Posts

GAMES

1. Cop won’t be charged in “swatting” death of Kansas man: Victim’s family is “devastated” by the decision, their lawyer says.
2. Blog: A legal analysis of the NetEase vs. PUBG lawsuit
3. In-Game Currency Triggers State Gambling Laws, Rendering Mobile Game “Illegal Gambling”
4. Patrick Soderlund: EA “can’t afford” another loot box controversy with Anthem – Newly promoted chief design officer promises publisher has learned from mistakes with Star Wars debacle
5. Loot boxes, skins gambling to hit $50 billion by 2022: Juniper Research “strongly recommends regulation for skin trading and gambling” in report covering growth of practices
6. Microsoft & other game companies win out in camera patent lawsuit
7. Patent lawsuit against Microsoft, EA, and Nintendo quashed at appeal: Federal court finds patent holder’s argument “unconvincing”
8. FTC warns that, yes, those warranty-voiding stickers on consoles are illegal
9. FTC warns about illegal warranties, likely including Nintendo and Sony: Federal Trade Commission states that companies are not allowed to force users to use specific service providers
10. Sophisticated APT surveillance malware comes to Google Play: Attackers pushing mobile surveillance-ware are stepping up their game.
11. Google Play under investigation by South Korea’s FTC over market abuse
12. Google Play faces allegations of market abuse in South Korea: South Korean FTC begins survey of mobile companies to uncover alleged abuses
13. Female game devs in South Korea are being harassed for feminist beliefs 
14. Cliff Bleszinski accuses Epic Games of stealing staff: Boss Key co-founder believes there is plenty of room in Battle Royale genre as Radical Heights gains momentum
15. SteamSpy creator warns PC market is once again open to abuse: “Imagine signing a basketball player without knowing his past performance,” posits Sergey Galyonkin
16. Valve’s SteamSpy snub will only hurt smaller developers: And thus begins a rant about digital data
17. Valve’s move against SteamSpy isn’t such a big deal, says No More Robots founder – Mike Rose: “There’s no doubt people right now are making games because they thought SteamSpy told them to”
18. Eugen Systems developers call an end to strike: “We have stopped striking… after more than a month a half, to conserve our resources for the future”
19. How Dlala survived the loss of a $3m Disney deal: CEO AJ Grand-Scrutton shares the cautionary tale of a studio whose life-changing game was scrapped without warning
20. Hollywood Should Make Movies That Grapple with Gamergate
21. Cheater! Billy Mitchell stripped of scores, banned from premiere scoreboard: Full investigation shows King of Kong star used emulators, not real hardware.
22. Billy Mitchell says he’s “not going to stop now” after scoreboard ban: Disgraced score-chaser promises witnesses, documents will redeem his name.
23. Devs can now pitch crowdfunded games based on D&D co-creator’s unpublished work
24. Estate of Dungeons & Dragons creator teams with crowdfunding/investment site for video game project
25. The accidental relevance of Wolfenstein: The New Colossus – MachineGames creative director Jens Matthies on when he realized his Nazi-killing game was going to be politically topical, and dealing honestly with Nazi ideology
26. God of War (2018): How to reinvent a beloved series without ruining what works – Kratos’ son avoids Scrappy-Doo syndrome amid more strategic melee brawling.
27. Reversing the sunk cost fallacy: Devs recount what shouldn’t have been cut
28. Win Mazda’s new iRacing challenge to get a test in an MX-5 race car: The winners of online and at-track rounds will compete at Daytona in 2019 for the test.
29. Spending On Games Up By 13% Among US Iphone Users: Games Account For Largest Share Of Apps Installed On Average User’s Device
30. Iron Harvest most successful video game Kickstarter in nearly a year: King Art Games’ crowdfunded project the first to break $1 million in 2018
31. Do gamers really care about cross-platform play?: GameTrack survey of European gamers shows indifference to the trend, and a lack of influence on purchasing decisions
32. With 2 million units sold, Shovel Knight generated the most income from Switch sales
33. Shovel Knight earns more revenue from Switch sales than any other platform: Yacht Club Games’ signature  title sells faster on Switch than any other console
34. Nintendo seeking startups to improve Switch hardware: Platform holder teams up with Scrum Ventures to source new add-ons and technology for hybrid console
35. Nintendo soliciting pitches from startups for innovative Switch tools and tech
36. Nintendo seeking startups to improve Switch hardware: Platform holder teams up with Scrum Ventures to source new add-ons and technology for hybrid console
37. Sega entering micro-console biz with Mega Drive Mini
38. Sega reveals Mega Drive Mini: Publisher’s entry into the mini console market begins with Japan-only release
39. Ex-PlayStation boss points to streaming as gaming’s next “inflection point”: Andrew House also sees emerging markets keeping physical media alive and console life-cycles long
40. EA shakes up executive team to ‘sharpen focus’ on creative core
41. Firing the middlemen: How blockchain can reshape digital distribution – Korrobox CEO Benjamin Huang discusses how the platform intends to eliminate costs of payment handling and fraud
42. Pro Evolution Soccer loses UEFA Champions League license: Konami ends its partnership with European tournament after a decade
43. Yoko Taro: We don’t need to think globally to sell globally – Nier Automata director and PlatinumGames lead designer Takahisa Taura discuss developing for Western tastes, 3D action games, and the dilemma of multiple endings
44. Dwarf Fortress is giving its dwarves the ability to form (and dwell on) memories
45. Hellblade wins big at 2018 BAFTAs as Edith Finch takes top honor
46. What Remains of Edith Finch beats out AAA giants to win the BAFTA for Best Game
47. A Way Out has sold over 1 million copies in two weeks
48. A Way Out sells 1 million in two weeks: Hazelight Studios’ EA Originals co-op prison break game wastes no time hitting milestone
49. Rainbow Six Siege has pulled in 30 million players
50. Rainbow Six Siege reaches 30 million registered players: Ubisoft’s multiplayer shooter goes from strength to strength
51. Life is Strange dev Dontnod headed toward an IPO
52. Terraria spin-off canned after three years in development
53. Counter-Strike pro player suspended over racist comment: Remarks “went beyond something being a genuine joke” says Faceit Pro League rep
54. Naomi Kyle Joins WatchMojo’s Gaming Channel With New Let’s Play Series
55. Twitch takes 82% of viewership hours for the top streaming titles in Q1: Esports content generated 11 per cent of all viewership hours across Twitch and YouTube
56. Twitch reportedly affected by IP address bans in Russia
57. Twitch Revamps Channel Analytics Dashboard As Part Of Yearlong Effort
58. Twitch signs multi-year deal with NBA 2K League: First media rights deal for the NBA and Take-Two’s esports endeavor will see up to 199 games aired live on streaming site
59. Battle Royale threatens a repeat of the MOBA bloodbath: With around a dozen Battle Royale titles set for release by the end of this year, developers need to be realistic about their chances of wresting market share from PUBG and Fortnite
60. Blog: Why Fortnite will fall, but battle royale will rise on mobile
61. Fortnite studio called out by Gears of Wardirector over hiring practices: Asks Epic to “please stop trying to hire away my team” – after major December defection.
62. Fortnite mobile nabbed $25M in revenue during its first month
63. Activision Blizzard enlists Nielsen for esports valuation: Tracking firm to assess value of sponsorship packages to see if brands are getting their money’s worth
64. Unikrn sets up cryptocurrency esports betting platform with acquisition of ChallengeMe.gg: “This is a big deal for me, for Unikrn and, honestly, for the entire gaming ecosystem,” says Unikrn CEO
65. Augmented and virtual reality consumer content market hits $3.2bn: Virtual reality install base expected to reach 75.7 million by 2021
66. How psychological experiments influenced the design of Vault 11 in Fallout: New Vegas 
67. Blog: Understanding the role of music in VR
68. The Young And The Reckless: A gang of teen hackers snatched the keys to Microsoft’s videogame empire. Then they went too far.
69. V&A Museum: Video games are approaching a cultural tipping point – Curator Marie Foulston discusses how the industry can help a wider range of people understand our full impact and potential, and get them to look beyond the blockbusters
70. A (slightly) different way to think about games and art
71. Communications Accessibility In Games: What Game Developers Need To Know
72. Crazy racing mash-up: Gamer vs driver in real cars, but with video-game views – Identical Ford Mustangs with the windows blacked out and an external camera to see.
73. Video: How the classic arcade game NBA Jam was designed 
74. How Xbox got its start — and its name
75. Exploring the rise and eventual fall of Xbox’s early teenage hacker

DIGITAL

1. Teen charged in Nova Scotia government breach says he had ‘no malicious intent’: 19-year-old says he believed documents were ‘free to just download’ from province’s FOIPOP web portal
2. Digital Disruption: How Should Canadian Regulators Respond?
3. 19-Year-Old Canadian Facing Criminal Charges For Downloading Publicly-Accessible Documents
4. Facebook must face class action over facial recognition, judge rules
5. Judge Clears Way for Major Class Action Suit Against Facebook Over Face Recognition 
6. Facebook’s Potential $70 billion Legal Challenge
7. Facebook Is Steering Users Away From Privacy Protections
8. Facebook Stops Funding Opposition to California Privacy Focused Ballot Act 
9. Why dictators love Facebook 
10. Congress Never Wanted to Regulate Facebook. Until Now
11. Facebook data transfers to be examined by EU court, Irish judge rules – Activist: “US law requires Facebook to help the NSA…and EU law prohibits just that.”
12. After Cambridge Analytica, Privacy Experts Get to Say ‘I Told You So’
13. This plan would regulate Facebook without going through Congress: How to rein in data collection without going through Congress
14. Zuckerberg’s New Hate Speech Plan: Out With the Court and In With the Code 
15. As Zuckerberg Smiles To Congress, Facebook Fights State Privacy Laws 
16. Tens of thousands of Facebook accounts compromised in days by malware: Professionally developed trojan posing as a stress reliever infects 40,000 PCs.
17. “Not too fond of Facebook”: A dating app removes its linked-profile requirement – Could be the first of many apps to dump FB requirements in wake of recent disclosures.
18. The problems with Facebook are inherent in its design, but that can change
19. Inverting The Expected Order Of Things, German Court Orders Facebook To Reinstate ‘Offensive’ Content
20. Is Facebook a Community? Digital Experts Weigh In
21. What Comes After The Social Media Empires: “Maybe we’ve reached the point where it’s not even possible to have Facebook in common.”
22. ‘One Has This Feeling of Having Contributed to Something That’s Gone Very Wrong’: A conversation with VR pioneer Jaron Lanier on Silicon Valley’s politics, being quoted by Mark Zuckerberg, and what went wrong with the internet.
23. This isn’t the first time a tech boom has interfered with democracy 
24. Watch Obama, Voiced By Jordan Peele, Warn Against Fake News In BuzzFeed Video
25. Singaporean Government Creates Fake News To Push Fake News Legislation 
26. Stealing Your Online Face – Online Truth Suffers Another Blow 
27. Actually, Social Media Isn’t An Echo Chamber
28. At-Home Dental Appliance Company Sues Website For Having Opinions About Its Products
29. Despite Repeated Evidence That It’s Unnecessary And Damaging, Trump Signs SESTA/FOSTA
30. Amended Complaint Filed Against Backpage… Now With SESTA/FOSTA
31. Backpage CEO pleads guilty to conspiracy, money laundering: Carl Ferrer agreed to end Backpage and help prosecution of his former co-workers.
32. Apple may debut its own news subscription service within the next year: An upgraded Apple News app could be home to the company’s trusted news sources.
33. Apple’s Infringement In $502M Security IP Row Willful: Jury
34. Apple memo warning employees about leaking gets leaked: Apple warns leakers that “they’re getting caught faster than ever.”
35. Apple’s Internal Memo Warning Employees Not To Leak To The Press Leaks To The Press
36. Apple plans to kill 32-bit app support on MacOS in the near future
37. U.S. iPhone users spent an average of $58 on apps and IAPs in 2017
38. The Wired Guide To Internet Addiction: Everything you ever wanted to know about screen time, likes, and pull-to-refresh.
39. Congress Enacts Law Creating a Sex Trafficking Exception From the Immunity Provided by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act
40. Ted Cruz Demands A Return Of The Fairness Doctrine, Which He Has Mocked In The Past, Due To Misunderstanding CDA 230 
41. Scott Pruitt has “at least four” official email addresses, senators say: According to The Washington Post, one of them is sooners7@epa.gov.
42. Court upholds clickwrap agreement, reiterating that general principles of contract apply 
43. How Android Phones Hide Missed Security Updates From You
44. LA Official Is Starting to Get Fed Up With Waze’s Habit of Directing Drivers Down a Death Slalom
45. A crummy drop-down menu appeared to kill dozens of mothers in Texas: This doesn’t mean maternal mortality in Texas or the US is OK. It’s still horrific.
46. Artificial intelligence and copyright
47. Algorithmic Accountability: A Primer
48. A.I. Engineers Must Open Their Designs To Democratic Control: When it comes to A.I., we need to keep humans in the loop.
49. AI Tool Helps Law Enforcement Find Victims of Human Trafficking
50. Lawmakers Want You to Be Able to Sue Robots
51. IKEA Furniture Tests Your Relationship, Also Robots
52. A Robot Does The Impossible: Assembling An Ikea Chair Without Having A Meltdown
53. Google works out a fascinating, slightly scary way for AI to isolate voices in a crowd: Google researchers try to replicate the “cocktail party effect” for computers.
54. Beyoncé Leads YouTube To Record-Setting 41 Million Viewers On Coachella Streams
55. Barcelona-Based YouTuber Faces Prison For Pranking Homeless Man With Doctored Oreos
56. Lawsuit Alleges That YouTube Star Poppy’s Shtick Was Stolen From Another Creator
57. Stupid Copyright: MLB Shuts Down Twitter Account Of Guy Who Shared Cool MLB Gifs
58. YouTube tackling creator monetisation issues new pilot scheme: Self certification “will make the monetisation process much smoother with fewer false positive demonetisations,” says YouTube CEO
59. YouTube demonetized my tuba videos (also, I make tuba videos): YouTube can’t decide if I can make money off my 10-year-old Legend of Zelda video or not.
60. Ex-YouTube Engineer Builds Site To Figure Out What Content The Video Site’s Algorithm Recommends
61. Citing Viewership Suppression, Philip DeFranco Again Says New Shows Won’t Be Distributed YouTube-First
62. YouTube’s Restrictions On Firearms Content Has Led A Gun Manufacturer To Sue A Creator 
63. YouTube TV Adds Cheddar, Cheddar Big News To Lineup, Marking First Digital-Native Channels
64. YouTube TV brings two Cheddar digital-only shows to its lineup: The financial media company will offer its finance and general news channels to YouTube’s live TV service.
65. Google Staffer’s Scrappy Design Becomes Healing Symbol After YouTube Shooting
66. Google refuses to fix Waze so it won’t route people on 32%-grade road
67. Hulu Keeps Pace With YouTube TV By Sponsoring NBA Playoffs
68. Sports Illustrated Launches SVOD Service On Roku, iOS, Android, And The Web
69. Formula 1’s streaming service goes live with the Spanish GP in May: You’ll need a browser to watch it at first, but mobile and TV apps are coming
70. Sports-Centric Skinny Bundle FuboTV Raises $75 Million From Fox, AMC, Sky
71. The Digital Afterlife is Open for Business. But It Needs Rules.
72. Beautycon Launches Content Pact With BET Ahead Of Sold-Out New York Event
73. FouseyTube To Enter Rehab For Addiction, Depression, And Bipolar Disorder
74. Ja Rule’s catastrophic Fyre Festival gets a documentary series on Hulu
75. Hulu Nabs Docuseries About The Infamous Fyre Festival Scam
76. 80% Of Netflix Viewership Comes From Licensed Content, Not Originals (Study)
77. Despite October 2017 Price Hike, Netflix Added 7.4 Million New Customers In Q1 2018
78. Netflix Bows Out Of Cannes After Festival Tells Streaming Services To Get Off Its Lawn
79. Netflix Sees Itself As The Anti-Apple
80. Comcast To Sell Netflix Subscriptions In False Belief This Will Slow Cord Cutting
81. Amazon and Best Buy team up to sell TVs, but it’s a risky move for Best Buy: Best Buy will carry TVs with Amazon software and will sell TVs on Amazon.com.
82. House of Lords issues report on digital advertising market 
83. $2 Million Allegedly Stolen From Cryptocurrency Vlogger in the Middle of His Livestream
84. Bitcoin heist suspect reportedly walked out of low-security prison, onto flight: Sindri Thor Stefansson had been arrested over theft of 600 bitcoin-mining computers.
85. New York’s Attorney General Begins Inquiry Into Cryptocurrency Practices
86. New York Attorney General Launches Inquiry into Cryptocurrency Exchanges 
87. Microsoft’s bid to secure the Internet of Things: Custom Linux, custom chips, Azure – This is Redmond’s first-ever Linux distribution.
88. Microsoft claims to make Chrome safer with new extension: A purported Edge advantage is now available in Chrome.
89. Welcome To The Wikipedia For Terms Of Service Agreements
90. Online-Transactions can trigger Specific Jurisdiction of U.S. Courts
91. Canada’s Tough Anti-Piracy Copyright Law: Federal Court Awards Millions in Damages Against Unauthorized Streaming Site (Michael Geist)
92. Digital Trends and Initiatives in Education: The Study the Association of Canadian Publishers Tried To Bury (Michael Geist)

