In his first testimony in a courtroom trial, Apple CEO Tim Cook calmly and methodically defended the App Store's business model and other policies that Fortnite maker Epic Games says violate antitrust law.
Between the lines: While Cook is the biggest name to testify at the 3-week trial, the verdict will likely hinge on which side's economic experts were most persuasive to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers — who will ultimately determine the relevant market and whether Apple has a monopoly that it abused.
Logitech has partnered with AbleGamers Charity, Adaptive Action Sports and Mt. Sinai hospital to create a new, one-of-a-kind tournament aimed at adaptive esports players.
Why it matters: Major esports tournaments for gamers with disabilities don't exist. It's another way in which these players are othered from the space, instead of being allowed to showcase their skills in competitive games.
Venture capitalists are used to being praised by elected officials, who view early-stage investment as a job creation engine. But a bipartisan schism is emerging over the VC model itself, and its reliance on acquisitions.
Driving the news: Two senators who don't agree on very much, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), each have proposed antitrust bills that would make it more difficult for large companies to make acquisitions.
Snapchat on Thursday unveiled a new version of its 3D glasses called Spectacles, giving it a big boost in the race to deliver augmented reality (AR) devices to consumers.
Why it matters: In focusing narrowly on AR for the past five years, Snapchat has been able beat bigger rivals like Apple and Facebook to unveiling its AR glasses.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers are introducing a bill Friday that would give states more control over which court hears antitrust lawsuits brought against companies, according to a copy of the proposal obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: This bill would ensure that state AGs — which are suing companies more and more — get home-court advantage by choosing the court to hear the case and ensuring the case stays there.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling on the federal government to do more to fight ransomware as businesses continue to be hit with financially motivated attacks.
Why it matters: Once they are hit, businesses often feel they have no choice but to pay up — hence the need and desire for collective action.
After three and a half years, the U.S. backlash against tech's biggest firms has failed to dent or daunt them.
The big picture: Today, Google, Apple, Amazon and Facebook are massively richer, more powerful and more determined to push their products and services deeper into our lives than they were in January 2018, when Axios first used the term "techlash."
The White House is hoping that the urge to merge will motivate more Americans to get vaccinated, teaming up with nine of the largest dating sites to offer badges and other perks to those who have gotten their COVID-19 shot.
Why it matters: The White House has an ambitious goal to get 70% of American adults to have had at least their first vaccine shot by July 4.
Snapchat used large LED screens to present its annual "Snap Partner Summit," a move that caught the attention of tech insiders who were eager to see what the company had been building during the pandemic.
Why it matters: The annual presentation, done entirely in augmented reality (AR) this year, has become a must-see event for Snapchat stakeholders — akin to how Apple's product announcements have become cultural moments.
Google announced Thursday it plans to open its first physical retail store in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood.
Why it matters, via Axios' Ina Fried:Google's move into brick-and-mortar sales comes after the company broadened its hardware with Fitbit, Nest and Pixel. But most major tech companies outside Apple have struggled with physical stores, including Samsung and Sony.
During the third week of the Epic-Apple trial, Apple executives have portrayed their company as a benevolent and helpful gatekeeper to iPhone users and app developers.
Why it matters: It's been Apple's turn to present its side in a trial that will determine whether its restrictions on its app store are illegally monopolistic.
The Media Indie Exchange is putting Black developers at the forefront with its Black Voices in Gaming Freshman Class, an initiative to highlight developers with games coming out through 2022.
Why it matters: The game industry grapples with diversity across the board, leaving developers who are not cis-gender white men isolated or even alienated from the broader community.
Snapchat on Thursday debuted a slew of new products and user metrics for things like games and augmented reality lenses that have been built using Snapchat's developer tools.
Why it matters: It's an important milestone in Snapchat's transformation from a social network to a camera company that caters to developers.
Twitter has begun rolling out a new verification process and says moving forward, it will accept and review all public applications for verification on Twitter.
Why it matters: Executives told press during a briefing Wednesday that for a long time, people have complained that the verification process felt unfair.
Tinder parent Match Group is debuting a new screen asking customers "Are you sure?" before they post potentially offensive language. It says the technique has reduced such language by 10% in early testing.
Why it matters: It's another example of the kind of tools tech companies can deploy on the middle ground between just banning content and taking an anything-goes stance.
Facebook says that its services were interrupted 84 times in 19 countries in the second half of last year, compared to 52 disruptions in eight countries that took place during the first half of the year. That's a symptom of a growing trend among countries to restrict access to social media and the open internet.
Why it matters: Government censorship, whether through complete blackouts or laws limiting certain types of content, is a growing threat to the notion of the internet as an open global network.
Incarcerated people and their families pay high rates to talk by phone in part because the deals phone companies cut with prisons and jails drive the prices up — and the Federal Communications Commission is looking to lower them.
Why it matters: People who stay in contact with friends and family while in prison are more likely to succeed once they're out.
Zhang Yiming, co-founder of TikTok owner ByteDance, is stepping down as CEO and moving to a new role, the company said in a memo released Thursday.
Why it matters: The replacement of Zhang with human resources chief Liang Rubo, another TikTok co-founder, marks the "biggest corporate shake-up" at the firm since it launched in 2012, going on to become a major social media player in China and turning TikTok into a massive global force, per Reuters, which first reported the news.
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