News of the Week

GAMES

1.  Rapper Hits Fortnite With Suit Over Dance Moves
2. How Fortnite Triggered an Unwinnable War Between Parents and Their Boys: The last-man-standing videogame has grabbed onto American boyhood, pushing aside other pastimes and hobbies and transforming family dynamics
3. Fortnite’s paid outfits, dances have made it a target for lucrative account theft 
4. Child advocates call for FTC investigation over inappropriate Google Play games
5. China is once again issuing game licenses after a months-long freeze
6. China ends freeze on game approvals: Government confirms new regulator is reviewing “big stockpile of games”, “will hurry up to issue licenses”
7. Video: How Valve uses biofeedback to make better games
8. Evidence continues to mount about how bad Denuvo is for PC gaming performance
9. Discord raises another $150M after opening its own games store
10. Marvel Avengers Academy shutting down at the end of 2018
11. The Walking Dead Game’s final season is releasing exclusively on the Epic Games Store
12. Telltale’s The Walking Dead to conclude final season on Epic Games Store: Those who purchased full season on other PC platforms will still receive remaining episodes on those platforms 
13. Games Workshop Likes A Guy’s Warhammer Fanfilms So Much It Hires Him To Do An Official One
14. Global spending on mobile expected to pass $76bn in 2018: Average smartphone user spends almost three hours per day using apps, says App Annie
15. 100 support staff take cash offer and voluntarily leave Blizzard
16. Blizzard’s Sudden Shuttering Of Heroes Of The Storm Demonstrates Why eSports Needs Its Next Evolutionary Step
17. Esports’ urgent need for visible gender diversity: 2018 in Review: Esports is booming, but over half of its enthusiasts face massive barriers to success within it
18. Industry movers and shakers share 2018 highlights: God of War, Spider-Man, Red Dead and Epic Store among the year’s biggest events for our expert panel 
19. “To be a good game designer, you have to be a good designer first”: Will Wright talks about learning the craft and the state of developer education as he partners with MasterClass for an online video course 
20. Gameloft acquires SongPop developer FreshPlanet  
21. Smash Bros. Ultimate worldwide sales topped 5M in first week  
22. How to Upgrade Your Nintendo Switch to Be Better at Super Smash Bros.
23. Moments of 2018: Labo makes magic from cardboard
24. Zynga to acquire Empires & Puzzles dev Small Giant for initial $560M  
25. Zynga acquiring Small Giant: CEO Frank Gibeau discusses acquisition approach as publisher picks up Empires & Puzzles studio for $560 million, raises guidance
26. Asus’ ROG Phone Is the Dumb Fun RGB Handset Gamers Deserve
27. Atari H1 financials show continued growth driven by RollerCoaster Tycoon IP: Company buoyed by sales to THQ Nordic, Atari VCS pre-orders 
28. Cloud Imperium raises $46M from private investment
29. Cloud Imperium secures $46m investment for Star Citizen: Funds raised will be spent on marketing both the main game and Squadron 42 single-player campaign
30. Feelreal Wants to Add Smell & Haptics to Your VR Headset, Kickstarter Coming Soon 
31. Niantic launches $1M AR game dev contest
32. Niantic launches $1m AR game contest: Pokémon Go developer encourages developers to “think outside the box”
33. Pokémon Go creators launch AR-game contest that (nearly) resembles American Idol
34. Microsoft is pausing its Xbox One financing program at the end of the year
35. Drawn together: The love affair between comics and games
36. You can now download the long-lost (and unfinished) SimCity NES port
37. War Stories: Lord British created an ecology for Ultima Online but no one saw it
38. People of the Year 2018: Recognising the exceptional work this year from teams and individuals alike
39. Games of the Year 2018: The GamesIndustry.biz team choose their personal faves, most surprising, and most disappointing titles of the year
40. Best of 2018: Translating the humor & tone of Yakuzagames for the West
41. Ars Technica’s best games of 2018
42. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Emma Kidwell’s top 5 games
43. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Kris Graft’s top 7 games
44. Video Game Deep Cuts: The Best Of The Best Of The Year
45. 11 bit studios has raised over $500k for War Child through charity DLC  
46. 11 bit studios raises over $500,000 for War Child: This War of Mine DLC initiative supports charity helping children affected by conflict globally
47. Looking Back On My Former Life InStar Wars: The Old Republic
48. Blog: What isn’t game design?
49. Video: How some early MUDs compare to today’s games  

DIGITAL

1. Canada Outlaws Settlement Threat Letters Sent Through ISPs 
2. The Relationship Between Huawei and the Chinese Regime’s Factional Politics
3. Washington Redskins reportedly backed out of Huawei Wi-Fi deal because of government concerns
4. Global Scrutiny Of Huawei Increases Amid Privacy And National Security Concerns: The company’s close ties to the Chinese government, accusations of intellectual property theft, and technological vulnerabilities has thrown its future into doubt.
5. ICE Seizes Over 1 Million Websites With No Due Process; Apparently Unaware That Copyright & Trademark Are Different
6. Rep. Louie Gohmert Wants To Strip Section 230 Immunity From Social Media Platforms That Aren’t ‘Neutral’
7. In Response to Lawsuit, NRA Removes Image of “The Bean” Sculpture from Video
8. Appeals Court Hands ReDigi Another Loss; Says Reselling Mp3s Violates Copyright Law
9. Buzzfeed Wins Defamation Lawsuit Filed Against It Over Publication Of The Steele Dossier
10. Dangerous Court Ruling Says Colleges May Be Required To Block Access To Certain Websites
11. Apple v. Pepper: Tearing Down the Illinois Brick Wall? – Who Can and Cannot Sue Online Platforms Under the Federal Antitrust Laws
12. Some iPad Pros ship a little bent, and Apple says that’s normal 
13. Apple may soon enable gifting for in-app purchases: Updated guidelines allow developers to let users buy virtual items and currency for each other
14. iOS App Store Guidelines update hints at giftable in-app purchases
15. No Echo? No problem—Apple Music to work on other Alexa-enabled devices 
16. The Amazon Alexa Eavesdropping Nightmare Came True 
17. Alexa Crapped Out on Christmas
18. Amazon Prime’s Promise of Two-Day Delivery Is Dying
19. Start your (machine learning) engines: Amazon’s DeepRacer is almost here 
20. The 21 (And Counting) Biggest Facebook Scandals Of 2018
21. Facebook is Reportedly Creating Its Own Cryptocurrency
22. Economists calculate the true value of Facebook to its users in new study 
23. Both Things Are True: Press Freakouts Over Facebook’s Practices Have Been Misleading & Facebook Has A Privacy Problem
24. G2A’s payment service is charging users for inactivity 
25. “Change your future” tomorrow with choice-filled Black Mirror film on Netflix
26. Filters Suck Out Loud: Tumblr’s Porn Filters Flag Tumblr’s Examples Of Allowed Content
27. Civil unrest: How a blockchain-based journalism startup bumbled its launch 
28. 18 Viral Photos and Videos From 2018 That Were Totally Fake
29. YouTube Says It Repaired Glitch Resulting In Diminished Viewcounts Yesterday
30. Influencer Sued for Failure to Influence 
31. Slack cites US sanctions as it rolls out mass account deactivations  
32. Magistrate Judge Says Grande Shouldn’t Be Able To Use The DMCA Safe Harbors Because It Didn’t Really Terminate Infringers 
33. We Are Not A Dashboard: Contesting The Tyranny Of Metrics, Measurement, And Managerialism
34. This Was the Year the Robot Takeover of Service Jobs Began
35. AI’s Whip Christmas Leftovers Into Loathsome New Recipes
36. This Algorithm Can Create 3D Animations From A Single Still Image
37. Researchers Taught an AI About Ownership Rules and Social Norms
38. Douglas Adams was right: “Genuine people personalities” are coming to our gadgets 
39. Congress Passes $1.2 Billion Quantum Computing Bill
40. eSignature and ePayment News and Trends
41. Viral Video of Glitter Bomb for Package Thieves Exposed as Partial Fake
42. Copyright Industry Lobbyists Can’t Even Get Their Story Straight On Article 13: Does It Expand Copyright Or Keep It The Same?
43. Is Brexit spurring a .EU domain exit?  
44. FBI removes top offending ‘DDoS for-hire’ sites 
45. Your Periodic Reminder That Keyword Ad Lawsuits Are Stupid–Passport Health v. Avance (Eric Goldman) 

CREATIVITY

1. Stop Using My Mark, Said Dr. Seuss. Not So Fast, Said the Court – it is a Fair Use
2. No Penalty: Fantasy Football Does Not Violate Players’ Right of Publicity
3. Black Artists Are Rejecting Offers to Perform for Super Bowl Halftime Show
4. New Hampshire Sued Over Criminal Defamation Law Abused To Arrest Law Enforcement Critic
5. Bryan Adams Warns Canadian Heritage Committee on Copyright Term Extension: Enriches Large Intermediaries, Not Creators (Michael Geist)
6. Copyright and Culture: My Submission to the Canadian Heritage Committee Study on Remuneration Models for Artists and Creative Industries (Michael Geist)
7. Study: modern masters like Jackson Pollock were “intuitive physicists”

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. The Consequence of Uncompetitiveness: Canadians Ration Wireless Data As Monthly Usage Ranks Among the Lowest in the OECD (Michael Geist)
2. Study Says Wireless Retail Workers Could Make Up To 7% Less In Wake Of Sprint, T-Mobile Merger
3. Sprint to Cough Up a Whopping $330 Million Following Investigation Over NY Taxes 
4. NY’s Record $176 Million Settlement With Charter For Crap Broadband Highlights Cable’s Growing Monopoly
5. AT&T 5G goes live this week with ridiculously overpowered hotspot
6. AT&T’s 5G ‘Arrives,’ Quickly Shows Why 5G Won’t Be A Panacea For Broadband Competition
7. AT&T Lets Users Avoid Broadband Caps…If They Use AT&T’s Own Streaming Service

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. ACLU to feds: Your “hacking presents a unique threat to individual privacy”
2. US and allies: New hacks mean China broke 2015 economic espionage pact
3. London Metropolitan Police Deploy Facial Recognition Tech Sporting A 100% Failure Rate
4. Blind Says Security Lapse That Exposed User Data Was ‘Our Mistake’
5. How The GDPR Nearly Ruined Christmas

Jon

GAMES

1. US School Safety Commission largely gives games a pass: Group convened by Trump in wake of mass shooting earlier this year suggests schools monitor internet access, media ratings bodies review policies
2. 68% of games depict violence, says US school safety report
3. South Korea Continues To Criminalize Behavior Around Online Gaming At The Behest Of Video Game Industry
4. The first union for game industry workers has launched in the UK  
5. IWGB launches video game workers union branch: “The game workers’ decision to unionise with the IWGB should be a wake up call for the UK’s gaming industry,” says IWGB general secretary
6. Escape From Tarkov devs file DMCA takedown over false accusations 
7. Escape from Tarkov developer issues DMCA to stop story about user info leaks: Battlestate Games issues takedown on over 40 videos from YouTuber Eroktic due to “misinformation” and “negative hype”
8. Game Developer Admits It Filed Bogus Copyright Claims, But Says It Had No Other Way To Silence A Critic
9. Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward evacuated after bomb threat
10. Infinity Ward receives bomb threat – Report: Call of Duty development studio among dozens of businesses, schools, news outlets receiving threats today
11. Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro suing Epic over Fortnitedance
12. ‘Fresh Prince’ star Alfonso Ribeiro sues Fortnite over use of dance his character Carlton popularized
13. Fresh Prince actor sues Fortnite for use of ‘iconic’ Carlton dance: Alfonso Ribeiro wants to stop the makers of Fortnite and NBA 2K from using the dance he first performed on the 1990s sitcom
14. CAA Signs First Gamers, Facebook Star StoneMountain64 And ‘Fortnite’ Pro Nick Eh 30
15. People of the Year 2018: Epic Games: Despite a year peppered with controversy, the Fortnite developer’s influence on 2018 remains undeniable
16. Forget Fortnite—my son is still obsessed with Minecraft
17. Minecraft lays its last brick on Xbox 360, other last-gen consoles
18. Consumer advocates want FTC to investigate kids apps: Group files formal complaint alleging COPPA violations, spotlights on inappropriate titles
19. GamesIndustry.biz presents… The Year In Numbers 2018: The global games market value, most watched YouTube videos, biggest mobile games and more
20. Global games market value rising to $134.9bn in 2018: Revenues grew by over 10%, mobile accounts for almost half at $63.2 billion
21. Sony inadvertently leaks player counts for PS4 titles
22. Sony accidentally revealed playercounts for nearly every PS4 game
23. Sony accidentally reveals PS4 player counts: Grand Theft Auto V the highest number pulled at 51.7 million
24. Sony Released Its Playstation Classic Console In A Way That Makes It Eminently Hackable
25. Kingdom Hearts 3 Leaked on Facebook Marketplace Six Weeks Before Release Date
26. One of the most anticipated games of the decade has leaked over a month early, and outraged fans are trying to punish the person they think did it
27. PUBG now has over 200 million registered players on mobile alone
28. PUBG Mobile reaches 200 million downloads: Fortnite hit 200 million milestone across all platforms last month
29. Industry experts worry some esports orgs are overvalued and headed for trouble
30. The state of esports: Radical growth and inevitable failure – 2018 in Review – League of Legends soars, esports are subbed by the Olympics, and PUBG flounders
31. Blizzard pulls devs off Heroes of the Storm and cuts eSports support
32. Blizzard cancels Heroes of the Storm Global Championship: Devs to be reassigned elsewhere, but game will continue to receive live support
33. Blizzard Abruptly Kills Heroes of the Storm Esports, Leaving Players And Casters Fuming
34. Blizzard shifts developers away from Heroes of the Storm
35. Check out our 16-page Game Publisher’s Guide To Esports: Produced in partnership with Esports BAR
36. Intel and ESL announce $100m esports investment: Longest-running partnership in sector extended to 2021
37. Esports BAR’s mission to get non-gaming brands excited about pro-gaming: Orange, AirAsia and Dominos amongst attendees at Cannes event in February
38. Evil Geniuses founder unites esports agencies to form Popdog: Alex Garfield acquires Loaded, NoScope, and esports division of Catalyst; launches with $9m funding round
39. Riot reportedly suspends COO over misconduct at work: Riot offers statement, full internal email confirms suspension
40. Riot Games suspends COO Scott Gelb for workplace misconduct
41. Epic shuts down Fortnite data miner: Developer says the takedown was for promoting and advertising game mod tools, “not directly related” to leaking
42. Fortnite dev team removes Infinity Blade for being ‘overpowered’
43. Fortnite Season Five announcement most watched trailer on YouTube in 2018: Viewed 46.8 million times, the trailer beat both the Fallout 76 and Red Dead Redemption II reveals
44. Discord Store to offer developers 90 percent of game revenues
45. Discord aims to disrupt by opening storefront to devs, offering 90% revenue share
46. Why even avid Steam gamers should celebrate Epic’s new store: Bulkhead Interactive CEO Joe Brammer expects major gains from Epic’s new store — now it’s time for Valve to react and evolve
47. Steam’s ‘Top Wishlists’ filter ranks recent wishlist numbers for unreleased games
48. Epic’s Fortnite was the highest trending game on Google US in 2018: Red Dead Redemption 2 and Fallout 76 were second and third
49. Capcom responds to complaints over Street Fighter’s in-game ads: Publisher will “consider how we can improve this new feature” based on community feedback
50. Battlefield 5 is having trouble balancing for both new and experienced players
51. Atari acquires stake in Animoca Brands as part of blockchain game deal: Partnership will see Animoca Brands develop blockchain version of RollerCoaster Tycoon
52. Red Dead Redemption 2 reclaims No.1 in UK charts: Super Smash Bros tumbles to No.4
53. Epic to launch cross-platform services for developers: Tools built for Fortnite will be made free and open for all engines, platforms, and stores
54. EGX Rezzed 2019 sees return of Epic’s Powered by Unreal Engine zone: Unreal Engine devs exhibiting at the London show next March eligible to have their space doubled
55. Facebook & ZeniMax Settle Major Legal Dispute Over VR Intellectual Property
56. IMAX Officially Bails on VR Business
57. IMAX to Close Down All Remaining IMAX VR Centres Soon
58. Image courtesy Brilliant Sole: Brilliant Sole Wants to Put a VR Controller in Your Shoes 
59. HTC Thinks Virtual Reality’s Killer App Could Be Christianity: Christians adapted radio and rock music. Maybe VR will be next. 
60. DeltaDNA: In-game ads beginning to catch IAP as viable revenue stream – Study indicates that both casual and core mobile free-to-play games are making an increasing percentage of their revenue from ads
61. Formula 1, Hutch partner on mobile games: Hutch to create official, licensed racing titles for iOS, Android in the new year
62. What a Mobile App Lawyer Can Do for You
63. The UK industry stares down a Brexit disaster – 2018 in Review – There are no silver linings to Brexit for the UK industry, as uncertainty and the threat of No Deal create a difficult business climate
64. A German regulator is taking Nintendo to court over eShop preorder policies  
65. Nintendo: Red Dead 2 not being on Switch was down to timing – Reggie Fils-Aime says Switch emerged too late for Rockstar to consider the platform for its hit game
66. ‘Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’ Fastest Selling Nintendo Switch Game
67. Super Smash Bros Ultimate shoots to the top of EMEAA charts: Nintendo’s first-party line-up continues to pay dividends, Just Cause 4 the only other new entry in the top ten
68. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate US sales reach 3 million: Switch is the fastest-selling US console this generation, and Smash Bros. is the fastest-selling Nintendo home console game ever in Europe
69. Smash Bros. Ultimate has sold over 3M copies in the U.S. 
70. Report: Pokemon Go creator Niantic close to $3.9 billion valuation 
71. NPD: Switch, PS4, Xbox One all sell over 1.3 million units in November – This is the first time in history that three console platforms have all sold over one million in a single month
72. Hands-on: Switch’s NES controllers offer unmatched old-school authenticity
73. Minecraft modders form Hypixel Studios: Riot Games and former Blizzard exec Rob Pardo among initial investors as new developer announces debut title
74. Twitch saw over 3 million streamers per month in 2018: Platform sees biggest year yet for streamers, viewership, Affiliates, and Partners
75. Twitch sells Curse Media: Video streaming site offloads gaming media network to Fandom two years after acquiring it alongside Curse client and chat services
76. Number Of Creators Monetizing On Twitch Grew By 86% This Year, Platform Confirms In Holiday Stream
77. Ninja Scores Commentator Role For Tonight’s NFL Game, Streamed On Twitch
78. Number Of Creators Monetizing On Twitch Grew By 86% This Year, Platform Confirms In Holiday Stream
79. F2P dev survey: In-game mobile ads becoming viable revenue source
80. Making Project Hospital: A realistic approach to medical simulation
81. Why go for a surprise launch?: Studio Wildcard and Grapeshot Games co-founders Jeremy Stieglitz and Jesse Rapczak discuss the pros and cons of debuting their new MMO Atlas on short notice 
82. “Apathy is how games die”: Nathan Vella tells us how Capy has done everything it can to ensure Below is worth the five-year wait 
83. Supermassive Games: “We used to think awards didn’t matter” – On its tenth birthday, we ask the UK studio about its history and what its Dark Pictures Anthology says about the future
84. Apptopia November report: Football Manager 2019 on Android outpaces all other new releases – Hyper casual continues to dominate the new release download charts
85. AppsFlyer: Ads now generate more revenue than IAP in casual mobile games – Midcore games also see decline in share of IAP revenue, but ads still only make up 30%
86. Razer launches cryptocurrency initiative: Peripheral maker asks users to install mining software in exchange for Razer Silver loyalty reward points
87. Jägermeister launches video game soundtrack competition for indie studios: Track and Build contest open to all indies releasing game in 2019 
88. Keeping The Outer Worlds rewarding, no matter someone’s play style
89. Blog: Putting a thought into play
90. Blog: How to turn your mod into an indie game
91. Blog: Why being an indie game dev is harder than ever
92. Video: Total War: Rome II devs built all of Europe—and the AI ignored most of it
93. How ‘user stories’ can help players grasp new content
94. Human values in game design: An approach for emergent storytelling
95. Old ways can still be the best ways – Why I Love: YoYo Games’ Mike Dailly explains how tech from the 1988 Commodore 64 shooter Armalyte is still used today
96. League of Legends will no longer support Windows XP and Vista in 2019  
97. Blog: What trends should you know about going into 2019?
98. People of the Year: Phil Spencer – PlayStation may have dominated the charts, but it was Xbox that got the games industry talking
99. People of the Year: Rami Ismail – Vlambeer’s co-founder received the GDC Ambassador award, in recognition of years spent reaching out and giving voice to the world’s emerging development communities
100. People of the Year 2018: Hello Games – After criticism, setbacks, investigations, and a PR nightmare, the creators of No Man’s Sky emerged this year to an optimistic future
101. Best of 2018: Reimagining failure in strategy game design in Into the Breach
102. Best of 2018: Dealing with the scourge of burnout in game dev
103. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Alex Wawro’s top 8 games
104. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Alissa McAloon’s top 10 games
105. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Chris Kerr’s top 5 games
106. Gamasutra’s Best of 2018: Bryant Francis’ top 10 games
107. 5 trends that defined the game industry in 2018
108. The Best Video Game Surprises of 2018
109. The Biggest Video Game Disappointments of 2018
110. 5 events that rocked the game industry in 2018
111. 343 Industries is teaming up with Limbitless to provideHalo-themed prosthetics

DIGITAL 

1.  No More Settlement Demands: New Rules for Canadian Copyright Notice-and-Notice System Receive Royal Assent (Michael Geist)
2. Music to Copyright Owners’ Ears: Second Circuit Affirms Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi Inc.
3. No Agreement Made On EU Copyright Directive, As Recording Industry Freaks Out About Safe Harbors Too
4. Top EU Court’s Advocate General Says German Link Tax Should Not Be Applied — But On A Technicality
5. Judge Sides With BuzzFeed Over Publication of Steele Dossier
6. Screenshotting a Newspaper Page May Infringe a Licensed Photo–Hirsch v. Complex (Eric Goldman)
7. Two Pro Se Section 230 Rulings–Scott v. Carlson & Watkins v. Carr (Eric Goldman) 
8. Arkansas Politician Introduces Bill To Make It Illegal For Social Media Companies To Block Content He Likes
9. Report: Facebook let major tech firms access private messages, friends lists
10. Facebook let Netflix, Spotify, and other companies read your private messages: Between 2010 and today, Facebook shared users’ private data, including private messages and contact info, with more than 150 companies. 
11. Turning Off Facebook Location Tracking Doesn’t Stop It From Tracking Your Location  (Kashmir Hill)
12. Facebook’s Latest Privacy Screwup Shows How Facebook’s Worst Enemy Is Still Facebook
13. Netflix Denies Exploiting Its Alleged Ability To Read, Write, And Delete Facebook Users’ Private Messages
14. Big Telecom Wants To Tax Netflix To Pay For Broadband Upgrades ISPs Refuse To Deploy Themselves
15. Study Shows That No, Netflix Isn’t Killing Movie Theaters
16. DC sues Facebook over Cambridge Analytica scandal
17. “We’re sorry,” Facebook says, again—new photo bug affects millions
18. Facebook says a bug affecting up to 6.8 million users exposed photos they hadn’t shared
19. Facebook Watch Clocks 400 Million Monthly Viewers, Rolls Out Ad Breaks To 40 Countries 
20. Instagram May Have Been Key Tool in Russia’s Manipulation of U.S. Voters
21. Massive scale of Russian election trolling revealed in draft Senate report 
22. Social Media’s Forever War 
23. As NAACP kicks off boycott, Facebook says content moderation, infrastructure changes are coming in 2019
24. Amazon and Facebook Reportedly Had a Secret Data-Sharing Agreement, and It Explains So Much
25. Facebook “partner” arrangements: Are they as bad as they look?
26. NY Times Columnist Nick Kristof Led The Charge To Get Facebook To Censor Content, Now Whining That Facebook Censors His Content
27. Hundreds March on Amazon Fulfillment Center in Minnesota
28. Amazon Is Reportedly Sick of Hawking You Cheap ‘Crap’ That Doesn’t Make It Any Money 
29. Amazon Slapped With Trademark, Patent Lawsuit by Williams-Sonoma Over Chair Design, Storefront
30. Screenshotting a Newspaper Page May Infringe a Licensed Photo – Hirsch v. Complex
31. Clinic Releases Guide to Anti-Circumvention Exemption for Software Preservation
32. Social Media Is Ruining Our Minds—It Also Might Save Them 
33. Apple will spend $1 billion and hire up to 15,000 people for new Austin office
34. Apple to bring Charlie Brown and the Peanuts to its streaming service
35. Apple’s iOS 12.1.2 fixes eSIM and cellular bugs, but there might be more to it
36. Apple says iOS update will avoid Qualcomm patents, China iPhone ban
37. Microsoft unveils Windows Sandbox: Run any app in a disposable virtual machine
38. Microsoft issues emergency update to fix critical IE flaw under active exploit
39. Report Finds Huge Gender Gap in Artificial Intelligence Workforce
40. Why algorithms need auditing
41. Embracing AI for the Social Good
42. Artificial Intelligence and Ethics: Ethics and the dawn of decision-making machines 
43. Don’t Worry About Deepfakes. Worry About Why People Fall for Them.: The focus on the technology behind fake media obscures more pressing questions about the psychology and sociology of viral false narratives.
44. Should We Be Worried About Computerized Facial Recognition?: The technology could revolutionize policing, medicine, even agriculture—but its applications can easily be weaponized.
45. YouTube Announces Sitewide Spam Purge That Will See Reduced Sub Counts 
46. YouTube Deletes Hundreds Of Strange, Sexually Suggestive Mom And Kids Videos 
47. YouTube’s Own ‘Rewind 2018’ Becomes Most-Disliked Video Ever In Less Than A Week
48. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 12/16/2018
49. YouTube Integrating New Music Charts As Live Playlists In ‘YouTube Music’ App
50. Celebrated Author Alice Walker Recommends Conspiratorial, Anti-Semitic YouTube Videos 
51. Telemundo to Launch First English-Language Newscast on YouTube
52. Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas’ Tops YouTube’s Holiday Songs Chart
53. For the first time ever, Disney posts a Pixar “short” on YouTube for free
54. Internal Google Docs Warn Not to Gift Contractors Shirts in Case They Start Thinking They’re Employees: Report
55. The Pixel 3 Is Proof That Google Doesn’t Care About Hardware
56. Google Chrome wants to stop back-button hijacking
57. Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to
58. Google announces major expansion in New York City
59. The Biggest Tech Lies of 2018
60. CenturyLink blocked its customers’ Internet access in order to show an ad
61. Broadband ISP CenturyLink Is Blocking Users’ Internet Access Just To Show An Ad
62. It’s time for a Bill of Data Rights
63. Elizabeth Banks’ WhoHaha Launches Podcast Network, Seeks Women And Nonbinary Podcasters
64. Insights: When You Legally Can’t Give It Away–Is Marijuana The Toughest Job In Influencer Marketing? 
65. Instagram Influencer Charged $500 for Social Media Master Class Scam: ‘I Wanted the Price to Be Painful’ 
66. FBI Secretly Collected Data on Aaron Swartz Earlier Than We Thought—in a Case Involving Al Qaeda
67. FBI Swept Up Info About Aaron Swartz While Pursuing An Al-Qaeda Investigation 
68. Wall Street Journal Site Hacked With Pro-PewDiePie Message 
69. Hackers Replace Wall Street Journal Page With Pro-PewDiePie Message
70. Signal app to Australia: Good luck with that crypto ban – Country’s efforts to slow Signal and other apps is a “disappointing development.”
71. BBB Launches New Online Tool to Report Bad Ads 
72. Twitter Is Indeed Toxic For Women, Amnesty Report Says
73. Twitter is relaunching the reverse-chronological feed as an option for all users starting today
74. Verizon says Oath is dead. Meet Verizon Media Group.: The un-rebranding of Verizon’s AOL/Yahoo properties comes just a week after the company told federal regulators the brand was all but worthless.
75. Verizon cuts 10,000 jobs and admits its Yahoo/AOL division is a failure 
76. As A Final FU To Free Speech On Tumblr, Verizon Blocked Archivists
77. Insights: As Tumblr Implodes Amid NSFW Ban And Protests, What Platform Steps Up? 
78. Twitch sells Curse Media after two years  
79. Twitch is giving more creators money, but it couldn’t keep YouTube’s biggest names
80. YouTube’s $100 Million Upload Filter Failures Demonstrate What A Disaster Article 13 Will Be For The Internet
81. Netflix Joins Forces With Taylor Swift To Air ‘Reputation’ Tour Film On New Year’s Eve
82. Netflix Testing New Feature That Asks Users If They Want To Instant-Replay Popular Scenes
83. Netflix To Adapt John Green Holiday Novel ‘Let It Snow’ Into Feature Film 
84. ‘Little Baby Bum’ Owner Moonbug Raises $145 Million To Build Brand-Safe Kids’ Content Empire
85. 7-Year-Old Ryan ToysReview Unveils Sponsorship With Mandarin Orange Brand
86. Samsung Can’t Afford to Hold Back Anymore
87. The Deadly Recklessness of the Self-Driving Car Industry
88. How ’90s Cybersex Pioneers Looked for Action and Found Community
89. HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder dead at 34
90. HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder found dead: Colin Kroll believed to have died from drug overdose on Sunday morning
91. Computing pioneer Evelyn Berezin died this week—she should be remembered
92. U.S. Grocer Kroger Has Begun Making Autonomous Deliveries
93. A Child Was Immunized By the World’s First Drone-Delivered Vaccine
94. Ohio Congressman: We can fund border wall with “WallCoin”
95. Mass email hoax causes closures across the US and Canada: Emails threaten explosions unless people pay $20,000 in Bitcoin.

CREATIVITY

1. Super Injunction Silences News About Vatican Official’s Child Molestation Conviction
2. Ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio Claims Three Publications Did $300 Million In Damage To His Pristine Reputation
3. Blurred legal lines (part two) – the copyright debate
4. Greene v. Paramount Pictures Corp.
5. The law of journalist-source privilege is still taking shape
6. Faith Goldy ordered to pay Bell Media more than $43,000 in legal fees: Faith Goldy had sued Bell over its refusal to air her campaign advertisements on a local television station, but the suit was tossed in October
7. UK Advertising Codes to Ban Gender Stereotypes
8. Iranian phishers bypass 2fa protections offered by Yahoo Mail and Gmail
9. Thinking of Using Kim Jong-un in Your Marketing?
10. Court Awards Six Figures to Model Falsely “Diagnosed” with HIV in Ad Campaign
11. No Actual Malice In The Wolf Of Wall Street Lawsuit: Judge Tosses Defamation Claim Brought By Former Stratton Oakmont Executive 
12. Oxford University Gets Opposition To Its Attempt To Trademark ‘Oxford’ For All The Things
13. If Your Trademark Case Depends on Showing Initial Interest Confusion, Save Your Money–Select Comfort v. John Baxter (Eric Goldman)
14. Former NASA Engineer Builds Impressive Glitter Bomb to Make Life Hell for Package Thieves

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

1. Telecom Train Wreck: Why It Is Time for the Government to Address the Mess That Is The CRTC (Michael Geist)
2. Stepping In It: Why Navdeep Bains’ Failing Wireless Strategy is Not a Step in the Right Direction (Michael Geist)
3. Big Telecom Claims Oversight & Accountability Violates Its First Amendment Rights 
4. FCC Does Wireless Carriers Another Favor By Reclassifying Text Messages
5. FCC forces California to drop plan for government fees on text messages
6. FCC’s O’Rielly Keeps Claiming, With Zero Evidence, That Community Broadband Is An ‘Ominous’ Threat To Free Speech
7. 2018 Year In FCC Review 
8. Report: T-Mobile’s Merger With Sprint Is the Latest Battleground Over Huawei
9. Growing security fears hobble global ambitions of Chinese tech giant Huawei
10. T-Mobile lied to the FCC about its 4G coverage, small carriers say
11. T-Mobile denies lying to FCC about size of its 4G network 
12. FCC Says It Will Finally Investigate Nation’s BS Broadband Availability Maps. Maybe.
13. FCC Eliminates Broadcast License Posting Requirement and Begins Quadrennial Media Ownership Rulemaking Proceeding
14. Charter users who didn’t get promised speeds will get $75 or $150 refunds
15. Bahnhof Now Facing Net Neutrality Investigation Over Its ‘Protest’ Blocking Of Elsevier

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Supreme Court of Canada Protects Digital Privacy in Shared Devices
2. Reasonable expectation of privacy exists in shared electronic devices: SCC
3. R v Reeves (2018 SCC 56)
4. Federal Court Says Massachusetts’ Wiretap Law Can’t Be Used To Arrest People For Recording Public Officials
5. Man sues feds after being detained for refusing to unlock his phone at airport
6. German City Wants Names And Addresses Of Airbnb Hosts; Chinese Province Demands Full Details Of Every Guest Too
7. Central Londoners to be subjected to facial recognition test this week
8. How computers got shockingly good at recognizing images
9. Data privacy: how much consent is enough consent? 
10. He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake: Smart toys and regulating the IoT in Canada
11. Senators aim to give internet companies doctor-like duties to protect our data
12. Takeaways from the First GDPR Fines
13. Navigating the New Data Privacy Landscape: A Guide for OTT Providers
14. If Data is Exposed But No One is Around to Steal It, Can a Data-Breach Plaintiff Still Sue? 
15. OCIE Publishes Risk Alert Regarding Electronic Messaging
16. Locational Tracking on iOS and Android Devices: Check the Platform’s Rules!
17. Momentum Builds for a National Privacy Law in the United States
18. The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2018 Will Make You Feel Like a Security Genius
19. He’s Making a List. Will Regulators Check His Privacy Practices Twice? 

Jon

GAMES

1. China has established an ethics committee to vet online games
2. China forms new ethics committee to review video games: 20 titles already processed, but 11 rejected until they “eliminate moral hazard”
3. China’s new Ethics Committee has been reviewing existing titles: Waiting list for bringing games to China “likely to be longer than expected”, analyst IHS Markit warns
4. Analysts claim China’s new ethics committee could spark game licensing restart
5. ‘Loot boxes’ in video games could be giving kids a gambling problem­­
6. Loot boxes: An industry at war with itself over a technicality – 2018 in Review – The evidence says loot boxes are gambling, but the law is still catching up
7. BioWare says Anthem won’t rely on big-spending ‘whales’ for success
8. Another Gambling Case Over Online Virtual Coins Proceeds–Wilson v. Playtika
9. Parliament launches “addictive” technologies inquiry: Committee investigates how to “keep pace with the increasing digitisation and ‘gamification’ of people’s lives”
10. Enabling ads in Street Fighter V boosts in-game currency rewards
11. Using a ‘real entity as enemies’ got Afghanistan ’11 pulled from the App Store
12. Denuvo-Protected Just Cause 4 Cracked In A Day, Suffering From S___ty Reviews
13. The South Korean government just made boosting a criminal offense
14. Boosting now a criminal offence in South Korea: Anyone artificially inflating a player’s skill ranking could face $18,000 fine and two years in prison
15. Talk of eSports as Olympic event premature – IOC: eSports will not feature as a medal event at the Olympic Games any time soon, according to the IOC.
16. Esports: International Olympic Committee says further study needed over Olympic bid
17. IOC says talk of esports at Olympics premature
18. Olympic esports discussion “premature” says IOC: Olympic Summit encourages “accelerated cooperation” with simulation games, however
19. Hasbro & Wizards of the Coast invest in Magic: The Gathering esports with $10M prize pool
20. 84% of teen girls in the UK play video games in their spare time: In addition, more girls ages 13-15 are watching and taking part in esports than boys of the same age
21. UK government to invest $25M into creative industries
22. Steam Is Banning Sex Games With Young-Looking Characters [Update]
23. Valve banning “child exploitation” games from Steam: Despite developer claims that characters are of legal age, Valve bans sexual games with young-looking characters
24. Blog: An IKEA guide to Steam product pages that simply work
25. Dauntless to provide cross-platform play across all devices  
26. Rapper sues Epic Games over “unauthorized” Fortnite dance use
27. Rapper sues makers of video game Fortnite over dance moves: 2 Milly’s lawsuit claims wildly popular game used his moves without compensation or credit
28. Rapper Sues the Makers of Fortnite Claiming Copyright Infringement of Dance Moves
29. 2 Milly Sues Epic Games Over Fortnite Dance Moves – What In The Wide, Wide World Of Copyright Is Going On Here?
30. Epic opens Fortnite’s cross-platform services for free to other devs
31. Epic Games Store launches with handful of games
32. What’s the deal with Epic Games Store refunds?: Skin-t.
33. Epic Game Store will give devs as much information as legally possible
34. Former SteamSpy promises Epic Games Store will share “as much info as legally possible”: Epic’s Sergey Galyonkin says new marketplace will “eventually give developers way more information than SteamSpy ever could”
35. Epic Games Store launches with extremely limited selection of games
36. Epic Store to launch cross-platform games services suite
37. Three studios delay – or cancel – their Steam launches in favour of Epic Games Store: Coffee Stain’s Satisfactory no longer coming to Valve’s marketplace, while Team17 and Double Damage delay their titles
38. Epic pulls Infinity Blade series from the App Store: Fans assured that the pioneering mobile franchise will be “popping up in places you wouldn’t expect”
39. Mobile app demo platform AppOnboard raises extra $15M in funding 
40. Black Ops 4’s ‘Battle Edition’ offers only classic multiplayer and Blackout for $30
41. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive adds battle royale mode, goes free-to-play
42. Counter-Strike GO becomes F2P, adds a shrunken battle royale mode
43. Bethesda’s support ticket system leaked personal information: Publisher issues statement after some users claim to be able to see submitted Fallout 76 support tickets
44. Obsidian Entertainment finally announces its Fallout: New Vegas successor
45. Apple pulls mobile strategy game for including Taliban as enemies: But Slitherine development director hopes mobile platform holder will reverse its decision
46. Farming Simulator 19 sells over 1M units 10 days after launch
47. John Romero plans Doom spiritual successor in the form of a free Doom Megawad
48. Doom’s next expansion pack, made by John Romero, will be free—or cost up to $166
49. StarVR Developer Program Paused “until further notice” as Company Goes Private
50. StarVR puts dev program on hold as company shifts from public to private
51. Daybreak Games lays off estimated 70 employees 
52. Minecraft YouTuber Logdotzip Launches ‘Big Block Island’ Game, His Own Gaming Studio ‘Dotzip Developments’
53. Gaming Just Had Its Biggest Year On YouTube — Here’s What Comes Next
54. 50 billion hours of gaming watched on YouTube in the last year: Video service has its biggest year to date in terms of gaming content; Fortnite accounts for five of top 10 trending videos
55. ZeniMax Media agrees to settle lawsuit against Facebook VR
56. ZeniMax, Facebook settle VR lawsuit: Mediation program results in undisclosed agreement between companies, dismissal of appeals
57. Starbreeze suggests it will dump VR business: Company pledges to focus resources on core businesses of game development and publishing going forward
58. AR/VR spending to jump 69% in 2019 – IDC: PSVR continues to lead VR market with 463,000 units shipped last quarter; firm says AR software will overtake VR before 2022
59. Audi Has Deployed 1,000 VR Showrooms in Dealerships Worldwide
60. A New VC Fund Is Bankrolling Virtual Products in a Simulated World
61. Phil Spencer: Xbox Game Pass will eventually be available on ‘every device’
62. Phil Spencer: Xbox Game Pass “will come to every device” – Xbox boss hints at bold cross-platform strategy for subscription service
63. Brian Fargo: “I spent 50% of my time raising money”: InXile on Game Pass and why becoming a part of Microsoft is the ‘holy grail’ for ambitious games developers
64. UK Charts: Super Smash Bros Ultimate is the fastest-selling Smash Bros of all time – Just Cause 4 debuts at No.6
65. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate breaks the series’ launch sales record in Japan
66. Super Smash Bros Ultimate sold 1.24m in three days in Japan: Switch exclusive posts record week one numbers for both the platform and the franchise
67. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: The Kotaku Review
68. Smash Bros. Ultimate review: The best fighting game on any Nintendo system
69. First-party Switch games are setting new attach rate records for Nintendo
70. Nintendo Attempts To Bottle The Leak Genie With Copyright Strikes
71. How we ported X-Morph: Defense to Nintendo Switch
72. Nintendo: Switch user revenue is at historic levels in the US – Reggie Fils-Aime believes Nintendo is on course for unit sales targets, but importance is offset by strength of digital
73. E3 still “a no-brainer” for Nintendo: Reggie Fils-Aime says trade show still generates the most engagement of any entertainment event, but stresses need for E3 to keep changing
74. E3 and the season of hype-building – 2018 in Review: Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft made moves this year that point to a coming shift in how they approach a general gaming audience
75. Japanese Smash Bros. Players Show Palutena Doesn’t Get Underwear Privacy 
76. Detroit: Become Human has sold over 2M units worldwide 
77. Warframe downloaded one million times on    Switch: Game reaches milestone less than three weeks after launch on the platform
78. PewDiePie Receives Backlash After Recommending Anti-Semitic, White Supremacist YouTube Channel
79. Jade Raymond: The ecosystem has changed, and games need to catch up – At the Fun & Serious Festival, EA Motive’s former head dropped the first hint about the nature of her next project
80. Supercell opening new coding school (without teachers or classes): Hive Helsinki welcomes first students next year, has support from Rovio, Nvidia and more
81. The State Of The PS4 In 2018
82. Cryptography failure leads to easy hacking for PlayStation Classic
83. Intel promises big boost to integrated GPU, breaks teraflop barrier: The upgrade will bring a lot more games into the “playable framerate” category.
84. Blog: Timing financing to generate success
85. Blog: Embracing the pseudo-hallucinatory phenomena induced by games
86. Best of 2018: The great video game exodus
87. Best of 2018: Reversing the sunk cost fallacy – Devs recount regrettable cuts
88. Best of 2018: A Classic Tools Retrospective on the first version of the Unreal Editor
89. People of the Year 2018: Game Workers Unite – In a year full of game development horror stories, the pro-union group gained traction that could give creators the leverage they’ve lacked
90. People of the Year 2018: Lars Wingefors – We speak to the CEO behind 2018’s fastest-growing publisher about its ongoing acquisition spree and honouring THQ’s legacy
91. People of the Year: Annapurna Interactive – The acclaimed indie publisher continues to make its mark on the industry – despite its efforts to stay behind the scenes
92. God of War and Red Dead Redemption 2 win big at The Game Awards
93. Red Dead Redemption 2 wins Best Game at Fun & Serious Festival Awards: Rockstar’s game wins three in all, with SIE Santa Monica’s God of War picking up two
94. Making exposition optional in Red Dead Redemption II
95. Don’t Miss: How id Software created the original Doom
96. Devs explore what did and didn’t work in their text-driven IF Comp games
97. Seeing the past and future of gaming through The Game Awards
98. All The Big Announcements At The 2018 Game Awards

