News of the Week; December 25, 2019

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

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)

Jon