Electronic Arts will give other developers access to its accessibility patents and technology as part of a new initiative to make video games more inclusive for players with disabilities.
Why it matters: Attitudes toward accessibility in video games have shifted in a more positive direction over the last decade, but that work needs to be ongoing.
California has expanded its anti-discrimination lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, adding temporary workers to the female full-time employees of whom it is suing on behalf. The state's Department of Fair Employment & Housing also alleges the game maker has interfered with its investigation.
Why it matters: While Activision Blizzard has attempted to show over the past month that it is addressing issues raised in the suit, the DFEH is turning up the heat.
Facebook is now sharing information about which posts on its platform get the most views, but researchers and critics tell Axios the new quarterly reports lack the details or timeliness to be of much use.
Why it matters: While Facebook has offered its "Widely Viewed Content Report" as a transparency move, the company won't persuade critics that it's winning the fight against misinformation unless it gives outsiders more of an open window into near-real-time data.
Newsletter startup Substack has scooped up the team behind Cocoon, a subscription-based social network for connecting with close friends and family.
Why it matters: As newsletters grow along with the wider "creator economy," companies like Substack are looking for ways to help subscribers feel more like a community and interact with one another.
Major power and oil companies are funding a tech startup that helps detect risks to critical infrastructure — including energy networks.
Driving the news: Urbint just announced $60 million in Series C funding to scale its platform that uses AI to "stop failures, damages, and worker injuries before they happen."
Peloton will sell its Tread treadmill model with new safety features in the U.S., UK and Canada on Aug. 30 and in Germany later this fall, the company announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: The move comes three months after the company recalled its Tread and Tread+ models due to reports of small children being injured and even killed beneath the machines.
While critics allege YouTube puts profits over public safety, product head Neal Mohan insists that the Google-owned video site is working to be a better content moderator, in part because it is good for business.
Why it matters: Users spend billions of hours watching videos on YouTube, and the site's content recommendations shape how that time is spent. Facebook and Twitter tend to get more attention on content moderation, but YouTube remains an equally important information battleground.
Facebook says its releaseof quarterly data about the most popular content on its platform shows it's being more transparent, while critics complained that the information is selective and incomplete.
Driving the news: The White House blasted Facebook, with spokesman Michael Gwin telling Axios, "Facebook still refuses to be straightforward about how much misinformation is circulating — and being actively promoted — on their platform."
We have a shortageof semiconductors in part because of ... a shortage of semiconductors.
Driving the news: The chip shortage has entered a new phase. The main problem during the first half of the year was a dearth of wafers — but now that we have more wafers, the problem is assembling those wafers into integrated circuits for circuit boards, according to a report by IHS Markit.
Marketing and advertising companies are increasingly using AI models to track trends and generate slogans.
The big picture: Marketers and advertisers focus on two things: identifying and predicting trends that indicate what consumers want, and shaping messages that will appeal to them.
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