CREATIVITY

1. The monkey selfie lawsuit lives: PETA and the photographer settled last year, but the Ninth Circuit will be issuing a ruling anyway
2. Citing monkey business, court refuses to toss simian selfie lawsuit
3. We Interrupt Today’s News With An Update From The Monkey Selfie Case
4. Oracle wins in US copyright case: consequences for EU software market?
5. Plaintiff Torpedoed with Attorneys’ Fees for “Objectively Unreasonable” Copyright Claim 
6. Broadway Producers Offer to Perform “To Kill a Mockingbird” in Court to Prove Faithfulness to Novel 
7. Barreau du Québec files bombshell motion: A motion filed by the Barreau du Québec and the Montreal Bar, argues that all of the province’s laws are illegal because they were drafted and adopted in French only.
8. “Weight Loss” vs. “Weight Management”: Vitamin Shoppe Sidesteps False Advertising Suit 
9. From East Coast to West Coast: Actresses Lose Right of Publicity Cases as Courts Rule in Favor of the First Amendment Rights of Content Creators
10. Three Parents of Sandy Hook Victims File Defamation Lawsuits Against InfoWars’ Alex Jones 
11. Sean Hannity was very concerned about conflicts of interest — until he had one
12. Sean Hannity’s Ties to Two More Trump-Connected Lawyers: The Fox News host denies that Michael Cohen was ever his lawyer—but Hannity was represented by a pair of legal advisers who also have close links to the president.
13. Time for Fox News to investigate Sean Hannity
14. “You Only Hire Cohen For One Reason”: Inside Fox News, Sean Hannity’s Michael Cohen Disclosure Stokes A Crisis As Murdoch Wavers On Trump – The revelation that Trump’s lawyer offered legal advice to Fox News’s biggest name was shocking
15. Fox News ‘surprised’ by Hannity’s relationship with Cohen, but stands by him
16. Levi’s Has Filed Trademark Suits Against Just About Everyone
17. NCAA In Tune with Dancing With the Stars  
18. Putting It In Writing: The Return Of The Morality Clause In The Age Of #MeToo And Time’s Up (Part I)
19. Putting It In Writing: The Return of The Morality Clause In The Age of #MeToo and Time’s Up (Part II)  
20. New Hampshire Court: First Amendment Says You Can Call A Patent Troll A Patent Troll
21. The Scientific Importance of Free Speech
22. Against Copyright Balance: Canadian Heritage Officials Say It’s Time “To Move Beyond the Notion of Balance” (Michael Geist)
23. Canadian Music Industry Confirms Once More That For Copyright Companies, Enough Is Never Enough
24. The Music Industry Now Wants To Creep Past Site-Blocking Into App-Blocking

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Former FCC Broadband Advisory Panel Chair Arrested For Fraud
2. Ajit Pai’s ex-broadband advisor arrested on charge of forging fiber contracts: Ex-CEO and committee chair accused of defrauding investors with fake contracts.
3. Broadband adviser picked by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai arrested on fraud charges: Elizabeth Pierce allegedly tricked investors into pouring $250 million into a fiber optic scheme by forging revenue agreements
4. Ajit Pai refuses Democrats’ request to revoke Sinclair broadcast licenses: Pai springs into action – and much faster than when Trump wanted to punish NBC.
5. Bad news for AT&T and Comcast: Calif. Senate panel OKs net neutrality bill – AT&T, cable lobbyists can’t convince Calif. senators to scrap net neutrality.
6. AT&T and cable lobby are terrified of a California net neutrality bill: ISPs hate California bill even more than the FCC rules they helped kill.
7. T-Mobile deceived customers with “false ring tones” on failed phone calls: FCC fines T-Mobile $40M for rural call failures but requires no refunds.
8. FCC to Look at the KidVid Rules in a Formal Proceeding Soon 
9. ACLU: If Americans Want Privacy & Net Neutrality, They Should Build Their Own Broadband Networks
10. The FCC’s ‘Broadband Advisory Council’ Keeps Losing Members Due To Cronyism
11. Commissioner Clyburn to Leave the FCC 
12. The FCC loses a fierce consumer advocate as Mignon Clyburn resigns: Clyburn, the “conscience” of FCC, advocated for net neutrality 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Bad News For ‘Privacy Shield’: As Expected, EU’s Top Court Will Examine Legality Of Sending Personal Data To US
2. California Bill Could Introduce A Constitutionally Questionable ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ In The US
3. Court Orders Google to Remove Results for Man’s Criminal Record Under “Right to be Forgotten”
4. Google attempted end run around Canadian courts fails, rules BC Judge in Equustek case 
5. UK High Court Hands Win To Claimant In Right To Be Forgotten Case
6. If Trump Is So Worried About Protecting Attorney-Client Privilege, He Should End The NSA’s Bulk Surveillance (And CPB Device Seizures)
7. How Government Pressure Has Turned Transparency Reports From Free Speech Celebrations To Censorship Celebrations
8. Gmail.com redesign includes self-destructing emails: Set expiration dates and password requirements on your sensitive emails.
9. In Trying To Ban Telegram, Russia Breaks The Internet
10. “Privacy is not for sale,” Telegram founder says after being banned in Russia: Russian authorities are demanding a universal key. Telegram says it doesn’t exist.
11. In effort to shut down Telegram, Russia blocks Amazon, Google network addresses: Russian censors up ante in effort to block secure chat by political opposition.
12. Russian hackers mass-exploit routers in homes, govs, and infrastructure: The hacks steal passwords and clear the way for future attacks, officials warn.
13. Inside the Decade-Long Russian Campaign to Infiltrate the NRA and Help Elect Trump: Femme fatales, lavish Moscow parties and dark money – how Russia worked the National Rifle Association
14. Open Letter On Ending Attacks On Security Research
15. Apps Are Illegally Stealing Children’s Privacy Data
16. FTC tightens reins around Uber following 2016 breach: Ride-hailing service waited a year to disclose hack that stole data of 25 million.
17. App Permissions Don’t Tell Us Nearly Enough About Our Apps
18. A Casino Was Hacked Thanks To The Internet Of Broken Things & A Fish Tank Thermometer
19. Cloudflare’s Plan To Protect The Whole Internet Comes Into Focus 
20. What does GDPR do?: Purewal & Partners’ Jas Purewal and Peter Lewin provide an overview of the imminent EU data protection regulation
21. What does GDPR mean for digital entertainment businesses?: In the second part of their GDPR guide, Purewal & Partners’ Jas Purewal and Peter Lewin offer advice and ten key tips for games companies
22. When Can Law Enforcement Look at Your Devices? A Definitive List
23. Inside The Unnerving Supply Chain Attack That Corrupted CCleaner
24. Facebook exits anti-privacy alliance it formed with Comcast and Google: Facebook gave $200K but will stop fighting CA law to restrict sale of user data.
25. Public Attention Forces Facebook To Retreat From Anti-Privacy Alliance With ISPs In California

Jon

GAMES

1. Lindsay Lohan loses Grand Theft Auto V lawsuit on appeal: It’s game over for the actress, as an appeals court finds a game character Lohan called her “unequivocal” likeness is rather a “generic … twentysomething woman.”
2. Lindsay Lohan’s GTA 5 Lawsuit Rejected Again: “We conclude…that the subject images are not recognizable as plaintiff.”
3. Court rejects Lindsay Lohan’s appeal in GTA V likeness lawsuit 
4. Loot box latest: Big Fish Casino decision reversed by US Court
5. Big Fish Casino constitutes illegal gambling under Washington law
6. Monolith removes loot boxes from Middle-earth: Shadow of War – Mechanic “risked undermining the heart of our game,” says developer
7. Developer removes randomized loot boxes from Middle-Earth: Shadow of War – Monolith says paid market “compromises” the game “even if you don’t buy anything.”
8. Shadow of War is being completely stripped of microtransactions
9. Social Casino Game Found to Be Illegal Gambling 
10. Judge Refuses to Dismiss Copyright Lawsuit Over LeBron James Tattoo in ‘NBA 2K’: Take-Two attempted to argue that its use of LeBron James’ tattoo was de minimis or fair use.
11. Judge Swain: Discovery Necessary to Determine “Fair Use” of NBA Tattoos in Video Game 
12. Take-Two Fails To Get NBA2K Tattoo Copyright Lawsuit Dismissed
13. Niantic settles Pokemon Go class action lawsuit for $1.5M
14. Niantic pays $1.6 million settlement over failed Pokemon Go event: Attendees can get reimbursed for incurred travel expenses.
15. Niantic settling Pokemon Go Fest lawsuit for $1.6 million – Report: Resolution will see developer reimburse travel costs for attendees of last year’s disastrous Chicago event
16. “Patent troll” doubles down, now accuses Clicker Heroes maker of libel – Lawyer for Playsaurus: “Stop sending baseless letters with draconian demands.”
17. IGF Award-winning Baba Is You cloned before it was even released
18. Eugen Systems devs hit out at management after six weeks on strike
19. Eugen Systems striking devs going to labour court: Employees initiating proceedings against Steel Division – Normandy 44 studio after six weeks with no progress in negotiations
20. Ageism: The issue never gets old – Veteran game developers share thoughts on how big a problem age discrimination actually is, and how to get around it
21. 69% of large UK games firms have bigger gender pay gap than national average: King and Rockstar added to database, based on businesses with 250 or more employees
22. Ubisoft’s plans to tackle toxicity in Rainbow Six: Siege – Permanent bans, mute text chat, chat filtering and team kill detection all in the works
23. To prevent toxicity, design games with community management in mind
24. Blog: It’s not me. It’s you – surviving a toxic workplace
25. Blizzard experiments with machine learning to fight Overwatch toxicity 
26. Blog: Working on controversial shooter Six Days in Fallujah
27. China’s Tencent Proves You Can Make A Decent Profit From Online Publishing — If You Have A Platform With A Billion Users
28. Twitch Streamer Ninja Draws Backlash For Using N-Word During ‘Fortnite’ Stream
29. Citing “Adjustments,” Twitch Lays Off Approximately 25 Employees
30. Twitch undergoes layoffs: Streaming site confirms “team adjustments in some departments,” plans to increase headcount by 30% this year
31. Research reveals most popular esports on Twitch: Nearly three times as many MOBA streamers than any other genre
32. Superdata: Fortnite has more monthly active users than GTA Online – Battle Royale game earned more additional content revenue than any other console title in February – except Call of Duty
33. Fortnite is taking over the sports world
34. World’s largest esports organisations sign up for Clash Royale League: 36 teams from North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America to compete in $1 million World Final
35. Gearing up for e-sport: Seizing opportunities and tackling legal issues
36. Competitive sniping game SpyPartyfinally hitting Steam after eight years: Could an indie game about psychological stare-downs truly emerge as an esports star?
37. It’s more than luck: what devs should keep in mind when creating an ‘indie hit’
38. Blog: Some notes on indie publishing 
39. The Rise Of Vsports: A New Category Of Sport Powered By Video Technology
40. A look at EA Sports’ push for more accessible sports games
41. Premium mobile game Hitman Sniper passes 10M players
42. Hitman Sniper passes 10m players: Mobile spin-off likely the best-selling entry in the series to date
43. The Nintendo Switch has surpassed 4M sales in Japan
44. Nintendo Switch reaches four million sold in Japan – report: Famitsu numbers put Nintendo’s console two weeks behind the Wii in hitting the milestone
45. Ni No Kuni developer Level-5 bringing all future main titles to Switch
46. Blog: How Breath of the Wild brings maturity to Nintendo’s game design
47. Ubisoft Extends IBM Watson Support for ‘Bridge Crew’ Through 2018
48. Far Cry 5 UK launch is the biggest in Far Cry history: Strong Easter sales all round for the boxed games market as Ubisoft ends March on a high
49. Anime Streaming Service Crunchyroll Releases Its First Game
50. Amazon officially benches Breakaway: Fantasy sports game no longer in active development as team focuses on other projects
51. Apple’s clones crackdown leads to App Store shrinking: Number of new iOS releases drops for the first time since marketplace launched in 2008
52. Steam Spy: $20 games took biggest share of Steam’s total revenue in 2017 – Sergey Galyonkin questions the power of $10 “sweet spot” for Steam prices
53. Valve: ‘Steam Machines aren’t exactly flying off shelves’
54. Valve says it’s “still working hard” on Linux gaming: SteamOS maker admits that “Steam machines aren’t exactly flying off the shelves.”
55. Valve hasn’t given up on Steam Machines: Company admits sales are slow, but says ‘store delisting’ is nothing more than routine cleanup
56. Valve quietly dials back Steam Machine presence on Steam
57. SteamSpy: $20 and $60 were the top-earning Steam game prices last year
58. Surviving a decade in indie dev: What’s kept Mommy’s Best Games going for 11 years? Nathan Fouts details 21 things that helped the Pig Eat Ball outfit get by, and might help others as well
59. Why is early stage funding tough to find for game start-ups?: Makers Fund founding partner Jay Chi wants to solve a shortage of Series A support in the market; portfolio includes Bossa, Typhoon, Tiny Build, Superdata, and more
60. “I’m not sure that games like this one can continue to be made…”: Where the Water Tastes Like Wine developer Johnnemann Nordhagen reflects on his game’s surprising commercial struggles
61. Asymmetric smashed West of Loathing sales target by halving launch price: Original $20 price tag would have discouraged impulse buys, says founder Zack Johnson
62. Indie comics platform Tapas Media embarks on major games push: Digital publisher keen to share its IP and fictional universes with developers across all platforms.
63. Assassin’s Creed’s New Discovery Mode Is What Museums Will Look Like In The Future
64. Everything you missed from GDC 2018: #1ReasonToBe, artificial intelligence, and the latest from Unreal and Unity were the hot topics in San Francisco this year
65. Despite faltering profits, hardware and software sales rise at GameStop 
66. GameStop annual income down by $300m due to fourth quarter “asset impairment”: Sales up 7.2 per cent to $9.2 billion with net income of $34.7 million
67. 10 Years Ago This Month: A swath of studio closures suggests how significantly the HD era upended the status quo
68. Record-breaking VR/AR start-ups raised over $3.6bn in last 12 months: Video games one of only two sectors to secure more than 10% of investment deals
69. Virtual reality could encourage pro-social behaviour and empathy in children: Parents aren’t convinced however, and just 38 per cent agree
70. HTC launching $1,100 starter kit to trim $150 off Vive Pro buy-in
71. New Vive Pro bundle cuts headset price by $100: HTC marks VR device’s second anniversary with new offer to clarify upgrade confusion
72. HTC Vive Pro review: Eye-popping VR, with a price that’s a little too real: Is a $799 upgrade price (or $1,099 brand-new) justified for this jump in quality?
73. Blockchain is games’ new tech obsession: Early tech adoption is part of the essence of the games industry – but proposals to integrate blockchain into companies’ businesses, not just their games, should give us pause
74. GDPR-K: How the kids data privacy law affects games publishers everywhere – SuperAwesome MD Max Bleyleben explains why it’s not enough to look for GDPR compliance – in the kids’ space, you also need GDPR-K compliance
75. PC Building Simulator is (most of) the fun of building a PC—without pricey GPUs: It’s not very challenging, but it nails the basics of building gaming PCs.
76. Experimental Controllers Could Change Gaming For Good
77. Warner Bros. steps up as Hitman publisher
78. Don’t Miss: How Slime Rancher succeeds through emergent storytelling
79. An actual gaming Easter egg was unlocked on an Atari Jaguar cartridge today: Modern-day publisher AtariAge confirmed secret has been hidden on carts for a year.
80. More than ‘Orcs in Space’: Devs measure the enduring influence of StarCraft
81. Ready Player One’s film adaptation isn’t even good enough as a kids movie: Everything here – character development, CGI, geek-cred references – disappoints.
82. Ready Player One Is A Virtually Empty Good Time
83. Blog: A postmortem on my game design degree

