New video game sales rankings released in the U.S. and Japan show demand for Switch games is strong, even by Nintendo's standard measures of success.
Why it matters: With the next-gen Xbox and PlayStation still low in supply — and marquee new releases for Switch competitors delayed due to COVID — we're seeing the strength of Nintendo's steady, stubborn approach to the gaming business.
Apple's plan to scan iPhones for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) provoked immediate criticism that it was opening a door to much broader efforts by governments seeking a way into citizens' devices.
Between the lines: That debate is important, but Apple is also laying out a technical approach that's worthy of the industry's attention.
House Judiciary lawmakers on Friday introduced legislation meant to boost competition in app stores by setting rules for how companies like Google and Apple control their marketplaces.
Why it matters: The bipartisan bill is the House companion to Senate legislation introduced earlier this week, showing the appetite from both chambers of Congress to take on the app store battle.
A bipartisan group of senators wants to know how Amazon is protecting data privacy and security as it promotes a new palm-print recognition system that will allow consumers to pay for in-store purchases with a wave of the hands.
Why it matters: Amazon's move into biometrics opens up the tech giant to additional Washington scrutiny on a new front.
Twitch will improve its ability to detect bad actors on its platform, the company announced Wednesday, after being criticized for its failures to protect marginalized streamers from being inundated with hate speech as they broadcast live on the service.
Why it matters: Amazon-owned Twitch is the dominant player for live-streaming games in much of the world, but it remains a treacherous platform for anyone streaming who isn't a cishet white male.
One of the most notorious images in games right now is a photo of 20 mostly white male staffers that was included as part of the announcement of a new Montreal game studio called Raccoon Logic.
Why it matters: The photo has become central in the discussion of diversity in game studios and who gets a seat at the table.
Top Republicans in the House and Senate antitrust subcommittees want the FTC to dig into Zillow's plans to buy a home-showing scheduling platform amid concerns about competition in the residential real estate market.
Why it matters: Federal antitrust scrutiny of tech deals keeps widening, and any hot market in which tech is playing an increasingly big role — like real estate — is likely to come under regulators' eyes.
Several groups that had opposed Verizon's purchase of Tracfone say that they are satisfied with fresh commitments being made to the FCC and will withdraw their objections to the deal.
Why it matters: The status of Verizon's purchase of the low-cost prepaid brand had been unclear amid the concerns.
Tech giants are scrambling to update their privacy rules for young users in order to comply with new regulations from the United Kingdom focused on teens' online privacy and wellbeing.
Why it matters: Historically, when Europe passes new data laws, the U.S. and other Western countries have eventually followed suit. So it's likely that the U.K.'s pending Age Appropriate Design Code will set a new global standard for the treatment of children's data.
Artificial intelligence and automation are the new farmhands as growers try to boost productivity amid soaring global demand for food, biofuels and other agricultural products.
Why it matters: Farmers one day will be able to manage their fields from their kitchen table, using a smartphone or tablet to drive machinery, inspect plants and irrigate or treat crops with fertilizer or insecticides.
Micropayments — the decades-old vision of a new way to support creators and businesses online — remain a dream in the U.S., despite 25 years of digital business innovation.
Why it matters: After all this time, the dominant revenue models of the internet — subscriptions and advertising — are exactly the same as they were in the pre-digital era.
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