News of the Week; July 3, 2019

GAMES

1. Bots and Cheaters Lose as League of Legends is awarded a $10 Million Payout 
2. Esports contract dispute: Seeking to set an industry standard
3. Industry tells UK lawmakers it wants more research into gaming disorder: Commons committee not left reassured following latest immersive and addictive technologies inquiry hearing
4. Adolescents and loot boxes: links with problem gambling and motivations for purchase (David Zendle, Rachel Meyer & Harriet Over)
5. Digital Minister Margot James defends loot boxes: But MP calls for more research into link between gaming and gambling, and says firms with aggressive monetisation should be “brought into line”
6. Man sentenced to 2 years in prison for 2013 DDoS attack against Daybreak
7. Man behind Daybreak Games DDoS sentenced to two years in prison: Series of attacks against formerly-Sony Online Entertainment, Battle.net, Dota 2, others also asked to pay $95,000 in damages
8. “The games industry has some maturation to do in understanding data protection law”: Information Commissioner tells Parliament it will audit publishers and developers as it works on Age Appropriate Design Code
9. Chinese government revokes business license of Devotionpublisher Indievent
10. Chinese government reportedly revokes Indievent’s business license: Devotion publisher previously cut ties with developer Red Candle Games following discovery of in-game art mocking Chinese president
11. DrDisrespect returns to Twitch after ban over E3 livestream: Guy Beahm was widely criticised for streaming from a public bathroom during E3 2019
12. Guy “Dr Disrespect” Beahm offers statement after E3 bathroom filming fiasco: Beahm says “laws/repercussions of filming in the bathroom” simply didn’t occur to him
13. Dr DisRespect Apologizes For Public Bathroom Stream, Teases Twitch Return Next Week
14. Mordhau developer denies plans for gender/diversity toggle after describing plans for said toggle
15. Mordhau developer denies it was planning a “toggle” for diversity [Updated]
16. Wolfenstein: Youngblood will not be altered for German release – International version of the game will be available in Germany, complete with Nazi imagery
17. Indie Developers Change Game Name Over Bethesda Trademark Dispute 
18. Epic pledges to cover refund costs for crowdfunded Epic Games Store exclusives
19. The Gaming Platform Wars Are Beginning To Screw Up Crowdfunding Games
20. The Game Outcomes Project isn’t returning for its 2018-19 edition
21. Don’t Miss: The Game Outcomes Project: Learning how teams succeed and fail
22. Super Mario Maker 2: Critical Consensus – A complete and well-rounded experience universally praised by critics
23. Nintendo Does The Nintendo: ‘Mario Royale’ Fan Game Becomes ‘DMCA Royale’… And Is Now Dead
24. Dear Nintendo: Here Are Some Ways You Could Be A Little More Cool, Man
25. Miyamoto: Costs and dwindling appeal make new adventure games a hard sell
26. Steam works wonders for the retail PC market – 10 Years Ago This Month: Valve buddies up with GameStop, BioWare talks industry maturity, and the expensive peripheral trend cools off
27. Indie developers suggest Steam Summer Sale confusion is hurting their games: Misreading of “Grand Prix” promotion seems to be causing spike in wishlist removals.
28. Paradox exec: Steam’s 30% fee is “outrageous”
29. Devs hit by Steam promo confusion as games are pulled from Wishlists 10
30. Valve clarifies Steam Sale event after devs chart declining wishlists
31. Epic Games will foot refund bill for Shenmue III, future crowdfunded exclusives
32. Shenmue 3 dev to offer backer refunds over Epic Games Store exclusivity
33. Angry Shenmue III backers can get refunds after Epic Game Store move
34. Shenmue 3 PC backers will get refunds over Epic exclusivity: Ys Net and Deep Silver will reimburse backers who expected a Steam key for the game
35. Video: Darkest Dungeon’s ‘camp counselor’ approach to community management
36. Maybe Epic’s Claims For Exclusivity Strategy To Benefit The Gaming Industry Isn’t Entirely Crazy
37. Developers call for players to pirate their games rather than buy from G2A: Studio and publisher behind Descenders decry controversial retailer’s sponsored ads, Rami Ismail backs them up
38. Editor Roundtable: What’s up with game subscription services?
39. EA: “I struggle with the perception that we’re just a bunch of bad guys” – Behind the big blockbusters, EA is offering very friendly deals for indie developers — EVP Matt Bilbey tells us why
40. Antonick v. Electronic Arts, Inc. 
