Brownlee’s YouTube Original ‘Retro Tech’
  56. YouTube Test Matching “Edgy” Creators And Advertisers Has Resulted In Hundreds Of Thousands In Ad Dollars
  57. YouTube Launches Largest ‘Masthead’ Ad Format On TV Screens Globally
  58. YouTube Powerhouse ‘Bon Appétit’ Launches Linear Channel On Samsung TV Plus
  59. YouTube Millionaires: Sierra Schultzzie Tries It All On In Her Adventurous, Body-Positive Videos
  60. ‘Ryan’s World’ Continues Global Domination With Japanese-Language YouTube Hub
  61. Epidemic Sound, A Music Licensor For Creators, Onboards YouTube, Spotify Vet Kate Vale
  62. Spotify Faces Lawsuit From Indie Music Company Claiming Mistreatment
  63. Just in case you didn’t get the message – Apple issues SEP FRAND statement
  64. Apple and Intel Sue SoftBank-Funded Patent Troll, Claiming Antitrust Violations For Patent Trolling
  65. Apple cancels theatrical premiere of its Oscar hopeful, The Banker
  66. Apple Pulls “The Banker” From Premiere After Sexual Abuse Claims Against Real-Life Subject’s Son
  67. To cut down on bugs, Apple is changing how it develops its software
  68. ‘Rick And Morty’, Adult Swim Drive Social Video Views Amid Show’s Highly-Anticipated Return
  69. Liza Koshy’s Latest Hosting Gig Is A Dance Competition Series For Quibi
  70. Hey influencers! The FTC is talking to you – new guidance from the FTC
  71. FTC Releases Sponsorship Disclosure Guide for Influencers on Social Media
  72. Influencer Disclosure Update 101, Courtesy of the FTC
  73. Influencer Marketing Pioneer ‘Best Fiends’ Taps Joey Graceffa, LaBrant Fam For Latest Launch
  74. How MagicLinks Is Measuring Influencers’ Sales Data To Help Them Know Their Worth
  75. UTA Signs Viral TikTok Star Brittany ‘Kombucha Girl’ Tomlinson (Exclusive)
  76. Insights: College Sports Is About To Unleash An Influencer Deluge
  77. Shane Dawson Concludes Jeffree Star Series With 142 Million Collective Views
  78. Browser Extension ‘Honey’, A Frequent Shane Dawson And MrBeast Sponsor, Acquired For $4 Billion
  79. Donut Media Drives In Creators MatPat, Linus Tech Tips, Gus Johnson, ChrisFix For Kia Challenge Series
  80. Internet radio streams and the communication to the public right in Warner Music & Sony Music v TuneIn Inc.
  81. Spotify’s Plans For Podcast Domination Involve Deals With Ryland Adams, Lele Pons
  82. Spotify Awards to Debut in 2020, Geared to Mexico & Latin America
  83. Spotify Is Launching Its Own Music Awards, Based on Streaming Data
  84. Understanding Regulation of Cookies
  85. Facebook posts that revealed client info bring public reprimand for MA lawyer
  86. WayBack machine, a valid tool to verify a prior version of a web page
  87. Private equity firm buys .org domain months after ICANN lifted price caps
  88. The right T-shirt may increase medical implant’s battery life
  89. Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts
  90. Cryptoassets: UK Jurisdiction Taskforce Publishes Statement
  91. Legal statement on cryptoassets and smart contracts – the breakdown
  92. Blockchain Basics: What GCs Need to Know About the Disruptive Technology
  93. What does the FBI regard as the main cybercrimes? A closer look at the typologies
  94. Voltage v. Salna + ~55,000 – Costs Implications of Dismissal of Reverse Class Action Certification Motion (Howard Knopf)
  95. Website “Blocking Orders” Now Available In Canada
  96. Can Canadian Courts Issue Site-Blocking Orders?
  97. Federal Court Issues Site-Blocking Order for ISPs
  98. Teksavvy Fights Back Against GoldTV Website Blocking Order – Interveners: Start Your Engines (Howard Knopf)
  99. Canadian Copyright Website Blocking Underway As TekSavvy Appeals Federal Court Ruling (Michael Geist)
  100. The Curious Case Of The Bogus CC License On A 3D Scan Of A 3000-Year-Old Bust Of Nefertiti
  101. Rana Foroohar On How Tech Lost Its Way
  102. Kate Klonick On Facebook’s Oversight Board
  103. Digital assets and estate planning
  104. Is it time to turn away from touchscreens in our cars?
  105. Ubuntu 19.10: It’s fast, like “make old hardware feel new” fast

A.I.

  1. NYC wants a chief algorithm officer to counter bias, build transparency
  2. When Innovation Creates: Additional Developments in Artificial Intelligence at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  3. Can artificial intelligence systems patent their inventions?
  4. “The UK Patents Act leaves no doubt that an inventor is a person…”
  5. Sony establishes AI R&D division: New organisation will have offices in Japan, the US and Europe
  6. FaceIt asking players to help train Minerva AI in fairly tackling toxicity: Upcoming Justice update will allow Counter-Strike community to review cases flagged by the machine learning tool
  7. To secure a safer future for AI, we need the benefit of a female perspective
  8. How A.I. Invoice Review Actually Works (Legal Tech Lesson)
  9. How will AI transform the management of Intellectual Property?
  10. Intel Core i9-10980XE—a step forward for AI, a step back for everything else

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Competition Bureau Continues Advocacy on Telecom Competition and Regulation
  2. Cable Execs Now Falsely Claiming Cord Cutting Is Slowing Down
  3. Huawei Files SLAPP Suits In France Against Critics Who Highlighted The Company’s Ties To The Chinese Government
  4. FCC finalizes ban on Huawei and ZTE equipment in Universal Service Fund
  5. FCC Adopts Order Restricting USF Funding on Huawei/ZTE; Possible Future Ban on All Equipment
  6. FCC Proposes Rules Eliminating Outdated Network Unbundling/Resale Requirements
  7. FCC Proposes Rules to Remove Bad Actors from Federally-Funded Programs
  8. Third Circuit Denies Petition for Rehearing of Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes
  9. Empty T-Mobile Promises Convince Texas To Back Off Merger Lawsuit
  10. Robocall Legislation Likely to Move Forward for White House Approval
  11. NAB Seeks Reconsideration of FCC’s Clarification of Issue Advertising Public Disclosure Requirements – Rules Remain in Effect Though Some Clarification Provided
  12. AT&T Exec Insists That No Broadband Company Is Violating Net Neutrality Even Though AT&T Is Absolutely Violating Net Neutrality
  13. At launch, AT&T’s real 5G will only be as fast as its fake 5G
  14. The Washington Post And AT&T Team Up To Over-hype 5G
  15. Verizon’s new 5G coverage maps show just how sparse the network is
  16. DOD joins fight against 5G spectrum proposal, citing risks to GPS
  17. MediaTek and Intel team up to bring 5G networking to laptops and PCs
  18. University of London v Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited [2019] EWCA Civ 2075
  19. Telecoms: Court of Appeal ruling on operator’s right to survey  

PRIVACY

  1. Suspect can’t be compelled to reveal “64-character” password, court rules
  2. Pennsylvania Supreme Court Says Compelled Password Production Violates The Fifth Amendment
  3. California Makes $50 Million Annually Selling Your DMV Data
  4. EU’s High Court Issues Important Opinion on Website Cookie Consent
  5. EU Tells US: Ban Strong Encryption, And Privacy Shield Data Sharing Agreement Could Be At Risk
  6. Senate takes another stab at privacy law with proposed COPRA bill
  7. Law Enforcement Agencies Bumping Up Demands For Uber Customers’ Data
  8. A notorious Iranian hacking crew is targeting industrial control systems
  9. 2.2 Million GateHub and RuneScape Passwords Compromised
  10. Scammers try a new way to steal online shoppers’ payment-card data
  11. Louisiana was hit by Ryuk, triggering another c
  12. IIROC introduces mandatory cyber breach reporting
  13. FedEx securities class action following the NotPetya cyberattack – implications for D&O insurance
  14. Preparing for the California Consumer Privacy Act
  15. States Set to Regulate the Internet of Things (IoT)
  16. GDPR Privacy FAQs: Which supervisory authorities have released guidance on compliance with European cookie laws?
  17. GDPR Privacy FAQs: What are the major differences between the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance on cookies and the CNIL’s guidance on cookies?
  18. GDPR Privacy FAQs: Can organizations use “terms and conditions” consent to gain consent to the deployment of cookies?
  19. IP and data protection for fintech businesses in United Kingdom
  20. Increased Ransomware Attacks Affecting All Industries
  21. Hacker’s paradise: Louisiana’s ransomware disaster far from over
  22. Senator Cantwell Releases Another Federal Privacy Law That Won’t Go Anywhere And Doesn’t Deal With Actual Issues
  23. Governments Are Feeding on Facebook Data: Report Shows Recent Rise in Official Requests for User Information

CREATIVITY

  1. Lawyer With Neo-Nazi Ties Loses Defamation Lawsuit Against SPLC For Calling Him A Neo-Nazi
  2. This Week In Free Speech Hypocrites: ‘Free Speech’ Supporter Sheila Gunn Reid Gleefully Sues Someone For Calling Her A Neo-Nazi
  3. Three Media Corporations Avoid Defamation Liability in Suit Brought by Joseph Arpaio
  4. Supreme Court allows climate scientist’s defamation case to proceed
  5. Australian Attorney General Wants To Make The Country’s Defamation Law Even Worse
  6. The Federal Circuit’s Determination That Administrative Patent Judges are Unconstitutionally Appointed
  7. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 33: “Canadian Patenting is Not Going to Drive Anything” – Aidan Hollis on New Research on Patents and Innovation (Michael Geist)(
  8. Banksy – showing “use” of his trademark or attempting to avoid evidential requirements of copyright law?
  9. Nirvana Smiling as Motion to Dismiss Its Copyright and Trademark Claims is Denied
  10. Beer Trademarks At Record High In UK As The Locking Up Of Language Continues To Boom
  11. Nirvana, LLC v. Marc Jacobs International, LLC
  12. Betty, Inc. v. PepsiCo, Inc.: District dismisses ad agency’s copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit accusing PepsiCo of copying concepts from rejected pitch for 2016 Super Bowl commercial.
  13. Court of Appeal summarises law of joint authorship – Kogan v Martin
  14. Transfer of “Know-How” includes Copyrights
  15. The End Of Ownership, Military Edition: Even The US Military Can’t Fix Its Own Equipment Without Right To Repair Laws

GAMES

  1. Blizzard and NetEase win Overwatch copyright lawsuit in China
  2. Patent Infringement Suit Over Apex Legends and Anthem
  3. The Pokemon Company is suing unknown parties over Sword and Shield leaks
  4. The Pokemon Company sues Pokemon Sword and Shield leakers: Unknown US individuals sought for posting early, unreleased images of new Pokemon on Discord, 4chan
  5. What happens if loot box regulation passes into UK law? | Opinion: Reed Smith’s Emily Daniels and Hunter Thomson offer tips on how to stay ahead of any future legal restrictions
  6. Man Spends $1.4 Million On Game Character, Which His Friend Then Accidentally Sold For Only $552
  7. EA: “Cloud gaming is going to bring in another billion players” – CTO Ken Moss on EA’s huge investment in AI, cloud streaming and tech
  8. EA/Origin Rewards Adopters Of Extra Security By Scaring Them
  9. Analyst: Men more likely than women to buy games based on reviews
  10. Brass Lion Entertainment and the critical business of diversity: Manveer Heir, Bryna Dabby Smith, and Rashad Redic on why their focus on diverse games is both a business decision and a human one
  11. Google responds to claims it misled consumers over Stadia launch performance
  12. Google addresses complaints of sub-4K image quality on Stadia
  13. Google Stadia’s Claims For Streaming In 4K Seem… No, Just No
  14. Stadia access codes have now reached Founder’s Edition buyers, days after launch
  15. Google Stadia: Critical Consensus: Critics say Google Stadia is the best game streaming option around, but still falls short in almost every way that matters
  16. Stadia Issues Continue And It’s The One Thing That Can’t Happen If We’re Going To Give Up Our Consoles
  17. Google responds after Stadia owners accuse it of breaking promises over game performance
  18. Google responds to criticisms of Stadia’s 4K support: After Red Dead Redemption 2 and Destiny 2 found to be upscaling lower resolutions, company says it expects developers to improve their games’ performance
  19. Google offers refunds to Stadia players who bought games added to Pro subscription: Subscribers who purchased Farming Simulator and Tomb Raider are entitled to compensation
  20. Google is offering refunds for players who bought new Stadia freebies
  21. Google hires senior Assassin’s Creed devs for first Stadia studio
  22. IP Insight – Blizzard v Bossland: Cheaters Never Prosper
  23. Report: Amazon plans to announce long-rumored game streaming service in 2020
  24. Amazon reportedly announcing game streaming service next year: Analyst suggests the retail giant will launch its service in time to compete with PlayStation 5 and Project Scarlett
  25. PlayStation controller patent shows larger triggers, no light bar
  26. The hidden gems of Apple Arcade
  27. Why are developers betting on Apple Arcade?: The mobile subscription service frees developers from monetisation worries, but questions linger about its future
  28. AirConsole raises $3 million to expand library and reach
  29. AirConsole raises $3m in Series A round: Cloud-based casual gaming platform looks towards partnership development
  30. Toadman Interactive acquires publisher Sold Out
  31. Toadman Interactive buys Sold Out for £16 million: UK publisher joins Swedish firm’s growing network of games companies
  32. Top 1% of mobile publishers take 82% slice of downloads: Sensor Tower data showed 95% of IAP revenue going to just 1% of publishers in Q3 2019
  33. Check out Xbox’s latest guidelines for building more accessible games
  34. State of Decay 2, from Xbox Games Studios’ Undead Labs, headed to Steam
  35. Xbox currently has no plans for xCloud exclusives, though it has been discussed
  36. “No plans” for Project xCloud exclusives: Microsoft emphasises that it is “very early in the multi-year journey” for games streaming service
  37. Shenmue III: Critical Consensus – The 18 year wait for a new Shenmue is over, and critics are split over a game deliberately out of step with the times
  38. How Modern Warfare smooths over the horrors of war
  39. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare sold 4.75m digital units in its launch month – SuperData’s October report also shows Apex Legends having its best month since its launch quarter
  40. UK Charts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is back at No.1 as Nintendo Switch conquers top ten – Shenmue III debuts at No.17 and Football Manager 2020 comes in at No.16
  41. Metacritic reveals the best 15 games of 2019 by review scores: Only One Nintendo Title Makes The Top Ten, According To Site’s Metascores
  42. Making a career in games more sustainable: Goodbye Kansas’ Henrik Jonsson on how different corners of the games industry can stop driving away talent and support individuals long-term
  43. Straight talk on funding — five top tips: Fundamentally Games’ Ella Romanos on forecasts, fees, the value of debt, and why failure can be useful
  44. Ubisoft partners with blockchain distribution platform Ultra: “[Ubisoft] believes that all blockchain use cases that bring value to players are important to support,” says blockchain initiative director
  45. Paid subscriptions coming to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp: Nintendo follows Mario Kart subscription with two tiers for Animal Crossing amounting to $10.98 per month
  46. Who Leaked ‘Sword And Shield’ Secrets? Pokémon Lawyers Want To Catch ’Em All
  47. Pokemon Sword and Shield have topped 6 million sales worldwide
  48. Pokémon Sword & Shield are the fastest-selling games in Switch’s history: Switch duo sells six million copies worldwide in first week of release
  49. The Witcher 3 continues to sell well as CD Projekt reports rising revenue
  50. The Witcher 3, Gwent drive revenue growth at CD Projekt: Polish company looks toward strong Q4 with Gwent iOS and The Witcher 3 for Switch
  51. Mobile developer and tool maker N3twork secures $40 million in funding
  52. NetEase buys minority stake in Bossa Studios: Deal worth an alleged $30m precedes Bossa’s push into China with the launch of Hogwash
  53. Coffee Stain invests in Kavalri: Goat Simulator publisher puts money into Equestrian the Game developer as part of initiative to address industry’s gender imbalance
  54. Candy Crush Soda Saga and Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle hit $2b lifetime revenue – But Dragon Ball reached the milestone faster, according to Sensor Tower estimates
  55. ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ broke multiple sales records for EA: Turns out Star Wars fans love a classic single-player game.
  56. Jedi: Fallen Order sets records for EA Star Wars titles – Publisher says Respawn’s latest has best two-week digital sales in franchise history, best PC launch sales as well
  57. Roblox grosses $1 billion in mobile revenue
  58. Roblox surpasses $1b in lifetime revenue: Sensor Tower: Kid-friendly game creation platform has already grossed $435m so far in 2019
  59. Analyst: Roblox revenue on mobile alone surpasses $1 billion
  60. Rebellion has purchased Xenon and Speedball developer The Bitmap Brothers
  61. Rebellion acquires The Bitmap Brothers: Sniper Elite developer plans to develop new games based on classic IPs from The Bitmap Brothers
  62. Behaviour Interactive scrapping Deathgarden due to lack of players
  63. Behaviour Interactive shuts down Deathgarden: Bloodharvest development: This is the second title Behaviour has shuttered this year, after its mobile Westworld game
  64. Battleborn pulled from digital stores, going offline in 2021
  65. 2K begins slow sunset of Battleborn: Free-to-play hero shooter will shut down virtual currency in February, game will remain live through January 2021
  66. Swedish startup Coherence nets $2.5 million to build ‘democratic’ dev platform
  67. Valve issues string of Steam bans after publishers caught abusing Steamworks
  68. Steam removes hundreds of games after publishers abuse Steamworks: Russian publisher Dagestan Technology among those affected, although Valve has yet to offer further explanation
  69. Valve is clearing out the last of its Steam Controller inventory
  70. Valve discontinues Steam Controller: Ill-fated controller put out to pasture after four years
  71. The Steam Controller is dead, but its legacy lives on
  72. Intel granted patent for a new gamepad
  73. VR would be “a really dark space right now” without Facebook’s money: At Reboot Develop Red, Chet Faliszek reflected on progress in the VR industry since he departed Valve
  74. ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Trailer Revealed, Release Date Set for March 2020
  75. Valve’s Gabe Newell: ‘We’re excited to return to Half-Life, VR has energized the studio’
  76. First Look: ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Screenshots Are Classic Valve, with a Decade More Detail
  77. Valve releasing Source 2 tools alongside Half-Life: Alyx next March
  78. ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Will Run on All SteamVR Headsets, Free for Index Owners
  79. Valve Index is Sold Out in Some Regions Following ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ Announcement
  80. Source 2 Tools Will Ship with ‘Half-Life: Alyx’ for VR Content from the Modding Community
  81. Valve shares platform and launch details for VR exclusive Half-Life: Alyx
  82. Half Life Alyx hits PC VR headsets in March 2020
  83. Xbox chief: “Nobody’s asking for VR” for Project Scarlett
  84. Phil Spencer: VR is isolating, isn’t a priority for Project Scarlett
  85. Hey Surgeon, Is That a HoloLens on Your Head?: Mixed reality displays are entering the operating room, first as surgical planning tools and soon as real-time guides to help doctors zap tumors.
  86. Beat Saber dev Beat Games acquired by Facebook
  87. Facebook acquires Beat Games: Beat Saber developer joins Oculus headset maker to continue work on music VR games
  88. Facebook just bought the developers behind virtual reality mega-hit ‘Beat Saber’ as part of a plan to ‘push VR to new heights’
  89. Russian dairy cows wear VR glasses for better milk production: Farmers try virtual reality headwear to see if it will help cows calm down and produce more milk.
  90. SuperData: Russia to surpass France as third-largest games market in Europe – Growth of mobile, esports, and free-to-play PC games expected to offset end of generation slowdown
  91. DisguisedToast, a top Twitch streamer, is moving to Facebook Gaming
  92. Facebook Makes First Play In Gaming Streamer Sign-Up Wars With ‘Disguised Toast’
  93. Hearthstone streamer Jeremy ‘DisguisedToast’ Wang signs Facebook exclusivity deal: Wang follows in the footsteps of several other top streamers departing Twitch in recent months
  94. Esports Org ‘Rogue’ Launches Latest Accelerator Program For Teen Fortnite Players
  95. NBA star Tony Parker to be honoured at Esports BAR Cannes: Former San Antonio Spurs player will be given Ambassador award for his activities in esports
  96. Why Session’s skateboarding design is more Skate than Tony Hawk
  97. Snapchat’s journey to be a “gaming destination”: Global partnerships lead John Imah offers insight into the early days of Snap Games, and how it fits the company’s broader gaming strategy
  98. The origins of Out Making Games, the UK’s first games industry LGBTQ+ network: We speak to the group’s founders about its initial success and plans to spread awareness and support in 2020 and beyond
  99. Mike Pondsmith: “If you want to get somebody to see your point of view, don’t preach” – The veteran designer on adapting to new technology and using games to tackle political and social themes
  100. Shovel Knight Showdown: Designing a roulette of gameplay
  101. Reworking the combat system in Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
  102. NetEase has purchased a stake in Surgeon Simulator dev Bossa Studios
  103. Don’t Miss: Designing characters as UI in games like State of Decay
  104. Don’t Miss: A game dev postmortem of the original BioShock
  105. Don’t Miss: The legacy of Street Fighter II, in the words of the experts
  106. Video: Adopting continuous delivery to combat crunch on Sea of Thieves
  107. Video: How Riot creates new League of Legends champions
  108. Blog: Handling Unity scene hierarchy and performance
  109. Blog: What lessons can action games learn from Doom?
  110. Blog: A trailer analysis of Manifold Garden
  111. Blog: Combining film and comics to create the noir aesthetic of Interrogation1
  112. Blog: The community-driven development of Vecter
  113. Obituary: Stuido Studios co-founder Jose Zambrano

Jon

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News of the Week; November 20, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. TikTok Head Says He’s “Quite Optimistic” About U.S. National Security Probe
  2. TikTok Hits 1.5 Billion Total Downloads, Driven By Explosive Growth In India
  3. TikTok Taps In Social Shopping Tools, Letting (Some) Users Add Buy Links To Bios And Videos
  4. Federal Court Short-Circuits Voltage Pictures’ Canadian File Sharing Class Action Copyright Lawsuit Strategy (Michael Geist)
  5. Supreme Court agrees to review disastrous ruling on API copyrights
  6. Big News: Supreme Court To Hear Google v. Oracle Case About API And Copyright
  7. Site blocking orders come to Canada: GoldTV.biz
  8. Federal Court issues landmark website-blocking injunction with significant implications for ISPs
  9. Fool’s Gold: Why a Federal Court Judge Was Wrong To Issue a Website Blocking Order Against GoldTV (Michael Geist)
  10. Bell Media Inc. Groupe TVA Inc. Rogers Media Inc. v. goldtv.biz goldtv.ca  (Federal Court, November 15, 2019)
  11. More Evidence That IP Law Protects Individual Emoji Depictions–Nirvana v. Marc Jacobs (Eric Goldman)
  12. Rules of the game? Digital political campaigning for the 2019 UK general election
  13. Judge Says The FBI Can’t Keep Refusing To Confirm Or Deny The Existence Of Social Media Monitoring Documents
  14. Google search results have more human help than you think, report finds: Google is sometimes hands-on under the hood, and investigators want to know more.
  15. How Google Interferes With Its Search Algorithms and Changes Your Results: The internet giant uses blacklists, algorithm tweaks and an army of contractors to shape what you see
  16. Google outlines plans for mainline Linux kernel support in Android
  17. The Ethical Dilemma at the Heart of Big Tech Companies
  18. Microsoft says yes to future encrypted DNS requests in Windows
  19. Twitter Releases New Global Political Advertising Policy
  20. Twitter’s ban on paid political advertisement comes into effect
  21. You might be able to schedule tweets from Twitter’s web app starting today: You used to have to use Tweetdeck or another service
  22. Evan Spiegel Says Snapchat Has A Team That Fact-Checks All Political Ads
  23. Snapchat Introduces Extended Play Commercials: The 6-second non-skip format still applies, but video can run up to 3 minutes
  24. Andrew Yang’s Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Tech Policy
  25. Disney+ Has a Hacking Problem
  26. The version of Star Wars on Disney+ changes the canon once again: Han Solo vs. Greedo might look different than it did in 1977. And 2004. And 2011.
  27. Disney+ Promises To Fix Cropped Episodes Of ‘The Simpsons,’ But That’s Not Users’ Only Issue
  28. Hulu, Which Reportedly Has Nation’s Most-Subscribed Skinny Bundle, Institutes $10 Price Hike
  29. Online content and take down requirements- what are the boundaries?
  30. Narcos Defeats Yet Another Silly Copyright Lawsuit
  31. Court Sanctions Defendant for Failure to Preserve Text Messages in Copyright Infringement Suit Brought by Prince’s Estate
  32. Court Finds Communications Decency Act Protects Tumblr Against Revenge Porn Claim
  33. Unrelenting “ad blocker” plasters users with—you guessed it—ads
  34. Elsevier Gets Sci-Hub And LibGen Blocked In Austria, Thereby Promoting The Use Of VPNs And Tor In The Country
  35. Giant Publisher Macmillan Goes To War Against Libraries
  36. David Dobrik Nabs People’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ Honors, People’s Choice Award
  37. David Dobrik Says Monthly YouTube Ad Earnings Went From $275,000 To $2,000 In Two Years
  38. Logan Paul Filing Appeal With Athletic Commission After KSI Boxing Defeat: “I Don’t Think I Lost”
  39. Studio71 UK Talent Firm ‘Moxie’ Signs Pro-Biker Ryan Taylor, Comedian Munya Chawawa, More
  40. Evangelical ‘Financial Whiz’ Who Apparently Hates Gossip, Sues YouTuber For Criticism
  41. James Charles To Host YouTube’s First Beauty Influencer Competition Series
  42. Manny MUA, FouseyTube, Andrea Russett Tapped For Season 2 Of ‘The Reality House’
  43. ICYMI: FTC Summarizes Existing Influencer Rules
  44. Influencing the Influencers: FTC Staff Release “Disclosures 101” Guidance for Online Endorsers
  45. Spreading The Influence: FTC Issues New Guidance for Influencers
  46. Senators ask if Facebook really lets users opt out of location tracking
  47. Facebook Claims Users Sign Up Because They Want To See Personalized Ads, Max Schrems Disagrees — And Usually Wins These GDPR Arguments
  48. Facebook Seeks Post-Spokeo Review of Biometric Privacy Class Action
  49. Facebook Levels Up Charity Livestreaming Tools, Opening Them To All Partner Creators
  50. Facebook quietly built “Popular Photos”, an in-app Instagram
  51. Facebook gets into the meme-making biz with experimental Whale app: The app was quietly released in Canada last week
  52. Pay Data Pitfalls: What We Can Learn From Facebook’s Discrimination Case
  53. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the single leading source of anti-vax ads on Facebook
  54. Is it Time to Prioritize Making Websites and Mobile Apps Accessible?
  55. We Need to Fix Online Advertising. All of It.: For the sake of democracy.
  56. Troll Lawyer Shows Up In Court To Explain His ‘Dead Grandfather’ Excuse, Gets His ‘Fitness To Practice’ Questioned By The Judge
  57. Should Doxxing Be Illegal?
  58. Google’s acquisition of Fitbit proves that data is king
  59. Google Maps translate feature will speak local place-names
  60. Google gives up on US carriers, will roll out its own RCS chat system
  61. Google Pixel 4 review—Overpriced, uncompetitive, and out of touch
  62. Google Earth gets content creation tools for geography-focused presentations
  63. InterDigital reveals new licensing deal with Google secured through mystery platform
  64. YouTube’s Top 5 Most-Viewed Music Videos Of 2019 All Belong To Latino Artists
  65. Japanese Hotel Charges Guests $1 If They Agree To Stream Their Stays For 24 Hours
  66. Following Positive Feedback, Instagram Expands Test Of Hidden ‘Like’ Counts Globally
  67. Condé Nast Reveals Latest IGTV Slate Amid Revamped Ad Strategy
  68. Instagram tests hiding Like counts globally
  69. Apple plans a Prime-like subscription bundle, but that has News+ publishers worried
  70. Apple bans vaping apps from the iOS App Store
  71. No, Apple isn’t opening a new manufacturing plant in Texas
  72. Insurer Must Face Email Spoofing Lawsuit
  73. Spotify confirms it’s testing real-time lyrics synced to music
  74. Spotify’s free music service will now stream on Alexa devices, plus Bose and Sonos smart speakers
  75. Spotify will now make a road trip playlist for you: It’s not as frighteningly accurate as the Daily Mix playlists, though
  76. Spotify turns its personalization technology to podcasts with launch of Your Daily Podcasts
  77. Amazon makes its music streaming service free with ads
  78. It’s the user’s fault if a Ring camera violates your privacy, Amazon says
  79. AMS Neve vs. Heritage Audio: What does the CJEU ruling mean for online infringement cases?
  80. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 32: Reflections from the Open Source Member of Parliament – A Conversation with Ex-MP David Graham (Michael Geist)
  81. Masnick’s Impossibility Theorem: Content Moderation At Scale Is Impossible To Do Well
  82. Shipping Firms Pilot Blockchain, New Crypto Payment Gateways and Products, Wyoming Announces Crypto Custody Rules
  83. Financial Institutions and D&O International Review – Facebook’s Libra: watershed moment for digital currencies?
  84. Patreon Now Counts 4 Million Patrons That Have Paid Creators $1 Billion To Date
  85. Every Tech Company Wants to Be a Bank – Someday, At Least: Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Uber are all eyeing financial services as the next frontier. Getting there might take some work.
  86. IBM, Microsoft, the Linux Foundation and OIN join forces to counter open source threat
  87. Price Parity Clauses and Online Platforms: Is There a New Way Forward?
  88. Online intermediaries: Fresh guidance from the CJEU on the scope of the E-Commerce Directive
  89. “Where the Wi-Fi sucks” is where a new wireless protocol does its magic
  90. Should The Big Tech Companies Voluntarily Fund The Journalism Business?

A.I.

  1. Deepfakes are already breaking democracy. Just ask any woman: It doesn’t take a faked prime ministerial address to threaten the democratic process
  2. What should newsrooms do about deepfakes? These three things, for starters
  3. Microsoft sends a new kind of AI processor into the cloud
  4. Blog: Automating machine learning for mobile games
  5. Google’s FreddieMeter AI Experiment rates how well you sing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
  6. Algorithms were supposed to make Virginia judges fairer. What happened was far more complicated.
  7. Improving autonomous autos by having them guess which humans are selfish
  8. Protecting AI-Created Works – US seeking comments on copyright. What about Canada?
  9. Request for Comments on Intellectual Property Protection for Artificial Intelligence Innovation
  10. Will AI replace IP attorneys?
  11. AI & Privacy: PrActIcal AdvIce for OrgAnIzAtIons
  12. Capital One Asks the FCC To Make It Easier For You Communicate With its Very Polite Texting Robot: Here’s Why That’s a Good Thing
  13. Delaware Court Allows Stockholder To Inspect AI Company’s Books
  14. Write AI code once, run anywhere—it’s not Java, it’s Intel’s oneAPI 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. The US gives Huawei its third 90-day support exemption from export ban
  2. Apathy Isn’t A Business Model: Major US Telcos Teeter Toward Bankruptcy
  3. Comcast trying to drive local sports network out of business, lawsuit says
  4. 46 Cities Sue The FCC For Trampling Their Rights
  5. FCC sued by dozens of cities after voting to kill local fees and rules
  6. Congress Says The FCC Is Trying To Run Out The Clock On Wireless Location Data Scandals
  7. FCC Announces Schedule for Transition to Annual Children’s Television Reports
  8. Ajit Pai Does a Good Thing As He Pushes For Public C Band Auction
  9. Who is leading the 5G patent race?
  10. PSA: DirectTV Pushes Back By Mentioning All The Refunds For Blackouts Its Issued… To Customers That Asked
  11. 11th Cir. Reverses Class Cert. in DIRECT TV; Says “Fairly Traceable” Analysis Has Some Bite Under Art. III
  12. 11th Circuit vacates class certification in TCPA action against satellite TV provider
  13. Clarification of the Electronic Communications Code
  14. Federal robocall legislation: “agreement in principle”
  15. Federal robocall legislation update
  16. As DirecTV tanks, AT&T says it will “re-bundle” TV with HBO Max
  17. AT&T to Pay $60 Million to Settle Dispute Over “Unlimited” Claims
  18. John Legere leaving T-Mobile after 7 fun years of bashing AT&T and Verizon
  19. Knowing What Happens Next, T-Mobile CEO Legere Heads For The Exit 

PRIVACY

  1. Federal Court Says ICE, CBP’s Suspicionless Searches Of Electronic Devices Is Unconstitutional
  2. Supreme Court’s Warrant Requirement For Cell Site Location Info Apparently Killed Another Domestic Surveillance Program
  3. Cops put GPS tracker on man’s car, charge him with theft for removing it
  4. Attorney General Calls FOIA Requests ‘Harassment’ During Long Rant About How Much It Sucks To Be Running The Nation
  5. Password data for ~2.2 million users of currency and gaming sites dumped online
  6. Nikki Haley lost her password, so she sent confidential info over unclassified system
  7. Impeachment hearing reveals major White House phone security fail
  8. Impeachment Hearings Highlight More Trump Phone OPSEC Failures
  9. FTC head asks Congress for real privacy laws he can enforce
  10. New EDPB guidelines on processing personal data through video devices
  11. Think of the children: FBI sought Interpol statement against end-to-end crypto
  12. Official Monero website is hacked to deliver currency-stealing malware
  13. How Did A Hacker Allegedly Access A Million Customers’ Personal Data? Let the FTC Count the Ways.
  14. Court Provides Guidance on What Constitutes “Telemarketing” to Residential Phone Numbers
  15. What the newly released Checkra1n jailbreak means for iDevice security
  16. Beware of PureLocker Ransomware
  17. Legal Aspects of Managing Data
  18. Privacy Policy Requirements
  19. Leveraging open source intelligence for cyber threat modeling
  20. Watch: Cyber threats in the Internet of Things
  21. Brexit and data protection: What to do next (when you don’t know what’s happening next)
  22. GDPR Enforcement Update: Can European Union Authorities Enforce Their Laws On U.S.-Based Companies?
  23. Interpol Confirms, Denies It’s Against Strong Encryption
  24. Google & Samsung fix Android spying flaw. Other makers may still be vulnerable

CREATIVITY

  1. Court To Racist Douchebags: It’s Not Defamatory For A Newspaper To Call You ‘Racist Douchebags’
  2. Journalists Publish List Of Convicted Cops The State’s Attorney General Said Was Illegal For Them To Have
  3. Taylor Swift says she’s been stopped from performing her own music on TV by Scooter Braun.
  4. Taylor Swift says she’s being blocked from singing her songs at American Music Awards
  5. Taylor Swift’s fight with Big Machine is getting support from Elizabeth Warren and AOC
  6. Leave Taylor Alone! Why Swift Action Is Needed Now
  7. Rap Song, Video Trigger Sharon Stone Lawsuit
  8. Bullock, DeGeneres Fight ‘Celebrity Endorsement Theft Industry’
  9. The Ins and Outs of Canadian Copyright: Movies and the real and substantial connection test
  10. Universal Music Claims Copyright Over Newly Public Domain ‘Yes! We Have No Bananas’
  11. Music Collection Org: Revenues Are Booming… And That’s Proof Why We Need Even More Draconian Copyright Laws
  12. Auction of ‘kidnapped’ Banksy work reignites bitter feud
  13. Restrictive Covenants Do Not Inhibit Free Speech
  14. Needless Trademark Spat In Canada At Least Has Exactly As Polite Ending As You’d Expect
  15. Supreme Court to Hear Dot-Com Trademark Issue
  16. Trade Marks – where to sue when infringement occurs online
  17. Running an International Prize Promotion Without Breaking the Law
  18. How to defend yourself in case the artwork you bought at auction does not match its pre-sale description?

GAMES

  1. Game On: FaZe Clan’s $20 Million Lawsuit Against eSports Gamer Will Continue
  2. To find new games, more women value social circles, while men look to influencers – Newzoo: More women than men tend to value games that are easy to pick up and play quickly
  3. Bobby Kotick: Games are not a platform for my political views
  4. ‘Perpetual franchises’ are key to Activision Blizzard’s strategy, says CEO Kotick
  5. Google’s Stadia Game Streaming Service Arrives To A Collective ‘Meh’
  6. Google Stadia Launch Review: A Technical, Conceptual Disaster
  7. Google Stadia review: Gaming’s streaming future isn’t here yet
  8. Google Stadia launch review: Gaming’s “future” looks rough in the present
  9. Google Stadia review — It works, but it doesn’t matter
  10. Stadia delivers on low-latency, high quality cloud gaming – but is that enough?
  11. Unplayable at times, magical in others: Stadia’s dream is still in the clouds
  12. Google Stadia will be missing many features for Monday’s launch
  13. Google Stadia will launch without key features: Reddit AMA confirms that streaming service will not have Family Sharing, achievements, 4K for PC or Buddy Pass at launch
  14. Will Google’s Stadia Game Streaming Platform Be A Dud?
  15. Google Stadia nearly doubles launch lineup to 22 games on eve of debut
  16. Google expands today’s Stadia’s launch lineup to 22 games
  17. Google expands Stadia launch lineup to 22 titles right before launch
  18. Stadia nearly doubles line-up just days before launch: Ten titles pulled forward to November 19 as Google gears up to take streaming service live
  19. Stadia what? Xbox game streaming will become part of Game Pass in 2020
  20. Finalists named in Google’s annual Change the Game Design Challenge
  21. Xbox Game Pass subscriptions have doubled as its library continues to grow
  22. Project xCloud preview sees 50 more games, hits Windows 10 in 2020
  23. Xbox: “People are using xCloud to create couch co-op” – Microsoft’s xCloud leaders discuss what they’ve learned — and still need to learn — about game streaming
  24. From Project xCloud to New Rare Studio Game: Everything Revealed at Microsoft’s X019 Event
  25. Logitech has made an expansive accessory kit for the Xbox Adaptive Controller
  26. Logitech’s $100 Adaptive Gaming Kit finishes what Xbox’s XAC started: “People buy the XAC, then ask, ‘what should go with this? ’” Logitech made the answer.
  27. PlayStation has 100 million reasons to feel confident | Opinion: X019 saw Microsoft ready for the next generation, but the power remains with PlayStation
  28. Sony controller patent points to potential PS5 permutations
  29. Apple Arcade may be accelerating premium game decline, but not by much: Apple’s subscription service coincided with lower premium revenue during launch month, but sales have already been declining for years
  30. Games and datacenter chips drive Nvidia’s Q3 revenue to $3.01 billion
  31. Forge of Empires dev InnoGames surpasses $1 billion revenue
  32. InnoGames’ lifetime revenues pass €1bn: More than half of this came from Forge of Empires, company has grown revenues every year since 2007
  33. Report: BioWare planning revitalizing overhaul for Anthem
  34. Sources: BioWare Plans A Complete Overhaul For Anthem
  35. NPD: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the best-selling game of 2019 so far – The Switch remains the best-selling console of the year so far in the US
  36. Call of Duty and Mario Kart front a siege of PC and console IP on mobile: Sensor Tower looks back on a busy month in the mobile charts, and reflects on the growing influence of console and PC brands
  37. Call of Duty tops EMEAA chart for third straight week: Death Stranding debuts in second spot on the charts as Need for Speed Heat races into third place
  38. UK Charts: Pokémon Sword and Shield post huge opening weekend sales – But the new games can’t top Sun and Moon
  39. Report: Pokemon Sword and Shield have sold over 1.36 million retail copies in Japan
  40. Pokemon Sword and Shield sold 1.36m retail copies in three days in Japan: Sales reportedly mark the best opening week a Nintendo Switch title has had in Japan so far
  41. Nintendo is bringing paid subscriptions to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
  42. Paid subscriptions coming to Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp – Nintendo follows Mario Kart subscription with two tiers for Animal Crossing amounting to $10.98 per month
  43. A Nintendo designer reviews your Super Mario Maker 2 levels
  44. Analyst: Borderlands 3, NBA 2K20 helped 2K dominate online chatter in Q3
  45. 2K Games apologises after social media feeds were hijacked on Friday: Publisher lost control of official Twitter account, along with pages for WWE, Borderlands, and Civilization
  46. Sustained mobile portfolio brings continued growth for NetEase in Q3: Chinese mobile giant sees year-over-year increases in net revenue and profit amid new releases, WoW Classic launch in China
  47. Southeast Asia is the world’s fastest-growing mobile games market – Newzoo: Mobile revenue expected to be up 17% in 2019 to $2.6 billion, nearly 70% of the region’s total games revenue
  48. Niko Partners: Southeast Asia’s $5 billion game market expected to grow to $8.3 billion in 2023
  49. Mobile party app Bunch nets $3.85M from Supercell, Tencent, and others
  50. Bunch raises $3.85m toward development, expanded partnerships: Supercell, Tencent, and Riot Games among investors in mobile game chat and party app
  51. Net profit up 53.7% as Netmarble closes Q3
  52. New studio Dream Games raises $7.5 million to fuel mobile game development
  53. Dream Games raises $7.5m to develop casual puzzle titles: Investment in Turkish studio made by Makers Fund, Balderton Capital
  54. German government to continue $55 million game development fund 
  55. Mythical Games closes $19m funding round
  56. Mobile party app Bunch nets $3.85M from Supercell, Tencent, and others
  57. Take-Two leads $20 million funding round into Spellbreak developer Proletariat
  58. Proletariat raises $20m for self-publishing, expansion: Spellbreak developer nets investment from Take-Two as it ramps up development
  59. Rune II publisher Ragnarok ‘shocked’ by closure of dev Human Head Studios
  60. Rune II publisher “shocked” by Human Head closure: Ragnarok Game confirmed it will continue to support Rune II and launch on other PC platforms in 2020
  61. Net game sales up 117% at THQ Nordic parent Embracer Group
  62. Wreckfest drives games revenue up 117% at Embracer Group: Company formerly known as THQ Nordic looks ahead to a Q3 with Darksiders and Shenmue 3
  63. How Koch Media is ensuring classic brand comebacks are worth the wait: From Shenmue III to TimeSplitters, CEO Klemens Kundratitz discusses the publisher’s upcoming line-up
  64. Goodbye Kansas grabs 45 percent stake in Norwegian studio Misc Games
  65. Goodbye Kansas Game Invest now owns 45% of Misc Games: Minority stake in ship simulation dev acquired in two separate deals
  66. Tencent grabs 10 percent stake in UK game company Sumo Group
  67. Revenue up at Paradox as it maintains focus on games with ‘long lifespans and strong IPs’
  68. Rebellion launches board games division: UK developer and publisher will kick off new business with tabletop version of Sniper Elite
  69. LG and Twitch Reveal Streaming Partnership with Pokimane
  70. FaZe Clan’s First Deaf, Female Gamer — 14-Year-Old ‘Ewok’ — Is Latest Twitch Departee To Sign With Mixer
  71. Faze Ewok is the latest streamer to jump ship from Twitch: She’s set to stream exclusively on Mixer
  72. FaZe Clan To Open First Storefront, Aims To Be Esports’ Supreme
  73. Esports Org 100 Thieves Adds Fortnite Pros ‘Falconer’, ‘Grandma’ To Growing Roster
  74. esports – gearing up to play in the pro leagues!
  75. Esports gamers experience same stressors as pro athletes, study finds
  76. The beauty of the indie spin-off: Binding of Isaac developer Edmund McMillen explains how and why he followed up the action game with a deckbuilding puzzle prequel
  77. Blog: Going indie in Syria
  78. Blog: Understanding Agile game development – Part 1
  79. Blog: Designing interesting decisions in games (and when not to)
  80. Blog: A guide to scrappy social media management
  81. The Game Theorists To Host Nine-Hour Stream For St. Jude With Markiplier, Colleen Ballinger, More
  82. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Review – A Good Feeling About This
  83. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order review: the Star Wars game no one was expecting – Jedi Fallen Order focuses on exploration, with moments of explosive combat
  84. Jedi Fallen Order Shows That A Good Star Wars Game Doesn’t Have To Be Original: Part Zelda, part Tomb Raider, part Uncharted – all Star Wars
  85. Jedi: Fallen Order game review: More like, the Force goes back to sleep
  86. Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order: Critical Consensus – Respawn Entertainment delivers on the experience of being a Jedi, critics say, but did the new film’s imminent release cause EA to push the game out early?
  87. Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky’s design lessons from The Outer Worlds
  88. Steam’s online couch co-op feature Remote Play Together leaves beta 
  89. Genre viability on Steam and other trends – An analysis using review count
  90. How players shop during a Steam sale: An in-depth analysis
  91. Valve is making a new VR Half-Life game
  92. Half-Life: Alyx: What we know about Valve’s upcoming full-length VR game
  93. Oculus Link launches in beta, opening Rift games up to Quest owners
  94. Oculus Link for PC is live: Everything we know about cables, GPU support [Updated]
  95. John Carmack steps down as Oculus CTO to explore artificial intelligence
  96. John Carmack moves to “consulting CTO” role at Oculus: Industry veteran will focus on AI, with Oculus now taking a “modest slice” of his time
  97. Oculus, Unity partner on free VR development course: 20+ hour course will teach VR build and launch best practices
  98. Snapchat Pledges $750,000 To Support AR Influencers In 2020
  99. Snapchat Will Invest $750,000 For AR Influencers To Create New AR Lenses
  100. Mixed reality game streaming platform LIV secures $2.6 million in funding
  101. New 3D display combines visuals, haptic feedback, and sound: A small sphere levitated on sound can be moved around fast enough to be a display.
  102. How Mario 64 inspired that horrible goose’s moveset
  103. What went into Apex Legends’ surprise launch?: Respawn’s Arturo Castro and Drew McCoy explain how they made and marketed a Titanfall game with none of the key elements of Titanfall
  104. Ars talks fighting games with Guilty Gear creator Daisuke Ishiwatari
  105. Don’t Miss: Translating the humor & tone of Yakuza games for the West
  106. Don’t Miss: Shenmue director Yu Suzuki shares his unique approach to game design
  107. Don’t Miss: The secrets of great voice acting
  108. Don’t Miss: How Neopets has influenced a generation of game developers
  109. Video: Inside Far Cry Primal’s character pipeline and customization tech
  110. Video: Top game composers share hard-won advice and lessons learned
  111. Video: Inside the art design of Firewatch
  112. Video: Game design insights from the GDC 2019 Failure Workshop
  113. Video: How Rockstar tackles environment design as spatial cinematography
  114. The never-ending journey of No Man’s Sky – Why I Love: EA Vancouver games researcher James Berg loses himself in Hello Games’ vast universe
  115. Designing the drunken dialogue puzzles in Night School Studio’s Afterparty 
  116. Charity streaming event Desert Bus for Hope surpasses $6 million in lifetime donations
  117. Bungie raises $1.6 million for charity through Game2give pledge drive
  118. U.S. Patent no. 10,252,167: Location graph adapted video games
  119. Smash Bros, Death Stranding among GOTY nominees for The Game Awards 2019
  120. EverQuest lead producer and designer Brad McQuaid has passed away
  121. Obituary: Everquest designer and MMORPG vet Brad McQuaid