DIGITAL

1. Trump admin wants to track 14 million US visitors’ social media history
2. Republican governor forced to stop blocking Facebook users who criticize him: Maryland gov. settled free speech lawsuit – Trump is still fighting a similar suit.
3. US Might Start A Nuclear War… Because Iranians Wanted Access To Academic Papers Locked Behind A Paywall?
4. Facebook: It wasn’t 50M hit by Cambridge Analytica breach, but rather 87M – Also, Facebook will now delete all call and SMS logs older than one year.
5. Facebook Exposed 87 Million Users To Cambridge Analytica
6. Facebook executive defends memo saying connecting people online is good even if ‘someone dies in a terrorist attack’
7. Facebook Executive Defends Leaked Memo saying Growth Is Good Even If  ‘Domeone Dies In A Terror Attack’
8. Influencers are getting long-term contracts that treat them more like traditional talent: In a 2016 memo, Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth wrote “Maybe it costs a life by exposing someone to bullies.” Thursday, he renounced the statements.
9. With GDPR Decision, Zuckerberg Proves Yet Again He Has Learned Absolutely Nothing From the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
10. The Case For A Zuck-Free Facebook
11. Mark Zuckerberg will testify before Congress next week: Members of Congress want answers about the Cambridge Analytica scandal. 
12. Tim Cook Says Apple Would Never Have a Scandal Like Cambridge Analytica
13. A Short History Of Facebook’s Privacy Gaffes
14. Don’t Just Delete Facebook — Delete Well
15. Report: Facebook Staff Suddenly Concerned About Privacy, Specifically Theirs
16. CEO says Facebook will impose new EU privacy rules “everywhere”: “We have to ensure that everyone in our ecosystem protects people’s information.”
17. Mark Zuckerberg Hints Most Facebook Users Won’t Benefit From New Privacy Rules
18. Computer science faces an ethics crisis. The Cambridge Analytica scandal proves it.
19. Cambridge Analytica’s processing of Facebook’s users’ data for predictive psychological profiling and voter micro targeting: The 2018 ICO investigation against Cambridge Analytica’s practices on Facebookc – An international wake-up call
20. How Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook targeting model really worked
21. Facebook and Cambridge Analytica (Bruce Schneier)
22. Facebook’s New Data-Sharing Policies Are Crashing Tinder
23. Can Social Media Be Saved?
24. It Took All Of Three Hours To Code A Plugin That Makes News Comments More Civil
25. Four problems for news and democracy: Here are some “buckets” for making sense of why: addiction, economics, bad actors and known bugs (Ethan Zuckerman)
26. Oracle America, Inc. v. Google LLC 
27. Court Shows SESTA Is Not Needed: Says Backpage Can Lose Its CDA 230 Protections If It Helped Create Illegal Content 
28. Yet Another Court Says Victims Don’t Need SESTA/FOSTA To Go After Backpage 
29. Sex Workers Fighting Back Against SESTA/FOSTA With Their Own Social Network… And Plan To Expose Politicians
30. Yet Another Case Highlights Yet Another Constitutional Infirmity With The DMCA
31. Judge Blocks Iowa Town From Shutting Down Or Suing Resident Over His Critical Website
32. Court Says PACER System Is Illegally Using Fees
33. Lawyer Behind Failing Sham To Protect Sketchy Patents Sends Bogus Copyright Cease & Desist To Blogger
34. Conservative Wingnuts Celebrate Easter by Complaining About Google Doodles, Like Jesus Would
35. Google employees revolt, say company should shut down military drone project: Project applying Google’s image recognition to military drone footage causes uproar.
36. Court Tosses Dennis Prager’s Silly Lawsuit Against YouTube, Refuses His Request For Preliminary Injunction
37. Michigan State University Reportedly Spent $500k To Monitor The Social Media Accounts Of Larry Nassar’s Accusers And Journalists
38. YouTube Shooting Spree Injures 4, Kills 1
39. Police confirm one dead, three wounded after shooting at YouTube HQ
40. 4 Wounded, Suspect Dead Following Shooting At YouTube’s San Bruno Headquarters 
41. YouTube Shooter Nasim Aghdam Complained The Company Ruined Her Life
42. Police Say YouTube Policies Motivated Shooter 
43. YouTube shooter IDed as woman angry at site’s “age-restricted” policies
44. Tragic YouTube shooting casts new light on creators’ “adpocalypse” complaints: Alleged shooter left a video behind with complaints about revenue. What’s going on? 
45. What We Know About YouTube Shooter Nasim Aghdam
46. Livid over site’s policies, YouTube shooter trained for attack, shot randomly
47. As YouTube Cracks Down On Firearm Videos, Niche Video Platforms Look To Seize An Opportunity
48. Film Critic Chris Stuckmann Calls Out Universal For Abusing YouTube’s Copyright-Claiming System
49. Jake Paul Planning Talk Show For YouTube Red 
50. Influencers are getting long-term contracts that treat them more like traditional talent
51. Luis Fonsi And Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” Is The First YouTube Video To Receive Five Billion Views
52. Fullscreen Acquires Influencer-Marketing Firm Reelio 
53. DramaFever Names Rena Liu GM, Acquires Select ‘Bachelorette’ Streaming Rights
54. Quixotic Approaches To Circumventing Censorship, Using Books And Music
55. The Inside Story Of Reddit’s Redesign: Goodbye, dystopian Craigslist. There’s a new Reddit, and it’s all grown up.
56. Snapchat Lays Off Roughly 100 Staffers For The Second Time This Month
57. Snapchat Tries Explaining Itself To The Masses In First TV Commercial
58. Snapchat Expands Video Chats To Include 16 People At Once
59. Spotify And The Triumph Of The Subscription Model 
60. Disney To Launch $5 Monthly ESPN+ Streaming Service On April 12
61. ESPN To Combat Cord-Cutting By Putting Once Kinda Free Content Behind A New Paywall
62. Twitter to live stream weekly MLB games in renewed deal 
63. Twitter To Air Weekly MLB Games In Renewed Streaming Pact
64. NBA To Experiment With Cheap 4th Quarter Only Streaming Options
65. Uber Settles with Family of AV Crash Victim
66. Amazon Lost $53 Billion in One Day Because Trump Has Opinions
67. Here’s how President Trump could go after Amazon
68. Photographing A Robot Isn’t Just Point And Shoot
69. Russia Debuts Postal Drone, Which Immediately Crashes Into Wall
70. Emmanuel Macron Talks To Wired About France’s AI Strategy
71. Not Everything Needs Copyright: Lawyers Flip Out That Photos Taken By AI May Be Public Domain
72. Artificial Intelligence Rules More of Your Life. Who Rules AI?: Tech companies are working on standards for the field, though critics see their efforts as attempts to stave off government oversight
73. AI Engineers Must Open Their Designs To Democratic Control
74. Mini Brains Just Got Creepier – They’re Growing Their Own Veins
75. A Cruise self-driving car got a traffic ticket – GM says it did nothing wrong: Cruise says its car never came within 10 feet of a pedestrian.
76. Uber settles with family of woman killed by self-driving car, avoids lawsuit: Uber and family settle out of court after self-driving car hit pedestrian.
77. Tesla says Autopilot was active during fatal crash in Mountain View: Tesla argues the data still show Autopilot makes its cars safer.
78. What Can The Law Do About `Deepfake’?
79. How Grubhub Analyzed 4,000 Dishes To Predict Your Next Order
80. Elon Musk’s April Fools’ Prank Totally Backfired
81. JFK And The Right Of Publicity
82. When You Can Make ‘JFK’ Say Anything, What’s Stopping Him From Selling Doritos? 
83. FTC Targets Cryptocurrency Pyramid Schemes 
84. Google Bans All Cryptomining Extensions From The Chrome Store
85. Google bans cryptomining Chrome extensions because they refuse to play by the rules: Google continues to try to keep its browser running smoothly in spite of others’ efforts.
86. Banning cryptocurrency ads is “short-sighted”
87. Cryptocurrency Pays Price for Alleged Harm With Ad Ban
88. Two founders of cryptocurrency offering arrested, charged with fraud – Centra Tech’s lawyer said last year: “It’s certainly not a scam.”
89. Blockchain caught in regulatory crossfire: Without clearly defined regulations for products based on blockchain technology, the future of this industry remains uncertain
90. Ethical Obligations and Blogging: ABA Opinion Serves as Reminder 
91. The Condom Snorting Challenge Is Tide Pods’ Final Revenge
92. Witches, Frog-Gods, And The Deepening Schism Of Internet Religions
93. Reporting Sexual Harassment In The Digital Age
94. Apple Music update fills the void left by MTV with exclusive music videos
95. Insights: Apple Just Launched Its MTV, So When Will It Launch Its Netflix?
96. RIAA Reports Music Industry Is Making All The Money Just As New Study Says Piracy Has Never Been More Widespread
97. Hated Science Publisher Elsevier To Help EU Monitor Open Science – Including Open Access
98. The Wired Guide To Memes: Everything you ever wanted to know about Nyan Cat, Doge, and the art of the Rickroll.
99. Canadian Internet Law Update – 2017

CREATIVITY

1. Details announced for statutory review of Canada’s Copyright Act. Phased review projected to be completed in 2019.
2. Canadian Copyright Law Review Takes Shape: Report Not Expected Until 2019 (Michael Geist)
3. Storytellers and Artists May Continue To Rejoice – Feud: Bette and Joan Is Fully Protected By The First Amendment 
4. Malaysian Government Pushes ‘Fake News’ Bill Aimed At Curb-Stomping Reporting About Its Corruption
5. Court Says Scraping Websites And Creating Fake Profiles Can Be Protected By The First Amendment
6. School Sells Out Students’ First Amendment Rights, Apologizes And Deletes Article Containing Controversial Images
7. Judge Tosses Charges Against Journalist Who Published Docs Leaked To Her By A Police Officer
8. Report Alleges Ren & Stimpy Creator John Kricfalusi Took Advantage of Underage Girls Interested in Animation
9. Me Too Is Changing Even The Smarmiest Advertisers
10. Report: Dumb Beer Ad Phrase Banned From The Masters
11. How Do You Know You Are Reading This?
12. Levi v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.
13. De Becdelievre v. Anastasia Musical LLC 
14. Despite Podcast’s Popularity, “SERIAL” Trademark Registration Denied as Generic
15. University Of Illinois Attempts To Trademark Bully An Alumnus After Failing To Stop His Trademark Registration
16. Copyright – 2017 Year in Review
17. Black Panther Has Beaten Titanic to Become the Third Highest Grossing US Theatrical Release of All Time
18. 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted The Future – 50 Years Ago