DIGITAL

1. Capitol Records, LLC v. ReDigi, Inc.
2. You Should Have the Right to Sue Apple: In Apple v. Pepper, the Supreme Court will decide whether iPhone App Store customers are entitled to make their case against the tech giant.
3. Qualcomm says a Chinese court has banned sales of older iPhones nationwide
4. Apps You Use Every Day Are Tracking Your Every Move, According to Very Creepy Report
5. Three Sentenced For Placing Advertising on Pirate Sites
6. Online ads spoil Christmas surprises, raising privacy concerns
7. How Facebook Schemed Against Its Users
8. Facebook Was Fully Aware That Tracking Who People Call and Text Is Creepy But Did It Anyway
9. The Empress Of Facebook: My Befuddling Dinner With Sheryl Sandberg
10. Documents Reveal How Facebook Sought To Undermine Competitor Vine
11. Facebook’s Dirty Tricks Are Nothing New For Tech
12. After Getting FOSTA Turned Into Law, Facebook Tells Its Users To Stop Using Naughty Words
13. Insights: Facebook, YouTube Take A Tumbl On Premium Video
14. Bikini app maker draws another disgruntled developer to its Facebook fight
15. Viral publisher First Media joins Snapchat with repurposed Facebook video
16. Mobile Location Scandals Keep Making Facebook’s Privacy Flubs Look Like Child’s Play
17. Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret: Dozens of companies use smartphone locations to help advertisers and even hedge funds. They say it’s anonymous, but the data shows how personal it is.
18. While Everyone’s Busy, Hollywood & Record Labels Suggest Congress Bring Back SOPA 
19. The Internet Is Getting Small And Boring. Long Live Tumblr.: Tumblr has been a safe harbor of delightful, weird, and deeply human stuff, free of the algorithms that have made social media dull and conformist.
20. The Problem With Banning Pornography on Tumblr: The decision has taken away an essential platform for some women and members of the L.G.B.T.Q. community. 
21. New Research: Screen Time Is Literally Changing Children’s Brains – But we don’t know if that’s a bad thing yet.
22. Copyrights, Bad Reviews and Social Media Smears: An Update on Internet Law
23. How to Purge Social Media ‘Friends’ So You Can Have Fun Online Again
24. For News, Americans Now Officially Prefer Social Media to Newspapers: Or at least this is the first time they’re admitting it.
25. Otto v. Hearst Communications, Inc.
26. AG Szpunar advises CJEU to rule that unlicensed sampling MAY be a copyright infringement and German free use may be contrary to EU law 
27. Latest EU Copyright Proposal: Block Everything, Never Make Mistakes, But Don’t Use Upload Filters 
28. Legacy Copyright Industries Lobbying Hard For EU Copyright Directive… While Pretending That Only Google Is Lobbying
29. TV, Sports & Movie Companies Still Freaking Out That EU Copyright Directive Might Include A Safe Harbor For Internet Platforms
30. Fair Use for “Meme” Can’t Be Decided on Motion to Dismiss—Philpot v. Alternet Media (Guest Blog Post)
31. Malware Purveyors Targeting Pirate Sites With Bogus DMCA Takedown Notices
32. Federal Courts Aren’t ATMs, Angry Judge Reminds Copyright Troll 
33. Google Walkout Organizers Demand an End to Forced Arbitration Industry-Wide
34. Google will shut down Google+ four months early after second data leak
35. Steve King Demands List of Google Staff So He Can Check If They’re God-Fearing Patriots
36. Two years after #Pizzagate showed the dangers of hateful conspiracies, they’re still rampant on YouTube
37. Republicans are mad at Google for search bias—will they do anything about it?
38. Google CEO Sundar Pichai Probed Over YouTube’s Conspiracy Problem At Congressional Hearing
39. Google+ bug exposes non-public profile data for 52 million users 
40. YouTube bans Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes for copyright infringement 
41. YouTube Gives $760,000 To Combat Gang Violence In London, Which It Has Been Accused Of Fueling 
42. The disinformation factory, or why YouTube loves the Flat Earth (Andres Guadamuz)
43. YouTube tells impersonation victim: No, you’re not being impersonated
44. Top 50 Most Viewed YouTube Channels Worldwide • Week Of 12/9/2018
45. YouTube Rewind 2018 Puts Storyline In The Hands Of Creators (Watch)
46. ‘YouTube Rewind 2018’ Becomes Second Most-Disliked Video In YouTube History
47. Naomi Campbell, Jason Momoa Latest Celebs To Launch Vlog Channels With YouTube
48. Lilly Singh Mounts YouTube Comeback With Ambitious Christmas Collab Series
49. YouTube Top 10 Music Videos of 2018 Dominated by Spanish-Language Tracks
50. YouTube Unveils 2018 Top-Trending Videos: Kylie Jenner’s Baby, Liza Koshy and David Dobrik Breakup Top the List
51. These Are The Brands That Had The Most-Subscribed YouTube Channels In 2018 (Study)
52. YouTube Is Hard. So Creators Are Starting To Do ‘Vlogmas’ On Their Instagram Stories. 
53. Instagram Is Testing ‘Creator Accounts’ That Are Specifically Tailored For Influencers
54. David Dobrik Nabs 10 Million Subscribers In Three Years
55. After Reorg, Fullscreen Signs 4 Creators To Fully-Managed Talent Unit (Exclusive) 
56. David Dobrik Wanted To Stop Vlogging After 420th Video, But Forged On After Rejected Netflix Show
57. Netflix’s Original Programming Viewership Climbs, But 63% Of Streams Still Come From Licensed Content (Study) 
58. Netflix Orders First African Original, Spy Dramedy ‘Queen Sono’
59. Here’s Why Netflix’s Mobile Apps Pulled In Record Revenues Last Month
60. Netflix Original Series Viewing Climbs, but Licensed Content Remains Majority of Total U.S. Streams
61. Viacom To Be Victorious As Netflix And Other Streamers Battle For Content 
62. Streaming-Sports Player DAZN Launches Original Series
63. Hulu Becomes First Streaming Service To Accept Venmo Payments
64. The Totally Free Streaming Service You Didn’t Know You Have
65. CollegeHumor Launches Native iOS, Android Apps For ‘Dropout’ Subscription Service
66. Apple’s anticipated ECG app rolls out today in watchOS 5.1.2
67. A look at the Apple Watch’s ECG, from someone who needs it
68. Amazon looks to airports to expand its checkout-free store footprint
69. Amazon “automated machine” punctures bear spray can, 24 employees hospitalized
70. After a Year of Tech Scandals, Our 10 Recommendations for AI: Let’s begin with better regulation, protecting workers, and applying “truth in advertising” rules to AI
71. How “Weird Events” Can Trick AI Into Hallucinating
72. Predictim Claims Its AI Can Flag ‘Risky’ Babysitters. So I Tried It on the People Who Watch My Kids.
73. Ethics by design: Canada adopts AI ethics and data protection declaration
74. Challenges of Future Intellectual Property Issues for Artificial Intelligence
75. AI in the Travel Industry – Legal Friend or Foe?
76. All hail the AI overlord: Smart cities and the AI Internet of Things
77. Move over AlphaGo: AlphaZero taught itself to play three different games
78. Why driving is hard—even for AIs
79. This artist is using AI to paint with his mind 
80. The Seductive Diversion of ‘Solving’ Bias in Artificial Intelligence: Trying to “fix” A.I. distracts from the more urgent questions about the technology
81. Build first and ask questions later?: Three hidden vulnerabilities of artificial intelligence
82. Artificial Intelligence and the coming of the self-designing machine
83. NASA’s next Mars rover will use AI to be a better science partner
84. Consumer Robots Had a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year 
85. Whistleblower: Uber Could Have Prevented Self-Driving Fatality – Uber execs reportedly ignored his emailed warnings.
86. These Full-Body Deepfakes are Like Nothing We’ve Ever Seen: The simulations are still clearly fake, but better versions are on the way. 
87. The Ancient Origins of Automation
88. Disparate Interactions: An Algorithm-in-the-Loop Analysis of Fairness in Risk Assessments (Ben Green & Yiling Chen)
89. Bitcoin Firm Alleges Manipulation of the Bitcoin Cash Network that is Alleged to Have Resulted in a $4 Billion Industry Meltdown 
90. Ethereum falls below $100—down 93 percent from its January high
91. SEC KOs Mayweather and DJ Khaled for Promoting Cryptocurrency Without Disclosures  
92. I Bought This Custom 18-Million Pixel Workstation on Craigslist, and It Very Nearly Ruined Me
93. 50 years on, we’re living the reality first shown at the “Mother of All Demos”
94. It’s Been 50 Years: Take Some Time This Weekend To Watch Doug Engelbart’s Mother Of All Demos 
95. “Why Are You Recommending Notice and Takedown?”: The Canadian Bar Association’s Puzzling Position at the Copyright Review (Michael Geist)

CREATIVITY

1. Marvel Seeks to Shutdown the “Wakanda Wine Fest”
2. Playing Music in Bars and Restaurants – Cautions When Allowing Broadcast Stations to Play in Retail Outlets 
3. School Boots Professor Off Campus After He Exposes Its Complicity In Predatory Publishing Schemes
4. Does the legal profession have a moral duty to innovate?
5. Cubs, Nationals Launch Another Trademark Opposition Over A ‘W’ Logo
6. The Emmys People Are Opposing A Pet Products Company Named After A Dog Named ‘Emmy’
7. June 17, 2019: Key changes to trademark laws come into force
8. What Do Pot And Software Have In Common? Stupid Patent Thickets Based On A Lack Of Patented Prior Art
9. The State of Canadian Copyright: My Copyright Review Appearance Before the Industry Committee (Michael Geist)
10. In Support of Evidence-Based Copyright Reform: My Industry Committee Copyright Review Submission (Michael Geist)

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Time Warner Center, including CNN, evacuated due to bomb threat
2. AT&T and Justice Department continue battle over $85.4 billion Time Warner acquisition – “Bottom line: We see AT&T prevailing,” one analyst declared, citing some pointed questions directed at the DOJ by a D.C. Circuit judge.
3. AT&T Finds Yet Another Way To Nickel-And-Dime Its Broadband, TV Customers
4. AT&T/Verizon lobby misunderstands arrow of time, makes impossible claim 
5. If You’re Surprised By Verizon’s AOL, Yahoo Face Plant, You Don’t Know Verizon
6. Oath (f/k/a AOL) Agrees to Pay Record Settlement over COPPA Violations 
7. Report: FBI opens criminal investigation into net neutrality comment fraud
8. The FBI Is Now Looking Into Those Bogus Net Neutrality Comments
9. Net neutrality bill 38 votes short in Congress, and time has almost run out
10. Telecom’s Top Lobbying Arm Oddly Keeps Undermining The Industry’s Own Claims About Net Neutrality
11. At least one major carrier lied about its 4G coverage, FCC review finds
12. FCC Tries to Bury Report Showing Many Broadband Users Still Don’t Get The Speeds They Pay For
13. FCC panel wants to tax Internet-using businesses and give the money to ISPs
14. FCC chairman acknowledges Russians interfered in net neutrality debate: About half a million comments sent to the agency about the net neutrality repeal were from Russian email addresses, Ajit Pai says in a memo.
15. Ajit Pai admits Russia interfered in net neutrality process amid lawsuit
16. FCC chairman acknowledges Russia interfered in net neutrality public comments
17. FCC Chairman Pai Calls for “Regulatory Humility” as Agency Explores the Impact of AI and Machine Learning on Communications Technology and Marketplace 
18. FCC’s robotext crackdown could block legal messages, critics say [Updated]
19. Why 5G Hype Is Out of Control This Week
20. Comcast rejected by small town—residents vote for municipal fiber instead
21. The TV Sector’s Latest Bad Idea: Ads That Play When You Press Pause

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. How Bike-Sharing Services And Electric Vehicles Are Sending Personal Data To The Chinese Government
2. China Demands Release of Huawei Executive Arrested in Canada on Behalf of the U.S.
3. Everything That Happened With Huawei While You Were Sleeping
4. Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou granted $10M bail in Vancouver
5. Head of MI6 warns of Huawei security concerns
6. FBI Says Chinese Espionage Poses ‘Most Severe’ Threat to American Security: The agency’s disclosures to Senate come ahead of expected charges against hackers linked to Chinese government; China suspected in Marriott hack
7. The US is worried about China spying via Huawei because it did the same in the past
8. UK Spies Say They’re Dropping Bulk Data Collection For Bulk Equipment Interference
9. Tencent Music Climbs in Trading Debut After $1.1 Billion IPO
10. Super Micro Says It Found No Secret Spy Chips on Motherboards, Contradicting Bombshell Report
11. Time to comply with the GDPR. No but really.
12. What Are the Limits of the GDPR? European Data Protection Board Issues New Guidance on Territorial Scope of the GDPR
13. 22 apps with 2 million+ Google Play downloads had a malicious backdoor
14. Big Brother is watching: Australia’s `snooper’s charter’ is now law
15. Was your phone imaged by border agents? They may still have the data
16. Facial recognition: It’s time for action
17. Microsoft Posts List Of Facial Recognition Tech Guidelines It Thinks The Government Should Make Mandatory
18. What do AI, blockchain and GDPR mean for cybersecurity?
19. Australia passes new law to thwart strong encryption
20. Australian Government Passes Law Forcing Tech Companies To Break Encryption
21. A Failure of Enforcement: Why Changing the Law Won’t Fix All That Ails Canadian Privacy (Michael Geist)
22. When Not Hiding Cameras In Traffic Barrels And Streetlights, The DEA Is Shoving Them Into… Vacuums?

Jon

GAMES

1. Games Done Quick bans two runners over sexist, transphobic remarks: GoldenEye 007 runners barred “indefinitely” from GDQ events after troubling screenshots circulate
2. Bethesda issues permanent ban to Fallout 76 players involved in homophobic harassment: Player forced to report harassers over Twitter due to lack of in-game systems
3. Bethesda Support Leaks Fallout 76 Customer Names, Addresses & Phone Numbers
4. Bethesda’s attempt to fix a Fallout 76 blunder leaks angry shoppers’ PID [Updated]
5. Bethesda responds to Fallout 76 collector’s edition complaints: Developer offers $5 of in-game currency to fans after misrepresenting $200 Power Armor Edition
6. Bethesda promising replacement bags after Fallout 76: Power Armor Edition backlash – Beleaguered publisher is “finalising manufacturing plans” for those canvas bags it originally advertised
7. Bethesda To Replace Nylon Bags With Promised Canvas Bags For Owners Of Fallout 76’s $200 Power Armor Edition
8. Don’t Miss: 20 years of Fallout: Lessons learned shipping games in the wasteland
9. Swedish authorities raid Starbreeze on suspicion of insider trading
10. Starbreeze raided by authorities, one person arrested: Swedish Economic Crime Authority have seized computers and documents from troubled publisher this morning
11. Starbreeze faces insolvency, CEO steps down: Swedish firm has applied for “reconstruction” with Stockholm courts as financial impact of Overkill’s The Walking Dead becomes clear
12. Starbreeze slashes price of Overkill’s The Walking Dead due to low sales: Content sold for $60 one month ago now available for $30
13. Starbreeze CEO departs as company files for administration
14. Pokémon Go trespassing lawsuit settled: No terms disclosed, but both parties targeting approval next February
15. Kareem Hunt removed from Madden NFL 19: Former Chiefs running back cut from both real life and in-game team after assault video emerges
16. ‘This can’t go on too long:’ Artists demand compensation as Fortnite takes their dances – Rapper 2 Milly has threatened to sue the company. Will others follow suit?
17. 2 Milly sues over Fortnite dance: Rapper enlists firm from Gears of War Cole Train suit to go after Epic Games for selling Milly Rock emote to players
18. Epic Games is being sued over one of Fortnite’s dance emotes
19. Fortnite and copyright: Can you steal a dance routine?: Reed Smith’s Gregor Pryor on the potential copyright issues surrounding Fortnite’s dance emotes
20. Ninja’s Spent 3,800 Hours Streaming ‘Fortnite’ This Year. That’s The Equivalent Of 95 40-Hour Workweeks.
21. Epic unveils new Fortnite Creative mode focused on building
22. ‘Fortnite’ Was The Most Talked About Game on Twitter in 2018
23. Valve offers explanation for October drop in Steam traffic: Indie complaints prompt run-down of algorithm shift, unintended functionality of promotion tools
24. Valve’s Steam Link app lands on Raspberry Pi
25. Steam Link is now in beta for Raspberry Pi: Micro-computer costs less to buy than the now discontinued Steam Link hardware
26. Valve creates new rev share tiers to give big sellers a break
27. Indie developers are unhappy with Steam’s new revenue sharing tiers: Developers take to social media to voice concerns that Valve is pushing out indies as it courts AAA
28. Steam is under attack from all sides: Valve changes its revenue share as its world becomes increasingly hostile
29. Devs say a problem with the Steam algorithm has severely hurt store page traffic
30. Valve explains recent Steam store traffic changes
31. Valve changes developer terms to try to retain top games
32. Valve adds revenue share tiers for developers: Other updates include confidentiality clarification to allow developers to share their own sales data
33. Artifact and the Five Currencies: An economic deep dive into Valve’s card game
34. Opinion: It’s ‘Store Wars’ in the 21st century
35. Epic Games launching Steam competitor with 88% revenue share for devs
36. Epic undercuts Steam with new store that gives devs more money
37. Epic Aims to Take on Steam with Newly Announced Epic Games Store
38. Epic launching Steam rival with 88% revenue share for developers: Free games, direct access to customers, mod support and more; Tim Sweeney reveals the plan for the Epic Games Store
39. Epic Games is no longer actively developing Unreal Tournament
40. Quake Champions to introduce a paid battle pass
41. Stardew Valley dev announces decision to self-publish
42. Stardew Valley switches to self-publishing on most platforms: Chucklefish to remain at the helm for Nintendo Switch, mobile versions
43. Nintendo Game Content Guidelines for Online Video & Image Sharing Platforms
44. Nintendo ends controversial YouTube revenue-sharing program
45. Nintendo Shuttering Controversial ‘Creators Program,’ Widening Monetization Prospects For YouTube And Twitch Gamers
46. Nintendo pulls plug on YouTube Creators Program: Switch maker will stop taking a cut of revenue from people making original videos about Nintendo games
47. Nintendo Shuts Down Its ‘Creators’ YouTuber Program, Replaces It With Simpler But Still Confusing Guidelines For Streaming
48. Strategy Analytics: Nintendo to take back console market leadership in 2019 – Analyst predicts Nintendo will sell 17.3 million consoles in 2019, overtaking both Microsoft and Sony
49. Nintendo bets heavily on the holidays: While Sony and Microsoft have spread sales over the year, Nintendo is laser-focused on the holiday season – and this year it needs every Switch sale it can get
50. Nintendo’s new content guidelines will make monetization easier for YouTubers
51. Virtuos offers dev advice on porting games to the Switch
52. Blog: A look at the cinematic music of Breath of the Wild
53. Blog: What anthropology has to say about games
54. Players find secret emulation menu hidden in PlayStation Classic
55. Dozens of hidden game names found in PlayStation Classic source files
56. PlayStation Classic’s hidden settings accessible through USB keyboards
57. IGDA calls for industry action on loot boxes: Developer group says publishers should clearly disclose odds, commit to not marketing loot boxes to children
58. IGDA urges devs to self-regulate loot boxes — while they still can
59. The FTC is Searching for the Value in Loot 
60. Senators Seek FTC Scrutiny of Children’s Apps 
61. Console loot boxes haven’t ‘achieved the trust’, says Gameloft – DLC: Plus the link between death metal drummers and Media Molecule’s hiring process, and marketing tips from a sandwich shop
62. The GamesIndustry.biz Podcast: Unpacking loot boxes – Download our latest episode now, exploring how the industry can handle its monetisation more responsibly
63. UK gambling commission in talks with Twitch over casino streams: Two unlicensed sites have been played by Twitch streamers in its popular casino category recently
64. Why are AAA single-player games viable again? – 2018 in Review: A look at the good and bad of an industry where the biggest players can make a business catering to those who fly solo
65. US game industry revenues up 24% in third quarter – NPD Group: Mobile games and digital content growth help push third quarter consumer spending on games up to $9.1 billion
66. GameStop reports $488.6 million loss despite strong software sales
67. The year games retail (didn’t) die – 2018 In Review: As store closures mount up, is there hope left for physical games outlets?
68. Farming Simulator 19 most-downloaded game on EMEAA charts this week: FIFA 19 dominates combined retail and digital charts once more
69. Niantic invests in holographic AR display outfit: Pokemon Go creator among latest backers in DigiLens’ Series C funding round
70. Blog: Why I lost $42,500 making a VR game
71. To the ‘VR is Dying’ Crowd: There’s More VR Users on Steam Than Ever Before
72. US Army awards $480 million contract for Microsoft’s Hololens: Augmented reality headset prototypes will be developed to increase “lethality, mobility, and situational awareness”
73. Microsoft wins $480 million military contract to bring HoloLens to the battlefield
74. GameStop reports strong quarterly sales, $488.6 million loss: Asset impairment charge due to slumping stock price wipes out gains from Spider-Man, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
75. Soulja Boy Is Selling Some Kind Of Game Consoles, But People Are Suspicious
76. Hard drive share as a strategic weapon for console publishers: MIDiA Research’s Karol Severin on why AAA publishers need to dominate your storage – until streaming kicks off, of course
77. Beware the corporate video game canon
78. Play Ventures aims to invest $30 million in video game startups
79. Voice actors launch free initiative to help developers improve their scripts: Mass Effect, Firewatch, and Gone Home voice actors found Specialized Workshops And Actor Tactics
80. App Annie: Mobile to take 60% of worldwide gaming revenue – Cross-platform play on mobile, improved smartphones are driving the rise in market share
81. Playgroundz: Women dominate mobile gaming and spending, are scarce on YouTube and Twitch – Women make up only 30% of gamers on YouTube, 22% of esports team members, and 19.5% of gamers on Twitch
82. Building EA’s real-time esports strategy: Competitive gaming commissioner Evan Denbaum and GM Michael Martinez discuss EA’s foray into mobile esports with Command & Conquer Rivals
83. Super Evil Megacorp partners with NetEase to launch Vainglory in China
84. Blog: What differentiates players in the U.S. and China?
85. Video: How developers can collaborate and manage conflict 
86. Layoffs at Jam City as mobile studio ‘reallocates resources’
87. Jam City reportedly lays off large number of employees across multiple studios – Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery developer undergoes “organizational changes” following multiple acquisitions
88. Government report values UK games industry at just over £1bn: Ukie suggests that figure might be substantially higher
89. Mobile studio Playtika acquires Wooga to bolster its casual games offerings
90. Playtika acquires German casual studio Wooga: Deal is worth a reported $100 million, with no layoffs to Wooga’s 180-strong team
91. Carmageddon is the latest property to be acquired by THQ Nordic
92. Rovio acquires Eve: War of Ascension dev PlayRaven
93. Rovio acquires Finnish mobile studio PlayRaven: Deal covers all shares in PlayRaven and its staff of 25 people
94. Ubisoft acquires game server provider i3D.net 
95. Ubisoft acquires server company i3D.net: Publisher hopes to strengthen online and multiplayer experiences with help of Dutch provider
96. EVE Online dev halts production on Project Nova
97. CCP halts production of EVE-based FPS Project Nova: Icelandic studio is going “back to the drawing board” more than a year after announcement
98. New AI Dreams Up Trippy Video Games Based on Real Life Video: All it took was a graphics card, a game engine, a software engineer, and AI.
99. Microsoft publishes Xbox Family Guide to educate parents ahead of Christmas: “It’s important parents take an active role in managing their children’s access to online content and gaming,” says director Harvey Eagle
100. Don’t Miss: Fostering camaraderie in game communities from the ground up
101. Four design lessons which were really obvious to everyone but me
102. People of the Year 2018: The Xbox Adaptive Controller team – Microsoft’s team didn’t just create an excellent, accessible controller; they also set a new industry precedent
103. PUBG Mobile grabs Best Game in 2018 Google Play Awards
104. PUBG Mobile leads winners in Android Game of the Year Awards: 20 titles celebrated for innovation, competitive multiplayers, and casual accessibility
105. Brenda Romero, Jade Raymond and Fumito Ueda to be honoured at Fun & Serious Festival 2018: Bilbao event will also host two days of talks from Rare, Ubisoft, Tencent, Women in Games, and more
106. Apple names Donut County and Gorogoa best iOS games of 2018
107. Donut County and Gorogoa triumph in Apple Game of the Year Awards: Meanwhile, Apple Design Awards highlight Florence, Inside, Alto’s Odyssey and more
108. Former Sierra On-Line dev posts original source codes to eBay
109. Al Lowe reveals his Sierra source code collection—then puts all of it on eBay
110. NVIDIA’s physics engine is now open source
111. Video games and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad Christmas: 10 Years Ago This Month: The global economic downturn leads to a holiday season full of closures, layoffs, bankruptcies, and all-around bummers

DIGITAL

1. Lawmakers Say Facebook Struck Deals Over Personal Data 
2. Mark Zuckerberg Was ‘Skeptical’ About Risk of Leaks Like Cambridge Analytica, Emails Show
3. Facebook also let dating apps have further access to Graph API back in 2015
4. Good For The World, But Not Good For Us: The Really Damning Bits Of The Facebook Revelations 
5. ACLU Wants Release of Secret Court Order Demanding Facebook Build Surveillance Backdoor
6. EFF, ACLU Petition Court To Unseal Documents From DOJ’s Latest Anti-Encryption Efforts 
7. Want to Quit Facebook? These Are the Best Alternatives for Most of What Facebook Does
8. Facebook is betting that shows with cult followings like ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ can juice up Facebook Watch and bring in millennial viewers
9. App Developers Suing Facebook Suffer Redaction Failure, Expose Discussions About Pay-For-Play API Access
10. Judge slams bikini-app maker’s lawyers in legal clash with Facebook
11. Facebook’s Policy Team Steamrolled On FOSTA By Sheryl Sandberg’s Personal Priorities
12. The Utter Failure Of FOSTA: More Lives At Risk… And Sex Ads Have Increased, Not Decreased
13. Philpot v. Alternet Media, Inc.
14. Eighth Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Materially Supporting Terrorists” Fails–Copeland v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
15. Giuliani can’t figure out how URLs work, blames Twitter for liberal bias
16. Rudy Giuliani’s Paranoid Nonsense Tweet Is A Good Reminder That We Need Actual Cybersecurity Experts In Government
17. I Wanted to Stream Buffy, Angel, and Firefly for Free, But Not Like This
18. Marvel and Netflix Have Canceled Daredevil
19. The bloodbath continues: Netflix cancels Daredevil after three seasons
20. Fans Are Really Mad Netflix Cancelled Marvel’s Daredevil
21. Head of Alibaba’s Youku Sacked, Under Police Investigation for Corruption
22. Casey Neistat Books Part In Netflix Film With Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
23. Ariana Grande Blasts Past Record For Biggest YouTube Debut In 24 Hours
24. Ariana Grande Sets YouTube, Vevo Record
25. YouTube’s Oldest Star, Indian Chef ‘Mastanamma’, Has Passed Away At 107
26. 7-Year-Old Ryan ToysReview Reportedly Earned $22 Million On YouTube Last Year
27. Byeeeee, Logan Paul: Brands Prefer ‘Micro Influencers’ Now
28. How YouTube Star Logan Paul Made $14.5 Million Amid Scandal
29. Under Armour is running a YouTube series on IGTV
30. YouTube Expands ‘Stories’ Feature To All Creators With At Least 10,000 Subscribers
31. Hacker Rigs Printers To Spit Out Pro-PewDiePie Propaganda In Fight Against T-Series
32. PewDiePie Battles Racist Fan Comments By Raising Money For Indian Child Rights Charity
33. Adult Swim, Crunchyroll announce first-ever co-production: A Blade Runner anime
34. ESPN Has Lost 14 Million Viewers In 7 Years Thanks To Cord Cutting
35. Behind-the-Scenes NBA Content Is Coming to New YouTube Channel: Part of a continuing partnership between the league and BBTV
36. BBTV and NBA Launch NBA Playmakers Youtube Channel: Channel to Feature Original Shows Starring Some of the Most Talented Digital Influencers
37. YouTube Aims To Boost Video Engagement With Home Feed Autoplay
38. Pentatonix Sets 3rd NBC Christmas Special With Kelly Clarkson, Backstreet Boys, More
39. AT&T May Sell 10% Stake in Hulu, Worth Up to $930 Million, Potentially Giving Disney More Control
40. AT&T makes it more expensive to cancel DirecTV or Internet service
41. WarnerMedia Considering Selling Its $930 Million Hulu Stake Ahead Of Launching Its Own Streaming Service
42. WarnerMedia’s Forthcoming Streaming Service To Offer 3 Content Tiers
43. Hulu Lands Funimation First-Look Deal for Japanese Anime Series
44. Hulu, AT&T Considering Ads That Will Play When Viewers Pause
45. AT&T’s Otter Media Lays Off 10% of Staff, Will Absorb Machinima in Reorg
46. Otter Media Lays Off 140 Staffers Amid Reorganization Of Rooster Teeth, Fullscreen, Machinima, More
47. Verizon Dinged Again For Privacy Violations, This Time For Slinging Personalized Ads To Kids
48. Verizon takes aim at Tumblr’s kneecaps, bans all adult content
49. Tumblr to Ban All Adult Content
50. Tumblr Updates Guidelines to Prohibit “Adult Content”
51. Tumblr’s porn ban is going about as badly as expected
52. Tumblr’s New Ban on Adult Content Is a Bigger Deal Than You Think
53. Tumblr’s Porn Ban Is Off to a Predictably Stupid Start
54. Tumblr’s New ‘No Sex’ Rules Show The Problems Of FOSTA And EU Copyright Directive In One Easy Move
55. Fandom’s Fate Is Not Tied to Tumblr’s: If Tumblr doesn’t learn from history, it will be headed for the same fate as LiveJournal.
56. A Logan Paul Vlog Led To The Arrest Of Man Who Mistreated Baby Tiger, Investigators Say
57. Tumblr’s Porn-Detecting Ai Has One Job – And It’s Bad At It
58. The Year’s Most Popular Digital Celebrities And Web Series On Tumblr (Exclusive)
59. In Video Debut, CIMON the ISS Robot Throws an Unexpected Tantrum
60. Study: People Are Chill With Robot Brothels – For Singles
61. Judge says AI could have been used: Courts mindful of technology 
62. AI is here to stay
63. Why AI Needs To Reflect Society
64. Listen To An AI’s Nightmarish Beatboxing: You’ve been warned.
65. FTC Hearings Exploring Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, and Predictive Analytics Focus on Notions of Fairness, Transparency and Ethical Uses 
66. How We Can Prepare for Catastrophically Dangerous AI—and Why We Can’t Wait
67. More than an auto-pilot, AI charts its course in aviation
68. Why the United States Needs a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and What It Should Look Like
69. This Startup Says It Can Tell From Your Eyes If You’re Lying
70. Are ethical guidelines needed for autonomous vehicles? 
71. Reddit Co-founder Mocks Elon Musk’s Warnings About AI: But then he issued a warning of his own.
72. Tech Policy In Times Of Trouble
73. In Year-End Review, Reddit Touts 1.4 Billion Monthly Native Video Views
74. First punch: Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled settle with SEC over unlawful touting of Icos 
75. How Podcast Platforms Respond to Hate Speech: Clinic Releases New Memo
76. Drake, Ariana Grande Top Spotify’s Year-End ‘Wrapped’ Charts 
77. Drake Can’t Be Stopped As Apple Music 2018 Artist of the Year
78. Apple Music arrives on Amazon’s Echo speakers starting December 17
79. Apple published a surprising amount of detail about how the HomePod works
80. Tim Cook: Apple won’t tolerate white supremacists, conspiracy theorists
81. iOS apps used Touch ID feature to trick users into paying hefty fees
82. Google’s cross-platform mobile app dev kit Flutter hits v. 1.0
83. Google bridges Android and iOS development with Flutter 1.0
84. Palm Phone Review: Fun, endearing, and bad at everything
85. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Mastered The Politics Of Digital Intimacy: The congresswoman-elect connects with young voters, promoting progressive positions while chopping peppers and making noodles.
86. Digital Divide Is Wider Than We Think, Study Says
87. Tech Giants Wake Up to EU Copyright Plan That Threatens to Nuke the Web
88. Latest On EU Copyright Directive: No One’s Happy With Article 13, So Maybe Let’s Drop It?
89. Introduction of the Geo-Blocking Regulation: Update for Website Operators 
90. Don’t let the new geo-blocking rules ruin your Christmas
91. The EU Anti-Geoblocking Regulation Becomes Effective Today (Guest Blog Post)
92. Some EU Nations Still Haven’t Implemented The 2013 Marrakesh Treaty For The Blind
93. Starbucks will begin filtering pornography from its Wi-Fi networks
94. The Best (Free) Streaming Service You’ve Never Heard Of
95. ATF: Indian Streaming Platform, Eros Now to Invest $70 Million in Original Content
96. Hooking them young? “Amazon Teen” is targeting kids on Snapchat
97. Congress: Amazon didn’t give “sufficient answers” about facial recognition
98. An Amazon revolt could be brewing as the tech giant exerts more control over brands: Some companies are choosing to end their relationship with Amazon rather than cave to the online retailer’s demands.
99. Amazon Is Offering Gift Cards to Customers Who Complain About Its Data Breach: Report
100. Alert! Alert! The information demands on the modern digital journalist are overwhelming and leading to burnout: “We have a problem with the ways traditional managers view technology in this new environment.” 
101. Data Scraping: Theft or Fair Game?
102. Feds: AriseBank duped investors out of over $4M in cryptocurrency scam
103. Floyd Mayweather fined $600,000 for undisclosed cryptocurrency plugs
104. 69-Year-Old Troll Loses Case to Make Himself 20 Years Younger
105. Media Newsletter – Defamation by retweet, blocking websites and Jeff Koons liable for copying advert
106. The Vice Squad: A Case Commentary on R v Vice Media Canada Inc (Lisa Silver) 

CREATIVITY

1. R. v. Vice Media Canada Inc. (2018 SCC 53)
2. This Is a Dark Day for Press Freedom: Our editorial response to today’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling.
3. ‘Dark day for press freedom’: Vice must give ISIS notes to police, top court rules – But justices say journalists should be present to argue their side when police seek production orders
4. Canada Rejects A Free Press: Supreme Court Says Journalist Must Hand Over Sources
5. Stephen Colbert accuses Donald Trump of stealing his material
6. Framework for media production orders stands, with some refinement: SCC
7. Fake News on Fair Dealing from Michael Enright Himself and the CBC Sunday Edition
8. ECtHR rules that prohibiting linking to defamatory content might be freedom of expression violation: what implications (if any) for copyright? (Eleonora Rosati)
9. Using a Competitor’s Trademark as a Keyword in Keyword Advertising is Not an Actionable Trademark Use
10. Music modernization act 
11. Ramble on Back to Court: Led Zeppelin Can’t Shake “Stairway” Infringement Claims
12. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 8: The Access Copyright Fight Against Transactional Licensing (Michael Geist)
13. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 9: The Remarkable Growth of Free and Open Materials (Michael Geist)
14. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 10: Rejecting Access Copyright’s Demand to Force Its Licence on Canadian Education (Michael Geist)
15. Complex networks study ranks the most influential films of all time
16. How to patent an infotainment system
17. Our Bipolar Free-Speech Disorder And How To Fix It (Part 2)
18. Our Bipolar Free-Speech Disorder And How To Fix It (Part 3)

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY 

1. Boycott: What If The CRTC Launched a Consumer Internet Code and Consumer Groups Refused to Participate in its Development? (Michael Geist)
2. FCC Commissioner Accuses Her Own Agency Of A Net Neutrality Cover Up
3. “What is the FCC hiding?” Pai still won’t release net neutrality server logs
4. Wireless Carriers Won’t Comment On 5G’s Most Important Question: How Much Will It Cost?
5. Ajit Pai buries 2-year-old speed test data in appendix of 762-page report
6. Senators Continue To Point Out Our Broadband Maps Suck
7. How a phone app detected Sprint’s alleged throttling of Skype
8. Verizon/AOL helped advertisers track kids online, must now pay $5M fine
9. Nota Bene Episode 14: Net Neutrality Essentials 
10. UK ISPs Demand Ad Watchdog Crack Down On ‘Fake Fiber’ Broadband 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. China Forces Tesla and Other EV Makers to Turn Over Driver Data: Every vehicle in the nation shares 61 data points – including its real-time location.
2. Google Shut Out Privacy And Security Teams From Secret China Project
3. Google Faces European Consumer Group Complaints Alleging GDPR Violations for Improper Collection of Location Tracking Data 
4. FBI Faked Up A FedEx Website To Track Down A Scam Artist
5. Deputy AG Claims There’s No Market For Better Security While Complaining About Encryption At A Cybercrime Conference
6. GCHQ Propose A ‘Going Dark’ Workaround That Creates The Same User Trust Problem Encryption Backdoors Do
7. Lawsuit: Boston PD’s ‘Gang Database’ Says People Who Wear Nikes And Have Been Beat Up By Gang Members Are ‘Gang Associates’
8. How Civil Subpoenas Are Used To Unmask Online Speakers, And How A Recent Decision Will Help Deter Bogus Ones
9. Iranians indicted in Atlanta city government ransomware attack
10. Thousands of sensitive emails stolen in intrusion of Republican campaign arm
11. Marriott breach leaves 500 million exposed with passport, card numbers stolen
12. Mass router hack exposes millions of devices to potent NSA exploit
13. EternalSuffering: NSA Exploits Still Being Successfully Used To Hijack Computers More Than A Year After Patching
14. Hackers breach Quora.com and steal password data for 100 million users
15. What Can and Should the Law Do About ‘Deepfake’: An Update
16. The Hack of 100 Million Quora Users Could Be Even Bigger Than It Sounds
17. DOJ Tells Tech Companies to Develop “Responsible Encryption”
18. FTC Issues Online Ad-Tracking Recommendations
19. FTC Commissioners Call for Federal Privacy Legislation and Highlight Lack of Civil Penalty Enforcement in Senate Hearing 
20. New EU ePrivacy Regulation to come into force in 2019: What to expect

