News of the Week; April 10, 2019

MEDIA, COMMUNICATIONS & NET NEUTRALITY

1. Supporting a More Competitive Canadian Wireless Market: Speak Out on Navdeep Bains’ Proposed CRTC Policy Direction (Michael Geist) 
2. FCC Proposes Protections for 5G Infrastructure Hub and Relay Antennas to Spur Deployment 
3. In Verizon 5G launch city, reviewers have trouble even finding a signal
4. Verizon’s ‘World First’ 5G Launch Was A Bit of a Dud
5. New FCC Commissioner: Hey, Maybe Somebody In Government Could Address These Wireless Location Data Scandals?
6. Just $6,790 Of $208 Million In Robocall Fines Have Been Collected By The FCC
7. Not All Customers Are the Same: Top Court Rules Business Customers Cannot Join Consumer Class Action
8. House Democrats Pass Bill to Restore Net Neutrality
9. House Democrats refuse to weaken net neutrality bill, defeat GOP amendments
10. House votes to restore net neutrality as White House threatens Trump veto
11. Colorado Net Neutrality Bill Heads To Governor’s Desk For Signing
12. Telecom Lobbyists Crushed San Francisco’s Quest For Better Broadband
13. Pai FCC Tours The Country Promising Better Rural Broadband, But His Policies Routinely Undermine That Goal
14. Lawsuit: AT&T’s DirecTV Now is a flop and AT&T lied to investors about it
15. The robocall crisis will never totally be fixed
16. More jails replace in-person visits with awful video chat products
17. Rupert Murdoch, the NFL, and the Negotiation That Remade TV