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression: Website Blocking Plan “Raises Serious Inconsistencies” With Canada’s Human Rights Obligations (Michael Geist)
2. Conservative MP on Bell Site Blocking Plan: “Canadians Should be Concerned” (Michael Geist)
3. Telus’ Website Blocking Submission: No Copyright Expertise Needed and No Net Neutrality Violation if Everyone is Doing It (Michael Geist)
4. My CRTC Submission on the Bell Coalition Site Blocking Plan: Why it is Disproportionate, Harmful, and Inconsistent With Global Standards (Michael Geist)
5. Aussie Rightsholders Look To Feature Creep Site-Blocking To Search-Blocking, Because Of Course They Are
6. Canadian Ownership Rules in Telecom and Broadcasting
7. Supreme Court to Hear Appeal on Interaction between Arbitration Clauses and Class Proceedings: TELUS Communications Inc. v. Avraham Wellman 
8. Sinclair forced TV anchors to criticize “fake” news – and Trump loved it: Sinclair echoes Trump’s “fake news” claims while seeking US approval of a merger.
9. Ex-Fox News contributor: I was silenced on Russia because I didn’t back Trump
10. Ex-Fox News contributor says he was kept off air because he wouldn’t ‘unswervingly support President Trump‘ 
11. I was not allowed to be the voice of sanity on Russia at Fox News. I had to quit
12. One of Rachael Ray’s Companies Has Pulled Its Ads From Laura Ingraham’s Show 
13. A day after Laura Ingraham faced boycotts over taunting a Parkland survivor, she’s apologizing
14. Advertisers Continue Exodus After Parkland Survivor Rejects Laura Ingraham Apology: “#ShutUpAndBeObjective”
15. Laura Ingraham’s advertisers aren’t buying her apology, either
16. Fox News Host Laura Ingraham Is Going on ‘Vacation’ As Advertisers Bail 
17. How America’s Largest Local TV Owner Turned Its News Anchors Into Soldiers In Trump’s War On The Media 
18. This San Diego Radio Station Has Existed For A Month And Is Already A Disaster
19. Federal Court Curbs FCC Robocall Restrictions 
20. FCC Continues War on Pirate Radio – Seizes Equipment of Boston Stations While New Legislative Tools May Be on the Way 
21. Ajit Pai faces heat over proposal to take away poor people’s broadband plans: Pai offered no evidence that plan will boost network investment, Democrats say.
22. FCC Boss Under Fire For Facts-Optional Attack On Low-Income Broadband Programs
23. Super-Local Broadband May Be The Best Way to Preserve Net Neutrality
24. Telecom Lobbyists: We’ll Fight State Efforts To Protect Net Neutrality For A ‘United And Connected Future’
25. Comcast supports ban on paid prioritization – with an exception: Instead of total ban, Comcast wants exception for specialized services.
26. Comcast’s Top Lobbyist Is Pushing A Net Neutrality ‘Compromise’ That Isn’t
27. FCC approves SpaceX plan to launch 4,425 broadband satellites 
28. Charter fails to prove that its employees purposely caused cable outages: Charter lawsuit against union dismissed by judge as strike enters second year.
29. CenturyLink fights billing-fraud lawsuit by claiming that it has no customers: CenturyLink operates via subsidiaries that enforce mandatory arbitration clauses. 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1.  Yahoo! Cyber breach settlement gives shareholders cause for cheer 
2. DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Dump Microsoft Case, Let It Use New CLOUD Act To Demand Overseas Data
3. If You Jaywalk in China, Facial Recognition Means You’ll Walk Away With A Fine
4. Grindr won’t share users’ HIV status with app contractors after outcry
5. It’s Grindr’s Turn In The Barrel As America Finally Decides To Care About Consumer Privacy 
6. Truckers Take On Trump Over Electronic Surveillance Rules
7. Appeals Court Has No Problem With Cops Using E911 Services To Perform Warrantless, Real-Time Tracking 
8. Feds: There are hostile stingrays in DC, but we don’t know how to find them – There’s also “anomalous activity” – probably stingrays – in other US cities, too. 
9. Want to hack a voting machine? Hack the voting machine vendor first: How password reuse and third-party breaches leave voting machine vendors vulnerable to attack.
10. The Billion-Dollar Hacking Group Behind A String Of Big Breaches
11. Beware The Academic Vanity Honeypot: How a hacker weaponized flattery and took over my Twitter account. 
12. What Happens When You Track Your Boyfriend On Strava
13. Hacking your brain(scan): security bugs in EEG software open hospitals to attack – Cisco Talos reveals “multiple vulnerabilities” in hardware common at hospitals.
14. Finally extradited from Europe, suspected LinkedIn hacker faces US charges
15. Coming Soon (or at least by November): Government Sets a Date for Data Breach Disclosure Rules To Take Effect (Michael Geist)
16. Practical Approaches to Big Data Privacy Over Time (Micah Altman, Alexandra Wood, David R. O’Brien and Urs Gasser)

Jon

GAMES

1. Star Control legal battle intensifies as alleged settlement offer surfaces: Stardock’s “unfathomable” demands reportedly include surrender of IP rights, a public apology, $225,000 and a five-year development ban
2. Stardock responds to Star Control designers’ settlement offer claims: Developer’s VP shares original proposal, clarifies company’s position on Star Control IP rights
3. Rare cancels planned Sea of Thieves“death cost” after player complaints: “Thanks for the feedback here. We’re listening,” says developer.
4. Microsoft says Sea of Thieves sold well, even without counting Game Pass copies
5. Gran Turismo Sport ad misrepresented offline content, rules UK ad authority
6. ASA upholds complaint levelled against Sony over misleading Gran Turismo ad: Sony reprimanded for failing to specify that the “majority” of the game was unavailable without an internet connection
7. Sony cuts price of PlayStation VR Camera bundle by $100
8. PlayStation VR receives $100 price cut: Sony’s headset now cheapest on the market
9. PlayStation VR now costs $100 less: $650 now gets you “all in” for VR with console, headset, controllers, and game.
10. Oculus Go world premiere: Acceptable compromises, amazing quality for $199: A legitimate 3D VR device, so long as you accept its tracking limitations.
11. New Vive Pro owners will pay $1,250, including needed accessories: Online “Starter Kit” bundle saves just $80 over a la carte pricing.
12. Square Enix kills unsanctioned Tomb Raider remakes: “Our recent research, studies and reviews on Tomb Raider 3 were unwelcome,” says developer Realtech VR
13. Everything a VR studio had to do to port to the Mac: Apple talks a lot about AR, but how does the Mac fare for VR? We asked Survios devs.
14. #1ReasonToBe: “Listen to the people you do not hear, because they’re not allowed to speak” – Rami Ismail’s GDC panel explored development in Madagascar, the Philippines, Colombia and beyond
15. #ThirdWorldProblems: How to not get a visa for GDC – Gwen Foster, one of the #1ReasonToBe speakers denied a visa, on being treated with “diplomatic hostility” in a global industry
16. GDC 2018 breaks attendance record: 28,000 industry professionals attended last week’s show in San Francisco; dates announced for 2019 GDC and VRDC
17. Splatoon creator: “Fan art and live events are part of the world of the game” – How Nintendo’s most recent super franchise was born
18. Here’s how Nintendo chooses its indie partners on Switch
19. Nintendo’s advice for indies trying to get games on Switch: Platform holder’s warns that Switch will remain a “closed dev environment” for now
20. The Nintendo King And The Midlife Crisis
21. Josef Fares hopes A Way Out inspires more risks in AAA games: The director also discusses his relationship with EA, and ambitions to follow in the footsteps of Naughty Dog
22. Google Play announces Change the Game Design Challenge: $10,000 college scholarship up for grabs in design contest
23. EA has taught an AI how to play Battlefield 1 multiplayer
24. EA’s SEED builds AI capable of teaching itself to play Battlefield I: “As deep learning technology matures, I expect self-learning agents to be part of the games themselves, as truly intelligent NPCs,” says SEED technical director
25. Blog: Are hybrid AIs the answer to better video game AI?
26. Casey Neistat: Twitch’s Monetization Model Feels “So Much More Fair” Than YouTube’s
27. Sea of Thieves attracts two million players in first week: Rare’s shared world pirate adventure also drives streaming and Xbox Live friendship figures
28. Xbox, Twitch, Blizzard, Riot and more form Fair Play Alliance to combat toxic players: “We envision a world where games are free of harassment, discrimination and abuse”
29. Culturalisation, and why Microsoft rewrote history for Korea: Geogrify’s Kate Edwards discusses how to tailor your game for global appeal – and what to do if you inadvertently cause offence
30. Microsoft tweaks Code of Conduct for Xbox and other platforms
31. Microsoft takes a stand against “offensive language” on Xbox Services: Amended Services Agreement will use suspensions and bans to fight toxic behaviour
32. Analysis: A closer look at MidBoss’ chaotic, hostile work environment
33. MidBoss CEO accused of exploitative practices, sexual harassment: “I’ve made some major mistakes,” says Matt Conn of 2064: Read Only Memories studio and GaymerX organizer
34. Elements of games industry “fundamentally broken” says IGDA president: Round table discussion on unions highlights employee grievances
35. Game developers push for unionization amid insecure positions, excessive OT: “Game Workers Unite” push leads to some contentious discussions.
36. IGDA head on the problems with unions: Jen MacLean discusses challenges she sees to organized labor in games, attributes horror stories like 38 Studios to human nature and “wishful thinking”
37. Developers need a better advocate: The IGDA is supposed to be looking out for developers’ interests, but it doesn’t have the resources or the leverage to do it effectively
38. Rovio proposes pay cuts for chairman and owner amid financial worries: Investor disappointing and sub-par game performances spell salary shake-up at Angry Birds firm
39. GAME revenue up but profits tumble
40. WholesGame launches wholesaler price comparison site: The Wholesale Video Games Marketplace is among the first of its kind for buyers and sellers of wholesale games
41. Breath of the Wild takes top prize at the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards!
42. Zelda: Breath of the Wild triumphs at Game Developers Choice Awards – Multiple wins also secured by Gorogoa and Cuphead at San Francisco ceremony
43. DDR, Half-Life, and Minecraft among 2018 World Video Game Hall of Fame nominees
44. SteamSpy creator says 2017 was Valve’s most profitable year yet
45. SteamSpy: The top 100 games on Steam accounted for 50% of sales revenue last year – Valves generates record-breaking $4.3bn in 2017
46. Valve to open source networking tool for devs, Steam not required
47. Live-action Street Fighter TV series in the works following Capcom and eOne deal: Team behind web series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist brought on board to executive produce
48. Why Fortnite Is Not An Esport Despite The Drake/Ninja Publicity
49. Fortnite dominates both Twitch and YouTube, according to latest figures: Epic Games’ battle royale generates $5.3m in first ten days on iOS
50. 100-player Fortnite livestream held on YouTube hit 1M views
51. 1.1 Million YouTube Viewers Tune Into ‘Fortnite’ Live Stream Led By Spanish Gamer El Rubius
52. For Ubisoft it’s goodbye Vivendi, hello Tencent: China’s largest technology company, Tencent, is taking on 5% of Ubisoft – continuing its progress into becoming by far the largest game company most gamers have never heard of
53. Tencent pleased with ‘strong growth’ of mobile and PC games
54. Ubisoft Pulls Plug on IBM Watson Integration in ‘Star Trek: Bridge Crew’
55. Ubisoft opens two new studios in India and Ukraine
56. Ubisoft opens new studios in India and Ukraine: New development units in Mumbai and Odesa
57. Creative Director on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Dean Evans leaves Ubisoft
58. Eye Tracking Is Coming To VR Sooner Than You Think. What Now?
59. Oculus Affirms Commitment to Rift, Believes PC Will Lead the VR Industry for the Next Decade
60. Snap Inc acquires British VR and software startup PlayCanvas: Snapchat capitalises on success of its AR platform as move toward VR looks likely
61. What A Real Wedding In A Virtual Space Says About The Future: They met in VR. They fell in love in VR. They tied the knot in VR. Here’s a glimpse into the future of relationships.
62. The decade-long journey of a single mother into the games industry – Kick Alley Soccer: The augmented reality app that was ten years too early
63. PlayFusion partnership brings augmented reality capabilities to CryEngine: Enhanced Reality Engine is industry’s “most feature-rich and performant AR technology,” says Crytek CEO
64. Crytek partners with PlayFusion to bring mixed reality tools to CryEngine
65. Games industry to benefit from UK government’s £150m Creative Industires deal: £33m promised for the funding of immersive tech such as VR, £1.5m added to UK Games Fund
66. Games London initiative nets $1.7M investment from London mayor 
67. Sadiq Khan aims to attract £30m for developers with new Games London investment: City mayor pledges £1.2m for London Games Festival organisers, ensuring three more years of events
68. Tomorrow’s best video games may be private, offline experiences: Ars Live in conversation with award-winning game designer Tracy Fullerton.
69. The making of Dark Castle: An excerpt from The Secret History of Mac Gaming
70. The Mac gaming console that time forgot: From the new book, The Secret History of Mac Gaming, remember Project Pippin?
71. NBA Jam, Sonic 1, Ultima Online remembered with rare stories, concept art
72. “Don’t get cocky”: The story of Ratchet and Clank’s 15-year survival – Adapt or Die and staying true to your heritage is a difficult balance to strike, says Insomniac
73. Unity releases engine and editor source code through GitHub
74. Blog: Defining accessibility in game design
75. Google Play partners with Girls Make Games for design competition
76. Google offers 15,000 online scholarships to new and seasoned African devs
77. How (and why) you should better represent Muslims in your games
78. LGBTQ devs & players speak up about the need for authentic queer culture in games
79. Devs should make it easier to play shooters without firing guns
80. Laralyn McWilliams on rediscovering creativity following trauma
81. Blog: Conveying the nuances of disorders like Tourette’s through game design
82. How the creator of SimCity helped save Psychonauts: In a heartfelt speech, Tim Schafer recalls Will Wright’s crucial generosity.