Jon

GAMES

1. FTC agrees to investigate loot box monetization schemes in games
2. FTC pledges loot crate investigation: Gaming monetization tactic compared to gambling
3. Federal Trade Commission will investigate video game loot boxes: Chairman Joseph Simons promises Congress to investigate potential for child susceptibility to addiction, problem gambling
4. ESA claims loot boxes aren’t gambling as FTC prepares to investigate
5. UK Gambling Commission: No link between loot boxes and exposure to gambling: Commission tells GamesIndustry.biz it did not find loot boxes are gateway to gambling, despite what media reports claim
6. Australian government advised to review loot boxes after five-month inquiry: Environment and Communications Reference Committee releases 90-page report dissecting the issue
7. A hot PlayStation mic captures sounds of apparent rape, leads to arrest
8. Square Looks To Block Trademark App Of Indie Game Over Game Franchise It Acquired A Decade Ago And Did Nothing With
9. Two weeks in, Fallout 76 is a lonely, glitchy, flawed mess
10. Law firm investigates Bethesda over Fallout 76 refund policy: Consumers left with an “unplayable experience”, says Migliaccio & Rathod
11. Bethesda Responds To Fallout 76 Complaints, Reveals Upcoming Changes And Bug Fixes
12. $200 Fallout 76 Edition Promised Fancy Bag, Delivers Nylon Trash Instead 
13. Chinese Game Site Censors Winnie The Pooh inKingdom Hearts III
14. When does an homage become a rip-off?: Legal or not, Epic Games’ uncompensated copying of other creators’ dances in Fortnite has called the company’s morality into question
15. Don’t Miss: Designing morality in games
16. Unity offers guidelines for what it considers ethical AI design
17. Top Twitch Star Ninja Faces Backlash After Reporting Fellow ‘Fortnite’ Player For Stream-Sniping
18. Blog: Building a community through Twitch
19. Concern growing about Activision’s influence at Blizzard – Report: Recently departed employees point to executive personnel changes and pressure to keep costs down
20. Putting Nintendo Switch’s 8.2 million US Switch sales in context
21. Switch stars as Nintendo hits big holiday milestones in the U.S.
22. Nintendo on track to miss two-year sales targets for Switch, say analysts: Platform holder’s share price down 33% from January peak
23. Nintendo brings in $250 million in US over Black Friday weekend: Switch hardware sales were more than double last year’s total for the Thanksgiving-to-Cyber-Monday stretch; US installed base tops 8.2 million
24. Reggie Fils-Aime: Nintendo US makes 60% of revenue during the holidays – Company still eyeing 20 million Switch sales for the year as it enters busiest sales period
25. Nintendo struggles to contain massive Smash Bros. Ultimateleaks
26. Nintendo joins the limited-mobility club with Xbox Adaptive Controller (unofficially)
27. The Past, Present, And Future Of Diablo
28. Opinion: ‘Winter is coming’ for the video game biz
29. Google Play removes games for installing malware: 13 apparent racing games all from same developer taken down after over 560,000 downloads
30. Fallout 76: Critical Consensus – Reviewers say post-apocalyptic role-playing franchise’s foray into multiplayer is a boring, broken, buggy bomb
31. Battlefield V struggles as Black Friday transforms UK Charts: PS4 dominates hardware sales, just ahead of Xbox One
32. How Hell Let Loose hopes to set itself apart from other WWII shooters: Team17 partners with Aussie dev Black Matter to bring Kickstarter-funded game to market
33. Red Dead Online Goes Live This Week
34. Blog: A historian discusses Red Dead Redemption 2
35. Rockstar abandons Agent trademark: Almost ten years after announcement, GTA developer’s spy thriller seems to be officially dead
36. Releasing Attentat 1942 in Germany, a game scrutinizing Nazi occupation
37. Video: Playing with Pride — When game culture & LGBTQ culture collide
38. Pokemon: Let’s Go has sold over 3 million units worldwide
39. Fortnite just passed 200 million registered users 
40. Fortnite passes 200m registered users: Battle royale’s playerbase now just shy of Brazil’s entire population
41. Free-to-play console revenue triples over holiday period to reach $64m: Black Friday and Cyber Monday digital games revenue up 14.5% year-on-year, according to SuperData
42. Total War: Arena shutting down after failing to meet expectations
43. Starbreeze cutting costs after Overkill’s The Walking Deadfalls short
44. Starbreeze management ordered to cut costs after poor sales of Overkill’s The Walking Dead: Board of directors mandates review to cost of operations, calls for publisher to “sharpen focus on core business”
45. Sniper Elite dev Rebellion drops $100M on new film studio
46. PlayStation Classic Review
47. The PlayStation Classic Is Minimum Effort Nostalgia 
48. PlayStation Classic review: A far-from-classic experience
49. Here’s December 2018’s PlayStation Plus Lineup
50. Promethean AI promises to unlock experimentation in AAA development: Founder and CEO Andrew Maximov discusses how AI can reshape the games industry
51. Humans Teamed up With a New Kind of AI to Crush a Notoriously Difficult Video Game
52. New Game From Ingress Recruits Players Using Artificial Intelligence
53. The future of 2D gaming: YoYo Games’ CTO Russell Kay speaks to developers about the benefits and burdens of building your game in two dimensions
54. Orpheus sees a blue ocean in VR games for well-being: Ex-Rockstar and Telltale staffer Job Stauffer explains why he left mainstream development to co-found self-care entertainment outfit
55. Zen and the art of development: Designing games for meditation: Alto’s Odyssey, ABZÛ, and Shape of the World developers on how to develop a meditative experience
56. Jam City opens new Toronto studio for Bingo Pop acquisition: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery developer acquires Bingo Pop IP and team from Uken Games
57. Xbox Adaptive Controller Christmas ad furthers Microsoft’s push for accessibility
58. $1,550 Vive Pro McLaren Edition Further Confuses Headset’s Positioning
59. Shenmue 3 dev ends crowdfunding efforts with over $7.1M raised
60. Shenmue III crowdfunding totals $7.18 million   `
61. Wargaming UK acquires Edge Case Games: Fractured Space developer will be folded into World of Tanks firm to work on new free-to-play MMO
62. Dev survey: 38% of game developers broke even or better on last game
63. Keywords Studios: “We are going to keep acquiring new companies” – The video games outsourcing giant on expanding its services, fixing crunch and how it will avoid competing with its clients
64. Observations and lessons from two decades of writing about video games
65. International mobile games revenue from Tencent and NetEase rose 382% in 2018: Chinese mobile giants see importance of international markets during Chinese game license freeze
66. GameStop to sell Spring Mobile division for $700 million
67. State of Gaming and Esports
68. Major League Gaming co-founder launches Electronic Sports Group: Mike Sepso unveils global esports advisory firm with Nielsen partnership
69. New publisher Nifty Games wants to “get back to the core spirit of sports games”: Will specialise in mobile and digital titles for fans “accustomed to enjoying ongoing touch points with their favourite sports”
70. How to Get Your Console Games Streaming to Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS
71. Leadership shuffle sees IGDA board name new chair and vice-chair
72. IGDA appoints new board leadership: Vesa Raudasoja steps up as chairman; Kongregate CEO Emily Greer takes over as vice-chair
73. Devs label Brexit ‘a dire threat’ to UK game industry in open letter
74. UK games industry leaders reject Brexit deal: Peter Molyneux, Rhianna Pratchett, Ian Livingstone, Charles Ceil and more call for People’s Vote to overcome “dire threat” of leaving EU
75. National Videogame Museum: Bringing the past, present, and future of games to the wider public
76. Observations and lessons from two decades of writing about video games
77. Don’t Miss: A look back at the rise and fall of the Sega Dreamcast
78. SpaceWar! devs to receive Pioneer Awards from The AIAS

DIGITAL

1. Should the Supreme Court Knock the First Brick Out of Apple’s Walled Garden?
2. How Apple hopes to stop a customer lawsuit over its App Store monopoly
3. Gambling App Fails to Create Binding Terms of Service–Wilson v. Huuuge
4. Failure-to-Warn Claim Against Match.com Fails–Beckman v. Match.com (Eric Goldman)
5. Facebook’s Blueprint Needs a Blueprint: Mark Zuckerberg’s plan for an independent council to review controversial content moderation decisions leaves some important questions unanswered.
6. Facebook pondered, for a time, selling access to user data
7. To Obtain Documents About Facebook Data-Sharing, UK Gov’t Seizes And Detains A US Executive Working For A Different Company
8. UK Parliament seized internal documents related to Facebook’s privacy and data decisions
9. UK Hosts Theatrical Facebook Hearings On ‘Fake News’… Undermined By Creating Fake News Itself
10. Facebook Expands ‘Watch Party’ Video Co-Viewing to Users and Pages Worldwide
11. Six4Three exec “panicked” in UK MP’s office, gave up Facebook internal files
12. “You’ll never know how evil a technology can be until the engineers deploying it fear for their jobs” 
13. Platform Accountability and Contemporary Competition Law: Practical Considerations 
14. We are Google employees. Google must drop Dragonfly.
15. Google employees demand that Google stop work on censored Chinese search
16. Google Employees Demand Company Kill Censored Chinese Search Product
17. Google, Village Roadshow Weigh In On New Search Blocking Amendments To Australian Copyright Law
18. Update on Ohio’s online harassment statute
19. Voter Suppression Has Gone Digital: The public should be able to tell where these messages are coming from and how they are being targeted
20. Dear Silicon Valley Tech Companies: Stop Treating Your Structural Challenges As Political Challenges
21. Newly elected Republican senator could be Google’s fiercest critic
22. Disney and Google Ink Broad, Multiyear Digital Advertising Deal
23. In Seismic Shift, YouTube To Make All Of Its Original Programming Available For Free
24. Bring in the ads—YouTube may let everyone watch Original shows, films
25. YouTube reportedly making future exclusive content free with ads from 2020: You’ll no longer need YouTube Premium to see its original movies and shows. 
26. Woody Woodpecker Is Back: New Series to Launch on YouTube
27. Ninth Circuit Easily Dismisses YouTube Remove-and-Relocate Case–Darnaa v. Google (Eric Goldman)
28. Former YouTube Engineer Says ‘Flat Earthers’ Indicate Danger Of YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm
29. YouTube Is Testing ‘Ad Pods’, In Which Two Spots Are Served Back-To-Back
30. YouTube Offers College Students Half Off YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium
31. YouTube To Delete ‘Creator Credits,’ Says It’s Working On New Crediting Features
32. YouTube Will Completely Phase Out Annotations As Of January 15
33. YouTube Builds Up To ‘Lego Movie’ Sequel By Streaming First Film For Free On Black Friday
34. Ariana Grande Concert Tour Documentary Series Launch Set on YouTube
35. Ariana Grande To Debut Four-Part YouTube Docuseries Tomorrow
36. Victoria Beckham has launched a YouTube channel for beauty tutorials and styling tips
37. UK Court of Appeal goes live on YouTube – a win or loss for access to justice? 
38. To Prosecute A Single Bombing Suspect, FBI Demands Identifying Info On Thousands Of YouTube Viewers
39. Mr. Beast Launches Last-Ditch Stunt To Keep PewDiePie Ahead Of T-Series, As Gap Temporarily Widens 
40. Ariana Grande Taps Colleen Ballinger, Gabi DeMartino For ‘Mean Girls’-Themed Music Video
41. Logan Paul Headlines ‘Flat Earth’ Convention In What Appears To Be Hilarious Troll
42. Logan Paul Dives Into Frank Sex Chat In Debut Episode Of ‘Impaulsive’ Podcast
43. Do Your Social Media Influencer Contracts Miss the Mark?
44. Court Blasts “Copyright Troll” for Treating Courts “as an ATM”–Strike 3 v. Doe (Eric Goldman)
45. Restricting Competitive Keyword Ads Is Anti-Competitive–FTC v. 1-800 Contacts (Eric Goldman)
46. Spotify to Launch in India Within Six Months: The Swedish streaming service plans to offer an extended free trial.
47. Fox News Launches Streaming Service Fox Nation
48. Netflix, Mexico’s Cinepolis Face Off Over Release of ‘Roma’
49. Netflix will create a ‘story universe’ based on the work of Roald Dahl
50. Is Netflix avoiding UK tax?
51. Netflix’s anime announcement frenzy, capped off by live-action Cowboy Bebop
52. Learning to Love Robots: With advances in A.I. and engineering, robots are galumphing, rolling, and being U.P.S.-delivered into our homes.
53. The Malware of the Future Will Have AI Superpowers
54. AI thinks like a corporation – and that’s worrying: Artificial intelligence was born of organisational decision-making and state power; it needs human ethics, says Jonnie Penn of the University of Cambridge
55. AI Mistakes Bus-Side Ad for Famous CEO, Charges Her With Jaywalking
56. When 3D-printing challenges IP rights 
57. Counterfeits in the Digital Marketplace 
58. Widely used open source software contained bitcoin-stealing backdoor
59. How I changed the law with a GitHub pull request
60. Amazon says it had its biggest shopping day ever on Cyber Monday
61. Black Friday hits $6.2B in US online sales, smartphones accounted for $2.1B
62. New wearable tech lets users listen to live music through their skin
63. How I went from testing a fancy new graphics card to shouting at Windows 10
64. Microsoft deepens LinkedIn-Office 365 ties with ability to co-author docs through social network
65. Microsoft (briefly) passed Apple to become the most valuable US company today
66. When the Internet Archive Forgets
67. America Needs to Align Technology with a Public Purpose: Disruptive innovations won’t produce a better society unless we work to contain their harms and spread their benefits.
68. The Digital Maginot Line
69. Audiovisual Media Services: Council approval upgrades the EU framework for a digital age
70. New wearable tech lets users listen to live music through their skin
71. Cloud Contracting – Pandora’s Box?
72. Canadian Government Commits $50 Million to Creative Commons Licensed Open News Content (Michael Geist)
73. Pompous ‘International Grand Committee’ Signs Useless But Equally Pompous ‘Declaration On Principles Of Law Governing The Internet’
74. First encounter: COMPUTE! magazine and its glorious, tedious type-in code 

CREATIVITY

1. My speaking notes for the CHPC Committee Hearing of November 27, 2018 about Remuneration Models for Artists and Creative Industries (Howard Knopf)
2. How a Polish Holocaust Story Became the Basis of a Controversial Copyright Case in Canada’s Federal Court (Howard Knopf)
3. Banksy works worth £12m impounded in Belgium after legal row: Brussels exhibition was closed by bailiffs after a dispute over ownership of the street art
4. But is it Art? Copyright, Auction and AI
5. “Does that TV program or film copy that book?” The Limits of ‘Colourable Imitation’ in Canada
6. Another Upset in College Football—Indiana Supreme Court Deems College Athletes’ Names, Images, and Statistics “Newsworthy”
7. Lawyers For Kobe Bryant Tout His Uselessness In Potential Trademark Opposition Fight
8. Court Tells Former NRA President The First Amendment Protects Far More Than Polite Speech
9. Our Bipolar Free-Speech Disorder And How To Fix It (Part 1)
10. TV News Allowed Republicans to Spew Unchecked Denial About Major New Climate Report
11. The Importance of Assessing the Safety and Security of Broadcast Stations and Their Personnel 
12. The Best of a Bad Situation?: Why Tax Incentives Are Better Than Regulation and Cross-Subsidization to Support Canadian Journalism (Michael Geist)
13. We Asked a Researcher to Judge the Historically Inaccurate Junk in Robin Hood
14. IP Protection Post-Brexit: A Right-by-Right Analysis
15. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 4: The Shift from Coursepacks to Digital Course Management Systems (Michael Geist)
16. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 5: The Multi-Million Dollar Educational Investment in E-Book Licensing (Michael Geist)
17. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 6: Why Site Licences Offer Education More than the Access Copyright Licence (Michael Geist)
18. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 7: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (Michael Geist)

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Trump proposes a government-run TV news network to counter CNN
2. Comcast raises cable TV bills again—even if you’re under contract
3. From $1.50 To $10 Per Month: How Comcast’s Bogus Fees Are False Advertising
4. Mobile Internet Beats Wifi Speeds In These 33 Countries
5. The FCC Steps Up Efforts to Restrict “Robocalls”
6. Consumer Groups Say FCC Weakening Oversight Of Cell Carriers Under Pretense Of Battling Text Message Spam
7. Activists Make One Last Push To Restore Net Neutrality Via Congressional Review Act 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Trump Administration Discussed Illegally Sharing Census Data with Law Enforcement: Justice Department email raises concerns that the administration doesn’t understand census confidentiality
2. DOJ made secret arguments to break crypto, now ACLU wants to make them public
3. Facial Recognition Flags Woman on Bus Ad for ‘Jaywalking’ in China
4. Dystopia Now: Insurance Company Secretly Spying On Sleep Apnea Patients
5. French Tax Officials To Start Digging Through Social Media Posts For Expensive Cars It Thinks You Can’t Afford
6. Surveillance Kills Freedom By Killing Experimentation
7. Social media and marketing: back to privacy basics
8. Where is the ePrivacy Regulation?
9. New GDPR Ruling In France Could Dramatically Re-shape Online Advertising
10. Mexican Journalists Investigating Cartels Targeted with NSO Spyware Following Assassination of Colleague

Jon

GAMES

1. Gamer Behind Fatal ‘Call Of Duty’ Swatting Faces At Least 20 Years In Prison After Guilty Plea
2. 2 Milly, Scrubs’ Donald Faison accuse Fortnite of stealing dance moves: “I don’t want to even bash them for all the millions… I just feel like I have to protect what’s mine,” says rapper
3. Fortnite and God of War win big at the Golden Joystick awards
4. PUBG Corp. details the results of its 3-month ‘Fix PUBG’ push
5. Nintendo Gets Huge Settlement Against ROM Site Probably Just To Scare Other ROM Sites
6. Pokemon: Let’s Go has more than tripled Switch sales in Japan
7. Nintendo’s biggest Switch-download sale yet includes legitimately good offers [Updated]
8. One thing gaming could learn from Stan Lee: On the late comic legend’s legacy and the idea of games as a recruiting ground for hate groups
9. The Strong Museum debuts exhibit focusing on women in the industry
10. Strong Museum launches Women in Games exhibit: Museum invites women pioneers in gaming to open exhibit with speeches, celebration
11. On Ubisoft’s pandering to unreasonable players: Ubisoft’s decision to reverse minor aesthetic changes in Rainbow Six Siege sets an unwanted – and unnecessary – new precedent
12. Ubisoft: “Loot crates have been a huge boon for the gaming industry” – Publisher representative defends Trials microtransactions, saying “If player players didn’t buy them, they would not be added in future”
13. Number of child gamblers quadruples in just two years
14. Opinion: World of Warcraft: Classic will disappoint you
15. Activision ignores accessibility guidelines, skips Spyro subtitles
16. Activision addresses why Spyro Reignited Trilogy has no subtitles
17. Activision on Spyro’s missing subtitles: “there’s no industry standard”: Toys for Bob opted not to include subtitles for video cutscenes in the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, may consider adding
18. Former Activision Blizzard devs launch Mythical Games, securing $16M in funding
19. Mythical Games will “usher in a shift in player behaviour” with blockchain platform: Start-up formed by ex-Activision and Blizzard execs raises $16 million towards platform for ‘player-owned economies’
20. Diablo Immortal exists because ‘China really wants it’, says Blizzard dev
21. Hi-Rez Studios bringing cross-platform play to Smite,Paladins, and Realm Royale
22. Delver devs release their tech publicly under open source license
23. Battlefield V: Critical Consensus – EA’s latest blockbuster receives mixed reviews over scattered content launches and tonal inconsistencies
24. Battlefield V delay triggers EA share plummet, hedge fund exodus: Activision and Take-Two’s stocks also take a hit in turbulent and competitive Q4
25. EA, Take-Two and Ubisoft shrug off China games crisis: Analysts expect China’s big games companies to invest further in Western firms
26. Changyou signs deal to bring Tetris to smartphones in China
27. Changyou receives license to develop Tetris mobile games for China
28. Despite China’s game freeze, mobile game revenue is still on the rise at Tencent
29. NetEase: Anti-addiction measures “should not only be focused on online games” – But Chinese publisher supports ongoing efforts to restrict screen time for young children
30. NetEase sees Q3 growth with mobile titles, Western partnerships
31. Valve under fire for ‘greedy’ Artifact monetisation system: Developer introducing new features during the game’s beta to alleviate some concerns
32. Valve has quietly discontinued the Steam Link
33. Valve quietly discontinues Steam Link hardware production
34. Steam currency gaffe leaves Australians unable to buy some games 9
35. Skybound restarts work on The Walking Dead with original Telltale devs
36. Telltale’s The Walking Dead back in development: Skybound begins work on final two episodes with some original team members
37. Telltale games delisted from Steam as studio begins liquidation process
38. Telltale undergoing liquidation, removing games from Steam: Back to the Future, Tales of Monkey Island de-listed, employee health benefits set to end soon
39. Discord’s digital storefront now supports early access games
40. A peek at the experiments Spelunky players use to manipulate the game’s code
41. Paradox taking control of White Wolf after Vampire: The Masquerade LGBTQ+ controversy
42. THQ Nordic acquires rights to Expeditions franchise
43. Red Dead Redemption 2 Players Keep Finding Creepy Easter Eggs
44. NPD: Skipping single player didn’t hurt sales for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
45. NPD: Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption lead record October – 2018’s top two best-selling titles (so far) drive highest October sales NPD has reported
46. Publishers say early access is boosting sales of special edition games: And we can expect dual release dates to continue, say publishers
47. As Half-Life turns 20, Black Mesa unveils a reimagined Xen
48. Don’t Miss: The making of Half-Life 2
49. Super.com launches new funding program for Unreal Engine devs
50. I’d rather have bad reviews than no reviews
51. Experience, knowledge, operation, and luck – how to tackle the crowded mobile market
52. Gameloft: You don’t have to be No.1 to be No.1 on mobile – Publisher discusses how catering to different audiences has enabled it to stay on top in the competitive smartphone market
53. PS4: Over 86.1 million sold – Five years into its lifespan, Sony’s latest console has already topped the PS3’s lifetime total, but trails PS2’s record-setting pace
54. GTA, Call of Duty, and FIFA claim the top 5 best-selling PS4 games of all time
55. Sony is skipping E3 2019
56. Sony will not be present at E3 2019 
57. Turkish Ministry of Commerce investigating PlayStation over price increases: Red Dead Redemption 2, other major titles in Turkish PS Store see high prices in the midst of country’s inflation
58. Microsoft deal will help InXile escape ‘uncanny valley’ of game development
59. Microsoft acquisition gives inXile ‘safe harbour’ – Fargo: Founder of RPG outfit says costs of AA development have tripled since 2012, selling to Xbox maker gives studio resources to keep up
60. Microsoft reportedly planning release of digital-only Xbox One: Disc-less console would be considerably cheaper, come alongside disc-to-digital program
61. Report: Cheaper, disc-free Xbox One option coming next year
62. Report: Microsoft plans to launch a disc-free Xbox One in 2019
63. Supercell sinks $5.7M into smartwatch game dev Everywear Games
64. Supercell invests €5m in Apple Watch dev Everywear Games
65. Star Citizen has now crowdfunded over $200 million in 6 years
66. Star Citizen crowdfunding has passed $200m: Chris Roberts reports the game now has backers in 171 countries, has smashed all crowdfunding records
67. DayZ reaches 4 million units sold: Milestone reached one week after launch of PC beta
68. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver has shut down 
69. Bandai Namco Studios Vancouver shuts down: Tekken mobile developer down to skeleton crew as publisher dismisses majority of staff
70. Rovio looking to ‘accelerate growth’ with new games asAngry Birds 2 revenue climbs
71. Rovio quarterlies flying slightly higher: Angry Birds maker modestly profitable, but management says “it is clear that we need new games in order to accelerate growth”
72. Niantic partners with United Nations to boost tourism using AR games
73. Niantic working with United Nations to promote tourism through its games: New partnership will Pokémon Go and Ingress events built around local culture and history
74. Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee Versus Pikachu: Which To Get
75. Pokémon’s strategy is cross-generational: By balancing nostalgia for parents with appeal to children, Nintendo hopes to create gaming’s first cross-generational franchise
76. Pokémon and Spyro top hyper competitive week at UK games retail: It’s a tough start for Fallout 76 and Hitman 2
77. Hitman 2’s Denuvo Protection Busted 3 Days Before The Game’s Launch
78. Fallout 76 is online and lonelier than ever
79. Two years on, Overwatch’s producers talk toxicity, crunch, and live game dev
80. Engagement is the lifeblood of online games, saysOverwatch producer  
81. Toronto Esports Club Leaves Overwatch Citing Name Dispute with Blizzard
82. H1Z1 Pro League shuts down – Report: Competitive league surrounding Daybreak shooter calling it quits halfway through inaugural season
83. With investors knocking, PlayVS opens the door to a $30M Series B
84. High school esports platform PlayVS receives $30.5m investment: PlayVS will have “profound impact on the future of youth sports across the country” says LA Dodgers CFO
85. Blizzard: ‘We [are] now working on new mobile titles across all of our IPs’ – Developer is working with external partners and internal teams on mobile version of all its properties
86. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part Four: Localization  – AurumDust’s Nikolay Bondarenko turns to the perks, processes and prices of translating your game for different markets
87. Oculus now part of Facebook Technologies: But social network says this will have “no change or impact on the Oculus brand or business”
88. Magic Leap announces Independent Creator Program
89. Magic Leap Is Tendering $500,000 Grants Via New ‘Independent Creator Program’
90. Magic Leap is offering grants of up to $500,000 to AR devs
91. Forget VR treadmills—Google patents motorized, omnidirectional VR sneakers
92. This Game Uses Artificial Intelligence to Recruit New Players: Your next recruiter could be an AI.
93. Brexit draft agreement “not ideal” for UK games industry: Trade bodies and other industry organisations warn of further uncertainty following Prime Minister’s proposed withdrawal deal
94. Blog: The risks of making safe games
95. Blog: A checklist for creating better game settings options
96. “I am NEVER making another game” – Bleszinski: Boss Key co-founder announces departure from development on Twitter, later confirms “I’m done.”
97. Charity gaming marathon Desert Bus for Hope raises $730,000
98. GoFundMe, Doom auction seek to raise funds for devs affected by California fires
99. TwitchCon is heading to Europe for the first time

DIGITAL

1. Facebook drops PR firm after revelation of anti-Soros campaign
2. Facebook’s Use Of Smear Merchants Is The Norm, Not The Exception
3. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook isn’t a “positive force”
4. Mark Zuckerberg: ‘I Didn’t Know’
5. Zuckerberg won’t step down as Facebook chairman
6. Facebook Responds to New York Times Exposé: ‘There Are a Number of Inaccuracies’
7. Inside Facebook, denial, tension and finger-pointing as sense of crisis builds: “It’s total arrogance,” one Facebook employee said of company leadership’s willingness to blame its communications team for recent crises.
8. Obscure Concealed-Carry Group Spent Millions On Facebook Political Ads
9. Rights Groups Demand Facebook Set Up Real Due Process Around Content Moderation
10. Facebook Messenger Is Down With Global Outages
11. Facebook is on track to post its longest losing streak ever, and some say there’s more pain ahead
12. Does Facebook’s management structure need to be revamped?
13. Facebook put profits above care for liberal democracy: Social media giant’s top leadership is not liberal, but selfishly libertarian
14. The Guy Behind Net Neutrality Wants to Break Up Facebook
15. Google and Facebook can’t be put in the same category, expert says
16. Facebook Increasingly Reliant on A.I. To Predict Suicide Risk
17. Study: It only takes a few seconds for bots to spread misinformation
18. Report: Charges against Assange relate to Russian hacking
19. Ukraine detects new Pterodo backdoor malware, warns of Russian cyberattack
20. Russia’s Cozy Bear comes out of hiding with post-election spear-phishing blitz 
21. Fake news is responsible for Bolsonaro’s victory in Brazil: The misinformation and intimidation campaign was intense.
22. “The leaders of the big technology think themselves smarter than the others”
23. Bitcoin and Ethereum fall to lows not seen since 2017
24. Blockchain Voting: Solves None Of The Actual Problems Of Online Voting; Leverages None Of The Benefits Of Blockchain
25. Snapchat parent hands over data for US inquiry: Investors claim in class-action suit the company did not reveal the extent of the threat of Instagram
26. Instagram To Purge Inauthentic Likes, Follows, And Comments To Ratchet Down Fake Engagement
27. Inside The Pricey War To Influence Your Instagram Feed
28. Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Defy Media, Claims Of Fraudulent Behavior From Former Generate Partners
29. But Her Emails: Ivanka Trump Also Used A Private Email Account For Official Government Business
30. Ivanka Trump used personal email for official White House business
31. In A Speech Any Autocrat Would Love, French President Macron Insists The Internet Must Be Regulated
32. Another YouTube Remove-and-Relocate Case Fails–Kinney v. YouTube (Eric Goldman)
33. YouTube Now Offering 100 Films, Including ‘Rocky’ and ‘Legally Blonde’, For Free
34. YouTube Music To Serve As Presenting Sponsor Of ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ In Expanded Pact With Dick Clark
35. YouTube’s Lyor Cohen Posts Fiery Op-Ed Opposing EU Copyright Directive; Industry Executives Respond
36. European Music Societies Slam YouTube’s ‘Fact Free Fear-Mongering’
37. YouTube Is Now Running Pop-Ups To Warn EU Viewers About Article 13
38. The “Kim Kardashian tax” – three key problems
39. Laura Lee And Manny MUA Are Rebuilding On YouTube. But Will Fans Still Buy What They’re Selling?
40. Paramount And Pocket.watch Are Turning YouTube’s Viral ‘Unboxing’ Trend Into A Feature Film 
41. YouTube Wildlife Guru Coyote Peterson Treks Onto TV With Animal Planet
42. YouTube Teams With BuzzFeed, Sony For Ken Jeong-Starring Holiday Special 
43. SoundCloud Troll Getting DMCA Takedowns Shows The Weakness Of Notice And Takedown Systems 
44. David Dobrik Nabs Kendall Jenner For Latest Vlog Cameo 
45. Jimmy Fallon’s TikTok Partnership Resulted In Record Engagement Spike For The App
46. Insights: Nano NoNos—Brands Target Unsophisticated New Influencers Without A Net
47. After Shane Dawson Collab, Jake Paul To Premiere His Own ‘Uncut’ Docuseries 
48. As it considers mergers, BuzzFeed makes asking for money part of its revenue strategy
49. Consumer Groups Call for FTC Investigation of Android Apps 
50. Google Axes ‘Fanfiction’ Tab That Suggested Grinchand Minions Porn
51. Google adds indoor positioning to Android’s Find My Device
52. Disney Pegs Hulu’s Value At $9.3 Billion 
53. Paramount And Netflix Set Multi-Picture Film Deal 
54. Apple Inks Multi-Film Deal With Acclaimed Indie Studio A24
55. Apple inks deal with Ex Machina-maker A24 studio to create original films
56. Second Bite at Apple Fails in California Court
57. Tim Cook defends using Google as primary search engine on Apple devices
58. Apple, Amazon Team Up To ‘Enhance Customer Experience’ By Limiting Customers’ Options
59. Another Suspended Twitter User Loses in Court–Kimbrell v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
60. WarnerMedia-Owned Machinima To Become Part Of AT&T’s Otter Media
61. Palm’s Ultra Tiny Phone Is an Absolute Snack
62. Instagram Adds Ecommerce Capabilities For Select Video Posts
63. Instagram Is Purging Fake Followers Obtained Through Third-Party Apps
64. Microsoft Realizes We Don’t Actually Want Ads in Our Mail and Gmail Is Just an Exception
65. Experts Warn Of Amazon’s Accent-Detecting Technology
66. Amazon trying to buy 22 cable TV sports channels, including Yankees network
67. Amazon Among Bidders for Fox Regional Sports Networks: Report
68. Amazon says it mistakenly shared customer emails and names due to technical error
69. Amazon customers’ names and email addresses disclosed by website error
70. Bezos Coughs Up $97.5 Million for Charity
71. Airtable, maker of a coding platform for non-techies, raises $100M at a $1.1B valuation
72. Couple and Homeless Man Said to Have Made Up Story Behind $400,000 GoFundMe Campaign 
73. Couple and Homeless Man Charged With Conspiracy Over $400,000 GoFundMe
74. FOSTA’s Political Curse (Eric Goldman)
75. Not Even Hiding It Any More: EU Council Explicitly Pushing For Mandatory Upload Filters
76. Why Europe Will Never Build Its Own Digital Giants
77. Study: Over 20 years, Silicon Valley workers’ median wage has fallen by 14%
78. Silk Road’s alleged hitman, “redandwhite,” arrested in Vancouver
79. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
80. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 2: Why Access Copyright’s Claim of 600 Million Uncompensated Copies Doesn’t Add Up (Michael Geist)
81. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 3: Data Shows Books Are Rapidly Declining as Part of Coursepack Materials (Michael Geist) 

CREATIVITY

1. Misleading on Fair Dealing, Part 1: Access Copyright’s Inconsistent Claims on the Legal Effect of the 2012 Fair Dealing Reforms (Michael Geist)
2. New Bill C-86 introduces many more changes to IP laws
3. USMCA, the new NAFTA: What changes we can expect in Canadian IP Law 
4. Canadian Politician Hangs Out With Racists; Issues Legal Threats To People Calling Him A Racist
5. Judge rejects neo-Nazi’s First Amendment argument in harassment case
6. Judge Blocks White House From Pulling Jim Acosta’s Press Pass, But The Battle Continues
7. Artist plans to whitewash a Banksy following half million pound sale
8. Not Funny: The Conan O’Brien Joke-Stealing Lawsuit Is Still Going On
9. NRA Is Full of Beans, Claims Sculpture Artist in Copyright Suit 
10. Dolce & Gabbana is Under Fire for “Eating With Chopsticks” Videos
11. Convicted tax fraudster sues CNBC for defamation, says he’s not a “hacker”
12. College Athletes Fumble Publicity Rights Suit
13. Red Bull Fails To Block Trademark Registration In EU Over Logos That Aren’t All That Similar
14. I Watched The Phantom Menace Trailer 6 Times in One Day at the Same Theater
15. The Wonky Donkey: How Infringement Helped Create A Best Seller… Which Would Be Impossible Under Article 13

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Court Again Rules That Cable Giants Can’t Weaponize The First Amendment
2. Charter, Comcast don’t have 1st Amendment right to discriminate, court rules
3. Comcast To Battle Cord Cutting By… Reinventing The Closed Cable Box
4. Ajit Pai isn’t saying whether ISPs deliver the broadband speeds you pay for
5. Ajit Pai wants to raise rural broadband speeds from 10Mbps to 25Mbps
6. FCC’s proposed robotext crackdown could block legal messages, critics say 
7. FCC Accused Of Burying Data Highlighting Sorry State Of US Broadband
8. US Has Some Of The Most Expensive Mobile Data Prices In The Developed World
9. Sprint Throttled Skype Without Telling Anyone… And Nobody Seems To Care Much
10. Wireless throttling: Senators ask four major carriers about video slowdowns
11. Senators Press Wireless Carriers On Streaming Video Throttling
12. California’s Net Neutrality Law Remains in Neutral
13. Donald Trump Suddenly Pretends To Care About Comcast Antitrust Violations
14. AT&T CEO Continues His Fake Calls For Real Privacy, Net Neutrality Laws 
15. Cord Cutting Sets More Records, Yet Many Cable Giants Still Refuse To Compete On Price 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Prosecutors Charge Suspect With Evidence Tampering After A Seized iPhone Is Wiped Remotely
2. Facebook Releases 13 NSLs, Reports Another Big Increase In US Government Demands For Info
3. A New Senate Bill Would Hit Robocallers With Up to a $10,000 Fine for Every Call
4. IoT Liability: Playing the Blame Game
5. Kid Tracking ‘Smart’ Watches, Like Most IOT Devices, Prove Not So Smart, Easy To Hack
6. Database leak exposes millions of two-factor codes and reset links sent by SMS
7. E-commerce site is infected not by one, but two card skimmers
8. Yet Another GDPR Disaster: Journalists Ordered To Hand Over Secret Sources Under ‘Data Protection’ Law
9. After Being Hit With A ‘Motion For Return Of Property,’ Gov’t Agrees To Delete Data Copied From A Traveler’s Phone
10. The Snowden Legacy, part one: What’s changed, really?

Jon

GAMES

1. Husband and wife ordered to pay $12m to Nintendo for running ROM sites
2. Nintendo wins out in legal battle against ROM sites
3. Nintendo reaches final judgment agreement with ROM site owners: LoveROMS and LoveRETRO owners admit to copyright infringement, agree to $12m judgment
4. Senators ask FTC to investigate malicious ads in apps geared for kids
5. Three Square Enix mobile games blocked in Belgium over loot box use
6. Three Square Enix mobile games stop operating in Belgium over loot boxes: Kingdom Hearts Union X, Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia, Mobius Final Fantasy all to end in country by mid-December
7. Final Fantasy XV game director Hajime Tabata departs Square Enix
8. Square Enix files trademark dispute against Dorado Games over ‘Conflict’ branding: Publisher’s lawyers argue there “is a clear likelihood of confusion”
9. Valve condemns racist behaviour of pro players during DOTA 2 matches: Developer says it will not tolerate racist langue between pro players but puts onus on teams to discipline
10. Hacker gets $20K from Valve for unearthing bug that generates free Steam keys
11. Valve rewards man $20,000 for discovering unlimited free game codes bug: Bug allowed anyone with developer portal account to generate thousands of free codes for any game 
12. YouTube Unbans Gamer Who Uploaded Clips Of Killing A Feminist Character In ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’
13. God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2 lead nominees for The Game Awards 
14. YouTube backtracks ban on YouTuber who assaulted Red Dead suffragette: Controversial clips restored but now age restricted, deletion blamed on misinterpretation of guidelines
15. Blog: My time at Telltale Games
16. Tyler Barriss, Serial ‘Swatter’ Who Phoned in Lethal Hoax, Pleads Guilty to 51 Federal Charges
17. Man pleads guilty to swatting attack that led to death of Kansas man
18. NPR Posits Nazis Are Recruiting All Of Our Children In Online Games With Very Little Evidence
19. The Controversy Over Bethesda’s ‘Game Engine’ Is Misguided
20. Fortnite Players Immediately Find Worst Possible Uses For New NFL Skins 
21. Original Command & Conquer devs will remaster series’ first games in one package
22. EA brings in original Command & Conquer devs to help with remasters
23. EA partners with Petroglyph Games for Command & Conquer remasters: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert to be remastered with original developers, no microtransactions
24. PlayStation Now brought in $143 million last quarter – Report: Superdata pegs Sony’s subscription service as the industry leader; EA’s Access offerings totaled $90 million while Xbox Game Pass claimed $41 million
25. Sony agrees to Chicago city tax on PlayStation Store purchases: 9% Amusement Tax will apply to various store purchases for city residents beginning November 14
26. Sony’s PlayStation Classic is powered by the open-source emulator PCSX
27. Sony using open source emulator for PlayStation Classic plug-and-play
28. PlayStation Classic Plays Fine, But It’s A Bare-Bones Experience
29. Sony Patent Hints at Possible Touchscreen Playstation Controller
30. PUBG’s “console exclusivity” ends, PS4 version out on Dec. 7 [Updated]
31. THQ Nordic acquires Coffee Stain and Bugbear Entertainment
32. Koch Media acquisition driving record sales at THQ Nordic
33. UK government responds to industry’s Brexit fears: “The video games sector plays an important part in the UK’s creative industries and we are listening to concerns”
34. £80m Creative Industries Clusters Programme launches to fund new R&D projects: Abertay University representing video games in new initiative by Arts and Humanities Research Council
35. China’s ongoing game license freeze prompts decline in market forecast
36. Report: Tencent dials back game marketing budget to weather China’s game freeze
37. Tencent undergoes marketing budget cuts as China’s licensing freeze persists: Company’s gaming division to limit spending, shift budget away from unlicensed titles
38. “The Chinese government just doesn’t see games as a priority”: At Level Up KL, 505 Games’ Thomas Rosenthal explored the upheaval caused by the freeze on game approvals in China, and the uncertainty still to come
39. Hitman 2’s Denuvo DRM cracked days before the game’s release
40. Denuvo: Every Download Is A Lost Sale For This Anonymous AAA Title We’re Referencing, So Buy Moar Dunuvo!
41. Take-Two: Game streaming is a big opportunity for us – As long as the business model is right
42. Blizzard acknowledges the mobile reality: Diablo Immortal didn’t go down well at Blizzcon, but Blizzard’s Asian following makes a high-profile mobile strategy a necessity, not an option
43. Activision Blizzard revenues, engagement dip: Tough comparison against last year’s Destiny 2 launch takes shine off publisher’s numbers even as net income grows
44. Activision Blizzard’s revenues falter after Destiny 2 DLC ‘underperformed’
45. Activision Blizzard shares drop a further 11 per cent: Weaker-than-expected results and dips in engagement worry shareholders
46. The many merchandising methods of Activision
47. Red Dead Redemption 2 shipments reach 17 million: Rockstar’s hit game has shipped more in eight days than the original did in eight years
48. Red Dead Redemption 2 has shipped 17M copies in under two weeks
49. Red Dead Redemption 2 is still No. 1 at UK retail after three weeks
50. Fortnite hits 8.3M concurrent players
51. Fortnite reaches 8.3 million concurrent players: Epic Games’ battle royale reaches milestone as game launches in South Korea
52. GAME: “With so many games clustered together, there was going to be winners and losers” – The retail giant discusses one of the most competitive and challenging Q4 periods in years
53. Profits dip at GAME but cost savings reduce losses: Retailer remains “cautiously optimistic” about the year ahead as Belong strategy continues to develop
54. Newzoo: Top 25 public gaming companies are still growing, but slowly – H1 2018 growth was lowest year-over-year since 2014, with China licensing freeze hurting industry leaders
55. The media-starved Nintendo Switch just got a YouTube shot in the arm
56. Nintendo’s Poké Ball Plus Made Me Wish I Was a Kid Again
57. Nintendo is ending video streaming support on the Wii
58. Video streaming support may fully end on the Wii next year: Netflix to stop service on the system in January 2019; Switch still awaiting more apps
59. The audio design behind the original Xbox startup sound
60. Keyboard and mouse controls finally hit Xbox One this week
61. Mouse and keyboard support arriving on Xbox One this week
62. Xbox chief Phil Spencer taking on a ‘bigger role’ in fixing the Microsoft Store
63. Microsoft launches $1m #givewithXbox charity campaign: Initiative will support Child’s Play, Gamers Outreach, SpecialEffect and Operation Supply Drop
64. Microsoft’s two-hour Game Pass advert told us everything about the future of Xbox
65. Obsidian, inXile acquired by Microsoft Studios 4
66. Microsoft to acquire RPG specialists Obsidian Entertainment and InXile: Pillars of Eternity, Fallout New Vegas and Wasteland 3 creators join to boost Game Pass
67. Microsoft wants Azure to be the multiplayer server solution for every platform
68. Ex-EA design chief Patrick Söderlund unveils Embark Studios
69. Nexon makes big investment in Patrick Söderlund’s ambitious new studio
70. MapleStory drives revenue and profit growth for Nexon: Dungeon & Fighter Q3 update also hit big in China
71. German government to establish $57 million games fund
72. German government to establish €50 million game fund in 2019: game’s Felix Falk sees “historic” fund as a chance to close the gap on the UK, France and Canada
73. Physical copies of Hollow Knight cancelled 
74. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part Three: From Hunting To Gathering: Nikolay Bondarenko’s publishing advice series continues with an in-depth look at bundles and crowdfunding
75. ‘We had the finished package, and they just took it from us’: How CBE Software recovered from the Lace Mamba fiasco
76. Guide Maker Prima Games Will Close Its Doors In 2019
77. Strategy guide publisher Prima Games is shutting down
78. Prima Games shutting down: Long-running strategy guide publisher expected to halt operations by next spring
79. Streamlabs launches app store with $1M developer fund
80. Streamlabs launches App Store focused on streamer support: New app platform offers $15 credit, heavy curation, app developer fund
81. Lord of the Rings Online returns to its 2007 roots with official ‘Legendary Server’  
82. ‘PokerStars VR’ Brings Multiplayer Freeplay Poker to Rift & Vive
83. BigBox VR secures $5 million in seed funding round: Funding to support development on upcoming VR battle royale game Population – One
84. Tetris Effect review: The puzzle game of my dreams—literally
85. 9 Things I Learned About Game Jams As An Outsider
86. Going the Distance: Building a game – and community – over six years
87. Blog: How world-building elevates video games and fandom
88. Blog: Cultural concepts as principles of design
89. Video: An apology for Roger Ebert
90. Google Play announces Games for Change design challenge finalists
91. Revealed: The best video games employers in Canada – Four winners for our inaugural awards
92. Meet the best places to work in Canada’s games industry: Interviews with Beenox, Behaviour, Ludia and Ubisoft
93. A new “fuzzy Pikachu” debate headlines a trailer-filled Monday
94. Watch the Extremely Cursed Trailer for ‘Detective Pikachu’: Ryan Reynolds is voicing a CGI Pikachu in a tiny Sherlock Holmes hat, which is just as bizarre as it sounds.

