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Aug. 21, 2020 07:00PM EST
Apple likens Fortnite creator to a shoplifter in court filing
Apple on Friday urged a court not to give Epic Games a reprieve from being kicked out of iOS, saying the firm acted akin to a shoplifter by inserting its own payment system into Fortnite.
Why it matters: The battle between Apple and Epic is a high-stakes one, with Apple risking attracting even more antitrust scrutiny and Epic potentially not only seeing Fortnite permanently banned from the App Store, but also left unable to update its Unreal gaming engine.
Details: In Friday's filing, Apple urged a federal district court in San Francisco to deny Epic's request for a temporary restraining order, insisting the “emergency” is entirely of Epic’s own making and saying restraining orders "exist to remedy irreparable harm, not easily reparable self-inflicted wounds,"
- "If developers can avoid the digital checkout, it is the same as if a customer leaves an Apple retail store without paying for shoplifted product: Apple does not get paid," Apple said in the filing.
Flashback: Earlier this month, Epic added its own in-app payment system to Fortnite for both iOS and Android. The same day, Apple and Google both removed the game from their app stores and Epic filed suit against both companies.
- With Android, Epic continues to make Fortnite available directly. That's not an option with Apple, which only allows iOS apps to be downloaded via its App Store.
- Epic later filed for a restraining order, saying that Apple informed it that it could lose developer access by the end of the month.
The new court papers show that Epic was trying to alter its arrangement with Apple for months.
- According to Apple, Epic emailed the company on June 30 seeking to allow its own Epic Games Store app as a way for iOS users to install the company's games directly, bypassing Apple's payment system.
What they're saying: "Over the last several months, Epic has demanded that Apple make various changes to Epic’s rights and obligations under its contracts that would be destructive to Apple’s basic business model.," Apple fellow Phil Schiller said in a declaration accompanying Friday's filing.
- "When Apple refused to fundamentally alter the way it does business to appease Epic, Epic resorted to sudden, unilateral action that blatantly breached its contracts with Apple, and simultaneously filed this lawsuit, which seeks to justify its deliberate breaches after the fact."
Between the lines: Apple says Epic has no antitrust case against it because it can’t possibly monopolize the mobile app market, given competition from Google. (Epic maintains that Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store are in fact discrete markets, each a monopoly in its own right.)
- Apple says its policies are similar not only to those used by Google, Amazon and Microsoft for their platforms, but also to other game marketplaces such as Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo and Steam.
What's next: A hearing on Epic's request for a restraining order is scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. PT.
Go deeper:
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Mar. 16, 2021 12:50AM EST
White House rolls back COVID-19 testing for staffers
The Biden administration issued new internal guidance Monday saying it would reduce daily coronavirus testing for White House staff to once a week, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Now that a majority of officials working on the 18-acre complex have been vaccinated, the administration is relaxing some of its coronavirus restrictions — a step closer to normalcy.
Flashback: Unlike during the Trump administration — which had a lackadaisical attitude, sparking COVID-19 outbreaks in the West Wing and after a Rose Garden event — the Biden administration created a bubble around the president during the 2020 campaign that continued through his arrival in the Oval Office.
- President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were vaccinated prior to being inaugurated.
- The White House reduced its West Wing staff count, required COVID tests for the employees allowed inside, as well as the routine wearing of N95 masks at all times and social distancing.
- A week into the job, Biden's medical team had already administered the coronavirus vaccine to several hundred staffers — with the goal of vaccinating all in-person staff within the first few weeks, as Axios first reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Jul. 21, 2021 01:29PM EST
What more space flights would actually mean for emissions
Jeff Bezos says his suborbital space flight Tuesday reinforced his commitment to fighting climate change, but growth of this travel would also add a new source of carbon emissions.
By the numbers: S&P Global Sustainable1 offered some perspective on the amount of fuel burned and corresponding emissions from that type of commercial space launch.