41. EVE players are plotting revenge after alien invasion mostly just annoyed everyone: Though initially terrifying, the Drifter Invasion of EVE Online quickly became tedious and boring.
42. Street Fighter characters to be used in Osaka police recruitment ads: Capcom consents to have iconic characters used to recruit “cyber-crime” investigators
43. Google Stadia exec isn’t worried about data caps—but he probably should be
44. Stadia purchases and saves will remain accessible, even if a publisher pulls support
45. Stadia head: Devs, publishers, and players aren’t ready for a subscription-only platform 
46. PlayStation Vue applies a $5-a-month increase to all live TV plans
47. Sony considers turning to studio acquisitions as competition rises
48. Jim Ryan says Sony is looking at studio acquisitions: “Companies new to the games industry looking at the market with hope is something we definitely welcome”
49. Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo Say Trump Tariffs Will Make Game Consoles Hugely More Expensive
50. Gumi lays off 32 with closure of Gumi Europe
51. Free-to-play studio Redhill Games secures $11.4 million investment
52. Square Enix: “We always look out for new IP” – President Yosuke Matsuda on Avengers, Final Fantasy VII, game streaming and its commitment to new projects
53. This GTA 6 ‘leak’ is detailed, but almost certainly fake
54. Farming Simulator 19 sold over two million copies
55. Focus Home reports record year as Farming Simulator 19passes 2 million sold
56. Age of Empires series still attracts more than a million players each month: “And the numbers keep going up,” almost 15 years after the last full game
57. Call of Duty League adds LA, Minnesota slots: LA’s Immortals Gaming Club to compete under OpTic Gaming brand
58. Riot Games teams up with Nielsen to measure brand exposure for esports sponsors: “We have the opportunity to help monetise Riot Games’ platform and validate this growing market”
59. YouTube Millionaires: ‘QJB,’ One Of YouTube’s Longest-Running Gaming Channels, Says Staying Consistent Is The Key To Keeping Fans
60. Nexon becomes majority owner of fledgling Swedish studio Embark
61. Age of Empires series brings in over 1 million players each month
62. Weather Factory on the advantages of being “weird and divisive”: Co-founder Lottie Bevan talks about scrapping the studio’s plans based on a single tweet, and how open development keeps experimental games on track
63. Remedy obtains publishing rights to Alan Wake: Remedy talks up possibility of multiplatform release for the cult Xbox 360 favourite
64. Report: Microsoft still planning a low-cost, streaming-focused Xbox
65. Remedy has acquired the publishing rights to Alan Wakefrom Microsoft
66. Village Roadshow has acquired the television and film rights to Myst
67. id Software’s origin story set to become USA Network TV series
68. Guidemaster: Is Valve Index the best virtual reality system to buy in 2019?
69. Valve is exploring ‘several ways’ of doing untethered Index VR
70. Valve is already exploring “untethered” Index VR hardware: Gabe Newell placed new headset alongside Half-Life and Steam as a “milestone” for the company
71. Valve to release Index 3D models to aid VR headset and controller mods
72. Valve Index makes VR prettier, but it’s the controllers that steal the show
73. Valve releases CAD files for Index headset: Modeling, design files aim to encourage mod-ability, including “frunk” accessories
74. Digital Minister wants UK Games Fund to continue: James declares £5m financing initiative a success but extension depends on next government spending review
75. South East, London, North West, and Scotland are largest UK dev centres, TIGA reveals: Over half of UK industry based outside London and South East
76. Series: Your Story Universe developer Endless Entertainment lays off 7 staff
77. Entrepreneurs educate by gamifying the law
78. U.S. Patent No. 4,738,451: Multi-player, multi-character cooperative play video game with independent player entry and departure 
79. Why Clint Hocking wanted every NPC in Watch Dogs: Legion to be playable
80. Tilting Point promises more than $20 million for UA costs in CookApps publishing deal
81. Artifact’s pricing and value didn’t quite line up, says consulting designer
82. Zachtronics games are now free for public schools and educational nonprofits
83. The complicated process of porting Graveyard Keeper to consoles and mobile
84. Blog: Charting the pacing of Uncharted 2 – Part 2
85. Blog: Historians discuss Total War: Three Kingdoms
86. Blog: How game developers can get the most out of Discord
87. Blog: MVP like Nintendo in 1980
88. Summer Games Done Quick closes 2019 event with $3 million raised for MSF