DIGITAL

1.  ‘Facebook is the new cigarettes,’ says Salesforce CEO
2. Report: Even Facebook Employees Are Bummed About Facebook 
3. Delay, Deny and Deflect: How Facebook’s Leaders Fought Through Crisis
4. How Facebook Flags Terrorist Content With Machine Learning: But it’s not perfect.
5. Blame Fox, not Facebook, for fake news
6. Facebook will let French regulators study its efforts to fight hate speech
7. French investigators to work directly with Facebook to monitor hate speech
8. Facebook Allowing French Censors To Embed With The Company, And Maybe That’s A Good Thing?
9. Facebook joins Google, halts mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment cases
10. Nasty Adobe Bug Deleted $250,000-Worth of Man’s Files, Lawsuit Claims 
11. Pennsylvania Attorney General Sends Broad, Unconstitutional Gag Order To Gab’s New DNS Provider
12. Gab cries foul as Pennsylvania attorney general subpoenas DNS provider
13. Reminder: Cutting-and-Pasting Photos from the Internet Is Hazardous to Your Legal Health–Grecco v. Valuewalk (Eric Goldman)
14. In the Age of A.I., Is Seeing Still Believing?: Advances in digital imagery could deepen the fake-news crisis – or help us get out of it.
15. Algorithms and their unintended consequences for the poor 
16. Buying your First AI or “Never Trust a Used Algorithm Salesman”
17. Is this AI? We drew you a flowchart to work it out
18. Google ends mandatory arbitration in sexual harassment cases
19. Google’s New AI Can Recognize Voices It’s Never Heard Before
20. Google adds always-on VPN to its Project Fi cellular service
21. Nice Work EU: You’ve Given Google An Excuse To Offer A Censored Search Engine In China
22. Governor Of Tanzania’s Capital Announces Plan To Round Up Everyone Who Was Too Gay On Social Media
23. Why Amazon’s Search For A Second Headquarters Backfired
24. Report: Amazon chooses New York City neighborhood, DC suburb for HQ2
25. It’s Official: Amazon Is Coming to NYC and Arlington, Virginia
26. Amazon is getting more than $2 billion for NYC and Virginia expansions
27. New York Politicians Suggest a Better Place Jeff Bezos Can Stick His New Headquarters 
28. How to Stop the Amazon Extortion From Happening Again
29. Windows 10 users finding their legit installs are being deactivated
30. Windows 10 October 2018 Update is back, this time without deleting your data
31. Spotify officially releases first version of its Apple Watch app
32. Apple to replace unresponsive iPhone X touchscreens for free
33. Samsung’s foldable smartphone reportedly costs $1,770, launches in March
34. Leading Open Access Supporters Ask EU To Investigate Elsevier’s Alleged ‘Anti-Competitive Practices’
35. A campaign to save the web from abuse
36. Content or Context Moderation?: Artisanal, Community-Reliant, and Industrial Approaches
37. A Third of Wikipedia Discussions Are Stuck in Forever Beefs  
38. Over a Third of the U.S. Adult Population Turns to YouTube for Tutorials, Survey Says
39. As U.S. Creators See Merch Sales Soar, YouTube Launches Teespring Integration Across The EU
40. Dear EU Politicians: You Really Don’t Have To Wreck The Internet 
41. ‘YouTube VR’ Finally Comes to Oculus Go, Now Available on Oculus Store
42. YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm Suggests Increasingly Longer Videos, Study Finds
43. ‘Superwoman’ Lilly Singh Announces Break From YouTube To Focus On Her Mental Health
44. Lilly Singh announces she’s taking a break from YouTube
45. YouTube Creators’ AdSense Payments Are In Limbo After Defy Media’s Abrupt Shutdown
46. BroadbandTV Launches Brand Safety Video Solution VISO Prism
47. PewDiePie Continues To Outrun T-Series, Becoming First Channel To Pass 70 Million Subscribers
48. Smosh Co-Founder Anthony Padilla Shares Why He Departed “Evil And Shady” Defy Media After Sudden Shutdown
49. Top YouTube creators call out defunct Defy Media for shady practices
50. Influencers v. PopSugar: Recent Updates 
51. Influencer Marketing: Understanding Disclosure Best Practices 
52. Brands Are Pursuing ‘Nano Influencers’ With Mere Thousands Of Instagram Followers (Report)
53. Forget Pet Stars: A New Field Of Plant Influencers Is Cropping Up On Instagram
54. Disney Unveils Name Of Upcoming Streaming Service, Will Launch In Late 2019 With Marvel And ‘Star Wars’ Series 
55. A Twitter Account Is Outing White People Who Pretend to Be Black and It’s Hilarious
56. Claims for Analyzing Twitter Posts Held Unpatentable by Judge Castel 
57. Vine Sequel To Be Called ‘Byte,’ Launching Next Spring
58. HQ Trivia Is Bleeding Users, Weathering CEO Drama Ahead Of Follow-Up Game Launch (Report)
59. After Being Banned By Fiverr, Voice Over Pete Is Making Bank On Patreon — And Teaming Up With Ninja 
60. Vice To Reduce Staff By 15%, Slash Number Of Content Verticals In Half Over Next Year
61. Disney is taking a $157 million write-down on Vice Media as the site is reportedly reducing staff by 15%
62. Netflix is doubling down on Asia with 17 new originals
63. Netflix Tests Cheap, Mobile-Only Subscription Plan To Net More Users In Asia 
64. Insights: Netflix Really Wants To Win Some Oscars, So It’s Changing Its Whole Strategy For Big Films And Filmmakers
65. Will Netflix have a Devil of Time Defending Suit Brought by Satanic Temple?
66. Disney Eyeing Global Rollout For Hulu, Potential Subscription Price Hike
67. Why a Blockchain Startup Bought This $9 Million Stradivarius Violin: Mattereum wants to tokenize the real world.
68. The Hammer Falls on the First Major Blockchain-based Art Auction 
69. Using blockchain in advertising
70. Imminent Bitcoin Cash schism triggers cryptocurrency selloff 
71. Headmaster Fired For Stealing School’s Electricity To Mine Crypto
72. High School Principal in China Fired for Running Secret Cryptocurrency Mining Operation
73. The IRS is Closing in on Cases Regarding Bitcoin Income Reporting
74. Six Years Behind Bars: DOJ Gives Dire Warning to Online False Advertisers 
75. Qualcomm’s Patent Nuclear War Turning Into Nuclear Winter
76. In 20 Years, the Internet Will Split in Two — Then Go to War With Itself
77. Robert Jackson Bennett Uses Magic To Make Sense Of How Technology Shapes Our Lives 

CREATIVITY

1. Follow Up on Bill C-86 – The Omnibus Bill that Amends Canadian IP Law (Howard Knopf)
2. AP: Video expert says White House clip of CNN reporter was likely doctored [Updated]
3. White House Spreads Doctored Video to Justify Temper Tantrum Against CNN Reporter
4. CNN Lawsuit Seeks To Show That Trump Can’t Kick Reporters Out For Asking Tough Questions
5. Dems to probe whether Trump retaliated against CNN, Washington Post
6. Don’t Throw Out The First Amendment’s Press Protections Just Because You Don’t Like President Trump
7. Another Freedom of Speech Win For The Fantasy Sports Industry
8. Indiana Supreme Court Finds Fantasy Sports Statistics Newsworthy In Right of Publicity Claim 
9. Artist hacks street signs in Edinburgh to the public’s delight 
10. Why We Need Utopian Fiction Now More Than Ever
11. Forget movie villains—it’s the “good” superheroes that are the most violent
12. Legendary Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee has died
13. Obituary: Marvel Comics co-creator Stan Lee passes away at 95
14. Legendary Creator Stan Lee, Who Changed Comics and Pop Culture Forever, Is Dead at 95
15. The taste of a food product is not eligible for copyright protection The taste of a food product cannot be classified as a ‘work’
16. The Levola Hengelo CJEU decision: ambiguities, uncertainties … and more questions
17. RIAA Court Filing In Stairway To Heaven Case Warns Against *OVERPROTECTION* By Copyright
18. The Girl Scouts Sues The Boy Scouts Over Trademark

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Net Neutrality News: Supreme Court Declines to Hear Telecom Industry Appeals 
2. Why Democrats Didn’t Campaign More on Net Neutrality
3. Oh Look, Wireless Sector Investment Is Declining Despite Tax Cuts, Repeal Of Net Neutrality
4. Colorado Voters Continue To Opt Out Of State’s Protectionist, ISP-Written Broadband Law
5. AT&T CEO: State net neutrality and privacy laws are a “total disaster”
6. House To Investigate Whether DOJ’s AT&T Antitrust Lawsuit Was Political
7. AT&T Ignores Numerous Pitfalls, Begins Kicking Pirates Off Of The Internet
8. Comcast uses NBC to harm other cable companies, rivals say
9. Comcast forced to pay refunds after its hidden fees hurt customers’ credit
10. Negotiating with ISPs: Don’t accept broadband price hikes without a fight
11. Whose Liability Is It Anyway? CRTC Issues New Guidance Regarding Liability for Aiding or Inducing CASL Non-Compliance 
12. CRTC’s Troubling Guidelines on CASL Accessorial Liability  

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Google goes down after major BGP mishap routes traffic through China: Google says it doesn’t believe leak was malicious despite suspicious appearances.
2. Security breach notification and reporting requirements are now in force under Canada’s PIPEDA
3. New mandatory data breach notification requirements come into force
4. New Developments in the Law on Data Breaches
5. High Court blocks data privacy claim against Google 
6. Amazon must give up Echo recordings in double murder case, judge rules
7. Judge Says Amazon Needs To Hand Over Recordings Created By Murder Victim’s Echo Speaker
8. Amazon Breaks Silence on Aiding Law Enforcement Following Employee Backlash
9. Motel 6 Agrees To Pay $7.6 Million Settlement For Sending Guest Lists To ICE
10. EU and U.S. second annual review of Privacy Shield 
11. How your car is spying on you
12. We need stronger cybersecurity laws for the Internet of Things

Jon

GAMES

1. Tencent will use police databases to restrict playtime in China
2. Tencent to run player ID checks across its entire portfolio in China: “Healthy gaming” system to expand beyond Honor of Kings in 2019, to allay the government’s addiction fears
3. Riot Games sued over allegations of sexual harassment, pay disparity
4. Current and former employees file class action lawsuit against Riot Games
5. Riot Games faces class-action suit for discrimination, harassment: One current, one former employee allege company denied equal pay, stifled careers based on their gender
6. He Helped People Cheat at Grand Theft Auto. Then His Home Was Raided: A gamer in Melbourne has had his assets frozen in connection with a popular video game cheat. He’s one of many being sued by game companies worldwide, raising questions about copyright
7. Bizarre: TrustedReviews Pulls Website Reporting on ‘Red Dead’ Leak, Pays More Than A Million To Charities Of Rockstar’s Choice
8. Take-Two Interactive raises financial outlook due to Red Dead Redemption II
9. NBA 2K19 and GTA Online drive Take-Two results: Digital sales continue to accelerate
10. British Website Forced To Pay $1.3 Million Over Red Dead Redemption 2 Leak
11. TI Media donates $1.3 million as apology for leaking internal Take-Two documents
12. Take-Two, TrustedReviews reach legal settlement over Red Dead Redemption 2 leak: ‘Over £1 million’ settlement to be directed to three charities after February article leak of confidential document
13. Red Dead Redemption 2 scores 2018’s biggest second week at UK retail: Football Manager 2019 comes in at No.9 in physical form
14. Rockstar Ports Its Old, Antiquated, Flawed Censorial Blacklist For Player Chat Into New ‘Red Dead Redemption’ Game
15. Twitch users spent 34M hours watching Black Ops 4 on launch week
16. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 sees 34m hours of Twitch viewership during launch week – Gamoloco – Battle royale mode drove 270% increase over WWII’s launch
17. Microsoft’s Twitch Competitor Mixer Rolls Out Hefty Update With More Ways For Creators To Make Money And More Ways For Viewers To Engage
18. Rainbow 6 Siege Will Remove Sex And Gambling References Globally
19. Visual tweaks hit Rainbow Six Siege ahead of release in Asian countries
20. Ubisoft removing references to gambling, skulls for global Rainbow Six Siege release: Expansion to Asia to come with aesthetic game changes for “single, global vision” of the game
21. Just Dance 2019 under fire for advertising paid subscription in ‘Kids Mode’
22. Ubisoft reworking Just Dance kids mode after parental complaint over subscription ads: Calls for younger users to sign up to Unlimited service prompt apology from publisher
23. How to handle entitled gamers when announcing a mobile game: Blizzard isn’t the first games giant to have to manage its fans when moving to smartphones
24. Blizzard announces its first mobile Diablo game
25. Blizzard’s Diablo mobile game meets community backlash: NetEase co-developed Diablo Immortal sparks online petition, Blizzard categorises response as fan “passion”
26. Activision Blizzard stock tumbles following Diablo Immortal backlash: Share price takes 6.74% hit to close out day at lowest point since January
27. Blizzard’s long-awaited World of Warcraft Classic releases next summer
28. World of Warcraft: Classic free to WoW subscribers – Recreation of original World of Warcraft due out in summer 2019
29. Blizzard’s Overwatch League is making big changes with player wellness in mind: Season 2 will have more teams and fewer games
30. Turtle Beach revenue up 107% to $74.4m in latest quarterly financials: Popularity of battle royale games drive strong headset sales
31. Fallout 76 beta: Bethesda extends UK time after bug deletes game from PCs – A bug managed to delete the whole of the Fallout 76 beta from people’s PCs and they were not happy
32. Sony keeping Warhawk, other PS3 game servers live through January [Updated]
33. PUBG’s “console exclusivity” may soon end, as loud hints of a PS4 version mount
34. As PUBG for PS4 looms, Xbox unofficially responds: have the game for free
35. Feature erosion watch: Xbox One loses broadcast TV streaming on iOS/Android – iOS and Android apps no longer able to receive antenna TV signals through console
36. “Companies don’t care about your games. People care about your games”: At Melbourne Games Week, Nick Suttner and Ken Wong advised developers not to see storefronts as monoliths – find the people that work there, and make them your champions
37. Back from the dead: The people keeping old MMOs alive: Dozens of dead or abandoned MMOs are kept alive by teams of volunteers, many of whom struggle with the legal and financial implications of the task
38. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part One: The Science of Steam
39. Dude, Where’s My Money? Part Two: Divvying up the Loot – AurumDust’s Nikolay Bondarenko offers advice on Steam’s tools, key resellers, and how to work with the growing legion of storefronts
40. 5 years into Early Access, DayZ hits beta ahead of a planned 1.0 release this year
41. A ridiculously in-depth look at the email marketing ofBoyfriend Dungeon
42. Starbreeze Studios pre-tax loss triples to $11.3m in Q3 2018: Payday 2 accounts for two-thirds of company’s Q3 revenue as it prepares to launch Overkill’s The Walking Dead
43. Pokemon GO earned $73 million in October: Earnings represent 67% year-over-year increase, edges Niantic’s title over Fortnite for mobile revenue
44. Junichi Masuda likely stepping away from director role on future Pokemon games: After Let’s Go!, Masuda to allow “younger generation” to steer the series
45. Apptopia October report: Asian developers dominate the top new games on iOS and Android – Games from Asian markets account for nine of the top ten new games on App Store in terms of IAP spending
46. Newzoo lowers global games forecast for 2018 to $134.9 Billion: China’s licensing freeze, mobile copycat fatigue bring mobile market predictions down by $7 billion
47. Bringing feudal Japan to life in Ghost of Tsushima: Sucker Punch creative director Nate Fox discusses ensuring the game’s setting is authentic, despite the appeal of the romantic imagery
48. DeNA bringing Tencent’s Arena of Valor to Japan: Mobile specialist will handle operational support, marketing and localisation for the region
49. Report: Japan’s mobile game creators are losing out to China, South Korea
50. Capcom will focus on PC for the future of Monster Hunter: World
51. Capcom considering more cloud games despite Resident Evil 7 shortcomings: Streamed Switch version of horror hit “did not have a significant impact on earnings”, but publisher still sees promise in the technology
52. Brexit will cause ‘serious harm’ to the UK games industry: White paper from Games4EU suggests consumers will take financial hit while industry suffers ‘brain drain’ and ‘cultural diminishment’
53. Profits down at Sega despite upswing in packaged game sales
54. Sega’s H1 games results stagnate on lack of new releases: New Football Manager and Total War games promise a stronger H2
55. Ingress Prime launches today, first major live events imminent: Niantic also planning Netflix series, web series to develop the game’s plot
56. Old School RuneScape mobile debuts with over one million installs: iOS launch more than doubles mobile audience, brings game to #1 in the App Store in eight countries
57. Nintendo to remove offensive Native American designs from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
58. Nintendo Says It Will Remove Racist Native American Animation From Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
59. Nintendo apologizes for Native American caricature: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate callback to 1982 Game & Watch title will see animation changed as company says it “does not represent our company values today”
60. Super Mario Party passes 1.5 million sales in under a month
61. Super Mario Party sells 1.5m units in release month: Joy-Con sales driven up by game’s strong performance, says Nintendo
62. Mario Segale, namesake for Nintendo’s mascot, dies at 84
63. Obituary: Mario Segale, the real-life namesake of Super Mario, has passed away
64. Top Twitch Streamer Ninja Talks Planning For A Future Without ‘Fortnite’
65. Fortnite has been downloaded by half of all Nintendo Switch owners: Epic’s game has been a hit with console’s 22 million-strong audience
66. Tech billionaire Tej Kohli launches €50 million European esports investment fund: Esports Insider co-founder and managing director Sam Cooke brought on as adviser to Rewired GG
67. Discord acquires Blitz Esports, closes content platform: Eight editorial team members let go in transition, League of Legends app to continue under new owner
68. Malaysian government pledges $2.4m for esports in 2019: National budget will boost local esports scene, Razer CEO pledges to match the investment
69. Danish prime minister opens Counter-Strike esports tournament – Lars Løkke Rasmussen: “You are truly sportsmen following your dreams”
70. Bat, ball and keyboard? The expansion of traditional athletic organisations into esports
71. Diablo III leads our list of older games born anew on Nintendo Switch
72. Survey: Teens spend an average of $184 on video games a year
73. Study: Tetris is a great distraction for easing an anxious mind
74. Video: Experimental approaches to improving peer feedback in games
75. Zynga enjoys best mobile performance in company history: Mobile revenue reaches $212 million in Q3 2018
76. Candy Crush Friends Saga surpasses $10 million: King’s most recent Candy Crush entry’s launch driven by US, Android users
77. Sales and profits down at Square Enix as console titles falter
78. Square Enix wants new studio Luminous to focus solely on triple-A
79. Square Enix reports $33m extraordinary loss as new AAA studio shifts focus: Half-year financial results also show declines across the board despite Tomb Raider and Octopath Traveller launches
80. Square Enix picks up 20% stake in Battalion 1944 dev Bulkhead Interactive
81. Square Enix buys 20% of Battalion 1944 developer Bulkhead
82. Record bookings drive Glu Mobile ever closer to profit in Q3: Design Home, Tap Sports Baseball and Covet Fashion represented 79% of all bookings
83. Blog: A case for single-player matchmaking
84. Swiss studio wins Universal GameDev Contest: Gbanga awarded $150,000 and one-year consulting contract with Universal for Voltron: Cubes of Olkarion
85. How to design for coziness…and kindness: Tanya X. Short, Rebecca Cordingley, and other developers of “cozy” games explain why and how they make their games safe, familiar and intimate
86. Kartridge, Kongregate’s game platform with generous rev share, launches in open beta
87. Oculus co-founder: “Free is still not cheap enough” for current VR tech
88. Blizzard’s Hearthstone reaches 100 million registered players 
89. How bad crediting hurts the game industry and muddles history
90. A look back at the top-selling games of the ’90s

DIGITAL

1. As Canadian ISPs Requested, Canada Get Proposed Law To Ban Copyright Settlement Letters
2. AT&T steps up copyright enforcement, kicks customers off network
3. Small And Medium Publishers Protest EU Link Tax, Which Will Harm Them, While Helping Only Large Publishers
4. Section 230 Doesn’t Support Habeus Petition by ‘Revenge’ Pornographer–Bollaert v. Gore (Eric Goldman)
5. Gab is back a week after Pittsburgh shooting controversy forced it offline
6. As He Staves Off T-Series, PewDiePie Isn’t Finished Crossing YouTube Milestones Yet
7. Chrome 71 will block any and all ads on sites with “abusive experiences”
8. YouTube Music Chief Lyor Cohen Joins Chorus Of Execs, Creators Denouncing Article 13
9. YouTube’s head of music warns that EU’s Article 13 is detrimental to remixes, fan videos: Lyor Cohen is the most recent YouTube executive to speak out
10. YouTube’s ‘Edge Of Seventeen’ Marks Latest In A String Of Series From Female-Led Creative Teams
11. Anna Kendrick To Star In YouTuber-Filmmaker Joe Penna’s Second Feature Film ‘Stowaway’
12. Most Parents Who Let Their Kids Watch YouTube Have Encountered Disturbing Videos (Study)
13. YouTube Has Paid Out More Than $3 Billion To Copyright Holders Through Content ID 
14. YouTube paid $3 billion to copyright owners through Content ID: Google said its anti-piracy efforts are doing very well.
15. “Bohemian Rhapsody” Becomes YouTube’s Most-Viewed Music Video From The ‘70s Ahead Of Queen Biopic 
16. Vancouver School District and City of Vancouver Launch FuturePLAY, a STEAM Program with BroadbandTV 
17. VSauce2 Launches Create Unknown Podcast About The Business Of Being A YouTuber
18. Disney Digital Network Lays Off A Number Of Employees As Part Of Shifting Focus To SVOD
19. TanaCon Organizer Files For Bankruptcy, Will Release His Own Documentary About Ill-Fated Event
20. Logan Paul Says Being Axed From ‘Google Preferred’ In January Has Cost Him $5 Million
21. FaZe Clan Is Hiring A House Manager To Oversee Its Growing Fleet Of Creator Mansions
22. Mixer introduces new monetization for streamers  
23. The Privacy Battle To Save Google From Itself
24. Google Patents Eye-Tracking System To Read Expressions For VR 
25. The Next Level Of Tech Activism: Google Employees Walk Out, Demand Changes From Management
26. Thousands of Google employees slam execs’ response to sexual misconduct
27. We’re the Organizers of the Google Walkout. Here Are Our Demands
28. Vice Media President Andrew Creighton Exits Months After Sexual Harassment Investigation
29. Vice Media is cutting its staff by up to 15% amid missed revenue and a traffic slump
30. Nancy Dubuc: Vice Will Be Profitable ‘Within a Fiscal Year’ 
31. Pet Influencers Can Command $15,000 Per Instagram Post, Says Top Animal Talent Manager
32. Snapchat’s PR Firm Sues Influencer For Breaching Terms Of $60,000 Brand Deal
33. Company Sues Influencer for Failing to Influence 
34. Snapchat to Launch Three More Series From Barcroft Media
35. On eve of US elections, Facebook pulls down 115 “inauthentic” accounts
36. Facebook Takes Down 115 Accounts Possibly Linked to Russia Hours Before Polls Open 
37. We Tested Facebook’s Ad Screeners and Some Were Too Strict: The platform mistook a disabled veterans fundraiser for a political ad.
38. We posed as 100 Senators to run ads on Facebook. Facebook approved all of them.
39. Don’t Leave It All to Facebook: The U.S. Should Do More To Protect Our Data Privacy
40. TikTok Tops App Charts, Beating Out YouTube, Facebook, Instagram In Number Of October Downloads
41. Will ‘Deepfakes’ Disrupt The Midterm Election?
42. Our lack of interest in data ethics will come back to haunt us
43. Copyright Office Extends Anti-Circumvention DMCA Exemptions To All Filmmakers, Not Just Documentarians 
44. After Being Sued To Block Sci-Hub; Swedish ISP Blocks Court’s And Elsevier’s Website In Protest
45. Crypt TV Teams With Netflix On Horror Anthology Series ‘Don’t Watch This’
46. Free Flickr accounts slashed to 1,000 pictures; the rest will be deleted
47. Flickr Is Going to Delete a Bunch of Photos—Back Up Yours Now
48. You can now share IGTV videos to your Instagram Story
49. Apple’s heart study is the biggest ever, but with a catch
50. Apple Stock Drops After Company Announces No Growth in iPhone Sales
51. While iPhone sales remain stagnant, Apple services hit $10 billion in revenue
52. Report: Apple Nearly Acquired Leap Motion but the Deal Fell Through
53. Satya Nadella: The cloud is going to move underwater 
54. Red Hat Hysteria: Aren’t We Past The Point Of Being Surprised That ‘Free’ Is A Part Of The Business Model? 
55. Bell Says Latest Helicopter was Designed 10 Times Faster With VR
56. Defendant Can’t Send Virtual Gambling Claims to Arbitration 
57. AI Meets IP: The patent challenge
58. We Need an FDA For Algorithms: UK mathematician Hannah Fry on the promise and danger of an AI world.
59. Should a Self-Driving Car Kill the Baby or the Grandma? Depends on Where You’re From: The infamous “trolley problem” was put to millions of people in a global study, revealing how much ethics diverge across cultures
60. Winklevoss twins claim famed crypto evangelist stole 5,000 bitcoins from them
61. Lawyer: My client didn’t steal 5,000 bitcoins, “Period”
62. Our Music Festival- Empowering a Decentralized Fanbase with Blockchain 
63. Blockchain-based elections would be a disaster for democracy
64. The Case For Giving Robots An Identity
65. Restaurants have strict standards to protect customers. Tech platforms don’t
66. New York Lawmakers Want Social Media History To Be Included In Gun Background Checks
67. Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Against Airbnb Has the Potential to Change Online Marketplaces–Harrington v. Airbnb (Eric Goldman)
68. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 5: Income Tax Reform to Support the News Media (Michael Geist)
69. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 6: Ensuring Internet Companies Pay Their Fair Share of Income Tax (Michael Geist)
70. A Victory for Software Preservation: DMCA Exemption Granted for SPN
71. Big Boost For Open Access As Wellcome And Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Back EU’s ‘Plan S’

CREATIVITY

1. Massive Canadian IP Law Reform in a Budget Bill – Throwing Parliamentary Scrutiny Under the Omnibus Bus with Bill C-86
2. Bill C-86: Shaking Up Canada’s IP Legislation 
3. No Need for New Internet Injunctions: Why Canadian Copyright Law Already Provides Rights Holders with the Legal Tools They Need (Michael Geist)
4. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement: Intellectual Property Provisions for the Modern Age
5. Russian Government Hits Last Independent News Outlet With A $338,000 Fine
6. HBO Would Like Donald Trump to Stop Using Game of Thrones Memes to Stoke Fear Ahead of Elections [Updated]
7. HBO twitchs Trump’s Game of Thrones-tinged tweet a “misappropriation” of trademark
8. Conservative Magazine Tweets That President Trump Is Going to Hell
9. An expert on ‘dangerous speech’ explains how Trump’s rhetoric and the recent spate of violence are and aren’t linked
10. Another Lawsuit And Another Loss For Plaintiffs Trying To Make Twitter Pay For Terrorism
11. New Report Details Massive Mysterious Influence Campaign On Twitter
12. Trump has Twitter. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is winning Instagram
13. Why The Whole Freaking World Knows That Rep. Jeff Fortenberry Hates Being Called Fartenberry
14. Notorious patent enforcement entity values its entire portfolio at $2, folds

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. CRTC Chair Opens the Door to Weakening Canadian Net Neutrality Rules (Michael Geist)
2. Supreme Court rejects industry challenge of 2015 net neutrality rules
3. Supreme Court Rejects Telecom Industry Calls To Hear Net Neutrality Case… For Now
4. California Net Neutrality Law Put On Hold Pending Federal Litigation  
5. As The “Net Neutrality” World Turns . . . .
6. Lawmaker who wants paid fast lanes on Internet wins US Senate seat
7. All The Mergers In The World Apparently Can’t Save AT&T From Cord Cutting
8. AT&T Blackout Of HBO On Dish Highlights Perils Of Megamerger Mania 
9. Cable’s Top Lobbyist Again Calls For Heavier Regulation Of Silicon Valley
10. Verizon Just Obliterated Ajit Pai’s Justification For Killing Net Neutrality
11. Ajit Pai slams Sprint, Charter, and CenturyLink for poor robocall effort
12. FCC Pretends To Hold Carrier Feet To The Fire On Robocalls
13. How robocall spam and cheap tech are screwing with political polls 
14. Digital Businesses Beware: You Could be Liable for the Anti-Spam Violations of Others
15. Charter Spectrum’s CEO Continues To Whine About Streaming Password Sharing
16. Another Study Shockingly Discovers That Cable TV Needs To Compete On Price

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. New data shows China has “taken the gloves off” in hacking attacks on US
2. How did Iran find CIA spies? They Googled it
3. The upshot of GDPR: Programmatic ad rates are rising
4. Hackers Published Private Messages From 81,000 Facebook Users
5. Police decrypt 258,000 messages after breaking pricey IronChat crypto app
6. Cyber-attackers could exploit security flaw found in the embedded video function of Microsoft Word
7. Wyden Unveils Plan to Protect Private Data, Restore ‘Do Not Track,’ and Jail Reckless CEOs
8. Bluetooth bugs bite millions of Wi-Fi APs from Cisco, Meraki, and Aruba
9. Proposed data privacy law could send company execs to prison for 20 years
10. California Passes Internet of Things Law 
11. New Senate report on cyber security should “keep you up at night”
12. Georgia’s Brian Kemp And The No Good, Very Bad Claim That Democrats Were Hacking Voter Registration System
13. Common-Knowledge Attacks on Democracy (Henry Farrell & Bruce Schneier)

Jon

GAMES

1. Suspect in fatal swatting faces 46 new charges: Tyler Barriss expected to plead guilty to phoning in bomb threats and using police to harass others for years leading up to last December’s death over a Call of Duty argument
2. The Library of Congress just made game preservation a little bit easier
3. Researchers can now legally restore “abandoned” online game servers
4. Analyst expects Houser brothers to receive huge Red Dead royalties: Take-Two clarifies that last year’s royalties of $383m shared across all studios
5. Rockstar devs detail the studio’s history with ‘mandatory’ crunch
6. Rockstar’s broken work ethics: Former employees detail mandatory long hours, unpaid overtime, and a culture of fear at studios behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption
7. Rockstar: “Overtime is not mandatory” – Red Dead Redemption developer responds to increasing number of stories about studio’s intense working conditions
8. Red Dead Redemption 2: Critical Consensus – Rockstar’s latest hailed as a masterpiece, raising the bar for open worlds to come
9. Red Dead Redemption 2 made $725 million over the weekend
10. Red Dead Redemption 2 makes $725 million in three days: It’s the second biggest entertainment launch in history behind GTA V
11. Red Dead Redemption 2 UK sales more than double the first game: Rockstar’s latest epic is the second fastest-selling game of the year
12. Crunch, work-life balance, and Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: A view from the top
13. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey built without ‘massive crunch’: “We think it’s a false economy to burn out our teams. We risk losing them”
14. SAG-AFTRA’s new agreement opens doors for small-budget and indie games
15. Ex-IGDA head Kate Edwards now convinced game devs need unions: Edwards explains what pushed her from being open to the idea of organized labor to believing it needs to happen
16. Twitch teams up with Harmonix to develop a streaming karaoke game
17. Female Gamers Defend Twitch Star Pokimane After Sexist Backlash Following Makeup-Free Stream
18. Introducing the games industry’s latest gender diversity initiative – G Into Gaming
19. Can a video game prevent domestic violence?: We speak to Professor Adele Jones about her ongoing work to tackle abuse and the attitudes that lead to it
20. Renegotiated music licenses bring Alan Wake back to digital stores
21. Alan Wake returns to digital storefronts after music rights snafu [Updated]
22. Edge Case Games ceases support for Fractured Space: Developer intends to keep servers online “for the foreseeable future”
23. The dark, ironic, surreal games of Central and Eastern Europe: The region’s developers have found a place in the market by taking the upheaval of the past, and creating a unique visual and thematic identity
24. Epic Games secures $1.25 billion from multiple investors
25. Epic Games raises $1.25 billion from handful of investors: KKR, ICONIQ Capital, Smash Ventures, and four more join the ranks of Fortnite studio’s minority shareholders
26. ‘Fortnite’s’ Streaming Popularity May Have Peaked (Analyst)
27. Games deals in 2018 worth record $25bn but “could signal top of the market”: IPO market falls 90 per cent but games investment reaches “unprecedented” levels, according to Digi-Capital
28. SuperData: Digital spend on console reaches $1.24bn for September – Destiny 2 Forsaken expansion beats out Fortnite to top digital console rankings
29. Liftoff: Mobile user acquisition costs drop while in-app purchases struggle – Mobile App Engagement Index report notes that costs to get users from install to in-app purchase are rising quickly despite high engagement
30. Candy Crush Saga is the UK’s most popular game of all time on Android
31. Nier: Automata’s 2B Is Coming To Soulcalibur VI
32. Massive apples, cubes draw ire in ranked SoulCalibur VIonline play
33. Zynga reports rising revenues and deals for Harry Potter & Game of Thrones games
34. Zynga investing in Harry Potter, Game of Thrones titles: Both licensed games will be casual, mobile experiences to be developed at company’s US studios
35. Edge Case Games ends development of free-to-playFractured Space
36. The balance of Scavengers, a multiplayer game built by “famously vicious trolls”: Midwinter Entertainment CEO Josh Holmes believes “griefing” is an inevitable part of playing online – and accepting that is key to ensuring fair play
37. Turning a documentary into a video game: The team behind Never Alone discuss its upcoming Blue Planet tie-in with the BBC
38. Team Sonic Racing delayed until May 2019: Return of Sega-themed kart racing series was due on shelves before Christmas
39. Industry-first esports gambling platform gets wagering license approval: “There is finally a legitimate, regulated operator in the space that has a pretty comprehensive offering,” says Unikrn CEO
40. Esports Integrity Coalition issues five-year ban to CS:GO cheater: OpTic disbands in wake of Nikhil ‘forsaken’ Kumawat’s ban for cheating in two competitions
41. NBA superstar Michael Jordan leads $26m investment into aXiomatic Gaming: Jordan invests in parent company of third-most valuable esports organisation, Team Liquid
42. Conde Nast owner Advanced Publications acquires The Esports Observer 
43. Advance acquires The Esports Observer: Media company makes significant investment increase shortly after acquiring gaming analytics firm Newzoo
44. Esports makes up 9-17% of Twitch’s viewership in 2018 so far: Fortnite viewership dips in Q3 of this year, leaving Activision Blizzard to command attention once more
45. Blizzard launches standalone, souped-up Overwatch viewer for esports event
46. Unikrn gets gambling license for crypto-based betting on esports and games
47. Monster Hunter: World continues to drive sales at Capcom
48. Monster Hunter: World drives Capcom to strong six-month results – Hit title has eclipsed 10m shipments, helped Capcom to double profits
49. Microsoft gaming revenue up 44% despite quiet Q1 2019: Platform holder to expand Xbox Game Pass offering on PC
50. Microsoft Reveals ‘Maquette’, a VR Tool for Spatial Ideation and Design
51. Microsoft CEO reveals Xbox Game Pass is heading to PC
52. Microsoft is bringing all-you-can-play Game Pass subscription to PC
53. Minecraft reaches 150 million downloads in China: Free-to-play Chinese version gains 50 million players in five months
54. Sony sold nearly 4 million PS4s in the last three months
55. Sony reports 65% increase in games profit driven by sales of Spider-Man
56. Don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing…in Spider-Man
57. Spider-Man drives 65% increase in games profits for Sony: Software sales were behind a strong fiscal Q2, Sony said, even as PS4 hardware sales continued to fall
58. Blog: A design analysis of Marvel’s Spider-Man
59. Here are all 20 games you’ll get with the PlayStation Classic
60. Full List Of PlayStation Classic Games Is Missing Some Classics
61. PlayStation Classic’s full game list announced, and it might annoy you
62. PlayStation Classic’s full game list announced, and it might annoy you
63. Sony announces PlayStation Classic game line-up: 20 titles on plug-and-play console include Metal Gear Solid, Grand Theft Auto, and Rayman
64. Why Playstation Classic (and other throwback consoles) may never feature the sports games we loved
65. Sony licenses PSVR design to Lenovo following eerily similar VR headsets
66. Sony licenses PSVR design for Lenovo VR headset: Two-year deal aims to expand and improve VR industry
67. Before crucial holiday season, Nintendo struggles as Sony shines
68. Nintendo recommits to “keep the business going” for 3DS
69. Bethesda hasn’t forsaken the Switch, despite Fallout 76skipping the console
70. Nintendo Switch version of Fallout 76 “wasn’t doable”: New game won’t be following Doom and Wolfenstein to Nintendo’s console, but Bethesda remains committed to the Switch as a “viable platform”
71. Switch reaches 22m lifetime sales in a solid six months for Nintendo: Total software unit sales are now at 111 million units for Nintendo’s console
72. Over 1,300 games from 500+ publishers have been released on the Switch’s eShop
73. Switch sales remain steady as Nintendo reports bump in profits
74. Report: Nintendo’s latest mobile game Dragalia Lostearned $28M in first month
75. Fortnite downloaded onto ‘nearly half’ of all Switch consoles
76. The Switch has surpassed 22M units in lifetime sales
77. A peek at Nintendo’s early Wii Remote prototype for the GameCube
78. Japanese auction reveals Nintendo’s first Wii remote—for the GameCube
79. Super Mario Odyssey has sold over 12 million copies
80. Income from player recurring investment rises to $297 million for Ubisoft
81. Ubisoft CEO: Cloud gaming can help AAA games grow beyond PC and console
82. Steam, Proud Adopters Of Hands Off Games Policy, Very Hands On When Banning All Of TorrentFreak
83. Steam now boasts 90 million monthly active users
84. New Valve Data Gives Fresh Insight into Number of VR Headsets Used on Steam
85. Oculus Now Lets You Record Abusive Behavior on Go & Gear VR
86. Has the VR boom hit a wall?: Enormous progress has been made in headset design and software development for VR – but without a major technological leap forward, current devices won’t reach the mass market
87. Don’t Miss: Here They Lie and the ethics of VR horror
88. EA reveals Project Atlas, a new game dev platform ‘in the cloud’
89. EA details new cloud native development platform, Project Atlas: Unified platform aims to “seamlessly converge” artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and Frostbite engine
90. FIFA & Madden drive a strong Q2 for EA ahead ofBattlefield V
91. Battlefield V will have premium currency, but no pay-to-win progression system
92. The rising need for game economy designers in freemium mobile games
93. What drives players to digital murder in The Sims games
94. Unity announces a winner for the Universal game dev contest 
95. Child of Light and Talking Tom to be adapted for TV and film
96. Blog: The universal inaccessibility of board games
97. Blog: A different approach to difficulty
98. Blog: Let’s talk about innovation in mobile games
99. Blog: Playing video games – A rambling essay about hating what you love
100. Blog: Why record $25 billion games deals could signal top of the market
101. Tabletop games are bigger than ever, and its driving growth in the digital sector
102. Raspberry Pi launches game dev magazine Wireframe 
103. Raspberry Pi launches games development magazine Wireframe: Fortnightly publication launches November 8th, 10,000 free welcome issues on offer
104. Australian devs’ advice to students: Specialise, and kill your darlings – At Melbourne Games Week, Blake Mizzi and Chris Wright outlined two key mistakes students make after graduating

