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News of the Week; October 9, 2019

By Jon Festinger on October 14, 2019

GAMES

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

DIGITAL

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

A.I.

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

COMMUNICATIONS

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

PRIVACY

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

CREATIVITY

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

Jon

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Nintendo’s War on ROMs

By eunize lao on October 10, 2019

A ROM (“Read Only Memory”), as described by Nintendo refers to the “process of copying the software that constitutes a video game from the read-only memory found in a game cartridge or disk”, which can be played on various devices including non-Nintendo devices such as PCs and mobile phones through emulators, “a piece of software designed to mimic the functionality of the  physical video game system like the Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo Switch” (para 19 in the complaint).

Nintendo has previously taken similar measures to protect the company’s intellectual property rights against ROM distributors such as was the case last year when Nintendo sued LoveROMs and LoveRETRO, forcing these websites to close down. In the fall of 2018, they reached a settlement of $12.2 million USD and were also granted an injunction that prevented the owners of these websites from re-entering the ROM sharing business as well as requiring them to turn in all their games, files, and emulators. The difference here between with the current lawsuit with RomUniverse.com is that these websites offered ROMs for free, while RomUniverse.com charged a subscription of $30 USD a year. To further highlight the egregious actions of RomUniverse.com, Nintendo noted that the owner of the website, Matthew Storman bragged about continuing to offer ROMs (new Switch games and older games from other Nintendo consoles) through his website despite Nintendo’s settlement with LoveROMs and LoveRETRO (para 23 of the complaint).

In response to the lawsuit, Storman stated that “RomUniverse.com was founded in 2009 under the notion that users like you should have easy access to the content that you purchased and the ability to relive those childhood moments.  It is because of this, that I am asking for your help,” Storman writes. RomUniverse.com is still accessible online and those who are inclined are able to donate to help with the legal fees through the website.

Some supporters for ROMs often refer to the argument that ROMs allow players to resurrect old games that they are unable to obtain through any legal means (e.g. if the company and manufacturer have permanently closed). Other supporters feel that they should be able to create ROMs to make back-up copies of games that they already own.

While profiting from the distribution of the sales of pirated games is clearly illegal, what do you think of the nostalgia and preservation argument for the support of ROMs?

Nintendo’s stance on the use of ROMs and emulators is clear. Whether or not they are for personal use to back-up legally owned games or access old games that are no longer available through legal means, Nintendo’s response is that it should not be allowed.

From the Nintendo Legal page:

People Making Nintendo Emulators and Nintendo ROMs are Helping Publishers by Making Old Games Available that are No Longer Being Sold by the Copyright Owner. This Does Not Hurt Anyone and Allows Gamers to Play Old Favorites. What’s the Problem?

    The problem is that it’s illegal. Copyrights and trademarks of games are corporate assets. If these vintage titles are available far and wide, it undermines the value of this intellectual property and adversely affects the right owner. In addition, the assumption that the games involved are vintage or nostalgia games is incorrect. Nintendo is famous for bringing back to life its popular characters for its newer systems, for example, Mario and Donkey Kong have enjoyed their adventures on all Nintendo platforms, going from coin-op machines to our latest hardware platforms. As a copyright owner, and creator of such famous characters, only Nintendo has the right to benefit from such valuable assets.

Another interesting thing I found is that there is a conspiracy theory out there that Nintendo repurposed a ROM of Super Mario Bros. and sold it as the Wii version.

For more information:

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Moderating Video Game Streaming Services

By yuan kevin shi on October 10, 2019

The attacker who killed two people in a shooting at a German synagogue livestreamed the assault on Twitch, a video service owned by Amazon. It was one of the first violent attacks streamed on the service, which is best known for letting people watch others play competitive video games.

Twitch said it found and took down the video with “urgency” and said it was “shocked and saddened by the tragedy.” But the video is reportedly 36 minutes long.