Jon

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News of the Week; November 13, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. India Is Stifling Kashmir Journalists And Twitter Is Helping Get The Job Done
  2. Insider Threats: DOJ Says Twitter Employees Spied On User Accounts For Saudi Arabia
  3. Hong Kong Court Hands Down Protest-Targeting Order Banning Online Content That ‘Incites Violence’
  4. Did a UK Judge Just “Break the Internet”? Stay Tuned re the TuneIn Decision
  5. UK Premier League scores big in battle against illegal streaming devices
  6. Is it time to look at monetisation as a new exclusive right of the author? (Andres Guadamuz)
  7. Court Deems Screenshot Fair Game for Fair Use Defense in Copyright Action
  8. Section 230 Helps Salesforce Defeat Sex Trafficking Lawsuit–Doe v. Salesforce (Eric Goldman)
  9. Biden Spreads False Info By Saying That Taking Away Section 230 Will Make Facebook Liable For Spreading False Info
  10. John Oliver Takes On SLAPP Suits And Anti-SLAPP Laws With A Grand Musical Number
  11. Massive Facebook document leak gives ammunition to investigators
  12. ECJ rules on Facebook “Like” button
  13. NY regulators investigating Apple Card after viral complaint of sexism: Customer service reportedly blamed “the algorithm” for discrepancies.
  14. Copyright Troll Lawyer Serves Up BS ‘Dead Grandfather’ Excuse For Missing Court; Now Facing Sanctions And Arrest
  15. Techdirt Podcast Episode 232: Copying Is Not Theft
  16. New Class Action Targets Discriminatory Ad Practices
  17. Members of violent white supremacist website exposed in massive data dump
  18. Netflix CEO defends censoring anti-government video in Saudi Arabia
  19. Netflix: We’re Not In The Truth To Power Business, We’re In The Entertainment Business
  20. Netflix Unveils Multi-Year Pact With Nickelodeon One Day After Disney+ Launch
  21. Too Many Streaming Exclusives Is Already Starting To Tick Users Off
  22. One Day In, Disney+ Already Has More Than 10 Million Subscribers
  23. High demand causes login problems on Disney+ launch day
  24. Defamation by Hyperlink
  25. Uber CEO: Time To Forgive The Saudis For Murdering That Journalist
  26. Uber CEO Defends Saudis After Jamal Khashoggi Murder: ‘Doesn’t Mean They Can Never Be Forgiven’ (Video)
  27. Softbank is getting exactly what it deserves, and it’s thanks to something way bigger than WeWork: Softbank took a $6.5 billion loss on investments in Uber and WeWork this quarter, and it deserves to lose more.
  28. Uber CEO says he was wrong to call slaying of Saudi Arabia journalist Jamal Khashoggi ‘a mistake’
  29. Uber CEO downplays Khashoggi murder, then walks back his comments
  30. Uber CEO downplays murder of Jamal Khashoggi as ‘mistake,’ then backtracks
  31. How terrible software design decisions led to Uber’s deadly 2018 crash
  32. Report Suggests Rampant Negligence In Uber Self Driving Car Fatality
  33. Amazon gains unfair edge by making sellers use its shipping, complaint says
  34. Amazon fails to unseat pro-tax city council members in Seattle
  35. Heineken challenged for targeting under 18s on Instagram
  36. Instagram is testing a new video editing tool called Reels that copies TikTok’s best features
  37. Twitter And Instagram Both Begin Experiments In Decreasing The More Socially Questionable Incentives Of Their Platforms
  38. TikTok Facing CFIUS Scrutiny
  39. US committee warned of China’s bulk data collection
  40. Google enlists outside help to clean up Android’s malware mess
  41. Google has access to detailed health records on tens of millions of Americans
  42. Google: You can trust us with the medical data you didn’t know we already had – Google has 50M people’s medical records but won’t merge them with other Google data.
  43. Google fires staffer, suspends two others, amid rising workplace tensions
  44. Google will offer checking accounts, says it won’t sell the data
  45. YouTube Insists It Isn’t Changing “Right To Monetize” After Terms Of Service Update Sparks Backlash
  46. YouTube To Host Charity Tribute Concert In Nashville To Fete Its Johnny Cash Doc
  47. YouTube Overhauls Homepage With Bigger Thumbnails, New Queue Button, More
  48. Federal and State Authorities Increase Scrutiny and Enforcement of Children’s Privacy; Google, YouTube Agree to Pay a Record $170 Million Fine
  49. Operation Full Disclosure, Continued: FTC Releases Disclosure Guides for Influencers
  50. FTC Releases New User-Friendly Disclosure Guidelines for Influencers
  51. FTC offers guidance for social media influencer disclosures
  52. FTC Releases Guidance for Influencers
  53. FTC Guidance for Social Media Influencers and Endorsements Continues to Evolve
  54. FTC Releases New Disclosures Guidance for Influencer #Ads
  55. Avoiding both irresponsible and misleading influencer marketing
  56. ASA ruling on “celebrity” status – ThisMamaLife
  57. ASA ruling on weight loss post – Jemmy Lucy
  58. ASA ruling on audience composition – Tanya Burr
  59. Tis the Season: Act in Time, or Your Nonprofit Will Say Goodbye to Any DMCA Safe Harbor Protection from Copyright Infringement Liability
  60. Liza Koshy Named Co-Chair Of Michelle Obama-Founded Nonprofit ‘When We All Vote’
  61. With 25 Million Views On Season 1, Kian And JC Are Readying Another ‘Reality House’
  62. Logan Paul vs. KSI 2 Turned Into A Legit Boxing Event
  63. Ahead Of Logan Paul Rematch, KSI Drops “Down Like That” Rap Track With Rick Ross, Lil Baby
  64. Spotify taps Viacom for content marketing globally
  65. Spotify’s Magic Leap app will change playlists as you change rooms: With an interface that appears in your real-world environment
  66. On Podcasting
  67. How Ipsy And Warby Parker Are Harnessing The Engagement Power Of Micro Influencers For Social Video
  68. Deloitte Ranks BroadbandTV One of The Fastest Growing Companies in North America
  69. How Canadian media-tech giant BroadbandTV is giving content owners a boost
  70. Microsoft’s Project Silica offers robust thousand-year storage
  71. Why more than 168,000 Valentine’s day text messages arrived in November
  72. The perils of messaging apps
  73. How Airbnb’s fight to overturn a New Jersey law imploded
  74. Will the Music Industry Continue To Win Its Copyright Battle Against ISPs?
  75. CISAC Labels Canada a “Digital Champion” for Digital Music Royalty Growth (Michael Geist)
  76. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 31: Is Canadian Media in a Financial Crisis? – Marc Edge With a Different Take on What the Data Says
  77. Cloudflare Explains What It Takes To Slay A Patent Troll
  78. What is cyber insurance and how popular is it becoming?
  79. Safeguarding User Freedoms in Implementing Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive: Recommendations from European Academics
  80. Spotlight on Digital Competition Issues – A Digital Legacy

A.I.

  1.  Twitter wants your feedback on its proposed deepfakes policy
  2. Intellectual property in open innovation and co-innovation in the field of artificial intelligence
  3. This system from Garmin can land a private plane when your pilot can’t 
  4. When AI systems cause harm: the application of civil and criminal liability
  5. Task force on artificial intelligence hearing: AI and the evolution of cloud computing – key testimony on the risks, challenges and opportunities
  6. Uber still using Waymo-derived self-driving technology, expert says
  7. Meet MLPerf, a benchmark for measuring machine-learning performance 
  8. Robot delivery services: the latest in anthropomorphic marketing? 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Comcast is trying to “dismantle” Civil Rights Act of 1866, MLK’s daughter says
  2. How the FCC solves consumer problems—well, it doesn’t, really
  3. Third Circuit Asked to Rehear Decision Overturning FCC Ownership Rule Changes – Where Do We Go from Here?
  4. FCC To Consider All-Digital AM at its November Meeting – What Questions are Being Asked?
  5. AT&T switches customers to more expensive plans without asking them first
  6. A Decade Later, AT&T Pays A Pittance For Lying About Its Unlimited Data Plans
  7. States Are Being Conned By Lobbyists Into Backing Off The T-Mobile Merger Lawsuit
  8. The Color Magenta, Or How T-Mobile Thinks It Owns A General Color
  9. ‘Unlimited’ Data Plans With Very Obvious Limits Are Only Getting More Confusing 
  10. DirectTV Forgot To Stop Charging Customers For Channels That Were Blacked Out 
  11. Mozilla: ISPs Are Lying About Encrypted DNS, Should Have Privacy Practices Investigated
  12. Defense Department and FCC to Collaborate on 5G Testbeds
  13. 2020 Political Broadcasting Rules
  14. 2019 – 2020 Political Issue Advertising The Blessing and the Curse!
  15. How does Plume get all these ISP partnerships? Open source software 

PRIVACY

  1. US violated Constitution by searching phones for no good reason, judge rules
  2. FBI Asks Congress To Permanently Reauthorize The Phone Record Collection The NSA Voluntarily Shut Down
  3. Breach affecting 1 million was caught only after hacker maxed out target’s storage
  4. Ring Spends The Week Collecting Data On Trick-Or-Treating Kids And Being An Attack Vector For Home WiFi Networks
  5. Ring-a-ding: IoT doorbell exposed customer Wi-Fi passwords to eavesdroppers
  6. Search warrant overrides 1M users’ choice not to share DNA with cops
  7. One of the world’s most advanced hacking groups debuts new Titanium backdoor
  8. The Battle Over Encryption
  9. Microsoft Says It’s Cool With California’s New Privacy Law
  10. IoT Security: NIST Spotlight

CREATIVITY

  1. Copyright & Colourable Imitation – Inside Out or Upside Down?
  2. Religion and belief discrimination: dismissing employee who refused to sign a copyright agreement was not discriminatory
  3. Indirect religion and belief discrimination: Did an employee suffer indirect discrimination because of her beliefs about copyright?
  4. Artists’ moral rights in the frame
  5. Vallejo v. Narcos Productions LLC
  6. Everybody must get (Sharon) Stoned
  7. Federal Court Says Man Arrested For ‘Criminally Defaming’ Cops Can Continue Suing To Block The Law From Being Enforced
  8. ASA ruling on gender stereotyping Philadelphia
  9. ASA ruling on gender stereotyping – Volkswagen
  10. Sandra Bullock & Ellen DeGeneres Lawsuit Takes on “Celebrity Endorsement Theft Industry”
  11. ASA ruling on alcohol and social responsibility – Macallan
  12. Public Backlash Leads To Backcountry.com Backing Down From Trademark Bullying
  13. Just Sue It: Nike Takes Skechers to Court For Copying Design Patents
  14. The best science and math moments in Sesame Street’s first 50 years
  15. A snapshot of the global patent landscape in eight charts

GAMES

  1. Epic is suing another tester for leaking Fortnite Chapter 2 content
  2. Another tester is being sued by Epic Games for leaking Fortnite Chapter 2: Keywords Studio employee was fired day after leak, now faces claim for over $85,000 in damages
  3. Activision and EA insiders have been profiting from selling stock during buybacks: CEOs Bobby Kotick and Andrew Wilson have made millions, but companies insist there is no improper practice
  4. China details new play time and spending restrictions for minors playing online games
  5. US and China agree to roll back tariffs that were set to affect console and mobile
  6. Blizzard Confirms It Won’t Rescind Blitzchung’s Suspension
  7. US congressman calls out Blizzard for allowing racist groups in WoW: “Racism isn’t a game,” rep. Lou Correa said after being made aware of far-right user guild, The Enclave
  8. Overwatch director thinks Blitzchung ban “should be reduced more or eliminated”: Jeff Kaplan says the process for a suspension or ban in OWL “takes about four to five days”
  9. Activision Blizzard sees slumping sales, sliding engagement: Revenues and monthly active users down across the board for Activision, King, and Blizzard divisions
  10. CoD and WoW push Activision Blizzard to better-than-expected Q3
  11. Blizzard plans to merge Overwatch 1 and 2 clients down the line
  12. Has Blizzard solved the sequel dilemma? | Opinion: Launching a sequel to a service-based game can easily lose player goodwill — but Overwatch 2 may have found a clever way to thread the needle
  13. Blizzard: Overwatch and Overwatch 2 clients will merge eventually – Jeff Kaplan says that all benefits of the paid sequel will be available to players of the first game
  14. Why the Hearthstone devs wanted to make an auto battler
  15. Player spending in Grand Theft Auto Online jumped 23% following casino update
  16. Ignore the critics — Tax Relief is vital to the UK games industry | Opinion: Criticising Rockstar, Rocksteady and Creative Assembly for benefiting from VGTR misses the point, says legal expert Tim Davies
  17. Take-Two raises guidance as microtransaction spending grows 32%
  18. Net revenue up 74% at Take-Two thanks to Borderlands 3, NBA, GTA, and others
  19. Live games propel Take-Two toward quiet holiday as GTA V reaches 115m units sold – CEO Strauss Zelnick: “There’s no rulebook around how you create transitions or new products in a world of live services”
  20. Key resellers claim legitimacy — the courts say otherwise | Opinion: Beiten Burkhardt’s Andreas Lober probes the legal basis for key resellers, and finds those marketplaces on shaky ground
  21. Indie storefront Itch.io now boasts 200,000 games
  22. Valve appears to be working on a “Steam Cloud Gaming” service
  23. Steam game sales for ‘the other 50%’
  24. Steam search suggestions & premium positioning
  25. Death Stranding will launch simultaneously on Steam and the Epic Games Store
  26. UK Charts: Death Stranding is the second biggest PS4 launch of 2019 – Hideo Kojima’s game debuts at No.2 behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
  27. Roblox survey reveals disconnect between parents and teens over online bullying: Majority of parents believe their children will discuss online behaviour with them, but more than half of teens disagree
  28. U.S. VA evaluating how more accessible games help veterans heal
  29. NPD: U.S. games spending up 1% in Q3 as live-services offset consoles
  30. Revenue down at Nexon as Dungeon&Fighter works to win back players
  31. Nexon sales slip in Q3: MapleStory publisher shows modest revenue growth, but can’t offset double-digit percentage declines everywhere else
  32. PUBG Mobile generated $154 million during October 2019
  33. Call of Duty: Mobile racks up almost $60 million in launch month
  34. Call of Duty holds off Luigi’s Mansion 3 in the EMEAA chart: Activision’s shooter remained top of every chart despite competition from Nintendo’s latest exclusive
  35. Call of Duty Mobile beats Mario Kart Tour’s first month downloads: Sensor Tower estimates 148m downloads, behind only Pokémon Go in the all-time list
  36. Pokémon Sword and Shield review: A big adventure with a small Pokédex
  37. Just Dance 2020 is the last Ubisoft title on the Wii: Nintendo won’t say if it’s the last Wii game ever
  38. Nintendo: While nostalgia has appeal, remakes need to offer new game experiences
  39. Nintendo’s 3DS support will continue into 2020
  40. Don’t Miss: How Game Freak designs the iconic monsters of Pokemon
  41. Pokémon fans rally around Game Freak amid Sword and Shield unrest: The new Nintendo Switch games are due out this week
  42. Nintendo expects “remarkable results” from Mario Kart Tour: President Shuntaro Furukawa told investors that “earnings are off to a good start” following strong launch
  43. Bandai Namco revealed as a development partner for Mario Kart Tour
  44. Playtonic dismisses Microsoft buyout rumours: The Yooka-Laylee studio also confirmed it’s not working on a new Banjo-Kazooie game
  45. Xbox Elite Series 2 Controller review: For $180, it better be this good
  46. Microsoft using Xbox Adaptive Controller to rehabilitate US veterans: Company is working with Veteran Affairs to roll out device to medical centres
  47. Minecraft nearing 300 million registered users in China
  48. Minecraft closes in on 300m registered accounts in China: Mojang’s game now has 112m monthly active users worldwide
  49. Net sales and profits up at Square Enix despite HD game struggles
  50. Square Enix profits up 32% in first half of fiscal year: Publisher’s success driven by MMOs and mobile games as HD games sales slip year-on-year
  51. Flavourworks raises $3.8 million to make interactive games with live-action video
  52. Erica dev Flavourworks nets $3.85 million to make more interactive games
  53. Flavourworks raises £3m to expand Touch Video platform: Series A round was led by Hiro Capital, making its first investment after launching earlier this year
  54. TabTale changes its name to Crazy Labs with focus on hyper-casual mobile games
  55. Stillfront reaps rewards of Kixeye acquisition in Q3: Revenue from Core games division rises almost 200% following $90m deal
  56. Indie publisher Kiss launches Intelligent Finance ISA: Company tells GamesIndustry.biz it will fund future games by promising investors 6.8% profit per year through tech bond
  57. Playtika considering IPO as Chinese acquisition plans collapse: Mobile games firm seeks listing in unspecified market, according to the company that failed to buy it
  58. Epic Games acquires photogrammetry asset library and toolset maker Quixel
  59. Epic acquires Megascans creator Quixel: All Megascans assets to become free for Unreal Engine users
  60. Epic Games acquires photogrammetry startup Quixel to make games more realistic
  61. Atlas Empires dev Cerberus acquires marketplace platform Tastebud
  62. Cerberus Interactive acquires Tastebud: Texas studio wants to incentivise real-world purchases in its location-based title Atlas Empires
  63. Sony opening Malaysian art studio to boost first-party development
  64. PlayStation to open development studio in Malaysia: The new office will provide animation services to developers building exclusive PlayStation 5 games
  65. Sony’s Jim Ryan: We had to make changes to deliver our PlayStation 5 dream – PlayStation’s CEO on the globalisation of Sony Interactive Entertainment
  66. Sony has a PlayStation Now problem
  67. Abbey Games will terminate all employee contracts next month: Dutch indie “forced to scope down significantly” after Early Access version failed to live up to expectations
  68. Susan Wojcicki Talks Self Certification, Monetization, And Video Game Violence At YouTube’s First Gaming Creator Summit
  69. Starbreeze proposes plan to pay debts in full: Administrator signs off on reconstruction schedule that would see Payday outfit meet obligations to creditors within five years
  70. Homescapes has grossed $1b in lifetime revenue
  71. Tencent’s online game revenue surpasses $4 billion in Q3
  72. The Tencent zombie game trying to advance the battle royale formula – We speak to Next Studios about how Synced: Off-Planet recreates the tension of Fortnite or DayZ without copying the structure
  73. Report: Tencent wants to develop console games with help from Nintendo
  74. Tencent reportedly looking to use Nintendo IP as it expands internationally
  75. Tencent wants to make console games with Nintendo IP to boost US and Europe presence: It follows the two companies’ partnership to bring Switch to China
  76. PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile help drive Tencent gaming revenues: Chinese publisher cites increased contributions from overseas titles as driving growth in mobile gaming business, offsetting declines from PC
  77. Zynga: “Not every DAU is created equal”: President of publishing Bernard Kim talks about long-running live ops games and the decision to sunset or reinvest in them
  78. Gaming Industry Associations Agree on Universal Esports Principles
  79. Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag to be honoured at Esports Bar Cannes: 100 Thieves founder will be named Shaker of the Year at annual awards
  80. Hitmarker raises £200k for esports recruitment platform: Startup eclipsed £80k equity crowdfunding target in less than a week
  81. Twitch Studio, the company’s streaming software for new users, is now in open beta: The streaming site’s first software product is now available to everyone
  82. Q&A: Designing the foreboding Apple Arcade Soulslike Bleak Sword
  83. Apple reportedly making a VR/AR headset with a focus on gaming: Combined headset planned for 2021 or 2022, with lightweight AR glasses following in 2023
  84. Two years later, Apple’s AR/VR headset plans reportedly pushed back two years
  85. John Carmack wins Lifetime Achievement prize at VR Awards 2019: Oculus Quest crowned best hardware, while A Fisherman’s Tale is declared best game
  86. Virtual reality: Infringement in cyberspace
  87. Pistol Whip review: The year’s freshest VR game—and oh-so close to greatness
  88. Oculus and Unity team up for free course on VR game development
  89. Google brings DIY virtual reality to the masses by open-sourcing Cardboard SDK
  90. Only 12 games will be available on Google Stadia in time for Nov. 19 launch
  91. Stadia launch includes familiar lineup, one exclusive
  92. Google Stadia’s launch lineup includes 12 games: Only one title is an exclusive; three of them are Tomb Raider games
  93. Google unveils Stadia’s full 12-game launch day line-up: Plus 14 more titles for 2019.
  94. Stadia launch dev: Game makers are worried “Google is just going to cancel it”
  95. Kine creator: “The biggest concern with Stadia is that it might not exist” – DLC. At PAX West, developers Lucy Morris, Ken Hall, and Gwen Frey discuss diversity, community, and Stadia’s long-term potential
  96. Google plans to roll out Stadia features weekly after a barebones Nov. 19 launch
  97. Q&A: Respawn’s Mohammad Alavi works for greater diversity in game dev
  98. Diablo 4 impressions: Soaking in dark atmosphere and feel-good combat
  99. World of Warcraft: Shadowlands impressions: Leveling alts is about to get a lot more fun
  100. Activision Blizzard hits Q3 earnings targets with strong World of Warcraft Classic results
  101. Voodoo opens Canadian studio to expand beyond hypercasual market
  102. Voodoo opens Montreal studio as it expands beyond hypercasual games: New branch will be led by former Gameloft producer Mehdi El Moussali
  103. Human Head shuts down, staff to join Bethesda’s new studio: Co-founder Chris Rhinehart becomes creative director at Roundhouse Studios
  104. Prey dev Human Head Studios closes, is immediately revived by Bethesda
  105. What games are people talking about on Twitter?: Platform’s head of gaming content Rishi Chadha discusses what sparks conversation and how it differs from region to region
  106. Goldeneye 007’s lost remaster emerges again via massive, polished video leak
  107. Turning love into a cooperative game mechanic in The Game Bakers’ Haven
  108. Soul Reaver: Audacious, pulpy, intelligent, trashy, uncompromising
  109. “Expectations for full-price games is very high. You need a large budget to have a chance”: CI Games CEO Marek Tymiński on the struggles of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 and how upcoming sequel Contracts will rectify this
  110. Video: A chat with Mac Walters on the unsolved mysteries of the Mass Effect universe
  111. Video: Insights from the GDC 2019 Narrative Innovation Showcase
  112. Video: How Techland built Dying Light’s remarkable parkour system
  113. Blog: A battle royale analysis from Q3
  114. Blog: Analysing the success of Free Fire, the other king of battle royale
  115. Blog: When theme and mechanics collide
  116. Blog: Making a successful indie game using the GemuKai framework
  117. Don’t Miss: The Binding of Isaac postmortem
  118. Don’t Miss: Devs recount their near-catastrophic run-ins with the sunk cost fallacy
  119. Don’t Miss: How moving from 2D to 3D shaped the design of Risk of Rain 2
  120. Don’t Miss: Designing decisions that matter in Orwell
  121. “I believe I am preserving digital art in a physical form”: Special Reserve Games CEO Jeff Smith talks about the business of selling physical copies of indie hits, from speculators to customers buying games “almost blindly”
  122. New Noclip vid offers devs an inside look at how the ESRB works
  123. Video: An indie game dev’s guide to contracting
  124. Video Gaming / E-Gaming Law Update: Does Your Gaming Stream Violate the Copyright Act?
  125. Galaga and Pole Position composer Nobuyuki Ohnogi has passed away

Jon

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News of the Week; November 6, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Twitter will ban political ads, Jack Dorsey announces
  2. Man Sues Twitter For $1 Billion Claiming His Account’s Suspension Violated His Right To Worship President Trump As A Demigod
  3. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Announces New Ban On Political Ads, Takes Shot At Facebook
  4. Twitter Bans Political Ads – Doing What Broadcasters are Forbidden to Do
  5. Twitter is rolling out Topics, a way to follow subjects automatically in the timeline: Starting with more than 300 subjects across sports, gaming, and entertainment
  6. Former Twitter employees charged with spying on users for Saudis
  7. Twitter’s Decision To Ban Political Ads Is A Moderation Choice Itself That Likely Will Backfire In Its Own Way
  8. 8chan gets back online—and is promptly forced off again
  9. Breaking the law: How 8chan (or “8kun”) got (briefly) back online
  10. Devin Nunes Demands Satirical Internet Cow Stop Making Fun Of Him… Or Else
  11. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Apologizes And Unblocks Critic Who Sued Her
  12. Why America needs a hate speech law
  13. Former Journalist Decides There’s Too Much Free Speech These Days
  14. After 10 failed logins, Giuliani had Apple Store wipe his iPhone: Report – The 2017 incident occurred shortly after Trump named Rudy cybersecurity advisor.
  15. Exclusive: U.S. opens national security investigation into TikTok – sources
  16. The U.S. Government Is Investigating TikTok Parent Bytedance As A Potential National Security Threat (Report)
  17. TikTok Integrates Third-Party Editing, Posting Tools Amid Developers Program Launch
  18. TikTok’s parent company facing national security review, report says
  19. Antitrust 101: Why everyone is probing Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google
  20. Competition Bureau Cracks Down on Misleading Advertising in the Digital Economy
  21. Deadspin Is Being Burnt To The Ground By Its New Management As Staff Quits Or Revolts
  22. A Thumbs-Up Emoji Doesn’t Mean That Dad Disavowed His Child–Bardales v. Lamothe
  23. Strike 3’s Copyright Litigation Campaign Completely Strikes Out (Eric Goldman)
  24. Copyright Lawyer Asks that Judge Recuse Himself for Referring to Lawyer as “Troll”
  25. No Copyright Case Too Small: Content Creators Rejoice or Casual Infringers Beware?
  26. The Fine Print of Terms of Use
  27. Ninth Circuit Preserves LinkedIn Competitor’s Data-Scraping Rights
  28. Just Another Day In Academic Publishing: Professor Posts His Own Article On His Own Website, Gets Takedown Notice Alleging Copyright Infringement
  29. Content Moderation At Scale Remains Impossible: Vaccines Edition
  30. NY Times At It Again: Has To Run Massive Correction For All The Errors In Aaron Sorkin’s Facts Optional Rant About Why Facebook Should Fact Check
  31. Facebook’s Sues Israeli Malware Marketer With A Lawsuit That Aims To Make An Easily-Abused Law Even More Abusable
  32. Courts in the EU Can Order Facebook to Remove Defamatory Content Globally and Monitor Republications
  33. Facebook changes product branding to FACEBOOK
  34. Microsoft Japan’s four-day week trial boosts productivity by 40%: Company also noted paper and electricity consumption dropped significantly
  35. Google to Buy Fitbit for $2.1 Billion: The deal represents an aggressive attempt by Google to bolster its lineup of hardware products.
  36. Google Buys Fitbit for $2.1B
  37. Google buys Fitbit for $2.1 billion
  38. What is Google going to do with your Fitbit data? Anything it likes: Fitbit’s teams could soon be working on future Pixel watches. But more importantly, what can Google do with all the health and fitness data?
  39. Hungary: Google is set to triumph over the Hungarian advertisement tax
  40. Google workers call on company to adopt aggressive climate plan: Letter signed by more than 1,000 employees calls for zero emissions by 2030 in latest wave of industry climate activism
  41. FTC Brings First Case against Developers of “Stalking” Applications
  42. Is A YouTube COPPAcalypse Coming? FTC Rules Could Start Demonetizing Creators In 2020
  43. Will the FTC Crack Down on Online Influencers?
  44. FTC to Influencers: Don’t Lie. Be Transparent. Keep It Simple.
  45. FTC Releases New Guide for Influencers
  46. The FTC Releases New Guidelines (And Its First Creator-Friendly Brochure) For Influencers Who Post Sponsored Content
  47. FTC Issues Guidance on Proper Disclosures for Social Media Influencers
  48. Key Takeaways from FTC’s “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers”
  49. Keeping It Real: FTC Settles Cases Over Fake Social Media Indicators, Reviews
  50. FTC Imposed a $2.5 Million Fine on a CEO for Selling Fake Likes and Followers on Social Media
  51. “Good Genes?”: Maybe Not. FTC Takes Action Against Sunday Riley and Sunday Riley Modern Skincare, LLC For Employees False Reviews
  52. Actively exploited bug in fully updated Firefox is sending users into a tizzy
  53. Xiaomi’s Apple Watch clone removes everything good about the Apple Watch
  54. YouTube Ads Contain More Male Characters, But Those Starring Females Nab More Views (Study)
  55. State Court Rejects Prager University’s Lawsuit Against YouTube
  56. Prager University Loses Another Of Its Silly Lawsuits Against YouTube Over Non-Existent ‘Bias’
  57. Warner Music UK Ltd. & Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd v. TuneIn Inc. [2019] EWHC 2923 (Ch)
  58. Susan Wojcicki Joins #TeamTrees With $200,000 Personal Contribution
  59. YouTube Might Have Banned Former Trump Adviser, Sebastian Gorka, For Copyright Violations
  60. YouTube Rolls Out Latest Creator Monetization Tool In The Form Of ‘Super Stickers’
  61. YouTube rolls out Super Stickers, a new way for creators to make money
  62. These Are The YouTube Music Videos With The Highest Halloween Viewership
  63. Halloween Social Videos Amass Over 6.6 Billion Views in October Alone
  64. YouTube Testing New App Layout With Three Featured Comments Directly Under Videos
  65. RIP OG Pixel: Google ends support after just three years
  66. Google Brings ‘Shopping Ads’ Format To YouTube Ahead Of Holiday Frenzy
  67. Shopping ads come to YouTube’s home feed and search results
  68. Coldplay To Premiere New Album In Two-Part YouTube Stream From Jordan
  69. After Boxing Defeat, FouseyTube Launches New ‘YouTube Cribs’ Series With Logan Paul
  70. Shane Dawson And Jeffree Star’s ‘Conspiracy’ Launch Hits Hourslong Snag Amid Shopify Crash
  71. After Selling 1 Million Palettes In 30 Minutes, Jeffree Star And Shane Dawson Announce ‘Conspiracy Collection’ Restock
  72. David Dobrik Swipes Right On Branded Courtship With Dating App ‘Bumble’
  73. Man City: controlling brand and reputation in the age of agencies, ads and #influencers
  74. Spotify Saved the Music Industry. Now What?: Profits are hard to come by—and Apple and Amazon aren’t going away.
  75. Netflix Sinks Its Teeth Into Scripted Podcasting With Post-Apocalyptic Miniseries ‘The Only Podcast Left’
  76. Apple TV+ launches with eight TV shows and one movie
  77. Insights: Beyond Reflex, React, and Repost Journalism, NewsMatch Boosts Nonprofit Newsrooms
  78. With Vice Deal Done, Refinery29 Founders Moving Out of Management Roles
  79. Intel hits 10nm goals and signals a shift away from traditional CPUs
  80. Just Browsing: District Court Finds Browsewrap Agreement Enforceable
  81. Texas court upholds “do it on a computer” check-cashing patent
  82. Bipartisan social media data portability bill introduced in U.S. Senate
  83. Because Internet makes a linguist’s case for l33t speak, other online-text fads

A.I.

  1. The Global Forum on AI for Humanity: A Global Forum That Excluded the Globe (Michael Geist)
  2. Can An Algorithm Be An Author? (And Other AI Questions The PTO Is Now Asking)
  3. When both drivers are in error, people blame the human one more
  4. Deepfakes: is seeing still believing?

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. When does hyperlinking infringe copyright? UK High Court addresses linking to internet radio stations
  2. Warner Music UK Ltd. & Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd v. TuneIn Inc. [2019] EWHC 2923 (Ch)
  3. DirecTV kept charging regional sports fee while channel was blacked out
  4. FCC Freaks Out About Huawei, But Ignores The Internet Of Broken Things
  5. Researchers unearth malware that siphoned SMS texts out of telco’s network 
  6. Shocker: ISPs Cut Back 2020 Investment Despite Tax Breaks, Death Of Net Neutrality 
  7. Cops Now Using Warrants To Gain Access To DNA Services’ Entire Databases
  8. AT&T Will Pay $60 Million to Settle FTC Charges of Unfair Practices
  9. AT&T Enters Into $60 Million Settlement With FTC Over “Unlimited” Claims 
  10. AT&T Loses Another 1.36 Million Pay TV Subscribers Thanks To Relentless Price Hikes
  11. AT&T’s priciest “unlimited” plan now allows 100GB+ of un-throttled data
  12. AT&T users whose “unlimited data” was throttled get $60 million in refunds
  13. AT&T makes customers work to get refunds they should get automatically
  14. 5G Is Not A ‘Race,’ And We’re Incapable Of Determining Winners Even If It Was
  15. California Wildfire Cellular Outages Could Have Been Easily Avoided
  16. Changes to the Electronic Communications Code 

PRIVACY

  1. New Suit Against Spyware-Maker Demonstrates One Company’s Offensive Strategy Against Cyber Attacks
  2. ACLU Sues DOJ Over Facial Recognition Documents
  3. ACLU sues feds to get information about facial-recognition programs
  4. ISPs lied to Congress to spread confusion about encrypted DNS, Mozilla says
  5. FBI’s Top Lawyer From The Apple Encryption Fight Says Law Enforcement Needs To Suck It Up And Embrace Encryption
  6. Tipped off by an NSA breach, researchers discover new APT hacking group
  7. Researchers hack Siri, Alexa, and Google Home by shining lasers at them
  8. New bill would create Digital Privacy Agency to enforce privacy rights
  9. DoD’s new cybersecurity compliance program . . . What you need to know
  10. Facebook Groups API flaw exposed data to 100 developers, company says
  11. Australia’s Idiotic War On Porn Returns, This Time Using Facial Recognition
  12. Children’s Privacy Law Updates: Tricks or Treats?
  13. GDPR fines were meant to rock the data privacy world. They haven’t: GDPR hasn’t heralded the swarm of huge fines that was predicted. But that doesn’t mean the fines so far haven’t been influential
  14. Privacy Shield Third Annual Review
  15. Ransomware Hits Hard During 2019
  16. FBI Warns of E-Skimming Threats

CREATIVITY

  1. Jean Carroll suing Trump for defamation: The 28-page lawsuit filed on Monday outlines Trump’s alleged rape of Carroll 23 years ago.
  2. Jean Carroll, Who Accused Trump of Rape, Sues Him for Defamation: The writer says the president hurt her career when he said she had lied about him attacking her in a dressing room in the 1990s.
  3. DOJ, Apparently Unaware Of 1st Amendment, Threaten Anonymous White House Official About To Release A Book
  4. 9th Circuit Revives Ridiculous ‘Shake It Off’ Copyright Lawsuit, Because The 9th Circuit Loves To Mess Up Copyright Law
  5. Bob Murray, Who Sued John Oliver For Mocking His Support Of Trump’s Plan To Bring Back Coal Jobs… Files For Bankruptcy
  6. US Government Threatening To Kill Free Trade With South Africa After Hollywood Complained It Was Adopting American Fair Use Principles
  7. The bell tolls for alleged copyright claim to skyline photo
  8. The copyright woes of Meghan Markle
  9. Believe it or not – claim based on belief in copyright fails
  10. Prince’s Foundation struck by £100 million art fraud scandal
  11. Estoppel based on patent prosecution history in Canada: The Pandora’s box is opened
  12. Hall v. Swift
  13. G-Star clothing designs not covered by copyright protection
  14. Of Passion, Prejudice and Punitive Damages
  15. Ex-Wrestlers Argue WWE Hid Risks of Head Injuries in Concussion Lawsuit
  16. Employer Pays Millions in Compensation for Employee’s Invention
  17. California Man Gets Sued After Trying To Trademark Bully A Theme Park
  18. Black Friday – Not Just Shopping Madness, Beware the Trademark Trap
  19. Splatter master Jackson Pollock avoided “coiling” when creating his paintings
  20. Spooky IP
  21. Patent Tips for Halloween

GAMES

  1. Blizzard president gives vague apology for Hong Kong protest response
  2. Blizzard president J. Allen Brack apologizes for bungled Hearthstone punishment
  3. Hong Kong protesters shine, but don’t quite spark at BlizzCon
  4. Blizzard’s substance-less BlizzCon statement speaks volumes | Opinion: Allen Brack’s speech rings hollow as company changes no policies, stands by Hearthstone pro’s ban for supporting Hong Kong protesters
  5. Allen Brack apologizes for Blizzard’s “tough Hearthstone esports moment”: At BlizzCon, company president alludes to ban of Hearthstone player Blitzchung for pro-Hong Kong support, welcomes protests
  6. Brack confirms Blizzard won’t repeal Blitzchung ban: The sanction against the casters won’t be withdrawn either, Blizzard’s president said
  7. Blizzard won’t reverse Hearthstone pro’s Hong Kong protest suspension: Blizzard boss shifts some blame for initial decisions to Chinese publishing partner.
  8. Blizzcon: Blizzard Apologizes For Banning Blitzchung, Keeps Him Banned, More Fallout Ensues
  9. Hearthstone developers think Blizzard was “too harsh” with Blitzchung: But creative director Ben Thompson said that taking control of a platform that is “very much not your own” is not free speech
  10. Xiaomeng ‘Liooon’ Li is the first woman to win Hearthstone GrandMasters: Li is also the first woman to win a major competition across all Blizzard games at Blizzcon
  11. China fears young people are addicted to video games. Now it’s imposing a curfew
  12. China gaming regulator publishes new rules for minors targeting playtime, spending: Age-rating system still in the works as restrictions are tightened, expanded to mobile games
  13. “If we’re going to be drug dealers, let’s not literally mine for addicts”: At Reboot Develop, indie publisher Mike Wilson used the game addiction debate to call for devs to “be intentional” about what they create
  14. Video: Addiction science and advice for devs on promoting healthy play
  15. ‘Fortnite’ Pro FaZe Jarvis Banned From Game For Life After YouTube Videos Showed Him Cheating
  16. Aimbot video leads to lifetime ban for popular Fortnite pro
  17. General Court says that relevant public’s attention is ‘average at best’ when assessing likelihood of confusion relating to games and computer games (“Dungeons” is confusingly similar to “Dungeons & Dragons”)
  18. Reselling Digital Video Games Now entering the age of the digital yard sale?
  19. ZeniMax ordered to issue refunds for Fallout 76 in Australia: Well, this can’t be good.
  20. ZeniMax to offer refunds for faulty Fallout 76 in Australia: ZeniMax admits it likely misled consumers over their digital rights
  21. ZeniMax to grant Fallout 76 refunds under pressure from Australian commission
  22. Less than half of US gamers purchased in-game content last month – SuperData: Additional content spending stagnating on PC and console as players gravitate toward fewer titles overall
  23. Fabulous investigating after Devolver Digital accuses its app of ripping off Gris
  24. Self-help app “investigating” after accusations of stealing art, animation from Gris: Devolver Digital shares side-by-side comparison of Fabulous video, Gris gameplay and cutscenes
  25. Brendan Greene: “I [only] have one woman on my team, and I hate that” – At the View Conference, PUBG’s creator discussed hiring for diversity, and why education will be the best long-term solution
  26. Amazon blocks sales of all unauthorised Nintendo products: Third-party sellers now need platform holder’s approval before selling second-hand games or hardware
  27. Amazon reverses sudden restriction of third-party “Nintendo product“ sales
  28. Report: Amazon cracking down on third-party sales of Nintendo products
  29. Switch Lite sells strong at launch, as total Switch sales near 42M
  30. Nintendo: Switch Lite is expanding the Switch market, especially with women
  31. The Nintendo Switch has sold over 10 million units in Japan 
  32. The Nintendo Switch has sold 10m units in Japan: Japanese sales make up nearly one-fourth of total console sales (including the Lite)
  33. UK Charts: Luigi’s Mansion 3 is the biggest Switch launch of 2019 (so far) – At least until Pokémon comes along
  34. Nintendo Profits Lifted by Switch Lite Sales
  35. Nintendo has nearly doubled its first-party game sales in 2019 
  36. So far, game spending is over $27 billion for 2019 in the US 
  37. US gamers have spent $27.9bn in 2019 so far: Spending is only up 1% over 2018 year-to-date, with hardware sales down 23%
  38. How Arcade1Up found a sweet spot for scaled-down home game cabinets
  39. Abbey Games ‘scoping down’ and terminating all employee contracts by 2020
  40. Call of Duty was the UK’s best-selling game in October
  41. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare dominates the EMEAA charts – Meanwhile, FIFA fends off new releases The Outer Worlds, MediEvil and WWE 2K20
  42. Supercell scraps upcoming title Rush Wars after failing to find the fun
  43. Supercell shuts down Rush Wars after three months of beta: PvP strategy title cancelled due to “repetitive” nature, concerns about longevity
  44. Profits down 48.1% for Rovio Entertainment in Q3: Angry Birds dev in discussions to potentially lay off staff as The Angry Birds Movie 2 falls short of expectations
  45. PS4 slows as the transition nears | Opinion: Sony’s next year will be vital; as PS4 sales decline faster than expected, can the company balance support for its older console with building excitement for the new?
  46. Retrospective: As Sony Clearly Wins This Generation’s Console Wars, Let’s Recall How It All Began
  47. Watch Dogs Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine and Gods & Monsters heading to PS5, Project Scarlett: Delayed Ubisoft titles will be joined by two unannounced AAA games in the next fiscal year
  48. Industry veterans form ‘diverse and inclusive’ studio Brass Lion Entertainment
  49. Brass Lion Entertainment aims to diversify the industry: New studio from AAA vets will focus on original games “that center on Black and Brown characters, cultures, and stories”
  50. Epic Games Store update brings new navigation and in-game store options
  51. Epic adds free Infinity Blade content to Unreal Engine Marketplace
  52. Does French streaming platform Shadow have its head in the clouds?: Co-founder Emmanuel Freund on opening up games to more people, the tech side of things and Google’s entry into the space
  53. F1 extends licencing deal with Codemasters until 2025: Codemasters has extended its deal for exclusive video game rights for the Formula 1 World Championship until 2025, with an option for a further two years.
  54. Modern Warfare dev compares game’s “awareness building” to Schoolhouse Rock: Narrative director responds to criticism about ‘Highway of Death’ mission: “This is not some kind of propaganda”
  55. Modern Warfare. Modern Warfare never changes.: 10 Years Ago This Month: No Russian turns the mass shooting into mass market entertainment and Nokia buries the N-Gage for good
  56. Which platforms are publishers and investors really interested in?: Xsolla shares lessons from its funding club and offers advice on how to impress potential investors
  57. Death Stranding is Kojima unleashed, and it’s as weird as you’d expect
  58. Death Stranding: Critical Consensus – A haunting experience that succeeds in spite of its own clumsy excess, Death Stranding arrives to frequently mitigated praise
  59. Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions to start making movies
  60. Hideo Kojima to venture into film production: “Games, films and dramas will have to compete in the same space,” Death Stranding director said
  61. Blizzard announces Overwatch sequel at BlizzCon
  62. Overwatch 2 announced, will be cross-compatible with original game: Overwatch surpasses 50 million players, all of whom will be able to PvP match with, transfer cosmetics to Overwatch 2
  63. Jeff Kaplan: Leaks impact developer morale more than anything else
  64. Hearthstone Battlegrounds is Blizzard’s card-based take on auto chess
  65. Blizzard confirms Diablo IV is coming to consoles and PC
  66. Diablo IV is revealed, sure looks like a supercharged Diablo II
  67. Designing the gameplay and aesthetic of Diablo IV
  68. Don’t Miss: David Brevik’s tale of designing the original Diablo
  69. Blizzard is adding ethnically diverse character skins with World of Warcraft: Shadowlands: Fifteen years after launch, players will be able to customise their character to match their ethnicity
  70. Wargaming partners with Gearbox for its first full retail release: World of Warships: Legends will get a retail version in Firepower Deluxe Edition
  71. Vainglory dev Super Evil Megacorp raises $10.5 million as it refocuses on next project
  72. Super Evil Megacorp closes $10.5m financing round as it prepares to launch new project: Vainglory developer hands off publishing responsibilities for its cross-platform MOBA to Rogue Games
  73. Improbable and Tencent Cloud team up to help devs bring games to China
  74. Improbable partners with Tencent Cloud for game development program: New Improbable/Tencent Cloud Developer Program to support creators making games in SpatialOS for the Chinese market with cloud services
  75. Unity acquires 3D application streaming platform creator Obvioos
  76. Unity acquires cloud application streaming service creator Obvioos: French studio begins aligning Furioos’ 3D application streaming tech closely with development platform
  77. Video: Inside BioWare’s embedded QA process
  78. Video: Advice for game devs on creating believable heroes
  79. Zordix secures $1.4 million in funding, acquires Dimfrost Studio
  80. Chad Wild Clay And Vy Qwaint’s ‘Spy Ninja’ Mobile Game Surpasses 3 Million Downloads
  81. Games industry international trade bodies unite on universal esports principles: Set of four principles for engagement agreed upon by representatives of the ESA, ESAC, UKIE, ISFE, and IGEA
  82. Yoshinori Ono on Street Fighter’s road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics: The Capcom producer discusses the Intel World Open, a tournament that aims to break the barriers to entry for esports
  83. Esports tournament platform Mainline closes $6.8m funding round: Funding led by Work America Capital will help expand software platform
  84. Report: Embattled real estate startup WeWork mulling esports investment
  85. Esports Org 100 Thieves Signs Rapidly-Ascending Twitch Star ‘Brooke AB’
  86. Another major streamer leaves Twitch, this time for YouTube
  87. YouTube Steals CouRage From Twitch As The Celebrity Streamer Gold Rush Heats Up
  88. CouRage Becomes Latest Streamer To Ditch Twitch — In Exclusive Deal With YouTube Gaming
  89. 100 Thieves’ Jack “CouRage” Dunlop signs YouTube exclusivity deal: Dunlop asks over 2m Twitch subscribers to follow him as exodus of major streamers from Twitch to other platforms continues
  90. Twitch Teams With Analytics Provider Moat To Measure Its Unblockable ‘SureStream’ Ads
  91. Longtime NASCAR Exec Lou Garate Switches Lanes, Becoming Twitch’s First Global Head Of Sponsorship Sales
  92. Twitch CEO Emmett Shear On How Moderation Creates Communities: Twitch is bigger than it’s ever been, and here’s how it’s going to change
  93. Mixer Price-Matches Twitch, Dropping Monthly Creator Subscription From $5.99 To $4.99
  94. New Oculus Social Tools Will Help VR Feel More Like a Place, Less Like a Game
  95. Facebook CEO: ‘VR is Taking Longer Than Expected, but We’ll See It to Mass Adoption’
  96. Reality Gaming Group expanding to China: Chengdu government will help promote the studio and its flagship game Reality Clash, as well as AR and blockchain tech
  97. Rumor: Apple Reportedly Partners With Valve to Develop AR Headset
  98. Toys R Us partners with Snapchat to create AR shopping experience: The augmented reality experience aims to help users with their holiday shopping
  99. Niantic opens Niantic Creator Program to fund and support AR-minded devs
  100. Niantic opens up Pokemon Go sponsored location program for smaller businesses
  101. Niantic announces Creator Program to support AR development: Pokemon Go developer also offering funding opportunities, AR development kit
  102. Braid and the beauty of not wasting time – Why I Love: A Duel Hand Disaster dev Jaycee Salinas takes inspiration from the indie time manipulation platformer
  103. Video: Advice for game devs on creating believable heroes
  104. Video: Game preservation lessons learned on EA’s biggest sports games
  105. Blog: Kickstarter lessons learned from a 300 percent funded solo project
  106. Net sales down at Starbreeze as company readies for Payday-centric future
  107. Starbreeze losses were $30.8 million for the first nine months of 2019: But company is confident reconstruction efforts and new publishing deal Payday 3 will save the studio
  108. Bake ‘n’ Switch wins big at the Reboot Develop Indie Awards: Streamline Studios’ original IP picked up GOTY, while Myst creator Rand Miller received the Hero award
  109. Don’t Miss: Designing the stealth, economy, and encounters of Horizon Zero Dawn
  110. Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC: More frames, more volumetric beauty, no Steam
  111. Don’t Miss: Composing the music of Red Dead Redemption
  112. SingStar servers slated for January 2020 shutdown
  113. Sony will close down SingStar servers in January 2020: Online sales, support and shared content will be pulled, 15 years after the series debuted
  114. Just Dance launches campaign to raise money for Alzheimer’s Research UK: Ubisoft will donate £1 for every dance memory shared on social media
  115. U.S. Patent no. 10,252,163: Music video game with user directed sound generation