DIGITAL

1. Canadian Government Banning Settlement Demands in Copyright Notice-and-Notice System (Michael Geist)
2. Canadian Government Rejects Access Copyright’s Demand for Statutory Damages (Michael Geist)
3. Canadian ISPs Want To Amend Law To Outlaw Settlement Letters
4. This is fine: IBM acquires Red Hat
5. Who owns this AI-generated painting? (Andres Guadamuz)
6. Painting created by Artificial Intelligence goes under the hammer at Christie’s  
7. This AI Lie Detector Flags Falsified Police Reports
8. AI Dreamed Up These Nightmare Fuel Halloween Masks
9. Glimpse: Truly Useful Augmented Reality is Coming. We’re Not Ready. – Soon we’ll be using augmented reality more seamlessly than ever before. And that means we need ground rules for how to not be creeps.
10. Facebook Sees A Future In Augmented Reality Glasses 
11. Hey, How’d That Facebook ‘War Room’ Fare During Brazil’s Election Season? Oh.
12. Facebook yanks content tied to Iranian effort due to “inauthentic behavior”: Detected last week by investigators, accounts targeted US and UK users to “spread discord.”
13. Facebook Bans Proud Boys, Vice Co-Founder Gavin McInnes
14. U.K., Canada Call on Mark Zuckerberg to Appear Before International Panel
15. Instagram’s IGTV, BuzzFeed Launch Accelerator Program For 15 Vertical Video Creators
16. Liza Koshy To Co-Host ‘Election Afterparty’ On MTV With Charlamagne Tha God
17. Snapchat Lost Users in Quarter, Says Declines Will Continue
18. Snap expands Snapchat Shows with 25 new series out of the UK
19. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel Rescinded Promotion for Ex-WarnerMedia Exec Kristen O’Hara, Who Is Now Leaving (Report)
20. GitHub is now officially a part of Microsoft
21. Snapchat Content Chief Wants To Foster Creator Ecosystem Like On YouTube, Vine — And He’s Unimpressed By IGTV
22. EU ‘Protecting Consumers’ By Forcing Them To Pay More For Android?
23. Google CEO: We need to “take a much harder line on inappropriate behavior”
24. Over a decade, Google handsomely paid 3 men accused of misconduct, per report
25. YouTube Fixes Error Messages Stating Certain Free Videos Required Payment
26. YouTube’s ‘Cobra Kai’ Pilot Passes 50 Million Views, With Perfect Rotten Tomatoes Score
27. YouTube’s New King? India’s T-Series Could Soon Overtake Pewdiepie To Become The World’s Biggest Channel
28. Naomi Campbell, Janelle Monáe, And Lakeith Stanfield Grace #YouTubeBlack Creator Summit
29. Disney Star Peyton List Joins Cast Of YouTube Premium’s ‘Cobra Kai’ For Season 2
30. Trudeau’s gift to Google
31. Patreon And Reddit Add Integrations To Help Creators Connect With And Gain New Supporters
32. Elle Mills Launches Patreon Account Because She Spends “Way More Money Creating Videos Than I Earn From Them”
33. Brands and Influencers: Navigating Influencer Agreements from Macro to Micro
34. SVOD Service Zeus Inks Tech Pact With Vimeo On Back-End, Unveils 3 New Shows
35. Fox Nation Sets Launch Date
36. FilmStruck Is Latest Casualty Of WarnerMedia Streamlining, Will Shutter In November
37. Warner Bros. and Turner Are Killing One of the Internet’s Last Good Things
38. Cheddar Buys ‘Rate My Professors’ Website From Viacom
39. UK Government Screws Head On Straight, Bans Use Of Term ‘Fake News’ By Gov’t Officials
40. Brookings survey finds 57 percent say they have seen fake news during 2018 elections and 19 percent believe it has influenced their vote
41. Breitbart Snowflakes Threaten To Sue People Who Have Asked Advertisers To Stop Advertising On Breitbart
42. Trump Tweets, ‘I Rarely Use a Cellphone,’ From His iPhone
43. The President’s Phone OPSEC Continues To Be, Well, Crap
44. Campbell Soup Co. Executive Is Out After Tweeting George Soros Conspiracy Theory
45. UK set to impose new “tech tax” on Silicon Valley giants
46. U.K. to Slap New Tax on Technology Giants
47. UK Commits to Introducing Targeted Digital Services Tax
48. The Digital Services Tax: A Conceptual Defense (Wei Cui)
49. FundamentalVR Partners with Mayo Clinic to Develop VR Surgical Simulations, Raises $1.4M Financing
50. The Indiana Supreme Court’s Decision in Daniels v. FanDuel, Inc.: What it Means for Right of Publicity Law and the Future of Online Sports Betting
51. Half of enterprise machines run Windows 10, as Windows 7’s end of life looms
52. Court Rules on Remand that it Lacks Long-Arm Jurisdiction Over Tech Company in Defamation Lawsuit 
53. After 10 Years, Bitcoin Has Changed Everything—And Nothing
54. Court Orders Tracing Remedy For Cryptocurrency – Copytrack Pte Ltd v. Wall
55. Swedish Court Misunderstands Memes
56. Mail bombing suspect repeatedly threatened Democrats on Twitter
57. Detailed And Thorough Debunking Of Bloomberg’s Sketchy Story About Supply Chain Hack
58. Section 230 Protects Twitter’s Decision to Suspend User’s Account–Mezey v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
59. Video Advertising Contract Descends Into Possible “Cyberattack”–Radian Weapons v. GY6Vids
60. Seventh Different Lawsuit Against Social Media Providers for “Material Support to Terrorists” Fails–Taamneh v. Twitter (Eric Goldman)
61. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 2: Mandated Canadian Content Contributions aka a “Netflix Tax” (Michael Geist)
62. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 3: New Taxes or Fees on Internet Access (Michael Geist)
63. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 4: New Taxes or Fees on Digital Devices (Michael Geist)
64. Helium implicated in weird iPhone malfunctions
65. Why almost everyone was wrong about Tesla’s cash flow situation
66. Eye doctors find that WebMD symptom checker was wrong more than half the time

CREATIVITY

1. New Bill C-86 introduces many more changes to IP laws
2. Taking on the Trolls: Canadian Government To Regulate Patent Demand Letters (Michael Geist)
3. Pharrell Is Not At All Happy About Trump Using ‘Happy’ At His Rally… And He Might Actually Have A Case
4. Judge Engelmayer: Copyright Damages from Brief Display of Plaintiff’s Art in Kendrick Lamar Music Video Are Not Inherently Speculative 
5. Copyright in the United States
6. Fair use isn’t arithmetic 
7. EU Copyright Directive Update: Fresh (But Slim) Hope Of Stopping Link Taxes And Upload Filters
8. Indiana Supreme Court Rules Against Student Athletes in Fantasy Sports Rights of Publicity Case
9. Indiana Supreme Court: No Right to Publicity in Fantasy Sports
10. Megyn Kelly ousted from NBC show after blackface backlash
11. The House Of Cards cast bailed on Megyn Kelly, and now NBC News might even cut her loose 
12. Fox News takes a hard pass on Megyn Kelly
13. MoMA museum claims infringement and dilution by MoMaCha tea café name
14. The Urban Legend About Scattering Human Ashes at Disney Is True, and It’s Worse Than We Thought

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Net neutrality delay: Calif. agrees to suspend law until after court case
2. California Agrees To Delay Net Neutrality Law Pending Outcome Of Federal Lawsuit
3. California Delays Implementation of Its Net Neutrality Law Pending Challenge of FCC’s Order 
4. FCC Falsely Declares Community Broadband An ‘Ominous’ Attack On Free Speech
5. Texas, Arkansas, & Nebraska AGs Are Now Aiding The Broadband Industry’s Assault On Net Neutrality
6. Charter Spectrum Jacks Up Rates (Again) Thanks To Merger ‘Synergies’
7. FCC Republican claims municipal broadband is threat to First Amendment
8. Verizon won’t speed up 5G buildout despite FCC preempting local fees

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Facebook could face legal claims from a million UK users following Information Commissioner’s data breach fine
2. When idle gossip goes too far – data breach involving Facebook
3. The New Mandatory Data Breach Reporting Regimes: Four Key Elements
4. EFF Sues California Law Enforcement Agency For Refusing To Hand Over Stingray Documents
5. Court: Teen’s driving killed someone, but he can’t be forced to give up passcode
6. Feds took woman’s iPhone at border, she sued, now they agree to delete data
7. Florida Appeals Court Says Producing Passwords Is Testimonial And Protected By The Fifth Amendment
8. New Signal privacy feature removes sender ID from metadata
9. How a 19th-Century Teenager Sparked a Battle Over Who Owns Our Faces
10. My Father Says He’s A ‘Targeted Individual.’ Maybe We All Are
11. Feds Also Using ‘Reverse Warrants’ To Gather Location/Identifying Info On Thousands Of Non-Suspects
12. The Price of Privacy: Canada’s Top Court Rules, ISPs must disclose the identity of illegal downloaders at a “reasonable” cost
13. Last Chance To Opt Out Of #MyHealthRecord, Australians!
14. Take a Wild Guess Why Visiting 9,000 Porn Sites on Your Government Computer Is a Dumb Idea
15. EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework Joint Annual Review 2.0 

Jon

GAMES

1. Zombie Orpheus cancels contract with GOG over transphobia: JourneyQuest producers pull content, saying “We cannot do business with a company that doesn’t take human rights seriously”
2. Rockstar Games defends itself over working conditions claims
3. Rockstar allows employees to speak out on 100-hour week controversy: Tools programmer Vivianne Langdon kicks things off with assurances she’s never worked more than 50 hours a week, with paid overtime
4. Red Dead Redemption 2 Developers Speak Out After Rockstar Lifts Social Media Ban
5. The Red Dead Redemption 2 companion app can completely replace its HUD
6. Rockstar says average work week under 46 hours: “We will not stop working to improve in this area,” says co-head of Red Dead Redemption 2 developer
7. Independent game stores may get Red Dead Redemption 2 late: A number of smaller US stores have reported they may not have copies until 5-10 days after release
8. Rockstar developers speak out about “100-hour weeks” comment
9. Rockstar states overtime is ‘optional’ for studio that sometimes pulled 50-hour weeks
10. Rockstar Lincoln QA tester: “Overtime is NOT optional, it is expected” – Current employee describes “standard” crunch hours v. “true” crunch hours, new policy change making overtime optional
11. Rockstar Games clocks the average employee’s workweek at 42-45 hours  
12. Rockstar devs detail the company’s long and troubled relationship with crunch
13. Rockstar QA Studio Told That Overtime Is Now Optional After Workers Said It Felt Mandatory
14. Rockstar employees past and present offer mixed takes on company’s work culture: Extensive report shows uneven experiences across Rockstar studios and departments, including year-long crunch
15. Rockstar devs comment on work culture after 100-hours backlash
16. 100-hour weeks mean bad management, not passion: Rockstar may not be the hell it’s been portrayed as – but we need to stop lionising long overtime and start seeing it as a shameful sign of failure
17. Grand Theft Auto V hack exposed single-player games to malicious trolls
18. Six Foot lays off nearly one third of dev team followingDreadnought Steam launch
19. How Riot has been removing cheaters from League of Legends
20. Games as a service drives huge market value spike for EA, Activision
21. EA Origin Access includes more indie games in its repertoire 
22. Xbox sees earnings rise on the strength of third-party game sales  
23. Fan Translator Likely Finds His Work In Official Game Release And Is Totally Cool With It
24. Bethesda softens ground for “spectacular issues” with Fallout 76 launch
25. “Don’t give into fear and keep adding more features” – How not to overwork your employees: EA’s Criterion, one of the UK’s best places to work, on how it avoids crunching
26. How to avoid video game development crunch: “Teams who are having fun make better games and making games should be fun – otherwise, what’s the point?”
27. “I’ve seen sleep disorders, chronic stress fatigue, dissolved relationships, broken marriages…”: At Game Connect Asia Pacific, Keith Fuller detailed the fallout from crunch, and Kate Edwards said “we need to find our rage” in order to fight it
28. A post-mortem of Telltale Games: Speaking at Sweden Game Conference 2018, former Telltale narrative designer Emily Grace Buck says it’s time for a “really serious conversation about potentially starting a union”
29. Skybound “fully expect” third episode of The Walking Dead’s final season to launch this year: CEO Ian Howe said reuniting the Telltale team is difficult due to people moving on, and others not wanting to come back
30. Skybound CEO aims to finish out The Walking Dead with ‘100%’ former Telltalers
31. Six Foot lays off one third of development staff: Flagship game Dreadnought hampered by delays, slow sales, and mixed reviews
32. ‘Fortnite’ Developer Sues Two YouTubers For Using, Selling Cheat Codes
33. Epic Games to establish new office in Australia and New Zealand
34. Some Best Buy copies of Starlink are missing the game itself: Several people report receiving starter packs with all pieces except the game
35. Dota 2 now dynamically discloses loot box odds in-game
36. Valve publishes loot box odds for Dota 2: Chances of receiving a rare item from a bundle now disclosed in game, with escalating odds calculated
37. Discord updates terms of service to force arbitration over lawsuits
38. NPD: Marvel’s Spider-Man was the biggest PlayStation exclusive launch ever – The web-slinger’s latest outperformed the combined launch sales of all his previous adventures since 1995
39. A Nintendo-backed initiative aims to work Labo into classrooms  
40. Nintendo Labo heads to schools: Institute of Play program will bring the kits to 100 classrooms to integrate into curriculum
41. Common problems when translating games into Japanese
42. Steam reaches 90m monthly active users: Halt on new-game licenses in China buoy Steam’s market presence as Tencent continues to suffer
43. Steam surpasses 30 million domestic users in China
44. Steam’s Chinese audience grows to more than 30 million users: Dota 2 credited with driving Valve’s marketplace in the region as firm prepares for China-only version
45. China ends ‘green channel’ game approvals amid ongoing licensing freeze
46. China closes last remaining official game licensing process: ‘Green channel’ process reportedly shuttered while companies continue to wait for licensing to re-open
47. “More people have played Florence in Mandarin than in English”: At Game Connect Asia Pacific, Mountains founder Ken Wong emphasised the importance of Asian markets – for studios of all sizes
48. Call of Duty brings in $500 million in three days: Black Ops 4 sees launch weekend revenue in line with last year’s WWII, not quite up to Black Ops III’s $550 million
49. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review: War games, now with battle royale!
50. Call of Duty Black Ops 4: Critical Consensus: Activision’s annual shooter ditches the campaign but critics say a standout battle royale mode is a fine reward
51. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 introduces special in-game items to support veterans
52. With Black Ops 4, Call Of Duty Takes Aim At A Fortnite World
53. Gamigo confirms acquisition of Trion Worlds
54. Significant layoffs at Trion Worlds following acquisition by Gamigo
55. Jade Raymond departs EA
56. EA Motive founder Jade Raymond departs EA
57. EA and Activision’s $79bn games-as-a-service growth: DFC reports shows both publishers’ values have surged since 2012 as they increase focus on live titles
58. Games as a service drives huge market value spike for EA, Activision
59. All eyes on Red Dead as UK games retail falters: LEGO, SoulCalibur and Starlink fail to lift physical sales in poor start to Q4
60. Splash Damage ends live development on Dirty Bomb two months after launch: Servers will remain up “as long as there are a meaningful number of players”
61. The average Football Manager 2018 player has over 285 hours of playtime: Nearly half of the game’s owners were still playing in September – almost a year after release
62. Unity dabbles in development with FPS Sample Game: VP of engineering Brett Bibby says undertaking will demonstrate the “best way to build a specific type of game”
63. Drake And Scooter Braun Join Nadeshot’s ‘100 Thieves’ Esports Startup, Which Has Raised $25 Million To Date
64. Abrams Artists Agency Onboards New Esports And Digital Branding Agents
65. Betting platform nabs license for cryptocurrency gambling on eSports
66. Green Man Gaming delays float due to ‘horrendous’ equity markets
67. Arena of Valor brings in $15 million lifetime player spending: International version of Honor of Kings sees strong September led by US spending
68. CCP CEO: “You can’t build a business” on current VR – Hilmar Veigar Pétursson says virtual reality has fallen far short of the Eve developer’s expectations
69. CCP Games CEO: “We expected VR to be two to three times as big”
70. SuperData: Mobile AR to generate more revenue than VR by 2021
71. VR and AR dev Resolution Games secures $7.5 million in funding
72. After five years of waiting, Sixense will refund its VR controller Kickstarter backers
73. A postmortem of Boyfriend Dungeon’s $272K Kickstarter
74. Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe leaves Facebook
75. Oculus Co-founder Departs Facebook Amidst Rumor of Rift 2 Cancellation
76. Facebook exodus continues as Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe leaves
77. Oculus Shut Down Movie Purchases & Rentals on Rift Toda
78. PSVR’s Weirdest Game ‘Accounting+’ Now Available on Vive & Rift with New Levels
79. UK magazines GamesTM and GamesMaster to close: Multiformat magazines axed
80. Phoenix Labs on walking the line between Dauntless and reckless: In the wake of its latest funding round, co-founder Jesse Houston talks about growing the studio and the game at a deliberate pace
81. What does it take to reach No.1 on mobile?: AppLovin’s Lion Studios shares its secrets of success as it pushes indie title Flip Trickster to the top of the charts
82. If less than 30% of players come back to your game on Day 2, fix it or kill it: But GameAnalytics’ mobile benchmarking reports shows that 40% retention rates for Day 1 mean a game is doing well
83. “Designing with marketing in mind” in Move or Die: At the Dev Play conference, Nicolae Berbece described taking Move or Die from a humble Flash game to an audience of over 500,000 people
84. Diddy Kong was my Dark Souls: Sumo Digital’s Jamie Smith says Rare’s N64 kart racer left the competition in the dust
85. Those painted sculptures in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey are true to history
86. Listen to history experts discuss Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
87. Intellivision joins the retro console space with new hardware coming in 2020: Formerly defunct console brand is re-imaged as Intellivision Amico

DIGITAL

1.  This Week’s Bomb Scares Are A Perfect Misinformation Storm
2. Twitter takes down more accounts affiliated with Alex Jones’s Infowars
3. Twitter plays whac-a-mole with Alex Jones, suspends 18 linked accounts
4. Bleacher Report’s House of Highlights Sets Twitter Live Talk Show Debut
5. Uber vice president resigns after sexual misconduct allegations
6. Microsoft making more of the Windows 10 built-in apps removable
7. Microsoft’s problem isn’t how often it updates Windows—it’s how it develops it
8. Microsoft posts a record $29.1 billion Q1. Same old, same old
9. eBay is going to war with Amazon over an alleged scheme to steal business that is ‘startling in breadth’
10. Why Netflix Features Black Actors In Promos To Black Users
11. Rideshare and Chill? Lyft Introducing a Spotify/Netflix-Inspired Subscription Service 
12. Establishing an AI code of ethics will be harder than people think: Ethics are too subjective to guide the use of AI, argue some legal scholars.
13. Novelists Have A Boring New Gimmick: Writing Dull Books With AI 
14. This Startup Is Paying Strangers To Train AI’s
15. The AI Cold War That Threatens Us All
16. Want to Keep Canadian AI Thriving?: Create a Copyright Exception for Informational Analysis (Michael Geist)
17. New Roundup Ranks The World’s Robots By Creepiness
18. An agnostic observation on machine-originated works and copyright
19. How Alibaba Used Big Data To Dream Up A Peppercorn Snickers Bar 
20. The HTC Exodus Blockchain Phone Comes Into Focus
21. Two Cryptocurrency Heavyweights Partner On A Dollar-Backed Stablecoin
22. FinCEN warns of Iran using virtual currencies to bypass sanctions
23. It’s Blockchain your Honour
24. Why A Blockchain-based DRM Has Always Been A Terrible Idea
25. Inside Facebook’s election war room: In a Menlo Park conference room, a global effort to fight misinformation comes together
26. Facebook’s War Room Is Definitely Managing at Least One Crisis
27. Facebook is using new software to identify and remove child nudity photos uploaded to the site 
28. Facebook May Buy A Cybersecurity Company To Prevent Another Major Hack
29. SoundCloud now lets you share songs to Instagram Stories
30. Hundreds of health crowdfunding campaigns are for sham treatments
31. Instagram just surpassed Snapchat as the most used app among American teens, according to a new Wall Street survey
32. Snapchat helped over 400,000 users register to vote: To combat historically low voter turnout 
33. Report: Amazon Tried To Sell Facial Recognition Tech To Ice
34. Microsoft making more of the Windows 10 built-in apps removable
35. Axios Ridiculously Calls For Newsrooms To Ban Journalists From Having Opinions Online
36. Trump Wants to Borrow Tech Workers From Amazon, Google, and Microsoft: Report
37. Google to charge Android OEMs as much as $40 per phone in EU 
38. Just As Expected: GDPR Has Made Google Even More Dominant In Europe
39. Google to Remove Deceptive Travel Ads
40. CEO Gets Nine Months In Prison For Forging Court Documents Ordering Google To Delist Negative Reviews
41. YouTube CEO Calls on Creators to Rally Against EU Copyright Legislation
42. GroupM: YouTube’s better at brand safety, but still has a ways to go
43. YouTube partners with Eventbrite to sell concert tickets below music videos
44. YouTube is investing $20M in educational content, creators: Including partnering with third-party studios and networks
45. YouTube Invests $20 Million In Its ‘YouTube Learning’ Initiative To Support Creators, Launches Channel To Curate Educational Content 
46. Susan Wojcicki Says YouTube Update This Quarter Improved Monetization Icon Accuracy By 10%
47. Susan Wojcicki Warns Article 13 Could Result In Shutdown Of Millions Of YouTube Channels In The EU
48. Rihanna Tries Her Hand At Being A Beauty Vlogger In New YouTube Series 
49. David Dobrik, Casey Neistat, ‘Escape The Night’ Lead 2018 Streamys Nominees; Awards To Air Oct. 22 On YouTube
50. YouTube Revamps Look Of Video Embeds, Adds New Shortcuts To Boost Channel Growth
51. PewDiePie Decries YouTube’s Release Of Logan Paul Movie While His Series Remains Shelved
52. 2018 Streamy Awards: Complete Winners List
53. Todd The Hero Dog Named First-Ever ‘Dog Of The Year’ At 8th Annual Streamys
54. Influencer Marketing – Three Golden Rules 
55. Warner Bros. Promptly Shutters K-Drama Streaming Destination DramaFever
56. Intel’s 5GHz i9 Processor Is Incredible for Hype and Pretty Good for Computing, Too 
57. IBM: Quantum Computers Could Be Useful, But We Don’t Know Exactly How
58. The Incredible Evolution of the Smartphone Notch: From Bezels to All Screen
59. This Gorgeous All-Screen Phone Shows How the Notch Dies
60. Streaming Exclusives Will Drive Users Back To Piracy And The Industry Is Largely Oblivious 
61. Bad Newspaper Photoshop: Manny Machado Apparently Needs Emergency Shoulder Surgery, Probably Not Worth $300M
62. Another Report Shows That FOSTA Increased (Not Decreased) Sex Trafficking; Where Is The Outrage?
63. As Predicted, Australian Government Looks To Creep Site Censorship Into Search Censorship
64. UK Refreshes Stupid Porn Filter Law, Making It Fresher But No Less Stupid
65. Interpol Alert Issued By Turkey For Exiled Journalists President Erdogan Wants To Toss In Jail
66. Vietnam Expands Decades Long Effort To Crack Down On Any Dissent Online By Demanding Data Be Kept In The Country
67. Mexico Reverses Ban On Selling Roku Hardware After Absurd Piracy Ruling 
68. 100 Websites That Shaped the Internet as We Know It
69. Section 230 Applies to Defend Trade Secret Act Claims–Craft Beer Stellar v. Glassdoor (Eric Goldman)
70. Making Sense of the Canadian Digital Tax Debate, Part 1: Digital Sales Taxes (Michael Geist) 

CREATIVITY

1. USMCA versus NAFTA: what’s changed and what it means for intellectual property in Canada
2. U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Business Insights on Intellectual Property Issues
3. Ninth Circuit Finds Bus Ads Protected by First Amendment
4. Photographers’ Claims Against the NFL Score a Touchdown
5. Appeals Court Says Of Course Georgia’s Laws (Including Annotations) Are Not Protected By Copyright And Free To Share
6. No Substantial Similarity Between TV Shows Empire and Cream
7. Supreme Court to Address Meaning of “Full Costs” as Used in Copyright Act
8. Too hyperbolic to be believed: How social media is transforming libel law 
9. Disney Wouldn’t Let Wreck-It Ralph 2 Joke About Kylo Ren
10. Internet Memes Are Making UK Children Fat, Say Researchers Who Don’t Understand Memes
11. Fake Products From Movies Become Awesome Pop Culture Posters
12. “Bank For Your Buck” – The Legal Implications of Banksy’s Destruction of “Girl with Balloon” 
13. Block Party? UK Government Considers New Ways of Clamping Down on Illegal Streaming 
14. Intellectual Property and the implications of a “No Deal” Brexit
15. It’s Blockchain your Honour

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Consumer Groups Say FCC Deregulatory Fever Harming Hurricane Michael Recovery
2. Ajit Pai killed rules that could have helped Florida recover from hurricane 
3. Ajit Pai, Telecom Lobbyists Are Now Coordinating Their Lies In Perfect Symmetry
4. Entire broadband industry sues Vermont to stop state net neutrality law
5. 3 states try to help the FCC kill net neutrality and preempt state laws
6. Broadband Industry Sues Vermont For Daring To Protect Consumers, Net Neutrality
7. CP24 re a news report about 4-20
and a panel discussion about the Ontario provincial election (CBSC Decision 17/18-1438)
8. Turner Axes Super Deluxe Following AT&T’s Time Warner Acquisition 
9. T-Mobile CEO Insists New Merger Will Create Jobs, Competition. Wall Street, History Disagree.
10. Big Bird Goes Digital: The FCC Undertakes to Modernize Children’s Television 
11. New Law Sets Up Federal-State Showdown Over Net Neutrality
12. NY’s AG Is Trying To Tie Major ISPs To Those Bogus Net Neutrality Comments

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. NYT: Chinese and Russian spies routinely eavesdrop on Trump’s iPhone calls
2. How Russia’s “influence operations” targeted the midterms (and how they still do)
3. Russia was likely behind dangerous critical infrastructure attack, report says
4. Russian trolls get DM from US Cyber Command: We know who you are. Stop it
5. Voltage Pictures and the Massive Mass Litigation Mess in Canada (Howard Knopf)
6. High Court blocks data privacy opt out group action against Google
7. Hack on 8 adult websites exposes oodles of intimate user data
8. Amazon, Super Micro Join Apple in Demanding Retraction of Bloomberg Story on Hacked Server Boards
9. Apple CEO Tim Cook calls on Bloomberg to retract its Chinese spy story
10. Apple Demands Retraction Of Bloomberg’s Big ‘Chip Infiltration’ Story; Bloomberg Has Some Explaining To Do
11. Apple CEO Tim Cook Calls for Tougher Privacy Laws
12. Tim Cook calls for strong US privacy law, rips “data-industrial complex”
13. Apple’s TV subscription service starts in 2019 to compete with Netflix, Amazon
14. Amazon pitched its facial recognition to ICE, released emails show [Updated]
15. This business card-sized Japanese phone bucks the giant-phone trend
16. Big Tech Splits Over Privacy Issues, at Least on the Surface: Big tech companies are paying lip service to online privacy, but their efforts are paper-thin.
17. Two new supply-chain attacks come to light in less than a week
18. California Passes First-Of-Its-Kind Law Focused on Internet of Things Cybersecurity 
19. Firefox 63 blocks tracking cookies, offers a VPN when you need one
20. Judge Says FOIA Isn’t Battleship; Requesters Don’t Need To Score Direct Hits To Obtain Documents

Jon

GAMES

1. John Carmack and ZeniMax have ended their legal dispute
2. Epic sues YouTubers for using and selling Fortnite cheats
3. Epic Games files suit against YouTubers over Fortnite cheats: Lawsuit alleges defendants promoted cheats in videos, violating copyright and terms of use
4. Epic sues two YouTubers over Fortnite cheats: Brandon Lucas and Colton Conter stand accused of promoting and selling cheats for the hit game
5. Fortnite, GTA V hackers face legal action for online cheating
6. GTA V cheaters’ assets frozen following Australian court ruling
7. Epic Games Likely DMCA’d Its Own Fortnite Trailer, Showing The Problems With YouTube’s DMCA Process Yet Again
8. Fortnite’s Android version is no longer invite-only
9. GTA cheat developers have assets frozen in crackdown: Australian federal court approves search and seizure orders against creators of “Infamous” cheat
10. Developers drag Rockstar over 100-hour weeks on Red Dead Redemption 2: Where studio management sees dedication, creators from across the AAA and indie spectrum see mismanagement, abuse
11. Dan Houser: “We have some senior people who work very hard purely because they’re passionate” – Rockstar co-founder provides additional context to earlier statement about “100-hour weeks” on Red Dead Redemption 2
12. Former Rockstar and Telltale dev says “time for change” on crunch culture: Job J. Stauffer recalls harsh work culture on GTA IV, cites “dozens” of other devs with similar experiences
13. Crunch isn’t required, claims Rockstar co-founder after 100-hour weeks comment
14. How the West Was Digitized: The making of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2.
15. Sega reports ‘long overtime’ hours cut by 80%
16. Sega credits strong localizations for jump in worldwide game sales
17. Rockstar debacle prompts devs to spotlight their crunch-free games
18. Valve under investigation by Brazilian government over violent political game
19. Brazilian government opens investigation into Valve, Steam, and developers behind Bolsomito 2k18: Game features character based on Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro punching minorities with the aim of purging “the evils of communism”
20. German regulator warns Outfit 7 and Green Tea Games over in-app purchases: Consumer protection body concerned by how studios are targeting minors with microtransactions priced at up to €109.99
21. Discord’s problem: Which Nazi group were you reporting again? – A year after promising to take action against all forms of hate, gaming-focused communication platform’s follow-through is lacking
22. Discord Store enters global open beta: Service launches with 23 store titles, new Nitro subscription service
23. China’s new game approval process could hurt indies most – Vicarious: CEO of PR firm specializing in bringing Chinese titles to the West talks about potential knock-on effects of new regulatory system
24. China’s Huawei thinks it can capture Switch market…with a $1,000 phone
25. The Witcher Saga: the author’s quest for additional royalties from video game developer 
26. Starlink: Is this Christmas’ riskiest video game? – In a period awash with major sequels, Ubisoft’s Starlink is the only new IP coming out. Can it survive?
27. Ubisoft to partner with EGAL at UC Berkeley to research industry diversity: Company to provide support and research materials for MBA student projects
28. Ubisoft issues call for third season of incubator program at Station F: Blockchain, AI technology start-ups encouraged to apply for six-month support program at Paris campus
29. Ubisoft Massive COO: “We don’t want to take a stance in current politics” – Speaking during Sweden Game Conference 2018, Alf Condelius discusses the separation of games and politics with The Division
30. Ubisoft Joins Blockchain Game Alliance as Publishers Anticipate Death of the Video Game Console
31. Ubisoft has a free-to-play mobile Assassin’s Creed game on the way
32. Sega’s Genesis (and more) get an HDMI upgrade with the Mega Sg: $190 FPGA-powered hardware also supports Master System, Game Gear, and more.
33. The Xbox Tanker is turning: It takes years for a console platform to win back hearts and minds, but Xbox is finally getting there; now it needs to find and promote its unique difference
34. Microsoft has pulled the plug on Minecraft’s Apple TV version
35. Microsoft kills support for Minecraft on Apple TV: “We need to reallocate resources to the platforms that our players use the most,” says Microsoft
36. Creators Going Pro: Gary ‘RageElixir’ Yong Has Built A Top ‘Minecraft’ Channel By Seizing Opportunities
37. Bethesda Softworks opens new office to expand global operations
38. Bethesda teams up with West Virginia Tourism Office forFallout 76 promo
39. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 more anticipated this holiday than Red Dead Redemption 2 – Nielsen’s season interest rankings also show hype for Spider-Man, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Super Mario Party
40. Call of Duty children’s hoodies are a “consequence of success”: Activision Blizzard exec Philippe Bost assures that official merchandise is only ever targeted at adults
41. Players are exploiting Black Ops 4 emotes to peek around corners
42. Starlink: Battle for Atlas review: Cool toys, solid spacefaring
43. Report: Blizzard considering bringing cross-platform play to Diablo 3
44. Educational games startup Kahoot valued at $300 million: Valuation follows $15.4 million in fundraising, company’s worth has tripled in seven months
45. War Child UK partners with Bandai Namco on 11-11: Memories Retold: “Together we can work to end the suffering of children caught in the violence of war,” says Elijah Wood, star of 11-11: Memories Retold
46. Bandai Namco agrees to European distribution deal forCyberpunk 2077
47. The uphill battle of getting Katamari Damacy noticed by Namco
48. Conde Nast owner Advance buys majority stake in market researcher Newzoo
49. Blog: Working with local devs to gain experience in games user research
50. Panic Button and the search for “design fun”: GM Adam Creighton shares how the studio hailed for Switch ports approaches broadening its portfolio, tackling hardware challenges, and accessibility
51. “It felt like the reality of the world was fighting against this game”: Greg Lobanov talks about trying to make the relentlessly positive Wandersong during relentlessly turbulent times
52. Roblox acquires PacketZoom: Mobile performance improvement start-up will bring its technology to MMO studio as it pursues international growth
53. Fighting Esports Group closes $15m funding round
54. Ninja Continues Bid To Take Gaming Mainstream With ‘Ellen’ Appearance
55. The Division developer: Politics in games are ‘bad for business’
56. Feel better about your PlayStation VR with sweet new games Astro Bot, Firewall
57. ‘Astro Bot’ Ranked 6th Best PS4 Game of 2018, #1 PSVR Game of All Time
58. Sony has fixed the messaging bug that’s been crashing PS4s
59. VR design principles in RIGS: Mechanized Combat League
60. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg: ‘Oculus Quest Completes Company’s First-Gen Lineup’
61. Facebook is testing a mobile app for watching Facebook Gaming streams
62. Magic Leap wants to avoid a takeover and go public: CEO Ronny Abovitz believes an IPO would be “the best thing for the creative community”
63. The Magic Leap Con
64. Cloudhead’s The Gallery crowned game of the year at VR Awards 2018: Meanwhile, HTC takes home the gong for best headset with Vive Pro
65. CVAA Compliance Waiver for Video Games Set to Expire in December 2018
66. How Landfall Games finds the fun in physics engines
67. Q&A: Inside the tools and techniques used to build The Crew 2’s open world
68. Blog: Self-determination theory and player affect
69. Ars on your lunch break: This is your brain on video games
70. Loot Crate now offers a monthly indie game subscription service 
71. Loot Crate launches monthly indie game subscription: Loot Play subscribers will get five games each month for $10, but only one will be revealed before launch
72. Video Game Monetization (e.g., ‘Loot Boxes’): a Blueprint for Practical Social Responsibility Measures (Daniel Luke King & Paul H. Delfabbro)
73. What developers say Apple needs to do to make the Apple TV a gaming console
74. Why Paradox is bringing visual editing tools to its next engine update
75. Canceled version of a Shenmue HD remaster shows what could’ve been
76. Video: BioWare’s postmortem look at the making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
77. National Videogame Museum to open in Sheffield this November 

DIGITAL

1. Twitter releases archive of 10 million tweets from state-backed troll accounts: Over 9 million of those originated from Russian-backed accounts 
2. Twitter Offers Up Semi-Public Database of Known State-Sponsored Accounts 
3. New research suggests Twitter’s strategy for fighting misinformation is ineffective 
4. Twitter Under Formal Investigation for How It Tracks Users in the GDPR Era
5. Netflix Reminds Everyone That The Internet Isn’t A Broadcast Medium With New Choose Your Own Adventure Shows
6. Why is a Lisbon soccer team trying to unmask Portuguese bloggers in US court?
7. Facebook Portal’s claims to protect user privacy are falling apart
8. Here’s how to see if you’re among the 30 million compromised Facebook users
9. Facebook confirms 30 million people had personal data stolen in breach
10. Advertisers allege Facebook hid the fact that no one watches video ads
11. Help Wired Track How Political Ads Target You On Facebook
12. How to Do Everything But Delete Your Facebook Profile 
13. Facebook Tempts Political Backlash With Massive Purge of 810 Pages and Accounts
14. Already facing an uphill misinformation fight, Facebook loses to scammers, too
15. Please Don’t Post Your Potentially Felonious Crimes to Facebook
16. A New Facebook Lawsuit Makes ‘Pivot To Video’ Seem Even More Shortsighted
17. Facebook Now Dominates YouTube For Video Content. Here’s How Brands Should Respond
18. Looking beyond Facebook and Instagram, DTC brands try Snapchat
19. Amazon patents Alexa tech to tell if you’re sick, depressed and sell you meds
20. Amazon launches online store featuring ‘Shark Tank’ products 
21. Amazon overtakes Microsoft to top intangible value ranking; research calls for “revolution” in accounting
22. Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, dies at 65
23. Paul Allen—Microsoft co-founder, Seahawks owner, and space pioneer—dies at 65
24. PC market flat, as Surface becomes a top-5 computer brand in the US
25. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Addresses Continuing Concerns About Conspiratorial Content, Says Platform “Is In A Much Better Place” 
26. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki: Despite Its Problems, YouTube Is Growing Up 
27. Creators In YouTube’s Partner Program Can Now Be Kicked Out For Posting “Duplicative Content”
28. YouTube is cracking down on creators who post duplicated content: Changes to YouTube’s Partner Program are afoot 
29. Mamrie Hart And Grace Helbig YouTube Show ‘This Might Get’ Gets Axed, But Will Live On As A Podcast
30. After $5 billion EU antitrust fine, Google will start charging for Android apps
31. Google’s YouTube suffers a major outage
32. Google Is Finally Ready To Talk About Its Chinese Search Engine 
33. Google Chief Sundar Pichai Explains Early-Stage China Plans
34. Senators to Google: Why didn’t you disclose Google+ vulnerability sooner?
35. The Good Censor Document Shows Google Struggling With The Challenges Of Content Moderation
36. Chinese Professor Argues Google Should Launch A Censored Search Engine In China
37. Report: Former top Waymo engineer altered code to go on “forbidden routes”
38. Creators Face Brief Existential Crisis Amid Temporary YouTube Outage 
39. Pioneering YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous Has Penned A Memoir About Her Transgender Journey
40. YouTube Premium Moves Forward With Logan Paul Film 10 Months After Suicide Controversy 
41. This 2-Year-Old’s YouTube Cooking Tutorials Are Scoring Hundreds Of Thousands Of Views
42. Former YouTube Exec Launches Incubator Initiative For Education Creators 
43. WarnerMedia To Launch Streaming Service In 2019, Comprising Content From HBO, Warner Bros., More
44. Fullscreen Offers Advertisers New ‘Shield’ Tool To Ensure Brand Safety 
45. Uber CEO backs out of Saudi conference after suspected state-sanctioned murder of Washington Post journalist
46. Anand Giridharadas On Saudi Money And Silicon Valley Hypocrisy
47. Turkish Paper Claims Evidence of Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder Was Transmitted by His Apple Watch
48. Apple Will Reportedly Make Original Video Programming Free For All Device Owners
49. Apple Acquires Music-Analytics Startup Asaii
50. Mixcloud and Universal Music Announce Multi-Year Licensing Deal
51. Portal A, Kevin Hart, ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Honored At First ‘Streamys Brand Awards’
52. Jay Shetty To Host 2nd Annual ‘Streamys Purpose Awards’, Followed By Creator Summit On Mental Health
53. The Rise of the Influencer: Advertising Standards Agency release clear guidance for ‘Influencers’- #AD not #Spon? 
54. Jeffrey Katzenberg Announces Shortform Subscription Service’s Name, Confirms Deals With Guillermo Del Toro, Antoine Fuqua, Jason Blum
55. Snap could go private if it can’t get people to stay on its app for longer, analyst says
56. Snapchat Just Released A Meme-Filled Set Of Lenses For Cats
57. You Have No Idea What Artificial Intelligence Really Does: The world of AI is full of hype and deception.
58. Art, AI & Infringement: A Copyright Conundrum
59. A Shortage Of Trained Job-Seekers Is Holding AI Back
60. Roborace wants the future of racing to be AI plus humans, working together 
61. The Boston Dynamics Robot Atlas Is Now A Parkour Master
62. Glimpse: Man’s Best Friend, Forever? We May Love Robot Dogs As Much As the Real Thing
63. Cryptocurrencies “on the brink of an implosion” – Juniper: Research firm sees further falls likely with market cap of blockchain currencies already 75% down within the last year
64. Cryptocurrencies Just Plummeted $13 Billion in Value Over the Course of a Few Hours
65. Reports: Crypto Is A Threat To Your Savings Account, But Not World Markets
66. Everything You Wanted to Know About Blockchain in One Infographic 
67. NBA & NextVR Announce 2018-19 VR Livestream Lineup
68. Internet Relay Chat turns 30—and we remember how it changed our lives
69. Palm rises from the dead as a zombie brand, launches tiny smartphone
70. Disrupting the Reaper: Tech Titans’ Quest for Immortality Rages Forward – Silicon Valley’s war on death continues—as does the uncomfortable, spreading psychology of those rich enough to fight it. 
71. Goodbye NAFTA, Hello USMCA: A New Framework for Investment, IP and the Digital Economy
72. The Full “Culture Exception” That Isn’t: Why Canada Caved on Independent Cultural Policy in the USMCA (Michael Geist)
73. Tech firms to SEC: We want the option to pay non-employee workers in equity
74. What do we actually know about the risks of screen time and digital media? 

CREATIVITY

1. Woman who bought shredded Banksy artwork will go through with purchase: Buyer of Girl With Balloon, who paid £1.04m for work, says she has her ‘own piece of art history’
2. Banksy’s Self-Destructing “Love Is In the Bin” – A Good Reminder of the Moral Rights of Authors
3. Star Wars Writer Chuck Wendig Claims Marvel Fired Him for ‘Vulgarity’ and ‘Too Much Politics’ On His Social Media
4. Stairway To Heaven Is Not Blurred Lines
5. Can’t Wish Away The Mistakes In The Original ‘Stairway To Heaven’ Verdict
6. PEN America Sues Donald Trump For 1st Amendment Violations In Attacking The Press
7. Another Critic Of Egypt’s Government Gets Hit With ‘Fake News’ Charges
8. One of the Screenwriters of the Original AladdinHas a Big Complaint About the Remake
9. Will mass copyright infringement litigation slow?
10. We regret to inform you that America is now at war with The View
11. Will Donald Trump Support A Federal Anti-SLAPP Law Now That It’s Helped Him Win Stormy Daniels’ Defamation Suit?
12. Warner Media Opposes Trademark Filed By Actual ‘Wicked Witch’ Over Its Wizard Of Oz Trademarks
13. A Modern Melody for the Music Industry: The Music Modernization Act Is Now the Law of the Land
14. Zen Studios alters classic pinball art to protect family-friendly rating [Updated]
15. Boeing Accused Of Covert, Coordinated Op-Ed Smear Campaign Against Space X
16. African Nations Rife With Illegitimate Collection Societies: Nigeria Files Criminal Complaint Against COSON

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Up to 9.5 million net neutrality comments were made with stolen identities 
2. 99.7% Of Original Comments Opposed FCC Repeal Of Net Neutrality
3. Oh Look, The FCC Is Lying Again In Its Latest Court Filings On Net Neutrality
4. FCC tells court it has no “legal authority” to impose net neutrality rules
5. Comcast complains it will make less money under Calif. net neutrality law
6. Washington State Laughs At Federal Attack On State Net Neutrality Laws 
7. 34 State AGs Demand The FCC Do More To End Annoying Robocalls
8. Stop Working for Fox News
9. AT&T to launch streaming service after $85b Time Warner purchase
10. DOJ Continues To Point Out A Mega-Merged AT&T Will Jack Up Prices On Everybody
11. WarnerMedia To Launch Streaming Service In 2019, Comprising Content From HBO, Warner Bros., More
12. USMCA Impact on Communications Industries
13. Widespread Cable, Internet, and Radio Outages Mark Hurricane Michael’s Path of Destruction
14. Ajit Pai slams carriers for slow restoration of cell service after hurricane
15. Verizon fiber suffered “unprecedented” damage from Hurricane Michael
16. Wall Street Quietly Warns That 5G Wireless Is Being Aggressively Over-hyped

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Canadian Privacy Commissioner Goes To Court To Determine If Canada Can Force Google To Delete History
2. 21-year-old who created powerful RAT software sentenced to 30 months
3. Another Massive Credit Reporting Database Breached By Criminals
4. Vizio Customers Get A Pittance In Settlement Over Snooping Televisions
5. Winter is coming: Preparing for Canada’s new mandatory federal data breach regulations
6. Does Canadian Privacy Law Apply to Google Search? (Michael Geist)
7. Apple to Australia: “This is no time to weaken encryption”
8. New Internet of Things (IoT) NIST Draft Publication Provides Welcomed Guidance 
9. ‘Do Not Track,’ the Privacy Tool Used by Millions of People, Doesn’t Do Anything
10. Ancestry Sites Could Soon Expose Nearly Anyone’s Identity, Researchers Say
11. Creeps Will Soon Be Able To Find Almost Anyone On Genealogy Sites
12. IBM Built A Menacing Black Truck For “Cybersecurity Incident Response”
13. If Supermicro boards were so bug-ridden, why would hackers ever need implants?