DIGITAL

1. The Sky Is Rising: The Entertainment Industry Is Thriving, Almost Entirely Because Of The Internet
2. The UK Has Released Its Plan for Cracking Down on Social Media Content
3. UK government proposes sweeping new regulations of online content
4. Online Harms
5. UK Now Proposes Ridiculous Plan To Fine Internet Companies For Vaguely Defined ‘Harmful Content’
6. Aussie Senate Rushes Thru Bill That Would Fine Social Media Companies For Not Taking Down ‘Abhorrent’ Content Fast Enough
7. European Parliament Adopts the Copyright Directive 
8. Techdirt Podcast Episode 207: MEP Julia Reda Explains What’s Next With The EU Copyright Directive
9. Canadian ISPs Call For Standardization And Fines For Copyright Trolls Ignoring Changes To Copyright Law
10. Copyright Enforcement Service Claims $600 Billion-Worth Of Images Are ‘Stolen’ Every Day
11. Include a ‘Creative Commons’ Argument in Your IP Defense 
12. The death of Section 230
13. Singapore Government Pushes Fake News Law Which Will Give It More Options To Shut Down Critics
14. German Publishing Giant Claims Blocking Ads Is Copyright Infringement, In Yet Another Lawsuit Against The Industry Leader
15. German Government’s Bullying Of FOI Group Provides A Warning Of How EU’s New Upload Filters Will Be Used For Censorship
16. UK Government Misses Another Ship Date On Its Porn Filter
17. Be Cautious About Big Internet Platforms Bearing Plans For Global Censorship
18. Devin Nunes Has Filed A Second B.S. Defamation Lawsuit Telling You All About A News Article He Doesn’t Want You To Read
19. It’s Fun To Laugh About Congressional Reps Suing A Satirical Internet Cow, But It’s A Real Attack On Free Speech
20. Email chain prompts Microsoft to investigate reports of sexual harassment ignored by HR
21. Leaked Microsoft Email Chain Reportedly Describes Hellish Workplace for Women
22. Microsoft investigating more sexual harassment claims
23. Microsoft responds to sexual harassment allegations within company
24. Microsoft’s eBook store: When this closes, your books disappear too
25. Amazon will launch thousands of satellites to provide internet around the world: 3,236 satellites will provide internet from low Earth orbit
26. Amazon plans satellite broadband for “tens of millions” of people
27. Amazon admits that employees review “small sample” of Alexa audio
28. Yahoo tries to settle 3-billion-account data breach with $118 million payout
29. Researchers unearth 74 Facebook cybercrime groups with 385,000 members
30. Facebook Will Stop Suggesting You Invite Dead People to Events
31. I Can’t Believe This Dopey, Busted-Ass Website Is What Messed Up Our Lives
32. Where to Find Evidence on Facebook
33. Facebook Issues Additional Transparency Rules for Political Advertising
34. Facebook’s AI Helps Block Or Remove 1 Million Accounts Each Day
35. China is reportedly trialing attention-detecting bands in schools
36. Chinese government proposes ban on bitcoin mining
37. Teens ‘not damaged by screen time’, study finds 
38. Canada may regulate social media companies to avoid election meddling: Firms are not doing enough to combat potential interference, minister said after report found foreign meddling is ‘very likely’
39. DOJ Warns Academy That Being An Anti-Streaming Luddite Could Violate Antitrust
40. Marketers see progress in Twitter’s efforts to stamp out hate
41. Twitter blocks Trump 2020 video over Dark Knight Risesmusic
42. Be Careful What You Wish For: Twitter Temporarily Bans ‘Get Out The Vote’ Ads To Comply With ‘Fake News’ Law
43. Children’s Advertising Review Unit Findings Should Not Be Ignored by App Developers 
44. The rise of the killer robots – and the two women fighting back
45. You call that EDM? Moritz Simon Geist’s robots make the most technical techno
46. The basics of modern AI—how does it work and will it destroy society this year?
47. AI pioneer: ‘The dangers of abuse are very real’ – Yoshua Bengio, winner of the prestigious Turing award for his work on deep learning, is establishing international guidelines for the ethical use of AI.
48. Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI (European Commission)
49. Google Gives Up on AI Ethics (Board)
50. Exclusive: Google cancels AI ethics board in response to outcry – The controversial panel lasted just a little over a week. 
51. Hey Google, sorry you lost your ethics council, so we made one for you
52. Watch Google’s AI Make Trump Sing Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams”
53. Android TV update puts home-screen ads on multi-thousand-dollar Sony Smart TVs [Update]