Twitch said only about five people saw the livestream, but 2,200 viewed the finished recording of the video for the next half-hour before Twitch took it down. The video has also spread to other corners of the internet.

Twitch has faced other complaints in the past – largely from female gamers who say they have been harassed, echoing an undercurrent of sexism that has long been an issue in gaming culture. Twitch has policies in place against hateful conduct and harassment and asks users and streamers to report inappropriate conduct.

Internet companies have pledged after each attack to work on preventing such livestreams from happening again, including by advancing artificial intelligence to catch such videos. Bloch-Wehba is skeptical that those efforts alone will entirely halt the problem.

For more information: 

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PS5 vs Xbox Scarlett

By Anant Sidhu on October 10, 2019

Sony officially announced that the PlayStation 5 would be coming out in the near future. Also, Xbox came out with a bit of a teaser calling their new Xbox: Project Scarlett.

It’s tough to compare the two because they are so early in the stages of announcements but there are some comparisons that we can look at. First of all the names, not surprising that PlayStation has kept it simple with the PS5. While, Xbox went with something completely out of the blue with Scarlett. Its no surprise tho because Xbox did make a bit of a turn when they went from Xbox 360 to Xbox One.

They are both releasing in the holiday season of 2020. Just like XB1 & PS4 the two gaming titans are going to go head to head during the biggest shopping window of the year. I wonder how much they will cost upon release this time….($US699?) Considering that the previous were released in 2013 and they cost $399 (PS4) and $499(XB1).

If you’re into specifications (even though they are not complete) take a look at this chart:

For more comparisons check out this link:

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-vs-xbox-scarlett-major-differences-games-specs/1100-6470431/

 

 

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User Engagement through Increased Privacy?

By kayla robertson on October 9, 2019

Last week it was revealed that Facebook is testing publicly hiding ‘like’ counts in Australia. Metrics will still be available on the creator’s side but not to the view of the general public. A similar test was recently completed by Instagram this past April. Instagram is owned by Facebook.

The goal of these initiatives seems to be to reduce the pressure of public perception, which would create higher user engagement levels and allow people to post more freely. Sites like Facebook and Instagram collect and corporatize user data for sale through things like tailored advertisements, so consequently, user engagement is vital to their business models.

Similarly, Youtube has added a new setting enabling users to auto-delete their search and viewing histories after a period of time. Users have been able to manually delete history, but this allows for a setting of auto-delete after a specified period of time or to eliminate history tracking altogether.

Both actions may positively affect the general health and wellbeing of users. Facebook and Instagram ‘like counts’ are commonly thought to result in social pressures and negative self-perceptions. YouTube projects and recommends future content based on user history when one reaches the end of a given video. YouTube users may experience better wellbeing through the viewing of more varied recommended content. It is thought that viewing multiple perspectives can help to develop one’s empathy and critical thinking skills.

These stories also highlight a push towards more anonymity online. These actions naturally lead one to believe users are craving more privacy from their peers, friends and followers. This push may exist as a chilling effect. More and more often, headlines include a person’s user generated content (usually in the form of old or deleted tweets). We are seeing online content coming back to negatively impact people, which results in much more of a general understanding that uploaded content is uploaded forever. This may make users less likely to engage online due to fear of judgement by both current and future friends, followers, peers and/or employers.

Do you think these measures may impact user health?

Why do you think there is a need for increased anonymity online?

Sources:

https://www.tubefilter.com/2019/09/27/facebook-hiding-likes-reactions-viewcounts/

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/26/tech/facebook-hiding-likes/index.html

https://www.tubefilter.com/2019/10/02/youtube-auto-delete-search-viewing-histories/

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Does Fortnite intentionally cause addiction?

By Andrija Maksic on October 9, 2019

A Montréal law firm has filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, the producer of Fortnite.

The basis of the lawsuit: The game Fortnite allegedly was created to intentionally make their players addicted. The lawsuit claims that the brain releases the happiness hormone dopamine when a player is playing for a long time. This can be compared to the addiction of cocaine. The lawyers accuse Epic Games of hiring psychologists who studied the players’ brains in order to create a game that is most addictive to the players.