Jon

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News of the Week; October 30, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. G/O Media Is Fighting Its Staff Over ‘Objectively Bad’ Autoplay Ads: Deadspin, Gizmodo, and Jezebel have been inundated with sound-on ads that the rest of the internet killed a decade ago.
  2. What happened when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came face to face with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg
  3. Zuckerberg faces heat in Congress: “It’s almost like you think this is a joke” – Hearing on Libra cryptocurrency went off the rails, running down the CEO.
  4. Facebook’s new political-ad policy already showing cracks, loopholes
  5. No, you apparently can’t run for office just to put false ads on Facebook
  6. Facebook launches a news section — and will pay publishers
  7. Facebook will begin paying some outlets for their content as it introduces its News tab: Breitbart News is among the 200 outlets participating in the program.
  8. Facebook Launches ‘News’ Tab, Will Pay (Some) Partner Outlets For Their Content
  9. ‘Facebook Spaces’ Has Been Shut Down But Its Lessons Shouldn’t Be Forgotten
  10. Viacom Digital Studios International Inks Multi-Territory Content Deal With Facebook Watch
  11. Facebook deletes the accounts of NSO Group workers
  12. Russia’s Fancy Bear hackers conduct “significant cyberattacks” on anti-doping agencies
  13. Indian nuclear power plant’s network was hacked, officials confirm
  14. Indian nuke plant’s network reportedly hit by malware tied to N. Korea
  15. India Looking To Be The Next China, Sends Out Call For Bids On Massive Facial Recognition Program
  16. India: Delhi High Court orders removal of all posts defamatory to Ramdev ‘Globally’
  17. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 29: Partisan Posts, Social Media, and Misinformation – Taylor Owen on What Actually Happened Online in the 2019 Election (Michael Geist)
  18. Internet Access Provider May Be Vicariously Liable for Subscribers’ BitTorrent Downloads–Warner Bros. v. Charter (Eric Goldman)
  19. Instagram expands ban on suicide content to cover cartoons and memes
  20. How memes got weaponized: A short history
  21. Youth and Cyberbullying
  22. Congress concerned teenagers’ favorite app is national security threat
  23. TikTok, Under Scrutiny, Distances Itself From China: Three senators have called for an investigation into the social media app, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance.
  24. Indian Court Orders Global Takedown Of ‘Defamatory’ Video From YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
  25. Trump to Tell Federal Agencies to Cut New York Times, Washington Post Subscriptions
  26. Twitter blocking all political ads globally starting in November
  27. Twitter says it now removes half of all abusive tweets before users report them
  28. Twitter shares plunge almost 20% after revenue hit by weaker advertising, low demand
  29. India uses opaque legal process to suppress Kashmiri journalism, commentary on Twitter
  30. No, Internet Companies Do Not Get A ‘Free Pass’ Thanks To CDA 230
  31. Insights: As Social Media Sites Fiddle Over Cannabis Creator Bans, Public Health Suffers
  32. Lego’s Mostly Obnoxious IP Bullying Of The 3D Printing Community Doesn’t Make Any Sense
  33. Your Periodic Reminder that Blogging About Litigation Can Generate More Litigation–Wexler v. Dorsey & Whitney (Eric Goldman)
  34. FTC Reaches Settlement with Developer of Tracking Apps
  35. Social Media Bot Company Devumi LLC Reaches $2.5 Million Settlement with FTC for Sale of Misleading Social Media “Influence Indicators”
  36. FTC Sues Over Phony Business Practices Online
  37. FTC Enforcement Action Against Deceptive Online Reviews
  38. The FTC fosters fake reviews, its own commissioners say
  39. Customer Review Fraud Top of FTC’s Priority List
  40. NAAG Asks Online Retailers to Prevent Illegal Alcohol Sales
  41. Skin Care Company, Sunday Riley, Somehow Gets No Consequences In Fake Reviews FTC Settlement
  42. Website and Its Operator Settle FTC Charges They Sold Fake Indicators of Social Media Influence
  43. Tax Treatment of Cryptocurrency Mining
  44. See on Apple TV+: Less Game of Thrones, more unintentionally funny SyFy
  45. Apple earnings Q4 2019: Tim Cook says health will be what Apple is remembered for
  46. Creatives, Including Judd Apatow, Balk At Netflix Playback Speed Tests: “Don’t F-ck With Our Timing”
  47. Spotify Testing Sponsored Version of ‘Brand New Music for You’ Recommendation Feature
  48. Spotify launches a dedicated Kids app with curated playlists and playful art
  49. Snapchat now lets you 3D Paint faces and pretty much anything else
  50. Amazon Can’t Force Arbitration of Minors’ Privacy Claims Based on Alexa Recordings–BF v. Amazon
  51. Court Partially Enforces Amazon’s Non-Compete Against Employee Who Joined Google–Amazon v. Moyer
  52. Amazon Will Make Amazon Fresh Free, Moving To Strengthen Its Lead In The Online Grocery Market
  53. Amid Missed Alphabet Earnings, Analyst Suggests YouTube Spin-Off Could Boast $300 Billion Market Cap
  54. YouTube Music Brings 10,000 Fans Together To Create New Queen Music Videos
  55. Jesse Ridgway Spent 13 Years Making Content On YouTube. Here’s Why He’s Leaving — And Building Its Competitor.
  56. MrBeast Is Going To Plant 20 Million Trees — With A Little Help From The YouTube Community
  57. Creators Discovered YouTube’s Publicly Available Code Displayed Channels’ P-Scores, Video Ratings, And More
  58. Target Hones YouTube Presence In Massively-Viewed Collabs With Michelle Phan, Emma Chamberlain
  59. Ryan ToysReview Changes Clunky Channel Name, Launches Spanish-Language Hub
  60. Group Nine Announces New Executive Leadership Structure Following PopSugar Acquisition
  61. NBA’s Top Offseason Video Topics, Plus Lebron, Zion, And More Very Engaging Stars For The 2019-20 Season
  62. Microsoft finally built a repairable Surface Laptop
  63. Red quits the smartphone business after a single, terrible phone
  64. Here’s what the people who claimed Google’s quantum supremacy have to say about it
  65. Google And Facebook Didn’t Kill Newspapers: The Internet Did
  66. Google’s parent company reportedly wants to buy Fitbit
  67. An Army “hacker con” goes big: The return of AvengerCon
  68. A Turning Point for Tech – Global survey on digital regulation: Technological developments and tech-based business models have become a focus for global regulation across borders and industries in recent years.
  69. Global Media Technology and Communications Quarterly: Autumn 2019 Edition
  70. Internet Broadcasting and Section 31D of Copyright Act 1957
  71. Models for Platform Governance
  72. Elon Musk Contributes $1 Million To MrBeast’s #TeamTrees, Pushing Total To $8.2 Million In 5 Days
  73. Our FOIA Lawsuit Gets Results: ICE Admits It Didn’t Really Seize A Million ‘Copyright Infringing’ Domains
  74. E-retailer takeovers rise as high street decline increases pressure to grow online sales
  75. Does reselling online content infringe copyright in the EU?
  76. 50 years ago today, the Internet was born. Sort of
  77. The Internet At 50: It Has Enabled Many Wonderful Things, But We Have To Fight To Keep It That Way

A.I.

  1. DeepMind AI achieves Grandmaster status at Starcraft 2
  2. Level up: DeepMind’s AlphaStar achieves Grandmaster level in StarCraft II
  3. FACEIT and Google-designed ‘Admin AI’ bans 20,000 toxic CS:GO players in six weeks
  4. A health care algorithm offered less care to black patients
  5. Skynet, But For Welfare: Automating Social Services Is Killing People
  6. Solving Rubik’s Cube with a Robot Hand
  7. Six cars aced new pedestrian detection tests 
  8. New community management AI from FaceIt bans 20,000 players in trail run: Esports tournament platform reduces number of toxic messages in Counter-Strike games by 20%
  9. Patenting Artificial Intelligence Inventions in Canada 
  10. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Patent Infringement Claims 
  11. Jones Day Talks:®When AI Invents: Two Applications Test U.S. Patent Law
  12. AI technology – the pitfalls of protecting inventions
  13. Introducing AI Blindspot: A Call for Tech to Think Holistically and Spot Risks
  14. Distracted by Data: What we risk by hyper-focusing on “data” as a problem to solve 
  15. Data Voids: Where Missing Data Can Easily Be Exploited
  16. When Binary Code Won’t Accommodate Nonbinary People: The next frontier in gender rights is inside databases.

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. The Retailers Strike Back with a Motion to Strike in the Allarco Litigation (Howard Knopf) 
  2. Motion to Strike in Allarco
  3. Wireless Worsens: Report Finds Canadian Wireless Pricing Now Less Competitive Compared to Other Developed Economies (Michael Geist) 
  4. Canadian Wireless Carrier Rogers ‘Surprised’ That People Like Unlimited Data Plans
  5. AT&T loses another 1.3 million TV customers as DirecTV freefall continues
  6. AT&T will slash $3 billion off its capital investments next year
  7. AT&T Jacks Up TV Prices Post Merger After Repeatedly Claiming That Wouldn’t Happen
  8. Man sues AT&T after fraudulent SIM swap led to $1.8M cryptocurrency theft 
  9. AT&T Will Invest $4 Billion In HBO Max Over Next 3 Years, Doesn’t Expect Profit Until 2024 
  10. This Idaho Town Lets You Switch Between Cheap Fiber ISPs In A Matter Of Seconds
  11. HBO Max will bring up the streaming-video rear in May 2020 for $15/mo
  12. FCC plans Huawei/ZTE ban, may require ripping out existing network gear
  13. FCC Seeks Comment on Adequacy of US Broadband Deployment
  14. FCC Requires 911 Fee Parity Between VoIP Services and Traditional Phone Service
  15. TV Network Declares IPTV Tool Copyright Infringing, Even Though It’s Just A Tool
  16. Comcast’s ‘Free’ Streaming Box Is Actually $13 After Stupid Fees
  17. Comcast fights Google’s encrypted-DNS plan but promises not to spy on users
  18. Comcast Insists It’s An Innocent Little Daisy On Consumer Privacy
  19. Like The Rest Of Its 5G Footprint, Verizon 5G Sports Venue Availability Is Being Overhyped
  20. Eagles fly to Iran, rack up huge roaming charges

PRIVACY

  1. Report: Devin Nunes’ Aide Going Around Leaking Ukraine Call Whistleblower’s Name
  2. Australia wants to use face recognition for porn age verification
  3. New York AG Sues Dunkin’ Over Cybersecurity
  4. Georgia Supreme Court Says Cops Need Warrants To Search Vehicle Crash Data Recorders
  5. Magistrate Judge Rejects Govt’s Attempt To Use A Stored Records Law To Seek Future Cell Site Location Info
  6. Interesting developments in the law of confidential information
  7. Steak With A Side Of Surveillance: Outback Restaurants Adding Employee-Tracking Analytics To Its Cameras
  8. Whirlpool Left Appliance Data, User Emails Exposed Online
  9. Man planted keyloggers in companies’ networks and stole their data
  10. WhatsApp suit says Israeli spyware maker exploited its app to target 1,400 users
  11. Johannesburg’s network shut down after second attack in 3 months
  12. The Stakes for Complying With DoD Cybersecurity Requirements Are Higher Than Ever
  13. New Mass Shooting Prevention Bill Will Use ‘Anti-Terrorism’ Methods To Ramp Up Surveillance Of Students
  14. IP Insight: Remember the “Right to be Forgotten?”
  15. Right to Privacy: Can the Employer conduct Surveillance?
  16. The count of managed service providers getting hit with ransomware mounts
  17. Five months after returning rental car, man still has remote control
  18. The Countdown Begins on California’s “Internet of Things” Law
  19. Hacked, cracked or breached: What’s in a name when it comes to privacy?

CREATIVITY

  1. General Court confirms cancellation of EU trade mark consisting of the shape of famous Rubik’s Cube (Eleonora Rosati)
  2. Aussie Censorship In Action: National Enquirer Editor Threats Get Bookstores To Block Sale Of Ronan Farrow Book
  3. Communication Breakdown: Canadian Quirks in Madrid International Trademark Filing System Can Trip Up Foreign Practitioners
  4. Strengthening Trade Secret Protection in Canada
  5. Federal Court Opens Door to use of Foreign Patent Prosecution Histories in Canadian Litigation
  6. UK Supreme Court hands employee-inventor a dramatic £2 million victory
  7. Shanks v Unilever: What does this mean for employers’ intellectual property rights?
  8. IP Brief – Shanks v Unilever
  9. UK Supreme Court awards Professor Shanks £2m compensation for invention of ‘outstanding benefit’ after 13 year court battle
  10. Compensation and ownership – Two thorny issues in employee invention cases
  11. Supreme Court rules no employer is “too big to pay” employees for inventions of outstanding benefit
  12. Reproduction of Works and Kraft-works
  13. Louis Vuitton ‘chessboard’ dispute in Poland: the court overturned the Patent Office’s decision
  14. Halloween Edition: Copyright for Banana Costume is upheld on A-Peel
  15. Olympic Advertising Rules Scaled Back Prior to 2020 Games
  16. Is ‘Liverpool’ bigger than Liverpool Football Club?
  17. Artistic value and copyright protection for industrial designs
  18. Who Owns Truth Hurts?
  19. Supreme Court Ruling on When Copyright Infringement Lawsuits May Be Filed Brings Heightened Interest in Preregistration
  20. Fair and Balanced Reporting Pays Off: Newspapers Avoid Defamation Suits by Sticking to the Truth
  21. Dorsey & Whitney Beats Defamation Claim Over TCPA Blog: Court Finds “Major Spousal Scheme” Headline Was Inactionable Opinion, Not Fact
  22. James Woods Avoids Defamation Liability for a Tweet
  23. MLB Umpire Joe West Sues Ex-Player Paul Lo Duca for Defamation Over Bribery Claims
  24. New NCAA Marketing Rules for Athletes Proposed
  25. Federal Labeling Laws vs. State False Advertising Laws: The Ongoing Preemption Battle
  26. Cimabue Masterpiece found in French kitchen sells for £20 million

GAMES

  1. Valve disables container key sales and trades in CS:GO due to rampant fraud
  2. ‘Nearly All’ Counter-Strike Microtransactions Are Being Used for Money Laundering: N”early all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced” Valve says.
  3. Money laundering prompts Valve to halt CS:GO in-game key sales: “At this point, nearly all key purchases that end up being traded or sold on the marketplace are believed to be fraud-sourced”
  4. According to a French court, the principle of exhaustion applies to video games acquired via a download platform
  5. Epic is suing a Fortnite user experience tester over Chapter 2 leaks
  6. Epic sues tester who leaked Fortnite Chapter 2 details: Developer says defendant Ronald Sykes waited just three days to breach his NDA
  7. Ubisoft is suing Rainbox Six Siege cheat provider MizuSoft
  8. Ubisoft sues Rainbow Six Siege cheat provider MizuSoft: One of the defendants had recently appeared in a BBC report about cheats
  9. Rainbow Six cheat maker faces Ubisoft lawsuit after BBC appearance
  10. Ubisoft severely cuts 2019-20 targets in wake of delays and underperforming games
  11. Yves Guillemot: “We have no pay-to-win elements in our games”: Ubisoft CEO addresses investor concerns that players will reject games that are too microtransaction-heavy
  12. Net bookings decline, but still beat expectations as Ubisoft closes out Q2
  13. Ubisoft delays Watch Dogs Legion, Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six Quarantine: Shares fall by 16% following delays, profit warning and announced overhaul of development process
  14. Bethesda’s ‘Fallout 1st’ Paid Server Launch Has Become a Disaster
  15. Fallout 1st Is Creating A Class Divide Among Fallout 76 Players
  16. Video Game Class War Has ‘Fallout’ Players Targeting Premium Subscribers: “At least 5-7 people in teddy bear costumes kept punching me,” one member complained.
  17. As the Fallout 1st disaster hits mainstream headlines, Fallout 76 players head in-game to protest: Everyone disliked that.
  18. Fallout 76: The ‘Fallout First’ Web Domain Has Been Taken Over By a Hilarious, Angry Fan
  19. Bethesda Has Brought Idiocy To A New Level & Betrayed Their Remaining Fans
  20. Bethesda pledges to fix early “Fallout 1st” bugs and complaints
  21. Bethesda looks to bolster its mobile game offerings with Alpha Dog Games acquisition
  22. Bethesda acquires Alpha Dog: Fallout outfit picks up Nova Scotia-based mobile studio behind MonstroCity: Rampage and Atari’s Ninja Golf remake
  23. New budget ends IDM tax credit for video game studios in Alberta, Canada
  24. Alberta eliminates game dev tax credit after just one year: Beamdog’s Trent Oster feels “betrayed” after new government budget cancels Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit
  25. New Zealand government commits $10m to growth of local games industry: City of Dunedin will become hub for aspirations to grow games industry to $1 billion sector
  26. Call of Duty Modern Warfare decried as ‘American propaganda’ over Highway of Death mission: Activision’s latest shooter has been panned by critics and players, claiming game attempts to rewrite history
  27. UK Charts: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare launch sales beat Black Ops 4
  28. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare saw $600 million in revenue in three days
  29. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare grosses $600m in opening weekend – Latest game from Infinity Ward is fastest-selling entry in the franchise this generation
  30. EA to ‘double down on live services’ as FIFA and The Sims 4 help outperform goals 
  31. EA “doubling down on live services” as digital net revenue share grows in Q2: Apex Legends reaches 70 million players, seven months after launch
  32. EA shows its hand for next fiscal year: Beginning March 2020, EA plans focus on Apex, new EA sports title on annual slate, two third-party IP, “exciting remasters”
  33. EA Dice’s Star Wars Battlefront I and II have sold 33m copies combined: Battlefront II originally missed 2017 launch sales expectations by around 1m units
  34. Tales from the making of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
  35. The Sims franchise surpasses $5b in lifetime sales: EA asserts franchise’s position as part of plans for its increased focus on supporting live services
  36. EA will not ship an NBA Live game this fiscal year: NBA Live 20 either cancelled or reworked as franchise prepares for an “innovative new direction”
  37. EA Access heading to Steam after U.S. publisher reconnects with Valve
  38. EA returns to Steam: SVP Mike Blank talks about the need to reduce fragmentation as EA pledges to bring Jedi Fallen Order, EA Access to Valve’s storefront
  39. So long, Origin? EA comes back to Steam with new games
  40. Remnant: From the Ashes sells 1 million copies in just over 2 months
  41. Watch Afterparty director Adam Hines break down the game’s drink-fueled design
  42. Overwatch 2 reportedly to be revealed at BlizzCon: New Hero and PvE mode
  43. The Last of Us Part II delayed to May 29: Sony pushes post-apocalyptic sequel back three months to polish the game to Naughty Dog’s standards
  44. Sony issuing refunds for faulty WWE 2K20: Latest entry into 2K Games’ annual wrestling franchise mired with bugs and glitches
  45. Jaguar designed an electric sportscar just for Gran Turismo
  46. Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville was the No.1 game download across EMEAA last week – The Witcher 3 and Ring Fit Adventure perform strongly at physical retail. FIFA 20 is No.1 combined
  47. Starbreeze resumes Payday 2 development, new paid DLC on the horizon
  48. Starbreeze restarts Payday 2 content production ten months after pulling the plug: Beleaguered game company turns to reliable territory in recovery attempts
  49. Google sets up first Stadia game studio in Montreal
  50. Google is making a “spectrum of bets” on Stadia content: As Google unveils new Montreal development studio, Stadia Games & Entertainment boss Jade Raymond discusses the platform strategy
  51. Google Stadia’s stealth launch does not inspire confidence | Opinion: After its bombastic announcement, Stadia’s low-key and poorly communicated launch will fuel suspicion that it’s another of Google’s passing fads
  52. Google: Stadia exclusives to have features “not possible” on home hardware
  53. European gamers wary of digital-only games consoles: Just 11% of players claim they would likely buy a games machine that doesn’t include a disc-drive
  54. Apple Arcade isn’t the only subscription: GameClub revives old iOS games
  55. GameClub’s “greatest hits anthology” of mobile games launches today: VP of business development Eli Hodapp shares his goals for the subscription service and how it differs from Apple Arcade
  56. Gameloft partners with TIM Italy for new mobile subscription service: TIM I love games costs €2/week for access to over 700 games sans in-app purchases or ads
  57. My.Games sees Q3 revenue driven by free-to-play mobile: Company aims to have 80% of its revenue from from international markets by 2022
  58. Wizards of the Coast acquires Tuque Games: Dungeons & Dragons owner picks up Montreal studio that created Livelock and has been working on a D&D game
  59. Scopely announces $200m in Series D funding: Financing will be used to accelerate mergers, acquisitions, and investment strategies
  60. Welcome Back, Koster: Why an MMORPG vet is back building a new virtual world
  61. The French games industry had over 1200 titles in production in 2019: 63% of those games were new IP
  62. Video games in China: beyond the great firewall
  63. Empires and Puzzles surpasses $500m lifetime revenue: Match-three puzzler is most profitable in Zynga’s portfolio
  64. Zynga reports record Q3 revenues and weaker-than-expected profits
  65. GreedFall beat expectations, led Q2 revenue for publisher Focus Home Interactive
  66. Greedfall success drives H1 growth for Focus Home Interactive: Publisher says it remains on target to build yearly revenue from €44m to €150m over three years
  67. Microsoft relaunches Xbox All Access financing program with next-gen upgrade option
  68. Microsoft beat expectations with strong Windows revenue, but Xbox had a rough quarter
  69. Xbox services flat as gaming revenue dips to $2.5B in Microsoft’s Q1
  70. Xbox All-Access expands to UK and Australia with Project Scarlett upgrade option: The smartphone-style contract will include a console and Ultimate Game Pass
  71. Xbox has paid out $1.2 billion to independent developers this generation: ID@Xbox boss Chris Charla says program offers great commercial and artist opportunities
  72. Suda51 and Swery collaborating on new game, Devolver unaware it’s the publisher: Acclaimed developers say indie publisher offered $1 million for the project, which Devolver said is “news to us”
  73. DragonVale dev Backflip Studios is closing down
  74. Backflip Studios shutting down: Hasbro pulling plug on DragonVale and Transformers: Earth Wars developer after a decade in business
  75. One company’s cast-off can be Deca Games’ treasure: Founder of indie publisher talks about the perks and pressures of acquiring existing games after original owners stop investing in them
  76. Blizzard Loses First Sponsor Due To Stance On Hong Kong Speech
  77. Sponsor abandoned Blizzard esports league after Blitzchung controversy: Mitsubishi pulled support for Asia Pacific Hearthstone tournament two days after player was punished for supporting Hong Kong protest
  78. League of Legends: Understanding the success of an esport that doesn’t turn a profit: LEC head of business development and sponsorship Alban Dechelotte discusses finding the balance with esport partnerships
  79. Modern Times Group considering US IPO as esports business grows: Swedish investment firm begins strategic review, which could also lead to joint venture partnership in video games space
  80. WeWork parent considering gaming business: Play By We trademark application says it would run competitions, offer space for conferences or offices
  81. No Pixel Podiums: Lack of governance in esports excludes them from the Olympic Games
  82. Update Required for Youth Esports – Children’s Privacy Takes Center Stage at Upcoming FTC Workshop
  83. Another top Twitch streamer has switched over to Mixer
  84. Shroud Pulls A Ninja, Exiting Twitch For Exclusive Livestreaming Deal With Mixer
  85. Mixer signs exclusive deal with Shroud: Michael Grzesiek leaves Twitch channel with 7 million followers behind for Microsoft’s livestreaming platform
  86. Third Streamer, King Gothalion, Departs Twitch In Exclusive Deal With Mixer
  87. Gothalion is the latest big Twitch streamer to switch to Mixer
  88. Mixer lowers its subscription price to better compete with Twitch
  89. Sony files trademarks for PlayStation 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10: Platform holder’s trademark security process teases decades worth of new console
  90. The PS4 has become the second best-selling home console of all time
  91. Sony financials: PS4 hardware and software sales ‘lower-than-expected’
  92. PlayStation revenues down 17% but Sony’s financials hold steady: PS4 now second best-selling home console of all time, despite slowing sales as generation nears its end
  93. PlayStation Vue is shutting down in 2020
  94. Report: Sony looking to sell PlayStation Vue as service continues to lose money
  95. Sony is trying to sell off PlayStation Vue, but it might have a hard time of it
  96. Sony considering sale of PlayStation Vue: Live TV streaming service has reportedly failed to turn a profit since launching in 2015
  97. Sony to shut down PlayStation Vue in January: Four years after launch, TV subscription to close due to “slow-to-change” industry
  98. An end in Vue: Sony will shutter its streaming video service
  99. Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding will come to PC months after PS4 launch
  100. Death Stranding no longer a PlayStation exclusive as 505 Games prepares PC version: Publisher will bring Hideo Kojima’s upcoming title to desktops in Summer 2020
  101. Enterprise revenue expected to jump 69% this year as VR takes hold in business: PlayStation VR continues as market leading headset, breaching 4.7 million units sold
  102. VR Web Browser ‘Supermedium’ No Longer in Active Development
  103. UKIE partners with Space Ape and Playmob on environmentally conscious game jam: Bi-annual student game jam will see teams competing for £2,000 scholarship
  104. Full motion, full emotion: Bandersnatch’s Emmys as a (literal) game changer: Acclaimed FMV game makers dish in the wake of Black Mirror’s Emmys.
  105. Mario Kart Tour’s first-month downloads zoom past 123m: Revenue of $37.4m is the second-best first-month revenue for a Nintendo mobile game
  106. Shigeru Miyamoto named ‘Person of Cultural Merit’ by the Japanese government
  107. Shigeru Miyamoto recognised with Japanese cultural award: Super Mario creator will be awarded for elevating the Japanese games industry around the world
  108. Star Trek Fleet Command publisher Scopely nets $200 million for future acquisitions 
  109. Luigi’s Mansion 3 review: The most “Nintendo” game from Nintendo in years
  110. Luigi’s Mansion 3: Critical Consensus – Reviewers welcome plumber brother’s latest adventure on Switch as a charming frightfest
  111. First Switch game ok’d for launch in China, though the console remains in limbo
  112. Switch China launch draws nearer as Tencent approved to publish Mario Bros U DX: Chinese publisher also approved to bring Monster Hunter: World back to shelves
  113. Profit up at Capcom thanks to strong Monster Hunter World: Iceborne sales
  114. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne drives profit for Capcom in latest financials: DLC has shipped 2.8 million units since September, while base game surpasses 14 million lifetime sales
  115. Pokémon Go surpasses $3bn lifetime revenue: Niantic’s augmented reality mobile game on track to break 2016 revenue record
  116. Revenue up at Rovio, though high user acquisition costs impact operating profit
  117. The Climate Trail: A bleak look at what awaits us if we fail to address climate change
  118. Star Theory’s shot beyond the Mun with Kerbal Space Program 2: Creative director Nate Simpson on the challenges of grounding the interstellar sequel in reality while adding accessibility
  119. Designing interesting and informative conversations in Heaven’s Vault
  120. Ninja Theory launches mental health R&D effort: Hellblade studio’s The Insight Project aiming to “help mental health treatment to go mainstream”
  121. Shattering Muslim stereotypes with Islamic Relief’s mobile game: Ultimatum Games’ Shahid Ahmad explains why an idle clicker was perfect for the charity
  122. Don’t Miss: How Red Faction: Guerrilla uses player freedom to drive open-world design
  123. Blog: Examining the design and UX of Miniclip’s 8 Ball Pool
  124. Blog: The client-to-cloud revolution — A 3D view of how we got here
  125. Blog: Understanding permadeath as a mechanic in survival horror
  126. Meet the new best Android TV device: The 2019 Nvidia Shield TV
  127. Cloud gaming service Shadow raises $33m: Start-up has now raised $100 million to date
  128. Why I hate fun | Opinion: ArenaNet’s John Hopson has spent a career applying “fun scores” to games — here’s why the practice needs to change
  129. Don’t Play the Goose Game: Untitled Goose Game is fun. The problem is, all games are also work. (Ian Bogost)

Jon

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News of the Week; October 23, 2019

By Jon Festinger on December 3, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Privacy bill would give FTC actual authority, land lying executives in jail: CEOs won’t consider privacy until they face “personal consequences,” Wyden said.
  2. FTC Announces Settlement Over Fake Followers
  3. Fake Reviews and Fake Followers: FTC Cracks Down on Deceptive Online Posting
  4. Mark Zuckerberg Still Doesn’t Get It
  5. Zuckerberg doubles down on free speech—the Facebook way
  6. Sacha Baron Cohen Makes Nazi Analogy to Slam Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook Policy
  7. Facebook, Under Fire For Political Ad Policies, Lays Out Election Protection Plan
  8. Facebook promises to beef up “election integrity” efforts heading into 2020
  9. Facebook Criticized for Not Censoring Candidate Ads – Even Though Congress Requires No Censorship from Broadcasters
  10. Facebook takedowns show new Russian activity targeted Biden, praised Trump: The company disabled accounts that posed at times as locals in swing states to post on divisive political issues and the upcoming election.
  11. Facebook Announces Additional Measures to Protect the Upcoming U.S. Elections
  12. Facebook’s new Oversight Board is a step forward – but it can’t help Kashmiris: If Facebook decides incorrectly that local laws in India require it to silence Kashmiri calls for self-determination, the Board will not be able to review.
  13. Facebook must face $35B facial-recognition lawsuit following court ruling
  14. Facebook’s Failure To Stop TikTok Shows, Once Again, That Big Companies Often Can’t Just ‘Copy’ Disruptive Upstarts
  15. The Libra Digital Currency Project: The (Long) Path Forward
  16. Cryptocurrency 2.0: Is Libra the Tipping Point?
  17. Instagram is banning plastic-surgery effect filters
  18. Instagram test helps you choose people to unfollow: Groups would help you cut users you rarely see in your feed.
  19. Bringing Free Speech Back: Trump Promises To Sue CNN Over Its Biased Coverage Based On Dumbest Legal Theory Ever
  20. IGTV Rolls Out Tools Enabling Creators To Publish Videos As An Episodic Series
  21. Cautionary Notes on Disinformation and the Origins of Distrust (Yochai Benkler)
  22. The New Copyright Directive: Are OCSSPs Now Required to Carry Certain Content?
  23. The ASA ruling on identifying ads – Brooks Brothers and Matthew Zorpas
  24. China’s Surveillance State Has Tens of Millions of New Targets: So-called key individuals, from drug addicts to religious believers, are singled out in police databases.
  25. The Ultimate Aim Of China’s 2016 Cybersecurity Law Is Now Clear: Nothing Digital Can Be Secret From The Authorities
  26. Insights: Doing Business In China Vexes Companies That Depend On Creators — And Creators Themselves
  27. Report On Global Social Media Censorship Shows Russia, India, And Turkey Are Still Leading The Censor Pack
  28. Stealthy Russian Hacker Group Resurfaces With Clever New Tricks: Largely out of the spotlight since 2016, Cozy Bear hackers have been caught perpetrating a years-long campaign.
  29. Hacking the hackers: Russian group hijacked Iranian spying operation, officials say
  30. Republicans storm ultra-secure “SCIF,” some with cell phones blazing
  31. White House kicks infosec team to curb in IT office shakeup
  32. Blocked: Twitter, Trump, and the Public Forum Doctrine
  33. A cacophony of self-pity drowns out r/The_Donald’s message as Reddit extends quarantine
  34. Rounding Up Two Online Contract Formation Cases (Eric Goldman)
  35. Roundup of the House Commerce Committee Hearing on Section 230 (Eric Goldman)
  36. Marc Benioff Calls For Section 230 To Be Abolished At The Same Time His Company Is Relying On 230 To Get Out Of A Lawsuit
  37. Senators propose near-total ban on worker noncompete agreements
  38. Congressional Reps Targeting Homegrown Terrorism Are Pushing A Bill That Would Allow Congress To Subpoena Citizens’ Communications
  39. Should all connected cars have a physical network kill switch?
  40. How meme culture changed the PSAT
  41. Cookies: A Coming-of-Age Story
  42. Accessibility, the future, and why Domino’s matters
  43. Supreme Court’s Avoidance of Web Accessibility Bodes Increase in ADA Demands and Lawsuits
  44. Navigating ADA Compliance Issues in an Online World
  45. Supreme Court Denies Review of ADA Website Accessibility Case, Leaving Businesses Subject to Ninth Circuit’s Guidelines
  46. The Good And The Bad Of The ACCESS Act To Force Open APIs On Big Social Media
  47. The latest Google shutdowns: Daydream VR, Google Clips
  48. Report: Home builders ditch Nest products after Google takeover
  49. Chrome rolls out new protections preventing password and data theft
  50. Penn State Study Posits YouTube’s Algorithm Isn’t To Blame For Far-Right Radicalization
  51. Guy Who Tried To Extort YouTubers With Bogus DMCA Takedowns Agrees To Settlement
  52. Tati Westbrook Launches Makeup Brand, As YouTuber Palette Season Kicks Into High Gear
  53. YouTube’s first interactive original is a heist show starring gaming personality Markiplier
  54. YouTube Founder Chad Hurley Raises $8.5 Million For Fan-Centric Sports Game Startup ‘GreenPark’
  55. Jeffree Star Cosmetics Forecasts Shane Dawson Collab Will Generate $35 Million In Morphe, Online Sales
  56. Netflix offers $2 billion in debt to fund more original content
  57. Netflix hit with interrogator’s libel suit
  58. Netflix releases first teaser trailer for Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045
  59. Ed Norton Calls Out Steven Spielberg & Hollywood For Demonizing Netflix
  60. Amazon Launches Ad-Supported ‘News’ Video App With CBS, HuffPost, Cheddar
  61. New ‘Watch Parties’ feature lets streamers watch Amazon Prime with their viewers on Twitch: You do, however, need to have Amazon Prime to watch those streams
  62. Amazon hits back at AAFA notorious markets submission with rare public rebuttal
  63. Amazon Launches Ad-Supported ‘News’ Video App With CBS, HuffPost, Cheddar
  64. Whistle To Launch First-Ever OTT Channel, WhistleTV, With Original Shows, Influencers, More
  65. T-Mobile To Serve As Exclusive Telecom Launch Partner For Katzenberg’s Quibi
  66. The 2019 iPad races to the bottom (price-wise), but it’s not so bad down there
  67. Patreon Founder Jack Conte Launches ‘Super Patron’ Endowment That Will Give Creators A Yearly Salary
  68. BroadbandTV Content Partners Nominated for The 9th Annual Streamy Awards Which Honor Excellence in Online Video
  69. Online Sports Gambling
  70. Adobe Announces Plan To Essentially Steal Money From Venezuelans Because It ‘Has To’ Due To US Sanctions
  71. TikTok Makes Some Users Ad Stars—Without Asking
  72. TikTok Collaborates With 12 Creators For New ‘You’re In Control’ Online Safety Videos
  73. Music Video Upstart ‘Triller’ Says It’s Taking On TikTok Amid $28 Million Series B
  74. Feds bust massive child porn sharing site—hundreds of users arrested
  75. After Four Years Of Failing To Bring Its Plan To Completion, UK Government Pulls Out Of Porn Blockade Effort
  76. Snapchat Beats Third-Quarter Expectations But Provides Weaker Guidance
  77. Snapchat Adds 7 Million Daily Active Users In Q3, Looks Ahead To Wearable AR Tech
  78. Snapchat goes after retailers and DTC brands with new Dynamic Ads
  79. BuzzFeed Launches Inaugural Creator Program For Its Travel Brand ‘Bring Me!’
  80. Hulu ramps up its personalization efforts, starting with launch of Like / Dislike buttons
  81. Yahoo is deleting all content ever posted to Yahoo Groups
  82. “You’re going to flip”: Motorola teases the new Razr in November event invitation
  83. What is Bitcoin good for?
  84. Blockchain helps busts bad guys in darkweb shutdown
  85. When MS Paint ruled the fandom world: An innovative webcomic, 10 years later
  86. Air Force finally retires 8-inch floppies from missile launch control system
  87. Expect that Our Romance with Tech Companies Might Be Over

A.I.

