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Tech is reshaping the world — and not always for the better. Whether it’s the rules for Apple’s App Store or Facebook’s plan for fighting misinformation, tech platform policies can have enormous ripple effects on the rest of society. They’re so powerful that, increasingly, companies aren’t setting them alone but sharing the fight with government regulators, civil society groups, and internal standards bodies like Meta’s Oversight Board. The result is an ongoing political struggle over harassment, free speech, copyright, and dozens of other issues, all mediated through some of the largest and most chaotic electronic spaces the world has ever seen.

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DMA celebrations overlook Epic disappointment.

This post from the European Commissioner responsible for competition feels a little premature considering, just yesterday, Apple terminated the developer account that Fortnite maker Epic was using to create its own app marketplace for iOS.

The EU is currently chasing Apple to explain its actions, but Vestager seems confident about the outcome.


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Major porn sites aren’t taking the EU’s new moderation rules lying down.

Pornhub and Xvideos, two porn sites designated as “very large online platforms” last December, are challenging their Digital Services Act obligations, Politico reports. Pornhub isn’t happy about its VLOP status, and it and Xvideos are asking for a pause on rules requiring them to publish a library of the ads on their services. The DSA is focused on content moderation, and fighting illegal and harmful content.


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EU regulators want to know why Apple banned Epic’s dev account.

The European Commission has requested “further explanations” from Apple over its decision to ban Epic Games’ developer account, according to Bloomberg. Epic was planning to launch its own third-party app store on iOS in EU countries thanks to the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations, but Apple terminated its developer account, arguing Epic is “verifiably untrustworthy.” Apple has been forced to allow third-party app stores on iOS in the EU, but it’s clear the iPhone maker really doesn’t want to comply.


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Google will still get a cut of EU app transactions, even if made without its billing system.

The company has published new rules to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act. For the first two years, Google Play developers will pay an “initial acquisition” fee of 5 percent for subscriptions and 10 percent for other in-app services.

There’s also an “ongoing services fee” of 7 percent for subscriptions and 17 percent for other in-app services. Opting out of the latter will axe security scanning, app updates, and more.


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Facebook and Instagram account takeovers are skyrocketing and Meta needs to fix it, AGs say.

41 attorneys general sent a letter to Meta’s chief legal officer Tuesday demanding the company invest more in stopping scam account takeovers that threaten users’ privacy and “drain” AG resources.

The problem has gotten significantly worse over the past few years, the AGs said. In New York, Meta account takeover complaints spiked from 73 in 2019 to 783 by the end of 2023.


Apple kills Epic’s iOS game store plans over App Store criticism

After Epic CEO Tim Sweeney criticized how Apple is rolling out alternative app stores on iOS in the EU, Apple terminated its developer account and called the company ‘verifiably untrustworthy.’

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Can antitrust cases against Google and Apple be won on a budget?

26 groups including Public Knowledge and the Tech Oversight Project are raising alarms as Congress considers cuts to the Department of Justice Antitrust Division’s budget. Language in the appropriations bill would “unravel” a recent law that allowed enforcers to raise money from merger filing fees, according to the letter shared exclusively with The Verge. It comes as the DOJ fights Google in two separate cases and is reportedly nearing the end of its probe into Apple.


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The 2024 Nissan Leaf gets the US EV tax credit.

Nissan announced today that its EV hatchback once again qualifies for a federal EV tax credit, though only up to $3,750 and not the full $7,500 that precious few vehicles actually qualify for.

The car had previously fallen off the list of eligible cars because of battery components sourced from “foreign entities of concern” as defined by new guidelines under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.


The Affordable Connectivity Program for cheap broadband is staggering to a halt.

The FCC has issued a formal notice that ACP funding, which subsidizes broadband access for 23 million households, runs out at the end of April. As Karl Bode at Techdirt notes, Congress (particularly congressional Republicans) didn’t find the Biden administration’s request for $6 billion to fund it worth granting. Those households will lose out on a $30 monthly broadband discount — which FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel warns will cause some to lose access altogether.


Here’s the new iOS default browser nag for iPhone users in Europe.

It’s DMA day in Europe, and I’ve immediately been prompted to choose a default browser after updating to iOS 17.4. The list is populated with “the most downloaded browsers on iOS in that country in the prior year.” I picked Chrome, but quickly switched back to Safari because I’m not crazy. But instead of finding the default setting under something like “Browser” it was under “Safari” instead — confusing.

Maybe I’ll really switch if/when Chrome ditches WebKit for Blink in the future.


<em>This popped up immediately after updating my iPhone to iOS 17.4, right after I entered my SIM PIN.</em>

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This popped up immediately after updating my iPhone to iOS 17.4, right after I entered my SIM PIN.

The EU’s new competition rules are going live — here’s how tech giants are responding

The Digital Markets Act’s deadline for compliance is imminent. Its six designated ‘gatekeepers’ have fought the rules, but also bent to them.

