Tech Freedom
Xbox Outage Stops Players From Launching Physical Disc Games
Players who owned games on disc got the same license error as digital users, because the Xbox verifies each disc online before it spins.
EU Court Rules VPN Providers Not Liable When Users Bypass Geoblocks
A tool is a tool, and there is no appeal.
Google’s €890m EU Fine and the Wrong Fight in Washington
There is a European law worth fighting over, and Congress picked the other one.
Google Opens the Play Store to Its Rivals
The company that turned sideloading into a chore is about to let you install its competitors with a single tap.
Apple Loses EU App Store Gatekeeper Appeal
Apple tried to convince a European court that one App Store was secretly five.
California Wants a Watcher Inside Every 3D Printer
California decided your printer should treat you like a suspect.
The Malware Excuse Behind Amazon’s Locked-Down Fire Sticks
The company that floods your home screen with tracking ads now blocks the apps built to hide them, all in the name of your safety.
Reddit to Require Login for Old Reddit, Curbing Anonymous Browsing
The determined scrapers will just register accounts and keep harvesting, leaving the anonymous human reader as the only one actually locked out.
Sony Kills the PlayStation Disc
Sony just decided that “owning” a PlayStation game is a privilege it can revoke.
Sony Deletes 551 StudioCanal Movies PlayStation Owners Paid For
Ownership is slowly moving onto servers a few companies control, and the storefront hasn’t admitted it yet.
How Apple Lost in Brazil and Won Anyway
Apple turned a regulator’s order into a set of fees and reporting rules engineered to keep competition out.
MembersThe Web Is Splitting Into Approved and Unapproved Humans
Google asked permission to gate the open web in 2023, got rejected, and just shipped the same thing as a product update nobody voted on.