  1. AI and Copyright: Who’s That Author Behind the Computer?
  2. One in three councils using algorithms to make welfare decisions: Machine-learning tools being deployed despite evidence they are unreliable
  3. AI and IoT Legislative Developments: Third Quarter 2019

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. What Comes Next for Canadian Digital Policy Under a Liberal Minority Government? (Michael Geist) 
  2. No more free rides for large online digital media services
  3. Canadian Broadcasting Company Hits Conservative Party With Questionable Copyright Infringement Lawsuit 
  4. The CBC Lawsuit, Fair Dealing and Future Reform: The Unexpected Arrival of Copyright in Election 2019 (Michael Geist) 
  5. The Conservative Party of Canada Moves to Dismiss the Controversial CBC Litigation and CBC’s Apparent Inaction on Removing Barton & Tasker (Howard Knopf)
  6. CBC lawsuit against CPC raises questions about use of copyrighted media content in partisan election advertisements
  7. CBC “Fresh as Amended” Lawsuit Against the Conservative Party of Canada (Howard Knopf)
  8. After court loss, Ajit Pai complains about states regulating broadband
  9. Ajit Pai Whines About The Numerous State-Level Net Neutrality Laws He Just Helped Create
  10. FCC Approved T-Mobile Sprint Merger Without Even Seeing The Full Details
  11. FCC Issues “Clarifications” of Political Broadcasting Public File Disclosure Requirements – Significantly More Disclosures to Be Required on Issue Ads
  12. States Rush To Protect Net Neutrality On Heels Of Court Ruling
  13. AT&T hits online TV customers with second big price increase this year 
  14. AT&T Jacks Up Broadband Rates With Misleading ‘Property Tax’ Fee
  15. Frontier gets away with “paltry” settlement after breaking 35 laws and rules
  16. Comcast’s “free” streaming box requires you to rent $13-per-month router
  17. Verizon’s 5G network can’t cover an entire basketball arena, either
  18. Google Fi will soon connect you to two LTE networks at once
  19. General Services Administration issues consolidated schedule solicitation and mass modification which contain prohibitions against the People’s Republic of China
  20. Germany Chooses China Over the West: Berlin’s refusal to shut Huawei out of its 5G networks weakens Europe’s prospects of standing up to Beijing.
  21. Calling time on hands-free? Government considers blank ban on mobile phone use while driving

PRIVACY

  1. Canadian Supreme Court To Cops: You Can’t Arrest Someone Just Because You Think Something Illegal Might Happen In The Future
  2. Ed Snowden: Governments Can’t Make The Public ‘Safer’ By Undermining The Encryption Essential To The Public’s Security
  3. DOJ’s Latest Child Porn Site Takedown Shows Encryption Isn’t Really Stopping The Feds From Fighting Child Porn
  4. Alexa and Google Home abused to eavesdrop and phish passwords
  5. ICE in New York has a spy tool to hunt undocumented immigrants via their cell phones: ICE is spying on cell phones and acquiring call records to hunt down undocumented immigrants
  6. California Governor Signs Bill Banning Facial Recognition Tech Use By State’s Law Enforcement Agencies
  7. Warrantless Retrieval of Electronic Automobile Data Held to Be Unreasonable Search – Ruling Points to Private Nature of Digital Data Collected in Today’s World
  8. Civil Rights Groups Ask Legislators To Block Ring’s Surveillance Partnerships With Law Enforcement
  9. Anyone can fingerprint unlock a Galaxy S10—just grab a clear phone case
  10. The Pixel 4’s face unlock works on sleeping, unconscious people
  11. Google says a fix for Pixel 4 face unlock is “months” away
  12. Hackers steal secret crypto keys for NordVPN. Here’s what we know so far
  13. NSA Warns of Hackers Attacking VPN Service Applications
  14. CBP And Local Law Enforcement Are Mixing And Matching Surveillance Gear To Skirt Already-Minimal Constitutional Protections
  15. Colleges Held for Ransom: Responding to a Ransomware Attack
  16. UK Hospital Somehow Manages To Turn A Patient’s Private Message Into Its Voicemail Greeting
  17. Planet49: CJEU rules out opt-out consent for cookies
  18. Europe – European Court of Justice rules on the scope of the ‘right to be forgotten’ for search engines
  19. The Third Annual Review on the U.S.-EU Privacy Shield Notes the U.S. Is Doing Well, Are You?
  20. Reevaluating the COPPA Rule
  21. COPPA Workshop Explores Rule Changes
  22. Microsoft’s new Secured-core PC initiative short circuits firmware attacks

CREATIVITY

  1. The 30th (or 83rd?) Anniversary of Canada’s Copyright Board: Waiting for Version 3.0 (Howard Knopf)
  2. FTC Targets False Celebrity Endorsements, Deceptive Claims
  3. Phillie Phanatic Creators Fire Back with New Filing
  4. Chuck Yeager Sues Airbus for Right-of-Publicity Violations
  5. Banksy’s online ‘shop’ vets potential buyers with one simple question
  6. Copyright is for losers, trade marks are for Banksy — the Banksy trade mark case explained
  7. Controversial copyright bill inches closer to becoming law as House approves
  8. Congress Looks To Rush Through Unconstitutional Pro-Copyright Trolls Bill, Despite Promising To Explore Alternatives
  9. House Overwhelmingly Votes To Empower Copyright Trolls And To Bankrupt Americans For Sharing Photos
  10. Bad Laws And The Best Of Intentions: Law Designed To ‘Protect’ Gig Workers May Destroy Journalism Freelancers
  11. Cop’s Bogus Defamation Lawsuit Nearly Puts A Small Iowa Newspaper Out Of Business
  12. France Rejects Poland’s Bad Faith Efforts to Extradite Art Dealer Alexander Khochinsky
  13. New Federal Circuit Guidance on Design Patents: Key Takeaways for Companies Seeking Protection
  14. Foreign prosecution history evidence permitted under Section 53.1 of Patent Act
  15. CBS Rejects Commercial Depicting Menstruating Men
  16. Art Law in New York
  17. McDonald’s Bullies Local Canadian Burger Joint Over ‘Filet O’ Fish’ Trademark
  18. Society Of Professional Journalists Makes Itself Look Foolish In Strange Attempt To Trademark ‘Fake News’

GAMES

  1. In These Partisan Times, The Only Thing That Gets Bi-Partisan Agreement Is That Blizzard Sucks
  2. Legislators condemn action against Hearthstone pro in letter to Activision Blizzard CEO
  3. Lawmakers express “deep concern” over Blizzard’s Hong Kong protest response
  4. US legislators: Blitzchung ban could have “chilling effect” on free speech – Bipartisan letter urges Blizzard to reverse decision to ban player for pro-Hong Kong statements
  5. Blizzard belatedly punishes college Hearthstone team for Hong Kong protest: Team member welcomes “expected” punishment, says he’s quitting Hearthstone anyway.
  6. Blizzard Digs Its Heels In And Issues 6 Month Ban To College ‘Hearthstone’ Team Over Hong Kong Message
  7. Adam Silver Reveals The Chinese Government Asked Him To Fire Daryl Morey
  8. Weaponizing The GDPR: Gamers Want To Use It To Flood Blizzard With Requests As Protest Over China Appeasement
  9. Magic: The Gathering pro uses win to show Hong Kong protest support
  10. Nicecactus.gg raises €5m, launches €1m esports player fund: Fund will be used to help support amateur and semi-pro players and teams through travel, training
  11. Onmyoji server shut down in Vietnam for violating local sovereignty laws: Update to in-game map shows disputed South China Sea territory as Chinese against Vietnamese law
  12. Children’s Commissioner for England wants urgent action to combat loot boxes
  13. Children’s Commissioner calls for ban on all non-cosmetic in-game purchases: UK body also urges government to regulate loot boxes as gambling
  14. Oxford researchers say clinical ‘gaming disorder’ lacks sufficient evidence
  15. Study casts doubt on value of WHO’s “gaming disorder” diagnoses
  16. Academic research finds no evidence of gaming as a clinical disorder: Previous studies failed to examine wider context of young peoples’ lives, says professor Andrew Przybylski
  17. So long, supply drops: Call of Duty gets rid of randomized loot boxes
  18. Call of Duty tosses loot boxes along with Season Pass, DLC map packs: Modern Warfare adopts Battle Pass system, won’t be available at launch
  19. Call of Duty drops loot boxes in favor of battle passes in Modern Warfare
  20. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare won’t be sold on PS Store in Russia – Game will still be sold digitally on Battle.net, Xbox console store
  21. Andrew Yang: “Games are intrinsic to the human experience” – Democratic presidential candidate shares views on loot boxes, Blitzchung situation, gaming addiction
  22. Yodo1’s AI-driven whale hunt is a bad look for the games industry | Opinion: Transformers players spending $150k grabbed headlines, but Yodo1’s GCAP talk raised tough questions about responsible monetisation in mobile
  23. Big spending whales aren’t the problem with free-to-play games | Opinion : A player spending $150k on a mobile game isn’t a problem — but we should still be conscious of players that struggle with compulsion
  24. Games Blamed For Moral Decline And Addiction Throughout History
  25. Riot’s automated filters accidentally censor Muslim minority: But League of Legends developer has now fixed the error and is reviewing all disallowed words and phrases
  26. How Riot Games’ Legends of Runeterra will bring “true free-to-play” to the CCG space: League of Legends developer ditches random packs for rewards scaled to play time and wild cards that let you buy anything
  27. Diversity isn’t only skin deep: Accommodating autistic and neurodiverse people: Austistica Play ambassador Dominic Shaw explains how to consider talent that is often overlooked and underused
  28. “All I understood was the company wanted me to work, so I worked, worked, worked”: At Game Connect Asia Pacific, Mega Man composer Manami Matsumae described the shifting attitudes towards crunch in Japan
  29. Autonauts: Motivating players without conflict – Former Grand Theft Auto creative director Gary Penn discusses changing relationship with violence and conflict with his new game
  30. National Literacy Trust and Penguin Random House researching link between games and literacy: Partnership with UKIE will survey secondary school children to explore whether gaming improves literacy skills
  31. FIFA 20 supporting Premier League’s No Room For Racism campaign: Branding will appear on in-game stadium dressing, LED boards and FIFA Ultimate Team player kits in the coming months
  32. FIFA 20 tops EMEAA chart for a third consecutive week: Codemasters Grid charts at No.5, new Yooka-Laylee scrapes the top 50
  33. NBA 2K20 slam dunks with best US launch month sales of any sports game ever: NBA 2K is now the sixth-best-selling gaming franchise in US history, beating out Guitar Hero
  34. Mario Kart Tour was the third most-downloaded mobile game in Q3 2019 – Sensor Tower: Nintendo’s racer doesn’t make it to top 100 grossing despite record-breaking downloads to start
  35. Ring Fit Adventure: Critical Consensus – Reviewers felt the burn of Nintendo’s RPG-minded Wii Fit successor, recommending staying hydrated, stretching, and doing more reps
  36. Downscaling, upscaling, same-scaling: Porting to Switch and under-powered consoles
  37. Nintendo has sold over 15 million Switch systems in North America
  38. Nintendo Switch has sold over 15m units in North America: Switch sales in NA are up over 20% year-to-date as of the end of September
  39. Eleven Engineering v. Nintendo
  40. UK Charts: Switch dominates as Ring Fit Adventure leads slew of new releases – But Mario Kart is the best-selling Switch game of the week, now past 1m units. Oh, and FIFA is still No.1
  41. Should Nintendo go third-party? GamesIndustry.biz answers gamers’ questions at EGX 2019
  42. Stadia’s wireless controller needs a cord to play on everything but TV at launch
  43. Google Stadia’s controller is wireless, but only on TV at launch: PC, laptop, and mobile will need the USB-C cable to connect for now
  44. Google can’t fulfill all Stadia preorders for Nov. 19 launch
  45. Study Says Broadband Caps Are A Big Problem For Google’s Game Streaming Ambitions
  46. Project Xcloud preview serves as a passable, portable Xbox One
  47. Xbox Game Pass users are playing 40% more games — including outside Game Pass
  48. Xbox software and services revenue remains flat as hardware continues to slow
  49. Microsoft kicks off FY20 with flat gaming revenues: Company no longer reporting Xbox Live MAUs as it prepares for next console generation
  50. Steam launches beta for Remote Play Together, taking couch co-op online
  51. Capcom plans to ‘revive dormant IP’ as Resident Evil, Monster Hunter take off
  52. Fallout 76 is offering premium features through a paid monthly membership
  53. Bethesda rolls out $100/year subscription for Fallout 76 with private servers
  54. Bethesda introduces Fallout 1st subscription to Fallout 76: $13/month nets players a private world for them and friends, other in-game conveniences
  55. Don’t Miss: 20 years of Fallout: Lessons learned shipping games in the wasteland
  56. Ubisoft’s VR Escape Rooms Have Quietly Reached 200+ Locations Across the Globe
  57. The Louvre is Bringing The Mona Lisa to Life Soon in a New VR Experience
  58. Sandbox VR raises $11 million thanks to celebrity contributions
  59. What Tilt Five learned from the funding, focus stumbles of CastAR: Tilt Five CEO Jeri Ellsworth shares lessons on VC backing and strategic focus from AR tabletop outfit’s VR/AR predecessor
  60. Microsoft’s DreamWalker VR turns your daily commute into a totally different one
  61. Epic’s HoloLens 2 Demo ‘Apollo 11: Mission AR’ Showcases Impressive PC-quality Graphics
  62. Youtubers Life has brought in more than $12 million in revenue
  63. YouTubers Life passes $12m lifetime revenue: U-Play Online’s streamer simulation game has sold one million units
  64. How Crows Crows Crows launches games multiple times for max marketing impact
  65. Unit 2 Games secures $5m investment from Makers Fund: Studio will use finance to build development platform Crayta, launching spring 2020
  66. Saber Interactive acquires Bigmoon Entertainment: World War Z developer also announces its zombie-fighting shooter has sold 3m copies
  67. THQ Nordic expands into Japan with new distribution office 
  68. THQ Nordic expands to Japan: Growing publisher has established second international distribution outlet to handle releases in Japanese market
  69. Syberia publisher Anuman Interactive has rebranded as Microids
  70. Anuman Interactive becomes Microids, opens Japan office: French publisher’s Japanese branch to focus on distribution, connections with Japanese developers
  71. Dash Valley dev MadBox raises $16.5 million
  72. MadBox raises $16.5m to broaden mobile portfolio: Startup also plans to open second office in Barcelona
  73. Tilting Point acquires monetization firm Gondola: User acquisition and marketing outfit picks up in-game offer and ad optimization company
  74. A look at the studio-building process at Avalanche Malmo
  75. Deca acquires four games from Gree: Indie publisher grabs midcore titles Knights and Dragons, Crime City, Modern War, and Kingdom Age from Japanese mobile outfit
  76. Bigmoon Entertainment acquired by World War Z dev Saber Interactive
  77. Tencent now owns 51.2% of Supercell-controlling consortium
  78. Tencent takes majority control over Supercell: World’s largest game company increases stake in consortium which owns Finnish mobile developer
  79. Jagex denies reports it has been sold (again): Rumours re-emerge but RuneScape developer says sale “remains one of various possible outcomes”
  80. Unity is raising Pro and Plus prices for new subscriptions in 2020
  81. Unity to raise subscription prices: Beginning in January, Pro subs will go up 20% to $150 a month, while Plus plans rise 14% to $40 a month
  82. Blog: A UI development diagram for Unity
  83. Blog: How commercial games are designed to develop players’ skills
  84. Video: Tuning the Halo plasma rifle’s muzzle velocity on Legendary difficulty
  85. Video: How changing Halo 3’s sniper rifle fire rate by 0.2 seconds changed the game
  86. Video: How to lead a healthier, more effective game dev team
  87. Video: Curating the Victoria & Albert Museum’s video game exhibition
  88. Don’t Miss: My Friend Pedro’s journey from Flash cult hit to indie success
  89. Don’t Miss: 7 influential immersive sims that all devs should play
  90. Video Game Deep Cuts: Fortnite’s End In Jedi’s Order
  91. Fortnite tumbles down digital spending charts: Superdata says September saw Epic’s shooter post 43% month-over-month sales decline as worldwide digital game spending slipped
  92. ‘Fortnite’ Sees Social Video Viewership Resurgence Amid Launch Of ‘Chapter 2’
  93. Fortnite’s black hole event broke Twitch and Twitter viewing records: More than 7 million people watched across social platforms
  94. Fortnite’s “The End” event set Twitch record for concurrent viewers of a single game: 1.7m people were watching a black hole on Twitch at the same time last week
  95. Explaining how fighting games use delay-based and rollback netcode
  96. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order hands-on: Tried, true, and tough
  97. Can Need For Speed turn up the heat after 25 years?
  98. New law means EA could revive NCAA sports games: CEO Andrew Wilson says he “would jump for the opportunity” to publish titles around $14 billion industry
  99. Haven is about “cooking, chatting, drinking, kissing — that’s very French”: The Game Bakers’ Audrey Leprince on finding the recipe for a quintessentially French game
  100. Starborne studio sees a universe of potential: Solid Clouds originally stemmed from CCP, but it’s aspirations are shaped more by Paradox
  101. YouTube Settles Lawsuit Against Man Who Attempted To Extort ‘Minecraft’ Creators With Copyright Flags
  102. Minecraft becomes a board game, and the results are faithful, fantastic
  103. Three million square miles of wilderness: How Silk advances a lost genre – Chris Bateman and Rob Hewson on the ’80s-style exploration game’s vast world and the choices that drive players through it
  104. Obituary: Former Eidos president Keith Boesky has passed away
  105. Former Eidos president Keith Boesky dies: Boesky’s law firm worked closely with game developers bringing IP across platforms
  106. U.S. Patent No. 8,992,321: Apparatus and method for displaying player character showing special movement state in network game

Jon

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News of the Week; October 16, 2019

By Jon Festinger on October 20, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Livestream of Germany shooting removed from Twitch: Streaming site is still investigating, will permanently suspend any accounts reposting footage
  2. Self-Regulation Of Social Media Platforms Failing To Curb Disinformation, Says New Report
  3. Political ads can lie if they want, Facebook confirms
  4. Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s private meetings with conservative pundits
  5. Warren escalates Facebook fight with ad targeting Zuckerberg
  6. #DeleteFacebook trends after report Zuckerberg secretly dined with conservatives
  7. Facebook can be forced to remove content on a global scale after landmark CJEU ruling
  8. Visa, Mastercard, Stripe, and eBay all quit Facebook’s Libra in one day
  9. Facebook launches Libra Association—and says 180 companies could join
  10. Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Sprawling Anti-Competitive Conduct Complaint Against Facebook
  11. Facebook’s new Portal has a refined design but familiar limitations: It’s a better Portal, but it’s still a Portal
  12. Grace Helbig To Sit Down With Powerful Women In Studio71 Facebook Series
  13. Instagram’s latest security feature lets you better manage third-party app permissions: See who has your data at a glance
  14. How Pinterest Built One of Silicon Valley’s Most Successful Algorithms
  15. Rent-a-troll: Researchers pit disinformation farmers against each other
  16. In flip-flop, Apple bans app used by Hong Kong protestors
  17. Apple Signs Overall TV Deal With Oscar-Winning Auteur Alfonso Cuarón
  18. 10 Risks Associated with Inaccessible Websites and Mobile Apps
  19. Feds hit GirlsDoPorn owners with criminal sex trafficking charges
  20. Top Myths About Content Moderation (Eric Goldman)
  21. UK porn blacklist is dead after government abandons age verification
  22. Elizabeth Warren’s Feud With Facebook Over ‘False’ Ads Just Highlights The Impossibility Of Content Moderation At Scale
  23. Section 230 Helps Tumblr Defeat Nonconsensual Pornography Suit–Poole v. Tumblr (Eric Goldman)
  24. The PLAN Act Proposes to Amend Section 230 to “Protect”…Landlords and Hotel Chains? (Eric Goldman)
  25. New Paper Explains Why Technologists Should Rally Behind Section 230 (Eric Goldman)
  26. ASA rules Casumo ad was targeted irresponsibly
  27. Attorney Who Sued Grindr Responds Extremely Poorly To The Supreme Court’s Rejection Of Her Section 230 Lawsuit
  28. Why International Human Rights Law Cannot Replace Content Moderation
  29. How Photos of Your Kids Are Powering Surveillance Technology
  30. Avatar Alert! ASA uses child avatars to tackle irresponsible ads targeted at children
  31. The do’s and don’ts of sharing about your children online
  32. The Ellen Show Issues Copyright Takedown On Transformative Video Commenting On Her Friendship With President Bush
  33. Techdirt Podcast Episode 229: Pirate Shaming Lists Don’t Work
  34. ‘The Irishman’ Ban Once Again Shows Hollywood’s Disdain For Netflix is Stupid & Counterproductive
  35. Infamous Police Interrogation Firm Sues Netflix For Defamation Over Criticism Of Its Interrogation Technique
  36. How to protect your brand on social media — seven top tips
  37. Disney Bans Netflix Advertising on Most of Its Networks
  38. James Murdoch reportedly bought a stake in Vice, as his new company begins to make media investments
  39. OECD Publishes Digital Tax Draft Proposal
  40. Government Tells Supreme Court Not to Review Copyright Fair Use Decision In Long-Running Oracle-Google Dispute over Software Copyrights
  41. Supreme Court Passes on Challenge to Extension of Title III to Websites and Mobile Apps
  42. Supreme Court Denies Review in Website Accessibility Case Against Domino’s Pizza
  43. US Supreme Court denies review of Robles v. Domino’s Pizza, opening door to more lawsuits on website and mobile app accessibility claims
  44. Supreme Court Passes On Domino’s ADA Website Case
  45. The Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Businesses Regarding Accessibility of Their Websites and Mobile Applications
  46. Wild West of Website Accessibility Lawsuits Continues
  47. Mobile App Sweepstakes and the Law
  48. Gathering social media as evidence in e-discovery
  49. Comments on Social Media about an Employee’s National Origin Could Lead to Allegations of Discrimination
  50. Electronic signatures – no new law required, says Law Commission
  51. Twitter releases new Catalyst app for macOS Catalina
  52. Whoops, Twitter The Latest To Use Two Factor Authentication Phone Numbers For Marketing
  53. Influencer Advertising: How Brands Can Successfully Navigate Using Influencers or Dealing With Employees Posting About Work on Social Media
  54. David Dobrik, Joey Graceffa, Brandon Rogers Lead This Year’s Streamy Awards Nominations
  55. HBO Max Taps YouTubers LaurDIY, Michelle Khare To Host Kids’ Competition Series
  56. Pocket.watch Greenlights Shows With The Onyx Family, Eh Bee Family, Expands Hulu Pact
  57. Viral Video Upstart ‘Doing Things Media’ Appoints Former Group Nine Exec President, Taps Starry Advisers
  58. YouTube Continues Crackdown On ‘Pick-Up Artist’ Vloggers Globally
  59. YouTube Drops Trailer For Original Series ‘BookTube,’ Featuring All-Star Authors Chatting With Creators
  60. ‘Bon Appétit’ Magazine Is Making Cover Stars Out Of Its Beloved YouTube Crew
  61. YouTube Star Jordyn Jones Drops Self-Titled EP, Will Embark On ‘Eyes On Me’ Tour
  62. YouTube Pacts With Michelle Obama On Third Series To Spotlight Global Girls’ Education Initiatives
  63. YouTube Pacts With MerchBar To Help ‘Official Artist Channels’ Drive Merch, Vinyl Sales
  64. YouTube Drops Trailer For Latest Learning-Focused Original, Starring VSauce3’s Jake Roper
  65. Man agrees to pay $25,000 for abusing YouTube’s takedown system
  66. Guns N’ Roses Lays Claim To Only Music Videos From The ’90s — And Now The ’80s — With 1 Billion Views
  67. Sardonic Twitter Account ‘Dril’ Nabs Weekly Web Series On Adult Swim
  68. Jenna Marbles Celebrates 20 Million Subscribers By Taking A Well-Deserved Nap
  69. After Near-Death Experience, ‘Threadbanger’ Star Says Merch Sales Helped Pay Off Hospital Bills
  70. Shane Dawson Launches Online Store With Jeffree Star’s Killer Merch, All Items Promptly Sell Out
  71. Gigi Gorgeous To Launch Eponymous Makeup Brand In Collaboration With Ipsy
  72. Rooster Teeth’s Podcast Network, The Roost, Unveils Slate Of 3 Scripted Series
  73. Trump Signs Up For Twitch, Will Livestream Campaign Rallies
  74. Amazon Pacts With Howard University On College Program To Diversify Entertainment Pipeline
  75. Amazon’s massive investment in food delivery startup Deliveroo faces further delays thanks to a formal antitrust probe
  76. EU orders Broadcom to halt exclusivity deals while investigation deepens
  77. Hulu Finally Adds Download Feature, But Only For $11.99-Per-Month Subscribers
  78. Adobe backtracks, will refund customers after canceling their accounts
  79. LinkedIn Data Scraping Case—9th Circuit’s Trigger for CFAA Liability
  80. Alert: IRS Issues New Guidance and FAQs on Virtual Currencies
  81. U.S. Internal Revenue Service Takes on “Hard Fork” and “Airdrop” as Part of New Guidance on Virtual Currency
  82. Cryptocurrency Industry and Investors Receive New Guidance on Key Tax Issues: Hard Forks, Airdrops and Other Virtual Currency Transactions Addressed by IRS
  83. The legal challenges of Blockchain and smart contracts according to a recent EU Flagship report
  84. Why it’s time to start talking about blockchain ethics: Blockchain technology is changing the nature of money and organizations. We should probably start pondering the potential consequences.
  85. Patent Attacks Against Open Source Intensify!
  86. Riot will use League of Legends as springboard for deluge of new games
  87. After a decade of League of Legends, Riot to expand with new games
  88. Legal Research Services Are Struggling With Emojis and Emoticons (Eric Goldman)
  89. The Lines of Code That Changed Everything: Apollo 11, the JPEG, the first pop-up ad, and 33 other bits of software that have transformed our world.
  90. The biggest lie tech people tell themselves — and the rest of us: They see facial recognition, smart diapers, and surveillance devices as inevitable evolutions. They’re not.
  91. Ethical Open Source: Is the world ready? – Open source status quo is challenged by developers unsatisfied with current state of ethics, writes Lisa Lifshitz

A.I.

  1. Digital dystopia: how algorithms punish the poor
  2. Is a popular machine learning text tool trained using copyrighted material? (Andres Guadamuz)
  3. Is A.I. The Next Step For Influencer Marketing? Meet Lil Miquela. 
  4. The Next Word: Where will predictive text take us?
  5. Microsoft wants to use AI to bleep out bad words in Xbox Live party chat
  6. Video: Using data-informed design to make more accessible games
  7. Ethics and Governance of AI at Berkman Klein: Report on Impact, 2017-2019

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. CBC Sues the Conservative Party of Canada for Copyright Infringement Citing Campaign Video, Posting Debate Excerpts on Twitter (Michael Geist) 
  2. What Was the CBC Thinking?: A Closer Look at the Video Clips in its Copyright Lawsuit Against the Conservative Party (Michael Geist)
  3. CBC vs. CPC: Why the CBC’s Attempt to Use Copyright to Stifle Expression Backfired Badly (Michael Geist)
  4. Platforms or People?: The Liberals and Conservatives Outline Competing Visions of Internet Responsibility (Michael Geist) 
  5. CNN Rejects Trump Campaign Commercials
  6. Washington State keeps enforcing net neutrality as it hails FCC court loss
  7. T-Mobile and Sprint get FCC approval to merge in 3-2 party-line vote
  8. AT&T raises prices 7% by making its customers pay AT&T’s property taxes
  9. AT&T charged customers for a corporate tax that it doesn’t have to pay
  10. AT&T and other carriers want to hide detailed 5G maps from FCC and public 
  11. Wireless Industry Is Trying To Hide Where 5G Is Actually Available
  12. A Brief Overview of the EU Electronic Communications Code 

PRIVACY

  1. Why Political Parties + Mass Data Collection + Religious Targeting + No Privacy Laws = Trouble (Michael Geist)
  2. US claims cyber strike on Iran after attack on Saudi oil facility
  3. Federal Trade Commission Hosts Workshop to Review the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule
  4. Court of Justice of the European Union rules on Cookie Consent
  5. The Cookie Consent Form Crumbles as EU Now Requires Users to Opt In to Website Tracking
  6. EU’s Highest Court Crumbles Cookie Consent Via Pre-Checked Box
  7. Forum cracks the vintage passwords of Ken Thompson and other Unix pioneers
  8. Activists’ phones targeted by one of the world’s most advanced spyware apps
  9. Low Cost Phones Are Turning Privacy Into A Luxury Option
  10. Data for a whopping 26 million stolen payment cards leaked in hack of fraud bazaar
  11. New French Mandate Will Use Facial Recognition App To Create ‘Secure Digital IDs’
  12. Planting tiny spy chips in hardware can cost as little as $200
  13. After Jack Hack, Government Starts Taking Wireless ‘SIM Hijacking’ Seriously
  14. The European Court of Justice Issues Two Important Decisions Clarifying the Scope of the Right to Be Forgotten and ISPs’ Liability
  15. How A Right To Be Forgotten Stifles A Free Press And Free Expression
  16. New Draft ePrivacy Regulation Released
  17. Cyber and data breaches: the questions that always arise
  18. New Bill Would Force Hardware Makers To Disclose Hidden Mics, Cameras
  19. The Long Arm of UK Law Enforcement Reaches a Handshake Deal with U.S. DOJ on UK-U.S. Electronic Data
  20. The City Of Baltimore Blew Off A $76,000 Ransomware Demand Only To Find Out A Bunch Of Its Data Had Never Been Backed Up

CREATIVITY

  1. Can You Copyright a Powder? Charlotte Tilbury Wins Over look-a-like Contender from Aldi
  2. Banksy’s Fake Store Is An Attempt To Abuse Trademark Law To Avoid Copyright Law
  3. Harry and Meghan take on the press – what is the likely outcome?
  4. Copyright fit for a princess
  5. New guidance on works of joint authorship under the Copyright Act
  6. CJEU and German Courts Rule on the Copyrightability of Non-Fictional Literature
  7. The Latest: Hollywood Writers Guild and Talent Agencies Entangled in Labor/Antitrust Lawsuits and Countersuits
  8. Anti-Safe Space Crusader Bret Stephens Apparently Needs A Safe Space: Backs Out Of Bedbug Debate
  9. True North and Rebel News seek judicial review on press accreditation denial for debates
  10. How A Key Story About The 1919 Black Sox Scandal Was Completely Made Up… Due To A Confused Understanding Of Copyright
  11. Portland Police Review Board Says It’s OK For Officers To Lie To Get Someone To Stop Filming Them
  12. Tax Preparation Patent Directed to an Abstract Idea
  13. GMR Sues Entravision for Royalty Payments – Looking at the Issues Raised By This New Development in the Music Royalty Wars

GAMES

  1. US Hearthstone players banned for Hong Kong protest: Team that held up a “Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz” sign punished “for engaging in behavior disruptive to” tournament broadcast
  2. College Hearthstone team hit with 6-month ban after showing ‘Free Hong Kong’ sign
  3. Nintendo NYC Overwatch launch event cancelled by Blizzard
  4. Blizzard cancels Overwatch live event at Nintendo World in New York: Launch event for Overwatch on Nintendo Switch cancelled amid hostility over Chinese censorship furore
  5. Blizzard employees organise walkout following Hong Kong controversy: Popular caster Brian Kibler also withdrew his participation to the Hearthstone Grandmasters final
  6. Thanks Blizzard: Riot Games Forced To Let Everyone Know They’re Allowed To Use Hong Kong’s LoL Team’s Name
  7. Blizzard’s Face Plant Creates Marketing Opportunity For Companies With A Spine
  8. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Can Blizzard recover from Blitzchung?: We discuss the wider impact of the backlash against the World of Warcraft publisher
  9. Blizzard reinstates Hong Kong protestor’s prize, says “China had no influence”
  10. Blizzard reduces ban for Hearthstone player, but stands by its initial reasoning
  11. Blizzard: Chinese interests “had no influence” on Blitzchung ban – Hearthstone developer reduces punishments for pro player’s support of Hong Kong protesters
  12. Publishers risk being trapped between the US and China | Opinion: Publishers are on the frontline of a battle that goes beyond trade — and will far outlast the Trump administration
  13. Blitzchung says he will “be more careful” following Blizzard statement: The Hearthstone pro player says he has “no idea” if he’ll still want to compete after his six months ban
  14. More Fallout From The Hong Kong Protests Hitting eSports
  15. Riot calls for esports casters, players to avoid ‘sensitive topics’ during its broadcasts
  16. Riot Games: “We aren’t telling anyone to avoid saying ‘Hong Kong'” – League of Legends firm clarifies confusion as rumours spread it is censoring esports team name Hong Kong Attitude
  17. Riot Games directs casters and players not to discuss politics on air: Global head of League of Legends esports says it wants “to keep broadcasts focused on the game”
  18. After a decade of League of Legends, Riot to expand with new games
  19. Riot Games files trademark lawsuit against esports organisation Riot Squad: The League of Legends developer says the copyright infringement has caused “irreparable damage”
  20. Paradox takes Stellaris: Galaxy Command offline over stolen Halo 4 artwork
  21. Two Hat: Stop tweaking your game and start fixing your community – Security expert Two Hat teams up with Image Analyzer to tackle harmful online content and toxic communities
  22. A case for ethical game design from BioWare’s Åsa Roos
  23. A guide for devs to battle (and convert) their online haters
  24. German regulator begins process to ban Coin Master game: Review board considers blacklisting game with gambling-like elements as harmful to minors, decision could set precedent for other titles
  25. FTC Takes a Peek at Loot Box Regulation
  26. Ustwo Games accused of union busting: Independent Workers Union of Great Britain has taken legal action against Monument Valley developer
  27. Gay World of Warcraft guild forced to change name because of user complaints
  28. Blizzard forces name change for gay guild: Publisher renames “Gay Boys” as “Guild ZFXPK” in response to player reports, changes it back but says it can’t stop it happening again
  29. Video games help people with disabilities find friends and transcend real-world limitations
  30. Rocksteady and Creative Assembly under fire over Video Game Tax Relief: TaxWatch UK highlights ways multinational companies are using scheme to shift profits
  31. Changing mental health depictions in games: Developers say the industry is getting better at incorporating real conditions into their stories, but more progress is needed
  32. New charity Safe In Our World focuses on mental health in the games industry: Organisation aims to raise awareness of mental health issues among both gamers and developers
  33. G2A: “There’s no place in a business like ours for shadiness or fraud” – Communications boss Maciej Kuc addresses the biggest complaints against the divisive marketplace
  34. Steam will soon let users play local-multiplayer games over the internet
  35. Steam to add ability to play local co-op games with friends online: Support will be added automatically week of October 21 for all applicable games
  36. Steam’s next big feature will make any “local multiplayer” game work online
  37. Case study: Steam’s ‘Deal Of The Day’ and DLC attach rates4
  38. Untitled Goose Game passed 100,000 sales in first two weeks
  39. “Troll Factory” turns disinformation campaigns into teaching game
  40. PlayStation 5 to Launch Holiday 2020, Including New Controller with Improved Haptics
  41. After All That, Sony Unceremoniously Rolls Out PS4 Remote Play To All Android Devices
  42. World of Warcraft sees Q3 streaming rise – StreamElements: WoW Classic interest persists as Fortnite continues to dip
  43. Sony Reveals AR Headset Prototype in New Ghostbusters Location-based Attraction
  44. DIY thumbsticks and clay creations: How Google designed its Stadia gamepad
  45. Google Stadia finally has a concrete launch date
  46. Google Stadia launching at 9am PST, November 19 for pre-orderers
  47. Google backs away from Daydream VR due to a general lack of interest
  48. Google ending Daydream: Company will stop selling View VR headset holder, citing decreasing usage and lack of adoption by developers and consumers
  49. Nintendo Switch sales in Europe pass 10m: Since launch, 36 million Nintendo-published games have been shifted
  50. Blizzard calls off public event to promote Switch Overwatch launch
  51. Video: How (and why) Blizzard finally ported Overwatch to Switch
  52. “The Switcher” is real: Witcher 3 on Switch is a blurry, tolerable compromise
  53. Apple now sells Xbox controllers on its official store
  54. Apple is selling Xbox controllers: Microsoft’s GamePad available through mobile giant’s online store following Apple Arcade launch
  55. Mixer’s other co-founder also leaves Microsoft
  56. Mixer co-founder Matt Salsamendi departs Microsoft
  57. Microsoft introduces swear filters for Xbox: Platform holder will roll out four levels of filtration later this year to all Xbox devices and apps
  58. Both Co-Founders Of Microsoft’s Twitch Competitor Mixer Are Departing The Business
  59. The public preview for Xbox’s streaming service Project xCloud is now live
  60. Analogue shows off Pocket retro portable: $199 handheld hardware set for 2020, will play original carts from Game Boy family, Game Gear, Lynx, and Neo Geo Pocket Color
  61. $199 Analogue Pocket promises FPGA accuracy for portable retro gaming
  62. The Analogue Pocket offers a modern way to play and make Game Boy games
  63. Snapchat partnered with Adidas to launch its first shoppable mobile game
  64. Hitman dev IO Interactive partners with Warner Bros. on ‘new game experience’
  65. Warner Bros partners with IO Interactive for new game: Hitman partnership transformed into multi-IP deal with both IO studios involved in development
  66. Niantic wants players to help expand location-games with new ‘Wayfarer’ tool
  67. Niantic announces Wayfarer program to improve in-game play locations: Program currently in beta for Ingress players, coming to Pokemon Go players later
  68. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery reaches $150m in revenue – Jam City’s title has been downloaded 54.6 million times across iOS and Android
  69. FIFA 20 tops EMEAA charts for second week since launch: Just Cause 3 makes surprise appearance in top ten, climbing from No. 123 last week
  70. Busy September charts see FIFA 20 take No.1: A strong slate of new releases battle for top five, with Borderlands 3 in second place
  71. FIFA 20 retains No.1 as Grid reaches Top Five: Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair debuts at No.31
  72. Daybreak Games lays off multiple employees in company ‘realignment’
  73. Daybreak Game Company suffers more layoffs: Company “realignment” leads to third round of redundancies in 18 months
  74. Report: 50 workers laid off at Bendy and the Ink Machine developer Kindly Beast
  75. Bendy and the Ink Machine studio Kindly Beast lays off just under 50 – CEO Mike Mood: “All current projects will continue as planned”
  76. PUBG Mobile is highest-grossing smartphone game in Q3: Sensor Tower report shows growth across all metrics in the mobile game sector
  77. Fortnite’s latest narrative turn has taken the entire game offline
  78. Fortnite “shuts down” ahead of battle royale’s Chapter 2: Latest live event sees iconic island devoured by black hole in livestream, game currently unavailable
  79. Fortnite is back after suddenly going dark for days to hype a big content update
  80. Don’t Miss: The unconventional launch of Fortnite
  81. Esports-focused mobile dev Meta Games nets $2 million in funding
  82. Nerd Street Gamers raises $12m for building esports facilities: Will start by constructing 3,000 square foot spaces for Five Below stores
  83. Esports’ ongoing data competition: PCU v. ACU v. AMA – Newzoo’s new head of esports Remer Rietkerk on the challenges of finding good data for the right occasion
  84. Millennial Esports acquires YouTube channel LetsGoRacing: The channel, created by Grand Central Entertainment, focuses on motorsports and, recently, esports racing
  85. Hiro Capital is “determined to fill the post-seed gap” with new €100m fund: Industry veterans will invest in around 20 promising games, esports and digital sports companies by 2021
  86. What we can learn from… successful game teams: Crunch and financial rewards don’t work, says Department of Play’s Will Luton, but there are strategies that can lead to more effective teams and projects
  87. Curve Digital owner Catalis Group acquired by NorthEdge Capital for $113 million
  88. NorthEdge Capital acquires Curve Digital parent Catalis: Company invests £46.6m in games group, deal values Catalis at £90m
  89. Summerfall Studios breaks new ground with Chorus: An Adventure Musical – Australian startup has assembled David Gaider, Austin Wintory, Troy Baker and Laura Bailey for its “interactive musical”
  90. The enduring appeal of simulation games: Simulation games find their audience among maturing gamers and wild-eyed influencers alike
  91. Divinity: Fallen Heroes placed on indefinite hold by developer Larian Studios
  92. How Ubisoft designed and refined its Assassin’s Creed VR escape rooms
  93. Owlchemy’s audio wizard offers tips on making the most of music in VR
  94. Using body language to create more compelling VR game characters 
  95. Fine-tuning for the ‘action hero’ feel in PlayStation’s VR game Blood & Truth
  96. How to get your game on the front page of Imgur: A practical guide
  97. Don’t Miss: An in-depth look at the physics of trains in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
  98. Don’t Miss: 10 video game production lessons learned the hard way
  99. Don’t Miss: How the Surviving Mars devs built a city-builder on a barren planet
  100. Blog: Making games is easy – selling them, not so much
  101. Blog: The problem with the indie game pedestal9
  102. Blog: A look at scavenger hunts in two modern adventure games
  103. Blog: Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress, and procedurally generated storytelling
  104. Blog: The simple difficulty of bringing Frostpunk to consoles
  105. Blog: Accessibility and difficulty as barriers to art
  106. Blog: An exploration of map region-based narrative
  107. Video: The math behind predictable projectiles in games
  108. How Raw Data dev Survios succeeds by recycling its own tech
  109. Adi Shankar working on another video game TV series, this time for Far Cry 3 – Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Vibe to be a part of a greater Ubisoft multiverse of shows
  110. Ubisoft is making animated shows based on Rayman, Watch Dogs, and more
  111. Ukie releasing advice pack to help UK games industry prepare for no-deal Brexit
  112. UKIE prepares no-deal Brexit advice: Trade body to release free written, audio, and visual content as Britain prepares to leave EU
  113. Thousands of DOS games have been added to the Internet Archive
  114. U.S. Patent no. 9,180,378: Conditional access to areas in a video game

Jon

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News of the Week; October 9, 2019

By Jon Festinger on October 14, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. China-Based TikTok Actively Banning The Gay Away When Not Helping Authoritarians Be More Authoritarian
  2. Will Smith Is Now On TikTok
  3. Google’s Looking To Take On TikTok With Acquisition Of Competitor Firework (Report)
  4. UK Court of Appeal Permits Activist to Proceed with Claim for Damages Against Google
  5. Data Security and Cybercrime in China
  6. Commerce Adds 28 Chinese Organizations to the Entity List for Associations with Human Rights Violations and Abuses
  7. Turkish Gov’t Demands US Embassy Apologize For ‘Liking’ A Tweet The Turkish Gov’t Didn’t Like
  8. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter Refuse To Remove Trump Campaign Ad That Pushes Biden/Ukraine Conspiracy Theory
  9. Facebook to Pay $40 Million to Settle Claims It Inflated Video Viewing Data
  10. Twitter and Facebook could be facing billions in fines after Ireland investigations: Ireland Data Protection has concluded investigations. Companies can be fined up to 4% of global annual revenues for breaching data privacy.
  11. Twitter used phone numbers provided for security to target ads: ‘We’re very sorry this happened’
  12. EU nations can force Facebook to remove content worldwide, court rules
  13. EU Continues To Muck Up The Internet: Approves Broad Filtering/Censorship Requirements
  14. Facebook Can Be Forced to Delete Content Worldwide, E.U.’s Top Court Rules: The decision that individual countries can order Facebook to take down posts globally sets a benchmark for the reach of European laws.
  15. Facebook Responsible for Worldwide Removal of Defamatory Comments
  16. EU Court of Justice: Orders to remove defamatory content issued by member state courts can be applied worldwide
  17. PayPal becomes first member to exit Facebook’s Libra Association
  18. The Ties That Bind Facebook’s Libra: Facebook says its cryptocurrency will be managed by an independent group, but an analysis finds more than half of the members have links back to the social media giant.
  19. US wants Facebook to backdoor WhatsApp and halt encryption plans
  20. DOJ Boss Joins UK, Australian Gov’t In Asking Facebook To Ditch Its End-To-End Encryption Plan
  21. Deputy Attorney General Rosen: Companies Like Facebook Are Making Everyone Less Safe By Offering Encryption
  22. DOJ Using The FOSTA Playbook To Attack Encryption
  23. CJEU rules that an intermediary can be ordered to remove content identical and equivalent to that found illegal, also worldwide (Eleonora Rosati)
  24. Microsoft says Iranian hackers tried to hack a US presidential campaign
  25. Kaspersky finds Uzbekistan hacking op… because group used Kaspersky AV
  26. Twitter nixes Trump Nickelback meme after dubious takedown request
  27. Twitter Removes Nickelback Meme Trump Tweets, But Leaves All The Others Up
  28. Even Trump Can’t Turn Down a Nickelback Joke (but Twitter Did): The site removed a video posted by President Trump that showed a meme of the rock band’s lead singer, edited as an attack on Joe Biden.
  29. The broken record: Why Barr’s call against end-to-end encryption is nuts
  30. New York launches online whistleblower submission system
  31. Moscow man suing Apple because his iPhone turned him gay
  32. Kickstarter controversially sends unionization to a vote after staff firings
  33. Trudeau’s Blackface: The Chilling Effects of Disinformation on Political Engagement – During election season, journalists should be ready for even more sophisticated attempts to plant false narratives
  34. Music Piracy Continues To Drop Dramatically, But The Industry Hates To Admit That Because It Ruins The Narrative
  35. NY Times Opinion Section Gets CDA 230 Wrong AGAIN!
  36. Senator Mark Warner Repeats Senator Ted Cruz’s Mythical, Made Up, Incorrect Claims About Section 230
  37. Thumbs up to taking down defamatory content online
  38. The ‘right to be forgotten’ within the European Union
  39. The CJEU confines the scope of the ‘right to be forgotten’ to the EU
  40. Section 230 Helps Search Engine Defeat “Right to Be Forgotten” Lawsuit–Mosha v. Yandex (Eric Goldman)
  41. Partial Screenshot Qualifies as Fair Use (on a Motion to Dismiss)–Yang v. Mic (Eric Goldman)
  42. EUIPO publishes ‘IPR Enforcement Case-Law Collection’ on the liability and obligations of ISPs
  43. Supreme Court Declines to Review Ninth Circuit Decision in Robles v. Domino’s, Exposing Businesses to More Website Accessibility Lawsuits
  44. Domino Effect: Will SCOTUS Refusal to Hear ADA Website Case Yield Flood of Litigation?
  45. The Domino’s Effect—What to Expect as a Result of SCOTUS’s Denial of Cert
  46. U.S. Supreme Court Clears the way for Visually-Impaired to Sue Over Allegedly Inaccessible Websites and Apps
  47. Supreme Court Leaves in Place Ruling Requiring Websites and Apps to Comply with ADA
  48. Supreme Court Passes On a Case That Likely Would Have Clarified the Scope of the ADA Regarding Access to Private Businesses’ Virtual Platforms
  49. Adobe cancels all user accounts in Venezuela to comply with Trump order
  50. Here’s The No. 1 Reason People Cancel Their Streaming Service Subscriptions (Survey)
  51. Disney And Amazon Are Arguing About Ad Inventory, Which Could Delay Disney+ Arriving On Fire TV (Report)
  52. Crypt TV And Facebook Watch Scare Up Trailer For Horror Series The Birch
  53. Major League Baseball’s Playoff Teams Didn’t Necessarily Top Social Video Standings
  54. Company Behind YouTube DIY Channel Blossom Pulls Down Videos Showing False, Dangerous Hacks
  55. YouTube Millionaires: Adi Fishman Is A Trend-Tracking Master Who’s Amassed A Million-Strong Audience In 1 Year
  56. Aussie Children’s YouTube Channel ‘CKN Toys’ Inks Global Deal With Nickelodeon
  57. YouTube Fined US $170 Million. Could You Use A Safe Harbor From The Coming Storm?
  58. YouTube Originals Continues Push Into Music-Themed Docs With Mark Ronson Feature
  59. YouTube Terminates 2 Channels Linked To U.K.-Based ‘Pick-Up Artist’ Convicted Of Harassing Women
  60. American Teens Call YouTube, Not Netflix, Their Top Daily Streaming Destination (Survey)
  61. Kids’ Content Upstart Moonbug Launches ‘Little Baby Bum’ Merch At Amazon, Walmart
  62. Talent Firm Rare Global Forms Incubator Division For ‘Mid-Tier’ Influencers Like Genelle Seldon, Brittany Sky
  63. Group Nine Acquires PopSugar In All-Stock Deal That Will Boost Its Reach To Half The U.S. Population
  64. Italian Government Reportedly Investigating Netflix For Tax Evasion
  65. Hulu finally launches support for downloads, initially to ad-free viewers
  66. Hulu finally catches up with Netflix and Amazon, offers video downloads
  67. Whistle Acquires Elisabeth Murdoch-Founded, Snap-Backed Content Studio ‘Vertical Networks’
  68. Insta-Mural Infringement: Public Art in Instagram Ad Leads to Copyright Claim
  69. Instagram launches Threads, a Close Friends chat app with auto-status: Can it steal messaging from Snapchat?
  70. Instagram introduces Threads, a new messaging app for your close friends
  71. Instagram launches Create mode with On This Day throwbacks
  72. Instagram Rolls Out Long-Awaited ‘Dark Mode’ on Latest Versions Of iOS, Android
  73. Instagram makes its bully-blocking feature available to everyone
  74. Twitch And Music Startup Endel Partner On ‘Insomnia’ — A Channel That Uses AI To Put Viewers To Sleep
  75. Spotify and Twitch finally debut Apple TV apps
  76. Insights: How Smaller VOD Services Can Attract Subscribers Amid Epic Competition
  77. The gig economy’s deepest problem isn’t about tech at all
  78. Augmented Reality is making industrial work more productive

A.I.

  1. Blog: Simple and effective character pose prediction in Cascadeur 
  2. Video: A game programmer’s guide to the math of deep learning
  3. Utopos raises $1 million to gamify machine learning with debut title Raivo
  4. Utopos Games raises $1m for machine learning game: Seed funding will support Raivo, a game where players and machine learning train AI robots to battle
  5. AI inventions and sufficiency of disclosure – when enough is enough 
  6. Beware of Automated Hiring: It won’t end employment discrimination. In fact, it could make it worse.
  7. How AI is shaking up legal practice: Displacement of junior lawyers at large firms could be a boon to smaller firms
  8. The USPTO seeks AI expertise to change the rules of the game internally and externally 
  9. “AI will drastically change the way in which we search trademarks”
  10. Next Level E-commerce with Responsible AI
  11. Protection of inventions in AI and digitalisation
  12. A Strategy for Protecting Artificial Intelligence Inventions in Europe
  13. AI, the Internet of Things, and the health care industry 
  14. Canadian and Other Privacy and Data Protection Authorities Address Anticipated Challenges Related to Artificial Intelligence 
  15. Why Navigation Apps, Working Properly, Can Make Traffic Flows Worse — And What To Do About It 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Why Do Canada’s Political Parties Have a Hard Time Saying No to New Internet and Wireless Taxes? (Michael Geist)
  2. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 26: There Is No Crisis – Dwayne Winseck on the State of Canadian Communications, Media and Cultural Policy (Michael Geist)
  3. The War on Piracy and the Attacks on Privacy in Canada: Copyright and Collateral Damage
  4. Election 2019: The “Netflix Tax” May Be Hiding in Plain Sight
  5. Former FCC Boss Wheeler Says New Court Ruling Won’t Stop Net Neutrality
  6. Comcast incorrectly charged 2,000 customers for exceeding data cap
  7. AT&T, facing $158 billion debt, to sell Puerto Rico network for $2 billion
  8. The Cable Industry Makes $28 Billion Annually In B.S. Fees
  9. Surprise! Buzzfeed Links Bogus Net Neutrality Comments Directly To Broadband Industry
  10. Cable companies use hidden fees to raise prices 24% a month
  11. The FCC’s “Restoration of Internet Freedom Order” Largely Survives on Appeal; But Net Neutrality is Not Dead Yet
  12. WarnerMedia ratchets up layoffs across HBO, Turner, Warner Bros. 