DIGITAL

1. Appeals court revives Oracle’s billion-dollar copyright claim against Google
2. The Case That Never Ends: Oracle Wins Latest Round vs. Google
3. Oracle America Inc. V Google LLC
4. Insanity Wins As Appeals Court Overturns Google’s Fair Use Victory For Java APIs
5. The Federal Circuit’s Judicial Hypocrisy In Overturning Jury Concerning Java API Fair Use Question 
6. 9th Circuit Appeals Court Recognizes That DMCA Repeat Infringer Policies Must Be Flexible
7. Founder Of Fan-Subtitle Site ‘Undertexter’ Loses Copyright Infringement Appeal
8. DOJ Indicts 9 Iranians For Brazen Cyberattacks Against 144 US Universities
9. Nine Iranians indicted by US for hacking to steal research data: “Password spraying” attack gave Mabna group access to 32TB of diverse research data.
10. Security Researcher At The Center Of Emoji-Gate Heading Home After Feds Drop Five Felony Charges
11. Best Buy walks away from Huawei, leaving it with zero US retail partners: Spying concerns have now totally shut down Huawei’s retail presence. 
12. Tumblr Finally Breaks Its Silence On Russian Propaganda
13. Tumblr finally names the 84 accounts it says were Russian trolls: Tumblr says it “helped indict 13 people who worked for” Internet Research Agency.
14. DNC “lone hacker” Guccifer 2.0 pegged as Russian spy after opsec fail: “Hacktivist” logged into a social media account from an IP address at GRU HQ in Moscow.
15. How the U.S. Can Play Cyber-Offense: Deterrence Isn’t Enough
16. Judge Dismisses Conservative Organization PragerU’s Censorship Case Against YouTube
17. The NRA Quadrupled Its Digital Ad Budget After Parkland Killings, Flooding Facebook and YouTube
18. YouTube expands firearms restrictions, more gun videos to be banned: Some gun-related channels are already feeling the heat.
19. Only 10% Of Affiliate Links On YouTube Are Being Disclosed, Princeton Study Finds
20. What lies beneath: The things Facebook knows go beyond user data – Op-ed – With Facebook, you’re not the customer. You’re the product.
21. Facebook cracks down on “platform abuse” following Cambridge Analytica debacle: Social media giant announces five key implementations
22. Cambridge Analytica’s London offices raided by British investigators
23. Forget Cambridge Analytica. What about Facebook’s role in ethnic strife and genocide?
24. Cambridge Analytica breach results in lawsuits filed by angry Facebook users: “Facebook lies within the penumbra of blame,” Maryland woman claims.
25. Facebook accused of massive fraud in new lawsuit filed by Cook County – Lawyer: “Facebook… is the largest data mining operation in existence.”
26. Deleting Facebook? Here Are The Best Alternatives For What You’ll Miss
27. Tesla and SpaceX just scrubbed their Facebook pages: In a Twitter exchange, Musk says Tesla’s Facebook page “looked lame anyway.” 
28. What To Look For In Your Facebook Data – And How To Find It
29. Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Dr. Kogan and my data protection analysis
30. The Cambridge Analytica Data Apocalypse Was Predicted In 2007 
31. Facebook scraped call, text message data for years from Android phones: Maybe check your data archive to see if Facebook’s algorithms know who you called.
32. Facebook Logs Text, Call Histories for Some Android Users: Company says it never sells the data nor does it see the content of the messages or calls
33. Mark Zuckerberg Finally Speaks About Cambridge Analytica; It Won’t Be Enough
34. Tim Cook Takes His Turn to Dunk on Facebook, Backing Data Privacy Regulations 
35. Tim Cook is throwing lots of shade — first at Amazon, then at Mark Zuckerberg
36. Tim Cook says Apple’s customers are not its product, unlike Facebook: “The truth is, we could make a ton of money if we monetized our customer.”
37. Mark Zuckerberg requested to testify to Congress about Facebook/Cambridge Analytica Privacy  
38. What Congress Should Ask Mark Zuckerberg: They’re going to need a long session. 
39. Hey Mark Zuckerberg: Don’t Lock Down Everyone’s Data, Open It Up To Services That Give Your Users More Control Over Their Data
40. It’s Official: The FTC Is Investigating Facebook
41. The Facebook Privacy Setting That Doesn’t Do Anything At All
42. Wherein Facebook Loses Recess For Everyone
43. Facebook Working With Comcast To Scuttle California Broadband Privacy Protections
44. Facebook will (soon) yank third-party ad data in the name of privacy: “We want to let advertisers know that we will be shutting down Partner Categories.”
45. Insights: Zayonara, Zuck! It’s Time For A New Facebook CEO
46. Facebook is limiting developers’ access to account data – here’s how that will impact them
47. Was Facebook wrong? Or the university that let our data go?
48. Cambridge Analytica academic’s work upset university colleagues: Emails reveal rows over Aleksandr Kogan’s ‘get rich quick scheme’ with Facebook data
49. Schiff invites professor accused of harvesting Facebook data to testify
50. Information commissioners are seen searching Cambridge Analytica’s London offices as it is revealed Facebook gave information about 57 billion friendship connections to academic in privacy scandal: Dr. Aleksandr Kogan was given data on 57bn Facebook friendships worldwide
51. Facebook co-authored report with Dr Kogan hailed by Cambridge University
52. University says it has ‘no connection’ with Cambridge Analytica as lecturer caught up in data scandal
53. Facebook’s New Data Restrictions Will Handcuff Even Honest Researchers
54. Start treating private personal data on Facebook like medical data: It’s just as sensitive to nefarious manipulation
55. Facebook reportedly delaying smart speaker launch in wake of data outrage: Now might not be the best time for an always-listening Facebook device.
56. This Is So Much Bigger Than Facebook (Ethan Zuckerman)
57. Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica problems are nothing compared to what’s coming for all of online publishing (Doc Searl)
58. It’s not just Facebook. Thousands of companies are spying on you (Bruce Schneier) 
59. Facebook Did Not Kill Privacy, It Was Already Dead (Andres Guadamuz) 
60. Twitter Nukes American Attorney’s Tweet About Unflattering Depiction Of Turkish President
61. The Next Cold War Is Here, And It’s All About Data
62. What Are ‘Data Brokers,’ and Why Are They Scooping Up Information About You?: These sites you haven’t heard of are sharing boatloads of data about you.
63. Court of Appeal considers when material posted on Facebook is published for the purposes of defamation 
64. Court approves website seizure and Anton Piller order against online copyright piracy platform
65. Bill Expands Corporate Liability for Human Trafficking to Social Media Companies
66. Personalisation in retail: what are the key legal issues?
67. SESTA’s First Victim: Craigslist Shuts Down Personals Section
68. Craigslist Is Shutting Down Its Personals Section
69. Craigslist missed connections: The consummate Internet casualty?
70. Craigslist personals, some subreddits disappear after FOSTA passage – EFF: “Online platforms will have little choice but to become much more restrictive.”
71. Tweet tweet! Not so fast! Copyright Issues Ahead!
72. Apple Streaming Service To Launch As Early As March 2019
73. Apple may surpass $1B content budget, new shows could debut in March 2019: Around the same time that Disney plans to reveal its own streaming service.
74. Apple makes iOS more school-friendly with ClassKit educational framework: New tools give teachers, students, and administrators more power in the classroom.
75. Apple targets education with new iPad hardware: New iPad and Apple Pencil will be cheaper for schools, and allow teachers to use app market for education
76. Analysis: New iPads will help Apple in education but probably not enough – Apple painted a beautiful picture of tech and school today in Chicago.
77. How Apple Lost Its Place In The Classroom
78. A critical analysis of the latest cellphone safety scare: In which we describe how we decided not to cover the newest cellphone-cancer study.
79. Deep learning: Why it’s time for AI to get philosophical – For years, science fiction writers have spelled out the technological marvels and doomsday scenarios that might result from artificial intelligence. Now that it’s a part of our lives.
80. Once Again, Algorithms Can’t Tell The Difference Between ‘Bad Stuff’ And ‘Reporting About Bad Stuff’
81. A Window Into How YouTube Trains AI To Moderate Videos
82. Workers Enlisted By YouTube For AI-Training Efforts Make 10 Cents A Task To Analyze Videos
83. You won’t own copyright in photos taken with Google’s new camera
84. YouTube Becomes Top-Grossing iPhone App For First Time On Strength Of YouTube Red, Super Chat 
85. YouTube TV Becomes Presenting Sponsor Of NBA Finals
86. YouTube TV Will Be The Presenting Sponsor Of This Year’s NBA Finals
87. Formula 1 starts this weekend, so where’s that new streaming service?: It apparently needs more “stress tests,” with no fixed date for a launch.
88. YouTube Says It Now Reaches 80% Of All Internet Users In India
89. YouTube Boxing King KSI: Unfortunately, Drama Is Always Going To Be An Eye-Catcher
90. Some Creators Are Mad At YouTube Over Live Streaming Notifications
91. No, YouTube’s “trolls” won’t destroy Wikipedia
92. Italian Court Rules The Wikimedia Foundation Is Just A Hosting Provider For Wikipedia’s Volunteer-Written Articles
93. Google starts blocking “uncertified” Android devices from logging in: Custom ROM users get a way out, but noobs with pirated apps will be out of luck.
94. Google throws publishers a bone with News Initiative
95. 38% Of Gen Z And Millennials Trust Digital Influencers, Says Fullscreen Study
96. The Rise In Streaming Video Exclusives Could Annoy Consumers, Driving Them Back To Piracy
97. You Can Pay To Watch Single Games On New Bleacher Report Streaming Service 
98. Endeavor Buys NeuLion In $250 Million Cash Deal
99. Police chief said Uber victim “came from the shadows” – don’t believe it: YouTube videos give a different impression of the site of a deadly Uber crash.
100. Uber’s Video Shows The Arizona Crash Victim Probably Didn’t Cause Crash, Human Behind The Wheel Not Paying Attention
101. Arizona Bans Ub’s Autonomous Vehicles Following Pedestrian Death
102. Arizona Bans Self-Driving Car Tests; Still Ignores How Many Pedestrians Get Killed
103. Uber, losing $1 billion a quarter, sells its Southeast Asian business: The deal could help Uber slow 2017’s $1 billion-per-quarter burn rate.
104. Uber stops AV testing “indefinitely” in California, Pennsylvania, and Toronto: Uber must provide new analysis in wake of Arizona crash if it seeks to renew.
105. Why it’s time for Uber to get out of the self-driving car business: Uber’s self-driving car project would be stronger outside Uber.
106. Tesla stock falls 12% on crash investigation, debt downgrade: It’s unknown if Tesla’s Autopilot was engaged at the time of the crash.
107. Chrissy Teigen Becomes Third Major Celeb To Proclaim Snapchat Defection
108. NBA tests micropayments livestreaming offering
109. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Details Plan To Sell Short Game Segments
110. Cybersecurity Uncertainty for Cryptocurrencies
111. The Dark Web’s Favorite Currency Is Less Untraceable Than It Seems
112. Cannes Film Festival Shuts Netflix And Other Streamers Out Of Palme D’Or Competition
113. Cannes Bans Netflix Films From Competition Because The Internet Is Bad (Or Something)
114. What Oversharing On Social Media Taught Me About Parenting 
115. Transparency: What’s Gone Wrong with Social Media and What Can We Do About It?
116. What Are Screens Doing To Our Eyes—And Our Ability To See?: Our eyes are hardening; we can barely see our phones anymore. We must learn to look at the wider world. 

CREATIVITY

1. Federal Court of Appeal Rejects Access Copyright Bid to Overturn Board Ruling on Insubstantial Copying, Fair Dealing (Michael Geist)
2. ‘Blurred Lines’ Verdict Upheld by Appeals Court 
3. The ‘Blurred Lines’ Appeal Failed — Now What?
4. ‘Blurred Lines’ copyright ruling is a ‘devastating blow’ and sets dangerous precedent for musicians, judge warns: Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said ‘Blurred Lines’ and Marvin Gaye’s song ‘Got To Give It Up’ ‘differed in melody, harmony and rhythm’
5. Blurred Lines Between Inspiration and Infringement: Ninth Circuit Holds “Blurred Lines” Infringes Copyright
6. Bob Murray Sends Judge Whiny Letter Saying That Losing Case To John Oliver Is Making People Say Mean Things To Him
7. Tenth Circuit Issues A Troubling Ruling Limiting New Mexico’s Anti-SLAPP Statute In Federal Court 
8. TVEyes Television Watch Service Not Protected by Fair Use
9. Eyeing the Line for Fair Use
10. Ninth Circuit Reviews Copyright Infringement Suit Over ‘Jumpman’ Logo
11. Jumpman Logo Ruling Is a Slam Dunk for Nike
12. Tinder takes a swipe at Bumble with IP action
13. Subject Of Unflattering News Story Gets Journalist Arrested For Criminal Harassment
14. Spanish Hate/Anti-Terrorism Speech Laws Doing Little But Locking Up Comedians, Artists, And Dissidents
15. UN Advisor Tells Italy To Drop Its Terrible ‘Fake News’ Law Before It Does Any Real Damage
16. Trump’s Lawyer’s Lawyer Threatens Defamation Over Claims Stormy Daniels Did Not Make
17. Brexit & IP: Finally, some real news…
18. This Disney/Pixar Bracket Is Tearing the Internet Apart, So Tear It Some More and Show Us Yours 
19. What The World Would Look Like Scrubbed Free Of Advertising

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Coalition Featuring Google, Amazon, GoDaddy and CogecoPeer1 Warn Against Canadian Site Blocking Plan: Lost Jobs, Stifled Innovation (Michael Geist)
2. Outlier, Part 2: What is the CBC Doing Supporting Website Blocking? (Michael Geist)
3. For Ottawa, CRTC decision marks another failed effort at fixing wireless affordability (Michael Geist)
4. Back to Bains: Why the CRTC Has Left Fixing Canada’s Wireless Woes to the Government (Michael Geist)
5. Religious Terms Used as Expletives Not in Violation of Broadcast Code, Says Canadian Broadcast Standards Council
6. Cable Companies Warn In Court That AT&T Time Warner Merger Will Be Absolutely Terrible For Competition And Consumers
7. AT&T/Verizon lobbyists to “aggressively” sue states that enact net neutrality: ISPs will sue to block net neutrality laws until they get one they like.
8. Senators Say The FCC’s Broadband Maps are a Bad Joke
9. FCC Adopts Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Looking to Simplify Sale of Satellite TV Stations 
10. FCC says it will block Chinese technology to protect national security: Huawei and ZTE gear would be banned in FCC-funded broadband projects.
11. The FCC’s Evidence-Optional Blacklist Of Huawei Is About Protectionism, Not National Security
12. With April Fools’ Day Coming Up, Plan Your On-Air Pranks with Care – Remember the FCC Hoax Rule  
13. Consolidated Net Neutrality Appeal Transferred to D.C. Circuit
14. The Fall Of The TV Family In Trump’s America
15. Propaganda reigns in the ‘ethical wasteland’ of mass media: Recently, I left Fox News, where I’d been at home for a decade, because I believed that its prime-time line-up had become a propaganda arm for a wanton president. – But my despair over Fox does n
16. Analog Regulators Can’t Keep Up With the Digital Age

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Kim Dotcom Wins Human Rights Tribunal Case Over Kiwi Government Withholding Info
2. Second Circuit rejects fair-use defence for online service allowing users to watch Fox News content
3. FBI didn’t fully know its own capabilities during showdown with Apple: FBI Office of the Inspector General offers critique of how agency handled 2016 case.
4. FBI Officials Were Angry That An iPhone Hack Blocked Them From Getting Court To Force Apple To Break Encryption
5. DOJ Back To Pushing For Legislation Targeting Encryption
6. Feds pushing new plan for encrypted mobile device unlocks via court order: “Weakening security makes no sense,” top Apple VP tells Ars.
7. Remember the Right to Be Forgotten? Google Does
8. What US-Based Companies Need to Know About the GDPR, and Why Now?
9. Thousands of servers found leaking 750MB worth of passwords and keys
10. Atlanta city government systems down due to ransomware attack
11. CIA releases rules and materials for its training board games
12. CIA’s in-house board games can now be yours thanks to FOIA request: After SXSW 2017 reveal, CIA releases buckets of marked-up board game design notes.

