House of Representatives will report on antitrust probe in early 2020

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google don't have long to wait

What you need to know

• The House of Representatives will report on its antitrust probe in early 2020.
• Chair of the Panel David Cicilline revealed the timeline on Friday.
• Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are the firms under scrutiny, initial submissions have already begun.

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will deliver its final report on its antitrust probe in early 2020, according to reports.

According to Reuters during a hearing on Friday, chair of the panel Rep. David Cicilline said:

"Our hope is to conclude our evidence collection end of this year, beginning of next year with the idea that we will have a final report, instead of recommendations in the first part of next year,"

Cicilline was speaking at a hearing on the effect of consumer data collection on online competition, alongside Rohit Chopra, Commissioner of the Federal Trade commission.

Whilst the probe essentially seeks to determine whether current rules and regulations are sufficient to monitor practices, it could lead to tougher rules that govern certain anticompetitive practices. Chopra at least believes that financial penalties alone are not enough, going so far as to vote against a decision to fine Facebook $5 billion over online privacy earlier this year. Apple practices under scrutiny include "sherlocking", the adoption of third-party ideas (i.e. Luna Display to Sidecar), as well as mangement of the app store, revenue sharing and user options to use third-party apps in place of default offerings.

On Thursday it was reported that all companies involved, including Apple had begun to make their initial submissions to the committee. Full disclosure has not yet been received, but the committee expects all of the companies to fully comply.

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AOC and Ted Cruz wade into Apple's China censorship debate

An open letter described the move as "deeply concerning"

What you need to know

• Senators and representatives have written to Tim cook expressing concern over Hong Kong mapping app.
• The letter describes the move by Apple as "deeply concerning."
• Apple removed HKmap.live from the App Store after reportedly seeing evidence it was used to target police.

A report from Bloomberg via 9to5Mac has revealed that representatives and senators have written an open letter to Tim Cook over Apple's decision to remove controversial app HKmap.live from its App Store

Apple caused global outcry following its decision to remove HKmap.live from its App Store earlier this month, despite claims it had received evidence the app was being used to target police in Hong Kong.

Now, the saga has taken a fresh turn after senators and representatives wrote to Apple expressing concern over the decision. The letter was signed by Ted Cruz, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ron Wyden, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, Mike Gallagher, and Tom Malinowski. The letter states:

"We write to express our strong concern about Apple's censorship of apps, including a prominent app used by Protesters in Hong Kong, at the behest of the Chinese government."

The letter goes on to express dissapointment at the decision to remove HKmap.live, claiming that it allows HK residents to keep peaceful protesters "out of harm's way" in the face of what it describes as "brutal repression." The letter also notes that Apple has censored at least 2200 apps in China, including VPNs and apps made by and for opressed ethnic minorities including the Uyghur and Tibetan Communities.

In conclusion the letter describes the decision to remove HKmap.live as "deeply concerning" and states:

"We urge you in the strongest terms to reverse course, to demonstrate that Apple puts values above market access, and to stand with the brave men and women fighting for basi rights and dignity in Hong Kong."

Apple will likely be keen for everyone to move on from this saga, but it seems unable to shake off criticism over its decision taken to remove HKmap. live. Are Cruz and co. right to criticise Apple's decision?

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PDXCON 2019: Paradox reveals Crusader Kings III, Surviving the Aftermath, and more

The king is dead. Long live the king. Paradox unveiled plenty of projects at the 2019 iteration of its annual PDXCon fan gathering, but none loom larger than Crusader Kings III. After eight years and over a dozen expansions, the game that (arguably) made Paradox a household name is passing the crown to an heir.

There’s not much to go on yet, as the debut trailer doesn’t show a lick of in-game footage.

Paradox did provide a few details in its press release though, calling it the start of “a new generation of grand strategy games, with new 3D character models and an even more detailed map.” The first claim is pretty hard to adjudicate at this point, but the latter two are certainly borne out by the few screenshots Paradox sent over.

To read this article in full, please click here

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Apple complaint seeks to stop relitigation in IXI Mobile patent case

iPhone's Personal Hotspot feature is in the spotlight

What you need to know

• Apple has filed a complaint with the District Court in California.
• The complaint seeks to prevent IXI Mobile relitigating a case dating back to 2014.
• The case centers around Personal Hotspot, which allegedly infrings an IXI Mobile patent.

Apple has filed a complaint with the U.S District Court in Northern California, seeking to prevent Israeli mobile firm IXI Mobile relitigating a patent infringement case dating back to 2014.

Accorindg to the report from AppleInsider

In 2014, IXI sued Apple in New York court, claiming devices that incorporate personal hotspot capabilities infringe on claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,039,033 for a "System, device and computer readable medium for providing a managed wireless network using short-range radio signals." Also cited as infringed were certain claims from patent Nos. 7,295,532, 7,426,398 and 7,016,648. IXI leveled similar patent infringement claims against Samsung and BlackBerry.

The trial was resolved in favour of both Apple and Samsung, after the companies appealed to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to challenge the case, it was also upheld at an appeal hearing in 2018. IXI tried to circumvent this by having the claim re-examined, which results in one claim being amended and a further 68 claims being added.

Apple argued against amending the infringement complaint, saying IXI's motion should be barred by res judicata, meaning the case should not be relitigated because all appeals to the PTAB's decision on patent invalidity have been exhausted. In other words, IXI has no case because the '033 patent was deemed unpatentable.

The court ultimately denied IXI's motion to amend its original claims, finding the firm "did not demonstrate sufficient diligence" and that "Apple would be unduly prejudiced by the amendment." It fell short of deciding whether the new claims are barred by res judicata, however, and in a ruling said, "If Plaintiffs want to enforce their newly-minted claims, they can try to do so in a new case."

Apple's fresh complaint seeks that res judicata ruling which would confirm IXI Mobile cannot reassert this claim. It is also seeking judgements stating it did not infringe the patent in question, and a declaration that the asserted intellectual property is invalid.

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Apple’s latest iPhone 11 has new features and costs $100 more than last year’s iPhone XR. But it might not be worth buying.

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Kik Messenger will keep running under a different owner

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WSJ: Facebook's news tab could launch by the end of the month

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T-Mobile signs deal with upcoming movie streaming service Quibi - CNET

Quibi will launch in April 2020.

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Verizon adds 5G coverage to three basketball and hockey arenas

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Biden Escalates Attack on Facebook Over False Political Ads

Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidential campaign sent Facebook a letter about a false video ad that a super PAC ran on the social network.

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Salesforce CEO hates Section 230, but his lawyers sure don’t

Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images for TechCrunch

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, an outspoken tech industry figure who is apparently not afraid to criticize other business leaders, spent all week bashing Facebook over the company’s refusal to moderate certain content on its platform, like political ads that contain lies. He’s on tour promoting his book, Trailblazer, and is understandably generating headlines and free promotion as a result. But one peculiar call to action that Benioff voiced two days ago on Twitter, in favor of abolishing the oft-misunderstood Section 230, may not have been all that well thought out.

That’s because, according to BuzzFeed News, Salesforce lawyers are using Section 230 as a defense in not one, but seven lawsuits involving the website Backpage, to which...

Continue reading…

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Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch Two Years Before Deadly Crash

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