Month: July 2023

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Twitter — now called X — is threatening to sue the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) for its research into hate speech on Twitter that the company claims is driving away advertisers. In a letter to the CCDH, which was first reported by The New York Times, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro claims that the CCDH “regularly posts articles making inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions” about Twitter with the goal of harming its reputation.
The CCDH is an organization that aims to hold social media companies accountable for the spread of hateful material online. Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the CCDH has published numerous reports that suggest the platform is failing to protect users from hate speech. In its most recent study, the CCDH found that Twitter doesn’t take action against 99 percent of hate speech posted by paid subscribers to Twitter Blue.
The letter, which Twitter sent out on July 20th, 2023, specifically addresses this study, alleging the CCDH’s findings “are not supported by anything that could credibly be called research” and exists to drive away advertisers. Spiro says that Twitter has “reason to believe” that the CCDH is funded by X Corp.’s competitors and government entities:
Twitter takes its commitment to free speech, the enforcement of its rules and policies protecting users, and its strong relationships with its advertising partners all extremely seriously… to the extent that CCDH is passing off as impartial “research” material that is in fact being funded in support of an ulterior agenda, your representations are all the more misleading.

“Elon Musk wants to silence his critics so he can continue to give a megaphone to hate and misinformation while avoiding the consequences.” – CCDH CEO @Imi_Ahmed.We stand by our research and won’t be intimidated by Musk’s threats.#MuskMeltdown pic.twitter.com/vsR9bxOced— Center for Countering Digital Hate (@CCDHate) July 31, 2023

Spiro warns that Twitter is also investigating whether it can take legal action against the organization’s “false and misleading claims.” One of Twitter’s biggest concerns right now is advertisers, and it seems like the company’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino’s main role is getting them back. This lawsuit is meant to help with that goal, but it might have the opposite effect. If it weren’t for Twitter’s letter, I probably wouldn’t have seen this study (so good job, Elon).
The CCDH rejected the company’s claims in a response posted to its website. “These allegations not only have no basis in fact (your letter states none), but they represent a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech and harmful content online,” the CCDH’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, writes. Pushing back on an organization that uncovers hate speech — rather than actually doing anything about it — doesn’t really look good on Twitter’s part.
Musk has been critical of the CCDH in the past. Just two days before Twitter sent its letter to the CCDH, Musk responded to a user’s tweet about its research: “Who is funding this organization? They spread disinformation and push censorship, while claiming the opposite. Truly evil.” This latest letter only adds to the growing number of legal threats Twitter has made in the past several months.
After threatening to sue Microsoft over accusations it “trained illegally using Twitter data,” the company sent a letter to Meta claiming its Threads app copied Twitter. But all this is just a lot of talk and no action so far, although it’d be somewhat entertaining to see how well Twitter’s claims hold up in court.

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Twitter — now called X — is threatening to sue the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) for its research into hate speech on Twitter that the company claims is driving away advertisers. In a letter to the CCDH, which was first reported by The New York Times, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro claims that the CCDH “regularly posts articles making inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions” about Twitter with the goal of harming its reputation.

The CCDH is an organization that aims to hold social media companies accountable for the spread of hateful material online. Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the CCDH has published numerous reports that suggest the platform is failing to protect users from hate speech. In its most recent study, the CCDH found that Twitter doesn’t take action against 99 percent of hate speech posted by paid subscribers to Twitter Blue.

The letter, which Twitter sent out on July 20th, 2023, specifically addresses this study, alleging the CCDH’s findings “are not supported by anything that could credibly be called research” and exists to drive away advertisers. Spiro says that Twitter has “reason to believe” that the CCDH is funded by X Corp.’s competitors and government entities:

Twitter takes its commitment to free speech, the enforcement of its rules and policies protecting users, and its strong relationships with its advertising partners all extremely seriously… to the extent that CCDH is passing off as impartial “research” material that is in fact being funded in support of an ulterior agenda, your representations are all the more misleading.