Jon

GAMES

1. White House meeting over violent video games accomplished little, say attendees 
2. Opinion: Trump’s video game ‘summit’ reminds us who the enemy is
3. Trump’s Video Game Summit: Developers On One Side, Partisan Hack Puritan Cosplayers On The Other
4. After industry meeting, Trump highlights alleged game violence effects: Democrats accuse president of using games to “change the subject” from gun control.
5. IGDA: Blaming gun violence on games is a distraction, but a chance to educate  
6. Yelling at “scumbags” – inside the White House’s last gaming violence summit: When gaming executives meet the executive branch, the discussion can get a bit bumpy.
7. What to expect from Trump’s game industry summit today: Attendee list suggests a vigorous debate between pro- and anti-gaming voices.
8. These are the people attending the White House’s game violence meeting
9. ZeniMax, Take Two CEOs to meet with President Trump: White House sources have confirmed two attendees of today’s meeting on gun violence
10. Trump meeting with game execs yields “significant progress” – Legislator: Missouri Representative Vicky Hartzler gives her assessment as ESA thanks president for “receptive and comprehensive approach”
11. Trump White House’s Horribly Violent Video-Game Reel Goes Viral
12. This alternate montage challenges the White House’s violent games reel 
13. Watch the industry’s response to Trump’s violent video games reel: Games For Change compiles montage of beautiful and emotional moments from The Last of Us, Zelda, Minecraft, Abzu and more
14. Devs of violent games in White House reel “should be ashamed” – Spector: Warren Spector calls supercut of gory titles “simply disgusting,” says those titles hurt the industry
15. ‘The American Dream’ Parodies US Gun Culture, Launching This Week at a Key Moment in Gun Rights Debate
16. What would Trump’s trade war mean for the games business?: The high-profile summit on game violence is a paper tiger; the industry should take the opportunity to persuade the President on trade issues instead
17. Super Seducer blocked from release on PlayStation 4: The BBC has claimed that Sony “banned” the controversial seduction game
18. “Dating coach” game Super Seducer barred from PlayStation 4: Available on Steam, game using live-action video to “teach” pick-up techniques.
19. Voice-acting rights halt effort to put Fallout 3 inside Fallout 4: Converting licensed vocal files falls into a legal gray area.
20. Fortnite Players Are Getting Fraudulent Charges For Hundreds Of Dollars
21. Fortnite players receiving refunds after accounts were hacked  
22. Fortnite’s cross-platform play will not work between Xbox and PlayStation: Sony appears to be the holdout again as Epic’s multiplayer hit adds cross-play between PC, Mac, console and new mobile versions
23. Fortnite Battle Royale will have the “same gameplay” on mobile devices: PS4 and Xbox One can play with PC/mobile, but not with each other.
24. Blog: Making a multiplayer PC game playable cross-platform on PS4
25. Microsoft claims Sony is stopping Xbox One and PS4 cross-play
26. ModDB has restored and relaunched GameFront
27. Fully restored GameFront relaunches: Modding hub is back online after two years, with completely restored content and new features
28. Game Developer Embraces Modding Community So Much They Made Their Work An Official Release
29. PUBG Corp acquires MadGlory to enable community developer tools: New subsidiary will launch online portal for custom-made APIs, matchmaking engines and esports systems
30. PUBG is third highest-earning Steam game of all time, according to Gabe Newell: Valve boss points to Bluehole’s phenomenon as proof of how Steam benefits the industry
31. Op-Ed: Australia’s gambling crackdown signals choppy waters for loot boxes
32. Happy Wars shutting down Xbox 360 and PC servers this year
33. Devs celebrate women game devs on International Women’s Day
34. Here’s how the games industry is honouring International Women’s Day: We round up all the events and other activities video games firms are hosting to celebrate women everywhere
35. Ubisoft and Microsoft Women in Gaming panel pushes for clarity on how feminism fits into gaming
36. Female Overwatch League host receives death threats over Women’s Day tweet: Soe ‘Soembie’ Gschwind-Penski besieged on social media for thanking supportive men
37. Overwatch League team releases twice-banned player: Dallas Fuel cuts ties with Félix “xQc” Lengyel after he follows up suspension for homophobia with suspension for racism
38. Red Bull announces UK’s largest public esports studio: Studio launches later this month in partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers, Noblechairs, and Newegg
39. This Stadium In China Is Built Exclusively For Esports
40. Violent video games not welcome for Olympic esports consideration: Overwatch and Call of Duty won’t be Olympic sports any time soon.
41. Alibaba backs non-violent esports for Olympic inclusion
42. Alibaba to focus on non-violent games for Olympic esports bid: First-party publishers of violent games will be “suspected of only pushing your games for your own benefit”
43. NHL Announces First Esports Draw With EA Sports Game
44. EA adds 6 Warner Bros. published games to Origin Access
45. EA adds WBIE to Origin Access: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment becomes first major external publisher added to subscription game service
46. Twitch is getting into the ‘free games for subscribers’ business 
47. Kixeye raises $20M to blend machine learning and game marketing
48. Facebook opens up its Instant Games platform to all devs
49. Dotemu opens new publishing label to support small creative devs
50. Valve adds optional ‘Plus’ paid subscription to free-to-playDota 2
51. Jason Rohrer’s “off-Steam” gamble paid off: The indie designer released his new game outside of Valve’s platform, and it eclipsed sales of his last Steam release in one week
52. Indie devs weigh the pros and cons of forgoing a Steam release
53. Analysts: Games responsible for 80% of all mobile app spending in 2017
54. Could games development transition to a complete outsource model?
55. FoxNext opens new studio to create story-driven titles
56. What’s the story at Wooga?: CEO Jens Begemann explains the reasoning for the casual games studio’s plan to focus on story-driven games
57. Call of Duty goes early to avoid Red Dead clash: Activision releasing Black Ops 4 a full month earlier than usual as Rockstar’s next is set to dominate Q4 – but will others follow?
58. Dune II and the three rules of a good licensed game
59. Oculus has a fix for the mass Oculus Rift outage
60. Oculus Publishes Repair Tool to Patch Debilitating Rift Error, Offers $15 Store Credit
61. Cities: Skylines has sold 5M copies on PC alone
62. Nintendo rescues quiet February for UK games retail
63. 3DS lifecycle extends to 2019 with Nintendo Direct surprise announcements: Luigi’s Mansion remake, new WarioWare and Bowser’s Inside Story bolsters handheld’s line-up for the next 12 months
64. Nintendo announces a bunch of 2018 games, but none as big as Switch Smash Bros.: Nintendo Direct video includes lots of ports coming to Switch, 3DS, as well.
65. Nintendo inks deal with YoYo to bring GameMaker Studio 2 games to Switch
66. Street Fighter collection revives rare multiplayer mode for Switch
67. Don’t Miss: How Nintendo designed the inviting mini-world of Animal Crossing
68. Why you should (and shouldn’t) port your mobile game to the Switch: EEDAR senior analyst Matt Diener finds that Switch players are big mobile spenders – will that lead to successful mobile adaptations?
69. Google Maps transforms into Mario Kart for Mario Day  
70. Google announces new open source multiplayer server Agones
71. Devs can now use Google Maps API to build their own game worlds
72. How to Turn Google Maps Into Mario Kart
73. Gabe Newell: Valve has always been a ‘bit jealous’ of companies like Nintendo 
74. Dota 2 card game “the first of several games” coming from Valve: Gabe Newell’s company now has “ability to develop hardware and software simultaneously”
75. Valve’s making games again: Hands-on with Artifact’s digital trading cards – Newell: “Artifact is to trading card games what Half-Life 2 was to single-player action.”
76. Valve introduces subscription model to Dota 2: $3.99 a month subscription “an evolution of the Majors Battle Pass” says Valve
77. Valve lets us loose in its new offices, unlocks the doors to a rare merch room: Valve recently moved to new offices, so we took every photo we were allowed.
78. BitGuild announces blockchain platform for online games: “The implications of having a true gaming network built on the blockchain are nearly limitless,” says CEO
79. Tencent invests up to $1bn into streaming services within 24 hours: Chinese giant poured $632m into Douyu and led a $461m funding round into its rival Huya
80. Kixeye secures $20m funding for machine learning platform: Mobile firm claims tech optimises gameplay and monetisation to solve the ‘one-hit wonder problem’
81. Looking at open world games to understand player autonomy
82. Report: Fruit Ninja creator Halfbrick cuts workforce by 50 percent
83. Outpost wants to mix games with reality TV: CEO Wright Bagwell says incorporating an audience and fame leaderboards into the studio’s SOS survival game “radically changes” player behavior
84. HQ Trivia raises $15 million in funding: Growing trivia game platform offers real-money prizes, is now worth $100 million
85. Microsoft Shows New Research in Haptics With ‘CLAW’ VR Controller Prototype
86. Valve launches VR resolution auto-optimization tool for SteamVR
87. Steam will now auto-scale VR resolution to max out your GPU: New feature aims to “take the headset out of the equation for [VR] developers.”
88. Eyes-on with the HTC Vive Pro: Not a revolution, but also more than resolution – We take a closer look at a Ready Player One event during SXSW.
89. Skyrim VR is coming to PC, and it marks a Bethesda first: Oculus approval 
90. The First Reactions to Ready Player One Are Mostly Positive… Mostly
91. The Princeton Review reveals the best schools in the world for game design: University of Southern California and the Southern Methodist University ranked top for the second year in a row
92. Meet the dev who sold his house to make a 100% for-charity game

DIGITAL

1. Back to B.C.: Court Re-examines Google Takedown Order In Light of U.S. Ruling (Michael Geist)
2. College Athletes Appeal to Seventh Circuit Against FanDuel’s and DraftKings’ Use of Images 
3. How Isis And Russia Won Friends And Manufactured Crowds: The Islamic State built a global brand using the power of social media. Now, Russia is following a similar playbook—and it’s all too easy.
4. Russian Propaganda Remains On Reddit
5. House Committee Report Highlights Russian Use of Social Media to Disrupt Pipeline Projects
6. Russia Censors News Reports About Anti-Putin Ice Graffiti, Leaving Its Contents Entirely Up To Our Collective Imagination
7. Rian Johnson: Russian Bots Targeted Star Wars: The Last Jedi to Save General Hux
8. If The US Government Can’t Figure Out Who’s A Russian Troll, Why Should It Expect Internet Companies To Do So? 
9. Egypt sets up hotline for complaints against ‘fake news’: Egypt’s government press centre has called BBC report on human rights abuses ‘fake news’
10. Bad Actors Are Using Social Media Exactly As Designed
11. The spread of true and false news online (Soroush Vosoughi, Deb Roy, & Sinan Aral)
12. The science of fake news (David M. J. Lazer, Matthew A. Baum, Yochai Benkler, Adam J. Berinsky, Kelly M. Greenhill, Filippo Menczer, Miriam J. Metzger, Brendan Nyhan, Gordon Pennycook, David Rothschild, Michael Schudson, Steven A. Sloman, Cass R. Sunstein, Emily A. Thorson, Duncan J. Watts, Jonathan L. Zittrain)
13. When WhatsApp’s Fake News Problem Threatens Public Health
14. Be The (Online) Change You Want To See 
15. Trump Issues Order to Block Broadcom’s Takeover of Qualcomm
16. Trump issues order blocking Broadcom takeover of Qualcomm, citing national security 
17. President Trump blocks $117 billion Qualcomm takeover: Singaporean rival Broadcom prevented from buying US chip firm over “national security” concerns
18. President Trump blocks Broadcom takeover of Qualcomm despite re-domiciliation efforts
19. President Trump halts Broadcom’s bid for Qualcomm, citing “national security”: Last week, Treasury official argued deal would let China dominate 5G development.
20. Is China Discriminating against U.S. Firms Related to Technology Transfer, IP, Trade Secrets, and Innovation? 
21. Court documents reveal 238 gender discrimination and harassment complaints filed against Microsoft: Microsoft facing lawsuit over “unchecked gender bias that pervades its corporate culture”
22. “Women at Microsoft are sexualized by their male managers,” lawsuit alleges: Of 108 gender discrimination complaints, Microsoft concluded just one was legit.
23. Microsoft Helps Get A Computer Recycler Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison For Offering Unapproved Recovery Disks
24. YouTube Shows Dennis Prager’s Claim Of Discrimination Against Conservatives Is Laughable
25. YouTube Will Link Directly To Wikipedia To Fight Conspiracy Theories
26. YouTube To Clamp Down On Conspiracy Theories With Wikipedia-Sourced Text Boxes
27. Wikimedia’s Transparency Report: Guys, We’re A Wiki, Don’t Demand We Take Stuff Down
28. It’s Not Just The US — The Indian YouTube Community Has a Fake News Problem, Too
29. Twitter’s Attempt To Clean Up Spammers Meant That People Sarcastically Tweeting ‘Kill Me’ Were Suspended 
30. Rage against the Machine! CMA sets up a new on data unit to investigate online anti-competitive behaviour
31. Five Senators Agree: Search Engines Should Censor Drug Information 
32. Cannabis website to California: Section 230 protects us from your demands – Prof: “It is difficult to see how Weedmaps could be held liable for these ads.”
33. More People Realizing That SESTA Will Do A Lot More Harm Than Good
34. Just As Everyone’s Starting To Worry About ‘Deepfake’ Porn Videos, SESTA Will Make The Problem Worse
35. If You Think SESTA Will Help Victims Of Sex Trafficking, Read This Now
36. Sex Workers And Survivors Raising The Alarm About SESTA: It Will Literally Put Their Lives In Danger
37. Sri Lanka Blocked Facebook This Week for Allegedly Spreading Hate Speech and Violence
38. News Publishers Ask For Monopoly Powers To Fight Back Against Google/Facebook Monopoly
39. Facebook Didn’t Kill Online Sketch Comedy—The Entire Internet Did
40. Facebook has signed a deal to stream 25 afternoon MLB games
41. Facebook Watch Will Exclusively Air 25 Weekday MLB Games In 2018
42. Facebook Reportedly Pays At Least $30 Million For Rights For 25 Weekday Afternoon MLB Games
43. MLS, Twitter Announce Three-Year Live Streaming Deal
44. YouTube TV Wants To Woo Sports Fans, So It Will Sponsor Two More World Series
45. Judge Rules In YouTube’s Favor In Zombie Go Boom’s Adpocalypse Lawsuit
46. YouTube Reptile Vlogger Charged With 23 Counts of Illegally Possessing Venomous Snakes
47. YouTube’s Robert Kyncl On Logan Paul Controversy: “We Should Have Done Better”
48. YouTube Star Jake Paul Talks To Marco Rubio, Pledges $25,000 In Quest To Stop School Shootings
49. YouTube’s Human Moderators Will See Limited Four-Hour Shifts To Preserve Their Sanity
50. The Price Of YouTube TV Is Officially Up To $40 Per Month, With Existing Customers Grandfathered In
51. Penny’s Notes on the Rising Influence of Influencers
52. Vice CEO Shane Smith To Be Replaced By Former A&E Chief Nancy Dubuc (Report)
53. How To Make A Clean Break With The Clingiest Social Networks
54. Today’s Debate Over Online Porn Started Decades Ago
55. Ad-Blocker Ghostery Just Went Open Source – And Has A New Business Model
56. AI Has A Hallucination Problem That’s Proving Tough To Fix
57. The Quest To Make A Robotic Cat Walk With Artificial Neurons
58. It’s Really Hard to Give AI “Common Sense”
59. Four AI composition tools easy enough to soundtrack your film masterpiece: AI creativity now extends to music composition tools that anyone can access.
60. Come Harvest Time, Who Owns the Fruits of Machine Learning? 
61. Sierra Leone Just Held the World’s First Blockchain-Powered Election 
62. Bitcoin Is Ridiculous. Blockchain Is Dangerous
63. Is The Blockchain Hype Over? (Andres Guadamuz)
64. Beware the use of crypto-currencies
65. Cryptocurrencies fall as Google announces ad ban: Facebook banned ads for cryptocurrency from its ad networks in January.
66. There’s a currency miner in the Mac App Store, and Apple seems OK with it: Popular Calendar 2 app mines Monero by default, but at least it discloses it. 
67. Taxation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
68. The Obamas Are In “Advanced Negotiations” With Netflix For Political Series Slate
69. Netflix may sign the Obamas in exclusive content deal: Apple and Amazon are reportedly also interested in working with the former president.
70. Netflix Piloting Feature That Lets Kids Earn Virtual Rewards For Streaming
71. Spotify Enlists Its Users to Add Music Metadata
72. Killing The Golden Goose (Again); How The Copyright Stranglehold Dooms Spotify
73. Apple is acquiring the Netflix of magazines: The service had “hundreds of thousands” of subscribers as of 2016.
74. Apple Buys Texture, the Netflix for Magazines
75. Eddy Cue On Apple’s Video Vision: Unlike Netflix, “We’re Not After Quantity”
76. Operation Bayonet: Inside The Sting That Hijacked An Entire Dark Web Drug Market 
77. The Long-Awaited Interactive Adaptation Of ‘WarGames’ Has Premiered 
78. Inside The Vatican’s First-Ever Hackathon

