Techmeme: Small developers say the Epic ruling could lead to a windfall but some researchers say it is unclear if consumers will actually use alternative payment methods (New York Times)

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September 11, 2021, 5:20 PM

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New York Times:

Small developers say the Epic ruling could lead to a windfall but some researchers say it is unclear if consumers will actually use alternative payment methods — After a judge opened up a way to avoid Apple's commission on their sales, companies big and small are seeing dollar signs.

More: New York Times and iMore

Tweets: @kellen_browning, @elkmovie, @mohamedmansour, @sirrovers, @shafiahmed5, @reciraider, @nytimestech, @berkeleylaw, @adamholisky, @jacknicas, @atomkirk, and @danlesac

Russell Brandom / The Verge:

Court issues permanent injunction in Epic vs. Apple, ruling that Apple can't prohibit developers from linking to external purchase options in addition to IAP — A major win for Epic Games and Fortnite — Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers issued a permanent injunction in the Epic v. Apple case …

More: MobileSyrup, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, MacStories, Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Thurrott, Ars Technica, The Information, HotHardware.com News, Washington Post, GSMArena.com, MacRumors, thegamer.com, Bloomberg, iMore, VentureBeat, Video Games Chronicle, Neowin, BGR India, International Business Times, Techdirt, Pixel Envy, dexerto.com, and phonearena.com

Tweets: @markgurman, @timsweeneyepic, @timsweeneyepic, @timsweeneyepic, @reckless, @shiraovide, @nickstatt, @backlon, @rjonesy, @reckless, @markgurman, @markgurman, @cat_zakrzewski, @reckless, @dhh, @reckless, @stephennellis, @stroughtonsmith, @thedextriarchy, @bobbyallyn, @thedextriarchy, @bobbyallyn, @rjonesy, @carnage4life, @thedextriarchy, @willoremus, @rjonesy, @samifathi_, @eringriffith, @rjonesy, @reckless, @andrewrsorkin, @tanayj, @eriqgardner, @gerritd, @davidcicilline, @senblumenthal, @alexstamos, @stroughtonsmith, @rileytestut, @sdw, @amyklobuchar, @deitaone, @panzer, @backlon, @willoremus, @dhh, @waltmossberg, @markgurman, @rmantri, @markgurman, @bzamayo, @backlon, @backlon, @backlon, @fightfortheftr, @shiraovide, @bzamayo, @repkenbuck, @shannon_liao, @shannon_liao, @backlon, @film_girl, @backlon, @markgurman, @reckless, @chockenberry, @jannwolfe, @shiraovide, @jessicalessin, @mgsiegler, @panzer, @benthompson, @reckless, @reckless, @russellholly, @patrickmcgee_, @joshavant, @patrickmcgee_, @levynews, @malcolmmoore, @dbreunig, @stroughtonsmith, @benbajarin, @verge, @jcenters, @rustybrick, @marcoarment, @shiraovide, @jonyiveparody, @benthompson, @arctictony, @carnage4life, @laurengoode, @gartenberg, @rsgnl, @alexstamos, @rjonesy, @mgsiegler, @shiraovide, @carnage4life, @stephentotilo, @neiltwitz, @tomgara, @kellen_browning, @stroughtonsmith, @willoremus, @pkafka, @eringriffith, @benbajarin, @tapbot_paul, @reneritchie, @ballmatthew, @willoremus, @imgoldenyt, @shiraovide, @caseynewton, @shiraovide, @caro_milanesi, @thedextriarchy, @thedextriarchy, @willoremus, @jacknicas, @caro_milanesi, @nickstatt, @mgsiegler, @msquinn, @panzer, @stroughtonsmith, @caseynewton, @markgurman, @panzer, @cnbctechcheck, @toadsanime, @s8mb, @willoremus, @rjonesy, @leah_nylen, @mgsiegler, @backlon, @leah_nylen, @eringriffith, @leah_nylen, @benbajarin, @benbajarin, @eringriffith, @backlon, @mgsiegler, @benthompson, @thedextriarchy, @timsweeneyepic, and @leahcim_nyc

M.G. Siegler / 500ish:

Apple won the Epic battle but is too arrogant to see that it still has to make some major App Store changes to both appease the courts and please developers — Apple v. Epic indeed... It depends on what your definition of a link is. Or really, in some ways, what your definition of the internet is.