Spiro warns that Twitter is also investigating whether it can take legal action against the organization’s “false and misleading claims.” One of Twitter’s biggest concerns right now is advertisers, and it seems like the company’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino’s main role is getting them back. This lawsuit is meant to help with that goal, but it might have the opposite effect. If it weren’t for Twitter’s letter, I probably wouldn’t have seen this study (so good job, Elon).

The CCDH rejected the company’s claims in a response posted to its website. “These allegations not only have no basis in fact (your letter states none), but they represent a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech and harmful content online,” the CCDH’s lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, writes. Pushing back on an organization that uncovers hate speech — rather than actually doing anything about it — doesn’t really look good on Twitter’s part.

Musk has been critical of the CCDH in the past. Just two days before Twitter sent its letter to the CCDH, Musk responded to a user’s tweet about its research: “Who is funding this organization? They spread disinformation and push censorship, while claiming the opposite. Truly evil.” This latest letter only adds to the growing number of legal threats Twitter has made in the past several months.

After threatening to sue Microsoft over accusations it “trained illegally using Twitter data,” the company sent a letter to Meta claiming its Threads app copied Twitter. But all this is just a lot of talk and no action so far, although it’d be somewhat entertaining to see how well Twitter’s claims hold up in court.

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Image: Disney

Loki’s first season ended by cracking the multiverse so wide open that it seemed like all of existence might be in serious jeopardy or at least on the verge of being conquered by a certain Kang. Both of those possibilities have seemed like they’re becoming realities judging from Marvel’s recent films, but in the first trailer for Loki’s upcoming second season, there appears to be some hope that things can still be put right.
After two Spider-Verse movies about people traveling to other dimensions and glitching out because they’re not supposed to be there, it’s interesting to see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) “time slipping” in Loki’s new season 2 trailer, both because of the visual similarities between the two phenomena and because it’s something few people understand. Somehow, the god of mischief is uncontrollably jumping to random points in the timeline, and while neither Time Variance Authority agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) nor agent Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) can explain why, all signs in Loki’s new trailer point to Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) being the cause.

Marvel Studios’ #Loki Season 2, an Original series, is streaming October 6 only on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/nUfxRxwrkc— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) July 31, 2023

In addition to Loki’s timeslipping within the TVA — something that’s not supposed to be possible — the trailer establishes how many of the organization’s other employees, like Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Casey (Eugene Cordero), and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), will once again find themselves navigating through strange timelines where things don’t always line up the way one might expect them to. What’s even more interesting, though, is the exchange Loki has with his alternate reality variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) about the two of them being gods and the brief glimpse the trailer features of one (or perhaps both of them) doing some fancy Asgardian magic.
Unsurprisingly, Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is both very present (see: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) and doesn’t say all that much in the trailer, which leaves it unclear just how large a role he’ll have in Loki’s second season. But given that the villain formerly known as He Who Remains is meant to be the MCU’s next Big Bad™, one imagines that his role in Loki’s season 2 is going to be the subject of quite a bit of discussion when the show returns.
Loki season 2 premieres October 6th.

Image: Disney

Loki’s first season ended by cracking the multiverse so wide open that it seemed like all of existence might be in serious jeopardy or at least on the verge of being conquered by a certain Kang. Both of those possibilities have seemed like they’re becoming realities judging from Marvel’s recent films, but in the first trailer for Loki’s upcoming second season, there appears to be some hope that things can still be put right.

After two Spider-Verse movies about people traveling to other dimensions and glitching out because they’re not supposed to be there, it’s interesting to see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) “time slipping” in Loki’s new season 2 trailer, both because of the visual similarities between the two phenomena and because it’s something few people understand. Somehow, the god of mischief is uncontrollably jumping to random points in the timeline, and while neither Time Variance Authority agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson) nor agent Ouroboros (Ke Huy Quan) can explain why, all signs in Loki’s new trailer point to Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) being the cause.