Jon

GAMES

1. Sony sues hacker for manufacturing and distributing jailbroken PS4s: Defendant’s actions “were knowing, deliberate, willful and in complete disregard of SIE’s rights,” Sony claims
2. Sony confirms PlayStation 5 (but doesn’t call it PlayStation 5): CEO Kenichiro Yoshida says it’s “necessary to have a next-generation hardware”
3. PlayStation users will be able to change PSN ID starting 2019
4. Sony confirms PSN name change feature: Long-requested ability to change PlayStation Network IDs will roll out early next year, will cause problems with some games
5. Sony CEO claims next-gen hardware is ‘necessary’ 
6. Change that embarrassing PlayStation account name starting next year
7. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., Plaintiff, – against – David Zipperer (United States District Court Southern District Of New York, August 16, 2018)
8. Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Streaming Service
9. Microsoft unveils Project xCloud game streaming technology
10. Microsoft announces Project Xcloud—Xbox game streaming for myriad devices
11. Microsoft details game streaming service Project xCloud: Public trials begin next year, Xbox One developers apparently able to bring games across “with no additional work”
12. Microsoft in talks to buy Obsidian – Report: Xbox outfit closing in on a deal for Pillars of Eternity developer with one source telling Kotaku it’s “a matter of when, not if”
13. Mojang is making some Minecraft libraries open source
14. EA “closely monitoring” Ronaldo rape investigation: FIFA 19 cover athlete downplayed in promotional materials as police look into allegations
15. FIFA 19 scores at launch on top of EMEAA charts: Forza Horizon 4 launch just misses capturing Spider-Man
16. EA partners with the Premier League for new esports competition
17. EA announces partnership with English Premier League: Landmark deal “carves a critical path forward” for FIFA esports
18. Jacksonville victims to be honoured with charity Madden tournament tomorrow: Muthead League scraps plans for season six in favour of raising money for tribute fund
19. South Korean network OGN bringing esports programming to North America with $100m investment: Esports producer to partner with PUBG Corp to livestream and broadcast upcoming National PUBG League
20. NHL Team Institutes ‘No Video Game’ Policy For Players Due To Fortnite ‘Addiction’
21. Infinite Esports & Entertainment lays off 19 employees, replaces president: “We think we grew too fast” says new president Ryan Musselman
22. Industry staff protest working conditions with Twitter storm: IGDA exec Jen MacLean issues statement on #AsAGamesWorker protest
23. A closer look at the malware that masquerades as Fortnitecheats
24. Fortnite season 6 trailer gets a copyright strike from… Epic Games?: Well, at least the players seem to be having a laugh
25. Epic is bringing a physical Fortnite bundle to store shelves for the holidays
26. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey sales out-perform rest of series on current console generation: Physical, digital, and “player recurring investment” in first few days top Origins, Syndicate, or Unity
27. Google’s Project Stream: That’s really a full Assassin’s Creedin my browser
28. UK retailer GAME selling Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 early: Extra time agreed upon with Activision so players can download 50GB day one patch
29. Declaration of gambling regulators on their concerns related to the blurring of lines between gambling and gaming
30. Loot Boxes: Gaming or Gambling? 
31. Report: Telltale Games lays off remaining ‘skeleton crew’
32. Remaining Telltale staffers laid off: Former narrative designer confirms her “skeleton crew” lost their jobs, but “there are still good people at the company”
33. Report: Telltale wants another studio (and ex-The Walking Dead devs) to finish the game
34. Skybound’s Walking Dead finale hasn’t secured original devs yet: Company says the intent is to use ex-Telltale developers to finish the story, but “there are a lot of moving parts”
35. Opinion: Will Telltale’s fate be a catalyst for industry reform?
36. Skybound to complete development of Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Walking Dead parent company steps in
37. Skybound vague on future of Telltale partnership
38. Skybound Games will finish work on Telltale’s The Walking Dead
39. Pixel Toys embraces games-as-a-service with Warhammer: Realm War
40. “We aren’t curing cancer. There’s a human cost to making games”
41. Blizzard to champion diversity at BlizzCon 2018
42. Jagex investigates streamer following allegations of abusive behaviour: Ali “Gross Gore” Larson accused of sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and physical violence during RuneFest 2018
43. SuperData launches media measurement tool SuperData Arena: Dashboard will allow users to track multiple metrics related to game streaming and videos across major content platforms
44. Games industry contributes £2.87bn to UK economy, supports nearly 50,000 jobs: 2016 screen industries report also shows every £1 invested via tax relief adds £4 to economy
45. Leaked Video Seems To Show Open-World Harry Potter Game
46. Developers weigh in on “cold reality” check for indies: Responses to John Warner’s sobering article came from a range of indie devs, both with and without AAA experience
47. Indie dev’s “honest mistake” inadvertently revives dying game: HyperReuts sees average player count explode from one, to an all-time peak of over 170,000
48. War Stories: Serious Sam almost didn’t happen—until crates saved the day
49. Com2uS: “We were just shocked” by audience response to Summoners War esports – CEO Casey Lee discusses stumbling into mobile esports as a way to engage and grow its existing community
50. Romanian government boosts games industry with €94 million tech fund: A huge new fund was revealed at Dev.Play 2018 today, pointing to a bright future for the country’s game developers
51. Homescapes emulates Gardenscapes with reported $420m first year revenue: Sensor Tower’s data suggests another massive hit for Playrix
52. GOG Celebrates 10 Years Of Competing With Piracy And Being DRM Free By Saying So
53. Epic Games acquires game security and player service outfit Kamu
54. Epic Games acquires game security and anti-cheat firm Kamu: Helsinki specialist has already been working on Fortnite, will continue to work will all other customers
55. Epic to launch “Support-A-Creator” Fortnite initiative: Creators will receive $5 for every 10k in-game currency spent by individual players until the end of the year
56. CD Projekt Red partners with Digital Scapes on Cyberpunk 2077: Vancouver-based studio to bring BioWare, Radical Entertainment, Relic veterans to work on upcoming open-world RPG
57. Sensor Tower: Fortnite on iOS earns $300m in 200 days: $20m of the total was earned in the past week after the launch of Season 6
58. Wavedash lays off the majority of its staff: Studio says loss of investor support prompted layoffs, offers to introduce hiring developers to former staff
59. Blog: Why one size doesn’t fit all in virtual reality
60. Nintendo Could Be Fixing the Switch’s Biggest Flaw
61. Report: Nintendo to launch updated Switch console in 2019
62. Report: New Nintendo Switch Model Coming In 2019
63. Nintendo planning new Switch for 2019 – Report: Wall Street Journal says an improved model is set for late next year
64. Nintendo gives Switch subscribers decked-out NES Zeldasave file
65. Nintendo hacks The Legend of Zelda to make it more accessible
66. Dragalia Lost is a turning point for Nintendo: After focusing on mobile games based on established IPs, Nintendo’s launch of an original IP unashamedly focused on the Japanese market is a major departure
67. Nintendo has patented a Game Boy case for smartphones
68. Nintendo patents Game Boy phone controller/case: Filing invites speculation of a new way for Mario maker to monetize its legacy games on smartphones
69. My.com: “Launching on console is shaping how the whole company looks at games”
70. Making games is just the beginning for Media Molecule’s Dreams: Siobhan Reddy tells us why the upcoming title aims to transform everyone into a game developer, filmmaker, musician, artist and more
71. NFTS secures £10m funding to run national centre for immersive storytelling
72. Blog: Using artificial intelligence to generate game content
73. Stuxnet Documentary ‘Zero Days VR’ Wins an Emmy
74. Borderlands 2 getting full-scale PlayStation VR port December 14
75. Magic Leap announces grant program for indie developers 
76. ‘Beat Saber’ is Now the 7th Best Rated Steam Game of All Time
77. How Early Access shaped the narrative structure of We Happy Few
78. Mega Man is the next game franchise headed to The Big Screen
79. Capcom announces live-action Mega Man movie: Japanese publisher working with Planet of the Apes production company Chernin Entertainment
80. Netflix’s Witcher Series Has Cast 2 of Its Most Important Female Characters
81. Paul W. S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter movie slated for production: Film will feature two protagonists from different worlds battling big beasties in order to survive
82. Redundant translations in video games and anime
83. How to choose what game to make next
84. Blog: How ‘design thinking’ can help create good games
85. Don’t Miss: 6 ways that the Final Fantasy series continues to influence devs
86. Brian Fargo kicks off ten-part Video Game MBA video series tomorrow
87. Here’s A Candid Breakdown Of Exactly How Much Money Twitch Streamers Earn Per Month
88. Hands-on: Fallout 76 lets you bring some company to the Apocalypse
89. Ars on your lunch break: Repairing your brain with video games

DIGITAL

1. Libel by Tweet: Ontario Court of Appeal Upholds Dismissal of Twitter Libel Claim under Anti-SLAPP Legislation 
2. Setting the Standard?: How the USMCA Quietly Reshapes Global Digital Trade Agreements (Michael Geist)
3. Why the USMCA Will Enhance Online Free Speech in Canada (Michael Geist)
4. How Canada Surrendered Policy Flexibility for Data Localization Rules in the USMCA (Michael Geist)
5. USMCA: Four Important Changes to Intellectual Property Rights
6. H-1B: As immigration furor roils Silicon Valley, Canada smooths way for techies
7. Boof!: Pro-Kavanaugh “Robo-Texts” Trigger Potentially Massive TCPA Class Action against Faith and Freedom Coalition, Inc. in Florida 
8. Government Moves To Seize All Backpage Assets Prior To Securing Convictions
9. Facebook, Whose Support Made FOSTA Law, Now Sued For Facilitating Sex Trafficking Under FOSTA 
10. Facebook Glitch Stopped Some Users With Lots of Posts From Deleting Their Accounts
11. Facebook Launches a Camera for Your Home—What Could Possibly Go Wrong
12. Facebook unveils smart displays, promises not to snoop on your video calls 
13. Insights: Should You Give Facebook Another Portal Into Your Life?
14. Facebook Watch Sets Series Adaptation Of ‘Limetown’ Podcast With Jessica Biel
15. Google Successfully Amends Its AdWords TOS to Add Arbitration Clause–Trudeau v. Google (Eric Goldman)
16. Google Drops Bid for Massive Military Cloud Computing Contract Amid Employee Pressure
17. Google Call Screening: A personal robot that talks to, hangs up on spam calls 
18. Google+ shutting down after data leak affecting 500,000 users
19. Google Didn’t Report Its Data Leak Till Months Later. Now It’ll Face the Consequences.
20. Google+ users, upset over data leak, sue Google
21. Blogger Defeats Defamation Claims Over Posts Claiming a “Scam”–RainSoft v. MacFarland  (Eric Goldman)
22. Augmented Retail – The Use of Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality to Enhance the Customer Shopping Experience 
23. This Brain-Analyzing AI Could Kill Your Dream Of Being A Professional Athlete
24. Would a BDSM Sex Robot Violate Asimov’s First Law of Robotics?
25. Here are the top ways people die while taking selfies and “being cool”
26. Thanks To Copyright, We Already Know How Aggressive Content Moderation Works: And It’s A Disaster
27. 8% Of People Admit To Watching YouTube Videos While Driving, As Vlogging Behind The Wheel Runs Rampant
28. YouTube TV Adds Ability To Fast-Forward Through Ads On DVR’d Shows
29. YouTube To Net $3.4 Billion In U.S. Ad Revenues This Year (Study) 
30. Indian Children’s Channel ChuChu TV, Which Has 20 Billion Views, Readies Global Licensing Push
31. After Scandal, Manny MUA Plots YouTube Return With Self-Produced Docuseries
32. Top YouTubers Are Taking Heat For Their Deals With A Controversial Mental Health App
33. YouTube To Collaborate With Joseph Gordon-Levitt On Hourlong TV Special
34. Vox To Debunk Misconceptions About The News In Ad-Supported YouTube Original
35. Vice Media to Launch First Series on Instagram’s IGTV, Slates YouTube and Snapchat Programming
36. Viacom Announces New Awesomeness, MTV, Comedy Central TV Shows To Premiere On YouTube, Twitter, Hulu
37. CAP releases a new guide for social media influencers 
38. Team 10 Ex-COO Nick Crompton Claims Jake Paul’s Pranks Are Fake In Dawson Docuseries
39. Jukin Launches New Ad Tool That Creates 6-Second Spots With User-Generated Content
40. TiVo Bolt OTA review: For would-be cord-cutters with great antenna reception 
41. Snapchat is collaborating with Hollywood producers and writers to add scripted shows to the app amid user decline
42. Snapchat turns its attention to India as it battles Instagram to win users
43. Insights: Should Amazon Snap Up Struggling Snapchat?
44. New Amazon Minimum Wage Is Below Median Pay in Most Areas
45. Leaked Whole Foods Email Clarifies How Amazon’s Pay Raises Will Work
46. Amazon Has a Massive New Division—and No One’s Paying Attention to It
47. Amazon built an AI tool to hire people but had to shut it down because it was discriminating against women
48. Amazon’s Secret AI Hiring Tool Reportedly ‘Penalized’ Resumes With the Word ‘Women’s’
49. California’s War On ‘Bots’ Could Be A Steep Uphill Climb
50. Netflix Released Record-High 676 Hours of Original Programming in Q3
51. Netflix Is In Final Negotiations To Purchase Its First Production Studio, Will Bring 1,000+ Jobs Per Year To New Mexico
52. Bloomberg: Super Micro motherboards used by Apple, Amazon contained Chinese spy chips
53. How The Us Forced China To Quit Stealing – Using A Chinese Spy: For years, China has systematically looted American trade secrets. Here’s the messy inside story of how DC got Beijing to clean up its act for a while. 
54. Apple, Amazon Deny China Installed Tiny Spy Microchips on Their Servers, but We’re Still Freaked Out
55. Bloomberg stands by Chinese chip story as Apple, Amazon ratchet up denials
56. Apple to Congress: Chinese spy-chip story is “simply wrong”
57. Apple Watch Series 4 Review: A Giant Leap
58. I take back every bad thing I ever said about the Apple Watch
59. How Jamal Khashoggi’s Apple Watch Could Solve His Disappearance
60. Data-deletion bug forces Microsoft to suspend rollout of Windows 10 update
61. Microsoft promises to defend—not attack—Linux with its 60,000 patents
62. Vogue launches a Spanish-language edition on Snapchat Discover
63. Snapchat Envisions TV For The Mobile Era With Slate Of A Dozen ‘Snap Originals’
64. Fox News Unveils Long-Form Programs for Fox Nation Streaming Service
65. Why Are Tech Companies Pouring Money Into Instant Translators?: Do we *really* need to speak every language on earth? Tech companies seem to think we do.
66. Now Twitter’s ‘Report’ Function Being Used To Disappear Complaint About GDPR Being Used To Disappear Public Court Document 
67. Federal Court Dumps Another Lawsuit Against Twitter For Contributing To Worldwide Terrorism
68. Elon Musk isn’t on his Twitter leash yet, so he’s taunting the SEC
69. SEC’s Action Against Elon Musk Highlights the Importance of Care in Tweeting Corporate Information
70. Elon Musk, Tesla, and the Perils of Social Media
71. Fake Elon Musks Clutter Twitter with Crypto Scams: The scammers stay one step ahead of the platform, which isn’t great news for the midterms.
72. Elon Musk Is Making Good on His Promise to Pay for Flint’s Clean Water
73. Tim Berners-Lee Moves Forward With His Big Plan To Fix The Web By Bringing Back Its Original Decentralized Promise
74. The Internet’s keepers? “Some call us hoarders—I like to say we’re archivists”
75. We’ll Soon Know Exactly How Terrible The Internet Is For Our Mental Health
76. Domain names: Seven “dirty words” now acceptable in .US 
77. Creative Commons Continues To Try To Help Courts Understand What Its NonCommercial License Means
78. The Internet’s keepers? “Some call us hoarders—I like to say we’re archivists”
79. Dark Web vendor with totally amazing beard sentenced to 20 years in prison 

CREATIVITY

1. Taylor Swift Causes Surge in Voter Registration After Endorsing Democrats on Instagram
2. State Street Escalates Policy on Board Gender Diversity and Touts Impact of its “Fearless Girl” Campaign 
3. Ninth Circuit Extends Tam 1st Amendment Protections to Advertising
4. Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin
5. Ronnie Van Zant Inc. v. Cleopatra Records, Inc.
6. Full Speed Ahead for Graffiti Artist’s Suit Against GM
7. Banksy booby-trapped one of his paintings to “self-destruct” at auction, and that’s actually pretty funny
8. Spanish Court Moves Forward With Prosecution Of Man Who Offended A Bunch Of Religious Lawyers
9. Bangladesh government to discuss tough new media law with journalists
10. Most Chinese Patents Are Being Discarded By Their Owners Because They Are Not Worth The Maintenance Fees To Keep Them
11. A ‘No Deal Brexit’ and its Affects on IP 
12. USMCA (NAFTA 2.0): What’s New for Intellectual Property in Canada
13. Recording proceedings in the lower courts – are televised trials likely in the future? 
14. Ousted Guardians of the Galaxy director switches camps, tied to new DC Comics film

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Major US telecom was infiltrated by backdoored Supermicro hardware, Bloomberg says
2. AT&T-Time Warner appeal: How liberal judges could help the DOJ’s case
3. HBO, CNN, DC Comics, and more could join a streaming video service under AT&T
4. Ajit Pai’s 5G plans make it harder for small ISPs to deploy broadband
5. Ajit Pai faces rare criticism from GOP senator on rural broadband failures
6. Justice Department, ISPs File Suit against California Net Neutrality Law
7. Robocallers “evolved” to sidestep new call blocking rules, AGs tell FCC
8. 35 States Tell the FCC to Get Off Its Ass and Do Something About Spoofed Robocalls
9. Wi-Fi 6 Is Coming: Here’s Why You Should Care
10. Hate your Comcast broadband? Verizon might sell you 5G home Internet
11. After throttling firefighters, Verizon praises itself for “sav[ing] lives” 
12. New Verizon Ad Hopes To Make You Forget It Throttled Firefighters For No Reason
13. AT&T Claims It Wants Meaningful Privacy Rules…After Just Lobbying To Kill Meaningful Privacy Rules

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Russian spies hacked officials to protect doping athletes, US charges
2. As Everyone Knows, In The Age Of The Internet, Privacy Is Dead — Which Is Awkward If You Are A Russian Spy
3. Travelers To New Zealand Now Face $3,000 Fines If They Don’t Give Their Device Passwords To Customs Agents
4. Feds to judge: We still think we can put GPS trackers on cars entering US
5. Free Law Project Takes A Stand Against Attempt To Use GDPR To Disappear A Public Court Docket
6. Instagram is testing the ability to share your precise location history with Facebook: Revealed just weeks after Instagram’s co-founders left the company 
7. Now Instagram might let Facebook spy on your location
8. Lawyers for Vizio Smart TV owners propose final deal, around $20 per person
9. Vizio Agrees to $17M Settlement to Resolve Smart TV Class Action Suit 
10. California’s new data privacy law: What you need to know
11. California Passes First Cybersecurity Law Regulating IoT Devices
12. California’s IoT Security Law is Well-Intentioned, but a Comprehensive Federal Law is Needed (Eric Goldman)
13. Equifax Inc 2017 US data breach generates fines for Equifax Ltd in the UK

Jon

GAMES

1. Game devs call for better working conditions via #AsAGamesWorker
2. Telltale Games and the lure of the cliff edge: Disastrous studio collapses are a fixture of the industry – and that won’t change until we stop celebrating the brinksmanship of executives
3. 2018 will go down as the Year of the Bad Employer: Telltale just the latest in a parade of game dev horror stories likely leading to unionization
4. Telltale reportedly searching for partner to finish Walking Dead by hiring its former devs: Third episode is supposedly almost finished, would be completed with the fourth by Telltale vets as contract employees
5. More than 1,000 jobs lost to studio closures over the past year
6. “It’s not enough to point at Bayonetta or FemShep and say ‘job done'”: NFTS student Daisy Fernandez discusses female representation in games and the barriers for women seeking a career in development
7. Time is limited, and devs are struggling now that games demand more of it
8. Epic Games Says Fortnite’s New Breast Physics Were ‘Unintended, Embarrassing, Careless’
9. Epic will remove “embarrassing” breast physics from Fortnite: The inclusion of breast physics in the latest update was “unintended” says Epic
10. Video: A retrospective look at ‘girl games’ of the ’90s
11. Tencent using facial recognition to check users’ ages in Honour of Kings: Limited trial introduced over the weekend as part of public health campaign
12. Tencent testing facial recognition to enforce playtime restrictions in China
13. The Witcher author wants $16 million in royalties from CD Projekt Red
14. CD Project Red rejects Witcher author’s request for $16.1m in additional royalties: “Mr Andrzej Sapkowski expects payment beyond what had been contractually agreed”
15. FIFA 19 discloses loot box odds in-game
16. Valve kicks 179 rule-breaking games off Steam
17. Steam’s downfall would be a blow to ‘the creative freedom of devs,’ argues Larian CEO
18. Blog: Why do publishers leave Steam?
19. Even a decade in, GOG doesn’t want to try and be the Steam-slayer
20. PUBG has banned 13 million cheating players to date
21. 13 million PUBG accounts banned to-date: A Reddit user has crunched the numbers
22. Patent authority rules against Nintendo, lets go-kart firm keep MariCar trademark
23. Nintendo awarded $88,000 in lawsuit against Mario Kart-themed go-kart business
24. Nintendo wins lawsuit against unlicensed Mario Kart-themed tourist attraction: MariCar ordered to pay $89,000 in damages
25. Another Tourist Crashes Real-Life (And Totally Unofficial) Mario Kart In Tokyo
26. I’m Finally Convinced: The Nintendo Switch Really Is the Console For Everyone
27. Report: A new Nintendo Switch model will arrive in 2019
28. Nintendo president: “I compete for time,” not against Xbox, PlayStation
29. Sony Caves: The PS4 Will Soon Begin Supporting Cross-Console Play
30. Industry reacts to Sony’s cross-play U-turn: Microsoft keen to connect Minecraft players, Bethesda says no plans for Fallout 76, but hope remains for Rocket League and Hearthstone
31. Friends reunited: Sony admits enabling cross-play took too long
32. Sony is shuttering PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale’s online servers
33. Canucks players banned from playing video games on road trips
34. Canucks players put in video game ban on the road
35. Canucks ban video games, ‘Fortnite’ from NHL road trips
36. Housemarque goes battle royale: “We’ve had pushback, and we’re expecting more”
37. ESA president Michael Gallagher steps down
38. Fullscreen Study Finds Avid Gamers Have Twice As Much Discretionary Income As Non-Gamers
39. World of Warcraft community rallies for the creator of a beloved mod: World of Warcraft’s most essential mod is maintained by one man
40. DBM author gets a surprise support package from MSI and Blizzard
41. Carbine Studios will shut down WildStar on November 28
42. ‘First on Discord’ initiative launching with seven (timed) PC exclusives
43. Oculus Quest will “end up competing with the Nintendo Switch as a device”
44. Nintendo reveals it invented “Bowsette” before the Internet did
45. Dragalia Lost has lowest-grossing launch of Nintendo’s mobile line-up: Publisher’s latest mobile offering generates $3 million in Japan and US over five days
46. Konami’s Dance Dance Revolution is getting a movie adaptation
47. Chinese console and TV-based game market projected to reach $736m in 2018: Grey market software to account for nearly two-thirds of market value
48. World Rally Championship dev Kylotonn acquired by Bigben 
49. Bigben spending spree continues with Kylotonn acquisition: The Paris-based racing studio joins the family
50. Carmack compares Oculus Quest hardware power to last-gen game consoles
51. Devs will need to code creatively to get the most out of the Oculus Quest
52. Nate Nanzer: “The train has left the station” on esports opportunities – Overwatch League commissioner reflects on its inaugural year, the relationship between esports and traditional sports, and the League’s role in diversity leadership
53. Hands-on: Oculus Quest is an intriguing new middle ground for VR
54. 562 adapts to VR growing at a Snailiens’ pace
55. ‘Astro Bot Rescue Mission’ Review – This VR Platformer Earns Our First 10 Out of 10
56. John Carmack’s advice for mobile VR devs: Iterate, iterate, iterate
57. Stupid Patent of the Month: Trolling Virtual Reality
58. My confusing, 10-day journey to getting a UWP game to work on Windows 10
59. Block party: Minecraft has over 90 million monthly active players
60. Minecraft exceeds 90m monthly active users: Despite dominating the headlines, Fortnite still lags behind as Minecraft gains nearly 20 million monthly users in 2018 alone
61. Newzoo: Catering to families with Xbox Game Pass could be key to closing gap on Sony
62. Forza Horizon 4 is the best open-world driving game you can buy
63. How Serious Sam set itself apart in the era of Duke Nukemand Quake
64. Review: Civilization VI on the iPhone is the full experience
65. How The Universim’s ‘god game’ twist charmed Early Access players
66. Ubisoft Joins Blockchain Game Alliance as Publishers Anticipate Death of the Video Game Console
67. Google and Ubisoft to test game-streaming service with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Limited number of users in the US will be able to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for free through their Chrome browser
68. Google is testing an in-Chrome game streaming service with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
69. Google announces “Project Stream”—a “test” of game streaming in Chrome
70. Vivendi will sell all Ubisoft shares by March 2019
71. Vivendi lays plan to relinquish the last of its Ubisoft stock by 2019
72. Ubisoft chief: The games industry needs to find its soul
73. “Gaming is not about entertainment, it’s about learning”: Ubisoft chief creative officer Serge Hascoet says the games industry is missing a soul, doesn’t do enough to benefit players in their lives away from the game
74. Liquid Media acquires rights to 65 classic video game titles
75. Warner Bros distributing Cyberpunk 2077 in North America: Partnership with developer CD Projekt Red continues after publisher distributed past Witcher games in the region
76. Tencent investing $316 million in Bilibili: Chinese gaming giant to purchase approximately 12.3% in shares of video sharing company that owns Overwatch League Hangzhou team
77. Tencent restructures with an eye on corporate clients as games business stutters
78. Chinese console and TV-based game market projected to reach $736m in 2018: Grey market software to account for nearly two-thirds of market value
79. Disney shuts down Club Penguin Island, lays off developers
80. Club Penguin Island shuts down, “dozens” of developers reportedly laid off
81. Ex-Irrational and Slipgate veteran shares the secret to game dev survival: Apathy will kill your game, so work on something you believe in, says indie developer Gwen Frey
82. Blog: Indie marketing – It’s never too soon
83. It’s time we stopped encouraging indies: The Fall director John Warner rethinks the ethics of guiding aspiring developers without acknowledging some harsh realities
84. Three pain points in the production and design of Shadow of the Tomb Raider
85. Don’t Miss: How reference data was captured for Forza Motorsport 5
86. Video: Sid Meier explores ‘interesting decisions’ in gameplay
87. The Walking Dead Producer Says Video Games Resurrected The Zombie Genre
88. How EVE Online has evolved in the era of F2P
89. Leaked Video Seems To Show Open-World Harry Potter Game
90. Twitch Viewers Band Together To Fund A Streamer’s Life-Saving Trip To The ER
91. Seattle police try new opt-in registry system to combat SWATting
92. Police to Seattle’s techies, streamers: Sign up for our anti-swatting service [Updated]
93. EA has killed, pledges to kill again – 10 Years Ago This Month: EA CEO John Riccitiello gets into the spooky spirit of the season by promising the publisher would be an unstoppable game-cancelling machine

DIGITAL

1. From Copyright Term to Super Bowl Commercials: Breaking Down the Digital NAFTA Deal (Michael Geist)
2. Canadian Music Group Calls For Copyright Tax on Broadband Data Use (Michael Geist) 
3. Court Agrees That Suppressing Reviews Unfair
4. Another Social Media “Material Support to Terrorists” Lawsuit Fails–Cain v. Twitter (Eric Goldman) 
5. Another 512(f) Case Fails–Handshoe v. Perrett (Eric Goldman)
6. Section 230 Helps Malware Vendor Avoid Liability for Blocking Decision–PC Drivers v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
7. Chinese ‘Rage Comic’ Site First Victim Of Government’s History-Rewriting ‘Heroes And Martyrs’ Law 
8. The UK Government Is Planning to Regulate Hate Speech Online
9. The first “social network” of brains lets three people transmit thoughts to each other’s heads: BrainNet allows collaborative problem-solving using direct brain-to-brain communication.
10. 50 Million Facebook Accounts Affected in Massive Security Breach
11. 50 million Facebook accounts hit by account hijacking security exploit
12. 50 million Facebook accounts breached by access-token-harvesting attack
13. Study Shows Facebook’s Still Miles Away From Taking Privacy, Transparency Seriously
14. Breaking: Hackers Accessed 50 Million Facebook Accounts 
15. Okay, Facebook, You Win. I’m Done.
16. Facebook Resets Access to 90 Million Accounts Following Security Breach
17. After Massive Breach, Facebook Says Hackers Didn’t Use Your Login to Access Third-Party Apps
18. Facebook Tells Cops Its ‘Real Name’ Policy Applies To Law Enforcement Too
19. Facebook and Employers Are Subject to Gender Bias Employment Complaint 
20. Facebook Real Estate Binge Shows No Signs of Slowing
21. Facebook Rolls Out ‘Premieres’, Which Let Creators Debut On-Demand Videos As Live Events
22. Even If You Hate Zuckerberg Now, You’ll Love Him Later: Just ask Bill Gates how it works.
23. Exclusive: WhatsApp Cofounder Brian Acton Gives The Inside Story On #DeleteFacebook And Why He Left $850 Million Behind
24. Facebook takes on YouTube with more video advertising options
25. Conspiracy Vlogger Is Arrested For Threatening To Kill YouTube Employees
26. This Nifty Tool Estimates How Much Money YouTubers Can Make From AdSense Vs. Selling Merch
27. YouTube Collabs With Dior To Give 7 Creators Backstage Access During Paris Fashion Week
28. Google is trying to earn more money from YouTube by capitalizing on people using it for searches
29. YouTube Launches New Ads That Let Users Make Third-Party Purchases Without Leaving The Site
30. Fans’ Dedicated Effort Makes Late Actor Stefán Karl Stefánsson A YouTube Millionaire
31. YouTuber Daniel ‘PeeWeeToms’ Thomas, Who Vlogged His Battle With Lung Cancer, Has Passed Away
32. 1 Year After Launching Native Player, Reddit Is Driving 1 Billion Monthly Video Views
33. Reddit Surpasses 1 Billion Video Views, Closes in on 1 Million Uploads per Month
34. Vigilante engineer stops Waymo from patenting key lidar technology: Eric Swildens had no dog in the fight other than intellectual curiosity.
35. Google Is Killing Inbox—Here Are Some Alternatives
36. Google taking new steps to prevent malicious Chrome extensions
37. BroadbandTV Unveils Distribution & Label Services for Music Artists
38. BroadbandTV Launches Distribution and Label Services for Musicians
39. BBTV To Help Digital Musicians Secure Distribution On Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, More
40. Report says use of AI could be violating human rights
41. California Enacts Nation’s First Anti-Bot Law
42. An AI Took A Road Trip And Wrote A Terrible Novel About It
43. Why Technology Favors Tyranny: Artificial intelligence could erase many practical advantages of democracy, and erode the ideals of liberty and equality. It will further concentrate power among a small elite if we don’t take steps to stop it.
44. The first “social network” of brains lets three people transmit thoughts to each other’s heads: BrainNet allows collaborative problem-solving using direct brain-to-brain communication. 
45. Artificial Intelligence & Human Rights: Opportunities & Risks (Filippo A. Raso, Hannah Hilligoss, Vivek Krishnamurthy, Christopher Bavitz, and Levin Kim)
46. It’s Time To Talk About Robot Gender Stereotypes
47. Researchers find the most plausible cause of wellbeing decline in youth is increased screen time
48. Are Canadian Employees Concerned about the Right to Disconnect?
49. Another 512(f) Case Fails–Handshoe v. Perrett
50. The Icing on the Cake: an unfair investigation into a joke gone viral 
51. Spotify Founders to Sell Another $100 Million in Shares
52. Pandora Will Sell Ads for SoundCloud in the U.S. Under Exclusive Pact: Audio-streaming platforms reach more than 100 million unduplicated listeners in U.S.
53. MoviePass Is Now Re-Enrolling Former Customers in an ‘Unlimited’ Plan Unless They ‘Opt Out’
54. Fine Brothers Entertainment Developing Slate Of 4 TV Shows With JASH, Fly On The Wall, More
55. CBS Bullies Fan Star Trek Project To Shut Down Despite Creators’ Pleas For Instructions On Being Legit
56. Netflix Plans To Try Out “Interactive” Shows
57. Netflix is planning a choose-your-own-adventure episode of ‘Black Mirror’
58. Report: Netflix to offer “choose-your-own-adventure” TV series
59. Report: Netflix’s Black Mirror is getting the choose-your-own-adventure treatment
60. Netflix’s ‘House Of Cards’ Kills Off Kevin Spacey In Trailer For Final Season (Watch)
61. Netflix To Launch Third European HQ In Paris, Unveils 7 French Series And Films
62. Netflix And Amazon Are Doubling Original Programming Slates To Compete In Crowded Space (Study)
63. Amazon institutes $15 minimum wage for all US employees, including temps
64. Amazon Raises Minimum Wage to $15 After Criticism About Workers on Food Stamps [Updated]
65. Amazon’s $15-Per-Hour About-Face Is Creating Confusion for Whole Foods Workers
66. EBay accuses Amazon of ‘unlawful’ merchant poaching
67. Some Apple Employees Think Company’s New TV Service Will Be Dull As Nails
68. Apple Imposes Privacy Policy Requirement for All Apps Operating on its Platform 
69. FDA Hearts Apple’s New Watch
70. iPhone XS and XS Max review: Big screens, big performance, big lenses, big prices
71. Major Complaints About the iPhone XS Are Stacking Up 
72. Twitter Now Lets Its Publishing Partners Rake In Global In-Stream Video Ad Revenues
73. James Woods Is Correct That Twitter Shouldn’t Have Blocked His Account, But Still Hypocritical On Free Speech
74. Brazil’s Government Wants Twitter To Turn Over Data On Users Who Mocked Victim Of Assassination Attempt
75. Did France Just Make It Effectively Impossible To Use Twitter? 
76. Elon Musk, Twitter and Disclosure Controls and Procedures 
77. Elon Musk sued by SEC over ‘funding secured’ tweet
78. SEC lawsuit seeks to force Musk out as Tesla CEO and board member
79. Tesla is outgrowing Elon Musk
80. Musk settles—out as Tesla chairman, owes $20 million in penalties
81. Elon Musk to Resign as Tesla Chairman, Pay $20 Million Fine in SEC Settlement Over Catastrophic ‘420’ Tweet
82. Elon Musk to Step Down as Tesla Chairman as Part of SEC Settlement
83. SEC settlement sends Tesla stock soaring
84. Cop Pulls Tesla Model 3 Driver Over For ‘Computer’ Mounted On Dashboard
85. What is a Devil’s Triangle? Kavanaugh’s testimony inspires real-time Wikipedia edits
86. Brett Kavanaugh And The Information Terrorists Trying To Reshape America: The network architecture built in Gamergate helped propel Trump to the presidency and fuel conspiracies like Pizzagate and QAnon. Now it’s backing Brett Kavanaugh.
87. With his internet cut off, Julian Assange steps down as editor of WikiLeaks 
88. African Countries Shooting Themselves In The Digital Foot By Imposing Taxes And Levies On Internet Use 
89. FOSTA Provides Another Tool For Silencing People You Dislike
90. Six Months Later, People Are Finally Realizing That FOSTA Actually Is Putting Lives At Risk
91. Thanks To Streaming Fragmentation, Bittorrent Traffic Is Suddenly Rising In Traffic Share
92. Insights: Streaming Giants Are Remaking Awards Season, Just Like Everything Else in Hollywood
93. My Grudge Against Iomega and the Click of Death
94. Remember How Bad Android Was?
95. Confused Swedish Ad Board Says ‘Distracted Boyfriend Meme’ Is Sexist

CREATIVITY

1. British Columbia Court of Appeal orders Vancouver transit authority to reconsider selling ad space to anti-abortion group
2. A need-to-know guide on IP in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement
3. NAFTA/USMCA is Even Worse Than You Thought on Intellectual Property: CETA Victory is Now Forfeited & Long Live Life + 70 etc. (Howard Knopf)
4. The Cost of Canadian IP Capitulation in NAFTA. (Howard Knopf)
5. The USMCA and Copyright Reform: Who is Writing Canada’s Copyright Law Anyway? (Michael Geist)
6. A Mix Of Good And Bad Ideas In NAFTA Replacement
7. Good News! USMCA (a/k/a NAFTA 2.0) Embraces Section 230-Like Internet Immunity (Eric Goldman)
8. The Copyright Directive
9. How to Obtain a Global Injunction in a Copyright Infringement Case (Eric Goldman)
10. Another Zombie Bad Idea That Just Won’t Die: Copyright Small Claims Court Would Be A Free Speech Disaster
11. Court Shoots Down Record Label’s Attempt To Expand The Definition Of ‘Vicarious’ Infringement
12. Music Group Cheers On Its Own Fake Antipiracy Victories
13. Giving Cops The Finger Is Protected Speech, Says Another Federal Court
14. Fashion Designer Balenciaga Opposes Parody Pet-Wear Maker’s Trademark Application For ‘Pawlenciaga’
15. Matt Damon opens SNL’s season as a belligerent, beer-bashing Brett Kavanaugh
16. Kenan Thompson tells Seth Meyers about skipping out on Kanye West’s SNL “circus”

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1.  Application Denied: CRTC Rejects Bell Coalition Website Blocking Proposal (Michael Geist)
2. Canadian Music Group Calls For Copyright Tax on Broadband Data Use (Michael Geist) 
3. California Net Neutrality Bill Signed Into Law
4. Calif. enacts net neutrality law—US gov’t immediately sues to block it [Updated]
5. The DOJ’s New Net Neutrality Lawsuit Is A Giant Middle Finger To State Rights, Consumers, Competition & The Democratic Process
6. Trump admin claims Calif. net neutrality law causes “irreparable harm” to US
7. Entire broadband industry sues California to stop net neutrality law
8. Cities will sue FCC to stop $2 billion giveaway to wireless carriers
9. Cities, Counties Say FCC 5G Plan A Massive Handout To Wireless Carriers
10. ESPN Has Finally Realized This Whole Streaming Thing Has Legs
11. Ninth Circuit Adopts Expansive Definition of Auto-Dialer in TCPA Case
12. TCPA on the Front Line: The Battle for the Future of American Free Speech is Quietly Taking Shape in an Appeal Over “Robocalls” 
13. Report Finds U.S. Wireless Video Streaming Utterly Mediocre Thanks To Arbitrary Carrier Throttling

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. California Enacts the Nation’s First Internet of Things Security Law
2. California Enacts New Requirements for Internet of Things Manufacturers 
3. The Entire Broadband Industry Just Sued California For Daring To Protect Net Neutrality
4. Analyst Who Accidentally Leaked NSA Software Given Five More Years In Prison Than General Who Handed Classified Info To His Mistress
5. Everything Wrong In One Story: Data Silos, Privacy, And Algorithmic Blocking
6. How Face ID could be a game-changer for aggressive US border agents 
7. FBI Makes Child Porn Suspect Unlock iPhone X Using His Face 
8. Cops told suspect he had to open iPhone X with his face, so he did 
9. The FBI Forced A Suspect To Unlock His iPhone With His Face: But should investigators have the right to do that?
10. Feds Finally Get Around To Using Someone’s Face To Unlock Their Cellphone
11. FBI: We can’t listen to Facebook Messenger voice calls. Judge: Tough luck
12. FBI vs. Facebook Messenger: What’s at stake?
13. Don’t want New Zealand officials to get into your phone? Pay up to NZ$5,000
14. How Oakland sets the new standard for meaningful police tech oversight
15. DOJ Loses Another Attempt To Obtain Encryption-Breaking Precedent In Federal Court
16. Four Companies Settle FTC Allegations Regarding False EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Certifications 
17. In a Shift, Apple and Amazon Say They Are in Favor of Federal Privacy Regulation
18. Facebook Reportedly Defeats Government Demand to Wiretap Messenger Calls
19. New Mexico AG Charges App Maker With COPPA Violations
20. First UEFI malware discovered in wild is laptop security software hijacked by Russians
21. CEO who sold phones with “totally unbreakable encryption” takes plea deal

