How robotic surgery is changing the medical field
In this episode of Smarter Faster: Transformation
Technology
In this episode of Smarter Faster: Transformation
Wixen Music Publishing, which manages songs by Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks and more, is suing Spotify for $1.6 billion for allegedly using thousands of songs without proper licensing, Variety reports. It's also seeking injunctive relief for damages.
Why it matters: Spotify has been hit with numerous complaints and lawsuits from the music industry in the past for not giving music creators a fair share of revenue, and for distributing music without proper licenses. This suit is one of the biggest, and it's happening as Spotify prepares to go public through a direct listing in the near future.
The lawsuit was filed just before the new year at a federal court in California. Wixen says Spotify didn't adequately compensate the music label or its artists and knowingly distributed its clients' music without the proper licenses. Spotify responded by filing court papers Friday that questioned whether Wixen's clients authorized the record label to include their names in a suit against Spotify without giving them enough opt-out time.
Go deeper: Copyright problems have more commonly plagued video streaming companies like YouTube. YouTube and its rival Facebook have been doubling down on music streaming deals with record labels over the past year. Still, more music is being streamed from audio services than video.
Apple has acquired BuddyBuild a small Canadian company that helps developers build and test mobile apps.
BuddyBuild, not surprisingly, will be winding down its Android-related work to focus solely on helping with iPhone app development. The team, which includes roughly 40 engineers, will remain based in Vancouver.
Why it matters: Making life as easy and lucrative for developers as possible is key for both Apple and Google, both of which have acquired various startups in the area.
A woman browses the site of US home sharing giant Airbnb. Photo: John Macougall / AFP via Getty Images
Airbnb has defeated a lawsuit by Apartment Investment & Management Company, one of the largest residential landlords in the U.S., that claimed the home-sharing company promoted and profited from tenants who broke their leases through unauthorized sublets.
The ruling: A federal judge in Los Angeles sided with Airbnb's claim that the company is protected under the Communications Decency Act, which ruled that online service providers aren't liable for the content users post, according to Bloomberg. The judge said that the Airbnb hosts, not Airbnb, are responsible for the listing information that AIMCO deemed "illegal."
The backdrop: AIMCO claimed that the suit centered on concerns over that Airbnb guests might damage its properties or bother other tenants. But as Axios' Kia Kokalitcheva pointed out when the suit was first filed in February, AIMCO's financial interest was "hard to miss" — Airbnb makes all of the money in its home-sharing services, while the landlords make none.
In an effort to appease landlords and building owners, Airbnb unveiled a "Friendly Buildings Program" that shared data about the tenant's activity and gave them a cut of the earnings.
Statement from Airbnb: "The partnerships we have established with landlords have made it clear that home sharing can be a win-win situation for everyone," Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas said in a statement. "[The program] allows tenants to leverage their greatest expense to make extra money and can create new economic opportunities for landlords."
Take note: AIMCO also filed a separate lawsuit against Airbnb in Florida, so the fight isn't officially over just yet.
Former SoFi CEO Mike Cagney. Photo: Rob Lever/Getty
Mike Cagney, the recently ousted CEO of SoFi, is seeking up to $25 million for a new fintech startup focused on home equity lines of credit, according to Recode. His co-founder is wife June Ou, SoFi's former CTO.
More from Recode:
Michel Spingler / AP
Amazon is in touch with companies like Procter & Gamble, Clorox and others to sell their products through its assistant technology called Alexa, according to a new report from CNBC. Early discussions are debating functionality similar to Google's digital search advertising product, where marketers could pay to have their products elevated in search rankings.
Why it matters: The move comes amid a major advertising push by the tech giant to compete with the likes of Google and Facebook for a piece of the $83 billion U.S. digital ad market, and Amazon is well-positioned in the voice sector to experience rapid growth.
Protestors in Tehran, Iran on Dec. 30. Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
The Trump administration has called on the Iranian government to lift restrictions on social media apps including Instagram and Telegram, AP reports. The restrictions were temporarily imposed to "maintain tranquillity” during the anti-government protests in the country, per Iran's state-sponsored news agency. Iran's government blocked access to social media as part of its "iron fist" response to the pro-reform protests.
Why it matters: Tech platforms have allowed groups to organize around ideas in ways that they could not before. Many argued that access to social media helped facilitate protests that led to democratic revolution during the Arab Spring in 2012.
Youtube Rego Korosi via Flickr CC
Facebook and Universal Music struck a multi-year licensing deal just before the holiday to let users across all Facebook media properties use recorded music and publishing catalogs for video across Facebook. Just days before, YouTube and Universal Music Group announced a "global, multi-year agreement," and Bloomberg reported that the tech giant also struck a deal with Sony Music giving YouTube music licenses from three of the biggest record labels: Universal, Sony and Warner. Why it matters: The negotiations are a sign of improving relations between the music industry and tech giants. Labels have argued for years that YouTube in particular did not offer strict copyright protections or pay music creators fairly. |
Eric Risberg / AP
The Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday it has given a final approval to a settlement with Lenovo regarding the company's practice of preinstalling an advertising software program on some laptops that caused "serious security vulnerabilities" in order to show ads to consumers.
What this means: In its decision, the FTC said Lenovo is prohibited from misrepresenting any features of software it preinstalled on laptops that would "inject advertising into consumers' Internet browsing sessions or transmit sensitive consumer information to third parties."
People walk and jog across the East Plaza of the Capitol as Congress prepares to return from the Christmas recess on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018. Photo: Bill Clark/ CQ/ Roll Call via Getty)
Lawmakers are coming back later this month. So are the big battles over tech policy.
The most urgent: The Section 702 surveillance law — used by the intelligence community to justify warrantless surveillance of electronic communications of foreign nationals located abroad — expires in mid-January, thanks to a short-term extension Congress passed before leaving for the holidays.
That debate pits hard line intelligence hawks against people like Sens. Rand Paul and Ron Wyden, who have threatened a filibuster when faced with the prospect of a long-term extension of the law. In the middle are lawmakers who are pushing for light reforms that won't satisfy the privacy advocates.
Also on the radar:
Go deeper: There are a number of broader issues that matter to tech, including potential legislation on immigration and infrastructure. Axios' Caitlin Owens has a rundown of what's next on Capitol Hill here.
Twitter suspended the account of Beatrix von Storch of the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) for violating hate speech rules. Photo: Alexander Koerner / Getty Images
Twitter temporarily suspended the account of Beatrix von Storch, a far-right member of Germany's parliament, shortly after she sent an anti-Muslim tweet on New Year's Eve, per CNN. Twitter said the message, in which von Storch accused police of appeasing "barbaric, gang-raping Muslim hordes of men," violated its rules on hate speech.
Why it matters: A new German law, which was enacted in October but went into full effect Monday, requires that social media companies like Twitter and Facebook remove hate speech and fake news from their platforms within 24 hours of being flagged or face fines up to €50 million. Twitter's suspension of von Starch signals that the law is being taken seriously.
In this episode of Smarter Faster: Transformation