PRIVACY

  1. Senator proposes mandatory labeling for products with mics, cameras
  2. Hospitals that are turning away patients reportedly pay ransomware attackers
  3. FISA Court Finds The FBI Is Still Violating The Fourth Amendment With Its Abuse Of NSA Collections
  4. Trump Administration Demands An End To Strong Encryption While Being Exhibit A For Why We Need It
  5. Twitter transgression proves why its flawed 2FA system is such a privacy trap
  6. FBI warns of major ransomware attacks as criminals go “big-game hunting”
  7. Attackers exploit 0-day vulnerability that gives full control of Android phones
  8. Yet Another Study Shows The Internet Of Things Is A Privacy S—show
  9. FBI Director Deploys Straw Men While Calling For The End Of Straw Men Arguments In The Encryption War
  10. The DOJ Is Conflating The Content Moderation Debate With The Encryption Debate: Don’t Let Them
  11. Inexpensive, unpatched phones put billions of users’ privacy at risk
  12. California Police Department Wants Five Days Notice And The Personal Info Of Requesters Before Turning Over Misconduct Records
  13. GDPR Updates: Two Judgements on Google’s Search Engine, Proposed E-Privacy Regulation and a New GDPR Code of Conduct
  14. Data privacy: Collective legal action against Google to proceed
  15. Google Sued Under Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act
  16. If You Think Google Is Too Dominant And Needs More Competition… You Should Actually Support Its Petition Concerning API Copyrights
  17. Cookies and Consent – An update on developments in the EU’s Draft e-Privacy Regulation
  18. Pre-checked box does not give consent to cookies under EU privacy directive and GDPR
  19. New European Judgment on Cookies
  20. New CJEU Decision on Use of Cookies
  21. Cookie consent clarity: ‘active consent’ is required
  22. Final verdict of CJEU in the cookie checkbox riddle
  23. Check the box: CJEU rules that pre-ticked checkboxes do not constitute consent to store cookies
  24. “Pre-Ticked” Boxes to Obtain Cookie Use Consent Fail Under EU Law
  25. More Teenagers Mistakenly Think “Private” Chat Conversations Will Remain Private–People v. JP (Eric Goldman)
  26. U.S. Draft Human Rights Guidance for Exporters of Surveillance Technology
  27. Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Privacy law – October 2019
  28. FTC’s COPPA Rule Workshop: A Summary of Priorities from Advocates and Industry, and the FTC’s Poker Face
  29. GDPR One Year On: What is the CNIL Position on Joint Controllership?

CREATIVITY

  1. Thin-Skinned Chinese Government Busy Making American Sports Orgs Look Silly On Free Speech Issues
  2. Ridiculous: Judge Says Devin Nunes’ SLAPP Suit Against An Internet Cow And Others Can Continue
  3. Banksy opens homeware store after card company legal dispute: The graffiti artist said the card company is contesting the trademark he holds to his art.
  4. Banksy: Card firm rejects ‘custody’ claim
  5. Banksy’s Parliament painting sells for record-breaking £9.9 million
  6. Peloton Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Expanded to $300 Million, Includes Over 2,000 Songs
  7. E*Trade Defeats Copyright Claim Over Dancing Old Man in Commercial–Vacchi v. E*Trade (Eric Goldman)
  8. Crowning Copyright – When Copyright Works are Deemed to Belong to the Government
  9. Copyright Troll Loses Jury Trial… Which Might Lead To Him Paying Legal Fees In Multiple Lawsuits
  10. Jerry Seinfeld Wins BS ‘Comedians In Cars’ Copyright Suit That Was Filed Way, Way Too Late
  11. Report: Musk’s $50,000 “pedo guy” investigator is a convicted felon
  12. Boldly going where no palate has gone before: A Star Trek wine tasting
  13. CBP Official Refuses To Give Journalist His Passport Until He ‘Admits’ He Writes ‘Propaganda’
  14. Walking Alone: Liverpool FC Fails to Obtain Namesake Trademark
  15. ‘Clash’ tennisrackets tegen het zere been van punkband The Clash
  16. Street art switches sweep Oxford
  17. In Cases Involving Publicity Rights and the Intellectual Property Exclusion, Facts, Not Labels of Causes of Action, Are Relevant to Coverage Analysis

GAMES

  1. Epic failed to inform players of Fortnite addiction risks, argues law firm
  2. Epic Games Settles With Cheating Minor To End Lawsuit
  3. Epic, minor accused of cheating in Fortnite settle copyright suit: Confidential settlement concludes summer dispute between Fortnite YouTuber and game maker
  4. ‘Fortnite’ company may face class-action lawsuit over claims game as addictive as cocaine
  5. Amid Blizzard’s Hong Kong controversy, Epic says it wouldn’t censor players
  6. Epic won’t take action against Fortnite players who speak up about Hong Kong: “Epic supports everyone’s right to express their views on politics and human rights”
  7. Blizzard backlash escalates following Hong Kong supporter ban: US senators, Blizzard employees and Hearthstone communities decry developer’s attempt to avoid controversy with China
  8. Gamers propose punishing Blizzard for its anti-Hong Kong partisanship by flooding it with GDPR requests
  9. Blizzard bans pro Hearthstone gamer for statement supporting Hong Kong
  10. Blizzard dismisses Hearthstone player for supporting Hong Kong protests: “I’m not [regretful] of what I said,” says Chung ‘blitzchung’ Ng Wai
  11. Blizzard bans Hearthstone esports pro over ‘liberate Hong Kong’ interview
  12. “League of Legends” Maker Riot Sues Riot Squad Esports Over Name
  13. Randy Pitchford and ex-Gearbox general counsel agree to settle legal dispute
  14. Gearbox and its former lawyer agree to drop lawsuits: Suits dismissed after parties resolve “misunderstandings,” say evidence exonerated Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford
  15. SAG-AFTRA dismisses Gearbox’s stance in Borderlands 3 union row: Actors union says Gearbox was unwilling to apply SAG-AFTRA standards to all Borderlands 3 actors
  16. According to a French court, the principle of exhaustion applies to video games acquired via a game download platforms
  17. Man breaks into Valve, steals $40,000 of equipment, games: Same suspect has been previously arrested for burglary, stealing a FedEx truck
  18. EA leaks personal information of ‘approximately 1600’ FIFA 20 players
  19. EA leaks FIFA Global Series player data: Up to 1,600 players signing up for tournament series had their personal information exposed to other registrants
  20. FIFA 20 remains leagues ahead in UK charts: Electronic Arts’ annual football release remains on top by a wide margin, despite 66% sales decline from last week
  21. FIFA 20 arrives atop EMEAA charts: EA’s annual football franchise leads a trio of newcomers to the charts as Code Vein and Dragon Quest XI S also make top 5 debuts
  22. Monument Valley developer Ustwo threatened with legal action over union busting
  23. Ustwo Games accused of union busting: “The union will not stand idly by in the face of this unlawful and vicious act,” says Game Workers Unite
  24. Sauropod Studio responds to concerns surrounding layoffs, sexism, studio’s status: Management says studio remains open to support existing games despite termination of most of its staff
  25. GWU Australia survey shows 19% of direct employees aren’t making minimum wage: Only 27% of respondents felt their employment was secure in both long and short-term
  26. Co-founder Rick Fox files multi-million dollar lawsuit against Echo Fox partners
  27. Rick Fox sues Echo Fox partners for fraud: Ongoing dispute between organization owners sees Fox ousted as he accuses partners of “financially ruining” the company
  28. Stardew Valley creator distances from under-fire publisher Chucklefish
  29. Stardew Valley creator clarifies relationship with Chucklefish following exploitation accusations
  30. UK Video Games Tax Relief comes under fire for mostly going to triple-A companies
  31. Rocket League swaps loot boxes for transparent Blueprints system: Psyonix will implement a new system that shows users exactly what they receive for a set price
  32. Immersive and addictive technologies report published
  33. Immersive and addictive technologies Fifteenth Report of Session 2017–19 (House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee)
  34. The UK games industry is at a regulatory crossroads | Opinion: Harbottle & Lewis’ Kostya Lobov breaks down the potential impact of various government initiatives and investigations
  35. NHS targets gaming addiction with new specialist clinic:
  36. “Compulsive gaming and social media and internet addiction is a problem that is not going to go away when they play such a key part in modern life”
  37. Atari VCS architect Rob Wyatt leaves project, calls out Atari for missed pay
  38. Atari VCS architect quits, citing six months of missed payments – Rob Wyatt: “As a small company, we have been lucky to survive this long.”
  39. Microsoft expands Windows/Xbox family settings to Android: More control for parents for the cross-play generation
  40. Sony indicates PlayStation cross-play has now left beta: Interview with SIE’s Jim Ryan reports that the in-demand feature is now widely available
  41. PS4 Remote Play is now supported on Android 5.0 phones and tablets
  42. PlayStation 5 set for holiday 2020: Sony confirms official name, rumble feature replacement, and varying resistance triggers for next-gen console
  43. Sony confirms the PlayStation 5 is coming in 2020, reveals new hardware details
  44. Sony confirms PlayStation 5 release window, teases new gamepad tech
  45. What’s going on with PlayStation? | Opinion: A look at why Sony has so far taken an understated approach to heralding the arrival of the next generation
  46. Report: Sony Interactive Entertainment lays off dozens in UK and US
  47. Sony Interactive Entertainment EU reportedly lays off “dozens” amid restructuring: US-based creative services also affected, employee notice given on same day as PS5 details announcement
  48. Sony temporarily removes Facebook integration from PS4: Users will no longer be able to search for Facebook friends or post clips and screenshots to the social network
  49. Catalina brings Apple Arcade to MacOS but kills support for 32-bit games
  50. Apple Arcade is a short-term fix with far reaching consequences | Opinion: Is Apple Arcade the ultimate solution to selling premium mobile games, or a walled oasis offering a reprieve from a larger problem?
  51. Monster Hunter: World shipments and digital sales cross 14 million units
  52. Former CEO of Bungie founds new multi-studio AAA game company
  53. Harold Ryan sets up ProbablyMonsters: Former Bungie CEO’s developer of developers lands $18.8 million in funding, reveals Cauldron Studios and Firewalk Studios
  54. Call of Duty: Mobile passes 35 million downloads within days of launch
  55. Call of Duty: Mobile surpasses 35m downloads in just three days – Mobile spin-off becomes No. 1 app in over 100 countries on App Store
  56. Call of Duty Mobile sees best first-week downloads of any mobile game
  57. Oxenfree has been downloaded 3 million times through Xbox Game Pass
  58. Oxenfree reaches 3m downloads: Within that, Night School Studio’s indie hit has sold one million copies
  59. NPD Group: 73% of Americans play video games – Survey finds “notable increase” in both engagement and spending among younger audience
  60. Mario Kart Tour racks up 90m downloads in its first week: New mobile title downloaded six times more than any other Nintendo mobile game
  61. Mario Kart Tour’s Gold Pass has potential – if done right | Opinion: GameRefinery’s Joel Julkenen analyses how Nintendo is experimenting with the increasingly popular Battle Pass model
  62. It’s Amazing All The Cool Stuff We Could Have If Nintendo Didn’t Insist On Nintendo-Ing
  63. Video: Working up a sweat with Ring Fit Adventure
  64. Obituary: Former Nintendo lawyer John Kirby
  65. Former Nintendo lawyer and Kirby namesake John Kirby dies: Legal expert saved Donkey Kong in case against Universal
  66. World of Warcraft celebrates 15 years with a $100 Firelord statue
  67. John Wick Hex game review: Become the bloody Baba Yaga of legend
  68. Rovio warns brand licensing restructure could result in layoffs
  69. Redundancies expected as Rovio reshuffles its licensing division: Up to 20 employees could be made redundant as the mobile developer refocuses its brand licensing division on key products
  70. Doom Eternal delayed to March: id Software pushes back game launch into packed Q1 “to live up to our standards of speed and polish”; Switch version postponed further
  71. Doom Eternal joins this year’s game-delay club, will launch March 2020
  72. Acquisition and conversion costs threaten a mobile bust | Opinion: Acquisition and retention costs for mobile games show no signs of plateauing — for many firms, this segment is becoming unsustainable
  73. Discord makes layoffs due to ‘active shift in talent needs’
  74. Discord confirms layoffs: Chat platform says it “made an active shift in the talent needs of our marketing department”
  75. Egypt used Google Play in spy campaign targeting its own citizens, researchers say
  76. Report: Google plans ‘Game Certified Device’ standard for Android
  77. Google Stadia could sidestep latency issues by predicting button presses
  78. Croteam co-founder Alen Ladavac departs studio to join Google’s Stadia team
  79. Red Dead Redemption 2 arrives on PC next month: Wild wild news.
  80. Red Dead Redemption 2 officially announced for PC and Stadia
  81. Epic clarifies Fortnite matchmaking update amid cross-play balance concerns
  82. Overwatch League Snags 16% More Viewership This Season, Is Only Major Sports League To See Boost In Young Viewers
  83. Mixer viewership down in Q3 despite Ninja’s exclusivity deal: Report from Streamlabs and Newzoo paints mixed picture for Microsoft’s streaming platform
  84. Bringing non-endemic brands to esports… and keeping them: At Esports BAR Miami, Christopher ‘Monte Cristo’ Mykles shared how brands can make their way into esports
  85. Miami will get esports racing arena in early 2020
  86. Fortnite Professional Players Association formed: Group of 16 players aim to “provide a professional platform” for discussing the future of battle royale’s competitive scene
  87. Overwatch League’s Grand Finals Grows 16% in Average Viewers From Last Year
  88. NBA star invests to become co-owner of RektGlobal: Rudy Gobert joins already star-studded ownership team of esports organisation
  89. Can supporting esports communities deliver returns for publishers?: Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris explains why the company invests in esports both within and beyond its own game communities
  90. PUBG Mobile envisions esports for casuals
  91. Update Required for Youth Esports
  92. Five Vectors raises $1m in seed funding to make music for esports: Music startup to partner with publishers for team, league, and game anthems
  93. Raph Koster’s new MMO studio Playable Worlds raises $2.7 million
  94. Raph Koster launches new MMO studio with $2.7m in seed funding: Bitkraft Esports Ventures leads investment in Ultima Online designer’s Playable Worlds, building “an online world where players can find a home”
  95. Playable Worlds has a ‘different mindset’ on engagement: CEO Raph Koster takes a look at the right lessons and wrong lessons the industry took from MMOs like Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies
  96. Ex-ArenaNet devs raise $3.3 million for new studio, Tenacious Entertainment
  97. Magic: The Gathering Reveals My Little Pony Crossover Set for Charity
  98. Unity acquires live game management platform ChilliConnect
  99. Unity acquires ChilliConnect: Live game management platform to join deltaDNA to improve Unity’s live ops offerings
  100. ArenaNet co-founder leaves to start new studio: Mike O’Brien departs Guild Wars developer to “make small games again”
  101. How one game studio is trying to tackle the loneliness epidemic: BetaDwarf sees opportunity in crisis as it builds a game to foster friendship among lonely people
  102. Five misconceptions about the Chinese games market: Apptutti’s Daniel Camilo on the myths around console sales, PC gaming, rampant piracy, and more
  103. Independent film producer looks to adapt ten game IPs: UK-based Goldfinch is searching for games built on Unreal to adapt into film, TV, podcasts or graphic novels
  104. Video: Go behind the scenes of Forza Horizon 3’s mesmerizing skies
  105. Video: A game dev’s guide to better representing and supporting disabilities
  106. Deep Dive: Telling Lies – Making a mechanic out of scrubbing video
  107. Don’t Miss: Producing Silent Hill and the challenge of making portable games scary
  108. Don’t Miss: The aesthetics of frustration in Getting Over It
  109. Don’t Miss: Punishing difficulty conveys a personal story in The End is Nigh
  110. Don’t Miss: Building game mechanics to elevate narrative in Oxenfree
  111. Blog: A guide to lucid storytelling in games
  112. A closer look at Control’s reality-bending VFX
  113. Behind the HONK: An Untitled Goose Game Q&A
  114. An untitled Untitled Goose Game analysis
  115. Neo Cab is the dystopian gig-economy Crazy Taxi we’ve always wanted
  116. Wendy’s has released a tabletop RPG where you have to fight McDonalds
  117. Charting the darker periods of history in Humankind: Amplitude’s Jeff Spock on creating a historical strategy game that doesn’t shy away from religion, slavery and colonisation
  118. When “easy mode” isn’t enough: An analysis of unclear lessons in video games
  119. WGA removes video game writing category from 2020 awards
  120. WGA drops video game award category: Writers Guild Awards suspends game honor saying there aren’t enough eligible titles for “a meaningful award selection process”
  121. U.S. Patent No. 9,186,575: Online game with animal-breeding mechanic
  122. In Major Blow To Sony’s Upcoming PlayStation 5, Microsoft Announces PlayStation 6 (Onion Gamers Network)

Jon

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News of the Week; October 2, 2019

By Jon Festinger on October 7, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Microsoft: Customers are entitled to know about federal data requests
  2. DOJ reportedly launches its own Facebook probe at AG Barr’s urging
  3. Why You Can’t Really Consent to Facebook’s Facial Recognition: While the social media platform’s latest approach to facial recognition appears to respect user’s choices, the offer is so tainted we can’t truly agree to it (Evan Selinger & Woodrow Hartzog)
  4. Zuckerberg blasts Elizabeth Warren’s plan to break up Facebook and says it’s an ‘existential’ threat
  5. Elizabeth Warren Wants Congress To Be Smarter About Tech… While Grossly Overstating Google & Facebook’s Market Power
  6. Facebook tried to fight $5B FTC fine, is ready to fight antitrust probes
  7. Facebook, Like Instagram, To Test Hiding ‘Likes’, Reactions, And Video Viewcounts
  8. Instagram wants people to make more longform IGTV content, but it still isn’t giving them a way to monetize: The new @creators account encourages people to keep making content
  9. Coolest Man on Instagram Gets Copyright Case Tossed
  10. Top Oracle Lawyer Attempting To Gaslight Entire Software Community: Insists APIs Are Executable
  11. All I Ever Wanted Was a One-Trick Pony: Our devices do way too much – and not always on our behalf. (Zeynep Tufekci)
  12. How The U.S. Hacked ISIS
  13. At Least 70 Countries Have Had Disinformation Campaigns, Study Finds
  14. German police seize “bulletproof” hosting data center in former NATO  bunker
  15. The Internet’s horrifying new method for installing Google apps on Huawei phones: Just make a Chinese website your device’s remote administrator. It’ll be fine!
  16. Just As Everyone Predicted: EU Copyright Directive’s Link Tax Won’t Lead To Google Paying Publishers
  17. New Study On Effects Of Manga Piracy Show Piracy’s Effects Are More Nuanced Than Good Or Bad
  18. Why big ISPs aren’t happy about Google’s plans for encrypted DNS
  19. Google adds password “checkup” into Web account password manager
  20. Maria Ressa: “Facebook Broke Democracy in Many Countries around the World, Including in Mine”: Manila-journalist discusses how Silicon Valley has “forever changed” our societies
  21. Launch of Facebook’s Libra could be delayed over regulatory concerns: executive
  22. Facebook’s new VR chat app will throw paid staffers at “on-boarding” trolls
  23. Facebook is rolling out a test to hide your likes
  24. Facebook’s new VR chat app will feature paid in-game hosts to model community behaviour: Facebook Horizon Guides will act more like hosts in a physical space, than moderators in a digital one
  25. Kazakh Government Takes Down 93k Websites To Site-Block A Single Massage Parlour
  26. TikTok Says It No Longer Uses Guidelines That Could Censor Content Criticizing Chinese Government
  27. How TikTok Holds Our Attention: On the popular short- app, young people are churning through images and sounds at warp speed, repurposing reality into ironic, bite-size content.
  28. WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey on Diversity: ‘We’ve ot More Work to Do’
  29. Unpatchable bug in millions of iOS devices exploited, developer claims
  30. Developer of Checkm8 explains why iDevice jailbreak exploit is a game changer
  31. Competitor Gets Pyrrhic Victory in False Advertising Suit Over Search Ads–Harbor Breeze v. Newport Fishing (Eric Goldman)
  32. Product liability litigation for connected devices
  33. Grindr and Armslist Cases Reaffirm Core Protections for User-Generated Content
  34. 9th Circuit Takes Narrow View of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in LinkedIn Data Scraping Case
  35. hiQ v. LinkedIn Redux? Ninth Circuit Decision Tested in New Case
  36. Nerd City Calls On YouTube For More Demonetization Transparency Amid New Study About LGBTQ+ Video Titles
  37. YouTube just made it way easier for creators to search and filter comments: Including the ability to search via subscriber count
  38. YouTube Adds Ability To Auto-Delete Search And Viewing History
  39. YouTube Music is launching three new personalized playlists
  40. YouTube Music Will Now Come Pre-Installed On Android Devices, Replacing Google’s Play Music
  41. Google beefs up user privacy controls for Assistant, YouTube: You can now tell Google Assistant to delete your activity history.
  42. YouTube Just Implemented Creators’ Most Requested Feature To Date: Comment Filters
  43. “Netflix has forgotten more about product and tech than new services have built”
  44. Tesla Brings YouTube, Netflix, Hulu To New In-Car ‘Theater’ Feature
  45. Musk broke the law with anti-union tweet, judge rules
  46. YouTube’s First Exclusive MLB Live Streams Brought An Average Of 1.2 Million Views Apiece
  47. Snapchat takes the fight to Netflix and Disney Plus with eight new Snap Originals
  48. Vevo Looking To Supercharge OTT Distribution
  49. Catie Turner’s Song “Prom Queen” Sees Nearly 1M New Spotify Streams After Starring In Shane Dawson Trailer
  50. Spotify now lets you add podcasts to playlists
  51. Meet Electrophone, the streaming service you’ve never heard of: Long before Spotify, music buffs signed up to hear live concerts by telephone
  52. Victoria Beckham – Fashion Victim?
  53. Popular Blogger Breached Advertising Code for Endorsing Sleep Medicine
  54. eSignature and ePayment News and Trends
  55. Caspar Lee-Founded Influencer Marketing Firm Closes $3.6 Million Funding Round
  56. Influencer Sinead Burke Unveils Series With Just-Launched Podcast Network Lemonada
  57. Vice To Acquire Refinery29, Will Form Combined Entity Vice Media Group
  58. Vice Media Acquires Refinery29 in a $400 Million Deal
  59. Watching You Watch: The Tracking Ecosystem of Over-the-Top TV Streaming Devices (Hooman Mohajeri Moghaddam, Gunes Acar, Ben Burgess, Arunesh Mathur, Danny Yuxing Huang, Nick Feamster, Edward W. Felten, Prateek Mittal, Arvind Narayanan)
  60. Information Exposure From Consumer IoT Devices: A Multidimensional, Network-Informed Measurement Approach (Jingjing Ren, Daniel J. Dubois, David Choffnes, Anna Maria Mandalari,  Roman Kolcun, L Hamed Haddadi)
  61. IoT Inspector: Crowdsourcing Labeled Network Traffic from Smart Home Devices at Scale (Danny Yuxing Huang, Noah Apthorpe, Gunes Acar, Frank Li, Nick Feamster)
  62. Communication with locked-in patients in question after misconduct finding: The work claimed it was possible to interpret yes-or-no answers from brain waves.
  63. iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max review: High quality for high prices
  64. The Surface Phone is real! Microsoft surprises with a dual-screen Android phone
  65. Dependencies: Both Technological And Human, On Display In The Story Of A Developer Who Deleted Code Being Used By ICE
  66. Match.com’s Alleged Deceptive Marketing Practices Lead to Federal Action Under FTC Act/ROSCA
  67. Response to Yelp Review Costs Small Dental Practice $10,000 and Two Years of Monitoring to Settle HIPAA Complaint
  68. NLRB Memo Refines Position on Employer Social Media Policies
  69. Another Month, Another (Unhelpful) NLRB Advice Memo on Social Media Rules
  70. As Pushback Grows in Europe Against Facebook’s Libra, Walmart Considers its own Cryptocurrency
  71. Crypto founder pledges to fight the SEC
  72. The Failed Political Promise of Silicon Valley: Tech was meant to help us transcend our most intractable problems. What went wrong?
  73. Electronic signatures and contracts
  74. Men hack electronic billboard, play porn on it
  75. Woman who sleeps in $500 EMF-blocking sack wants area-wide Wi-Fi limits

A.I.

  1. Should there be copyright protection for artificial intelligence works? (Andres Guadamuz)
  2. Can artificial intelligence be an inventor? 
  3. Monkey see monkey do – Copyright whimsy in an AI world
  4. This Picasso painting had never been seen before. Until a neural network painted it.: With help from a neural network, researchers reconstructed an image the artist created and painted over during his Blue Period.
  5. Unpacking “Ethical AI”: A curated reading list
  6. Tesla just bought an AI startup to improve Autopilot—here’s what it does
  7. YouTube is experimenting with ways to make its algorithm even more addictive: Platform says it’s trying to do what it can to minimize extreme content. But it’s still looking for ways to keep users on the site.
  8. If Software is Eating the World: What’s Alexa got to do with it?
  9. D-Wave announces the next generation of its quantum annealer
  10. What problems can you solve on a quantum annealer?
  11. Celebrating Ian Kerr (Michael Geist) 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Telcos And Rupert Murdoch Pushing Nonsense Story That Google Helping Keep Your Internet Activity More Private Is An Antitrust Violation
  2. Comcast Apparently Feels Qualified To Give Google Lectures On Monopoly Power
  3. Hidden Fees Mean US Cable & Broadband Bills Can Be 45% Higher Than Advertised
  4. Sprint Busted For Allegedly Defrauding The FCC Lifeline Program
  5. US federal appeals court rules states can pass net neutrality rules
  6. Court Says FCC Can’t Stop States From Protecting Net Neutrality
  7. D.C. Circuit Vacates FCC Order Preempting State Net Neutrality Regulation and Remands
  8. Appeals Court Largely Upholds FCC’s Broadband Internet Reclassification Order, But Vacates and Remands in Part
  9. Court upholds net neutrality repeal, but lets states pass their own: Mozilla’s case against the FCC largely fails, though DC appeals court says pre-emption of state and local laws goes too far
  10. Why Ajit Pai’s “unhinged” net neutrality repeal was upheld by judges
  11. Massive Study Proves Once And For All That No, Net Neutrality Did Not Hurt Broadband Investment
  12. Nonprofit fights TV networks in court to keep free TV service alive
  13. Nonprofit TV Service Locast Accuses Big Four Broadcasters Of Collusion
  14. AT&T Proclaims It Cannot Be Sued For Selling Your Location Data To Random Nitwits
  15. AT&T vows to keep DirecTV despite losing millions of subscribers
  16. FCC Bans Text Message, International Spoofing
  17. The US is gifting 5G patent leadership to others
  18. GSA Implements Restrictions on Certain Chinese-Made Telecommunications Services and Equipment
  19. Sports & Antitrust – Commercialisation of sports broadcasting rights under the spotlight
  20. From Innovation to Regulation: Why the Liberals Have Lost Their Way on Digital Policy (Michael Geist) 

PRIVACY

  1. How Long Will Unbreakable Commercial Encryption Last?
  2. Privacy Harm Exceptionalism (Ryan Calo)
  3. Vimeo collected detailed facial scans without consent, lawsuit alleges
  4. Welcome To A World Of 500-Megapixel Cameras, And Surveillance Systems Able To Zoom In On Small Objects A Kilometer Away
  5. Ring Considered Using 911 Calls To Trigger Automated Streaming Of Camera Footage To Local PDs
  6. DoorDash hack spills loads of data for 4.9 million people
  7. Hey Doordash: Why Are You Hiding Your ‘Security Notice’ From Google Just Days After You Revealed A Massive Security Breach?
  8. Yahoo Hack Victims Line Up To Get $100 (Or Less) For Historic Hack
  9. Former Yahoo engineer admits using his access to steal users’ sexual images
  10. Plan for massive facial recognition database sparks privacy concerns: Identity fraud is justification for collecting photos from drivers’ licences and passports but critics say plan too invasive
  11. CCPA Privacy FAQs: Does the CCPA require that a company obtain consent from a website user before placing cookies on their browser?
  12. Cookies consent does not escape the GDPR: The CJEU issued its decision in the Planet49 case
  13. ECJ Issues First Cookie Decision After GDPR
  14. Balancing GDPR Rights And TM Owner Need For Domain Data
  15. When the Fight Against Online Piracy meets the GDPR
  16. Do we have a `right to be forgotten’ online?
  17. “Right to be forgotten” EU privacy law can only be applied inside the EU
  18. California’s New Privacy Law: Recent Amendments and Approaching Compliance Deadlines
  19. Proposed Digital Charter Could Bring Sweeping Changes to Canadian Privacy Laws
  20. No, The New Agreement To Share Data Between US And UK Law Enforcement Does Not Require Encryption Backdoors
  21. Councilman “mind-boggled” by Baltimore City IT department ineptitude
  22. Ransomware forces 3 hospitals to turn away all but the most critical patients
  23. The Rise of Networked Vigilante Surveillance: What happens when the neighborhood watch gets automatic license plate readers?
  24. If Signed by Governor, California Bill AB-602 Will Provide Private Right of Action for Victims of Sexually Explicit ‘Deepfakes’
  25. Facebook, Reddit, and others need a deepfakes plan now, senators say
  26. Documents Show The FBI Is Targeting Financial Institutions, Credit Reporting Agencies, And Universities With NSLs
  27. Can We Really Forget?
  28. Market Intelligence – Privacy & Cybersecurity – Canada
  29. Market Intelligence – Privacy & Cybersecurity – The United States
  30. Tech Companies Are Quietly Phasing Out a Major Privacy Safeguard: More and more companies are failing to issue transparency reports to tell consumers how much of their information governments have demanded.

CREATIVITY

  1. “A Broad and Liberal Interpretation”: The Supreme Court of Canada Expands Copyright Users’ Rights (Michael Geist)
  2. SCC dismisses appeal of Ontario land surveyors over breach of copyright
  3. Keatley Surveying Ltd. v. Teranet Inc. (2019 SCC 43)
  4. Supreme Court of Canada rules on Crown copyright
  5. Render Unto Caesar: Supreme Court of Canada Issues First Decision Considering the Scope of Crown Copyright
  6. When Copyright in a Work Transfers to the Crown: Keatley v. Teranet
  7. Now We Know Who Owns the Copyright in a Registered Plan of Survey
  8. Parker v. Winwood: Affirms summary judgment for defendants in copyright infringement case involving Spencer Davis Group song Gimme Some Lovin’, finding statements by band members hearsay.
  9. #StrikeAPose #CopyrightInfringement
  10. “Copyright Troll” Lawyer Gets Sanctioned (Again)–Sands v. Bauer Media (Eric Goldman)
  11. Australian State’s Proposed Ag-Gag Law Threatens General Right To Protest, Critics Warn
  12. New England Patriots Player Asks Judge to Throw Out ‘Trash Talk’ Lawsuit
  13. Fear Not: New York Times v. Sullivan Heartily Embraced by the Court’s Newest Jurist, Justice Kavanaugh
  14. Never Ever Getting Back Together: Taylor Swift Re-Records Back Catalogue
  15. Canadian ISPs Continue Quest To Bankrupt TVAddons, Site That Hosted Tons Of Legal Kodi Addons
  16. Being Designated A ‘Hate Group’ By The SPLC Isn’t Defamation, Says Federal Court
  17. Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Lawyer’s Libel Suit against New York Post
  18. McDonald’s ‘Mc’ mark partially revoked for lack of genuine use
  19. Sony, Marvel bury the hatchet so Spider-Man can stay in the MCU
  20. Devin Nunes Sues Again; He REALLY Doesn’t Want You To Read This Article About His Family’s Cow Farm In Iowa
  21. What’s Australian For Streisand Effect? Perhaps It’s Fatty McF—head
  22. Federal Court Blocks South Dakota’s Pro-Pipeline, Anti-First Amendment ‘Riot Boosting’ Law
  23. A Tale of Two (or 33) Copyrights: Calculating Statutory Damages
  24. Post-Creation Letter Exchange Doesn’t Constitute Work for Hire Agreement
  25. That’s Bananas: Third Circuit Examines Copyright Protection Under Star Athletica
  26. NAD Exonerates Perdue’s Art Department
  27. IP and counterculture: Who owns a tattoo?
  28. In Sweeping Ruling, Federal Appeals Court Invalidates Tennessee Billboard Law
  29. US Courts Rep Ignores Everything About The Internet, Says PACER Access Can Never Be Free Because It Costs Money To Operate
  30. EU’s Top Court Confirms Copyright for Design, but Looking Good Will Not Do the Trick
  31. Liverpool FC Denied ‘Liverpool’ Trademark Due To Its Geographic Significance
  32. MONOPOLY shown the boot
  33. Canadian patent rules streamlined
  34. Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Intellectual property
  35. Old Master discovered in elderly woman’s kitchen worth £5.3 million

GAMES

  1. Abdin v. CBS Broadcasting: Court grants motion to dismiss claims that Star Trek Discovery tv series infringes video game concept involving fictionalized space-traveling creature, finding lack of substantial similarity.
  2. Zynga advises users to change passwords following data breach: Words With Friends and Draw Something players may have had usernames, passwords, other information stolen
  3. Duke Nukem 3D’s composer is suing Gearbox, CEO Pitchford, and Valve
  4. Duke Nukem 3D composer sues Gearbox, Pitchford, and Valve: Gearbox allegedly failed to pay royalties to Bobby Prince with Duke Nukem re-release
  5. Walgreens suing AtGames for breach of contract: Retailer alleges plug-and-play gaming company owes it nearly $1.62 million for unsold products it returned
  6. Frogwares says publisher Focus Home is wrongfully delisting games
  7. Frogwares games pulled after split with Focus Home Interactive: Sherlock Holmes studio says publisher has refused to transfer store listings to it, leaving some games permanently unavailable
  8. Google Play apps laden with ad malware were downloaded by millions of users
  9. Video Gaming: Is My Loot Box Legal?
  10. Rocket League is binning loot boxes in exchange for ‘blueprints’
  11. Counter-Strike: GO lets players in France reveal loot box contents ahead of purchase
  12. The rights to Ms. Pac-Man are caught up in a messy legal battle
  13. Joy-Con drift class action lawsuit expands to include Switch Lite issues
  14. Switch Lite added to Joy-Con drift class action lawsuit
  15. Nintendo is already working on new Switch Lite model amid Joy-Con drift concerns
  16. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: A tale of two Nintendos
  17. Nintendo nails the Switch Lite but leaves people scratching their heads with Mario Kart Tour
  18. Virtuos: Switch ports, co-development, and next-gen – Virtuos on its journey from small contract studio to pushing the boundaries of what’s possible on Nintendo Switch
  19. Nintendo is bringing Brain Training to the Switch: Almost 15 years after its debut, the 33m-selling series will appear on Nintendo’s latest console
  20. Switch Lite takes aim at a broader demographic | Opinion
  21. Nintendo Switch: A discoverability followup
  22. Mario Kart Tour downloaded over 10m times globally in its first day: Newest Sensor Tower numbers put first-day downloads at over 20m, player spending over $1m
  23. Report: Mario & Luigi developer AlphaDream has filed for bankruptcy
  24. Mario & Luigi RPG series developer enters bankruptcy: AlphaDream’s future in question due to sagging revenues and rising development costs
  25. Super Mario Maker 2 catches up with 1998, lets you play online with friends
  26. Hands- and legs-on with Nintendo’s mildly diverting Ring Fit Adventure
  27. Link awakens at the top of the EMEAA charts this week: Hero in green conquers on debut week despite exclusivity, only physical sales reported
  28. FIFA 20 and Xbox One dominate UK charts: FIFA boxed sales drop 7% year-on-year
  29. FIFA 20: Critical Consensus – A largely beautiful game is dominated by Ultimate Team, which still relies on monetisation that seems uglier by the day
  30. Cuphead has sold 5 million copies in two years
  31. Cuphead hits 5m sales in two years: Studio MDHR is celebrating the game’s second birthday with discounts and giveaways on all platforms
  32. Talking Tom dev Outfit7’s game library surpasses 10 billion downloads
  33. Why did Borderlands 3 re-cast Troy Baker’s role?: Voice actor says developer Gearbox “wouldn’t go union”; studio says it tries to meet or exceed union standards for pay, working conditions
  34. Excessive crunch is bad for business | Opinion: Crunch is a health issue for thousands of employees, says Unionen’s Henrik Ehrenberg, and it’s a counterproductive way to run a business
  35. Global game companies have claimed millions through Video Game Tax Relief in UK: TIGA defends scheme, saying it would be “very limiting” if large international companies could not benefit
  36. On average, it costs $35.42 to get a mobile gamer to make first in-app purchase – Liftoff: Costs to acquire and register users continue to increase, conversion rates dipped YOY
  37. Naughty Dog drops online mode from The Last of Us Part II to focus on single-player
  38. Can game makers rise to meet the challenge of climate change?: Activists and experts talk about the UN Playing for the Planet Alliance, and what more needs to be done
  39. Atari partners with Antstream, responds to VCS concerns: Throwback VCS console status update includes retro game-streaming app, statement that designer’s work on project is “largely concluded”
  40. EA is offering a free month of Origin Access to encourage 2FA use
  41. Astroneer’s Wanderer update is a tribute to late System Era co-founder Paul Pepera
  42. Ubisoft opens new mobile and instant game studio in Vietnam
  43. Blizzard’s President On Making Sure Nothing Changes
  44. Destiny maker Bungie wants to release a new IP before 2025
  45. Bungie plans to launch more franchises, build up publishing group by 2025
  46. Bungie: “Our vision is to become a multi-franchise entertainment company” – CEO Pete Parsons says company’s plans through 2025 include more than just the Destiny franchise
  47. Ubisoft opens new Vietnam studio: Da Nang location will expand Ubisoft’s mobile development business
  48. Ubisoft announces free coding game Rabbids Coding: Educational PC title launches October 8 targeting reading-age children and up
  49. Logitech acquires streaming software maker Streamlabs for $89 million
  50. Logitech acquires Streamlabs for at least $89m: PC and gaming hardware manufacturer picks up livestreaming software company following multi-year partnership
  51. Valve shares tips for designing touch screen controls for PC games
  52. Improbable acquires online game dev company The Multiplayer Guys
  53. PlayStation Now cuts price in half, adds time limited “marquee games”: Titles like GTA V and God of War will be available for limited periods at new $9.99 a month price
  54. Sony lowers price of PS Now streaming service and adds ‘marquee’ titles
  55. Sony slashes PlayStation Now streaming prices ahead of Google Stadia launch
  56. PlayStation starts selling console hardware direct to consumers: Customers in the US can now buy PS4 and PSVR hardware, games and accessories from the PlayStation website
  57. Enthusiast Gaming completes complex merger with Luminosity: Newly formed entity will be the publicly traded Enthusiast Gaming Holdings
  58. Pokémon Masters generates $33m revenue in first month: DeNA’s Pokémon offering becomes second highest grossing Pokémon mobile game
  59. One year in, Dragalia Lost revenue surpassed by Pocket Camp again: Nintendo and CyGames’ new mobile IP has made $106m since launch
  60. PlayStation quietly brings PS4 cross-play out of beta
  61. PUBG cross-play between Xbox One and PS4 has launched
  62. Limited cross-play enabled in PUBG: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds becomes latest game to find flexibility in Sony’s still rigid stance
  63. Fortnite US July revenues down 52% year-over-year: Edison Trends looks at consumer spending trends for Epic’s hit as well as Black Ops 4, Apex Legends, and PUBG
  64. Free-to-play PUBG arrives in Europe next week: PUBG Lite is designed for low-spec PCs, open beta launches in Europe and Russia on October 10
  65. Why tens of millions more Android gamers are playing PUBG Mobile than Fortnite
  66. FaZe Clan Scores Content Creation, Merch Partnership With Soccer Club Manchester City
  67. ESL, Dreamhack partner with Nielsen for esports data: MTG’s esports leagues will help tracking firm with sponsor valuation, brand impact, and consumer analytics efforts
  68. Esports BAR returns to Miami this week: Conference’s third year brings brands, publishers, and investors back to Florida for keynotes, mentorship, and roundtables
  69. Ninja Calls ‘The Masked Singer’ Stint “The Scariest Thing I Have Ever Done”
  70. Twitch Rebrands With New Logo, New Slogan: “You’re Already One Of Us”
  71. Twitch is rebranding for the first time, and it has a logo for everyone
  72. At TwitchCon, CEO Addresses Controversial Policy Enforcement, Reveals Sweeping Ad System Overhaul
  73. Twitch, In Bid To Lock Down Top Talent, Inks Exclusive Streaming Deal With ‘NickMercs’
  74. Gaming Talent Management Firm ‘Loaded’ Signs Jordan Fisher, Its First Traditional Star
  75. Video: Crowdfunding your video game in 2019
  76. The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game: With the digital shovels, archaeologists are digging into the code of early video games to uncover long forgotten secrets that could have relevance today.
  77. Minecraft Earth “couldn’t have been made two years ago”: Torfi Olafsson and Jessica Zahn discuss the technical, social, and geographical challenges of bringing Minecraft into the real world
  78. More like Microsoft than Apple: Carmack wants Oculus to keep older VR games alive
  79. Oculus to be “more Microsoft than Apple” on VR software preservation: Oculus CTO John Carmack lamented that “every program I ever wrote for iOS is lost to the ages now”
  80. Oculus CTO Explains Why “Gear VR’s days are numbered”
  81. Oculus’ John Carmack calls Gear VR “a missed opportunity”: CTO offered a “eulogy” for the mobile VR headset, saying its “days are numbered”
  82. Carmack: Lessons from the Gear VR paved the way for Oculus’ current mobile VR
  83. Oculus CTO: ‘Rift S Still Worthwhile Even After Quest Gets PC-tether Feature’
  84. We put Oculus Quest’s two craziest new VR features through their paces
  85. The new MS Flight Simulator taught me how to fly an actual plane: Ahead of closed alpha, Microsoft takes the wraps off its ambitious return to the skies.
  86. Video: How vehicles replicate and collide in Watch Dogs 2 multiplayer
  87. Knights And Bikes: Turning aesthetic mood into gameplay
  88. Video: Ubisoft’s Alex Karpazis rates your Rainbow Six: Siege loadouts
  89. Rockstar wants to capture the appeal of RDR 2’s single player in Online
  90. Lab Zero Games: From killer girls to inner worlds
  91. Don’t Miss: Creating the inviting mini-world of Animal Crossing
  92. Dontnod: “If we didn’t talk about politics, that would be a political message” – Life is Strange game director Michel Koch on why the series doesn’t shy away from tough, divisive subjects
  93. Don’t Miss: Accommodating player failure and recovery
  94. Blog: Which are the most commonly used game engines?
  95. Blog: Steam has a lack of data scientists
  96. Blog: The science behind a fun and successful casual game
  97. Blog: Towards a language of video games – Part 1
  98. Video: Practical tips for designing memorable characters
  99. The former Witcher developers making a mobile game about travel and humanity
  100. Playing ‘Untitled Goose Game’ is the new punching a wall
  101. US reportedly considering restrictions on investments in China: Latest discussions in ongoing trade war still said to be in early stages
  102. Tencent becomes largest shareholder in Conan Exiles dev Funcom
  103. Tencent acquires minority stake in Funcom: Chinese gaming giant becomes largest single shareholder of Conan Exiles dev
  104. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia to begin preserving video games
  105. National Film and Sound Archive of Australia to start preserving video games: Initial eight additions include Shadow Run, LA Noire, Hollow Knight and Florence
  106. Watch Adam Saltsman explain how Overland was ‘tuned for drama’
  107. Gummy Drop dev Big Fish Games donates $250,000 to National Breast Cancer Foundation
  108. The Strong Museum receives grant to fund exhibit on the cultural impact of video games
  109. Strong Museum awarded $700k for exhibit on gaming’s cultural impact
  110. Welsh universities, government partner to form Games Talent Wales: Grassroots talent development program created to support budding, local, indie studios
  111. U.S. Patent No. 8,814,675: Method of operating an online game using terraformed game spaces
  112. DIGRA ’19 – Proceedings Of The 2019 Digra International Conference: Game, Play And The Emerging Ludo-Mix – 49 Articles Or Papers

Jon

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News of the Week; September 25, 2019

By Jon Festinger on September 30, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Facebook Is Making Millions by Promoting Hate Groups’ Content: Despite a company policy banning hate speech, the social media giant has taken in nearly $1.6 million from hate groups since mid-2018.
  2. Top Court Rules Google Doesn’t Have to Censor Around the World Because of European Privacy Laws
  3. Other Big CJEU Case Says Google Must Put Certain Links At The Top Of Search Results
  4. Paper leaks showing a quantum computer doing something a supercomputer can’t
  5. AT&T tells court: Customers can’t sue over sale of phone location data
  6. Missing Link: Tibetan Groups Targeted with 1-Click Mobile Exploits
  7. Inside the campaign that tried to compromise Tibetans’ iOS and Android phones
  8. Defense media tweet threatening Area 51 “raiders” pulled, DOD apologizes
  9. Google takes hard line, refuses to pay French news sites despite new law
  10. No, it wasn’t a virus; it was Chrome that stopped Macs from booting
  11. Another Day, Another Major Disinformation Effort Facebook Thinks Is Ok
  12. Snapchat reportedly has “Project Voldemort” dossier on Facebook’s bad behavior
  13. Snap Detailed Facebook’s Aggressive Tactics in ‘Project Voldemort’ Dossier: Antitrust investigation gives competitors chance to air complaints about Facebook’s hardball tactics
  14. Meet Facebook’s latest fake: An “Oversight Board” programmed by Facebook should not be confused with democratic oversight
  15. Facebook and Google have ad trackers on your streaming TV, studies find
  16. The Best People: White House Emailed Talking Points Meant For Surrogates To Dems, Tried To Recall Email Afterwards
  17. Facebook confirms its “standards” don’t apply to politicians
  18. Facebook is Building an AR Headset, Starting By Making a Digital Copy of the Real World
  19. Facebook will be sticking ads with polls, games and AR into News Feed: The interactive advertising formats were already being tested in Instagram and other parts of the Facebook universe. Now they’ll be in your feed.
  20. Facebook suspends tens of thousands of apps in ongoing privacy investigation
  21. Facebook Watch And ESPN Team Up For New Slate Of Interactive Sports Shows
  22. Coder deletes open source add-on for Chef in protest over ICE contract
  23. NYAG Sends Cease & Desist Letters to Online Gun Marketers
  24. Clickwrap Litigation Trends 2019
  25. Jerks ‘Reporting’ Women Who Swipe Left On Them In Tinder, Once Again Highlighting How Content Moderation Gets Abused
  26. Defamation and Social Media – the ordinary, reasonable tweeter
  27. Deepfake Legislation: A Nationwide Survey – State and Federal Lawmakers Consider Legislation to Regulate Manipulated Media
  28. SCC rules that class actions in lawsuits against tech giants can proceed
  29. Source Hacking: Media Manipulation In Practice
  30. Voltage v. Salna & ~55,000 – the “Reverse Class Action” (Howard Knopf)
  31. Twitter rolls out ‘hide replies’ to let you tame toxic discussions: Trying to win back its reputation as a platform for healthy conversations
  32. Twitter details new policies designed to crack down on financial scams
  33. Romance Scams Harm Victims and Lead to Prosecutions
  34. Cyber-dystopianism: The Internet seen through the lens of nightmares (Andres Guadamuz)
  35. Jeff Bezos pledges that Amazon will swiftly combat climate change: Retail giant vows to meet climate goals ahead of schedule
  36. Amazon orders 100,000 electric trucks to fight climate change
  37. “Grassroots” anti-Amazon nonprofit turns out to be retailer astroturfing
  38. People Freaking Out About Amazon Copying A Shoe Are Totally Missing The Point
  39. Apple says it will make the new Mac Pro in Texas: Media reports had suggested Apple could shift Mac Pro work to China.
  40. Apple Watch Series 5 review: A better, more independent timepiece
  41. After a five-month delay, the $2,000 Galaxy Fold arrives in the US on Friday
  42. Huawei’s new flagship smartphone ships without Google apps: Trump’s export ban means no Google apps for the Mate 30 Pro.
  43. Xiaomi’s crazy new $2,800 phone has display on the front, sides, and back
  44. YouTube Security Warning For 23 Million Creators As ‘Massive’ Hack Attack Confirmed
  45. YouTube Exec Says Some Conspiracy Videos Aren’t “Causing Harm,” And Can Remain Uploaded
  46. Susan Wojcicki Says YouTube Won’t Remove Politicians’ Content Because “It’s Important For Other People To See”
  47. YouTube will remove politicians’ content if it breaks rules, but there are some exceptions: Context of videos is important, CEO says
  48. YouTube creators may lose verified badges as company makes verification program even stricter
  49. YouTube Apologizes, Reverses Course After Creators Balk At Verification Update
  50. Creators Lash Out After YouTube Retroactively Strips Them Of Verification
  51. YouTube Revamps Verification System With New Look And Eligibility Requirements
  52. YouTube Launches New ‘Video Reach Campaign’ Ad Format, Brings ‘TrueView For Action’ To Home Feeds
  53. Jellysmack’s New ‘Creator’s Program’ Invests Time, Money, And Tech In YouTubers
  54. How Mattel Harnessed YouTube To Help Bring Its Iconic Barbie Character Down To Earth
  55. Louis Vuitton Launches ‘LV TV’ YouTube Series With Emma Chamberlain, Dolan Twins, More
  56. Journalists Seek Answers To YouTube Users’ Burning Questions In Upcoming Vox Original ‘Glad You Asked’
  57. YouTube Music Spins Itself Up As Spotify Challenger With Weekly 49-Song ‘Discover Mix’
  58. YouTube Backs 14 More Independent Artists Via Its Foundry Development Program
  59. Spotify artists can now see how many listeners they have in real time: Thanks to the revamped Spotify for Artists app
  60. Play It Again, Sam: Spotify’s Newest Playlists Are Based on Repeat Listens
  61. Snap Sets Series With Nikita Dragun, Bhad Bhabie, Will Launch New ‘Shows’ Page To The Right Of ‘Discover’
  62. Every Single Video MrBeast Has Made In The Past Year Got More Than 10 Million Views
  63. Emma Chamberlain To Drop Sunglasses Collection With Eyewear Brand ‘Crap’
  64. Issa Rae Takes Stake In Streamlytics, Which Lets People Monetize Their Own Streaming Data
  65. SeatGeek Taps David Dobrik To Launch Its First Branded Series, ‘Postgame Press Conference’
  66. Russian national confesses to biggest bank hack in US history
  67. In India, you don’t need a Google phone to have a Google Assistant
  68. How Google Changed the Secretive Market for the Most Dangerous Hacks in the World: Google has funded a team of hackers with the mission of finding bugs in software. Are they making the internet safer?
  69. Nielsen Now Tracks Interactions With TV Stars’ Social Media Posts, Which Drive 60% Of Engagement For Shows
  70. Nielsen Buys Minority Stake In OpenSlate, Which Measures Brand Safety In Online Video
  71. Vimeo Debuts ‘For Hire’, A Marketplace For Video Professionals To Find Clients (And Vice Versa)
  72. Insights: Apple And Comcast Giveaways May Net Tens Of Millions Of Subscribers And Send SVOD Super Derby Back To Where TV Started
  73. Meet the Women Leading Netflix Into the Streaming Wars: Apple, Disney, and others are challenging its dominance like never before. Here’s the team behind the tech giant’s big bet on original content.
  74. Facebook Watch And ESPN Team Up For New Slate Of Interactive Sports Shows
  75. 21% Of U.S. Households Will Buy A Disney+ Subscription (Study)
  76. Website Accessibility Claims on the Rise: A Higher Education Perspective
  77. BuzzFeed Hires New York Times Vet In Bid To Better Monetize Its News Business
  78. Levi’s CMO Jen Sey Talks Importance Of Taking A Social Stand
  79. E-Sign of the Times: Law Commission report promotes confidence in e-signatures
  80. Tristan Harris — Fighting Skynet and Firewalling Attention (#387)
  81. The Mysterious Death Of The Hacker Who Turned In Chelsea Manning
  82. How Peloton made sweat addictive enough to IPO: 13 reasons this bike has a cult
  83. The rise and fall of Flash, the annoying plugin that shaped the modern web: The web was a static, dull place. But the accidental creation of Flash turned it into a cacophony of noise, colour, and controversy, presaging the modern web
  84. The Unsolved Case of the Most Mysterious Song on the Internet: 12 years ago, a New Wave anthem appeared on the internet. Amateur detectives have spent thousands of hours since trying to figure out where it came from…

A.I.

