An update on Microsoft-Activision, and then a response to a reader upset at my take, weaved in with commentary about free speech in the context of last week’s ruling about social media moderation.
Microsoft Can Acquire Activision, The FTC vs. the Record, The FTC’s Failed Vendetta
Microsoft didn’t just win its case against the FTC: the totality of its victory calls into question the FTC’s legitimacy, and may lead to more acquisitions in the future.
Meta’s Low E.U. ARPU, The Supreme Court and Section 230
Meta makes a surprisingly small amount of money in the E.U., particularly on an ARPU basis; then, the Supreme Court signals strong support for Section 230
Apple, Epic, and the Court of Appeals; Apple’s Federal Victory; Epic’s California Win
Apple seems to have won the Appeals Court case in the Epic antitrust lawsuit, but there was a meaningful victory for developers when it comes to the App Store’s anti-steering provision.
Fair Use and Model Training, Getty Images vs. Stable Diffusion, Adobe’s Regulatory Capture Bet
One of the biggest questions facing AI is if the ingestion of copyrighted material into model training is or is not fair use; Getty Images is suing to get an answer, and Adobe is trying to benefit in the meantime.
EU Narrows Apple Case, Snap’s My AI
The European Commission closes on a ruling that makes sense for Apple’s App Store, and Snap launches their own OpenAI-powered chat bot
Section 230 in the Supreme Court, Reach and Speech, The First Amendment and U.S. Speech Controls
Section 230 is going before the Supreme Court: are content recommendations covered like moderation? A loss for Google would be an opportunity for Congress to protect essential rights.
Musk Re-Commits to Twitter; Meta, AITemplate, and Nvidia; Facebook Shutters Bulletin
Notes on Musk’s latest Twitter about-face, then Meta open-sources an AI library that is a big threat to Nvidia. Plus, another example of a failed paid product from an ad-supported company.
Follow-up: Zynga, NYT All Access, The Athletic, Facebook Antitrust, and Apple in South Korea
Follow-up on Zynga’s financials, the New York Times All Access bundle, The Athletic’s focus on quantity over quality, Facebook’s antitrust loss, and Apple’s South Korea App Store change
App Store Injunction Stayed, Fingerprinting on iOS, Life360 and Apple’s Missing Leverage
Apple wins in court, probably for good; meanwhile, its tracking rules aren’t really being enforced, and probably can’t be, which means Apple’s overreach was a mistake.