DIGITAL

1. Twitter Will Now Hide, Suppress Spread Of Government Officials’ Tweets That Violate Its Guidelines
2. Twitter clarifies special rules for tweets by world leaders like Trump
3. Boris Johnson, UK’s Answer To Trump, Offers A Masterclass In How To Use The Dead Cat Strategy Combined With A Google Bomb
4. Chinese Border Agents Now Installing Malware On Foreigners’ Cellphones
5. Deceptive marketing in the spotlight: Ticketmaster to pay Competition Bureau penalty of $4.5 million
6. Retailers all but beg FTC to take action against Google, Amazon
7. D-Link agrees to new security monitoring to settle FTC charges
8. Amazon confirms it keeps your Alexa recordings basically forever
9. Amazon can be held liable for defective third-party products on its platform, court rules: A potentially damaging precedent for the company
10. Amazon Might Be Liable for Defective Marketplace Items (But Only When It Tries to Warn Consumers)–Fox v. Amazon (Eric Goldman)
11. Taylor Swift To Headline Amazon’s Prime Day Concert Livestream
12. It’s not that we’ve failed to rein in Facebook and Google. We’ve not even tried: The tech giants use our data not only to predict our behaviour but to change it. But we can resist this attack on democracy (Shoshana Zuboff)
13. Researchers crack open Facebook campaign that pushed malware for years: Facebook removes pages following discovery of a campaign that hid in plain sight.
14. Facebook Defeats Alabama Injunction for Lack of Jurisdiction–Facebook v. KGS (Eric Goldman)
15. Ninth Circuit Rejects Facial Recognition Claim Against Facebook 
16. Facebook To Start Handing User Info To French Government So It Can Start Punishing People For Being Stupid
17. Facebook’s new terms of service explains how ads get targeted: There are also new details on user rights to uploaded content and when you can appeal a ban
18. As Facebook cracks down on hate speech, it’s also re-evaluating another policy: Nipples
19. Libra: A centralised wolf in decentralised sheep’s clothes
20. Facebook gets more official pushback on Libra
21. BuzzFeed’s ‘Good Advice Cupcake Show’ To Be Facebook Watch’s First Animated Series
22. Senator Lindsey Graham To Host Special ‘But Think Of The Children Online!’ Moral Panic Hearing
23. We Should Probably Stop Blaming Technology For The Failings Of Human Beings
24. Google announces new subsea cable ‘Equiano’, connecting Africa and Europe
25. Gmail’s API lockdown will kill some third-party app access, starting July 15
26. The End Of The Open Internet: Cory Doctorow’s Op-Ed From The Future
27. CNIL Publishes Action Plan Regarding Online Targeted Advertising 
28. Bringing competition to the digital age: Commissioner Matthew Boswell intends that the Competition Bureau be a leading enforcement agency in the digital economy
29. Is ‘This Time Different’ Concerning Big Internet Dominance?
30. State Judge Prefers Prior Restraint To The First Amendment, Orders Blogger To Delete Supposedly Defamatory Posts
31. Crazy Copyright Suit Over Gigi Hadid Posting A Photo Of Herself To Instagram Shows Absurdity Inherent In Photo Copyrights
32. Gigi Hadid “Obliterates” copyrights with fair-use bazooka
33. “But It’s on the Internet!” You Still Need a License to Use that Photo! 
34. Are GIFs Subject to Copyright?
35. Trump Thinks That The Government Can And Should Sue Internet Companies Because He Doesn’t Like The People Who Work There
36. Inside Story On The War On Backpage Raises All Sorts Of Legal Questions
37. California’s Bot Transparency Law Goes into Effect on July 1, 2019 
38. Will California’s New Bot Law Strengthen Democracy?
39. California Court Finds Section 230 Protects Decision to Suspend and Ban Twitter Account 
40. Section 230 Protects Snapchat from Liability for Cyberbullying–Grossman v. Rockaway Township (Eric Goldman)
41. WSJ Op Ed Warns: Killing Section 230, Kills The Internet
42. Yes, The EU Copyright Directive Does Have A Few Good Ideas — But They Need To Be Implemented Properly
43. Latest Linkwrap on FOSTA’s Aftermath (Eric Goldman)
44. Reddit ‘Quarantines’ Pro-Trump Subreddit Over Anti-Police Threats: Users allegedly threatened law enforcement ordered to find Republican senators
45. The Trump Campaign Spent Hundreds Of Thousands To Take Over YouTube’s Masthead
46. YouTube promises users more control over recommendations
47. YouTube Vet Philip DeFranco Hits Play On ‘Rogue Rocket’ Channel With New Correspondents, Deeper Dives
48. 30,000 followers makes you an Internet “celebrity,” says UK ad regulator
49. The Internet broke today: Facebook, Verizon, and more see major outages
50. FTC, FDA Caution E-Cig Companies About Influencer Marketing
51. FTC Continues Enforcement of Unfair and Deceptive Online Activities
52. FTC Announces First Actions Enforcing The Consumer Review Fairness Act 
53. Netflix Pledges to Cut Back Smoking Depictions in Original Productions After Group Blasts ‘Stranger Things’
54. Gabby Douglas, Dashawn Jordan, Giannis Antetokounmpo To Attend VidCon As Part Of First Nike Sponsorship
55. Jony Ive will depart Apple to start his own company
56. Apple Design Guru Jony Ive to Depart to Form Independent Firm
57. iPhone and iPad designer Jony Ive is leaving Apple after 27 years
58. Report describing Jony Ive’s Apple exit gains a sharp response from Tim Cook
59. Apple Music Tops 60 Million Subscribers, Including Users on Free Trials
60. Samsung CEO calls Galaxy Fold launch failure “embarrassing”
61. Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital Is Shutting Down, According To Sources 
62. Spotify Shuts Down Ability for Independent Artists to Upload Music Directly
63. Spotify Signs Deal To Get Footloose With Kevin Bacon In Upcoming Comedy Podcast
64. Tidal Launches Enhanced Credits Feature
65. Instagram Will Integrate Ads Into ‘Explore’ Tab Over Coming Months
66. The Streaming TV Sector Still Doesn’t Realize Exclusives Will Drive Users Back To Piracy
67. Quibi Snags ‘Hunger Games’ Alum Liam Hemsworth For Thriller Amid $1 Billion Content Push
68. Patenting Trends in Blockchain Innovations
69. You too could now 3D print a Lamborghini Aventador at home: If you had some impressive STEAM physics, engineering and manufacturing skills, that is
70. ICANN eliminates .org domain price caps despite lopsided opposition
71. eSignature and ePayment News and Trends
72. Tech competence should be required
73. Batten Down the Hatches: Digital Tax Nor’easter Coming This Fall 
74. Microsoft is teasing Windows 1.0 and other 1980s software
75. You Don’t Own What You’ve Bought: Microsoft’s Books ‘Will Stop Working’