  1. Chinese Authorities Call For Internet Companies To Add Bias To AI Algorithms — In Order To ‘Promote Mainstream Values’
  2. Google Says It’s Achieved Quantum Supremacy, a World-First: Report
  3. ­­
  4. How “information gerrymandering” influences voters: Study analyzes how networks can distort voters’ perceptions and change election results.
  5. Harnessing machine learning to make managing your storage less of a chore 
  6. Human vs. Algorithmic Recommendations
  7. A facial recognition ban is coming to the US, says an AI policy advisor 
  8. Pentagon seeks ‘ethicist’ to oversee military artificial intelligence: General says ‘We are thinking deeply about the ethical, safe and lawful use of AI’ as US seeks to catch up with China’s early lead
  9. Teaching machines to autonomously write stories
  10. For India’s Caste-Based Sewer Cleaners, an Uncertain Robot Rescue: Sewer robots and other new technology aim to end caste-based scavenging, which regularly costs lives. But are they enough?
  11. No Rage Against the Machines: Threat of Automation Does Not Change Policy Preferences (Baobao Zhang) 
  12. MegaBots calls it a day, puts fighting robot up for sale on eBay

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Can Price Caps or Virtual Competitors Solve Canada’s Wireless Pricing Problem? (Michael Geist)
  2. Net Neutrality Proposals for Tech Platforms Raise First Amendment Concerns
  3. FCC loses in court, judges say agency would fail “intro statistics class”
  4. Courts Shoot Down Yet Another FCC Proposal For Being Factually Sketchy
  5. Sprint took FCC cash for “serving” 885,000 people it wasn’t actually serving
  6. Cable Giant Spectrum On Quest To Outlaw ‘Insane’ Streaming Password Sharing
  7. Something Has Spooked AT&T Enough To Warrant Bringing Their Top Lobbyist Out Of Retirement
  8. AT&T Ponders Dumping DirecTV After Investor Backlash, But It’s Not Likely To Help
  9. Comcast promised not to raise prices—guess what happened next
  10. ‘Subscription Fatigue’ Looms As Comcast Reveals Yet Another New Streaming TV Platform
  11. Complexity Investing Applied to ViacomCBS
  12. Significant Changes to Media, Communications, and Data Claims in the English Courts

PRIVACY

  1. Busy North Korean hackers have new malware to target ATMs
  2. Yahoo data-breach settlement: You’ll get $100, if you’re lucky
  3. California Senate Passes Statewide Ban On Facial Recognition Tech Use By Law Enforcement
  4. Ninth Circuit Allows Class Action Against Facebook under Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act to Proceed in California
  5. Ninth Circuit Declines to Shelve Lawsuit Alleging Facebook Violated Illinois Biometric Privacy Statute
  6. Court Says Compelled Production Violates Fifth Amendment… Unless The Gov’t Takes Certain Steps First
  7. Private Companies Gathering Plate Data Are Selling Access To People’s Movements For $20 A Search
  8. CJEU Judgment C-40/17: what are the implications of the ‘like’ button in terms of data protection?
  9. YouTube will Pay $170 Million Fine for Children’s Privacy Law Violations
  10. Should The Media Voluntarily Embrace A ‘Right To Be Forgotten’?
  11. European Court of Justice Rules on the Scope of the Right to be Forgotten for Search Engines
  12. Google wins case as court rules “right to be forgotten” is EU-only
  13. Google wins landmark right to be forgotten case
  14. Google wins CJEU right to be forgotten case
  15. Europe’s Supreme Court Places Limits on the Right To Be Forgotten
  16. ‘Right to be forgotten’, but only in Europe?
  17. The Right to be Forgotten Held to Apply Only to Europe in Landmark European Court of Justice Decision
  18. Forget-me-not: Google v. CNIL defines territorial scope of the right to be forgotten
  19. Google Search is not required to forget us outside the EU
  20. Phew: EU Court Of Justice Says Right To Be Forgotten Is Not A Global Censorship Tool (Just An EU One)
  21. Edward Snowden wants to come home: “I’m not asking for a pass. What I’m asking for is a fair trial”
  22. The FBI Tried To Get A Secure Phone Company To Create A Backdoor In Its Encrypted Network
  23. World’s most destructive botnet returns with stolen passwords and email in tow
  24. IE zero-day under active attack gets emergency patch
  25. Payment card thieves hack Click2Gov bill paying portals in 8 cities
  26. A New Era of COPPA Enforcement?
  27. CCPA Privacy FAQs: Does the CCPA require that a company allow consumers to opt-out (e.g., toggle off) analytics cookies?
  28. CCPA Privacy FAQs: Are businesses required to display the “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link during subsequent visits to the business’s homepage where the consumer does not “opt-out” during his/her first visit?
  29. Meaningful Consent: An Evolving Standard under Canadian Privacy Law
  30. Enhancing Understanding of Legal Trends Impacting Freedom of Expression and Privacy in the ICT Sector
  31. Fake veteran hiring site downloads spyware instead of jobs
  32. Milan Fashion Week and Fashion Law Trends – Is the retail and fashion sectors ready for the IoT revolution?
  33. Forget erasure: why blockchain is really incompatible with the GDPR
  34. Automatic License Plate Readers Are The Latest Neighborhood Perk

CREATIVITY

  1. Pro-China groups to tear down pro-democracy graffiti in Hong Kong
  2. Global Freedom Declines as Chinese, Russian Info Control Practices Spread, Says Study
  3. During A Police Raid, Russian Activist Uses Drone To Whisk Sensitive Data To Safety
  4. US Court Says Fair Use Nullifies French Rightholder’s Attempt To Extract $2.25 Million From A California Art Scholar
  5. French Picasso Judgement is Abstract Expression to U.S. Law
  6. The Controversial Use of Rap Lyrics as Evidence
  7. Mercedes Drives Suits Against Artists Forward
  8. Copyright clarification from Europe’s top court
  9. Copyright dispute over ‘Stairway to Heaven’ continues to climb in the courts
  10. The Differences Between Copyright And Possession: Gilda Radner Interview Copyright Lawsuit Dismissed For Lack Of Registration
  11. Strange changes discovered in Banksy painting ahead of auction
  12. Chuck Yeager Sues Airbus For Mentioning That Chuck Yeager Broke The Sound Barrier
  13. Chuck Yeager sues Airbus for writing “Yeager broke the sound barrier”
  14. Louisiana’s Terrible Criminal Defamation Law Again Being Used To Unconstitutionally Target A Critic Of Law Enforcement
  15. How Canada should deal with obscene trademarks
  16. LeBron’s “Taco Tuesday” Trademark Blocked
  17. LeBron James Declares Victory In Losing Bid For ‘Taco Tuesday’ Trademark
  18. The New Consumer Gatekeepers: Inside the Hidden Power Of The DJ Industry 2.0
  19. IP/Internet/Antitrust Professor Amicus Brief in 1-800 Contacts v. FTC (Eric Goldman)
  20. Duels, Dualities, and Destiny in Canadian Copyright – a Snapshot at Summer’s End 2019 (Howard Knopf)
  21. Milan Fashion Week and Fashion Law Trends – Karl Lagerfeld’s heritage: who is going to award the rights on his image? Does the cat really take it all?

GAMES

  1. Steam must allow digital games to be resold, rules French court
  2. French court rules country’s Steam users can resell their games: Ruling contradicts EU law and would be “disastrous” for consumers and industry, says ISFE CEO
  3. French Court Declares That Steam Gamers Actually Do Own What They Bought
  4. Bandai Namco is suing AtGames over Ms. Pac-Man copyright infringement
  5. Ubisoft is taking legal action against Rainbow Six Siege DDoS attackers
  6. Suspect arrested in conjunction with World of Warcraft DDoS attack: Blizzard confirms individual believed to be behind wave of server outages this month is in custody
  7. Games professor accuses Kingdom of Loathing designer of abuse: A.M. Darke shares her story of physical, emotional abuse at the hands of ex-husband Zack Johnson
  8. UK Parliamentary Committee says ‘loot boxes’ should be considered gambling and regulated accordingly
  9. Dynamic and Nonliteral Elements Win Protection in Blizzard Copyright Suit
  10. RomUniverse To Attempt To Crowdfund Legal Defense, Which Isn’t Going Well At All
  11. Blog: How the California AB5 Labor Bill might affect game companies
  12. Ustwo: Apple Arcade “unshackles the finances” from mobile gaming – The developer of Monument Valley and Apple Arcade launch title Assemble With Care on the benefits of subscriptions
  13. Apple Arcade’s debut heralds the launch of dozens of games on iOS (and Steam?)
  14. Xbox’s Project xCloud launches in public preview this October
  15. Microsoft launching public xCloud streaming test on Android in October
  16. Google Stadia ‘Founder’s Edition’ pre-order bundle has sold out in Europe
  17. Google announces Play Pass subscription service: Android’s answer to Apple Arcade includes over 350 premium apps and games at launch for $4.99/month
  18. Play Pass and its library of 350 apps offers a different take on mobile subscriptions
  19. Devs that sign on to Play Pass are paid by the time players spend in their games
  20. Niko Partners: Cloud gaming revenue to reach $3bn in Asia by 2023 – Projections suggest there will be 500 million cloud gamers in Asia by 2028
  21. Control’s Epic Games Store exclusivity initially cost Epic $10.45 million
  22. Epic seems to have paid $10.5 million for Control’s PC exclusivity
  23. Epic paid 505 Games parent over $10m for Control PC exclusivity: Digital Bros financial statements reveal exclusivity deal payout for Remedy’s latest release
  24. Steam Labs rolls out new discoverability experiments
  25. Steam Labs adds two more experiments: Deep Dive, Community Recommendations – Prior experiment Interactive Recommender gets promoted to Steam Store home page
  26. TurboPlay’s grand ambition to be the Spotify of games: Co-founder Vince McMullin wants to take on other PC storefronts with different takes on algorithms, revenue sharing, and community
  27. Nicalis delists Ittle Dew 2 from console storefronts: Developer says he was ghosted by publisher for six months after terminating publisher’s license
  28. Do you need a publisher to ‘make your game sell’?
  29. NBCUniversal is closing its game publishing division
  30. NBCUniversal shuts down game publishing arm
  31. Summer games drought slowed inflation in the UK: Office for National Statistics points to video games as prime contributor to lowest inflation rate since December 2016
  32. Unity acquires game marketing and analytics specialist deltaDNA
  33. Unity acquires deltaDNA: Engine maker says live ops analytics firm will continue to operate independently as engagement tools are integrated into Unity Engine
  34. Borderlands 3 is the fastest selling game in 2K’s history: And 70% of all sales in the first five days were digital
  35. Borderlands 3 has sold over 5 million copies in five days
  36. New releases, led by Borderlands 3, shake up EMEAA charts: eFootball PES 2020 and Greedfall debut at No. 2 and 3, NHL 20 arrives at No. 5
  37. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening topples Borderlands 3 in UK Charts – The most successful Zelda remake so far
  38. Zelda: Link’s Awakening review: This beach adventure looks 2019, feels 1993
  39. Link’s Awakening: Critical Consensus – Faithful modern-day remake of original Game Boy game charms reviewers despite underwhelming dungeon creator, frame rate issues
  40. PUBG becomes first mobile battle royale to surpass $1bn revenue: Since Chinese re-launch, PUBG Mobile has seen 540% growth year-on-year
  41. Pride Run developers: “We didn’t expect so much resistance” – The IV Productions team discuss the challenges they’ve faced in making a game that celebrates LGBTQ+ culture
  42. Call of Duty Modern Warfare expected to be US best-selling title of 2019: NPD – NBA 2K20 predicted second, Pokemon Sword and Kingdom Hearts III also make top ten
  43. Pokemon GO just saw its best month since 2016 – SuperData: Niantic’s deluge of summer events helped the game gross $176 million in August
  44. Can Nintendo learn from its mistakes with Mario Kart Tour? | Opinion: All eyes are on Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo’s most important mobile release so far
  45. Nintendo’s free-to-play mobile Mario Kart now offers a monthly subscription
  46. Nintendo fought hard to lower the Switch Lite’s price to $200, say suppliers
  47. Nintendo Switch Lite is the best portable system Nintendo has ever made
  48. Nintendo Switch Lite: Critical Consensus – Few see any faults with Nintendo’s new hardware, and even its critics concede that it’s just about perfect for handheld gaming
  49. Report: The Switch Lite has already sold over 170,000 units in Japan
  50. How do you manage software and saves on a second Switch? It’s complicated
  51. Dead Cells crosses 2.4M sales due to ‘ridiculous’ Switch performance
  52. Twitch Acquires ‘Internet Games Database’ (IGDB) To Improve Search Functionality
  53. Content Moderation At Scale Especially Doesn’t Work When You Hide All The Rules
  54. Esports investment: Building resilience in a volatile space – New Wave Esports CEO Daniel Mitre on the glamour of teams versus the sustainability of platforms
  55. UTA Adds To Burgeoning Esports Roster With Call Of Duty Star Seth ‘Scump’ Abner
  56. Is it time to retire virtual currency? | Opinion: The industry doesn’t want to curb loot boxes, but it could address some concerns by giving up another consumer-unfriendly tactic
  57. Take-Two: Next-gen won’t see dev costs spike – CEO Strauss Zelnick says the days of console transitions putting significantly increased burden on publishers are long gone
  58. Revealed: The 2019 GamesIndustry.biz Best Places To Work Awards winners
  59. LVP raises $80 million to fund new game startups
  60. Manticore Games raises $30m for accessible development platform: Core platform aims to enable players to quickly and easily make high-quality games
  61. Removing Denuvo DRM doesn’t improve performance for Arkham Knight
  62. Immutable raises $15m for blockchain card game Gods Unchained: Australian studio will also use investment to build out its Immutable Platform toolkit
  63. 21 game companies join Playing for the Planet Alliance to combat climate change
  64. PlayStation, Xbox, Stadia and more sign up to United Nations climate change initiative: Platform holders pledge to save the planet with carbon neutral Xbox units and low-power suspension mode for PlayStation 5
  65. PlayStation teams with UN to reduce carbon footprint of game hardware
  66. PlayStation 5 to increase energy efficiency—but only if users opt in
  67. PlayStation cuts out the middleman, starts selling its own consoles and more online
  68. 20% of the Oculus Store’s $100 million lifetime sales were Quest titles
  69. Where Oculus’ VR games go from here: Facebook’s Jason Rubin and Mike Verdu talk Vader Immortal, Respawn, and the future
  70. Oculus Quest’s secret trick: It can double as a wired PC VR headset
  71. Oculus announces plans to build augmented reality glasses
  72. Controller-free hand tracking comes to Oculus Quest in early 2020
  73. Oculus adding hand-tracking to Quest
  74. Oculus Rift games are coming to Quest via Oculus Link this November
  75. Oculus will add new social features powered by Facebook: The brand integration gets tighter and tighter
  76. Mobile AR game Dragon Quest Walk passes 5 million downloads in Japan
  77. Respawn’s first VR game is Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond
  78. Ex-Owlchemy devs land $4.4 million for new XR studio absurd:joy
  79. Absurd: joy aims to “invent a genre of content no one has ever seen before” –  Ex-Owlchemy Labs devs Alex Schwartz and Cy Wise launching new VR/AR company making things that may or may not be games
  80. MTG invests in emotional regulation app Mightier: Swedish outfit puts $250,000 toward app and subscription service intended to help children with ADHD, anger, or anxiety issues
  81. Manticore Games raises $30 million for its social game platform Core
  82. Unit 2 Games launches £100,000 fund indie development: Finance available to developers who want to make the first wave of games for multiplayer platform Crayta
  83. Untitled Goose Game review: HONNNNNNK
  84. Getting goosey with Debussy: Creating an adaptive score for Untitled Goose Game
  85. Unheadlined Goose Game interview: House House’s Jacob Strasser and Michael McMaster on the studio’s surprising growth from gosling to gander
  86. Video: Ars talks Civilization with the man himself: Sid Meier
  87. Video: Living a long, full, and fulfilling life in game development
  88. Making people understand and care about your game
  89. How to grow as a designer: What to read, where to get ideas, and knowing thyself
  90. Blog: Development stress, choices that matter, and language of games
  91. Blog: Why you should invest more in community management
  92. Blog: Strategies for growing player loyalty and retention rates
  93. Raven Software devs look back at the making of Jedi Outcast
  94. Video: How to be an effective, high-performance game producer
  95. Don’t Miss: How Everything connects the arts of animation and game design
  96. Don’t Miss: A 2007 look at the essential open-world games for game designers
  97. Don’t Miss: How Naughty Dog designed The Last Of Us’ brutal melee system
  98. Don’t Miss: A deep dive into the art that gives colors back to Dead Cells’ cryptic worlds
  99. Using the language of film & theater to entice new players in FMV game Erica
  100. Influencers and E3: Invasion of the tweens | Opinion – E3 as a festival for influencers and celebrities may horrify some, but is likely a good move – as long as we’re realistic about the age demographics it will reach
  101. GDC YouTube Top 5: NYU Game Center’s Mitu Khandaker
  102. U.S. Patent No. 9,308,458: Automatic movement of player character in network game

Jon

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News of the Week; September 18, 2019

By Jon Festinger on September 22, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Examining The Expanding Web Of Chinese And Russian Information Controls
  2. Ninth Circuit’s LinkedIn Decision Does Not Greenlight the Unauthorized Webscraping of Public Websites
  3. The Ninth Circuit Takes On Web Scraping
  4. Instagram Confirms Security Issue Exposed User Accounts And Phone Numbers
  5. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram Are Epicenters For Steroid Sales — And So Are Their Recommendation Algorithms (Study)
  6. Facebook plans launch of its own “Supreme Court” for handling takedown appeals
  7. Audible fires back at book publishers, says captions are fair use: Audible Captions is not a book of any kind,” Audible writes in court filing.
  8. Hotel Owner Files Libel Suit Against Reviewer For Calling Nazis Nazis, Gets Support From Austrian Court
  9. Twitter Stands Up For Devin Nunes’ Parody Accounts: Won’t Reveal Who’s Behind Them
  10. History Repeats Itself: Twitter Launches Illegal SF Street Stencil Campaign Just As IBM DId Decades Ago
  11. Scraping the Web: Practical Implications From the hiQ v. LinkedIn Opinion
  12. Facebook is launching a streaming device that watches you while you watch TV
  13. House lawmakers ask Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google to turn over trove of records in antitrust probe
  14. Congress wants Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon emails as probe heats up
  15. WSJ: Amazon changed search results to boost profits despite internal dissent
  16. Kickstarter accused of “union busting campaign” by former employees: Two former staff claim they were fired for their roles in unionising Kickstarter’s workforce
  17. Ninth Circuit Upholds Amazon.com’s Cost-Sharing Valuation
  18. The $24 Billion Online Casino Boom China Is Struggling to Halt: The Communist Party is hard-pressed to stop the spread of digital gambling in Asia.
  19. Self-Help in Cyberspace: A Path Forward
  20. Would the Internet Be Healthier Without ‘Like’ Counts?: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have moved to hide or obscure measures of popularity, in the name of less toxic dialog. Users give a thumbs-down.
  21. OONI Explorer team unlock the web’s untold censorship stories
  22. Amazon Music Jumps Into the Hi-Res Audio Game: Amazon adds “high definition” and “ultra high definition” options to its music-streaming service, taking hi-fi music into the mass market
  23. Alibaba Opens Online Marketplace to U.S.-Based Businesses
  24. Content Moderation Is Impossible: Facebook Settles Legal Fight Over Famous Painting Of A Woman’s Genitals
  25. Facebook launches its own Supreme Court
  26. Facing Fines—The Mechanics of Facebook’s Reportedly Forthcoming FTC Settlement
  27. Facebook Unveils Several Video Product Updates, Including ‘Live’ Rehearsals, Pre-Scheduled ‘Watch Parties’
  28. Congress Is Investigating Apple’s Repair Monopoly: Part of the antitrust investigation centers on “Apple’s restrictions on third-party repairs.”
  29. Apple Takes on EU’s Vestager in Record $14 Billion Tax Fight
  30. Apple, services and moats
  31. The U1 chip in the iPhone 11 is the beginning of an Ultra Wideband revolution
  32. Apple’s Big YouTube Stream Was Just Part Of Its Swelling Social Video Impact
  33. Disney CEO Bob Iger resigns from his Apple board seat
  34. “We Could Say Anything To Each Other”: Bob Iger Remembers Steve Jobs, The Pixar Drama, And The Apple Merger That Wasn’t
  35. Less Human Than Human: The Design Philosophy of Steve Jobs – To what degree do “good design,” or “taste,” depend on human values?
  36. Ninth Circuit Reverses Course While Quoting Its Own Precedent Saying Otherwise; Says Section 230 Doesn’t Cover Anti-Competitive Moderation
  37. Terrible Ninth Circuit 230(c)(2) Ruling Will Make the Internet More Dangerous–Enigma v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
  38. Court Enforces Arbitration Clause in “Modified Clickwrap”–Chen v. Sierra Trading Post
  39. That Time EFF Got A Copyright Takedown Demand Of Its Own Artwork
  40. Forwarding email is a crime, Jerry Falwell Jr. says after leaks to media: A legal expert told the AP Falwell’s claims were “totally insane.”
  41. Meet the three North Korean hacking groups funding the country’s weapons programs
  42. NBCUniversal’s streaming service is called Peacock: Launching with a slate of original and beloved licensed series
  43. NBCUniversal’s Streaming Service Peacock Will Reboot ‘Battlestar Galactica’ And Revive ‘Saved By The Bell’
  44. NBC Peacock is Comcast’s dive into the crazy streaming-video fray
  45. Oh, frak: There’s another Battlestar Galactica reboot coming
  46. Bizarre Streaming Service Quibi Already Has a Better Lineup Than Apple TV+
  47. Tinder Wraps First Scripted Series, A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Set In The Apocalypse
  48. Insights: Music’s 360 Deals Come To The Hypercompetitive Video Streaming World
  49. Whistle Inks Multi-Year Deal With U.K.-Based Soccer Content Company ‘OTRO’
  50. Google’s ‘Smart City’ Project For Toronto
  51. YouTube’s Abbreviated Subscriber Counts Are Here
  52. Google launches YouTube Music Charts in India
  53. YouTube Changes Music Chart 24-Hour Rankings to Exclude Paid Ad Views
  54. YouTube Will No Longer Count Ads Toward Music Charts, 24-Hour Music Video Debuts
  55. YouTube Is Bringing Its Most Prominent Ad Product, The Masthead, To Smart TV Screens
  56. YouTube introduces a massive ad box to its TV app: A prominent feature on the standard site
  57. YouTube To Shutter Its TV-Optimized ‘Leanback’ Feature On Oct. 2
  58. YouTube Testing New ‘Profile Cards’ That Showcase Channel-Specific Comment History
  59. Google Is Adding The Ability To Search For ‘Key Moments’ Within YouTube Videos
  60. Google Launches Ability to Find Key Moments in YouTube Videos via Search
  61. SoulPancake’s NewFronts Presentation: Control Over Its YouTube Ad Inventory, New Programming, And A PBS Partnership
  62. Lilly Singh Posts Confident Late-Night Debut With Socially-Conscious Bits, YouTube-Esque Challenges
  63. ‘Close Friends,’ for a Monthly Fee: Influencer culture has normalized charging money for all kinds of intimacy.
  64. Instagram Partners With Jonah Hill On Anti-Bullying Docuseries For IGTV
  65. Instagram Debuts Jonah Hill’s ‘Un-filtered’ Bullying Docu-Series
  66. Instagram tightens rules on diet and cosmetic surgery posts: Platform responds to concerns about impact of content on mental health of young people
  67. Instagram, Facebook, and the Perils of “Sharenting”
  68. Fantasy Football Videos Gain Steam All Summer From Unexpected Sources
  69. Whistle Inks Content Deal With U.K. Soccer Subscription App ‘OTRO’
  70. Christine Sydelko Says She’s Quitting The Internet: “It’s Such A Trivial Job”
  71. PewDiePie Retracts $50K Donation To Anti-Defamation League, Says It Doesn’t “Feel Genuine”
  72. Rooster Teeth Lays Off 13% Of Staff, Is Beginning “A New Chapter,” CEO Says
  73. DoubleVerify Becomes a Snapchat Measurement Partner: Its viewability and fraud verification technology will help brands maximize their campaigns
  74. Snapchat Is Once Again Pivoting Back to News
  75. #No Filter: Terminating an Employee for Social Media Posts – Part 2
  76. Volkswagen’s bold plan to create a new car operating system
  77. It’s real and it’s spectacular: Netflix buys exclusive rights to stream Seinfeld
  78. Warner Media’s Rooster Teeth Lays Off 50 Employees: Cuts represent about 13% of the Austin-based digital production company’s employees
  79. WarnerMedia Unveils J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Mega-Deal
  80. CBS, Viacom, and WarnerMedia ban e-cigarette advertisements amid vaping health crisis: Following a similar CNN ban last week
  81. One Year After Acquiring Ecommerce Startup ‘Kit’, Patreon Sells It To Affiliate Link Company Geniuslink
  82. England’s Law Commission reports on e-signatures – A missed opportunity?
  83. Just How Far Does California’s New IoT Security Law Reach?
  84. Rhode Island Expands Electronic Money Transfer Licensing Requirements to Certain Cryptocurrency Service Providers
  85. Björk made music’s first “VR pop album”—she opens up about its heartbreak
  86. Say hello to 802.11ax: Wi-Fi 6 device certification begins today
  87. Does The Public Care About Tech Backlash? And Does That Matter?
  88. Impact of digital disruption worldwide
  89. I researched Uighur society in China for 8 years and watched how technology opened new opportunities – then became a trap

A.I.

  1. Google is changing its search algorithm to prioritize original news reporting: Humans will train it, as usual
  2. On “AI” replacing jobs and humans
  3. Artificial Intelligence & the Intellectual Property Landscape
  4. Who needs qubits? Factoring algorithm run on a probabilistic computer
  5. Video: Deterministic vs. replicated AI: Building For Honor’s battlefield
  6. The LawBytes Podcast, Episode 24: A Tribute to Ian Kerr (Michael Geist) 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Counterpoint: Big telcos have no business howling over CRTC decision that encourages fair internet prices – Any unfairness pales in comparison to what Canadian consumers have had to put up with for years
  2. 50% of US homes still won’t have fiber broadband by 2025, study says
  3. AT&T to lose 1.1 million TV subscribers as DirecTV continues nosedive
  4. Lawsuit: AT&T signed customers up for DirecTV Now without their knowledge
  5. AT&T considers getting rid of DirecTV as TV business tanks, WSJ reports
  6. AT&T’s Terrible New TV Branding Confuses Even AT&T
  7. Some Investors Are Fed Up With AT&T’s Costly Obsession With Merger Mania
  8. FCC Commissioner Investigating Payola in the Radio Industry 
  9. Colorado Town Offers 1 Gbps For $60 After Years Of Battling Comcast
  10. Comcast Sues Maine For Demanding It Sell TV Channels À La Carte
  11. Verizon plans 5G Home Internet in every city where it deploys mobile 5G
  12. At Qualcomm, 5G is headed everywhere and into virtually everything
  13. Upcoming FCC Consumer Advisory Committee Meeting Will Consider Robocall Working Group Recommendation 
  14. FCC Expands Anti-Spoofing Prohibitions to Foreign-Originated Calls, Text-Messaging Services
  15. FCC’s consumer Advisory Committee adopts robocall blocking recommendation
  16. Alarm Industry Communications Committee Seeks Reconsideration of Call Blocking Declaratory Ruling to Prevent Blocking of Alarm Calls
  17. Fall TV Is the Crystallization of Broadcast’s Existential Crisis 

PRIVACY

  1. Digital privacy evolves in class actions: With two recent failed digital privacy class-action certifications, litigators say certification is becoming a higher hurdle to pass
  2. District court allows majority of privacy invasion class action claims to proceed against social media company
  3. Millions of Americans’ Medical Images and Data Are Available on the Internet. Anyone Can Take a Peek.
  4. Millions of Americans’ medical images and data are available on the Internet
  5. University Of Alabama Is Using A Location-Tracking App To Punish Students For Leaving Football Games Early
  6. The DMV Is Selling Your Data To Vast Array Of Third Parties
  7. Hackers are exploiting a platform-agnostic flaw to track mobile phone locations
  8. Advanced hackers are infecting IT providers in hopes of hitting their customers
  9. You’d Think The FBI Would Be More Sensitive To Protecting Encrypted Communications Now That We Know The Russians Cracked The FBI’s Comms
  10. Privacy Regulators Turning Up the Heat: Major Fines for Data Breaches and Privacy Violations This Summer
  11. Los Angeles partnership launches platform to help people catch phishes
  12. Encryption Working Group Releases Paper To ‘Move The Conversation Forward’
  13. Denmark Releases 32 Prisoners Convicted Because Of Flawed Mobile Phone Tracking Data
  14. Spouse of Ring exec among lawmakers trying to weaken Calif. privacy law
  15. California’s Consumer Privacy Act Completes its 2019 Legislative Journey
  16. California now has toughest law in U.S. for the collection of personal information
  17. And At the End of the Day, the CCPA Remains Very Much the Same 
  18. California Legislature Passes CCPA Amendments and Privacy Bills
  19. Compliance Tips From the Largest COPPA Settlement Ever
  20. CCPA’s Moving Target Comes into Focus
  21. Nevada’s New Privacy Law Will Go Into Effect Next Month: Are You Ready?
  22. A connected world will be a playground for hackers: Few companies making connected gadgets have much experience with cyber security
  23. Feds seek to seize all profits from Snowden’s book over NDA violation
  24. DOJ Decides To Help Publicize Snowden’s Memoir By Suing Him For Failing To Run His Book By The CIA And NSA First

CREATIVITY

  1. Mercedes’s Claims Against Street Artists Survive Dismissal Motion 
  2. When IP meets counterculture: Is graffiti protected by copyright?
  3. After Being Sued, Mississippi Rewrites Its Unconstitutional Ban On The Use Of Meat Words By Vegan Food Producers
  4. New Mexico City Starts Crowdfunding Effort To Pay For Its Stupid Defense Of Constitutional Violations
  5. Lawsuit Settlement Over Detainment Of A Journalist Will Force Denver Police Department To Admit The First Amendment Exists 
  6. Australian Aboriginal Flag Mess Is Getting Worse — All Thanks To Copyright 
  7. USPTO Drops Its Demands For Applicants’ Green Cards
  8. The Music Business Wants to Blow Up Copyright – and the Trump Administration Is On Board
  9. She’s just not that ‘Into You’ – Ariana Grande seeks $10 million after snubbing Forever 21 
  10. Charlotte Tilbury successful in copyright action against Aldi for “lookalike” makeup
  11. All Over the Map: Publishers, Writers, Small Towns & Apartment Owners Weigh In On Consent Decree Debate 
  12. Researchers analyzed more than 300,000 local news stories on Facebook. Here’s what they found.: “Aside from critical information needs, 31 percent of stories categorized covered sports and 9 percent were obituaries.” 
  13. THE Ohio State University Loses Its Trademark Application For ‘THE’ 
  14. Liverpool FC Fans Plan Protest Of Their Own Club Over Trademark Issue 
  15. AB InBev Fails To Get ‘Patagonia’ Trademark Suit Dismissed
  16. Monster Energy Opposes Teenager’s Trademark Application Over Logos Not At All Similar
  17. Fluid Trademarks: Will Companies Go With the Flow?
  18. Intellectual Property Is Neither Intellectual, Nor Property: Discuss
  19. Elections Advertising—What You Need to Know About the Third-Party Advertising Rules
  20. The amendment to the Patent Rules – Coming into Force October 30
  21. The Cutthroat Battle for Controlling Le Monde
  22. No-deal brexit and intellectual property
  23. The MoviePass Mess Has Finally Come To An End
  24. Ken Burns’ Soft-Focus Look at Country Music: The filmmaker’s latest documentary has more than three chords, not enough of the truth.
  25. The Decline and Fall of the Modern Nerd: The sad saga of how fandom transformed from being about love into hate and intolerance
  26. The Female Patrons Who Shaped Art History
  27. No, James Murdoch Doesn’t Watch “Succession”: After leaving the family empire, Rupert Murdoch’s son is fighting threats to democracy that sound an awful lot like Fox News.
  28. The 100 best TV shows of the 21st century
  29. The 100 best films of the 21st century

GAMES

  1. Parliamentary committee recommends banning loot box sales to children: Report proposes industry tax to fund research into the harmful effects of gaming, slams “wilfully obtuse” industry representatives
  2. UK Parliament: Ban all loot boxes until evidence proves they’re safe for kids
  3. UK committee argues loot boxes should be covered by gambling regulations
  4. Electronic Arts responds to DCMS committee calls for loot box regulation: Publisher “doesn’t agree with all conclusions” but will continue dialogue with UK government
  5. TIGA: Government should “urgently” carry out research around loot boxes and gambling – CEO Dr Richard Wilson raises impartiality concerns over suggestion of taxing industry to fund research; PEGI also weighs in
  6. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: A Turning Point For Loot Boxes? – Haydn and Brendan discuss the potential consequences of recommendations that the UK government introduces regulation
  7. Nintendo’s ROM Site War Continues With Huge Lawsuit Against Site Despite Not Sending DMCA Notices
  8. Anti-bullying advocates assess what’s wrong in games: There’s a cultural problem that isn’t going to fix itself overnight, but behaviours can and do change with the right support
  9. Sea of Thieves adds microtransaction store in latest update
  10. Former Donkey Kong champ threatens to sue Guinness over record removal
  11. Steam’s latest discovery update tilts the algorithm away from popular games
  12. Discord cuts games from paid subscription plan after Nitro Games fails to take off
  13. Discord pulls free games from Nitro: Chat service pulls feature from subscription offering because “vast majority of Nitro subscribers didn’t play them”
  14. Second person gets prison sentence in fatal swatting case: Call of Duty WWII player gets 15 months for asking third party to report emergency at online opponent’s address
  15. Instigator of fatal Kansas swatting receives prison sentence
  16. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare offering cross-platform play in all modes
  17. Devs restore Modern Warfare’s mini-map after two days of beta backlash
  18. Video: A cautionary tale in community crisis management
  19. Newzoo: Android games will earn more revenue than iOS games in 2019 – Between Google Play and third-party stores, Android games will earn majority of revenue for the first time this year
  20. Google Stadia Founder’s Edition is nearly sold out: Premium bundle is being replaced with similar bundle sans Buddy Pass with a different controller
  21. Nintendo’s weird exercise ring is used to control a Switch RPG
  22. Nintendo’s first Ring-Con game is a Switch fitness RPG: Ring Fit Adventure
  23. Nintendo’s new fitness game is Ring Fit Adventure: Switch title uses new Ring-Con and leg strap peripherals to sense movement, launches October 18
  24. How do people find your game on Switch?: A discoverability run-down
  25. Sega Genesis Mini review: $80 delivers a ton of blast-processing fun
  26. Report: The PS4 has sold-through 30 million units in the United States
  27. PlayStation 4 has sold 30m units in the US, analyst reveals: Meanwhile, Niko Partners’ Daniel Ahmad also says Gears 5’s boxed sales in the UK are “tiny and no longer important” for Microsoft
  28. Gears 5 saw 3 million players during launch week through Game Pass and retail
  29. Rockstar Games now has its own game launcher on PC
  30. Rockstar Games launches its own storefront: GTA V, Bully, others now available through latest publisher-driven game launcher
  31. Rockstar Games Launcher: We install it on Windows so you don’t have to
  32. Gears 5 tops 3 million players in first week: Microsoft says The Coalition sequel enjoyed “the biggest launch week of any Xbox Game Studios title this generation”
  33. EMEAA charts: Slam dunk for NBA 2K20 in launch week – Strong digital sales push older games into the top ten, while Game Pass sees Gears 5 barely rank
  34. Borderlands 3 has nearly doubled Borderlands 2’s peak concurrents record on PC
  35. Borderlands 3 is the biggest UK boxed launch of 2019: But the lack of digital data makes all of this hard to compare
  36. Borderlands 3 PC doubles 2’s peak concurrent users at launch: Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford reveals latest outing is breaking company records despite Epic backlash
  37. Borderlands 3 is a lot more Borderlands, in ways both good and bad
  38. Apple Arcade soft launches early, to surprise of some developers
  39. Blog: The long slow death of an indie studio
  40. Indie game pricing is in a familiar death spiral | Opinion: Data suggests a race to the bottom in PC indie game pricing, and Apple Arcade is a reminder of where this process leads
  41. Swedish games industry generated €1.87bn in 2018, employs almost 8,000 people: Latest figures from Dataspelsbranschen also shows the number of companies is also on the rise
  42. Blog: NetEase drives mobile games business in Japan, Tencent targets emerging markets
  43. Scavengers dev Midwinter Entertainment acquired by Improbable
  44. Keywords expands game audio services with TV+Synchron Berlin acquisition
  45. JoJo Siwa’s Latest Business Venutre Is A Mobile Game Called ‘Live To Dance’
  46. Ex-King, Z2 devs launch Starform: New Seattle-based studio aims to make online games for friends, attracts $1.25 million in funding
  47. How to develop for a licence (successfully): Brand Licensing Europe’s Anna Knight speaks to developers and IP holders about pleasing both fans and gamers
  48. Football Manager boss Miles Jacobson calls for an end to plastic packaging: Sports Interactive director tells us he expects savings of up to 20 tonnes of plastic as series switches to eco-friendly cases
  49. How PES wants to level the playing field: European brand manager Lennart Bobzien discusses the eFootball rebrand and renewed efforts to put Konami’s football game on top
  50. Vivendi, Riot veterans announce gaming broadcast network, VENN: Ben Kusin and Ariel Horn share their plans and goals for a space that unifies publishers, leagues and audiences under one network
  51. One decade in, League of Legends still averages 8M peak concurrent players daily
  52. League of Legends hits 8 million peak concurrent players a day: Riot shares August’s daily worldwide average figures, says it’s larger than the top 10 games on Steam combined
  53. Valve launches revamped Steam Library in open beta
  54. Twitch sexual content crackdown causing confusion: Streaming site has issued multiple suspensions against streamers wearing Chun-Li costumes, sports bras and more
  55. Twitch acquires IGDB to bolster search and discoverability capabilities
  56. Twitch acquires Internet Gaming Database: Acquisition will see Twitch feed database into discovery feature set
  57. Esports: The next billion dollar industry
  58. Video: Building explosive 8-bit Nintendo eSports the Tetris World Championship way
  59. Dignitas CEO: Soccer, basketball, and esports will be the major sports of the future
  60. Esports tournament platform XY Gaming raises $2.5 million
  61. XY Gaming announces $2.5m funding round: Funds will go toward expanding esports tournament platform, adding games such as Fortnite
  62. Subnation’s ‘LVL UP’ Highlights Explosion Of Premium Content For Esports
  63. PlayVS lands another $50 million: High school esports platform details Series C funding round, brings total funding to $96 million in just over a year
  64. Hulu dropped support for Google’s Daydream VR
  65. HTC Vive Cosmos VR: We have the price, release date, and first hands-on
  66. Image courtesy Daqri: Well-funded AR Headset Startup DAQRI is Shutting Down
  67. Vive Cosmos arrives on October 3 for £699: New virtual reality headset from HTC will cost roughly the same as predecessor
  68. 2K will donate up to $500,000 to blood cancer research in WWE marketing campaign: Publisher partners with Leukemia & Lymphona Society as survivor Roman Reigns stars on the cover of this year’s wrestling game
  69. UKIE partners with Alzheimer’s Research UK for Journo/Dev Swap game jam: GamesIndustry.biz will be publishing the developers-turned-journalists coverage from September 27
  70. Don’t Miss: Gwent and 6 other minigames that developers should study
  71. The 57 years of unseen work that built Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City
  72. Bioware, Beamdog devs unveil Summerfall Studios
  73. Blog: Creating hit games in Dreams
  74. Blog: The difference of accessibility vs. playability in game design
  75. Blog: Historians play Assassin’s Creed Discovery Tour
  76. Blog: Why not just use thumbsticks?
  77. Kojima details the subtly social gameplay of Death Stranding
  78. Don’t Miss: How Sonic Mania’s devs made the old new (and good) again
  79. Don’t Miss: Writing Firewatch, and capturing the beauty of being alone
  80. Watch two of GreedFall’s developers discuss their new colonial RPG
  81. Where do you go from Doom?: Doom Eternal’s Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin talk about their approach to following up the successful reboot of a seminal classic
  82. Every game should copy Death Stranding’s “Very Easy Mode”
  83. Knights and Bikes TV show in the works: Peaky Blinders production company Tiger Aspect options rights for animated series based on Foam Sword game
  84. How a basement hacker transformed Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600
  85. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate wins big at the Japan Game Awards
  86. Proposed E3 revamp could turn expo into ‘fan, media, and influencer festival’
  87. E3 2020 pitch shows move towards celebrities, consumers and influencers: ESA pitch also includes 10,000 additional consumer passes for the E3 showfloor
  88. This new eco-friendly game packaging could save tonnes of plastic every year
  89. Football Manager 2020 studio swaps to recyclable packaging, wants others to do the same
  90. Billy Mitchell Threatens To Sue The Guinness World Record Folks For Removing His Records
  91. Knights and Bikes is being turned into an animated TV show
  92. U.S. Patent No. 9,364,746: System and method configured to unlock content within a videogame