54. Netflix: Coming Up Next… Emerging competitors and legal implications of the changing TV and film industry 
55. Netflix ends AirPlay support on iOS in an ongoing souring of its Apple relationship
56. Ironically, Too Many Video Streaming Choices May Drive Users Back To Piracy
57. YouTube to develop interactive content like Netflix’s Bandersnatch
58. YouTube wants to make choose-your-own-adventure shows
59. YouTube creating interactive narratives: Video service establishes new unit to produce original Bandersnatch-style content
60. YouTube is planning its own interactive Choose Your Own Adventure-style content: It’s looking to compete with Netflix
61. YouTube Exec Ben Relles Named Head Of Innovation, Will Lead Platform’s Push Into Interactive Content
62. YouTube Forced To Disable Comments On Livestreams Of White Nationalism Hearing In Congress
63. YouTube TV Hikes Monthly Price To $50 As It Strikes Carriage Deal With Discovery 
64. YouTube Millionaires: Danielle Cohn Got Her Start On Musical.ly — Now, Her YouTube Music Videos Are Viewed By Millions 
65. Jennifer Lopez Revamps Her YouTube Channel To Give Viewers More Personal Content 
66. YouTuber Charlie Ross Arrested For Impersonating Police Officer In April Fools’ Prank
67. K-Pop Phenoms Blackpink Snatch Biggest YouTube Music Video Premiere Of All Time 
68. YouTube Will Livestream Blackpink’s Coachella Performance In Times Square 
69. YouTube Photographer Peter McKinnon Gets Photo Minted On Canadian Currency 
70. PewDiePie Signs Deal To Livestream Exclusively On Blockchain-Based Platform DLive
71. Brittany Furlan Launches ‘Worst Firsts’ Podcast With Studio71
72. The LaBrants Apologize For Prank On 6-Year-Old Daughter: “We Think We’re Awesome Parents” 
73. Disclosing Endorsements on Social Media: General Considerations for FTC Compliance by Brands and Influencers
74. Why influencers need to use the right #hashtag
75. Jeffree Star Says “Major Player” Was Arrested After $2.5 Million Makeup Burglary
76. Cyber Group, YoBoHo team up on co-pro deal
77. FTC Emphasizes that Providing Free Products Can Bias Reviews 
78. Shiseido is increasing its influencer marketing spending by 50% in 2019
79. Here’s How The Warp Zone Survived Defy Media’s Collapse — And Regained Control Of Its Content
80. Snacks for Props: FTC Says No
81. Fullscreen Signs 10 Clients to Talent Management Roster, Including Mikaela Hoover 
82. Fullscreen’s Talent Unit Signs 10 Creators, Including Sierra Schultzzie, Josh Ovalle
83. Digital Vets Launch ‘UNCMMN’ Talent Management Upstart, Repping Jay Versace, Jc Caylen
84. Someone Hacks Defy Media’s Twitter Account, Promptly Uses It To Troll Everyone (Including Defy)
85. Research analyst predicts Snapchat’s user base in the US will decrease in 2019
86. Snapchat Announces 10 New Originals From BuzzFeed, New Form and Others 
87. Beyoncé Is Dropping A Netflix Documentary Next Week (Trailer)
88. Netflix in Italy: Emerging competitors and legal implications of the changing TV and film industry 
89. Netflix’s DVD Rental Service Brought In $212 Million Last Year From 2.7 Million Subscribers
90. Movie Theaters Don’t Like Netflix. Netflix’s Solution: Buy Its Own Movie Theater Chain.
91. ‘Netflix Is a Joke’ Comedy Channel Sets SiriusXM Launch 
92. MicTurn takes the idea of open-mic concerts online
93. More people pay for Apple Music than Spotify in the US now
94. Will Apple Just Kill iTunes Already?
95. Why Would Anyone Buy an iPad Mini in 2019?
96. Apple slashes HomePod price and introduces Powerbeats Pro 
97. 3-year-old locks parents out of iPad for 25,536,442 minutes
98. Hello world: Shining a light onto the culture of computer programmers
99. Shani Hilton Departs BuzzFeed To Take Over As The Los Angeles Times’ Deputy Managing Editor Of News
100. I Was Ready to Dunk on the Bose Frames… But I Actually Like Them?
101. How Have Section 512(f) Cases Fared Since 2017? (Spoiler: Not Well) (Eric Goldman)
102. Online Marketplace Defeats Trademark Suit Because It’s Not the “Seller”–OSU v. Redbubble (Eric Goldman)
103. Somebody forgot to upgrade: Flights delayed, cancelled by GPS rollover
104. Area Man Takes Over the Onion and Gizmodo Group in Private Equity Deal 
105. Is It Time for a Blockchain Brexit?
106. New Quantum Device Can “Generate All Possible Futures”
107. Interfering trajectories in experimental quantum-enhanced stochastic simulation (Farzad Ghafari, Nora Tischler, Carlo Di Franco, Jayne Thompson, Mile Gu & Geoff J. Pryde)
108. When Twitter Fingers Turn to Trigger Fingers: A Qualitative Study of Social Media-Related Gang Violence (Desmond U. Patton, David Pryooz, Scott Decker, William R. Frey & Patrick Leonard) 