The sustainability intelligence provider said it's roughly akin to...
- One car traveling 1.8 million miles.
- The average travel of 157 cars in the U.S. per year (based on Transportation Department data).
- "A full passenger roundtrip flight in commercial aircraft from London to New York."
Our thought bubble: Axios space reporter Miriam Kramer notes that the number of launches each year is increasing but still relatively low.
- In the future, however — if companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic have their way — launches could increase dramatically, she notes. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic envisions 400 flights per year.
- Reckoning with exactly how bad emissions from rocket launches are today could pay off in the future as more launches occur worldwide.
Reality check: Even a major increase in space flight would not create a big emissions source compared to CO2 output from power, industry and other forms of transport, including traditional commercial air travel.
- But it's another CO2-emitting sector at a time when steep cuts are needed to keep Paris Agreement goals within reach.
Of note: Bezos is a major funder of efforts to fight global warming, unveiling the $10 billion Bezos Earth Fund in early 2020 and in November announcing initial grants totaling $791 million across 16 organizations.
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Jul. 27, 2021 05:30PM EST
Israel launches maximum pressure campaign against Ben & Jerry's
The Israeli government has formed a special task force to pressure Ben & Jerry's ice cream and its parent company Unilever to reverse their decision to boycott Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Israeli officials tell me.
Why it matters: The Israeli government is concerned the move by Ben & Jerry's will encourage other international companies to take similar steps to differentiate between Israel and the West Bank settlements. A classified Foreign Ministry cable, seen by Axios, makes clear the government wants to send a message.
Driving the news: Last week, Ben & Jerry's announced that from Jan. 2023 they will no longer allow their Israeli franchisee to market their ice cream in the settlements, but will continue to sell it within Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
- That decision from the company, which has taken political positions on a range of issues, came after almost a decade of pressure from pro-Palestinian activists. In the past, the Israeli government managed to convince Ben & Jerry's not to take such steps.
- But after the recent fighting in Gaza, the pressure on the company increased. In the last two weeks it became clear that a decision to boycott the settlements was imminent.
- The Israeli government tried to press Unilever to stop Ben & Jerry's from making that decision, but Unilever said the company had the right to take such steps as part of its corporate responsibility and social justice policy.
Behind the scenes: On July 22, the Israeli Foreign Ministry sent a classified cable to all Israeli diplomatic missions in North America and Europe ordering them to start a pressure campaign against Ben & Jerry's and Unilever in order to convince them to negotiate.
- Israeli diplomats were instructed to encourage Jewish organizations, pro-Israel advocacy groups and Evangelical communities to organize demonstrations in front of Ben & Jerry's and Unilever offices and put pressure on investors and distributors for both companies.
- The Foreign Ministry also asked the diplomats to push for public statements condemning the companies and to “encourage public protests in the media and directly with key executives in both companies." The diplomats were also instructed to echo those protests on social media for maximum visibility.
- The Israeli embassy in Washington and the Israeli consulates around the U.S. were asked to push for the activation of anti-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) legislation in several states and to engage with governors, mayors, members of Congress and state officials like attorneys general.
What they're saying: “We need to make use of the 18 months that are left until the decision comes into force and try to change it. We want to create long-term pressure on Unilever and Ben & Jerry's by consumers, politicians and in the press and social media in order to lead to a dialogue with the companies," the cable said.
- It added that Ben & Jerry's and Unilever “caved and cooperated with the BDS movement" which it claimed was partially "motivated by antisemitism." The cable also said the companies' decision was "hypocritical, goes against the values of corporate responsibility and smells like extreme cancel culture."
Worth noting: The statement from Ben & Jerry's didn't mention BDS, but said it was "inconsistent with our values" to sell ice cream in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
What’s next: The Israeli Foreign Ministry instructed diplomats to immediately report any new information about efforts by BDS activists to press more companies to follow Ben & Jerry's.
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