Jon

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News of the Week; September 11, 2019

By Jon Festinger on September 15, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. 8chan owner testifies to Congress about extremism on the site
  2. Months After Christchurch Shooting, The Australian Government Is Issuing Site-Blocking Orders Targeting Footage Of The Incident
  3. Google And Facebook To Face Antitrust Probes Investigating Their Impact On The Digital Ad Market
  4. Yes, News Sites Need To Get Out Of The Ad Surveillance Business — But Blame The Advertisers As Well
  5. DOJ Wants Apple, Google To Hand Over Names And Phone Numbers Of 10,000 App Users
  6. 50 states and territories launch massive joint probe into Google
  7. Google Bans Ads for Experimental Medical Treatments
  8. Amazon Probed by U.S. Antitrust Officials Over Marketplace: The FTC is interviewing merchants to determine whether the e-commerce giant is using its market power to hurt competition.
  9. Watchdog Group Files FTC Complaint Against Ryan ToysReview For Improper Ad Disclosures
  10. In Blockbuster Ruling, Ninth Circuit Affirms hiQ Injunction – CFAA Claim Likely Not Available for Scraping Publicly Available Website Data
  11. Big News: Appeals Court Says CFAA Can’t Be Used To Stop Web Scraping
  12. Web scraping doesn’t violate anti-hacking law, appeals court rules
  13. HIQ LABS, INC. v. LINKEDIN CORPORATION (USCA 9th Circuit, September 9, 2019)
  14. China Issues New Cybersecurity Law to Protect Children
  15. New Huawei rule: what it means for US companies
  16. Chinese professor stole hard drive secrets for Huawei, US government charges
  17. How China is Cashing in on Group Chats
  18. 18 months after indictment, Iranian phishers are still targeting universities
  19. YouTube Lets Indonesian Government Block Satirical Video That Criticizes The Indonesian Government
  20. How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein: M.I.T. Media Lab aware of Epstein as a convicted sex offender & that Epstein contributions far exceeded what M.I.T. admitted.
  21. Inside the bizarre world of internet trolls and propagandists
  22. How online harassment threatens press freedom
  23. Microsoft President Brad Smith: Tech sector needs to face up to responsibility and embrace regulation
  24. Federal Gov’t Gives Customs Officers Permission To Break Social Media Platform Rules Forbidding Fake Accounts
  25. A feel-good story about social media!
  26. Facebook on the hook as states launch competition, privacy probe
  27. The Technology 202: Facebook, Microsoft team up with academics in race to thwart deepfakes
  28. Facebook tightens policies around self-harm and suicide
  29. Facebook Dating launches in the United States today
  30. Facebook dating is now available in the US. Here’s how it works
  31. Facebook Watch Partners With International News Organizations To Produce New Slate
  32. Section 230 Applies to Facebook’s Post Removals and Account Suspensions–King v. Facebook (Eric Goldman)
  33. The NY Times Got It Backwards: Section 230 Helps Limit The Spread Of Hate Speech Online
  34. Ninth Circuit Says LinkedIn Wrongly Blocked HiQ’s Scraping Efforts
  35. California Court Of Appeal’s Midvale Decision Opens The Floodgates For More Website Accessibility Lawsuits
  36. FTC’s Latest Fine Of YouTube Over COPPA Violations Shows That COPPA And Section 230 Are On A Collision Course
  37. FTC and Google reach $170 Million Settlement over children’s privacy on YouTube
  38. FTC announces record $170 million COPPA settlement with Google and YouTube for children’s privacy violations
  39. Google and YouTube Pay Record $170 Million Fine for Allegedly Violating Children’s Privacy Law in Settlement with the FTC and the New York Attorney General
  40. Hotel Lobbyists Push Forward Their Plan To Kill The Internet Because They Hate Competing Against Airbnb
  41. Canadian YouTube Giant WatchMojo Invests In Digital Video Festival ‘Buffer’
  42. Video-sharing site reaches $170 million settlement with FTC and New York AG
  43. Tom Brady Joins TikTok on Heels of NFL’s Deal With Video Platform
  44. Insights: The Future Of The NFL Is TikTok, And Other Hail Mary Passes For Continued Relevance
  45. A Quick Study in Doxing and Personal Jurisdiction: Vangheluwe v. GotNews
  46. Execution in a Digital Age
  47. What Happens To Your Digital Assets When You Die?
  48. That Time Taylor Swift Threatened To Sue Microsoft Over Its Racist Chatbot
  49. The Internet Remains Broken In The Ninth Circuit And, At Least For Now, The Third
  50. ThinkProgress, a Top Progressive News Site, Has Shut Down: A search had been underway for a new publisher. But none was found.
  51. YouTube launches a dedicated Fashion vertical
  52. Bart Baker Says He’s Quitting YouTube, Moving To China To Pursue Social Superstardom
  53. YouTube network Studio71 is expanding into streaming
  54. YouTube Forges New ‘Red Diamond Creator Award’ For Channels With 100 Million Subscribers
  55. YouTube Taps K-Pop Groups TVXQ! And Super Junior For Travel Docuseries
  56. Tubular Labs Unveils New Metrics That Seek To Measure Social Video Like TV
  57. How to Avoid a Complaint to the ASA as a #Socialinfluencer When Posting #Ads in the UK
  58. New NLRB Advice Memo Clarifies Social Media Policy Rules
  59. Viacom Digital Studios Readies Facebook Watch Slate With Grace Helbig, MatPat, Joey Graceffa
  60. No, Netflix Is Not Ditching Binge-Watching. It’s Just “Trying Something New” With Competition Series ‘Rhythm + Flow.’
  61. Apple Music launches its official web-app in beta
  62. Apple TV Plus to Launch on Nov. 1, Cost $4.99 per Month
  63. Apple TV+ subscription service soft-launches November 1 for $4.99/mo
  64. Apple releases first trailer for new sci-fi series See, starring Jason Momoa
  65. Apple continues health push with three new medical studies
  66. Apple: The First Hope-Based Company
  67. Apple, Foxconn caught breaking Chinese labor laws while making iPhones
  68. Apple Wanted to Revolutionize the Way Streaming Pays. Here’s Why It Wasn’t Allowed: Spotify and Amazon are battling the Copyright Royalty Board over streaming royalty rates.
  69. Spotify users can now share music and podcasts to Snapchat
  70. Snapchat Prepares a Dedicated News Channel Ahead of 2020 Debates: Snapchat has made forays into the news business before
  71. Howard Stern is Getting Ripped Off: Why podcasting may have minted its first billionaire, subscription podcasting is the next great business model, and how to join the revolution
  72. Was Etsy too good to be true?
  73. WarnerMedia’s Crunchyroll Invests In European Anime Firm Viz Media Group
  74. WarnerMedia centralises distribution leadership for HBO, Turner
  75. Patreon Eyeing Providing Loans, HR Support, Health Care To Creators, CEO Says
  76. “Everything as a service” is coming—but we’re not there quite yet
  77. US tech IPOs on track for record year in money raised, reaching $17.1bn in 2019 H1 – Linklaters reports
  78. A Paranoid Tech Bro, a Homemade Nuclear Bunker, and a Shocking Death: In the tunnels beneath a placid suburban home, an angel investor turned into an angel of doom.
  79. China is close to releasing a Libra-like digital currency
  80. It’s just emojions misleading us over [laughing tears of joy face]?
  81. Emojis Have Unsettled Grammar Rules (and Why Lawyers Should Care) (Eric Goldman)
  82. Someone moved $1 billion in a single bitcoin transaction
  83. The hacker, bitcoin, the Proceeds of Crime Act and the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act.

A.I.

  1. CDA Section 230 Immunizes Platform From Liability for Friend and Content Suggestion Algorithms
  2. An AI app that turns you into a movie star has risked the privacy of millions
  3. Algorithms should have made courts more fair. What went wrong?
  4. Texas Law Could Signal More State, Federal Deepfake Bans
  5. Cops Digitally Erase Suspect’s Facial Tattoos To Make Him Look More Like The Robbery Suspect Caught On Camera
  6. ‘Years ahead of the pack’: uOttawa’s renowned robot researcher Ian Kerr remembered as a leader in his field
  7. How do intellectual property rights apply to AI?
  8. Construction Robots Learn to Excavate by Mimicking Humans: Human movements can teach robots the skills they need to dig holes and – maybe someday – build the first colonies on Mars 
  9. Leveraging Data Analytics and AI Through the M&A Life Cycle 
  10. AI & Privacy: The Struggle is Real: meAnIngful consent and retAIning data
  11. Ethical Implications of AI and Ubuntu as an Intervention
  12. The Age of AI: How Will In-house Law Departments Run in 10 Years
  13. Hunting for the Sharpest Tools in the AI Shed
  14. Will AI Chatbots Replace Your Employee Handbook? 

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Disruption drags on for some Telus email customers
  2. Much Of The Assault On ‘Big Tech’ Is Being Driven By ‘Big Telecom’
  3. Comcast sues Maine to stop law requiring sale of individual TV channels
  4. T-Mobile Metro stores sell used phones as new, charge “fake taxes,” NYC says
  5. New York City Sues T-Mobile For Ripping Off Its Prepaid Users
  6. T-Mobile Employees Want Promises They Won’t Be Fired Post Merger
  7. Charter Spectrum Once Again ‘Competes’ By… Raising Prices
  8. Verizon’s 5G network isn’t good enough to cover an entire NFL stadium
  9. Verizon Can’t Stop Over-hyping 5G; This Time In NFL Stadiums
  10. Supreme Court Punts On Whether FCC’s Interpretation of the TCPA Binds Federal Courts

PRIVACY

  1. White House Pushing Proposal That Would Subject Mentally Ill People To Increased Surveillance
  2. DMVs Are Selling Your Data to Private Investigators: You gave them your data in exchange for a driver’s license. DMVs are making tens of millions of dollars selling it, documents obtained by Motherboard show.
  3. Hyp3r-misappropriation of data gets Instagram’s attention, but is enough being done?
  4. Senator pushes Amazon for details about Ring “partnerships” with police
  5. Ring Let Cops Know How Often Their Requests For Camera Footage Were Ignored
  6. Ring Has A ‘Head Of Face Recognition Tech,’ Says It’s Not Using Facial Recognition Tech. Yet.
  7. Appeals Court Says An IP Address Is ‘Tantamount To A Computer’s Name’ While Handing The FBI Another NIT Win
  8. FBI’s Operation reWired Targets International E-mail Scams
  9. The CCPA and COPPA: Looking for the “Betwixt and Between”
  10. Back to school: With latest attack, ransomware cancels classes in Flagstaff
  11. 600,000 GPS trackers for people and pets are using 123456 as a password
  12. Zero-day privilege escalation disclosed for Android
  13. Exploit for wormable BlueKeep Windows bug released into the wild
  14. CCPA Privacy FAQs: If a company collects personal information through a cookie, is it required to provide a consumer with a privacy policy?
  15. Apple takes flak for disputing iOS security bombshell dropped by Google
  16. MoviePass Left Tens Of Thousands Of Credit Card Numbers Exposed Online
  17. Firefox is stepping up its blocking game
  18. Riding in cars with hackers
  19. How The Cyber Insurance Industry’s Bottom Line Is Fueling Ransomware
  20. Cybersecurity Starts at the Top: Risks and Concerns for Directors and Officers
  21. Nevada’s New Privacy Bill Requires Website Operators That Collect Information About Consumers to Update Privacy Policies by October 1, 2019
  22. Equifax Victims Jump Through Hoops To Nab Settlement Money They Won’t Get Anyway

CREATIVITY

  1. A Famous Argument Against Free Will Has Been Debunked: For decades, a landmark brain study fed speculation about whether we control our own actions. It seems to have made a classic mistake.
  2. “Precious hours were wasted”: Trump’s doctored map affected hurricane forecasters
  3. Devin Nunes Drops One Ridiculous Lawsuit, Only To File Another One
  4. Court Tosses $100 Million Defamation Suit Brought By Former Trump Spokesman Over Reporting On Court Documents
  5. Judge Orders White House To Restore Reporter’s Press Pass It Illegally Removed
  6. Elections Canada’s third-party advertising controversy ignores regulatory discretion, says lawyer
  7. Football, gambling and advertising: The opposite of a young man’s game
  8. A New ‘Taco Tuesday’ Trademark Challenger Approaches: LeBron James
  9. Ariana Grande Sues Forever 21, Asserting Right of Publicity, Lanham Act and Copyright Claims
  10. Never ever getting back together: Taylor Swift Re-Records back Catalogue
  11. Charlotte Tilbury – highlighting the pow(d)er of using copyright against copycats
  12. Update on Canadian Copyright Mass Litigation – September Snapshot (Howard Knopf)
  13. The music modernization act: A primer for copyright holders
  14. That’s All He Wrote: Copyright Owners No Longer Enjoy Presumption of Irreparable Harm
  15. Myth #4: The 30 Seconds/500 Copies/Two-Thirds/200 Words Rule
  16. Using copyright to stop copycats – Islestarr Holdings Ltd v Aldi Stores Ltd
  17. New NAD decision addresses incentivized reviews
  18. Stouffer v. National Geographic Partners, LLC
  19. U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decisions Resolving Two Major Copyright Law Issues
  20. Queen Anne’s Revenge?
  21. Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.” Is Not the Capitalist Anthem You Think It Is
  22. Heirs to stolen painting seek its return from Japanese museum

GAMES

  1. UK High Court orders ISPs to block Switch hacking sites: Judge sides with Nintendo in blacklisting a handful of sites advertising circumvention devices and software
  2. Nintendo wins UK court case over Nintendo Switch piracy and modification
  3. Nintendo gets UK ISPs to block Switch piracy sites
  4. Nintendo launches infringement lawsuit against ROM site RomUniverse
  5. Nintendo sues ROM site: Switch maker’s anti-piracy legal efforts continue with copyright and trademark infringement suit against RomUniverse
  6. Capcom wins patent infringement lawsuit against Koei Tecmo
  7. Chinese Giant Tencent Is Suing Bloggers Who Criticize The Company For ‘Reputational Damage’
  8. Gears 5 review: An obvious gaming recommendation—if you already paid for it
  9. Gears 5 launch delayed in China: Sales and pre-orders suspended due to unspecified issue
  10. Niantic settles Pokemon Go public nuisance class action lawsuit
  11. Niantic agrees to combat trespassing Pokémon Go players: Developer settles class action lawsuit after three years, committing to new preventative measures
  12. Unionized Nexon staff rally for job security amid company-wide reorganization
  13. Nexon Korea union holds demonstration one year after formation: South Korea’s first games industry union demands job security, protests restructuring
  14. Steam rejects LilithSoft visual novel featuring rape scenes: Employee of Taimanin Asagi developer says Valve is “extremely strict with regards to characters that might be perceived as underage”
  15. Is Valve still censoring adult games on Steam?: Taimanin Asagi removal puts question to Valve’s hands-off moderation policy.
  16. Valve kept quiet on Epic exclusives following Metro Exodus backlash: Statement on “unfair” exclusivity was not intended to be a “lightning rod,” Valve said
  17. Tales From The Platform Wars: Steam Dev Says Calling ‘Metro Exodus’ Epic Exclusive Unfair Wasn’t Intended To Incite
  18. Epic Accuses Cheating Minor Of Continuing To Promote Cheat Software Even After Lawsuit
  19. The (not) new Russian games store taking on Epic and Steam: My.Games on how a 70/30 split and lack of exclusives won’t prevent it from making “the best platform ever”
  20. How Steam users see your game: An analysis of what players are looking for
  21. A platter of experimental discovery features are heading to Steam
  22. Valve updates experimental Steam Labs features: Micro Trailers coming to every game, plus new algorithms to help users explore Steam catalogue
  23. Crunch not needed for live ops game dev, says Zynga producer
  24. Why Ubisoft isn’t abandoning its open worlds: CEO Yves Guillemot explains why the growing audience for games means the publisher’s blockbuster model is sustainable
  25. EA readying cloud gaming technical trials: PC players will test cloud versions of FIFA, Titanfall, Need For Speed and Unravel
  26. EA is running a closed trial for its Project Atlas cloud gaming service this month
  27. John Justice: “We are trying to implement cross-progression with every title on Stadia” – Google Stadia VP and head of product confirms service will include free trials, parental controls, mods, more features
  28. Apple Arcade offers up 100+ exclusive(-ish) mobile games for $4.99 a month
  29. Apple Arcade subscription offers 100+ games for $4.99/month on Sept. 19: Pac-Man, Frogger, Chu Chu Rocket, Rayman, and a new Square Enix RPG in the lineup.
  30. MWM Immersive turns game publisher, debut title will beCreature in the Well
  31. Team Rocket event pays off for Pokémon Go: Sensor Tower data puts $110m August haul in the game’s top five months since launch
  32. Drivetime grabs $11 million in funding for voice-powered games for drivers
  33. Drivetime raises $11m for games drivers can play on the road: Makers Fund leads Series A round with participation from Amazon and Google; Jeopardy offering launches today
  34. Team17 draws up acquisition hit list as revenue jumps 97%: The UK publisher’s office move is set for November as staff count rises
  35. The role of Double Fine’s publishing biz is still up in the air after joining Microsoft
  36. Starbreeze applies for third extension on reconstruction period: If granted, troubled Swedish publisher would have had an entire year to avoid insolvency
  37. Tim Schafer: “I don’t know if it makes sense to have a publisher within a publisher” – Double Fine founder says he isn’t certain about the future of publishing arm Double Fine Presents following Microsoft acquisition
  38. Nintendo Direct shows off surprise sequels, new ports in aggressive year-end pitch
  39. Nintendo teases Switch peripheral focused on physical exercise: New controller extends motion control functions of the Switch console
  40. Wii Fit redux: Nintendo shows mysterious exercise ring for the Switch
  41. Say goodbye to a “regular schedule” of emulated classics on Switch
  42. What Sega’s Dreamcast launch keynote would have looked like, 20 years ago
  43. Dreamcast 20th anniversary interview extravaganza
  44. Dreamcast devs reflect on how the industry has changed since the console’s debut
  45. Crash Team Racing was the UK’s best-selling game in August: But Nintendo dominates the month in terms of unit sales, revenues and top-selling titles
  46. UK Charts: NBA 2K20 is No.1 in poor sales week
  47. Marry everything: The satisfying sandbox of Fit for a King – Kitfox CEO Tanya Short on sandboxes and micro-publishing
  48. Sony’s upcoming Xperia 5 phone supports the PS4’s DualShock controller
  49. Celeste developers form new studio: Matt Makes Games team sheds its old name, emerges in new Vancouver offices as Extremely OK Games
  50. Twitch kicks off partnership with the Raiders & Allegiant Stadium 
  51. Report: Disney plans to sell Marvel Strike Force dev FoxNext Games
  52. Up to 200 more GameStop stores set to close, with more to follow
  53. 200 GameStop closures planned ahead of “a much larger tranche” coming
  54. Sales continue to slide downhill as GameStop continues its reboot
  55. The exciting uncertainty of esports’ future: Nielsen Esports’ Nicole Pike shares her patient views on the esports landscape ahead of her keynote at Esports BAR Miami 2019
  56. BoomTV acquires American Video Game League in bid to expand collegiate esports: Deal is “huge step forward” for collegiate esports, says AVGL CEO
  57. Why NASCAR raced into esports in 2019
  58. Veloce Esports headed for series A investment after angel round: Initial investors include former Liberty Global exec Eric Tveter
  59. Growing Pains: Issues Affecting eSports Stakeholders
  60. DLA Piper’s Media, Sport and Entertainment sector, sports magazine: e-Sports update – “Loot boxes” in the crosshairs
  61. RetroArch brings real-time translation to emulated games
  62. Game-focused social video platform Medal.tv raises $9 million
  63. Medal.tv raises $9 million in new funding: Horizons Ventures led the round, which takes social video platform to $12.5m lifetime funding
  64. WoW Classic reminds us of all we’ve lost | Opinion: Nostalgia for an earlier version of Blizzard’s MMO is a stark reminder of how much of gaming’s creative history continues to be lost entirely
  65. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft Classic hit with weekend DDoS attacks
  66. Everspace 2: Rockfish’s not so difficult second album
  67. Igniting a Chinese fighting game revolution: China isn’t known for its fighting game scene, but Next Studios wants to change that with Metal Revolution
  68. Call of Duty developer Sledgehammer Games opens new studio in Australia
  69. Sledgehammer Games is opening a studio in Australia: Call of Duty to expand its presence in Australia with new dev studio in Melbourne
  70. VRChat raises $10 million to expand its virtual reality platform
  71. VRChat secures $10m Series C funding: New investor Makers Fund joins HTC to help “open unique opportunities” in virtual reality space
  72. VR firm MWM Immersive expands into games publishing: Rebrands as MWM Interactive, debut title is Creature In The Well
  73. Here’s What 100 Hours of VR Drum Practice Gets You
  74. Digital Frontier: Where Brain-computer Interfaces & AR/VR Could One Day Meet
  75. The Coalition’s Gears 5 includes an expansive list of accessibility options
  76. Gears 5: Critical Consensus – Reviewers agree The Coalition’s second tour of duty is vintage Gears with an assortment of twists, but split on how good that makes it
  77. Blog: How I discovered the world of user acquisition and advertising
  78. Blog: I am the cheapest bastard in indie games
  79. Blog: Kickstarter tactics based on our campaign forUnbound: Worlds Apart
  80. Blog: Unity Addressables – It’s never too big to fit
  81. Blog: How music enhances virtual presence – Part 3
  82. Don’t Miss: How Maxis avoided sequel-itis on The Sims 2
  83. Watch John Pearl discuss the procedural design ofRemnant: From the Ashes
  84. Video: Understanding Halo 5’s geometry caching optimizations
  85. Video: Designing levels for a video game mixtape
  86. Video: How to survive and thrive as a small studio without a big hit
  87. Practical game writing insight from No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises’ Greg Buchanan
  88. U.S. Patent No. 9,174,128: Dynamic quests in game
  89. U.S. Patent No. 9,545,571: Methods and apparatus for a video game magic system
  90. Home Office confirms games roles will be added to UK occupation shortage list: Migration Advisory Committee’s industry-informed recommendations have been approved
  91. UK regulatory roundup: Where we are and what lies ahead – Harbottle & Lewis on four imminent developments that will impact the games industry in the UK and Europe
  92. Ars goes back to school: The video games that threatened our college GPA
  93. BAFTA shuffles categories for 2020 Games Awards as submissions open

Jon

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News of the Week; September 4, 2019

By Jon Festinger on September 7, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Hong Kong ISPs Refuse To Help China Censor The Internet
  2. Senator: Mark Zuckerberg should face “the possibility of a prison term”: “He ought to be held personally accountable,” Ron Wyden (D-OR) said.
  3. FTC Fines Google $150-$200 Million For YouTube’s Child Data Privacy Violations 
  4. YouTube fined $170 million for violations of children’s privacy
  5. Google Is Fined $170 Million for Violating Children’s Privacy on YouTube
  6. Google Exec Accused Of Fathering, Abandoning Baby With Employee
  7. The career rise and controversy of David Drummond, Alphabet’s chief lawyer whose extramarital relationship with a former employee reignited criticism of Google’s culture
  8. Google’s top lawyer allegedly cheated on his wife with multiple employees – against Google’s own policies: Drummond denies he had relationships with more than one Google employee
  9. Google lets David Drummond do the talking
  10. $650,000-a-year Google legal chief ‘had affairs with employees – and a CHILD with me before dumping me by text’ claims ex-worker as she hits out at ‘sexist culture’ at company
  11. YouTube Re-Bans InfoWars Channel After It Temporarily Circumvented The Site’s Terms Of Service
  12. Amid Reported FTC Investigation, YouTube Announces New ‘YouTube Kids’ Website
  13. YouTube Kids is getting its own website: The platform has also introduced new age-based categories.
  14. GM and Tesla unlock connected car features to help with Hurricane Dorian: OnStar’s Crisis Assist is free, and Tesla is unlocking extra range on some cars.
  15. There Is Essentially No Statute of Limitations for Online Copyright Infringement–APL v. US (Eric Goldman)
  16. Facebook Confirms 2 Billion Users Will Now Need To Opt In To Facial Recognition
  17. Instagram may allow creators to syndicate IGTV videos to Facebook
  18. Indiana Appeals Court Decides Badmouthing A Cop On Facebook Is A Crime
  19. Netflix can kill The OA, but it can’t kill a movement: #SaveTheOA understands the stakes of the streaming wars.
  20. YouTube Now Requires Creators To Manually Approve Crowdsourced Video Translations To Clamp Down On Trolls
  21. YouTube Makes ‘Cobra Kai’ Free To Kick Off AVOD Era, Unveils New European Slate
  22. YouTube Hands Out Grants To 8 Indian Creators As Part Of $20 Million ‘Learning Fund’
  23. Delhi High Court yet again calls for accountability from e-commerce platforms.
  24. Pinterest’s Way Of Dealing With Anti-Vax Nonsense And Scams Is Only Possible Because Of Section 230
  25. Reminder: The Copyright Office Will Be Yanking Eligibility for the DMCA Online Safe Harbor (Again) (Eric Goldman)
  26. Three Years Later And The Copyright Office Still Can’t Build A Functioning Website For DMCA Agents, But Demands Everyone Re-Register
  27. Pressured By ‘Right To Repair’ Movement, Apple Will Sell Parts To Independent Repair Shops
  28. Spotify is testing a ‘Create podcast’ button inside its app: Record, edit and publish a podcast right from your phone.
  29. Pandora now lets you share music and podcasts to your Instagram Stories
  30. Vevo strikes a new distribution deal for smart TVs
  31. YouTube will stop displaying exact follower counts in September: It’s an attempt to take pressure off of creators, but it’s drawing criticism.
  32. Amazon’s Next-Day Delivery System Has Brought Chaos And Carnage To America’s Streets — But The World’s Biggest Retailer Has A System To Escape The Blame
  33. Amazon delivery contractors operate with little oversight, report finds
  34. Alibaba, the $435 billion Chinese shopping giant, is gunning for Amazon in Europe
  35. President Trump tweets picture of sensitive satellite photo of Iranian launch site
  36. Judge Wants To Know Who’s Behind Devin Nunes’ Cow’s And Mom’s Twitter Account
  37. Knight Institute Warns Rep. Ocasio-Cortez That She, Like Trump, Can’t Block People On Twitter
  38. Former Hotel Exec Gets Elected To Congress, Decides First Order Of Business Is To Destroy Airbnb
  39. Josh Hawley Continues To Pretend That Silicon Valley Isn’t Innovative
  40. Vice sees success with its year-old cross-platform video ad sales push
  41. Vice News To Merge With Viceland Amid Layoffs At Latter, Pivot Away From Entertainment
  42. Pro Tip: Don’t Send A Completely Bogus Defamation Threat To A Website That Employs A Former ACLU Badass
  43. Antonio Neri and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s cultural revolution
  44. Unix at 50: How the OS that powered smartphones started from failure
  45. Film & TV makers debut new feature to end the “soap opera effect” scourge
  46. The (un)sustainability of Bitcoin | Alex de Vries

A.I.

  1. A Voice Deepfake Was Used To Scam A CEO Out Of $243,000
  2. Fraudsters deepfake CEO’s voice to trick manager into transferring $243,000
  3. How YACHT fed their old music to the machine and got a killer new album
  4. IoT botnet creator cops plea to hacking more than 800,000 devices
  5. AI having uneven impact on lawyers
  6. White House Now Thinks Harvesting Fitness Tracker Data Could Stop The Next Mass Shooting

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Fraudsters preying on Telus customers impacted by major email outage
  2. AT&T’s confusing mess of online TV services even has AT&T confused
  3. Unlicensed signal boosters get a boost from Amazon
  4. The FCC Doesn’t Actually Know How Many People Have Broadband
  5. DOJ ‘Solution’ For Sprint T-Mobile Merger Will Result In Less Overall Wireless Coverage
  6. Comcast, beware: New city-run broadband offers 1Gbps for $60 a month
  7. Samsung launches its first 5G-integrated CPU
  8. Resolving telecoms disputes involving state entities in the Middle East

PRIVACY

  1. EFF Sues CBP, ICE Over Refusal To Hand Over Its GPS Tracking Device Policies
  2. Facebook And Twitter Hope To Fix California’s Troubled Privacy Law With…Misleading Ads?
  3. You Know That Mobile Phone Tracking Data You Used As Evidence In Over 10,000 Court Cases? Turns Out Some Of It Was Wrong, But We’re Not Sure Which Yet
  4. Just As Attorney General Barr Insists iPhone Users Have Too Much Security, We Learn They Don’t Have Nearly Enough
  5. A glut of iOS 0-days pushes their price below cost of those for Android: Top price for unpublished Android exploits reaches $2.5 million, a 25% premium over iOS.
  6. The Conflict Between Social Media Transparency And Bad Privacy Laws Is Going To Get Worse
  7. Rash of ransomware continues with 13 new victims—most of them schools
  8. Armed with iOS 0days, hackers indiscriminately infected iPhones for two years
  9. Ring reportedly shared video sharing data, detailed maps with police in 2018
  10. GirlsDoPorn.com faces trial for allegedly filming 22 women under false pretenses
  11. InvizBox 2 redefines what “privacy” routers can do
  12. Office Of Legal Counsel Sued For Refusing To Turn Over Legal Memos Congress Said Aren’t Exempt From FOIA Law

CREATIVITY

  1. ‘Baby Shark’, Derived From A Public Domain Folk Song, Now The Subject Of A Copyright Dispute
  2. Uber Takes On Beautician/Barber Over Her BeauBer Mobile App
  3. Tom Brady Fails To Trademark ‘Tom Terrific’ As USPTO Rightly Assesses He’s Not The Most Terrific Tom
  4. Even Kirk Herbstreit Thinks THE Ohio State Is Being THE Silliest With Its ‘THE’ Trademark Application
  5. In video message on Dorian, President Trump displays doctored forecast
  6. Bedbug Privilege: Bret Stephens Uses His NY Times Column To Suggest Jokingly Comparing Him To A Bedbug Is Prelude To Ethnic Genocide
  7. Should advertising regulators enforce wokeness?

GAMES

  1. Blizzard is suing Chinese studio Sina Games for ripping offWarcraft series
  2. Report: Valve is pushing back against accusations it violated EU trade rules
  3. Valve reportedly fighting EU antitrust charges: Focus Home, Bandai Namco, Capcom, Koch Media, and ZeniMax reportedly settling charges
  4. Recent Valve VR update contains hidden Half-Life demo code
  5. Night in the Woods devs cut ties with collaborator accused of assault: Others accused of harassment in the industry include Skyrim composer, Oculus co-founder.
  6. Oculus VR faces two allegations of sexual assault and harassment: Facebook’s current head of VR/AR describes stories as “sickening”
  7. Chucklefish responds to accusations it exploited Starboundvolunteers
  8. Sony Is Feverishly Battling Vita Tinkerers Despite Vita Being Discontinued
  9. Report: Annapurna Interactive parent company wipes $200 million in debt
  10. Starbreeze seeking to extend reconstruction period for a third time
  11. Facebook is using Minecraft to train an AI Assistant
  12. Former colleagues accuse Alexis Kennedy of abuse, retaliation: Weather Factory co-founder denies accusations from Red Queens’ Meg Jayanth and Failbetter’s Olivia Wood
  13. Voice actor shares a second warning about Skyrim composer: Aeralie Brighton accuses Jeremy Soule of sexual misconduct; he says, “I don’t agree with her point of view”
  14. Ken Wong apologises following accounts of abuse from former employee: Florence designer admits to his “failure as a leader” but assures he is working hard to “take better care of my team”
  15. Night in the Woods team cancels game amid Alec Holowka allegations: Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry cut ties with Holowka, will handle the property alone from now on
  16. Ukie launches diversity census to analyse shape of the UK games industry
  17. UKIE launches UK diversity census: New study aims to deliver detailed analysis on the British games industry
  18. NBA 2K20 trailer sells the thrill of gambling | Opinion: The lurid online casino is wilfully short-sighted at a precarious time for the industry
  19. Ninja Becomes Adidas’ First Pro Gamer Partner In Multiyear Deal
  20. Niko Partners: Mobile esport games grossed $15.3bn worldwide last year – Mobile esport titles poised to overtake PC competitors which grossed $16.1 billion in 2018
  21. ‘This is a sport.’ Playing video games for $7,000 in scholarship money at Durham College
  22. ESL and Dreamhack merging CS GO tourneys to form ESL Pro Tour – IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitions will serve as two Masters events for 2020
  23. Twitch Signs Top YouTube Streamer Nick Eh 30: Twitch’s deal with the ‘Fortnite’ player comes just weeks after the platform’s biggest star, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, moved to Microsoft’s Mixer.
  24. Gearbox launches Homeworld 3 crowdfunding campaign with $1 goal
  25. Microsoft partners with SK Telecom for 5G game-streaming in Korea
  26. Chris Charla: “Discoverability may be harder to solve than investment” – ID@Xbox head on the importance of sustainability, and how Microsoft is trying to ensure “every game has a chance”
  27. Yu-Gi-Oh is the best-selling boxed game in EMEAA charts: But Switch-exclusive Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution missed out to FIFA and (yes) GTA V in combined Top 10
  28. What convinced Ubisoft to launch its own subscription service?: As Uplay+ launches, Brenda Panagrossi talks about the motivations and market research behind the publisher’s new offering
  29. Yves Guillemot on the thin line between politics and entertainment: Ubisoft CEO speaks about the difficulty of tackling sensitive real-world issues while running a multi-billion dollar entertainment firm
  30. Nintendo adds SNES titles to Nintendo Switch Online: 20 titles join the service tomorrow, compatible controller will be sold only to online subscription members
  31. Nintendo is the new lead partner for Digital Schoolhouse: Firm will help 55 schools teach students about careers in the games industry, including esports via a Smash Bros tournament
  32. Nintendo Direct shows off surprise sequels, new ports in aggressive year-end pitch
  33. The best-selling games product on Amazon last month was a Switch screen protector: Nintendo dominated the online retail giant last month with six of the ten best-selling games
  34. Nintendo Switch will finally get SNES games—20 of them—starting tomorrow
  35. Pokemon Masters has topped 10 million downloads in four days
  36. Trine 4 publisher Modus Games acquires Brazilian studio The Balance
  37. Don’t Miss: The pros and cons of procedural generation inOverland
  38. Don’t Miss: Tackling network programming for Age of Empires’ demanding battles – in 1996
  39. Don’t Miss: A classic postmortem of Epic Games’ Unreal Tournament
  40. Why you may be underpricing your video game
  41. Blog: How onboarding should be applied to tutorials
  42. Blog: 50 mistakes to avoid when developing an advergame
  43. Blog: How painting works in Chicory: A Colorful Tale
  44. Blog: The UX of the Overwatch role queue
  45. Opinion: Can World of Warcraft Classic capture the MMO’s original glory?
  46. Don’t Miss: Rethinking the RPG to make it fun to be the bad guy in Tyranny
  47. How Remedy harnessed the ethereal beauty of brutalism to shape Control
  48. Crafting the mobile-friendly atmospheric storytelling ofSky: Children of the Light
  49. How to make 80-hour adventures for blind gamers | Opinion:  Accessibility consultant and blind gamer Brandon Cole offers advice on how to open up your epic blockbusters to the visually impaired
  50. Video: How indies and small studios can succeed with licensed games
  51. Video: A data-driven deep dive into the 12 motivations for players
  52. Video: Conquering the creative challenges in Marvel’s Spider-Man
  53. Disney, Marvel, and a decade of missed opportunity: 10 Years Ago This Month: Media giant planned to make super hero games internally, then spent years dismantling its own studios
  54. Koch Media CEO: “We should welcome Epic and their business model” – Klemens Kundratitz says publisher is open to more exclusives with Epic Games Store despite backlash against Metro Exodus
  55. A dev’s guide to sustainably supporting live games without crunching
  56. Producer Keith Fuller on business realities of crunch, how to overcome them
  57. How to get your game released on Google Stadia: Google’s Ray Bautista says Stadia is “moving away from the Wild West that exists in some storefronts today”
  58. Google open sources real-time hand and finger tracking tech
  59. Google Play apps with 1.5 million downloads drained batteries and slowed devices
  60. Viveport Infinity rolls out support for the Valve Index
  61. Nine Steam pre-release marketing tips from Valve’s Alden Kroll: Steam UI and interaction designer offers insight on the tools developers can use to build an audience before launch
  62. Steam Library redesign ushers in new features for devs alongside spruced up game pages
  63. Steam’s new, handsome “Library” update is better 16 years late than never
  64. Steam Library overhaul to focus on organization, events: Coming changes include new developer tools, customizable “collections,” more from Steam Labs
  65. Lucky’s Tale dev Playful secures $23 million to create viewer-friendly games  
  66. Porsche got thousands of Twitch viewers to play its newest ad: The prize? Showing off Porsche’s newest Formula E car
  67. Sales revenue up at CD Projekt thanks to evergreen The Witcher series
  68. CD Projekt first-half revenues climb 26%: The Witcher franchise continues to drive Polish publisher’s results as Cyberpunk 2077 sees “final, most intensive phase of development”
  69. Luminous Productions’ Back Stage tech demo shows off Square Enix’s ray tracing tech
  70. Mobile studio Cerberus Interactive nets $1.75 million in funding
  71. Investors sink $4 million into instant game developer Knock Knock
  72. Modus Games acquires The Balance Inc: Maximum Games’ newly-launched publishing label picks up Brazilian studio behind Override – Mech City Brawl
  73. Project xCloud to use SK Telecom exclusively in Korea: Microsoft partnership with mobile carrier calls for a 5G/LTE public preview of the streaming service next month
  74. Sam Barlow on crafting stories players tell themselves: The acclaimed developer discusses his work on Telling Lies and Her Story, and how he hopes to advance interactive fiction
  75. Critique Gaming: “We try to explore reality in meaningful ways” – Romanian indie dev discusses its motives as a politically charged studio, and how to breach difficult topics in sensible ways
  76. Serious Games for and as Cultural Heritage (Boyan Bontchev)
  77. First encounter: Ohio Challenger 2P (and its 4KB of RAM) – [From the archives] Wait, I can write my own video games?!?!

Jon

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News of the Week; August 28, 2019

By Jon Festinger on August 31, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Alphabet’s legal chief, David Drummond, comes under the spotlight following new allegations about his personal conduct
  2. My Time at Google and After
  3. Ex-Google Staffer Says After Split With Chief Legal Officer David Drummond: ‘Hell Does Not Begin To Capture My Life’
  4. Google defends tracking cookies—some experts aren’t buying it
  5. Google Play app with 100 million downloads executed secret payloads
  6. Former Google engineer Levandowski indicted for stealing trade secrets
  7. Top MPAA Lawyer, Mastermind Behind Its Plan To Attack The Internet, Arrested On Blackmail And Sexual Assault Charges
  8. Facebook likely knew about Cambridge Analytica much earlier than we thought
  9. Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy: By hiding its multimillion-dollar dark money ad spend, the organization bypassed Facebook’s political advertising transparency rules.
  10. Facebook’s Weird Pointless Auditless Audit Of Political Bias On Its Platform
  11. Russian Troll Farm Tries Again To Sue Facebook, Despite Having Its Original Complaint Dismissed On 230 Grounds
  12. Ninth Circuit Releases Another Important CDA Section 230 Opinion With Broad Application – Automated Content Recommendation and Notification Tools Do Not Make Social Site the Developer of User Posts 
  13. Gutting Section 230 Will Harm The Most Marginalized
  14. Decision to Dismiss Suit Seeking to Hold Facebook Liable for Hamas Attacks Affirmed by the Second Circuit
  15. Internet Presence Creates Exposure For Discrimination Claims Under California Law 
  16. California State Court Tosses Spam Suit
  17. Facebook tightens rules for U.S. political advertisers ahead of 2020 election
  18. Ninth Circuit Denies En Banc Re-Hearing of Facebook First Amendment Challenge—TCPA Constitutionality Fight Headed to the Supremes? 
  19. Guy Sues Facebook For Violating Basically All The Laws, For Shutting Down His Account And For Everything Else Bad Facebook Has Ever Done
  20. Tracking online hate groups reveals why they’re resilient to bans
  21. Australia plans to block sites hosting extremist content during attacks
  22. YouTube disables 210 accounts spreading misinformation about Hong Kong
  23. Google shutters more than 200 YouTube channels amid Hong Kong protests
  24. YouTube Disables 210 Channels For Spreading Misinformation About Hong Kong Protests
  25. YouTube is now labeling videos in Hong Kong uploaded by publishers with government or public funding
  26. Amid Objective Content Controversies, Susan Wojcicki Defends “Openness” Of YouTube Platform
  27. Google Agrees To Meet With The YouTubers Union, But Says It Won’t “Negotiate Their Demands”
  28. The YouTube Radicalization Pipeline Exists, And It’s Driving Users Toward Increasingly Alt-Right Content (Study)
  29. YouTube Expands New “Borderline Content”-Hunting Algorithm To The U.K.
  30. China (Yes, China) Complains About Attack On Its ‘Free Speech Rights’ After Twitter/Facebook Boot Propaganda Accounts
  31. Twitter Says No More Ads From State-Controlled News Media
  32. Book publishers sue Audible to stop new speech-to-text feature
  33. YouTube Updates Child Safety Policies To Remove Adult-Themed Videos Aimed At Kids
  34. YouTube flags robot battle videos as “animal fights”
  35. Probably Speech, Maybe Free: Toward a Probabilistic Understanding of Online Expression and Platform Governance – Applying a probablistic statistical framework to First Amendment questions (Mike Ananny)
  36. Macron claims deal to end digital service tax fight with the US
  37. Why Is MLB Claiming Revenue From Obviously Fair Use Videos On YouTube?
  38. PewDiePie reaches 100m subscribers: Long-running YouTuber is the first individual to achieve this milestone
  39. PewDiePie Hits 100 Million Subscribers, And Surprisingly, YouTube Pays Him Tribute
  40. YouTube Embraces PewDiePie After Two-Year Cold Shoulder, Congratulates Him On 100 Million Subs
  41. YouTuber Olly Thorn Raises $100,000+ By Livestreaming Shakespeare Readings 24/7 For 4 Days
  42. Netflix-like pirate sites offered more video than the real Netflix, feds say
  43. Netflix To Screen Scorsese’s $159 Million ‘The Irishman’ And 9 Other Films In Theaters This Fall
  44. Anti-vaxxer livestreamed alleged assault on pro-vaccine lawmaker
  45. James Charles Leaks Own Nude Photo Amid AT&T Hack Affecting Several Creators
  46. IP Legal Considerations for Live Streaming
  47. NY Times Goes Off On Amazon Because Some People Are Publishing Fake George Orwell Books
  48. Hundreds of “banned” goods still for sale on Amazon, report finds
  49. Amazon Prime Video Signs Distribution Deal With Altice Europe
  50. EU data economy: legal, ethical & social issues
  51. Agreement Amongst Competition Authorities of the G7 Countries on the Digital Economy
  52. California arms traffickers used Snapchat to market illegal weapons: Recent investigations show that in the Bay Area, social media is playing a significant role in firearms sales
  53. Snapchat Turns to Sneaker Culture in New ‘Kick Life’ Original Series: Dedicated to exploring what it truly means to be a sneakerhead.
  54. TikTok Reportedly Piloting New Ad Product, An Audience Network, In Asia
  55. What3words Is A Clever Way Of Communicating Position Very Simply, But Do We Really Want To Create A Monopoly For Location Look-ups?
  56. Apple’s $44 Billion Drop Shows Growing Cost of Reliance on China
  57. Maybe don’t keep your Apple Card in a leather wallet, Apple warns
  58. Spotify matches Apple Music’s 3-month trial
  59. Eminem’s music publisher claims Spotify owes millions in royalties for ‘Lose Yourself’ and other songs
  60. Audiomack Announces Official Partnership With Warner Music Group: The streaming service’s first deal with a major label will focus on identifying and elevating new talent
  61. Lululemon Launches ‘Sweatlife’ Podcast in Partnership With Makers
  62. FameBit Founders Raise $2.2 Million For Podcast Advertising Startup ‘Podcorn’
  63. NAD Gives Online Review Promotion a Negative Grade
  64. Bosch Pulls Social Media Post Over Charges of Sexism
  65. Companies Are Not Complying With the Safe Harbor Provision of the DMCA 
  66. Section 230 Protects HOA for Publishing Meeting Minutes–Eagle Ridge Townhouse Ass’n v. Snapp (Eric Goldman)
  67. Thinking About Restricting Online Reviews? FTC: Think Again
  68. Building Buzz: Facebook Dominates In Audience Views for Three Highly-Anticipated TV Shows Coming This Fall
  69. Why people keep falling for viral hoaxes
  70. Nashville Trump Supporter Fired Over Facebook Post Wins Trial
  71. Instagram, Facing Pressure From Facebook, Is Testing Back-To-Back Ads In Stories (Report)
  72. Facebook is developing a new standalone Snapchat-like messaging app called ‘Threads’
  73. Facebook Is Developing ‘Threads,’ An Instagram-Adjacent Messaging App That Automatically Shares Location, Battery Life Data (Report)
  74. What’s not to like about Instagram’s latest test? 
  75. Opinion: With This Statement, I Give Notice That Instagram Owns Your Soul – People posting a pseudo-legal declaration may believe they’re in a two-way dialogue with the company. The opposite is true.
  76. YouTube TV To Sell Add-Ons For AMC-Owned Acorn TV, Urban Movie Channel
  77. Beauty Giant Estée Lauder Now Allots 75% Of Its Digital Marketing Budget To Influencers
  78. ASA rules against BetIndex Ltd
  79. Vevo announces new ROUNDS urban series
  80. Alleged “snake oil” crypto company sues over boos at Black Hat
  81. Company Sues Blackhat Because People Mocked Their Sponsored Presentation And Called It Snake Oil
  82. Judge savages self-proclaimed bitcoin inventor Craig Wright
  83. FTC Permanently Bans Operators of Cryptocurrency MLM 
  84. 3 Key Takeaways: Emerging Issues & Trends: Blockchain for In-House Counsel
  85. The Circuitous International Travel of Your Data
  86. No longer up in the air? Cloud transaction regulations are released
  87. Bernie Su’s Livestreamed Interactive Sci-Fi Series ‘Artificial’ Brings Twitch Its First Emmy
  88. Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech
  89. The Barlowian Internet: The Faults Of The Internet Are Also Its Opportunity, But It’s Up To Us To Embrace Them

A.I.