CREATIVITY

1. A Thousand Words: Getty Images Trigger Class Action
2. Former Intelligence Officials Sue The Government Over Its Unconstitutional Pre-Publication Review Process
3. Horse Race Announcer Sues Over Bill Murray Film That Included His Trademarked Tagline
4. Kobe Bryant Every Bit As Useless As His Lawyers Predicted In Trademark Opposition
5. Tennessee Senate Unanimously Passes Actual Anti-SLAPP Bill
6. Battle of the Beers—Can Anheuser’s Bud Light Ads Be Literally True but Legally False?
7. Are Vulgar Trademarks Protected Free Speech? Recent First Amendment Cases are Changing the Contours of Trademark Law
8. The Emmys Are Still Going After A Pet Products Company Despite All The Concessions They’ve Been Given
9. Legislator Irritated By A Journalist Decides State’s Government Should Start Regulating Journalism
10. News organizations have all but abandoned their archives
11. Alex Jones switches up defense in Sandy hook case
12. When Asked About Marvel LGBTQ Heroes, Kevin Feige Says He Wants All Fans to ‘See Themselves Reflected’
13. Viacom Prepares for Content Arms Race: ‘We’re Looking Beyond Our Own Networks’
14. 20 years on, The Matrix remains influential

 SURVEILLANCE & PRIVACY

1. Canadian Privacy Commissioner Signals Major Shift in Approach on Cross-Border Data Transfers (Michael Geist)
2. Court Says Government Can Continue To Withhold Six ‘Significant’ FISA Court Opinions In Their Entirety
3. Polish Supervisory Authority issues GDPR fine for data scraping without informing individuals
4. Samsung Galaxy S10 fingerprint sensor defeated by a $450 3D printer
5. Ongoing DNS hijackings target Gmail, PayPal, Netflix, banks and more [Updated]
6. ACLU Asks CBP Why It’s Threatening US Citizens With Arrest For Refusing Invasive Device Searches
7. Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa: A global team reviews audio clips in an effort to help the voice-activated assistant respond to commands. 
8. Oversight Report Says DEA Ran Multiple Bulk Data Collection Programs With Zero Legal Clearance
9. Chicago’s Ankle Monitors Can Call and Record Kids Without Their Consent
10. Well-funded surveillance operation infected both iOS and Android devices
11. Counting the Countless: Why data science is a profound threat for queer people
12. Yahoo tries to settle 3-billion-account data breach with $118 million payout
13. Thumb drive carried by Mar-a-Lago intruder immediately installed files on a PC
14. USB Drive Found on Jailed Mar-a-Lago Party-Crasher Contained Self-Executing Code
15. Chapter 19: Glossary – Unlocking the EU General Data Protection Regulation
16. Court Says California’s Anti-Spam Statute Doesn’t Regulate Affiliate Networks–Bank v. Hydra
17. Airbnb guest found hidden surveillance camera by scanning Wi-Fi network
18. Court Says Virginia PD’s Use Of Automatic Plate Readers Violates State’s Data Privacy Law
19. New variants of Mirai botnet detected, targeting more IoT devices
20. Mysterious safety-tampering malware infects a second critical infrastructure site
21. DHS, FBI say election systems in all 50 states were targeted in 2016