A.I.

1. When it comes to AI regulation, Canada can do better: Countries are considering the guiding philosophies
2. Are You Talking To A Bot? – New CA Law Makes Disclosure the Best Option 
3. Is There Anybody Behind That Bot? 
4. Schools Are Using ‘Aggression Detecting’ Mics That Are Set Off By Coughing, Slamming Locker Doors To Head Off The Next School Shooting
5. The first AI capable of simulating the universe works so well it’s scary
6. FaceTime feature in iOS 13 feigns eye contact during video calls
7. Mini neural networks mimic the human cerebrum
8. I Welcomed Our New Robot Overlords At Amazon’s First AI Conference
9. Signs from above: Drone with projector successfully trolls car AI
10. AI Isn’t Making The Criminal Justice System Any Smarter
11. Endless AI-generated spam risks clogging up Google’s search results: A ‘tsunami’ of cheap AI content could cause problems for search engines
12. The future of AI research is in Africa: In the last few years, the machine-learning community has blossomed, applying the technology to challenges like food security and health care.
13. The hidden labor supporting algorithms: “Ghost Work” reveals labor structures masked by technology
14. Blog: Creating the the AI of Sea of Thieves – Part 4

COMMUNICATIONS

1. What is the Point of the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review if the Government Has Already Decided What It Intends To Do? (Michael Geist)
2. Canadian CEO Penalized for His Company’s CASL Breaches
3. Sinclair Faces Expanded Probe For Shady Behavior During Tribune Merger
4. Supreme Court Declines to Decide whether FCC Orders Bind District Courts
5. House votes to block Ajit Pai’s plan to kill San Francisco broadband law
6. Former Head Of Ajit Pai’s Broadband Advisory Council Is Headed To Prison For Fraud
7. Pai’s FCC Crushes Rules That Brought More Broadband Competition To San Francisco
8. T-Mobile enemy Dish could help save the T-Mobile/Sprint merger: Dish could resell T-Mobile/Sprint network access in deal to save merger.
9. Frontier customer bought his own router—but has to pay $10 rental fee anyway
10. NASA, NOAA, and the Navy Tell The FCC Its 5G Plan Will Harm Weather Forecasting 
11. The Press Needs An Intervention When It Comes To Over-Hyping 5G