Jon

GAMES

1. ArenaNet pulls plug on in-game transactions for Guild Wars 2 players in Belgium: MMO developer joins growing list of games companies forced to take action in Belgium over recent loot box ruling
2. Report: Guild Wars 2 in-game currency no longer available in Belgium
3. Activision hits Spyro fan game with cease and desist order
4. Blog: Examining the debate behind loot boxes
5. Devil May Cry 5’s microtransactions designed as an ‘option…to save time’
6. Guitar Hero TV’s planned shutdown spurs false advertising lawsuit
7. Drawn to Death is closing down its online servers
8. Blizzard cracks down on third-party data-tracking apps inOverwatch
9. Blizzard cracks down on third-party Overwatch apps: Players using programs which “impede on the competitive integrity” of the game could face permanent bans
10. Jagex fires RuneScape moderator for stealing player gold
11. 2K launches ‘Foundations’ program to support underprivileged communities
12. 2K Foundations to provide basketball and STEM education facilities in US cities: New initiative will target “underserved” communities in 12 cities in its first year
13. NBA 2K League reflecting on its rookie season: Brendan Donohue talks Twitch, Olympics, and player diversity as the esports effort enters its sophomore campaign
14. Overwatch League gets its first female coach: Kyoung Ey Molly Kim has joined the coaching staff at OWL’s new Washington DC team
15. Capcom launching Street Fighter esports league in Japan
16. Tencent and PUBG Corp hosting $600,000 mobile tournament
17. Fans delay football game with esports protest: Young Boys-FC Basel supporters united in opposition of competitive gaming, interrupt match by throwing tennis balls, controllers onto the field
18. ReadyUp closes $2 million seed funding round: Esports team management and connection platform enters closed beta as round closes
19. EnVision Esports staff will be paid outstanding salaries if Dot Esports pulls two articles, says former CEO: Artur Minacov says invoices have been sent to pay players allegedly owed thousands of dollars
20. Ukie study shows potential of esports as a route to games careers
21. “Companies really need to ask themselves if they’re serious about diversity”: Code Liberation Foundation founder Phoenix Perry says more must be done to help women in the industry – far from being solved, the issue is “getting worse”
22. Valve will start helping developers moderate their Steam communities 
23. Valve will start moderating Steam comments next week: Devs can opt out, but reported comments will now be reviewed by an internal moderation team
24. Valve offers full support on Steam to all new controllers: Platform holder looks to address 22 million controllers still relying on user-created input configurations
25. Valve reveals just how many PC gamers plug in gamepads—and which kinds
26. Valve calls out surprising popularity of PS4, Switch Pro controllers on Steam
27. Video: Game design lessons worth learning from collectible card games
28. Pokemon GO total revenue reaches over $2 billion: Game achieves milestone 811 days after launch, with Japan leading spending by country
29. Don’t Miss: Pokemon’s secret ingredient
30. Marvel’s Spider-Man sold over 3.3 million units in first three days
31. Spider-Man sells 3.3 million in three days
32. Free-to-play Warface grabs 1.3M registered players in one week on PS4
33. Looks Like Twitch Is Now Blocked in China
34. Twitch abruptly blocked in China & delisted from local iOS App Store
35. Twitch has been blocked in China: After rise in use due to the Asian Games, website is now inaccessible in much of the country and app is gone
36. China Has Blocked Twitch Following Mass App Downloads During Asian Games
37. Blog: Understanding China’s temporary game approval freeze
38. Nintendo tries out streaming on Switch in Japan: As Switch rapidly catches up to PlayStation 4’s installed base in Japan, Nintendo takes aim at major cross-platform titles with cloud streaming releases – a possible taste of the future to come?
39. Nintendo Online App allows voice chat with strangers for select games: Service update includes support for lobbies in Mario Kart 8, Mario Tennis Aces, and Arms; Splatoon 2 still friends-only
40. 25% of Nintendo Switch owners have downloaded the Online app: Launch week for the service drove a 76% increase in installs globally
41. Nintendo allays Switch cloud save fears with 180-day recovery period: Platform holder assures that data does not disappear when online subscription expires
42. Nintendo Switch cloud saves disappear 6 months after subscription ends [Updated]
43. Switch cloud saves are actually stored for 6 months, clarifies Nintendo
44. You Don’t Need Nintendo Switch Online
45. Sony (finally) agrees to PlayStation 4 cross-platform play
46. Sony adding download option to some PlayStation Now games: Streaming subscription service will soon let PS4 users download PS4 and PS2 games for offline play as well
47. PlayStation Now begins offering downloadable PS2 & PS4 games
48. Sony officially ending Vita production in Japan in 2019
49. Sony to end production of PS Vita in Japan next year: No plans for a successor, says SVP Hiroyuki Oda
50. Sony Decides That It Too Can Compete With Free With Its Own Retro Console
51. Sony finally allows Fortnite cross-platform play: In a “major policy change,” PS4 users will be able to play with others on Xbox One, Switch for “select third-party content”
52. Sony Is Finally Allowing Cross-Play On The PS4 [Update]
53. Sony’s walled garden cracks open: Cross-console play comes to PS4
54. Fortnite Won
55. Record 78.3 million people played Fortnite in August
56. Fortnite had a record 78.3 million players in August: Epic’s blockbuster keeps growing in popularity
57. World of Warcraft up, League of Legends down: Superdata’s August digital report says Blizzard’s MMORPG enjoying highest Western subscriber base since 2014 while Riot Games’ cornerstone on pace for worst full year performance in just as long
58. XBox Adaptive Controller Gives Disabled Gamers A Power-Up
59. Blizzard’s Diablo series tapped for possible Netflix show
60. Disruptor Beam, Tilting Point partner for $29m user acquisition and publishing deal: Tilting Point to help expand audience of Star Trek Timelines and publish upcoming unannounced Disruptor Beam RPG
61. “Be careful what you wish for” when after a publisher, says Team17 CEO
62. Political extremism and gunplay meet in The Church in the Darkness
63. Filling the gap in UK games funding: A GamesIndustry.biz Investment Summit panel highlighted a gap in public games funding that leaves too many developers out in the cold
64. Why the BBC is investing in video games (again)
65. Earthbound Games raises £750k to self-publish Axiom Soccer
66. Ex-Telltale dev files class action suit over sudden mass layoffs
67. Former Telltale employees sue studio for labor law violations in mass layoff: Class action lawsuit alleges company violated WARN Act in not providing advance notice of termination
68. Report: Telltale was in funding talks one day before majority shutdown
69. Telltale Games Begins ‘Majority Studio Closure’
70. Telltale Games initiates ‘majority studio closure’
71. Telltale Games begins wave of layoffs, cancels Stranger Things game
72. Telltale Games was scuppered by failed finance round: Sources suggest Lionsgate abandoning ‘super show’ project caused mass layoffs
73. Telltale is pulling The Walking Dead: The Final Season from digital stores
74. Telltale pulls season passes for The Walking Dead: The Final Season
75. Telltale Games begins wave of layoffs, cancels Stranger Things game [Updated]
76. Telltale plans to finish The Walking Dead despite mass layoffs
77. Telltale looking to work with ‘potential partners’ to finishThe Walking Dead
78. Footage and concept art from Telltale’s canceled Stranger Things project has surfaced
79. Big Fish Games laying off 15% of staff to focus on ‘social casino’ and ‘casual’ games
80. Big Fish Games cuts 15 per cent of its workforce: Layoffs include many executive roles, as the company restructures around casino and casual games
81. Haptic Suit Company Hardlight VR Closes Due to Lack of Funding
82. Hands-on: StarVR One is the Most Complete Ultra-wide VR Headset to Date
83. Bow To Blood developer needs to sell 40,000 copies to break even: Studio behind PSVR exclusive discusses the economics of success in virtual reality
84. Oculus’ Santa Cruz is now Oculus Quest, priced at $399 
85. Oculus’ $399 Quest To Take VR Mainstream
86. Oculus Announces Quest, The High-end Standalone Headset Starting at $400
87. Oculus Quest’s Insight system promises VR tracking beyond the box 
88. Oculus mobile app now works with the Rift headset
89. Smartphone and TV casting coming to Oculus Go
90. How Odyssey is changing the face of Assassin’s Creed:
91. French publisher Bigben scoops up Eko Software for nearly $10 million
92. Bigben acquires Eko Software for €8.5 million: World Rally Championship publisher continues development expansion by picking up French studio working on Warhammer Chaosbane
93. Building a business in the niche: Green Man Gaming’s David Clark explains how the company is bringing out games like Stormworks Build and Rescue using its status as a publisher/retailer to its advantage
94. Retrotainment’s cartridge revival: Co-owners Tim Hartman and Greg Caldwell are making new NES games that run on old NES hardware in 2018, and they say the audience is growing
95. Monster Hunter: World grabs top prize at Japan Game Awards 2018
96. GLAAD Media Awards adds award for outstanding LGBTQ-inclusive games
97. GLAAD adds Outstanding Video Game category to its Media Awards
98. Inside the Awesomenauts matchmaking algorithm
99. “There are an awful lot of blockchain startups, and most of them are going to fail”: Fig’s Alex Amsel urged  reserving judgement on blockchain – in time, the technology will deliver the new Minecraft
100. GamesAid donates £213,120 to nine charities: Winning charities revealed at EGX in Birmingham.
101. Thrustmaster TPR: The best flight sim pedals you can buy in a store like a normal person
102. Video: Psychosis and the making of Hellblade
103. Archiving Will Wright’s early design notes for The Sims
104. “Video Games” Was On Jeopardy Tonight, And It Did Not Go Well

DIGITAL

1. Québec Appeals Superior Court Ruling that Bill 74 is Unconstitutional
2. Protecting Your Social Media Profile: How One New Zealand Technology Company Allegedly Violated Canadian Privacy Law 
3. Departing Employee Required to Transfer Social Media Accounts–Hyperheal Hyperbarics v. Shapiro 
4. District Court Misses The Forest For The Trees In Dismissing Constitutional Challenge To FOSTA 
5. What’s next for the proposed Copyright Directive? (Andres Guadamuz) 
6. Years Later, FTC Wins Case Against Roca Labs For Its Bogus Non-Disparagement Clause 
7. Armed with cameras and computers, China’s latest crackdown begins: China has invented a version of social media that makes the rest seem both marginal and harmless. It sets out to shape 1.3 billion people into a predictable, reliable and obedient mass 
8. The Real Story Behind That Viral Video of President Trump Hissing Like a Snake
9. White House Admits Exec Order To Regulate Social Media Is ‘Real,’ But No Idea Who Wrote It, And Won’t Use It 
10. In Which A Bunch Of Us Try To Explain The 1st Amendment To Jeff Sessions Concerning ‘Social Media Bias’
11. Ecuador wanted to make Julian Assange a diplomat and send him to Moscow
12. Instagram’s IGTV Is Reportedly Recommending Suggestive Videos Containing Underage Girls
13. Instagram’s co-founders just quit. That could be bad news for Facebook: Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012.
14. Instagram Co-Founders Depart Facebook Amid Reported Rift With Mark Zuckerberg
15. Mark Zuckerberg Blamed for Instagram Founders’ Departure
16. Ex-Facebook moderator sues Facebook over exposure to disturbing images
17. Facebook Is Giving Advertisers Access to Your Shadow Contact Information
18. Facebook is dominating the stories format
19. Socially-Conscious Facebook Video Giant ‘ATTN:’ Raises $15 Million, Led By Evolution Media 
20. Amazon’s Aggressive Anti-Union Tactics Revealed in Leaked 45-Minute Video
21. In Defense Of Amazon’s Alexa Microwave
22. Amazon And Snapchat Form A Powerful Partnership 
23. Soon You’ll Be Able To Use Your Snapchat Camera To Shop For Goods On Amazon
24. Snapchat is letting users register to vote from its app 
25. PayPal bans Alex Jones, saying he “promoted hate”
26. Post-Cody Wilson’s arrest, few know what’s up with his company or legal efforts
27. Taiwanese authorities arrest Cody Wilson, intend to deport him
28. Cody Wilson arrives back in the States, enters US Marshals custody
29. Defense Distributed’s new era—Cody Wilson resigns, former arts professional steps in
30. Facebook Now Reportedly ‘Reviewing’ Its Distinction Between White Nationalism and White Supremacy
31. Facebook Says It Will Stop Sending Employees to Help Political Campaigns In-Person
32. Facebook Makes Dating Service “Facebook Official”
33. Facebook Is Testing Its Dating Service. Here’s How It’s Different From Tinder
34. Protecting Users of Facebook and Other Social Media (Margaret Ryznar)
35. Tinder Lies (Irina Manta)
36. Social Media Games Your Psychology. Ethical Design Could Change That.
37. Crowdfunding raises millions for quack cancer remedies, like coffee enemas
38. If VCs Aren’t Socially Responsible, The Robots Will Win 
39. Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring
40. Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence (v2.0)
41. AI learns to decipher images based on spoken words—almost like a toddler
42. Playing with AI Fairness: Google’s new machine learning diagnostic tool lets users try on five different types of fairness
43. When Will We Have Artificial Intelligence As Smart as a Human? Here’s What Experts Think
44. Computer says “no”: High Court refuses permission to serve Google out of the jurisdiction in copyright infringement proceedings
45. Google Chrome Is Now Quietly Forcing You to Log In—Here’s What to Do About It  
46. The World of the Future Will Have Two Separate Internets, Former Google CEO Predicts 
47. Louisiana’s Attorney General Wants To Break Up Google Over ‘Bias’
48. Low pay, poor prospects, and psychological toll: The perils of microtask work 
49. Website Blocking orders: the final chapter
50. Section 230’s Success in Under-the-Radar Cases (Eric Goldman) 
51. Departing Employee Required to Transfer Social Media Accounts – Hyperheal Hyperbarics v. Shapiro (Eric Goldman)
52. BuzzFeed News Eliminates In-House Podcast Team To Double Down On Video Efforts 
53. Viacom Digital Names Existing Awesomeness Execs Co-Heads Of Network Following Acquisition
54. Viacom Names Awesomeness Co-Chiefs: Rebecca Glashow and Shelley Zimmerman 
55. Trudeau appoints BroadbandTV CEO to G20 Business Women Leaders task force 
56. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Taps BBTV Founder Shahrzad Rafati For Women’s Economic Initiative
57. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Appoints Shahrzad Rafati to Represent Canada on G20 Business Women Leaders Task Force
58. Health Issues Force YouTuber And Author Joey Graceffa To Cancel Upcoming ‘Eden’ Tour
59. YouTube Revamps ‘Trending’ Tab With 5 New Content Categories
60. YouTube Demonetizes Tween Channels — But Leaves Videos Standing — After Network Owner Is Arrested For Molesting A Minor 
61. 2018 Streamy Awards Nominations Unveiled, YouTube Signs as Sponsor
62. YouTube Channel Yes Theory Got Will Smith To Bungee Jump Over The Grand Canyon, And Millions Are Watching
63. YouTube Has Partnered With Facebook-Owned Oculus On YouTube VR App For The Oculus Go
64. YouTuber Tyler Oakley Feted For LGBTQ Advocacy Work On Cover Of The Advocate
65. Laura Lee Returns To YouTube With Apology For Apology Video, Vows To Help Mend Beauty Community
66. Creators for Good: Shannon Beveridge Seizes the Awkward Moments To Talk About Mental Health
67. Spotify Is Beta-Testing A Feature That Allows Indie Creators To Upload Their Own Music 
68. Spotify to Enable Artists to Upload Music Themselves 
69. Spotify Will Make a Playlist Based on Your DNA
70. Cult classic TV show Veronica Mars is Hulu’s latest resurrection
71. Disney Says ESPN+ Streaming Service Notches More Than 1 Million Subscribers
72. Amazon announces 11 new and refreshed Echo-branded gadgets—like a wall clock
73. Sex, violence, drugs get the axe in Apple’s upcoming original content 
74. Apple’s Upcoming Streaming Service Is Reportedly So Bland Staff Are Calling It ‘Expensive NBC’
75. Apple Watch’s new auto-911 calls after falls may tumble into legal trouble
76. Apple stole Qualcomm chip secrets and gave them to Intel, Qualcomm claims
77. Apple Closes Shazam Acquisition, Starts Phasing Out Ads
78. Insights: With Bigger Phones And Way Faster Networks, Are Creators And Companies Ready?
79. Decision confronts challenges in valuing Bitcoin 

CREATIVITY

1. Cuts Like a Knife: Bryan Adams Calls for Stronger Protections Against One-Sided Record Label Contracts (Michael Geist)
2. To fix Canadian copyright, let creators claim their rights back after 25 years
3. Congress may actually fix music royalties: The Music Modernization Act
4. Artist Inspired By Andy Warhol, Creates Truly Astounding Work… Ends Up Giving It Away Over ‘Copyright Infringement’
5. Monster Energy Loses Again, This Time To The NBA
6. Pennsylvania Legislator Thinks He Can Ban Teachers From Talking About Politics In The Classroom
7. Use of Affiliate Links Does Not Necessarily Transform Editorial Content into Advertising Says NAD
8. The future of UK Intellectual Property Rights in a ‘no deal’ Brexit
9. Elon Musk May Have Talked His Way Into A Pretty Serious Defamation Lawsuit
10. Judge Says Student Can Sue School For Suspending Her After She Called A Fictional Cop A ‘Pig’
11. Spinelli v. NFL: Second Circuit reinstates professional photographers’ copyright infringement claim alleging that NFL and AP exploited thousands of NFL event photographs without authorization or payment.
12. Famous Protest Art Group In Bulgaria Paint Their Feelings About New EU Copyright Law On Gutenberg Statue
13. Twelve Rules For Not Being A Total Free Speech Hypocrite

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. NYT sues FCC, says it hid evidence of Russia meddling in net neutrality repeal: FCC broke law by hiding net neutrality comment records, lawsuit alleges. 
2. New York Times Sues FCC With Eye On Bogus Russian Net Neutrality Comments
3. Court Orders FCC To Hand Over Data On Bogus Net Neutrality Comments
4. FCC angers cities and towns with $2 billion giveaway to wireless carriers
5. Ajit Pai slams cities and towns as FCC erases $2 billion in local fees
6. The Internet is not an ATM: My Appearance at the Senate Transport and Communications Committee on Broadcast and Telecom Reform (Michael Geist)
7. SiriusXM to pay $3.5 billion for Pandora
8. Sirius Plunges Most Since 2011 After $3.5 Billion Pandora Deal
9. Comcast stock tanks after company strikes $40 billion deal to buy Sky
10. Even Wall Street Is Nervous About Comcast’s Latest Bid To Grow Bigger For Bigger’s Sake
11. FCC angers cities and towns with $2 billion giveaway to wireless carriers
12. FCC Decision Illustrates Details of the Application of FCC Foreign Ownership Approval Requirements 
13. GAO Again Points Out That Terrible U.S. Broadband Maps Drive (Intentionally) Terrible Broadband Policy 
14. No, Next-Gen Wireless (5G) Won’t Magically Fix The Broken U.S. Broadband Market

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. State Attorneys General Really Want To Go After Big Internet Companies; But Claim It’s About Privacy, Not Bias
2. NSA employee who brought hacking tools home sentenced to 66 months in prison
3. Researchers find Russian “VPNfilter” malware was a Swiss Army hacking knife
4. The DOJ’s Rules For Spying On Journalists Get A Bit Flimsy When It Reaches The FISA Court
5. Leaked NSA Exploits Shifting From Ransomware To Cryptocurrency Mining
6. Unintended Consequences: How The GDPR Can Undermine Privacy
7. GDPR Being Used To Try To Disappear Public US Court Docket
8. California Police Officers Used Self-Destructing Messaging App For Years
9. Cliff-edge moment for privacy rights and criminal investigations
10. The Necessity of Geoblocking in the Age of (Almost) Unavoidable Geolocation 

Jon

GAMES

1. Valve and Ubisoft fined for breaching consumer laws in France
2. Valve and Ubisoft fined for breach of French consumer law: Steam and Uplay latest storefronts caught up in European consumer rights violations
3. Washington State and 15 countries team up over video game gambling concerns  
4. 15 European gambling regulators unite to tackle loot box threat: Along with Washington State. 
5. 15 European regulators have come together to help tackle loot boxes
6. 15 countries and one US state team up to fight gambling in video games
7. International gambling regulators unite on skins gambling, loot boxes: Agencies from Spain, UK, France, Washington State, and a dozen more concerns about “blurring of lines between gambling and gaming”
8. Loot boxes in Belgium: Reports on criminal prosecution – but what does this mean?
9. Australian study warns of link between loot boxes and problem gambling
10. Australian investigation finds loot boxes are “psychologically akin to gambling”: Report suggests restricting sale of games containing loot boxes to players of legal gambling age
11. Loot boxes are “psychologically akin to gambling”, according to Australian study: Games with loot boxes should only be available to players of legal gambling age.
12. 343 FPS chief says no ‘real-money loot boxes’ in Halo Infinite
13. All Bets are On! Gambling and Video Games
14. Video Game Addiction Is Real And Professionals Aren’t Prepared To Help
15. Mobile marketplaces accused of publishing apps violating kids’ privacy laws
16. How Game Apps That Captivate Kids Have Been Collecting Their Data: A lawsuit by New Mexico’s attorney general accuses a popular app maker, as well as
    online ad businesses run by Google and Twitter, of violating children’s privacy law.
17. Tiny Lab, Google, ad companies accused of violating Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act: New Mexico lawsuit alleges companies illegally collected and tracked children’s personal information
18. Capcom shuts down Dead Rising developer Capcom Vancouver
19. Capcom closing Vancouver studio: Publisher confirms plans to consolidate major development in Japan after announcing $40 million expense on cancelled projects
20. Mobile game dev Outfit7 opens new Barcelona studio
21. Analysts doubt China will take six months to begin reapproving games
22. China may not need six months to start approving games again – analysts: Games are now able to go to market for one month
23. Take-Two CEO: U.S. gov’t needs to take a stand on China’s game trade
24. Barriers to China will come down – Zelnick: Take-Two CEO believes government will eventually allow Western game publishers unfettered access to the market, criticizes US government for unequal trade restrictions
25. China’s console market might be small, but it’s starting to take shape
26. Game streaming’s latency problems will be over in a few years, CEO says
27. Streaming, subscriptions won’t be game changers – Take-Two: CEO Strauss Zelnick believes tech will accelerate adoption of cross-platform play, but won’t fundamentally alter the Grand Theft Auto publisher’s business
28. Rockstar is bringing an open-world online mode to Red Dead Redemption 2
29. A Benchmark Of Sorts: Steam’s First Fully Uncensored Adult Novel-Game To Be Released In Coming Weeks
30. Steam’s uncensored adult game Negligee isn’t available in every country
31. First uncensored adult game on Steam pulled from sale in 28 countries: “The fact is, these restrictions are the downside of being the poster child for the first fully uncensored adult game on Steam,” says developer Dharker Studios
32. Disney shuts down Star Wars: Rivals following soft launch
33. Boss Key’s multiplayer shooter LawBreakers has officially shut down
34. Tattoos, Video Games & Copyright Law: Beauty May Only Be Skin Deep … But Does Copyright go to the Bone?
35. Ninja Becomes First Gamer To Cover ‘ESPN Magazine’, Says He’s Making Seven Figures Monthly
36. eSports Milestone: Pro Gamer Ninja To Be The First Pro Gamer Featured On ESPN Magazine Cover
37. The need for visible women in esports: Hearthstone pro Cordelia Chui and League of Legends team manager Amy Snowdon talk about the problems with trying to fit in
38. Twitch appoints first-ever head of diversity and inclusion
39. Twitch hires new head of diversity and inclusion: Streaming giant also adds CFO and Chief Human Resources Officer
40. TwitchCon Bulks Up Security Measures Following August Shooting At ‘Madden’ Tournament
41. Twitch Hires Former Vimeo Exec Katrina Jones As First Head Of Diversity And Inclusion
42. NPD: Madden NFL 19 scores while Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 returns – Nintendo Switch sales remain strong, though still must work to catch PS4’s year-to-date lead
43. You can now share your Switch game downloads across consoles
44. Nintendo will erase cloud saves once Switch Online subscription ends
45. Assassin’s Creed for Switch adopts pay-as-you-play pricing in Japan
46. Switch owners in Japan are getting a “cloud version” of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: Ubisoft follows the streaming model adopted by Capcom for Resi 7, selling daily and full-game passes for its upcoming blockbuster
47. Nintendo Switch cloud save data disappears if you cancel subscription
48. Nintendo details 2019 line-up for Switch – but why so early?: Latest Nintendo Direct showcases loads of games, answers loads of criticisms about Switch lineup
49. Nintendo tries bundling Switch with a F2P game: Fortnite
50. Switch’s replica NES controllers only work with emulated NES games
51. Stormy Daniels Says Donald Trump Has “A ____ Like The Mushroom Character From Mario Kart”
52. New NES controllers headline announcement-filled Nintendo Switch presentation
53. Nintendo Switch NES controllers will be Online Service-exclusive: Joy-Cons designed to look like classic controllers are dedicated to NES games that come with the service
54. Nintendo requires online subscription to purchase Switch NES controller
55. Nintendo introduces Fortnite Switch bundle with V-bucks included: Console bundle is the same price as system alone, includes in-game currency and exclusive cosmetics
56. Pokemon Go and the potential of seasonality: Major changes to Niantic’s mobile AR game helped its popularity to surge over the summer, suggesting a new model developers could consider adopting
57. Niantic rolls out suggestion system for new Pokémon Golocations
58. Check out the pitch documents for the original Pokemongames
59. Ubisoft details its blockchain-powered game HashCraft
60. Ubisoft reveals HashCraft, a secret new blockchain game
61. Riot Games Says It Wants To Clean Up Its Mess, But The People Who Made It Are Still There
62. Ex-Riot devs net $2.5M to help launch new LA studio Singularity 6
63. Singularity 6 hopes to dominate a lack of competition:
64. PlayStation is the third most-recognized brand in the UK:Nintendo and Xbox at 11 and 17, respectively; Apple takes top spot
65. Sony making mini-console debut with PlayStation Classic
66. Sony Just Announced The $100 PlayStation Classic Console
67. Sony Is Making A Playstation Classic, And You Can Already Order It
68. Sony to launch PlayStation Classic on December 3: Mini version of the classic console will be pre-loaded with Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, 16 other games
69. Sony joins the classic-console fray with $99 PlayStation Classic on Dec. 3
70. Sega pushes Mega Drive Mini to 2019: Japanese publisher is rethinking the retro console’s design ahead of simultaneous global launch
71. Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo wants to buy back the studio
72. Brian Fargo wants to buy back Interplay: Fargo will attempt to acquire the company he co-founded in 1983 if Bard’s Tale IV hits sales target
73. Treyarch bosses explain decision to drop single-player campaign from Black Ops 4
74. Skillz doubles revenue run-rate once more to $400 million: 5,000 new developer partners fuel growth over five-month period
75. Making a retro indie game stand out from the crowd
76. Deep Rock Galactic and the advantages of open development
77. How do you evaluate a mobile game’s profit potential?
78. Video: UX expert helps explain why Fortnite is such a success
79. ‘Fortnite’ Is Not YouTube’s Most Popular Game
80. The standalone YouTube Gaming app is essentially being absorbed into YouTube
81. YouTube To Shutter Gaming App In 2019, Unveils Revamped Gaming Hub On Flagship Site
82. YouTube will close YouTube Gaming, move it all to the main site
83. YouTube Gaming migrates to main YouTube hub: Separate website, app to shut down by March 2019; features implemented on YouTube main
84. Apple, Kabam veterans form new indie publisher Rogue: Label will publish mobile games with a focus on highly detailed, optimized experiences
85. Keywords marks a strong six months with two new acquisitions: Trailer Farm and SoundLab join the rapidly growing firm as H1 revenue and profit rise 70 per cent
86. Wargaming opens new UK studio to develop free-to-play MMO game
87. Wargaming opens UK studio for new MMO: Studio to lead the development of a new free-to-play IP
88. Telecoms giant Sky forms new mobile studio with The Walking Dead producer
89. Sky partners with The Walking Dead producer for joint mobile venture: Skybound Stories to develop narrative-driven experiences out of new and existing IP
90. Remedy Entertainment is adapting Alan Wake into a television series: Material from unfinished sequel will serve as inspiration for the show, says game creator Sam Lake
91. Why some devs partner with investment funds over publishers
92. Aaryn Flynn joins Improbable: Former BioWare GM talks about getting his head in the clouds and building a new studio from scratch in downtown Edmonton
93. The Comic Book History Behind the New Spider-Man Game’s Unlockable Suits
94. Blog: The story of Turkey’s video game pioneers
95. Blog: Understanding the design of the ‘magic circle’
96. Why do gamers still buy physical games?: We teamed up with GameTrack to ask them
97. UKIE: Only 19% of parents set and enforce screen time limits for their children – Digital School House report finds just 44 per cent of parents talk to their children about online safety`
98. Writing the video games of the future: ArenaNet narrative designers Aaron Linde and Alex Kain discuss VR, and what they see as the future of interactive storytelling
99. Sony applied for a patent on a simulation sickness-detecting VR headset
100. Rovio has an AR Angry Birds game coming to Magic Leap One
101. Blog: Why I love physics-based games
102. Blog: Bloom’s taxonomy of game reviews
103. Video: A how-to guide for Muslim representation in video games
104. Blog: How does video game localization work in 2018?
105. Warren Spector shares how to find personal success in the game industry

DIGITAL

1. SCC rules for ISPs in ‘test case’ for copyright infringement litigation costs
2. Rogers Wins in Supreme Court of Canada (Howard Knopf) 
3. Rogers v. Voltage – My comments today September 14, 2018 on CTV (Howard Knopf)
4. Supreme Court of Canada on Copyright Notices: Identification of IP Address “Not Conclusive of Guilt” (Michael Geist)
5. Notice the Difference?: Supreme Court Rules ISPs Can Be Compensated for Copyright Costs (Michael Geist)
6. Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Obligations of ISPs Under Notice and Notice Regime – Copyright Owners Have to Pay (Something) to Play
7. In Cyberwar, There Are No Rules: Why the world desperately needs digital Geneva Conventions.
8. EU approves controversial Copyright Directive, including internet ‘link tax’ and ‘upload filter’: Those in favor say they’re fighting for content creators, but critics say the new laws will be ‘catastrophic’
9. EU Continues To Kill The Open Web: Massive Fines For Sites That Don’t Censor Within An Hour 
10. EU Approves Controversial Copyright Reform, Could Force YouTube And Other Platforms To Remove All Copyrighted Content
11. European Parliament adopted its position on the controversial Copyright Directive
12. Guy In Charge Of EU Copyright Directive Claims He Didn’t Know What He Voted On, Needs To Fix Things
13. Thanks To ISP Bahnhof, We Know Just How Crazy Copyright Trolling In Sweden Is Getting 
14. Google, Facebook Dealt Blow by EU Lawmakers on Copyright
15. Google Fights In EU Court Against Ability Of One Country To Censor The Global Internet
16. Google’s Chinese Search Engine Will Censor Results, Provide Gov’t-Approved Pollution Data
17. Google, Facebook, Twitter face EU fines over extremist posts
18. British cave explorer sues Elon Musk for defamation over “pedo guy” tweets
19. Racism and anti-Semitism surged in corners of the Web after Trump’s election, analysis shows
20. Donald Trump Jr. Posts Fake Letter to Instagram Mocking Woman Allegedly Assaulted by Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh 
21. 3D-Printed Gun Activist Cody Wilson Charged With Sexual Assault of a Child [Updated]
22. Judge orders Cody Wilson’s arrest, but he skipped his return flight from Taiwan 
23. Lawmakers: Deepfakes Could “Undermine Public Trust” in “Objective Depictions of Reality” 
24. Is content validation the next growth industry?
25. Memetic Tribes and Culture War 2.0
26. Leaked 2016 video will fuel conservative worries about Google bias
27. Let’s Be Very Clear About What Breitbart’s Leaked Google Video Shows
28. Where in the World Is Larry Page?: While Alphabet faces existential challenges, its co-founder is exercising his right to be forgotten.
29. The case against a right to be forgotten 
30. How Regulating Platforms’ Content Moderation Means Regulating Speech – Even Yours.
31. UK MP Thinks Secret Online Groups Are The Root Of All Evil Online, Promises To Regulate ‘Large Online Groups’
32. White House Potentially Exploring Executive Order On ‘Social Media Bias’
33. Actual Research On Political Bias In Search Results Would Be Useful, But So Far It Doesn’t Show Anything
34. Media Manipulation, Strategic Amplification, and Responsible Journalism
35. Can Trusted Brands Beat ‘Fake News’?
36. Media Planners Battle The Bots 
37. It’s hard to sue a robot: product liability considerations and AI in Canada
38. Roca Labs’ Anti-Review Clause Violates FTC Act–FTC v. Roca Labs (Eric Goldman)
39. Mumford & Sons beware! An AI can now write indie music
40. No proof blind plaintiffs aware of arbitration clause, so discrimination class action proceeds in court 
41. Amazon on Track to Be No. 3 in U.S. Digital Ad Revenue but Still Way Behind Google, Facebook
42. Amazon looking into claims that employees delete bad reviews for cash
43. Amazon is testing a shopping site called Scout that recommends furniture and women’s shoes based on your likes
44. Amazon’s Antitrust Antagonist Has a Breakthrough Idea: With a single scholarly article, Lina Khan, 29, has reframed decades of monopoly law.
45. Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox (Lina Khan)
46. Why Roku isn’t afraid of competition from Apple, Google and Amazon
47. ACLU, Labor Union, Allege Facebook’s Ad Targeting Discriminates By Gender
48. Facebook is letting job advertisers target only men
49. Can Mark Zuckerberg Fix Facebook Before It Breaks Democracy?
50. Facebook Watch Unveils Trailers, Launch Dates For Shows Starring Kim Kardashian, Catherine Zeta-Jones
51. Facebook Watch Debuts Odell Beckham Jr. Docuseries ‘I Am More’
52. Linus Torvalds apologizes for years of being a jerk, takes time off to learn empathy
53. Sorry, Sony Music, you don’t own the rights to Bach’s music on Facebook
54. YouTube Kids now comes with stronger parental controls
55. YouTube Kids App Unveils New Feature Aimed At Preteens
56. With 70% Of Viewership On Mobile, YouTube Is Finally Rolling Out Vertical Video Ads
57. YouTube Greenlights Doc About LGBTQ+ Pride, Starring Raymond Braun
58. The 9th Most-Viewed YouTube Channel On Earth, ‘Little Baby Bum’, Has Been Acquired
59. Videos Of ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’ Game Will Be Restored After Content ID Mix-Up Caused Takedowns, YouTube Says 
60. Should YouTube Change Its Algorithm To Promote Library Content And Avoid Creator Burnout?
61. H3h3productions Returns To YouTube After Three-Month Absence With Frank Chat About Burnout
62. YouTube Premium Launches French Originals
63. YouTube May Soon Give Its Premium Content A Temporary Trip Outside The Paywall 
64. YouTube Premium Continues International Push With New French Originals 
65. YouTube Viewership On TV Sets Has Nearly Doubled Year-Over-Year Across Europe
66. Rapper Wiz Khalifa Launches YouTube Channel For 5-Year-Old Son Sebastian 
67. YouTube Opens $5 ‘Channel Memberships’ Feature To Creators With More Than 50,000 Subscribers
68. Following Go90 Shutdown, Former Content Partners Seek Distribution On YouTube, Netflix
69. Inside Netflix’s high-stakes quest to win Best Picture 
70. Creator Couple Lauren Riihimaki and Alex Wassabi Are Taking Time Apart 
71. Snapchat To Let 20 Publisher Partners Repurpose — And Monetize — User-Generated Snaps
72. Hulu Reaches For The Stars With New Ad Strategy To Complement Original Space Show ‘The First’ 
73. UK’s CMA Launches Investigation into Social Media Influencers – UK, US and Canadian Perspectives
74. Insights: How Influencers And Brands Can Avoid Follower Fraud 
75. Barstool Sports’ new pizza app gets 175,000 downloads in a month
76. Snapchat Will Let Media Partners Aggregate, Monetize User Posts: Initial partners include CNN, NBC News, NowThis, Hearst, Viacom, Overtime, Refinery29, Jukin Media
77. Snap’s users are leaving in waves and may be causing their friends to follow
78. In Emmys First, Netflix Ties With HBO For Most Wins, Lifting Streamer’s Stock This Morning
79. Netflix finally tied with HBO for total wins at the 2018 Emmys: Spending money on content works
80. ‘Insatiable’ Is Back For More — Netflix Is Giving The Massively Polarizing Series A Second Season 
81. IMAX In Talks With Netflix, Amazon To Distribute Original Films, CEO Says
82. How Disney’s Netflix Rival Will Actually Work
83. Fan-Favorite Villain Loki, Avenger Scarlet Witch To Get Their Own Live-Action Series On Disney’s Streaming Platform
84. General Motors activates OnStar Crisis Assist for Hurricane Florence
85. California Eyes Questionable Legislation In Bid To Fix The Internet Of Broken Things
86. Authors’ viral Twitter thread is now a horror film starring Alyson Hannigan 
87. Twitter Announces 50 New Video Content Deals To Complement Local TV Programming
88. Periscope Adds Audio-Only Option So Creators Can Stream Off-Camera
89. Conan O’Brien’s complete late-night TV archive will be posted online in January [Updated]
90. Fake-cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme lands creator in prison
91. John Deere Just Swindled Farmers Out Of Their Right To Repair
92. The Competition Bureau weighs in on restrictions faced by online eyewear retailers
93. Review: Mega-hit boardgame Scythe goes digital on Steam
94. Social Media and Its Effect on Your Case – Is Private Really Private?
95. Apple repays €14B in “illegal aid” to Ireland, so EU drops court case
96. The iPhone Franchise
97. Apple Magically Makes the Notch Disappear
98. iOS 12 on the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPad Mini 2: It’s actually faster!
99. Yes, You Can Own the Movies You Buy from Apple, Kinda
100. Apple Didn’t Delete That Guys iTunes Movies, But What Happened Still Shows The Insanity Of Copyright
101. An Oral History Of Apple’s Infinite Loop
102. How Streaming Is Erasing The History Of Mixtape Rap Producers Like DJ Drama: We Talk To Mixtape Heroes About Being Left Behind By Spotify
103. What on Earth Makes a $1,200 Graphics Card Worth It? 
104. Text Messages and Binding Contracts
105. Congressional Research Service Reports Now Officially Publicly Available
106. New bill would finally tear down federal judiciary’s ridiculous paywall 
107. Surprise: Bill Introduced To Finally Make PACER Free To All

CREATIVITY

1. Compromising on Culture?: Why a Blanket Culture Exception in NAFTA is Unnecessary (Michael Geist)
2. CBS CEO Moonves’ ouster is a too rare case
3. Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce Trademark Bullies Kevin Smith’s Podcast Over Hollywood Sign
4. Senate passes copyright bill to end 140-year protection for old songs
5. Music Modernization Act Passes in Senate With Unanimous Support
6. Senate passes Music Modernization Act: The House must approve the bill once again before it’s signed into law by President Trump
7. Compromise Music Modernization Act Will Bring Old Sound Recordings into The Public Domain, Tiptoe Towards Orphan Works Solution
8. How intellectual property rights can protect fashion products in the UK: now and post-Brexit
9. The Outline and the curse of media venture capital
10. Advertising for E-Cigs – Concerns about Targeting Children 
11. Court: Trump’s ‘Get ‘Em Out’ Order Directed At Campaign Rally Protesters Is Protected Speech
12. Blog: Using austerity as a creative tool
13. The Power Of Live: Global Live Music Fan Study
14. How the Grateful Dead Changed Live Music Forever
15. Hollywood’s New Golden Age: The cast and crew at this LA retirement home are in their twilight years, but the show must go on.
16. People Are Zapping Their Brains to Boost Creativity. Experts Have Concerns.
17. Why Curiosity Matters: New Research Shows That Curiosity Is Vital To An Organization’s Performance – As Are The Particular Wa In Which People Are Curious And The Experiences They Are Exposed To.
18. Startups are giving writers and filmmakers more ways to make it in Hollywood

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Court Rules FCC Must Release Records That Could Explain Fraudulent Net Neutrality Comments
2. Judge: FCC can’t hide records that may explain net neutrality comment fraud
3. Ajit Pai calls California’s net neutrality rules “illegal”
4. Ajit Pai Whines About California’s Net Neutrality Effort, Calls It ‘Radical,’ ‘Illegal’
5. Scott Wiener Paints Ajit Pai as Telecom Shill as California Net Neutrality Fight Escalates
6. Charter negotiating with NY to avoid being kicked out of the state
7. The Nation’s Second Biggest Cable Company Probably Won’t Get Kicked Out Of New York State After All
8. Despite data caps and throttling, industry says mobile can replace home Internet
9. Google Fiber’s ‘Failure’ Succeeded In Shining A Light On Pathetic Broadband Competition
10. AT&T and Verizon want to manage your identity across websites and apps
11. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile & Sprint Want Even Broader Access To Your Personal Data
12. For Wireless Giant Verizon, The Media Business Is A Distraction At Best
13. AT&T Boss Writes Script for HBO: More Data, More Money – Randall Stephenson wants to use customer data to help WarnerMedia pick projects, challenge internet giants 

 SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Russians tried to hack Swiss lab testing samples from Skripal attack
2. WikiLeaks founder sought Russian visa in 2010, per AP report
3. Russian man pleads guilty, admits he ran notorious Kelihos botnet
4. Mirai botnet creators praised for helping FBI, won’t serve prison time
5. European Court Of Human Rights: UK Surveillance Revealed By Snowden Violates Human Rights
6. Another Batch Of FISA Court Docs Confirms The NSA Frequently Abuses Its Collection Powers 
7. Federal Court Says NSA PRISM Surveillance Good And Legal Because The Gov’t Said It Was Good And Legal
8. State Cops Accidentally Out Their Surveillance Of Anti-Police Groups With Browser Screenshot
9. Bay Area transit system approves new surveillance-oversight policy
10. Congress Fails To Include A Single Consumer Advocate In Upcoming Privacy Hearing
11. NewEgg cracked in breach, hosted card-stealing code within its own checkout
12. Privacy Laws North of the Border: a Primer