GAMES

1. MIT Prof: It’s More Likely We’re Living In A Simulation Than Not
2. Are we living in a computer simulation? I don’t know. Probably.: Why this computer scientist thinks reality might be a video game.
3. Are we living in a simulation? This MIT scientist says it’s more likely than not
4. Google Could Learn a Lot About You From Its New Gaming Platform: Stadia sounds great, but don’t forget that Google is a research company
5. Google Play hosting inappropriate games with kid-friendly ratings: Free-to-play games featuring violent content and gambling routinely hit the platform thanks to reliance on developers to rate their own titles
6. Snap Inc announces Snap Games, launching with six titles
7. Snapchat Unveils Gaming Platform, New User Features, 10 Upcoming Originals At First Partner Summit
8. Snapchat’s new Snap Games platform includes games from Zynga, Spry Fox
9. Snapchat Unveils Gaming Platform, New User Features, 10 Upcoming Originals At First Partner Summit
10. EU Commission accuses six game companies of illegal geo-blocking
11. EU investigating Valve and 5 major publishers for illegal geo-blocking
12. Valve argues it should be excluded from EU geo-blocking accusations
13. PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch online services face UK investigation
14. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo under investigation for consumer rights violation
15. PSN name change feature goes into effect today
16. PSN name changes launch today
17. Starting Today, You Can Finally Change Your PSN Name
18. PlayStation launches PSN ID change option, though not all games are supported
19. You Can Now Change Your PSN Online ID—But There Are a Few Things You Need to Know
20. BioWare Boss Addresses Studio Issues, Vows To ‘Continue Working To Solve Them’
21. Charting the missteps that led to the decline of Telltale Games
22. IGDA executive director Jen MacLean has stepped down
23. FTC Loot Box Workshop Announced 
24. FTC to Hold Public Workshop on Video Game Loot Boxes
25. The FTC is holding a public workshop in August to discuss loot boxes
26. What’s In the Box? FTC Solicits Public Comments Regarding Video Game Loot Boxes Amidst Uncertainty 
27. FTC sets date for loot box workshop: Date set for August 7 on gathering of stakeholders, industry representatives, consumer advocates, and others to discuss consumer concerns
28. The failure of the Russian global license proposal and the future of alternative remuneration systems (Gaetano Dimita & Ruslan Nurullaev)
29. Fallout 76 Repair Kits raise new “pay-to-win” concerns
30. How Fallout almost didn’t ship with its key SPECIAL system 
31. The complicated process of making licensed video games
32. Pre-order refunds could force publishers to shift priorities | Opinion
33. Survey: More teenagers are getting into video games because of Fortnite
34. Prince Harry Wants ‘Fortnite’ Banned
35. Prince Harry Says Fortnite “Shouldn’t Be Allowed,” Calls Social Media “More Addictive Than Alcohol”
36. Fortnite un-features community build containing inappropriate imagery
37. Google Play is still struggling with inappropriate children’s games
38. Why Valve actually gets less than 30 percent of Steam game sales
39. Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney addresses Chinese spyware rumor
40. Epic to continue signing exclusivity deals regardless of Steam plans
41. Valve silences Borderlands review bombers with ‘off-topic’ fix
42. Borderlands review bomb triggers Steam’s “off topic” fix [Updated]
43. Steam users review bomb Borderlands in response to Epic exclusivity deal
44. Valve finally tackles review bombing as Borderlands 2 attacked over Epic exclusivity: Last week’s work of user scores discounted under Steam’s new ‘off-topic review activity’ system
45. A deep dive into Steam’s discovery queue
46. Sold Out and Epic offering up to $500,000 in The Unreal Box Offer: UK publisher seeking games that “feel fresh in a genre that isn’t overcrowded” as it teams up with engine provider
47. Retro streaming platform picks up Arc System Works, SNK, others
48. Tencent launches early access WeGame X storefront internationally 
49. Tencent stealth launches international version of WeGame storefront: WeGame X platform is available but still in “testing” phase, the Chinese publisher confirmed
50. Tencent raises nearly $6bn in bond sale: Funds marked for general corporate use despite having $20 billion cash on hand
51. Weaker currency could encourage foreign investment post-Brexit: Tencent Europe’s senior manager Li Ma also says Brexit will be damaging, but Britain will bounce back
52. Microsoft increases Xbox Live Gold price in the UK: 12-month subscription goes from £39.99 to £49.99 to “address changing market conditions”
53. Game Pass “Ultimate” and Game Pass for PC rumored to be coming soon
54. The difficulties of researching gaming disorder and addiction: Dr Pete Etchells says there is an endemic problem with psychological research, as confirmation bias shapes the literature