PRIVACY

1. Now TikTok is facing a UK investigation over children’s data
2. SCHREMS 2.0 – the demise of Standard Contractual Clauses and Privacy Shield? 
3. Superhuman says it will disable email read receipts by default after privacy controversy: Pixel tracking is still an option, but it’ll be limited
4. Taser maker says it won’t use facial recognition in bodycams
5. Axon Ethics Board Pulls Plug On Facial Recognition Tech Being Added To Its Body Cameras
6. Deepfake revenge porn distribution now a crime in Virginia
7. Deepfakes and Other Disinformation Pose Growing Business Threats, Say WilmerHale Lawyers
8. Author pulls software that used deep learning to virtually undress women
9. Somerville, Massachusetts Becomes The Second US City To Ban Facial Recognition Tech
10. These are a few of our favorite IoT: NIST finalizes Internet of Things cyber guidance
11. Watching Me, Watching You – IoT Camera Hacks Surge
12. Another Report Shows The GDPR Benefited Google And Facebook, And Hurt Everyone Else
13. New York Data Privacy Law
14. New York Senate Considers Sweeping New Privacy Bill That Would Create a Fiduciary Duty to Consumers 
15. Maine Enacts Broadband Privacy Law
16. Hackers Have Been Stealing User Data From Global Cell Networks Since 2012
17. Benefit of the but-for bargain: Assessing economic tools for data privacy litigation
18. Ryuk, Ryuk, Ryuk: Georgia’s courts hit by ransomware
19. Georgia courts (mostly) shrug off ransomware attack
20. Florida LAN: Someone clicks link, again, giving Key Biscayne ransomware
21. New ransomware infections are the worst drive-by attacks in recent memory
22. “We need to up our game”—DHS cybersecurity director on Iran and ransomware
23. Documents Show The NSA’s Abuse Of Its Phone Records Collection Continued Right Up Until Its Decision To Pull The Plug
24. Department of State Requests Social Media Profile Identifiers
25. Smile, Your City Is Watching You: Local governments must protect your privacy as they turn to “smart city” technology.
26. Here We Go Again: Trump Administration Considers Outlawing Encryption
27. Standard Contractual Clauses and EU-US Privacy Shield – Under scrutiny
28. Cookie consent – What “good” compliance looks like according to the ICO

CREATIVITY

1. SCOTUS: Lanham Act’s Ban on Registration of “Immoral or Scandalous” Marks Unconstitutional
2. Why the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Allow Federal Registration of FUCT Impacts Every Day Businesses
3. UMG Tries To Block O-Town’s Trademark Application Over Its Motown Record Label
4. Gibson Guitar Declares Shift In IP Enforcement After Most Recent Public Backlash
5. NBC and Carrie Underwood Face Lawsuit Over NFL Sunday Night Football Theme Song
6. Banning harmful gender stereotypes in advertising – what you should know
7. Brazilian court bans subway performers 
8. College Forgets How The First Amendment Works; Targets Its Own Student Newspaper With A Public Records Request
9. The Root weeds out ebony’s Lanham Suit
10. Zion Williamson’s Legal Battle with His Former Marketing Agency
11. Andy Warhol’s “Prince Series” Ruled Fair Use
12. Second Circuit Holds New York’s Met Museum Can Keep Picasso’s The Actor
13. Who Owns the Law? Supreme Court to Decide if State Governments Can Copyright Legal Texts
14. U.S. Supreme Court to Review Copyrightability of Privately-Produced Annotated State Statutory Compilations 
15. Inaccurate Copyright Application, Without a Plausible Excuse from the Copyright Owner, Leads to Invalidation of Registration
16. Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreements and the Harmonisation of Copyright Law at International Level: Lessons to be Learned from the TTIP (Christophe Geiger)
17. 1H 2019 Quick Links, Part 1 (Copyright & More) (Eric Goldman)

Jon