Jon

GAMES

1. EA defies Belgian loot box decision, setting up potential “gambling” lawsuit
2. Report: EA risking prosecution after refusing to comply with Belgian loot box laws
3. EA may go to court over loot boxes in Belgium: FIFA publisher has kept loot boxes in its games despite Belgian Gaming Commission warning
4. Tencent to verify Chinese Honor of Kings players against public security records: New measures required to ensure minors keep within play-time restrictions
5. Chinese hold on new video game licenses may last another 4-6 months: Industry slowdown in the country could continue as China centralizes its approval process for new titles
6. China’s video game licensing freeze could last another six months
7. Blog: Assessing the impact of China’s changing game regulations
8. Honour of Kings to require players use real names to comply with new Chinese policies
9. German org calls on Sony to fix ‘customer-hostile’ terms & conditions
10. German consumer association warns Sony over “customer-hostile” PSN terms and conditions: Sony could face legal action if it fails to heed complaints
11. The first “100% uncensored” adult game has been approved for Steam release
12. Valve’s new Steam content filters have finally arrived
13. Valve approves uncensored adult game for release on Steam
14. Steam adds “Adults Only” filter for games with “explicit sexual content”: New filter among a host of changes to make it easier for users to avoid certain kinds of content
15. Brianna Wu’s Congress bid fails, vows to run again in 2020: “America needs better leadership more than we need another video game. So, I am here for good.”
16. Two Riot employees depart after defending controversial PAX panel
17. Two Riot employees exit following PAX session controversy: One confirmed fired after criticizing those upset by PAX West panel focused on uplifting women and non-binary individuals
18. Riot brings on former Uber culture fixer to fix up culture
19. The 16 surprising new games that made PAX West an absolute blast
20. Is the Olympics relevant for esports?: IOC president Thomas Bach dismissed games as “contradictory to Olympic values” – but his approval is less important than what esports is building elsewhere
21. Overwatch League adds six more teams: Activision Blizzard raises team roster to 20, with new teams in China, Canada, France and the US
22. The Overwatch League Signs Six More Teams: New franchises include Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.All six teams will join the Overwatch League for the start of the 2019 season
23. New LA Times owner makes big esports investment into Daybreak Games
24. Overwolf and Intel launch $7 million mod fund: Money is available to developers of apps and services for existing games, to be distributed on Overwolf’s app store
25. Blog: Understanding my approach to modding in Reset Hard
26. Xbox: “I can’t think of a holiday that has more AAA games in such a tight time period” – Microsoft on a blockbuster Christmas for console games, and retailer views on Game Pass
27. NPD survey: 34% of players exclusively play mobile games
28. Games expected to account for 76% of global mobile revenue in 2018: Number of smartphone users to reach three billion by end of year as consumer spending exceeds $92 billion
29. Analyst: ‘Whale’ spenders aren’t as crucial to F2P mobile games as they once were
30. DeltaDNA: Increase in casual spenders for F2P games resulting in more balanced revenue sources – Strategy and casino games lead player spending, while action game spending is down overall in spite of Fortnite
31. Blog: How free-to-play design runs out of steam
32. Fortnite beta invite to download conversion rate on Android similar to iOS: In the 21 days since launch, 23m players signed up for beta, 15m installed the game
33. Fortnite on Android reaches 15 million downloads sans Google Play 
34. Fortnite reaches 15 million Android downloads without Google Play
35. PUBG logs 1 million peak concurrent players for 365 days in a row, a Steam first
36. PUBG becomes first Steam game to have one million concurrent players 365 days running: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta breaks record-breaking streak for PUBG
37. Pearl Abyss acquires EVE Online creator CCP Games for $425 million
38. Insights: Resetting The Game Biz—Microsoft, Amazon, Samsung and Fortnite Show Where We’re Going
39. Single-player not going anywhere – Igarashi: Bloodstained producer discusses AAA emphasis on multiplayer, the rising Japanese indie scene, and the future of ArtPlay
40. What makes a “troll game”? Valve tries for a Steam-wide definition
41. Valve Clears Up Nothing With Its Latest Explanation Of What Games It Will Ban As ‘Troll Games’
42. IO Interactive focusing on serving players, not games-as-a-service: Hitman 2 studio hopes departure from episodic format will be a new starting point to build its universe
43. Eve Online studio CCP acquired by Pearl Abyss: South Korean developer behind Black Desert Online spends $425 million on Icelandic games firm
44. THQ Nordic has acquired the rights to Kingdoms of Amalur
45. Devs recount the making of Golden Axe: Beast Rider, a crunch-ridden $15M flop 
46. Unity CEO claims VR hardware hasn’t seen true consumer launch
47. Unity boss says VR hardware still not right for consumers: “They’re not cheap enough, they don’t work well enough… there’s not a lot of content,” says John Riccitiello
48. The Void partners with Marvel and Disney to create VR experiences
49. Niantic touts 35 percent growth in active players forPokemon Go
50. Google partners with Unity for open-source matchmaking tool Open Match
51. Unity and Google Cloud unveil Open Match
52. Hollow Knight tops EU Nintendo Switch eshop charts for August: In addition, No. 2 Dead Cells sees global success, selling four copies on Switch for every one PS4 copy
53. Nintendo’s promised cloud saves on Switch won’t work for every game [Updated]
54. Nintendo: Restrictions on cloud saves for certain Switch games are to curb cheaters
55. Some Nintendo games won’t support cloud saves: Nintendo Switch Online’s cloud save feature skips games like Splatoon 2 as a move to prevent cheating
56. No more free rides: Paid Switch Online service launches on Sept. 18
57. Nintendo Switch Online finally has a concrete launch date
58. Fire Emblem Heroes summer revenue up 34 per cent over 2017: Sensor Tower data shows Nintendo’s hit mobile game earning $63 million in July and August
59. Delayed Nintendo Direct Leads To Some Oddly Delivered Switch Announcements
60. Roblox raises $150 million and sets sights on China
61. GameStop sales slip as retailer continues exploring a sale: Collectibles and console hardware are bright points as company posts $24.9 million loss in a second quarter where revenues dipped 2.4%
62. Jagex profit and revenue spike in another record year: Upcoming mobile RuneScape games expected to deliver more growth
63. Dundee’s games industry boosted by £9m InGAME R&D centre: Game developers and universities both involved in new project designed to encourage growth and innovation
64. “Homeworld” Sideswiped by a Story – Why I Love: Snowcastle Games’ Thomas French reflects on how Relic’s deep space RTS provided a strong narrative through mechanics
65. NCSoft shuts down WildStar dev Carbine Studios
66. Lowering the language barrier for aspiring Arab developers: Fawzi Mesmar never had access to Arabic books on game design, so he wrote one
67. Wedding Proposal Hidden In Spider-Man Unravels, May Be Patched Out
68. UK charts: Spider-Man is fastest-selling game of the year – Most successful week one for a Marvel game
69. In the name of accessibility, Spider-Man offers toggleable puzzles and QTEs
70. Remedy’s Alan Wake is being adapted for TV
71. ‘To stay relevant’, U.S. adds select PC games to national software registry
72. How a CEO fiddled while beloved board game Glory to Romecrashed and burned
73. Developing Spore: An oral (‘Sporal’?) history 10 years on
74. Blog: The importance of games that make us think

DIGITAL

1. An EU copyright bill could force YouTube-style filtering across the Web
2. What’s in the sweeping copyright bill just passed by the European Parliament
3. Creators Supporting Link Taxes And Mandatory Filters Are Handing The Internet Over To The Companies They Hate
4. The dangers hidden in the proposed Copyright Directive (Andres Guadamuz)
5. The Intellectual Dishonesty Of Those Supporting The Existing Text Of The EU Copyright Directive
6. EU Gives Up On The Open Web Experiment, Decides It Will Be The Licensed Web Going Forward
7. DOJ And State Attorneys General Threatening Social Media Companies Over Moderation Practices Is A First Amendment Issue
8. Facebook, Twitter, and the Senate Hearings: It’s The Business Model, Period.
9. Twitter’s latest (and final) punishment for Alex Jones: A permanent ban
10. Alex Jones Permanently Suspended From Twitter
11. Apple’s iPhone event will be live streamed on Twitter for the first time
12. Twitter Announces 50 New Video Content Deals To Complement Local TV Programming
13. Progressive Web Apps moving mainstream as Twitter makes its mobile site the main one
14. Microsoft Wants Confirmation That Helping Politicians Not Get Hacked Isn’t An Illegal Campaign Contribution
15. Reddit Ignored A Year’s Worth Of User Warnings About Iranian Propaganda
16. Hollywood Studios, Big Fans Of Automated DMCAs, Also Very Busy DMCAing IMDB For Some Reason
17. No News Is Good News: Campbell Brown vs. the publishers
18. Amazon Takes Down Nine Books Self-Published on Kindle by Virulent Sexist ‘Roosh’
19. Facebook Is Not The Internet: Philippines Propaganda Highlights Perils Of Company’s ‘Free Basics’ Walled Garden
20. Facebook Responds To Blackberry’s Silly 117 Page Patent Lawsuit With Its Own Silly 118 Page Lawsuit
21. Facebook punishes liberal news site after fact check by right-wing site
22. The cure for Facebook’s fake news infection? It might be these women: At Facebook, where men outnumber women almost two to one, the future of news is female.
23. German Court Tells Facebook It Can’t Delete Comments, Even Though German Law Says It Must Delete Comments
24. Court Denies Politician’s Attempt To Dismiss Lawsuit Over Banning Critics From His Facebook Page
25. Social media makes us angry and unfocused. Is email the answer?: Subtack CEO Chris Best makes the case for electronic mail
26. After many opsec fails, Russia seeks to ban soldier social media spoilers
27. An Avalanche of Speech Can Bury Democracy: For the longest time, we thought that as speech became more democratized, democracy itself would flourish. But in 2018, it is increasingly clear that more speech can in fact threaten democracy.
28. YouTube Removed Russian Ads In Compliance With Election Law, Google Says
29. Google Moderation Team Decides My Piece About The Impossible Nature Of Content Moderation Is ‘Dangerous Or Derogatory’
30. Google kills Google Inbox
31. You Can Now Pause Your YouTube TV Subscription — And Keep All Stored Programming — For Up To 6 Months
32. United Airlines Made Its App Stop Working On My Phone, And What This Says About How Broken The Mobile Tech Space Is
33. New App Popbase Will Let YouTube Creators Make Virtual Avatars To Host Game Shows For Fans
34. Paul McCartney Will Play a Free Concert on YouTube Friday
35. Hank Green Has Been Making YouTube Videos For 12 Years — Here’s Why He’s Never Experienced Burnout
36. ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ Subscriber Count Soars After Lit Musk Interview
37. Late Vlogger Claire Wineland To Be Subject Of Documentary By Oscar-Winning Director
38. Nascent Digital Sports Network ‘Overtime’ Inks Content Deal With Basketball Creator Rachel DeMita
39. Influencer marketing, endorsements, testimonials: food for thought in light of the most recent initiatives by the Italian authorities
40. WorldStarHipHop Launches Snapchat Channel With Studio71
41. Viral Aggregator ‘WorldStarHipHop’ Links Up With Studio71 For Snapchat Channel
42. Meet SelfieCircus and 8 more in Snapchat’s new startup accelerator
43. Former MTV Chief Sean Atkins Named CEO Of StyleHaul, Will Oversee New MCN Group At RTL
44. Ex-MTV President Sean Atkins Named StyleHaul CEO
45. China’s Biggest Streaming Service Eliminates View Counts To Combat Rampant Click Farms
46. This Video Uses the Power of Deepfakes to Re-Capture This Character’s Cameo Appearance in Rogue One
47. Here’s How Brands Can Be Proactive Against Influencer Fraud, Per Fullscreen And CreatorIQ Study
48. Op-Ed: We Gave Corporations Our Data. Now They’re Deciding How AI Will Affect Our Future.
49. If Artificial Intelligence Only Benefits a Select Few, Everyone Loses
50. Artificial intelligence in the Gambling Industry
51. Rise of the Robots: How AI Is Changing the Music World
52. Doctors said the coma patients would never wake. AI said they would – and they did: Artificial intelligence system developed in Beijing ‘will never replace doctors’ but it can trace brain activity invisible to the human eye
53. Left Unchecked, Artificial Intelligence Can Become Prejudiced All On Its Own
54. Countdown to The Singularity
55. Sim ethics: Say you could make a thousand digital replicas of yourself – should you? What happens when you want to get rid of them?
56. Drone Racing: The Next Battleground For AI to Try to Dominate Human
57. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon win numerous creative Emmy awards
58. Analysis: Netflix Trails Hulu, Amazon, and Several Cable Networks in Quality of Original Shows
59. EU Officially OKs Apple’s Shazam Acquisition
60. Big Data? No antitrust problem for Apple/Shazam
61. You Don’t Own What You’ve Bought: Apple Disappears Purchased Movies
62. Your new $1,000+ iPhone won’t come with a headphone dongle in the box
63. Hands-on with the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR
64. Apple Watch Series 4 hands-on: Sparking envy in current Apple Watch owners
65. Hello eSIM: Apple moves the iPhone away from physical SIMs
66. The former Apple engineer who designed the iPhone keyboard reveals what it was like to work under Steve Jobs’ strict requirements for secrecy
67. Crypto-pocalypse Soon-ish? Judge Rules ICOs Are a Security
68. Cryptocurrency taxation: what business leaders need to know

CREATIVITY

1. Saudi Government Outlaws Satire; Violators To Face Five-Year Prison Sentences
2. Judge Roy Moore Sues Sacha Baron Cohen For Ruining His Immaculate Reputation
3. US indicts North Korean agent for WannaCry, Sony attacks [Updated]
4. Bonkers Attorney’s Fees Ruling Results In SDCC Getting $4 Million Out Of SLCC AFter $20k Jury Award
5. More Comic Conventions Change Their Names After Crazy SDCC Attorney’s Fees And Injunction Ruling
6. Success! Roanoke ‘Harry Potter Festival’ Changes Name To ‘Generic Magic Festival’ Due To WB’s Bullying
7. Are Black Movies Being Shut Out by Global Theaters?
8. McQueen Family Crashes Ferrari’s Limited-Edition Car
9. Pop’s Biggest Stars Can Control Their Own Narratives Like Never Before. Is That a Good Thing?
10. Who hates Star Wars for its newfound diversity? Here are the numbers.

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Ajit Pai does ISPs’ bidding, pushes for tighter rules on Google and Facebook
2. Ajit Pai Again (Falsely) Claims States Are Powerless To Protect Broadband Consumers
3. Ajit Pai helped Charter kill consumer-protection rules in Minnesota
4. Verizon throttling firefighters may have violated FCC rule, Democrats say
5. Verizon’s Pivot From Stodgy Old Telco To Sexy Millennial Ad Brand Isn’t Going So Well
6. Verizon Says It’s Not Backing Down From Digital Ad Push
7. ISPs Push Employees To Urge Governor Brown Veto New California Net Neutrality Bill 
8. With The Death Of Net Neutrality & NBC Merger Conditions, Comcast Is Free To Misbehave
9. Net neutrality gives “free” Internet to Netflix and Google, ISP claims
10. FCC data exaggerates broadband access on tribal lands
11. Fullscreen Founder George Strompolos Steps Down As CEO Following AT&T’s Acquisition Of Otter Media
12. After Nabbing Billions In Tax Breaks, AT&T’s Promised Job Growth Magically Evaporates
13. Special Report – Everything we know about 5G

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. DOJ Charges North Korean Spy Over Sony Hack and WannaCry Ransomware [Updated]
2. Court Shuts Down Feds’ Attempt To Expand The ‘Border Search’ Exception To Cover Inland GPS Monitoring
3. Florida Appeals Court Tells Law Enforcement It Needs Warrants To Deploy Stingrays 
4. Documents Show IBM Pitched The NYPD Facial Recognition Software With Built-In Racial Profiling Options
5. Vizio, sued for making creepy smart TVs, will notify customers via the TVs
6. Apple takes down Trend Micro Mac apps that collected, stored user data
7. Dozens of iOS apps surreptitiously share user location data with tracking firms
8. The Super-Private Tor Browser Gets a Huge Update, But Should You Switch From Chrome?
9. NSA metadata program “consistent” with Fourth Amendment, Kavanaugh once argued

Jon

GAMES

1. Jacksonville Shooting Victim Sues EA And Venue
2. Madden NFL 19 shooting victim sues EA, claiming negligence
3. Jacksonville shooting survivor files lawsuit against EA and others for negligence
4. Jacksonville shooting victim suing EA for negligence: Also seeking damages from seven other defendants, including tournament venue Chicago Pizza and Jacksonville Landing mall
5. EA donates $1 million to newly established Jacksonville Tribute fund
6. EA donates $1m to victims of Jacksonville shooting: Publisher sets up Jacksonville Tribute fund in support of those affected
7. Electronic Arts Delays Popular Video Game, Sinking Stock
8. EA Bioware commits to free story DLC for Anthem: “We want people to be able to experience the same stories so none of that is going to be locked”
9. Battlefield V pushed back from Call of Duty and Red Dead Redemption release window: EA stock drops as DICE delays until November to make “final adjustments to the core gameplay”
10. FIFA 18 sells over 24 million copies: FIFA franchise overall totals 260 million copies sold; FIFA Mobile reaches 193 million installs
11. Battlefield 5 Dev Says It’s A “Shame” Battlefield 1 Didn’t Initially Include Women: “I don’t think it’s a bandwagon thing…it’s about gamers wanting to express themselves in different ways.”
12. NBA 2K producer: Microtransactions are ‘unfortunate reality’ of modern games
13. Microtransactions “an unfortunate reality in modern gaming” – NBA 2K19 dev: Every game tries to get additional revenue from players in some way, says senior producer Rob Jones in wake of NBA 2K18 criticism
14. And Now Comes The Pushback As One ROMs Site Is Challenging Nintendo’s Takedown Of ROM Sites
15. Switch sales nearing 5 million units in Japan
16. Nintendo Switch nears 5m sales in Japan: Only 2m behind lifetime sales of PlayStation 4
17. Nintendo’s big mobile earner Fire Emblem Heroes had a bumper summer
18. Diablo 3, Untitled Goose Game lead PAX West’s Nintendo Switch lineup
19. Gallery: Exploring Nintendo’s flagship New York City store
20. Let’s Sing 2019 heading to PS4, Xbox One, and… the Nintendo Wii?
21. “Aren’t you a little too old for that?” Two decades of playing Pokémon
22. Congressional Candidate Fights Boston Globe’s Use of Gamer Photo
23. Tencent suspends community manager following sexual harassment accusations
24. Tencent suspends global community manager after multiple sexual harassment claims: Full investigation pending as Arena of Valor CM accused of sending inappropriate messages to women
25. Tencent’s value drops by $20 billion following new Chinese regulations: Company has lost more than $160 billion in value this year, falling behind rival Alibaba Group
26. China to crack down on children’s video gaming time amid fears over addiction
27. China increasing video game restrictions to combat myopia in children
28. Chinese Ministry of Education recommends fewer game approvals to combat myopia: Also encourages regulations for screen time and introduction of age ratings for video games in China
29. Riot’s struggle with toxicity turns inwards: After years of focusing on toxicity in its player base, Riot Games faces up to unpleasant revelations about its own work culture – and the industry at large should take note
30. Riot responds to controversy over women and non-binary PAX workshops: “No matter how heated a discussion, we expect Rioters to act with respect”
31. YouTube Orders Pilot For Comedy Series ‘It’s A Man’s World’ About Sexism In Gaming
32. PewDiePie On Track To Be Overtaken As YouTube’s Most-Subscribed Channel In October
33. CCP Games: ‘We’re not interested in [harassers] being part of our community’
34. How Mulaka reflects a culturally respectful development process
35. European ratings board adding in-game purchase label to boxed games
36. PEGI adds in-game purchase warning to boxed games: Descriptor will be added to physical releases by the end of the year
37. Social gaming and gambling advertising, how to deal with them?
38. No esports in Olympics because ‘killer games’ promote violence: “They, from our point of view, are contradictory to the Olympic values and cannot therefore be accepted”
39. F1 2018 dominates EMEA charts: But Rainbow Six tops the digital rankings
40. UK Charts: PES launch sales drop 42% year-on-year – F1 2018 retains pole position
41. Nazi tattoos scrubbed from Scum days after Early Access debut
42. Devolver removes neo-Nazi tattoos from Scum: Imagery was included to emphasise ‘prison culture’, review being conducted to check for other potentially offensive content
43. Video Game Industry Plays for FTC Approval of COPPA Program
44. BioWare: “Anthem is not a departure, it’s the continued evolution of our craft” – Game director Jon Warner discusses the terror and excitement of leading BioWare’s new flagship IP
45. How Nicki Minaj and a Drag Race superstar inspiredMonument Valley
46. Sony scrapping PS2 aftercare service in Japan
47. Sony Japan Is Finally Saying Goodbye To The PS2
48. Sony CEO says limited cross-platform play provides the ‘best user experience’
49. No Fortnite PS4 cross-play because ‘PlayStation is the best place to play’: It’s all about the user experience, says Sony CEO
50. CEO: PS4 blocks cross-console play to provide “best user experience”
51. Ten surprising things battle royale can teach us: Will Luton reflects on the lessons developers and publishers can learn from the rise of Fortnite, PUBG and their rivals
52. Rocket League takes a page from Fortnite with new limited-time Rocket Pass
53. Markiplier And Pokimane Will Battle It Out In Twitch ‘Fortnite’ Stream To Benefit ‘Stand Up 2 Cancer’
54. Rainbow Six Siege takes after Fortnite by offering in-game reward for using 2FA
55. Anthem isn’t charging for story DLC in an effort to keep its audience undivided
56. More competition means players won’t always stay for DLC, warns Anthem dev
57. YouTube Taps Gamers To Use New ‘YouTube Giving’ Tools In Fundraising Partnership With St. Jude
58. How Paradox combines business strategy and game dev
59. Square Enix and Tencent want to make triple-A games together
60. Square Enix to create AAA original IP with Tencent: ‘Strategic alliance’ between two firms will also see the creation of a new joint-venture company
61. Valve is making Counter-Strike: Global Offensive free to play, sort of
62. Valve: Creating Artifact is not a “zero-sum game” – How the company is keeping its focus narrow for the upcoming online trading card game
63. Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 14 million lifetime registered players
64. Green Man Gaming’s £100m IPO: “We’ve grown between 25 to 30% every year”
65. Skipping Steam: Why Jason Rohrer independently distributes One Hour, One Life 
66. Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end – 10 Years Ago This Month: Microsoft announces Ensemble’s closing time months before it wraps development on Halo Wars
67. ‘Minecraft’ Competitor ‘Roblox’ Raises $150 Million At $2.5 Billion Valuation
68. Roblox closes on $150 million Series F funding round: Company’s largest funding round to date will go toward continued international expansion
69. QC Games: “We may make terrible calls, but at least they’re ours” – Why the Breach developers left BioWare and EA for life as a AAA independent
70. The video game creator turning his grief into art: Indie developer Dan Hett talks us through the therapeutic power of games development after the loss of his brother in the Manchester Arena bombing
71. Blog: Why academics can no longer compete in game AI competitions
72. Marvel’s Spider-Man Understands the Amazing Fantasy of Becoming Peter Parker 
73. Spider-Man PS4 review: Does whatever a spider can—and then some
74. Games intelligence firm SuperData acquired by analytics company Nielsen
75. SuperData acquired by Nielsen Holdings: Major industry market intelligence company joins analytics group to bolster digital gaming, esports data
76. Book Excerpt: Understanding video games as culture
77. Check out Rolling Stone’s 1972 coverage of Spacewar!

DIGITAL

1. DOJ: We will examine social media firms that “may be hurting competition”
2. We Shouldn’t Want Internet Giants Deciding Who To Silence; But They Should Let Users Decide Who To Hear
3. Netflix and Other Streaming Services May Soon Be Legally Required to Make Content for Europe
4. Netflix and Amazon will have to make more European content by law: A quota on local shows and movies will likely become official in December.
5. Amazon’s valuation briefly surpassed $1 trillion
6. Amazon achieved a market value of $1,000,000,000,000
7. Amazon hits $1 trillion market cap one month after Apple: Online giant becomes second ever company to reach the milestone
8. Amazon’s ad-supported video service faces many hurdles, but the upside is huge
9. IP Address Subscriber Isn’t Liable for Copyright Infringement by Users Sharing That IP Address–Cobbler v. Gonzales (Eric Goldman)
10. Copyright in Data Compilations Is Thin
11. Wikimedia Warns: EU Copyright Directive Could Drastically Change The Internet We Know And Love
12. YouTube’s Robert Kyncl Urges Creators To Speak Out Against Proposed EU Copyright Law
13. California Lawmakers Want a Study of Fake News (If Someone Else Pays for It) (Eric Goldman)
14. There’s A Reason That Misleading Claims Of Bias In Search And Social Media Enjoy Such Traction
15. A Federal Anti-SLAPP Law Would Make CDA 230 More Effective
16. Louisiana Police Appear To Be Using A Hoax Antifa List Created By 8Chan To Open Criminal Investigations
17. Jack Dorsey Woos Irate Republicans by Calmly Explaining Twitter Is Indeed Messed Up
18. How a Twitter account convinced 4,000 companies to stop advertising on Breitbart: Sleeping Giants founder tells Recode that he wants to be “the source of some kind of conscience” for social media.
19. Facebook and Twitter’s Biggest Problems Follow Them to Congress
20. How Trump Could Trigger Armageddon With a Tweet
21. The President v. Tech
22. How Trump’s Pressure on Google Threatens Government Manipulation of Search Results
23. Censorship and Collateral Damage: Analyzing the Telegram Ban in Iran
24. Google turns 20: how an internet search engine reshaped the world – The biggest moments, product launches, and acquisitions throughout Google’s two-decade history
25. _{­­­­­­­}
26. Google Reportedly Bought Your Banking Data in Secret, and That’s Not Even the Bad News
27. Google: Sorry professor, old Beethoven recordings on YouTube are copyrighted
28. Why I Can’t Quit Chrome
29. 6 Ways Google Chrome Changed the Way We Web
30. Senator to FTC: You guys really should look at Google one more time
31. Google celebrates a decade of Google Chrome, launches major redesign
32. Google wants to get rid of URLs but doesn’t know what to use instead
33. And Here Come The Completely Ridiculous Lawsuits Over Internet Company ‘Bias’
34. How Duterte Used Facebook To Fuel the Philippine Drug War
35. Facebook is building a ‘war room’ for the midterm elections: The company is taking a ‘laser-focused’ approach to ‘the bad actors.’
36. Instagram is coming after Amazon with plans to launch a standalone shopping app
37. The state of advertising on Instagram Stories in five charts
38. YouTube banned Alex Jones, but it’s letting white supremacist content thrive: Creators are profiting off hateful content
39. YouTube is fighting for a slice of the premium-video market
40. YouTube Exec Says Using All Caps Titles Causes Videos To Perform Worse
41. You Can Now Watch The KSI And Logan Paul Fight For Free On YouTube
42. Nerd City Video Raises Question: Does Jake Paul Hawking Merch To Kids Cross Legal Lines?
43. Here’s Exactly How Much Money One YouTuber Made Off His First Million Views
44. Popular YouTuber ‘The Fitness Marshall’ Breaks Down His Four-Year Ad Earnings
45. How Do Viral Videos Make Money? YouTubers Share Their Secrets
46. Hello Kitty Is The Latest Beloved Fictional Character To Become A YouTube Vlogger
47. Philanthropic YouTube Star Lilly Singh To Headline Mashable’s 9th Annual ‘Social Good Summit’
48. Claire Wineland, Who Chronicled Her Cystic Fibrosis Battle On YouTube, Has Passed Away At 21
49. ‘Live With Kelly And Ryan’ To Welcome Digital Stars All Week As Part Of ‘LIVEtember’ Initiative
50. YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Roll Out To 4 More Countries, Bringing Tally To 21
51. 21st Century Fox Tenders $100 Million Investment In Buzzy Livestreaming Platform Caffeine
52. 21st Century Fox sinks $100M into social streaming platform Caffeine
53. 21st Century Fox invests $100m into streaming startup Caffeine: Newly-formed Caffeine Studios’ will use Fox Sports’ experience to create esports and games programmes for new broadcasting platform
54. Lawyer in trouble with LSO for tweets
55. $400,000 Raised for Homeless Man on GoFundMe Is Completely Gone, Lawyer Says
56. The Mystery Of Columbia Pictures DMCAing Its Own Leaked Promotional Posters For Its ‘Holmes And Watson’ Movie
57. Disney Fixes Its Sketchy DVD Rental License, Wins Injunction Against Redbox Over Digital Downloads
58. Disney Enterprises Inc. v. Redbox Automated Retail LLC
59. Researchers show Alexa “skill squatting” could hijack voice commands
60. Microsoft is finally going to make the Skype UI good for the things people use
61. “How can they be so good?”: The strange story of Skype
62. The Scunthorpe Problem, And Why AI Is Not A Silver Bullet For Moderating Platform Content At Scale
63. New Artificial Intelligence Does Something Extraordinary – It Remembers
64. Engineering tour de force births programmable optical quantum computer
65. Special Report: In Venezuela, new cryptocurrency is nowhere to be found
66. Crunch Time in the NAFTA Negotiations: What’s at Play for Canada on Digital Policy (Michael Geist)
67. The Rise of the Cyber-Mercenaries: What happens when private firms have cyberweapons as powerful as those owned by governments?
68. Illusion of control: Why the world is full of buttons that don’t work
69. I Invented the iPhone’s Autocorrect. Sorry About That, and You’re Welcome
70. Between Cintiq and streaming, animation is thriving—ask Titmouse’s Chris Prynoski 

CREATIVITY

1. Ontario Court of Appeal decision answers ‘big legal questions’ on SLAPP suits
2. More On Mass Copyright Litigation in Canada – Part II (Howard Knopf)
3. Tanksley v. Daniels
4. Ninth Circuit Stops Monkeying Around And Denies En Banc Review Of The Monkey Selfie Case
5. LEGO built a drivable Bugatti Chiron out of a million pieces of Technic: It’s the first-ever life-size drivable car made from technic bricks.
6. How Not To Freak Out When Someone Copies Your Product
7. Are campaigns running on infringement?
8. Listen: ‘The Business of Television’ Author Reveals How Peak TV Shook Up Studio Dealmaking
9. Reading the Star Wars: Episode IX Script Has Made Domhnall Gleeson Paranoid
10. How ‘Fake News’ Was Born at the 1968 DNC: The madness of the 1968 Democratic National Convention pushed conservatives’ distrust of ‘the establishment’ into overdrive.
11. Pottery Barn Is Going to Bankrupt Harry Potter Fans Wanting to Redecorate Like Hogwarts

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1.  Court Rules It’s Fine If FCC Wants To Deem Just One Available ISP As ‘Competition’
2. Millions could lose cheap phone service under FCC’s overhaul of Lifeline
3. FCC Criticized for Surrendering Power to Punish Verizon After Firefighters Got Throttled During Wildfire
4. Verizon’s Oath Will Still Scan Your E-mail For Advertising Purposes Because Hey, It’s Verizon
5. Ajit Pai Coddles Big Telecom, Demonizes Silicon Valley
6. Ajit Pai Is Suddenly Very Concerned About Whether Tech Companies Are Censoring Conservatives
7. Man who threatened to kill Ajit Pai’s children pleads guilty, faces prison
8. T-Mobile/Sprint merger will bring higher prices, small carriers tell FCC
9. California Is Now Inches Away From Restoring Net Neutrality
10. California Shakes Off ISP Lobbyists, Embraces Real Net Neutrality
11. “Gold standard” state net neutrality bill approved by California Assembly
12. Calif. Senate approves net neutrality rules, sends bill to governor
13. Comcast Is Trying To Ban States From Protecting Broadband & TV Consumers
14. That Time Telco Lobbyists Sent Me All Their Talking Points About Trying To Shift The Blame To Internet Companies
15. RTL CEO Bert Habets on Record Results, ‘American Idol’ Reboot and Taking on Netflix in Europe
16. AT&T’s Top Anti-Net Neutrality Lobbyist In California Doesn’t Register As A Lobbyist
17. AT&T and Verizon Are Making Very Different Bets on What 5G Will Mean for Consumers and Content: Next generation of wireless tech promises to make carriers more competitive with traditional TV providers
18. Telecoms privacy and data security provisions in the USA

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Canada’s privacy deficit
2. Cheese danish shipping, warrantless GPS trackers, and a border doctrine challenge
3. Apple will require all apps to have a privacy policy as of October 3
4. Five Eyes Surveillance Agencies Say Encryption Is Good, Except When It Keeps Them From Looking At Stuff
5. DHS Continues Facial Recognition Deployment With An Eye On Expanding Program To All Domestic Travelers
6. How Location Tracking Actually Works on Your Smartphone
7. The Physical Security Key That Keeps Google Employees From Getting Phished Is Now Available
8. Indian Police Adding Pre-Crime Software To Their Long List Of Snooping Tools
9. Australian Gov’t Likes Intrusive Border Device Searches Just As Much As The US Does
10. Unpatched routers being used to build vast proxy army, spy on networks

Jon

GAMES

1. Shooter opens fire at Jacksonville Madden tournament
2. Mass Shooting At Madden Tournament In Florida
3. Competitive Gamers Eli Clayton And Taylor Robertson Killed In Jacksonville Shooting
4. Victims of Jacksonville shooting were members of competitive Madden community: Elijah ‘TrueBoy’ Clayton and Taylor ‘SpotMePlzz’ Robertson were killed at a Madden Championship Series tournament last weekend
5. EA cancels remaining Madden qualifiers in wake of shooting
6. EA cancels Madden competitions after shooting: CEO Andrew Wilson honors slain players, cancels three remaining qualifiers for Madden Classic competitions
7. Flordia AG Somehow Pivots To The Danger Of Video Games After The Latest Florida Shooting
8. PAX organizers issue official statement after shooting at Madden Championship Series event: “We have in place extensive proactive measures” to ensure safety at PAX West, future events
9. Riot Games outlines plan for culture change in wake of workplace sexism allegations: Company promises action steps such as third-party evaluations, anonymous hotline, reevaluation of recruiting practices, and new HR hires
10. Battle Chef Brigade dev warns against putting work first
11. Weather Factory launches Coven Club to help connect women in games
12. Nintendo files takedown notice against Pokemon fan game creation tool
13. Nintendo shuts down tool used to build Pokémon fan games
14. Nintendo orders takedown of fan game maker Pokémon Essentials: Decade-old asset kit for RPG Maker pulled, along with wiki on how to develop with it
15. Ever wanted to see “beyond” the NES game screen? With WideNES, you can
16. Artists Heading to Dungeons & Dragons Session Say ICE Detained Them, Would Not Allow Them Entry to U.S.
17. 2K Games alters NBA 2K MyTeam mode to comply with Belgian loot box laws: Publisher also removes premium currency card packs from Dutch version, “disagrees with this position” in both nations
18. Blizzard removes paid loot boxes and loot chests for players in Belgium
19. Blizzard locks sale of real money loot boxes in Belgium: Overwatch and Heroes of the Storm join growing list of games forced to halt sale of loot boxes by Belgian authorities
20. Denuvo Announces Plan To Fail To Combat Online Game Cheaters After Failing To Stop Piracy With Its DRM
21. Denuvo: “There is no uncrackable game. What we do is protect the initial sales” – Anti-tamper tech is far from iron-clad, but pirates are only willing to wait so long for a cracked game
22. Denuvo rolling out anti-cheat software: DRM firm plans to prevent players unbalancing multiplayer games and bypassing microtransactions
23. GameStop shares plummet as buyout deal fails to materialise: With no sign of retailer’s troubles abating, shares fall 9.9 per cent
24. Post Valve’s ‘Hands Off’ Games Curation Announcement, Everything Is A Mess
25. Report: Analyzing player preferences from the US games market
26. Superdata: No Man’s Sky flies once more as Fortnite begins to flag – July digital games market report shows Epic’s battle royale nonetheless continues to drive growth
27. Fortnite dev Epic offers in-game reward for players that turn on 2FA
28. Google spots security vulnerability in Epic-hosted FortniteAndroid installer
29. Google discloses vulnerability in Fortnite launcher that allowed possible malware installation: Epic Games has since fixed the exploit, but CEO Tim Sweeney calls Google disclosure “irresponsible”
30. Fortnite’s Android vulnerability leads to Google/Epic Games spat
31. Daybreak Games closing down Just Survive servers in October
32. Publisher 505 Games takes over support of Roll7’s Laser League
33. NPD: $19.5bn spent on video games in US during first half of 2018 – Hardware spending reaches seven-year high, with Xbox One and SNES Classic cited as highlights
34. NPD: Fortnite, PUBG help push U.S. game spending up 40%
35. UK Charts: F1 2018, Shenmue depose Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy – Activision Blizzard’s nostalgic platformer finally drops to No.3 after eight weeks in the top spot
36. Tomb Raider overshadows EMEAA game charts: Upcoming release bolsters Rise of the Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider into top ten
37. NPD: Octopath Traveler leads continued Switch success in July – Nintendo published half of July’s top 10 best selling software titles
38. Examining why Switch games cost more than their PC counterparts
39. Switch checks off its indie-game wishlist with Into the Breach, Towerfall
40. Nintendo rolls out indie-focused Switch news channel
41. The 10 secrets to indie game success (and why they do not exist)
42. Game Marketing 101: How to make games and stay afloat
43. Microsoft reportedly bundling console, Gold and Game Pass into Xbox All Access service
44. Microsoft is about to announce Xbox All Access subscription
45. Report: New Microsoft subscription service will include an Xbox One, Xbox Live, and Game Pass
46. Report: “Xbox All Access” to offer free hardware with two-year agreement
47. “Xbox All Access” offers free hardware up front with two-year subscription 
48. Xbox All Access bundles a console, Live, and Game Pass for 24 monthly payments
49. Microsoft announces Xbox All Access: 24-month payment program gets users an Xbox One, Xbox Live, and Game Pass sans up-front payment
50. “We don’t see a future where subscriptions are dominant” –  Microsoft: Xbox Game Pass heads say player feedback shows they prefer a service with a smaller number of quality titles to one with thousands of games
51. Why Xbox bought Ninja Theory: Microsoft explains why mid-sized studios are important to its Game Pass subscription service
52. Playstation Vue expands its lineup with 200 more local channels
53. Review: Yakuza Kiwami 2 gets cleaned up for PS4
54. Blog: Where’s my money, dude? What Steam is silent about
55. Dota 2 International 2019 moves to Shanghai: First time the championship has been held outside of North America since the 2011 debut
56. Pro Gamers Fend Off Elon Musk-Backed AI Bots – For Now
57. Twitter Sets Pact With Overwatch League for Highlights, Weekly Show: Deal for esports content runs through end of 2019
58. Riot Games details steps forward after workplace toxicity allegations
59. Riot Games ‘a long way’ from breaking even in esports 
60. Riot Games “a long way from breaking even” on esports investment: Head of global esports events explains company’s decision to cut costs, focus investments over next three years
61. Newzoo: Mobile esports seeing windows of opportunity open – Better hardware, Eastern popularity are driving slow but steady growth of large-scale, competitive play
62. It’s Time for an ‘Overwatch’ Battle Pass
63. Miyamoto: Game devs must avoid becoming reliant on free-to-play
64. iFixit dissects the $2,299 Magic Leap One so you don’t have to: Glue barriers, fragile components drop mixed-reality set’s “repairability score.”
65. Twitch Embraces Nostalgia Again With Pokemon TV And Movie Marathons
66. Creators Going Pro: How Logdotzip Turned A Passion For Gaming At 14 Into A 10-Person Business A Decade Later
67. GoldenEye 007 gets quite the 21st-birthday present: An oral history
68. Riot using League of Legends to drive blood donations in the Netherlands
69. Riot Games partners with blood bank to promote donation in the Netherlands: League of Legends players who donate blood through Sanquin will receive an in-game skin
70. Why From Software chose Activision to publish Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – “When From Software knocks on your door and says ‘hey, we wanna make a game,’ you have only one answer right?”
71. How World of Warcraft helped Epidemiologists create better disease models
72. Battle for Azeroth is the fastest-selling World of Warcraft expansion: Day-one global sales surpass 3.4 million
73. Battle for Azeroth beats out past World of Warcraftexpansions in day-one sales
74. World of Warcraft devs explore the history of the long-running MMO
75. Reinventing God of War was a battle against doubt
76. Assassin’s Creed’s gap year could start a trend
77. Whoa, There’s Gonna Be A Streets Of Rage 4
78. Taking on Madden as an option instead of a Hail Mary: Solo developer David Winter is building a business with simulation football games catering to audiences unserved by EA’s juggernaut
79. Why Velocity Supernova needs a publisher – but is struggling to find one: FuturLab’s James Marsden delves deeper into the difficulties getting a Velocity 2X sequel signed, despite an audience of millions
80. Oculus Founder Serves up Scathing Review of Magic Leap One, Calling It A “Tragic Heap”
81. Hands-on: Upcoming VR Shooter ‘Telefrag’ Boasts Impossible, Escher-style Arenas
82. Orpheus to bring suite of “self-care entertainment” games to VR: New publishing venture focused on games with positive impact on player well-being
83. Gamescom sets another record for attendance: But with 370,000 visitors, venue management admit to congestion issues
84. Gamescom 18 boasts 15,000 jump in attendees at record 370,000
85. Portal was a classic from out of nowhere – Why I Love: YoYo Games’ Russell Kay remembers how The Orange Box toss-in stole the whole Half-Life show