55. Battlefield V: Firestorm Review – A solid battle royale that doesn’t pack quite enough punch to get to the final circle.
56. Gender pay gap widens in UK games industry: Women increase their representation throughout gaming, but median wages losing ground
57. Meet 100 of the most influential women working in the UK games industry
58. Brenda Romero’s guide to becoming a game designer
59. Gaming is not a meritocracy: Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail pokes holes in the notion of cream rising to the top, explains why devs and platforms may believe in it anyway
60. John Romero: “There are always people who question games that push the boundaries”
61. “Games that have succeeded in Turkey are all localised — that’s hands down”: Vardiya co-founder Meriç Eryürek on the untapped opportunity in Turkey’s population of 30 million gamers
62. Black Desert franchise tops $1 billion in revenues: Pearl Abyss says multiplatform MMORPG franchise has reached milestone in less than four years
63. The second launch of Sea of Thieves: Rare on sustainable working ahead of its biggest game update so far
64. Breach developer QC Games has shut down
65. Daybreak Game Company back in control of H1Z1 battle royale spin-off
66. How When Ski Lifts Go Wrong hits the right mix of blood and physics puzzles
67. Buy-one-get-one-free sale helps Risk of Rain 2 attract 650,000 players in first week
68. What makes a good Kickstarter campaign?: Anya Combs talks about ideal video length, the right number of .gifs, and one mistake that will keep any project from being featured
69. 60% of Greater Southeast Asia gamers are “strongly drawn to esports”: New Niko Partners report finds 42% of players from the region prefer competitive arena titles, spend the most on games
70. The concept of eDoping in eSports – cyber security as a safety measure, enforcement and sanctions in case of non-compliance 
71. Loaded, A Talent Firm For Top Gaming Stars, Signs Dakotaz, Skadoodle, and Sjokz
72. Sonic The Hedgehog Footage Reveals Plot Details, Setting And Jim Carrey’s Robotnik: The adaptation of the Sega game is (largely) set in our world.
73. How Lockwood pulled off giving 4.5 million festive gifts to over a million players: Sponsored article: Lockwood Leamington’s Studio Director Oliver Clarke on the seasonal gifting feature created for virtual world Avakin Life
74. Ubisoft ends production of Starlink toys following poor sales
75. Ubisoft cancels Starlink physical toys following game’s under performance: Development team plans to “do right by our passionate fans” with biggest update so far
76. Ubisoft CEO: Live games give devs a chance to refine rather than start from scratch
77. BioWare GM (internally) addresses complaints fromAnthem devs
78. BioWare admits workplace, production issues: “These problems are real and it’s our top priority to continue working to solve them,” says general manager Casey Hudson
79. Super Meat Boy Forever delayed, will miss April launch
80. Team Meat delays Super Meat Boy Forever to maintain “healthy and sustainable pace”: Studio opts not to “run ourselves into the ground” to finish game by previously announced April release
81. Nintendo adding VR modes to Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey
82. VR modes coming to Super Mario Odyssey, Breath of the Wildon Nintendo Switch
83. Nintendo Labo Toy-Con 04: VR Kit Trailer
84. Black Desert franchise has crossed $1 billion in gross sales
85. Roblox now has over 90 million monthly active users
86. Moonlighter sells 500,000 copies in less than a year
87. Good Shepherd picks up majority stake in new studio, Artificer
88. Disruptor Beam plans to offer a mobile live ops platform to other devs
89. European gamers shows progressive streak on diversity: Ipsos MORI survey shows there is growing demand for a wider array of characters in games, although industry still faces apathy
90. Future recognizes staff union: Publisher voluntarily recognizes organized employees of PC Gamer, GamesRadar and nine other publications
91. How to effectively use procedural generation in games
92. Don’t Miss: How devs deal with making enemies that feel ‘okay’ to kill
93. Don’t Miss: A 2008 analysis of branching dialogue, fromMass Effect to Facade and beyond
94. How playgrounds can inform multiplayer level design in video games
95. Avalanche: “The industry is going to calm down on tech and focus on creativity”
96. CVG team reunite for new games media website: Video Games Chronicle launches this month
97. Video blog: Historians discuss Return of the Obra Dinn
98. Watch Falcon Age’s lead dev dive into the making of this bird-tastic tale
99. God of War wins big at BAFTA Game Awards 2019
100. God of War takes home five BAFTAs
101. God of War director: accessibility isn’t at odds with creative vision
102. “Accessibility has never and will never be a compromise to my vision”: God of War director Cory Barlog’s statement becomes a rallying cry for developers in support of more accessibility options in games

Jon