In addition to Loki’s timeslipping within the TVA — something that’s not supposed to be possible — the trailer establishes how many of the organization’s other employees, like Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku), Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Casey (Eugene Cordero), and Miss Minutes (Tara Strong), will once again find themselves navigating through strange timelines where things don’t always line up the way one might expect them to. What’s even more interesting, though, is the exchange Loki has with his alternate reality variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) about the two of them being gods and the brief glimpse the trailer features of one (or perhaps both of them) doing some fancy Asgardian magic.

Unsurprisingly, Majors’ Kang the Conqueror is both very present (see: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) and doesn’t say all that much in the trailer, which leaves it unclear just how large a role he’ll have in Loki’s second season. But given that the villain formerly known as He Who Remains is meant to be the MCU’s next Big Bad™, one imagines that his role in Loki’s season 2 is going to be the subject of quite a bit of discussion when the show returns.

Loki season 2 premieres October 6th.

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Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Microsoft has submitted a new change of circumstances document to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, arguing its case for its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to be reconsidered for approval.
The CMA first blocked Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in April, with the regulator making it clear it had concerns over the effect Microsoft’s acquisition could have on the emerging cloud gaming market. Weeks later, the European Commission then approved the deal thanks to Microsoft’s cloud gaming agreements with Nvidia, Boosteroid, and others and a commitment to the EU to open up cloud licensing access to Xbox and Activision Blizzard games.
Microsoft now argues the UK regulator should take into consideration its cloud gaming deals and the EU monitoring of them, a new Call of Duty agreement with Sony, and even fresh material from the FTC case “which undermines the [final report’s] conclusions.” Microsoft is also working on a final proposal to modify the merger agreement to address the CMA concerns more directly, which could involve selling off its cloud gaming rights in the UK.

Image: CMA
Details on Microsoft’s Sony agreement are heavily redacted.

Microsoft’s document is heavily redacted, so references to the company’s 10-year agreement with Sony over Call of Duty don’t shed any new light on the deal terms. We also still don’t have details of Microsoft’s final proposal to restructure its Activision deal, either, but the CMA is looking for comments from Microsoft’s rivals by August 4th and will accept final undertakings or make a final order by August 29th.
That means we should get more details on Microsoft’s final proposal in the coming weeks. Microsoft recently agreed to an extension to its $68.7 billion deal with Activision, pushing the new deal deadline to October 18th. The extension gives Microsoft and Activision plenty of time to attempt to address the CMA’s cloud gaming concerns.

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Microsoft has submitted a new change of circumstances document to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, arguing its case for its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to be reconsidered for approval.

The CMA first blocked Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in April, with the regulator making it clear it had concerns over the effect Microsoft’s acquisition could have on the emerging cloud gaming market. Weeks later, the European Commission then approved the deal thanks to Microsoft’s cloud gaming agreements with Nvidia, Boosteroid, and others and a commitment to the EU to open up cloud licensing access to Xbox and Activision Blizzard games.

Microsoft now argues the UK regulator should take into consideration its cloud gaming deals and the EU monitoring of them, a new Call of Duty agreement with Sony, and even fresh material from the FTC case “which undermines the [final report’s] conclusions.” Microsoft is also working on a final proposal to modify the merger agreement to address the CMA concerns more directly, which could involve selling off its cloud gaming rights in the UK.

Image: CMA
Details on Microsoft’s Sony agreement are heavily redacted.

Microsoft’s document is heavily redacted, so references to the company’s 10-year agreement with Sony over Call of Duty don’t shed any new light on the deal terms. We also still don’t have details of Microsoft’s final proposal to restructure its Activision deal, either, but the CMA is looking for comments from Microsoft’s rivals by August 4th and will accept final undertakings or make a final order by August 29th.

That means we should get more details on Microsoft’s final proposal in the coming weeks. Microsoft recently agreed to an extension to its $68.7 billion deal with Activision, pushing the new deal deadline to October 18th. The extension gives Microsoft and Activision plenty of time to attempt to address the CMA’s cloud gaming concerns.

Read More