  1. Singularity: how governments can halt the rise of unfriendly, unstoppable super-AI
  2. Do Citizens Have A Right To See The Algorithms Used By Publicly-Funded Software?
  3. Why We Should Teach Kids to Call the Robot ‘It’: As a new generation grows up surrounded by artificial intelligence, researchers find education as early as preschool can help avoid confusion about robots’ role
  4. Music to regulators’ ears? Antitrust, RPM, and AI
  5. Robotic thread is designed to slip through the brain’s blood vessels: Magnetically controlled device could deliver clot-reducing therapies in response to stroke or other brain blockages.
  6. 2019: A Bot Odyssey 
  7. The rise of CGI influencers: getting real about the virtual within the fashion industry
  8. In Memoriam: My Dear Friend and Colleague Ian Kerr (Michael Geist)

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. The Cultural Lobby Demands for Internet Taxes and Fees: The Forgotten Piece in Canada’s Lower Wireless and Internet Cost Puzzle (Michael Geist)
  2. DOJ’s plan to make Dish the fourth major carrier has a fatal flaw
  3. The FCC has no idea how many people don’t have broadband access
  4. Insights: You Can’t Always Get The Bandwidth You Want, But You’re Probably Getting The Bandwidth You Need
  5. FCC Does Something Right: Proposes Making Suicide Prevention Hotline A Three Digit Number
  6. NY Investigates Frontier Communications As US Telcos Slowly Implode
  7. When a Broadcast Advertiser Becomes A Political Candidate, What is a Station to Do? 
  8. FCC Seeks Comment on Verizon Petition for Declaratory Ruling on County’s Recurring Fees for Small Wireless Facilities in Public-Rights-of-Way
  9. Cable industry fights plan to require robocall-detection technology
  10. Anti-Robocalling Principles Established by State Attorneys General
  11. Anti-Robocall Principles Agreed to by Carriers and State AGs 
  12. State attorneys general and carriers announce collaboration to stem illegal robocalls 
  13. State attorneys general work with telecom giants to address robocalls
  14. US phone carriers make empty, unenforceable promises to fight robocalls
  15. FCC Charges Stations With Unlawful Use of Emergency Alerts in Promos and Programming
  16. New UK Regime for Telecoms Contract Changes and What To Expect in Ireland 

PRIVACY

  1. Limitation Period for Damages Claims under Personal Information Protection Act (Alberta)
  2. Millions Of Biometric Records Collected By Companies And Governments Left Exposed On The Web
  3. How insurance companies are fueling a rise in ransomware attacks
  4. Ninth Circuit Says Warrantless Device Searches At The Border Must Be Limited To Searches For Contraband
  5. Ring has more than 400 police “partnerships,” company finally says
  6. Unrollme Inc. Settles with FTC Over Allegedly Deceptive Email Practices 
  7. FTC Unrolls Settlement Over Privacy Violations
  8. Rogue ‘Smart’ Ovens Again Highlight How Dumb Tech Is Often The Smarter Choice
  9. Cuckoo for Cookies 
  10. Interlopers in Things? IoT devices may be used as backdoors to your network
  11. CCPA Privacy FAQs: If a business receives a data subject access request, does it have to provide the specific pieces of personal information that it collected about the consumer?
  12. Mitigating Franchisor Exposures for Systemwide GDPR Compliance through Cyber Insurance
  13. The Myth of Consumer Security (Bruce Schneier)

CREATIVITY

  1. Jeffrey Epstein Used a Bullet and a Dead Cat to Intimidate Vanity Fair Editor Graydon Carter: Report
  2. Why ‘Vanity Fair’ Story Left Out Abuse Allegations Against Epstein
  3. State Rep Tries To Bring Criminal Harassment Charges Against Journalists For Being Journalists
  4. Missouri Attorney General Claims The First Amendment Allows Him To Withhold Public Records
  5. SLAPP Threats Don’t Even Need To Become Lawsuits To Be Effective: Cop Gets Columnist Fired For Pointing To Picture Of Him With Racists
  6. New Government Documents Reveal That Backpage Was Actively Helping Law Enforcement Track Down Traffickers
  7. Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Attempt To Seal His Entire Lawsuit Against A Website That Publishes Court Documents
  8. District Court: No negligent misrepresentation claims in smart TV privacy suit 
  9. Don’t Let The Bret Stephens Bite: NY Times’ Hypocritical ‘Free Speech’ Columnist Flips Out After Being Called A Bedbug
  10. Rutgers Forces LA High School To Change Logos Due To Its ‘R’ Trademark
  11. The Man With the Tiger (and Snake) Tattoo Redux
  12. Canadian Brewery Changes Name Of Brew Due To Peanut Butter Company Bully That Doesn’t Ship In Canada
  13. The Patent And Trademark Office Is Apparently Branching Out Into The Immigration Enforcement Business
  14. Never again advertising with women who do not know how to park cars and men who are incapable of raising children?
  15. 4 lessons from the ASA’s first bans on sexist ads 
  16. The Estate of Stanley Kauffmann v. Rochester Institute of Technology
  17. New York State Bans Floating Digital and Flashing Billboards
  18. Planning to Use Digitally Altered Photos of Your Competitor’s Product in Your Advertising?

GAMES

  1. Blizzard sues over “brazen” Warcraft clone: World of Warcraft maker taking InstantFuns to court due to Glorious Saga, saying the game’s content “is almost entirely copied”
  2. New allegations of sexual assault surface against established game devs
  3. Developers sound off after abuse accusations: People across the industry offer support to victims, perspective and calls to action for the rest of their peers
  4. Tetrageddon Games developer warns women about Skyrim composer: Nathalie Lawhead says Jeremy Soule raped them, took advantage of an industry newcomer’s situation
  5. More developers come forward with accounts of emotional abuse and sexual assault: Nathalie Lawhead’s account prompts Zoë Quinn, Adelaide Gardner, more to speak out about their experiences in the industry
  6. Night in the Woods devs cut ties with Alec Holowka after abuse allegations
  7. Riot Games settles gender-discrimination class action lawsuit 
  8. Riot Games reaches preliminary settlement in class action lawsuit over gender discrimination: “Gender discrimination (in pay or promotion), sexual harassment, and retaliation are not systemic issues at Riot”
  9. Ion Fury retains controversial in-game content after all: Facial cleanser name is in, slur is out, company still donating to Trevor Project and mandating sensitivity training
  10. Sony clamps down on Vita hacking: Despite console’s slow death, Sony moves to protect its interests in Japan with anti-hacking firmware update
  11. Mixer streamers can now earn cash for recommending Xbox Game Pass
  12. Six men arrested over alleged Counter-Strike match fixing: Australian police say offences could lead to up to ten years in prison
  13. Better with the cloud? Stadia gets the “fastest” Football Manager sims
  14. Another Bad PR Sign: Indie Developer Shuns Epic Store, Saying ‘My Word Means Something’
  15. Darq developer offers Epic revenue to charity if given non-exclusivity: Unfold Games offers to let the gaming community choose which organisation would receive donations
  16. Australian police make arrests as part of investigation into esports match fixing
  17. Twitch’s cuts of payments to esports teams is benefiting YouTube
  18. OG wins Dota 2’s International for second straight year: Valve’s premiere esports competitions sees back-to-back champs for the first time
  19. Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo Inks Multi-Year Equity Deal With Esports Conglomerate ReKTGlobal
  20. Ninja defamed?
  21. Accessibility Unlocked offers support to disabled developers in Australia and New Zealand: New group also wants to raise more awareness about accessibility issues for players
  22. Restoring trust in Star Wars Battlefront II: Design director Dennis Brännvall reflects on the fallout from the loot box controversy, and how DICE has won back the community
  23. DICE cancels new Battlefield V multiplayer mode to focus on eradicating bugs
  24. DICE cancels Battlefield V competitive mode to focus on bug fixes: Battlefield still bug crushing nine months after release
  25. Celebrity Entertainer Sues Over Video Game Avatar 
  26. The joyful representation of The Sims: EA Maxis senior producer Michael Duke on creating studio longevity, improving representation, and building a lasting franchise
  27. Modified DayZ receives MA15+ rating in Australia: Bohemia Interactive’s changes satisfy the Australian Classification Board
  28. Video Game Age Ratings in Online Retail: Legal Requirements for Merchants
  29. Emulator aims to keep Flash games alive and kicking after official support ends
  30. New publisher Modern Wolf commits to “ethical development practices”: UK-based indie publisher has a zero tolerance policy on crunch, will champion developers from underrepresented regions
  31. Nintendo continues marginal improvements to ethical mineral sourcing: Switch maker says it’s “putting smiles on the faces of our supply chain,” but efforts to ensure it isn’t funding human rights abuses far from complete
  32. Hands-on: The Switch Lite is a smaller, more comfortable handheld
  33. Nintendo removes credit card payment option from Wii U, 3DS eShop in EU and UK
  34. Nintendo Wii U, 3DS eShops to stop accepting credit cards in UK, EU: Credit card purchases can still be made through Nintendo accounts
  35. The future for platform holders is cooperation, not just competition | Opinion: Companies like Sony and Microsoft will always seek a competitive advantage, but the clear lines of the console wars are all but gone
  36. Microsoft’s Age of Empires studio will oversee the IP rather than develop games 
  37. Microsoft’s Age of Empires studio won’t be developing games: Shannon Loftis’ newly-created studio is focused on oversight of teams like Forgotten Empires, Relic
  38. Bungie – “We need to dispel the notion Activision was some prohibitive overlord”: Destiny 2 developer discusses whether the game’s big changes this year were related to splitting from its original publisher
  39. Google Play Store design refresh aims to boost game discoverability
  40. Game stores: you need more real-time charts!
  41. Play Ventures raises $40 million to fuel game-focused VC fund
  42. Playtika acquires Best Fiends developer-publisher Seriously
  43. Playtika acquires Best Fiends developer Seriously: Seriously’s “mobile first” entertainment strategy drove it to $69m revenue last year
  44. Grand Theft Auto V is back on top in the EMEAA charts: The drought of major new releases leaves the door open for Rockstar once again
  45. UK Charts: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe takes No. 1 (but it should be Minecraft, again) – For second week running, listing anomaly denies Minecraft top spot, despite being best-selling game for the week
  46. ISFE: EU games industry worth over €21bn – Consoles account for 47% of revenue in France, Germany, Spain, and UK
  47. MatPat’s Alternate Reality Game ‘The Theorist Gateway’ Has Amassed 400,000 Unique Players
  48. Scopely announces Barcelona and Dublin expansion: Just two years since opening Barcelona office, mobile dev plans to triple its presence in the city
  49. Razer and Tencent partner to further cloud gaming ambitions
  50. Tencent partners with Razer for cloud gaming hardware, overseas expansion: Collaboration aims to have gaming hardware compatible with Tencent Cloud launched by year’s end
  51. Play Ventures closes first funding round at $40m: Led by Rovio investment, VC fund raises $10m more than initial targets
  52. Hatch and Vodafone partner to bring 5G mobile game streaming to Germany
  53. Valve tweaks bug bounty program after ‘mistakenly’ turning away researchers
  54. Valve says turning away researcher reporting Steam vulnerability was a mistake
  55. Steam no longer allowing payments in Argentinian pesos: Storefront error cites “government laws,” but currency depreciation may be at the heart of payment block
  56. Ubisoft exec claims Valve needs to modify Steam’s ‘unrealistic’ business model
  57. Ubisoft exec criticises Steam’s “unrealistic” business model: “It doesn’t reflect where the world is today in terms of game distribution,” says VP of partnerships and revenue
  58. “I spent 300 days on the road last year meeting developers”: Meet Kowloon Nights, the games fund that wants its partners to leave it behind
  59. LCG Entertainment relaunches Telltale Games brand: New owners are “working very hard” to avoid mistakes of previous management
  60. Telltale Games, the studio behind The Walking Dead, has been reanimated
  61. Like a zombie, the Telltale brand is coming back from the dead
  62. Warner Bros. Interactive to Open San Diego Studio Focused on Mobile Games
  63. Warner Bros. forms new free-to-play mobile studio in San Diego
  64. Warner Bros opens new mobile studio in San Diego: Branch will be led by Boston studio boss Tom Casey and specialise in free-to-play games
  65. Using UI as a means to tell a story, convey emotion, and create personality
  66. Video: A soft skills survival guide for game developers
  67. Video: The three phases of designing Episode’s interactive fiction
  68. Video: Inside the transmedia storytelling of Final Fantasy XV
  69. Fumito Ueda on weaving empathy into victory in Shadow of the Colossus
  70. 20 years after Seaman, Saito reflects on creativity and making new, strange things
  71. World of Warcraft is hearthing back home again with Classic
  72. Ancestors – The Humankind Odyssey: Critical Consensus – Patrice Désilets’ Panache Digital leaves the critics intrigued and ultimately frustrated with a unique game that refuses to hold the player’s hand
  73. Don’t Miss: Taking the sting out of failure in Supergiant’sPyre
  74. Don’t Miss: The story behind Remedy’s viral dog mocap star
  75. Don’t Miss: How Remedy rewrote its engine tech to makeAlan Wake
  76. Don’t Miss: Creating the free-flowing text conversations inMr. Robot:1.51exfiltrati0n
  77. How we balanced our game for beginners and for pros
  78. Blending comedy with capitalism in The Outer Worlds: Obsidian’s senior designer Brian Heins also discusses why tougher moral choices are more interesting
  79. Bhad Bhabie Joyriding Game ‘Ride or Die!’ Geared Around Stealing Cars, Outrunning Cops
  80. Bhad Bhabie Pacts With BBTV Interactive On Mobile Car Game ‘Ride Or Die!’
  81. Blog: Creating Merchant of the Skies from announcement to Early Access launch
  82. Blog: A primer on sound design for video games
  83. Blog: Depiction of war in games – can you do better?
  84. Blog: Second looks at snowballing
  85. Creating a narrative focused mission design document: A Last of Us example
  86. ‘Why all of our games look like crap’: One dev’s lessons in art style
  87. Review: Control is Remedy’s best game yet—and a ray tracing masterpiece
  88. C’mon and SLAM: How Oculus tackled portable, 6DOF tracking for the Quest
  89. Oculus’ former head of mobile VR has left Facebook
  90. Oculus VR loses its head of mobile: Max Cohen left this month, after leading Gear VR, Oculus Go, and starting push toward Oculus Quest
  91. Indie Dev Experiment Brings Google Lens to VR, Showing Real-time Text Translation
  92. VRGO Mini is Small Form Factor VR Locomotion Peripheral, Kickstarter Now Live
  93. Telling Lies: Critical Consensus: Her Story creator Sam Barlow delivers critically acclaimed follow-up, but Telling Lies still lives in the shadow of its predecessor
  94. PlayStation Productions joins the Uncharted movie as another director exits
  95. PlayStation Productions is now working on the Uncharted movie: Sony’s new unit joins the producing team after film project loses yet another director
  96. Metro 2033 movie in the works: Gazprom Media producing a feature film based on the novel that spawned 4A Games’ post-apocalyptic shooter franchise
  97. Staffsource: Ars staffers reminisce on the games that made them gamers
  98. The ten best console racing games of all time
  99. Our favorite gaming studios, expos, museum exhibits—in a photo blowout
  100. First International Gaming Summit on Mental Health set for October
  101. Gamescom: Opening Night Live attracts 500,000 viewers – Another record-breaking year for Gamescom is topped off by newfound digital engagement of 100 million video views
  102. U.S. Patent no. 9,656,167: Pre-play and post-play video game character presentation and equipping 

Jon

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News of the Week; August 21, 2019

By Jon Festinger on August 26, 2019

DIGITAL

  1. Latest ‘Google Whistleblower’ To Prove Anti-Conservative Bias Doesn’t Prove Anything And Appears To Be Bigoted Conspiracy Theorist
  2. Facebook audit of alleged anti-conservative bias fails to pinpoint any
  3. Facebook, Twitter accuse China of spreading Hong Kong disinformation
  4. Facebook and Twitter uncover Chinese trolls spreading doubts about Hong Kong protests: Close to 1,000 accounts were found on Twitter alone
  5. Twitter and Facebook say China-linked accounts sought to fuel political discord in Hong Kong: Twitter said it  pulled down 936 troll accounts, many of which pushed conspiracy theories about the protest groups.
  6. Twitter and Facebook take first actions against China for using fake accounts to sow discord in Hong Kong: Social media giants taking action against a ‘significant state-backed information operation’ related to the protests
  7. Twitter, Facebook Turn Off Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Chinese Disinformation about Hong Kong Protests: In press releases, the companies say they have shut down Bejing-controlled activity.
  8. Twitter And Facebook Removing Chinese Disinfo Campaigns Shows That, Contrary To Popular Opinion, They Do Moderate Against Disinfo
  9. Google, Apple, and Mozilla block Kazakhstan government’s browser spying
  10. States reportedly plan monopoly investigation of Google, Facebook, Amazon
  11. WSJ Rightly Attacks Senator Josh Hawley’s ‘Nannyish’ Laws Regarding The Internet
  12. Another Politician Unconstitutionally Censored Constituents on Twitter–Campbell v. Reisch (Eric Goldman)
  13. How Beijing wages its media assault on the credibility of the Hong Kong protesters
  14. Hong Kong Protestors Call for Disney Boycott After ‘Mulan’ Star Voices Support for Police Crackdown
  15. Hong Kong Protestors Call for ‘Mulan’ Boycott After Star Shares Support for Police Crackdown
  16. Pushing For Facebook, YouTube And Twitter To Ban Hate Speech Won’t Stop It From Migrating Elsewhere
  17. Is There A Conspiracy Among Legacy Media Companies To Push A False Narrative About Big Tech?
  18. 8 Ways to Stay Ahead of Influence Operations: With election meddling inevitable in 2020, the United States needs a powerful kill chain.
  19. Websites that peddle disinformation make millions of dollars in ads, new study finds
  20. Cutting the Funding of Disinformation: The Ad-Tech Solution
  21. It’s On: Details Emerge Of Polish Government’s Formal Request For Top EU Court To Throw Out Upload Filters
  22. Misinformation Has Created a New World Disorder: Our willingness to share content without thinking is exploited to spread disinformation
  23. Mainland Chinese netizens face ‘pink terror’ of patriotic trolls amid Hong Kong protests
  24. ‘Humiliating’: Chinese nationalist trolls target critics in Australia
  25. Anonymous “Anonymous Cowards” are, for now, not welcome on Slashdot
  26. Altruism Still Fuels the Web. Businesses Love to Exploit It: How open source projects reveal technology’s free rider problem. (Zeynep Tufekci)
  27. Global regulation threatens to take a bite out of the FAANGs
  28. Facebook Fined Again: Real Hypothetical Risks
  29. In New Facebook Effort, Humans Will Help Curate Your News Stories
  30. Facebook Is Rolling out a Tool to Limit Data Gathering
  31. YouTube Sues Guy Who Tried To Extort People Through Bogus DMCA Takedowns
  32. Man sued for using bogus YouTube takedowns to get address for swatting: YouTube sues man for multiple egregious abuses of the DMCA takedown process.
  33. LGBTQ creators accuse YouTube of discrimination in class-action lawsuit alleging it unfairly restricts and demonetizes queer content
  34. Lawyers Who Sued YouTube For Anti-Conservative Bias Are Suing YouTube Again… For Anti-LGBTQ Bias
  35. LGBTQ+ YouTubers Allege that YouTube Engages in Discriminatory Practices
  36. Lilly Singh Talks Late-Night Production, Says Her YouTube Uploading Schedule “Won’t Be So Rigorous”
  37. ‘Spill’ Is A Drama YouTuber Who’s Gotten Nearly 1 Billion Views In 11 Months. But She Might Not Be A Real Person.
  38. YouTube Testing Mega-Sized Thumbnails On Desktop Homepage, Much To Some Users’ Chagrin
  39. YouTube Will Prevent Manual Copyright Claimants From Monetizing Creators’ Videos With “Short Or Unintentional” Uses Of Music
  40. YouTube Is Finalizing Plans To Remove Targeted Advertising From Videos Aimed At Kids (Report)
  41. YouTube will reportedly halt targeted ads for videos that appeal to kids: But how do you decide when a video is targeted at kids?
  42. YouTube Originals become ad-supported and free after September 24th
  43. YouTube’s Original Programming To Become Free For All Users On Sept. 24
  44. The Streamy Awards Pact With YouTube For Exclusive Distribution Deal, Announce Dec. 13 Showdate
  45. YouTube Is Hiring Partner Managers To Work With Conservative And Liberal News Creators
  46. YouTube No Longer Commissioning Scripted Originals In EMEA, Orders 3 Education-Focused Projects
  47. YouTube Is Axing Its Two-Year-Old Direct Messaging Feature In September
  48. YouTube Links Up With Taylor Swift For Live Event Ahead Of ‘Lover’ Album Release
  49. Google Testing Monetization Tool That Would Enable YouTubers To Host Virtual Events With Fans
  50. The death of “Works with Nest” begins now with Google account migrations
  51. The Meme Generation: Social Media Platforms Address Content Curation 
  52. NBC Gives Lilly Singh A Superpowered Welcome With Hourlong Primetime Special
  53. Asian Streamer Viu Adds Wattpad Development Deal
  54. Whitney Cummings did a brave thing
  55. Using #BrandAmbassador As Your Influencer Disclosure?
  56. Premier League Social Video Standings Look A Lot Like Typical Season’s Table
  57. Disney+, ESPN+ Subscribers Might Face Crackdowns On Password Sharing After Disney/Charter Deal
  58. Disney fights streaming account sharing with help from cable industry
  59. Disney+ is set to launch on all the major streaming platforms except Amazon
  60. Disney+ To Launch In 5 Countries On Apple, Google, Roku, Microsoft, And Sony Devices
  61. Apple TV+ will launch in November for $9.99, facing off against Disney+ at $6.99
  62. Apple sues company that sells “perfect replicas” of iOS without a license
  63. Apple Card is now available to all US iPhone owners, adds new cash-back rewards
  64. Apple delays new rules for kid-focused apps to give devs more room to comply
  65. Insights: ViacomCBS, Tumblr, And Houseparty – The Companies We Keep, And Those We Can’t
  66. Twitter tests hiding direct messages it thinks are abusive: ‘Unwanted messages aren’t fun’
  67. Comments on Rep. Gosar’s “Stop the Censorship Act,” Another “Conservative” Attack on Section 230 (Eric Goldman)
  68. A Significant Section 230 Defense Win in the Ninth Circuit–Dyroff v. Ultimate Software (Eric Goldman)
  69. Beto O’Rourke Joins The Silly Parade Of Confused Politicians Looking To Destroy Section 230
  70. Companies Are Not Complying With the Safe Harbor Provision of the DMCA 
  71. Domain Name Registrar Isn’t Liable for Counterfeit Goods–InvenTel v. GoDaddy (Eric Goldman)
  72. FTC Settles Email Lawsuit with Unrollme 
  73. Instagram to let US users report false content: Facebook-owned company seeking to stem spread of misinformation by removing dubious posts from searches
  74. What’s not to like about Instagram’s latest test?
  75. Former Texas Governor Rick Perry fell for an old-school Instagram hoax
  76. Reddit Piloting New ‘RPAN’ Livestreaming Feature Over The Next Five Days
  77. Oh, (No) Snap! CARU Praises Snapchat for Safeguarding the Underaged
  78. Moviepass Changed User Passwords So They Couldn’t Use The Flopping Service
  79. Senators Ask for Answers About the Meaning of “Amazon’s Choice”
  80. Amazon outstrips Netflix on content marketing spend
  81. What does Amazon’s “Top Brand” badge actually mean?
  82. For Barstool Sports, Podcasts Are Now Around One-Third of Revenue
  83. Spotify Is Developing A Stories Feature For Its Playlists
  84. Spotify to Test a More Expensive Version of Its Popular Music Service
  85. Ryan ToysReview, Pocket.watch To Premiere Five Specials On Roku’s Just-Launched ‘Kids & Family’ Channel
  86. Kenyan Government Risks Squandering The Long-Term Potential Of Mobile Transactions In The Hope Of A Little Extra Tax Revenue
  87. Résumés Are Starting to Look Like Instagram – and Sometimes Even Tinder: Employers see surge in Gen Z CVs containing photos and illustrations; ‘there’s a freaking bitmoji’
  88. Facebook’s Libra Currency Gets European Union Antitrust Scrutiny
  89. Law firm BakerHostetler develops blockchain-based smart legal contracts for the freight market
  90. The Past and Future of The Internet: A Symposium for John Perry Barlow (Duke Law & Technology Review)

A.I.

  1. International AI ethics panel must be independent: France and Canada are establishing an international committee to advise on the ethics of artificial intelligence. The group should be supported and shielded from undue influence.
  2. Regulating unreality | The legal implications of “deepfakes”
  3. There Is No Tech Solution to Deepfakes: Funding technological solutions to algorithmically-generated fake videos only puts a bandage on the deeper issues of consent and media literacy.
  4. Update: The Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act 
  5. A Looming AI War: Transparency v. IP Rights
  6. Don’t Miss: How enemy AI works in Dicey Dungeons
  7. Music to regulators’ ears? Antitrust, RPM, and AI
  8. AI – top tips for the board 
  9. YouTube Reportedly Deleting Battlebot Videos Citing Animal Fighting Ban
  10. AI reads books out loud in authors’ voices

COMMUNICATIONS

  1. Telus customers’ blood boiling after two days of email outage
  2. 4-day Telus email outage caused by mishap during repair of data storage service
  3. Telus offers bill credits as email disruption hits 5th day
  4. CRTC sets final wholesale rates for access to high-speed broadband networks
  5. Bell scales back rural internet plans after CRTC decision on rates: Bell will nix 200,000 customers from expansion, Rogers says it is reviewing options 
  6. FCC Chairman Pai Formally Recommends Approval of Sprint/T-Mobile Merger and Associated Dish Requests
  7. FCC Forgets About, Then Dismisses, Complaint Detailing Verizon’s Long History Of Net Neutrality Violations
  8. FCC Expands Anti-Spoofing Prohibitions to Foreign-Originated Calls, Text-Messaging Services 
  9. How malformed packets caused CenturyLink’s 37-hour, nationwide outage
  10. Huawei Busted Helping African Governments Spy On The Press, Political Opponents
  11. Huawei’s futuristic foldable smartphone gets delayed for a second time
  12. Report: US expected to give Huawei another 90-day export license
  13. Report: United States will give Huawei another 90-day export license
  14. AT&T brings cable TV prices to online streaming with $135 monthly plan
  15. Useless dads and passive women – first ads banned under the ASA’s gender stereotyping rules
  16. A new regime for English media and communications cases

PRIVACY

  1. Privacy Rights in the Internet Age and the New Tort of Public Disclosure of Private Facts
  2. Attorney General William Barr Declares War On The General Public
  3. As The NSA Declares Phone Record Program Dead, Trump Administration Asks For A Permanent Reauthorization
  4. Ring asks police not to tell public how its law enforcement backend works
  5. California Police Officers Are Handing Out Free Doorbell Cameras In Exchange For Testimony In Court
  6. Gizmodo Media’s Clueless New Owners Tell Reporters They Can’t Use Encrypted Email Any More
  7. Ransomware strike takes down 23 Texas local government agencies
  8. While one Texas county shook off ransomware, small cities took full punch
  9. The year-long rash of supply chain attacks against open source is getting worse
  10. Microsoft bucks trend, maintains contractor reviews of voice recording
  11. Badge life: The story behind DEFCON’s hackable crystal electronic badge
  12. Kaspersky AV injected unique ID that allowed sites to track users, even in incognito mode
  13. New Attack exploiting serious Bluetooth weakness can intercept sensitive data
  14. The GDPR Is A Wide Open Vulnerability For Identity Fraud And Scams
  15. Concealed Registration Data Under the GDPR Complicates UDRP Complaints
  16. Can a company decide whether to deidentify information or delete information if it receives a ‘right to be forgotten’ request?
  17. Ninth Circuit Rejects Facebook’s Article III Argument; Biometric Lawsuit Will Proceed
  18. Facebook pivots privacy failings into pop-up cafes: The company cares about your privacy. Honestly.
  19. Ninth Circuit Affirms Ruling that Plaintiffs Have Article III Standing in Illinois Biometric Privacy Class Action
  20. Cybersecurity and the Internet of Things – is it Time to Regulate?
  21. NIST Unveils IoT Baseline of Core Cybersecurity Features for Comment 
  22. A cyberattack could wreak destruction comparable to a nuclear weapon
  23. Still much to be determined on insurance coverage after cyberattacks: Case law on coverage after social engineering fraud is sparse
  24. FCA introduces 18-month grace period for two-factor authentication for online transactions 
  25. Security Researchers Find Several Bugs in Nest Security Cameras

CREATIVITY

  1. Copyright law: set for an overhaul? – A look at the key recommendations of two recent House of Commons reports concerning Canadian copyright law
  2. SCOTUS: Full Costs in Copyright Cases Limited by General Costs Statute
  3. DOJ/Copyright Office File An Amicus Brief In Support Of Led Zeppellin
  4. Spider-Man is out of the MCU thanks to Sony/Disney standoff
  5. THE Ohio State University Applies For THE Stupidest Trademark In THE World
  6. NC Appeals Court Withdraws Its Horrendous, Free Speech-Damaging Opinion On Retaliatory Arrests
  7. Loss for Sheriff Joe Arpaio
  8. They called you a troll, deal with it—court slaps down libel lawsuit
  9. New Hampshire Supreme Court: Of Course It’s Not Defamatory To Call A Patent Troll A Patent Troll
  10. White House Suspends Another Reporter’s Press Pass, Once Again, Raising 1st Amendment Concerns
  11. Missguided Missed Deadline in Kardashian Suit
  12. Bronze, Shape, Glow: A copyright tale destined for Broadway
  13. Artist Sues Singer for Shooting then Selling Artwork
  14. National Gallery discovers hidden secrets in Leonardo painting 
  15. NDA and IP deals
  16. The Matrix 4 is officially happening with Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss

GAMES

  1. Why It’s So Hard to Stop Marketing Guns in Video Games: Video games don’t cause mass shootings, but they do serve as insidious advertisements for weapons.
  2. YouTube sues alleged copyright troll over extortion of multiple YouTubers: Chris Brady seemed to target the Minecraft community, according to the suit
  3. YouTube Sues User Who Allegedly Tried To Extort ‘Minecraft’ Creators By Filing Fraudulent Copyright Claims
  4. After canceling one upgrade, Minecraft gets another—and it’s Nvidia RTX exclusive
  5. Blizzard v Bossland Saga: a UK post-credits scene on account of profits
  6. DayZ has ban lifted in Australia following modification
  7. Ion Fury developers apologize for sexist, ableist, homophobic, transphobic remarks: Voidpoint pledges zero-tolerance policy, sensitivity training, game patch, and donation to The Trevor Project
  8. Ubisoft Entertainment, S.A. et al v. Yousician Oy
  9. PewDiePie Enters Nth Evolution Of His YouTube Channel, “Just Wants To Play ‘Minecraft’”
  10. Survey highlights culture of overwork and toxicity in UK games industry: Entertainment union boss describes results as “damning indictment” of industry’s problems
  11. Denuvo 6.0 has been cracked
  12. Denuvo launches new mobile game security solution to help devs prevent tampering
  13. Denuvo launches new mobile game security solution: Mobile Game Protection prevents debugging, reverse engineering, and changing the game
  14. Google Stadia exclusives push potential players to data centers
  15. Cyberpunk 2077, more games coming to Google Stadia: Stadia Connect reveals more titles for Google’s upcoming cloud streaming service
  16. Cyberpunk 2077, exclusive Orcs Must Die 3, and many more now headed to Stadia
  17. Robot Entertainment CEO: Orcs Must Die 3 “would not be possible without Google” – Patrick Hudson explains the decision to make the latest Orcs Must Die entry a Stadia-exclusive
  18. 85 Google Play apps with 8 million downloads forced fullscreen ads on users
  19. Google Play Store’s blindingly white redesign starts rolling out
  20. Apple delays new rules around data tracking in kids’ games: “We aren’t backing off on this important issue, but we are working to help developers get there”
  21. Report: Apple Arcade monthly subscription will cost $4.99
  22. Report: Apple Arcade will cost just $4.99 a month
  23. UK Charts: Crash Team Racing still No.1 (but it should be Minecraft) – Best-selling sandbox game just about outsold remastered racer, but listings quirk puts it lower in the Top 10
  24. Mojang ends development on Minecraft’s Super Duper Graphics Pack: Microsoft working with Nvidia to bring ray-tracing to Minecraft on PC
  25. Nvidia’s gaming business sees growth thanks to graphics demands
  26. Loot Crate files for bankruptcy, lays off over 50: Employees report no notice or severance despite promises that “operations will continue as usual”
  27. How Ark: Survival Evolved “fell into sustainable revenue” without skins or loot boxes
  28. Gears 5 “ahead of the industry” on monetising without loot boxes: Multiplayer design director Ryan Cleven says The Coalition has been working on “player-friendly” purchase systems since Gears of War 4
  29. Respawn devs roped into Reddit feud with fans over Apex Legends loot box furore: Respawn apologizes for comments made by developers toward players in response to loot box anger
  30. Respawn at the Apex of community dysfunction | Opinion: Fans and developers say they want an open, transparent relationship with each other, but their actions suggest anything but
  31. Embrace Fans: How One Mystery Modder Has Kept System Shock 2 Playable
  32. Section 230 Doesn’t Protect Print-on-Demand Vendor–Atari v. Sunfrog (Eric Goldman)
  33. Supreme Court Asked to consider section 230
  34. Herrick v. Grindr: Why Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act Must be Fixed
  35. Nintendo clamps down on YouTube game music channels: One channel received over 140 copyright claims against their videos
  36. Nintendo Hates You: Company DMCAs Over 100 Videos Celebrating Nintendo Game Music
  37. NPD: Nintendo sweeps July, though Madden takes the crown – “Fire Emblem Three Houses” saw the largest launch of a Fire Emblem game in US history
  38. Turning the Nintendo Switch into Android’s best gaming hardware
  39. Report: Nintendo continues its 2019 domination in hardware and software
  40. Guidemaster: The best Nintendo Switch accessories you can buy in 2019
  41. Microsoft contractors listened to user audio from Xbox consoles: Both deliberate and accidental Cortana, Kinect commands were recorded and heard, most reportedly from children
  42. Xbox Game Studios-published Ori and the Blind Forestheaded to Switch
  43. Xbox expands Nintendo Switch support with Ori and the Blind Forest
  44. Xbox open to some first-party games appearing on other consoles
  45. Microsoft has “no plans” to release more Xbox exclusives on PS4 or Nintendo Switch: Company says the focus is on its own platforms
  46. Don’t Miss: A look back at the development of Ori and the Blind Forest
  47. Don’t Miss: Surrendering control and trusting in players with Her Story
  48. Mojang partners with Nvidia to bring real-time ray tracing to Minecraft
  49. Kerbal Space Program 2 will take flight in 2020—here’s the first trailer
  50. You’re Not Helping: ESPN Delays ‘Apex Legends’ Broadcast After 2 Mass Shootings
  51. Echo Fox terminates its League of Legends players’ contracts
  52. Echo Fox lays off League of Legends players as franchise slot sale moves forward: Riot Games taking applications for new partner in league slot following dispute between Echo Fox founder and shareholder
  53. ELeague to broadcast Nintendo 2019 World Championships on CBS: Three-episode series to air summer competitions in Splatoon 2, Super Mario Maker 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  54. Gfinity Esports Australia shutting down this November: Esports tournament organiser ceasing operations after two years
  55. Rapper Offset Tenders Investment In Leading Esports Collective FaZe Clan
  56. The onslaught of regulation against games and esports | Opinion: Legal experts at Reed Smith reflect on the scrutiny the industry is under, and how the European Esports Federation might offer hope
  57. Underneath The International’s $33m prize pool, a flawed system in continuous need of repair
  58. Making money out of E-Sports Opportunities
  59. YouTube Millionaires: The Leaderboard Is Building An Inclusive Destination For Gamers Of All Sorts
  60. Sony open to PC versions of PlayStation exclusives
  61. Sony-owned studios may lean into a wider, non-PlayStation install base in the future
  62. Sweating the details of diversity in Marvel’s Spider-Man
  63. Sony announces it’s buying Spider-Man developer Insomniac Games
  64. Spider-Man developer Insomniac acquired, joins Sony Worldwide Studios
  65. Sony acquires Insomniac Games: Insomniac’s Spider-Man, a PS4-exclusive, has now sold over 13m copies
  66. Sony Acquires Insomniac Games, Delivering a Strategic Blow to Oculus Studios in the Process
  67. Insomniac Games acquired by Sony, calls out “a special relationship”
  68. ‘No Man’s Sky’ VR Review – A Wonderful, Deeply Flawed Space Odyssey
  69. Guidemaster: 2019’s best VR is a battle between Oculus Quest, everyone else
  70. Phoenix Labs acquires Bot School Inc: Dauntless developer invests further in cross-platform efforts
  71. Phoenix Labs acquires Bot School Inc to further Dauntlesscross-play efforts
  72. Epic apologises following release of re-skinned cosmetic item: Players refunded after complaints that new battle pet is nearly indistinguishable from previously released one
  73. Epic Games opens new Cologne studio with Factor 5 founders  
  74. Epic Games rolls out new store features as Cologne studio opens doors
  75. Epic Games and Factor 5 founders opens new studio in Cologne: Unreal firm’s third German branch will focus on interactive media and streaming technology
  76. Despite complaints, Epic stands behind Fortnite’s “anyone can win” mechs
  77. Epic Games Store rolls out more cloud save support, flashier store pages
  78. Unfold Games, studio behind DARQ, turns down Epic Games Store exclusivity deal
  79. DARQ dev highlights “double standard” of Epic Game Store: Unfold Games explains decision to turn down exclusivity deal
  80. Why one PC developer turned down the security of Epic’s exclusivity offer
  81. ReadySet Heroes is the first Sony-published game to debut on Epic’s Games Store
  82. Cracks Showing In Epic Store’s PR War As Developers Have To Plead With Public To Not Harass Them
  83. Sony publishes ReadySet Heroes on Epic Games Store: Robot Entertainment’s action-adventure title is the first Sony-published title on the storefront
  84. Steam’s ‘Follower’ counts: A discoverability gem hidden in plain sight
  85. Steam is heading to China as a separate marketplace
  86. Government regulation means Steam China will be a curated platform
  87. My.Games is launching its own PC video game storefront
  88. Klang Games raises over $22m in Series B funding for persistent MMO Seed
  89. Starbreeze posts $6.6 million loss amid ongoing reconstruction 
  90. Starbreeze attempts to stop Q2 FY19 bleeding with one-time revenue injections
  91. Ubisoft on politics in games: “We know we’re not taking it far enough” – Editorial VP Tommy François says he wants future games to better represent multiple viewpoints on the world
  92. Stop asking “is it political?” It always is | Opinion: Asking developers if their games are “political” has become an exercise in avoiding outrage; there are better ways to explore this complex, important question
  93. Bungie says current Destiny 2 development is “unsustainable”
  94. Activision Blizzard appoints its first-ever corporate-wide CMO
  95. GOG has fulfilled two million Community Wishlist requests: Digital distributor celebrates milestone, ten years after launching programme
  96. Fire Emblem Three Houses sold an estimated 800k digital units in July – SuperData: GTA Online Diamond Casino update brings in $69m across console and PC, PUBG sells another 1m units on PC
  97. Microsoft has no plans to bring Xbox first-party exclusives to other consoles
  98. Report: Microsoft used human contractors to listen in on Xbox-recorded audio
  99. PUBG is rolling out console crossplay to Xbox One and PS4 this year
  100. DuckTales makes a staggering last-minute comeback in EMEAA charts: Disney platformer rockets to No.3 before being delisted from stores 
  101. Report: Mortal Kombat 11 leads the way in second-quarter video game engagement
  102. Ubisoft rebrands its German studios: Blue Byte studios to become Ubisoft Düsseldorf and Ubisoft Mainz
  103. Lockwood Publishing closes funding round led by Novator, CCP Games CEO: Unity Technologies founder David Helgasson also participates, appointed chairman of the board
  104. Unity launches two new classroom tools to help teach programming  
  105. THQ Nordic AB board proposes name change to Embracer Group: Proposal would separate holding company’s nomenclature from that of subsidiary publisher
  106. My.Games to launch new PC gaming storefront: Mail.ru gaming division to distribute free-to-play and premium PC titles and other services starting late this year
  107. What we can learn from… Warframe: From a slow start, Digital Extremes built a service game to rival Destiny, defying every convention along the way
  108. U.S. retailers and consumers get stay of execution on Trump’s China tariffs
  109. Metaari: US surpasses China as top-buying country for game-based learning – Industry revenue is expected to rise to over $24 billion by 2024
  110. Valve to keep original Steam up in China: Company plans to have its global storefront freely available in the country even after the launch of the official Steam China storefront
  111. Superhot Team aims to support ‘weird but smart’ devs with new indie fund
  112. Superhot launches indie development fund: Director of special projects Callum Underwood details how the studio is giving back to the indie community with Superhot Presents
  113. Wikia’s Fandom is getting into the game publishing business
  114. Pre-tax earnings more than double at Stillfront Group in Q2: Group posts $49.9 million revenue and $15.9 million earnings
  115. Bloodborne and Mass Effect 3 composer forms new audio production company  
  116. Bloodborne composer co-founds new audio production company: The Audio Hive roster includes veterans from The Witcher 3, God of War, and Red Dead Redemption II
  117. Halo Infinite and Halo 5: Guardians creative director has left 343 Industries
  118. Defining ‘hyper-casual’ as a genre and exploring its long-term viability
  119. Blog: Creating a questlog people actually read in Pathologic 2
  120. Blog: How I translated Ancient Greek punishment games into Bitsy 
  121. Blog: Implementing data structures – Part 2
  122. Don’t Miss: A deep dive into the ‘old school’ save system ofAlien: Isolation
  123. Video: Inside the flexible music system of Plants vs. Zombies Heroes
  124. Don’t Miss: Designing Spider-Man 2’s classic web-swinging mechanic
  125. Designing communities for kindness
  126. Video: Designing multiplayer ranking systems like Elo and TrueSkill
  127. Video: Great game audio choreography for battle design
  128. Video: Designing for color blindness in games
  129. Video: Think you’re ready to pitch a publisher? You’re not, and here’s why
  130. Borderlands 3’s secret weapon is in the writers’ room: At Devcom, Gearbox Software’s Randy Varnell detailed the creation of a “narrative department” to meet the challenge of Borderlands 3
  131. Remastering Yakuza for the modern world: Series producer Daisuke Sato discusses how and why the newly announced remasters have been changed in various ways
  132. How positive relationships and slow, steady progress keep Raconteur Games smiling
  133. Engaging level design for combat
  134. Growing into Growtopia: Ubisoft Abu Dhabi head Yannick Theler talks about building a new studio in a non-traditional development scene
  135. From concept to doubt to reevaluation: Designing Creature in the Well
  136. GameStop lays off 120+ people, including some Game Informer staff
  137. GameStop lays off 120 corporate staffers as stock continues to tumble
  138. GameStop suffers another round of layoffs, Game Informer editors affected
  139. Game Informer lays off ‘many’ staff: Now-former employees break the news about cuts at GameStop-owned magazine
  140. What will be the biggest video games of Christmas 2019?: In the absence of Battlefield and Assassin’s Creed, there’s a big opportunity for alternative franchises to break through this Q4
  141. Sony, Ubisoft receive multiple honors in Gamescom Awards 2019
  142. U.S. Patent No. 7,717,789: Game program, game device, and game method 
  143. Guidemaster: Navigating the hazy world of gaming laptops in 2019
  144. Remembering the best shareware-era DOS games that time forgot
  145. Ars Technica’s favorite video games from our first 10 years, 1998-2008

Jon

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