Video game addiction is recognized as an official disease by the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the claimants’ attorneys, Epic Games has not warned about the dangers and risks of this disease and should for this reason pay the affected persons. The children’s parents claim that they would never have let their children play or or that they would have been more vigilant if they had been adequately informed about the dangers of addiction.

The situation is comparable to a court decision where a tobacco company was fined for not warning its customers about the dangers and risks of its products.

The firm is currently looking for other Fortnite addicts to join the class-action lawsuit. The outcome of the court decision can therefore be expected with excitement.

For further information:

 

Andrija

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Blizzard Suspends Hearthstone Player For Hong Kong Support, Pulls Prize Money

By Chris Park on October 8, 2019

https://kotaku.com/blizzard-suspends-hearthstone-player-for-hong-kong-supp-1838864961

A Hearthstone player came out in support of the Hong Kong protests recently during a stream. Blizzard removed him from a competition, suspended him for a 12 years from competitive play, and rescinded his prize money for supposedly violating its official competition rules for the tournament. In my opinion, the rule itself reads more like an exit clause for when players engage in offensive or illegal acts, and it seems questionable as to whether a political statement is (or should be) caught under the rule.

It is noteworthy that Blizzard is partly-owned by a Chinese company and has a huge Chinese following. At the risk of sounding partial, it is disappointing to see one of the biggest video game companies whose mission statement is “Every Voice Matters”, kowtow to an oppressive regime. This is also interesting because right now the NBA and South Park are also embroiled in identical incidents, and both of those entities came off as more democratic and pro-Freedom of Expression, even though the NBA’s stance on this issue has been milquetoast at best.

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News of the Week; October 2, 2019

By Jon Festinger on October 7, 2019

GAMES

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

COMMUNICATIONS

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

DIGITAL

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

A.I.

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

PRIVACY

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

CREATIVITY

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

Jon

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Class 5 – 10/2/19; “Connecting Ourselves: Gamer Vulnerability in Virtual Realities – Part 1″ + “Loot Boxes” + “Law & the Virtual World”

By Jon Festinger on October 3, 2019

Video and slides above. A note on my slides…to make them fit the upload capacity of the servers I had to do some pruning of non-essentials including the “Last Year This Time” part of “News of the Week”. You will of course be able to see the missing pieces in the video and am happy to provide the missing slides to anyone who needs them.

Jon

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Loot Box Presentation – October 2, 2019

By Anant Sidhu, Chris Park, West Pryde on October 1, 2019

Hello class

We are presenting on loot boxes tomorrow and wanted to give you some contextual articles that could help you prepare for our presentation.

These are some optional readings. Please have a look at them, they are short. We will be touching on the history of loot boxes, the updates in the media about loot boxes and the laws governing loot boxes and gambling in various countries.

 

Thanks,

Anant Sidhu, Chris Park, West Pryde

 

A Video Game ‘Loot Box’ Offers Coveted Rewards, but Is It Gambling?

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/business/loot-boxes-video-games.html?fbclid=IwAR0ixm9m31LpTFfMZU4NuHPLPIZ8zD5WkH9TQGWxa41lzW8NU47QpIjJUDI

 

The evolution of loot boxes

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-evolution-of-loot-boxes/?fbclid=IwAR24aHL6iPyycB46lbkmjVmc2fEvlLzhGYCDEI-rAZYgpJVuzngVVYqwZ5E

 

Hooked on Loot Boxes 

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-02-28-hooked-on-loot-boxes?fbclid=IwAR1mSb4lY8uEZvMrxB1gJrgBxgLacST_Lt2-CtrsTD8Xd0WZQpAidQzgnYo

 

Star Wars Battlefront 2’s Loot Box Controversy Explained

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-battlefront-2s-loot-box-controversy-expl/1100-6455155/

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