CREATIVITY

1. The Supreme Court’s Decision in Livent: a Framework for Deciding Auditor’s Negligence Cases 
2. Can Mattel be prevented from making its own Frida Kahlo Barbie doll?
3. Playboy Decides Not To Appeal Silly Boing Boing Lawsuit In The Most Petulant Manner Possible
4. Copyright, Censorship, Pepe & Infowars
5. Pay attention to the “moral rights” of visual artists  
6. Research Shows That Published Versions Of Papers In Costly Academic Titles Add Almost Nothing To The Freely-Available Preprints They Are Based On 
7. Court Orders Copyright Troll To Post $10,000 Bond After He Lied About His Client’s Licensing Agreement
8. Domain names: getting real 
9. Federal Judge Says Business Names Provided By Reviewers At A Review Site Are Contributory Trademark Infringement
10. Nevada Supreme Court Overturns Lower Court’s Abysmal Ruling On Las Vegas Shooting Coroner’s Reports
11. Iowa Town Threatens Critical Resident With A Lawsuit, Gets Sued By The ACLU Instead
12. Trump’s Lawyers Apparently Unfamiliar With Streisand Effect Or 1st Amendment’s Limits On Prior Restraint
13. Is Jediism a recognized religion in Canada?

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, The Finale (Michael Geist) 
2. Why Canadians oppose blacklisting “pirate” websites
3. FCC must defend net neutrality repeal in court against dozens of litigants: Lawsuits filed by tech firms, states, and advocates were merged into one suit.
4. States Take Sides on Net Neutrality
5. Calif. weighs toughest net neutrality law in US—with ban on paid zero-rating: Bill would recreate core FCC net neutrality rules and be tougher on zero-rating. 
6. Telecom Lobbyists Whine About State Net Neutrality Efforts They Helped Create 
7. Terrified Of Losing In Court, ISPs (With Senator John Kennedy’s Help) Push Hard For A Fake Net Neutrality Law
8. When slow downloads hit an app developer, only Comcast customers suffered: Comcast and Cogent fight again, and customers lose with slow Internet service.
9. Comcast gets FCC’s help in $3.5 million battle against small cable company: Wave Broadband paid Comcast millions and won’t get refund; FCC rejects complaint.
10. Verizon Forced To Briefly Give A Damn About Its Neglected Broadband Networks
11. Verizon agrees to fix failing broadband networks to settle investigation: Verizon will fix NY copper lines and potentially upgrade more than 30,000 homes.
12. AT&T/Time Warner merger will raise TV bills $436 million a year, US says: AT&T scoffs at “insubstantial 45-cent monthly increase, all of 0.4% per bill.”
13. ‘Intense distress’: Lawsuit from Seth Rich’s parents details trauma from Fox News hatchet job
14. Cable’s Top Lobbyist Again Calls For Hyper Regulation Of Silicon Valley
15. When Monsters Exaggerate 
16. Broadcasting: A Key Brexit Priority
17. Pakistan Court Declares Mobile Data Disconnections By The Government Illegal

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. California district court rules social media company cannot dismiss non-users’ facial scan privacy claims 
2. TSA accused of searching domestic travelers’ devices with no warrant: TSA has failed to fully respond to FOIA requests from the ACLU.
3. FBI Documents Show More Evidence Of Agency’s Sketchy Relationship With Best Buy’s Geek Squad
4. FBI Director Says It’s ‘Not Impossible’ To Create Compromised Encryption That’s Still Secure
5. Yahoo’s ToS limitations of liabilities challenged in Cyberbreach of 3 billion users! 
6. Judge Says Yahoo Still On The Hook For Multiple Claims Related To Three Billion Compromised Email Accounts
7. There Are No Guardrails on Our Privacy Dystopia: If tech is going to infiltrate, influence, and shape all of society, it is unacceptable for tech and pure market forces to decide the limits of the surveillance state.
8. Potent malware that hid for six years spread through routers: Nation-sponsored Slingshot is one of the most advanced attack platforms ever.
9. Senior ex-Equifax executive charged with insider trading: CIO allegedly sold $1 million worth of stock 10 days before public learned of breach.
10. Router-Hacking ‘Slingshot’ Spy Operation Compromised More Than 100 Targets
11. Weighing Privacy vs. Security For The Internet’s Address Book
12. Keeper Security Reminds Everyone Why You Shouldn’t Use It; Doubles Down On Suing Journalist

Jon

GAMES

1. Star Control devs file counterclaim against Stardock over IP ownership
2. Star Control countersuit aims to invalidate Stardock’s trademarks: Stardock claims Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III didn’t even create the classic games.
3. Twitch Interactive, Inc. v. Justin Johnston, Et Al.
4. Trump decries violent games after school shooting: US president raises concerns about the internet, games, and movies during a meeting on school safety
5. Trump Blames School Shootings On Violent Video Games, Movies; Suggests We Need Some Sort Of Rating System For Them
6. President Trump: “We have to do something” about violent video games, movies: Parkland student who plays Call of Duty responds: “That’s just a really pathetic excuse.”
7. Right On Time: Kentucky Governor Lays The Blame For Florida School Shooting At The Feet Of Video Games
8. Rhode Island might tax violent games to fund mental health programs
9. Rhode Island politician proposes violent game tax: 10% sales tax on M-rated games would pay for mental health and counselling resources in schools
10. Game Studio Threatens Employees’ Jobs If They Don’t Write Positive Reviews Of Own Game, Then Steam Pulls Game Entirely
11. ESRB defends “fun” loot boxes as it starts labeling all “in-game purchases”: New label doesn’t specifically call out loot boxes to avoid “overwhelming” parents.
12. ESRB to add ‘In-Game Purchase’ label to games featuring loot boxes
13. ESRB responds to loot box controversy with in-game purchase label: Rating board to add new indicator on physical games when players can spend money from within the game
14. Riot reveals the odds and rules that power League of Legends loot boxes
15. Hooked on loot boxes: The industry’s push for engagement at all costs is ready to backfire as it misunderstands the concern over a controversial mechanic
16. League of Legends dev Riot Games details how it ensures fairer loot box odds: Leading MOBA studio is the latest to share drop rates as scrutiny over monetisation continues
17. Nintendo’s eShop refund policy found to violate European consumer rights: Norwegian Consumer Council asks Nintendo to bring its policy in line with European law
18. Game Studio Found To Install Malware DRM On Customers’ Machines, Defends Itself, Then Apologizes
19. ESA Comes Out Against Allowing Museums To Curate Online Video Games For Posterity
20. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild big winner at DICE Awards
21. Zelda and Nintendo clean up at the DICE Awards
22. Breath of the Wild wins four including GOTY, while Nintendo was involved with a further seven winners
23. In the age of the Switch, the Nintendo 3DS refuses to die: Despite Switch success, older portable is still popular, especially in the US.
24. Nintendo: letting our fans review video games might not be a good idea – Change comes only five days after Nintendo caught up with rivals’ review systems.
25. Nintendo Pulls Switch Game User Reviews
26. Nintendo Adds User Reviews, Immediately Pulls Them
27. Nintendo is letting players review Switch games on its official website
28. Nintendo’s disappointing year on mobile: Smartphone games are proving to be a challenge for Nintendo – and the problems are more basic than a failure to embrace F2P
29. Sega’s Yakuza 6 demo accidentally included the full game: Lucky downloaders got the entire game well ahead of April 17 release.
30. The state of iOS game development, according to the creators of Alto’s Odyssey: From Metal to Android, Ryan Cash, Jason Medeiros, and Eli Cymet talk shop.
31. Star Control creators file counterclaim against Stardock: Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III seek an injunction, but Stardock CEO responds that its ownership position is “incontestable”
32. Rebellion trademark clash compels Ballistic Interactive to change game name: Upcoming RPG Hellhunter will now be released as HellSign, Sherdians lawyer warns indies to check trademarks
33. Double Fine’s indie publishing biz aims to grow and help devs ‘rise above the noise’
34. Blog: Random advice on how to survive as an indie studio
35. “There’s no excuse for unequal pay”: Leading UK games organisations discuss the importance of ensuring employees of any gender are paid fairly as claims against major non-games firms rise
36. Former EA devs reflect on work culture 14 years after EA Spouse 
37. Facebook launches Women in Gaming site to share stories, research, and tools
38. Facebook launches #SheTalksGames initiative to promote women in video games: Women In Gaming Stories is designed to encourage more women into the games business, and into leadership roles
39. Twitch Partners With Non-Profit On ‘BroadcastHER’ Grants To Support Female Gamers
40. 1,000 Dreams in partnership with Twitch to support female streamers: Plans to raise money for BroadcastHER Grant through Women’s History Month streaming event
41. PAX producer ReedPOP acquires Gamer Network
42. Over half of games journalists see a future co-existing with influencers: 15% view influencers as a “significant threat” to games journalism
43. NPD: US games business had its best January since 2011- Monster Hunter World was the best-selling game in a month where dollar spend reached $1.1 billion
44. NPD Group: U.S. video game hardware sales topped 1M in January
45. PlayStation Plus will stop offering PS3 and Vita games in 2019 
46. Almost $9bn spent on digital games in January – Superdata: Research firm also reports PUBG and Fortnite generated $200m in revenue last month
47. Australians spent AU$3.23bn on video games in 2017: IGEA data shows AU$1bn on physical hardware and software, console sales up 36% year-on-year
48. Metacritic ranks Bethesda as top-rated big publisher of 2017: Nicalis takes top-spot for best mid-sized publisher while EA comes in at fifth place after it “fell precipitously” last year
49. Are video games immune to cryptocurrency failure?: 46% of 2017 ICOs have already failed, but most games-based projects seem to be ongoing
50. UK Charts: Metal Gear Survive debuts at No.6 – £25 spin-off game fails to have a big impact on the charts
51. Horizon Zero Dawn has sold over 7.6M copies worldwide
52. Metal Gear Survive is The Rebirth And Death Of Metal Gear
53. Warcraft III receives major patch ahead of first ever Invitational
54. Critical Force: “Mobile will become more and more important to esports” – CEO Veli-Pekka Piirainen on how patient community building and emerging markets helped Critical Ops to reach one million daily players
55. Newzoo lays down ten key factors that will determine the growth of esports: “Crunch time for esports as it enters adolescence,” says market intelligence firm
56. Esports Monetization Platform FanAI Has Cleveland Cavaliers’ Backing
57. Discord expands verified server program to eSports teams
58. Vision Esports secures $38M to ramp up investment efforts
59. Vision Esports raises $38 million in funding: Round led by Evolution Media featured contributions from numerous star professional athletes
60. GamersOrigin, LDLC Event et l’Olympique lyonnais: les trois premières sociétés agréées pour l’emploi de joueurs professionnels de jeux vidéo compétitifs
61. Overwatch: Building an esport from the ground up
62. H1Z1 player base declines by 91% months before launch of pro league: Concurrent players down to 9,000 from peak of 150,000
63. Smite esports leagues will be exclusive to Microsoft’s Mixer: Xbox streaming service to showcase both the Pro and Console series for Hi-Rez’s fantasy MOBA
64. Augmented and mixed reality revenue to overtake VR by 2021: AR/MR revenue expected to double to $3.2 billion this year
65. Facebook pulls VR shooting demo from display at CPAC: “We regret that we failed to do so in the first place,” says Facebook VP of VR
66. Augmented and mixed reality revenue to surpass VR by 2021
67. Google opens up ARCore access as SDK exits preview
68. Rovio’s value halves following investor exodus: Angry Birds developer cites spiralling user acquisition cost for profit forecast shortfall
69. Wooga makes layoffs as it pivots towards story-driven games
70. Trion Worlds remastering Defiance without TV show: MMO publisher will bring free-to-play shooter to PC and current gen consoles despite lack of key selling point
71. Pokemon Day 2018 Celebrations Include Snapchat Lenses, New Pikachu In Pokemon Go: Plus a new Pikachu Talk app for Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
72. Blizzard Let Zenyatta Walk And It Was A Mistake
73. Why release a new N64 game in 2018?: How a forgotten PS1 game has become a Kickstarter hit
74. Metal Gear Survive Dev Appears To Call Out Konami In Hidden Message
75. WWE Items Coming To Rocket League
76. Ex-Quantic Dream dev launches video game storytelling course: Interior Night’s Caroline Marchal teams up with author and TV producer John Yorke for seven-week program
77. Weza Interactive’s mission to become Africa’s success story: Kenyan developer George Ahere on how local culture inspired debut title Mzito and his plans to raise the continent’s profile in the global games market
78. Ubisoft’s “Minority Report of programming”: La Forge claims its Commit Assistant AI for detecting bugs as they’re introduced can cut programming time by 20 per cent
79. Obscure 1984 Donkey Kong game released online
80. Europe finally gets a video game chart with digital data
81. Can gaming’s own “academy awards” become a cultural event?: Academy president says attracting the “wider gamer audience” isn’t a priority.
82. Obituary: Former President and CEO of Atari Ray Kassar 