More: Coinspeaker. Tweets: @slightlylate, @ruanviljoen, @evdz, @johnwilson, and @ppk007

Jay Peters / The Verge:

Epic asks Apple to reinstate its Fortnite developer account in South Korea, after passage of a bill forcing app stores to allow alternative payment systems

More: MSPoweruser and Livemint

Tweets: @fortnitegame and @markgurman

Roger McNamee / TIME:

Antitrust action in Europe and the US is inevitable and Apple should rethink its stance towards regulators, often described as arrogant to inflexible

Tweets: @jason_kint, @drbarnard, @benlovejoy, @time, @drbarnard, @moonalice, @moonalice, @moonalice, and @willoremus

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:

Epic ruling is a win for Apple as it costs the company just a few billion annually and doesn't force Apple to change its fees or let 3rd-party app stores on iOS

More: The Verge, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg

Tweets: @skupor, @ezraklein, @markgurman, @markgurman, @stevesi, @paulg, @saraheneedleman, @rebeccaslatkin, @rebeccaslatkin, @rebeccaslatkin, @tha_rami, @tha_rami, @snazzyq, @thegoblinnn, @markgurman, @stephenwarwick9, @markgurman, @markgurman, and @benedictevans

Nilay Patel / The Verge:

A fair reading of the Epic vs. Apple injunction suggests that Apple needs to allow third-party payment methods in the app and not just links to ones on the web

More: FOSS Patents and Tech Xplore

Tweets: @jeiting, @gruber, @backlon, @robotodd, @bzamayo, @gruber, @reckless, @reckless, @reckless, @reckless, @gruber, @snazzyq, @backlon, @tomwarren, @jsnell, @reckless, @cgartenberg, @matthewstoller, @stroughtonsmith, @stroughtonsmith, @pkafka, and @reckless

Eric Slivka / MacRumors:

Apple warns that long-term exposure to vibrations, like those from high-power motorcycle engines, can degrade iPhone cameras by damaging their gyroscopes — Apple today published a new support document warning iPhone users that the cameras on their devices can be damaged by exposure …

Source: Apple Support. More: The Verge, CNET, Benzinga, AppleInsider, Redmond Pie, Mashable, PCMag, Pocketnow, 9to5Mac, HotHardware.com News, Cult of Mac, Tom's Guide, SlashGear, Neowin, PetaPixel, TechSpot, Engadget, Patently Apple, iMore, iClarified, Livemint, Wccftech, and iPhone Hacks

Tweets: @sdw, @halidecamera, and @refrshingapathy

Selina Cheng / Hong Kong Free Press:

Google says it handed over user data in response to three requests from Hong Kong in H2 2020, despite earlier saying that requests must be made through US DOJ — The US tech giant told HKFP it complied with a data request over a “credible threat to life” and two others involving human trafficking.

More: The Verge, Engadget, and Bloomberg

Tweets: @williamyang120, @tomgrundy, and @selina_cheng

Jordan Novet / CNBC:

Benioff says Salesforce will help employees and their families “exit Texas” if they are worried about access to reproductive healthcare in the state — - Salesforce committed to helping employees and their families relocate if they're concerned about the ability to seek reproductive care …

More: The Guardian, TheStreet, CNET, Axios, Insider, and Bloomberg

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TechCrunch:

Mark Zuckerberg says WhatsApp will start rolling out e2e encrypted backups to iOS and Android users in the coming weeks as an optional feature — WhatsApp said on Friday it will give its two billion users the option to encrypt their chat backups to the cloud, taking a significant step to put …

More: Facebook Engineering, The Hacker News, MacRumors, fossbytes.com, The Register, and Ubergizmo

Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg. Tweets: @wcathcart, @runasand, @jsrailton, @micahflee, @mikarv, @wcathcart, @wongmjane, @filosottile, @wcathcart, @aditi_muses, @sweis, @sanjg2k1, @micahflee, @wcathcart, @fb_engineering, and @tomgara

Davey Alba / New York Times:

Internal emails: the data Facebook provided to researchers studying misinformation since 2019 included about half of its US users, not all as it then claimed — More than three years ago, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook trumpeted a plan to share data with researchers about how people interacted …

Noam Cohen / Wired:

Profile of Ksenia Coffman, who has made 97K edits and created 3,200 pages on Wikipedia, and her efforts to remove glorified Nazi history from the site — Ksenia Coffman's fellow editors have called her a vandal and a McCarthyist. She just wants them to stop glorifying fascists—and start citing better sources.

Tweets: @mattzollerseitz, @drewmcweeny, @sol_orwell, @ffrafaction, @leonidragozin, @janedarnell, @noamcohen, @garius, @rauchway, @jonathbruns, and @manvbrain

Bloomberg:

Sources: US officials are considering a Financial Stability Oversight Council review into whether Tether and other stablecoins threaten financial stability — - Treasury, other agencies consider launching FSOC examination — Tokens' fast growth has triggered anxieties among regulators

Tweets: @tphillips and @stuartlwallace

Simon Parkin / The Guardian:

How FBI and Australian police built and marketed the An0m chat service for criminals, which cost $1,700 for a handset and $1,250 for an annual subscription — Billed as the most secure phone on the planet, An0m became a viral sensation in the underworld. There was just one problem …

Tweets: @chey_cobb, @simonparkin, and @awinston

Financial Times:

Number of UK unicorns grew 10x in the last decade, with invested capital growing from €1B/year to €13B/year, but some worry Brexit will counteract the change — A decade ago, Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann stood before prospective investors at Seedcamp, a start-up event in London, and set fire to a £50 note.

Tweets: @nathanbenaich, @danielthomasldn, @tbraithwaite, and @financialtimes

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