Google’s making game devs an offer they probably can’t refuse.

It’ll let them use their own payments alongside (or instead) of Google Play, starting this week.

If you do, it’ll only charge you 26 (or 27) percent of revenue instead of 30, or 11 (or 12) percent for subs instead of 15. What a savings! Never mind Google knows you’ll pay more than the discount to process payments yourself. Never mind that Spotify pays zero.

Play devs can also link to outside payment offers this week in the EU. Tim Sweeney’s calling that a “new Google Tax on web transactions,” but we don’t yet have details.


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No sir, your greenhouse gas is not allowed here.

A dude in California became the first person to be charged with smuggling greenhouse gases. He was actually lugging refrigerants into the US from Mexico: Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), to be exact. HFCs are “super” greenhouse gases up to thousands of times more potent than CO2. The US and other countries have pledged to phase down the use of HFCs under the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.


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Play Store developers can link to outside payment offers in the EU this week.

Google noted the change as part of an update on its compliance with the Digital Markets Act. The update highlights more options it’s already announced or rolled out, including new choice screens and data sharing options, plus changes to how Play Store developers can collect payments — all preparing for the deadline of March 6th.


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3DS emulator Citra’s source code is gone.

It wasn’t immediately clear from Bunnei’s memo whether the Nintendo 3DS emulator was toast or might live on under new management — they only said that “Yuzu’s support of Citra” was being discontinued.

But now, the source code has vanished from GitHub — just like Yuzu’s source code did. Here’s our full story:


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The US Department of Energy has to start over if it wants to survey Bitcoin miners’ electricity use.

The DOE reached a settlement with crypto miners who sued to block data collection. The agency tried to make companies disclose their energy use through an emergency data request. But a federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on it in February, saying the situation probably didn’t warrant emergency authorization. On Friday, the DOE agreed to destroy information it’s already collected. It can start over without emergency authorization, but would have to propose a new survey and give the public 60 days to comment.


Bunnei confirms Yuzu is shutting down — and it’ll hit Nintendo 3DS emulator Citra too.

Here’s the whole memo from Bunnei, who was lead contributor on both emulators. We’ve also added the full text to our main story if that makes it easier to read. Yuzu’s source code is already down.


This just got posted to the Yuzu discord.
This just got posted to the Yuzu discord.
Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge
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Discord military leaker agrees to plea deal that could include 16 years in prison.

National Guard member Jack Teixeira, who was arrested last year after leaking classified US government documents in a small Discord server, has entered into a plea agreement with the Massachusetts District Attorney.

Teixeira would plead guilty in exchange for no charges under the Espionage Act. In exchange, he agrees to face between 132 months (11 years) and 200 months (16 years and 8 months) in prison, along with fines and 3 years of supervised release.


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Privacy and competition advocates urge FTC, DOJ to investigate Walmart’s $2.3 billion Vizio acquisition.

The 19 groups — including the Demand Progress Education Fund, Open Markets Institute, and Electronic Privacy Information Center — urged federal antitrust enforcers to probe Walmart’s proposed acquisition of TV-maker Vizio. In a letter shared exclusively with The Verge, they warn the deal risks “privacy dangers” and “could lock in captive buyers to Walmart advertising and content channels for good.”


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Apple tells its support staff not to shoot from the hip about sideloading.

Apple is preparing to release iOS 17.4 soon with many changes, including those meant to comply, to some degree at least, with Europe’s Digital Markets Act.

According to Bloomberg today, the company has told support staff not to engage with customers about whether or not the iPhone will get changes like third-party app stores outside of the EU.


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OpenAI execs think Musk sued because he’s upset he’s not along for the ride.

Chief strategy officer Jason Kwon said in a staff memo regarding Elon Musk’s lawsuit that Musk has “regrets about not being involved with the company today,” according to several reports.

Axios detailed claims that Kwon refuted, including whether GPT-4 represents artificial general intelligence that benefits humanity. In court, Musk would also need to prove a very wobbly claim that OpenAI was contractually bound to do so.


Here’s a peek under WhatsApp’s hood at how third-party chats will work.

The Android beta (version 2.24.6.2) for WhatsApp includes a way to manage third-party chat app interoperability, which is coming soon as Meta works to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act next week.

That’s according to WABetaInfo, which reported that users will be able to approve specific apps for the integration (or turn it off entirely).


A screenshot of the third-party chats management screen in the WhatsApp beta.
Image: WABetaInfo
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Google will face new antitrust allegations after a judge okays charges.

US District Judge Kevin Castel approved (PDF) a class action lawsuit by advertisers alleging that the company holds a monopoly in the ad market, Reuters reported yesterday.

Judge Castel dismissed some of the claims, though, including one that alleged that Google and Facebook conspired to give Facebook access to “enhanced proprietary data.”

Google is also preparing another advertising antitrust trial from the US DOJ.