DIGITAL

1. How a fight over Star Wars download codes could reshape copyright law: Legal scholar says Redbox’s win over Disney is an “atomic bomb of a finding.”
2. Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc.; Lucasfilm Ltd., LLC, MVl Film Finance LLC, Plaintiff, v. Redbox Automated Retail, LLC
3. Disney’s Stupid Lawsuit Against Redbox Results In Judge Saying Disney Is Engaged In Copyright Misuse
4. Court Finds That Embedded Twitter Photo on Website May Subject Website Owner to Copyright Liability – Be Careful What You Post  
5. U.S. Federal Court rules embedding a Tweet could be copyright infringement
6. Embedding a Third Party Tweet Constitutes Copyright Infringement
7. District judge in the SDNY: Embedding links to third-party web content is copyright infringement 
8. ‘Repeat infringers’ under Digital Millennium Copyright Act not repeat infringers as adjudged by court
9. Second Circuit Rejects TVEyes’s Fair Use Defense For Online Service Allowing Users To Watch Fox News Content
10. Federal Court of Appeal approves website seizure and Anton Piller order against online copyright piracy platform
11. Loss In 9th Circuit Appeals Court Isn’t Slowing 1-800-LAWFIRM’s Lawsuit Crusade Against Social Media Companies
12. DOJ Tells Congress SESTA/FOSTA Will Make It MORE DIFFICULT To Catch Traffickers; House Votes For It Anyway 
13. House Prepared To Rush Vote On Terrible Frankenstein SESTA, Which Will Harm Trafficking Victims & The Internet
14. Now It’s The Turn Of Mercedes-Benz To Grovel Before China, Over An Instagram Post Quoting The Dalai Lama
15. Apple Agrees To Store Chinese iCloud Data In China, Making It Much Easier For The Chinese Gov’t To Access It
16. Apple to suspend iTunes Store support for “obsolete” first-gen Apple TV: Security changes will also affect Windows XP and Vista machines running iTunes.
17. Mistakes And Strategic Failures: The Killing Of The Open Internet
18. Russian Hacker False Flags Work—Even After They’re Exposed
19. How Manafort’s inability to convert a PDF file to Word helped prosecutors: Former Trump campaign manager allegedly emailed doctored docs to his assistant. 
20. FTC Refunds Victims of Tech Support Scam 
21. AT&T Fails In Bid To Kill FTC Authority Over Broadband Monopolies
22. COPPA, FTC Act Violations for Talent Agency
23. Connected Toys, COPPA, and What’s Next 
24. Google starts a push for cross-platform app development with Flutter SDK: As Flutter hits beta 1, Google revs up promotion efforts for a new way to make apps.
25. Google Must Be Stopped Before It Becomes An AI Monopoly: We should start thinking now about how to build an antitrust regime that will preserve several companies’ robust AI assistants. 
26. Artificial Intelligence & Inclusion 
27. New Report on Emerging AI Risks Paints a Grim Future
28. The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation
29. How AI-Driven Insurance Could Reduce Gun Violence: Exploring a market-based, technologically-enabled compromise to preventing gun violence.
30. The Verdict Is In: AI Outperforms Human Lawyers in Reviewing Legal Documents
31. Self-Driving Cars Are Smart, But Car Washes Stump Them
32. Inside The Alexa Prize: Amazon is in a pitched battle with its rivals to bring truly conversational AI into our homes. So the company is staging a contest—a mad dash toward an outlandish goal: Cook up a bot capable of small talk.
33. Amazon Made $5.6 Billion in Profits Last Year and Reportedly Paid Zero American Dollars in Federal Taxes
34. Amazon Pays $1 Billion For Video Doorbell Startup Ring After Shark Tank Passed On It
35. Why Amazon is sending you pictures of your front porch
36. Amazon splurges on Ring, hopes smart doorbells bolster in-home deliveries: The company’s new acquisition brings video doorbells into its smart home family.
37. Insights: Can Twitter, Facebook and Google Evolve Fast Enough to Extract Us from The Mess They’ve Made? 
38. Fake Social Followers Yield Real Legal Concerns
39. Kylie Jenner Said She Doesn’t Use Snapchat Anymore And Its Stock Fell 3% In A Half-Hour
40. ‘We’re watching a company explode’: is Snapchat becoming irrelevant?
41. Sexting is on the rise among teens: ~27% get nudes, other racy messages: But researchers found no gender differences in sending and receiving rates.
42. Vogue, Vice put editorial collaboration on hold
43. BuzzFeed’s AM To DM Brings In One Million Views Per Episode By Incorporating “Twitter’s DNA”
44. YouTube Strikes InfoWars Channel Amid Attempt To Crack Down On Conspiratorial Content
45. YouTube Won’t Ban Neo-Nazi Group Chanting ‘Gas the ******, Race War Now’: Atomwaffen calls for genocide and has been linked to several murders, but the company site says a warning label is sufficient.
46. After Some Pushback, YouTube Finally Bans Neo-Nazi Group
47. YouTube’s Monetization Model, Algorithm Provide Unique Haven For Conspiracy Theorists (Study)
48. Digital Networks Differ On Responses To YouTube’s New Partner Program Requirements
49. California Court Holds That YouTube’s Removal Notice Is Not Defamatory 
50. Manchester United, YouTube’s most viewed English club, finally launch official channel 
51. Move Over, TV: Students Now Distract Themselves From Homework With YouTube, Study Finds 
52. Top 3% Of YouTube Creators Received 90% Of Sitewide Views In 2016
53. YouTube To Keep Original Productions Budget Flat Over Next Two Years (Report)
54. YouTube TV Partners With Seattle Sounders To Stream All 2018 Matches 
55. YouTube TV, In Search Of Sports Fans, Gets Rights To Stream Seattle Sounders Soccer Matches
56. Drug Addiction Educator Says He’s Leaving YouTube After Erratic Content Strikes
57. YouTube Restores Ads On Logan Paul’s YouTube Channel After 18-Day Suspension
58. YouTube brings ads back to Logan Paul’s channel, but he’s on a 90-day probation: He’s still not eligible for YouTube’s Google Preferred ad program
59. Logan Paul And KSI Are Probably Going To Box And It’s Going To Be The Biggest Thing Ever On YouTube
60. Jake Paul Breaks Daily Vlogging Streak To “Help Some People That Are In A Lot Of Need” 
61. Alphabet Will Not Share YouTube’s Revenue With The SEC 
62. Poland’s Central Bank Paid Popular YouTubers To Create Anti-Cryptocurrency Videos
63. Coinbase: We will send data on 13,000 users to IRS – Bitcoin startup says if concerned, “seek legal advice from an attorney promptly.”
64. Self-proclaimed Bitcoin creator accused of $5 billion crypto heist: Craig Wright accused of “perpetrating a scheme” to con Dave Kleiman and his estate.
65. The Problem With Cryptojacking 
66. Venezuela says its cryptocurrency raised $735 million – but it’s a farce: Venezuela says its presale raised $735 million in 24 hours. Don’t believe it.
67. Bill Gates says cryptocurrencies have “caused deaths in a fairly direct way”: Gates says cryptocurrencies’ main feature is anonymity.
68. Bill Gates Thinks Cryptocurrency Is Killing People ‘In a Fairly Direct Way’
69. Here’s How Blockchain Could Be Used for Gun Control
70. Managing Copyrights on a Blockchain: How Close Are We and What Does It Mean?
71. New York’s Top Court Rules 7-0: “Private” Facebook Posts Subject to Disclosure
72. Section 230 Isn’t About Facebook, It’s About You
73. Facebook’s Mandatory Malware Scan Is An Intrusive Mess
74. Facebook Live Usage Among Previously-Paid Publishers Declined By More Than 50% In 2017
75. What Facebook Isn’t Saying About Trump And Clinton’s Campaign Ads 
76. Facebook apologizes over “Bullet Train” VR demo at right-wing conference: Facebook exec says demo scuttled “out of respect” for recent shooting victims.
77. Netflix CFO: We’re Going To Have 700 Original Programs On Our Platform In 2018 
78. Instagram image of Lego assault rifle, threat lead to 14-year-old’s arrest: San Diego County teen wrote Tuesday evening – “Don’t come to school tomorrow.”
79. NIST Releases Draft Report on IoT Cybersecurity Standards; Comments Due April 18 
80. Vox Lays Off 50 Staffers, Mostly Across Social Video Teams
81. Wow, Who Could Have Predicted 59 Percent of 2017’s ICOs Are Already Dead or Doomed
82. Peter Thiel Is A Flawed Messenger With A Crucial Message For Tech
83. Tinder Wants To Make Emoji For Interracial Couples
84. Feedless Takes The News Feed Out Of Social Media
85. When a robot writes your news, what happens to democracy? 
86. From fake news to fabricated video, can we preserve our shared reality?: The advent of inexpensive and readily accessible fabricated video production brings new meaning to the phrase ‘seeing is believing.’
87. There’s something strange going on amid the satellite Internet rush: Greg Wyler, the founder of OneWeb, starts a second company to compete with himself. 
88. How Bittorrent Spurred The Streaming Revolution
89. My Dreams of Owning The Matrix Phone Can Finally Be Fulfilled
90. A Short History Of Technology Worship: It’s possible that neither intelligence nor beauty is what makes converts. It’s technology itself. 
91. Silicon Valley pub that helped birth PC industry to close because of high rent: The Oasis Beer Garden will serve its final pizza and pour its last pint on March 7.

CREATIVITY

1. Insurer Settles $10M Coverage Dispute With Kanye West Touring Company 
2. Coal CEO’s defamation lawsuit against John Oliver is dismissed: Murray Energy says it will appeal the decision.
3. Stanford Professor Drops Stupid SLAPP Suit Against Critics; Still Mad Online
4. Appeals Court Affirms Dismissal Of Frank Sivero’s Publicity Rights Suit Against ‘The Simpsons’ 
5. Court Destroys Future Public Art Installations By Holding Building Owner Liable For Destroying This One
6. Dark Day For Hollywood – Law Prohibiting Online Publication Of Actors’ Ages Is Unconstitutional! 
7. Federal Court Shuts Down IMDb-Targeting ‘Anti-Ageism’ Law Permanently
8. Fair Dealing Fake News: When Seeking a Refund Arising From Copyright Over-Payments Becomes a “Legal Attack on Writers” (Michael Geist)
9. Why Fair Dealing Benefits Creators: The Case of a Room Full of Spoons (Michael Geist)
10. Why Fair Dealing Safeguards Freedom of Expression: The Case of the Vancouver Aquarium (Michael Geist)
11. Judge Saris Opines on Copyright Infringement in 3-D Greeting Card Case 
12. Black Panther Surpasses Wonder Woman, Toy Story 3 At Domestic Box Office: Third highest-grossing MCU movie domestically.
13. Mark Millar Has an Interesting Theory About Why Marvel Movies Work and DC Movies Don’t
14. Disney Donates $1 Million To Open Stem Centers In Honor Of Black Panther Success: The money will go towards building new Centers of Innovation for kids interested in STEM. 

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, Part 8: The Ineffectiveness of Website Blocking (Michael Geist)
2. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, Part 9: Why it Violates Canadian Net Neutrality Rules (Michael Geist)
3. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, Part 10: Why It May Violate Human Rights Norms (Michael Geist)
4. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan, Part 11: Higher Internet Access Costs for All (Michael Geist)
5. The Case Against the Bell Coalition’s Website Blocking Plan: Canadians Take a Stand Against Site Blocking (Michael Geist)
6. NRA gives Ajit Pai “courage award” and gun for “saving the Internet”: Killing net neutrality helps Pai win award for “standing up under pressure.”
7. NRA Gives FCC Boss An Award For ‘Courageously’ Killing Net Neutrality, May Have Violated Ethics Rules
8. FCC Republican faces ethics complaint after calling for Trump’s re-election: Pai and O’Rielly both face ethics questions after appearances at CPAC.
9. Vimeo, In Ongoing Battle For Net Neutrality, Refiles Lawsuit Against FCC
10. AT&T loses years-long quest to cripple FTC authority over telecoms: Unlimited data throttling case is back on after FTC wins major ruling.
11. AT&T describes post-net neutrality plans for paid prioritization: “AT&T is not interested in creating fast lanes and slow lanes,” ISP claims. 
12. Democrats submit plan to save net neutrality, still one vote short in Senate: Democrats still trying to convince Republicans to keep net neutrality rules.
13. The Final Countdown to Net Neutrality’s Death Begins Today
14. The Death Of Net Neutrality Will Be Official In April (Cue The Lawsuits)
15. As Protection Ends, Here’s One Way To Test For Net Neutrality
16. Life in the Fast Lane: FCC Releases Final Rule Repealing Net Neutrality 
17. Defying Pai’s FCC, Washington state passes law protecting net neutrality: Washington may be the first state to impose net neutrality rules on all ISPs.
18. The FCC’s ‘New’ Broadband Availability Map Hallucinates Broadband Competition
19. Why states might win the net neutrality war against the FCC: FCC might have doomed its preemption case by renouncing authority over broadband.
20. Verizon and a company it bought just paid $614M in biggest FCC fine ever: Straight Path failed to use spectrum, resulting in $614M fine and sale to Verizon.
21. Charter Spectrum Fails To Wiggle Out From Under State Lawsuit For Crappy Service 
22. The Moon Will Soon Have Its Own Mobile Network
23. A Parliamentary Committee Makes Recommendations Regarding Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation 

SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. US Officials Say Russia Hacked Pyeongchang Olympics, Tried to Pin It on North Korea
2. Russia accused of “false flag” attack on Olympic opening: Routing hacks, bits of code used to throw off attribution trail.
3. America’s Voting Systems Are Highly Vulnerable to Hackers: And we’re doing nothing to protect them.
4. Feds have spent 13 years failing to verify whether passport data is legit: Data is read off e-passports, but CBP lacks software to verify digital signatures.
5. US Border Officials Have Never Verified Chipped Passports, Despite Demanding Their Usage
6. Us Border Patrol Hasn’t Validated E-Passport Data For Years: US Customs and Border Patrol hasn’t been verifying the cryptographic signatures on e-Passports – because they never installed the right software.
7. YouTube Removes Some Demographics Data From Creator Analytics To Protect Viewer Privacy
8. Microsoft’s Supreme Court Case Has Big Implications For Data
9. Microsoft doesn’t want to turn over foreign server data, SCOTUS to weigh in: Silicon Valley fears that if US wins, its data held abroad will be vulnerable.
10. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments In Microsoft Email Case
11. SEC Issues Interpretive Guidance on Public Company Cybersecurity Disclosures: Greater Engagement Required of Officers and Directors
12. Car companies are preparing to sell driver data to the highest bidder: Connected cars are going to monetize data, but most drivers don’t know that.
13. Covert ‘Replay Sessions’ Have Been Harvesting Passwords By Mistake
14. How To Turn Off Facebook’s Face Recognition Features
15. Man removes feds’ spy cam, they demand it back, he refuses and sues
16. Cellebrite can unlock any iPhone (for some values of “any”): Forensics contractor’s “Advanced Unlocking Service” still has to brute-force passcodes
17. Developer gets prison after admitting backdoor was made for malice: Full-featured trojan catered to password thieves, Peeping Toms, and ransomware scammers.

Jon