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Microsoft isn’t happy with Apple’s App Store bullying either – The Verge

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Microsoft believes it’s time for antitrust regulators to fully investigate Apple’s App Store. Speaking during a Politico interview this week, Microsoft’s chief legal officer Brad Smith outlined Apple’s walled garden approach to its App Store, and how it’s affecting competition.

“If you look at the industry today, I think what you’ll find is increasingly you’re seeing app stores that have created higher walls and far more formidable gates to access other applications than anything that existed in the industry 20 years ago,” says Smith. “They impose requirements that increasingly say there’s only one way to get onto our platform, and that is to go through the gate that we ourselves have created. In some cases they create a very high price for a toll, in some cases 30 percent of all your revenue has to go to the toll keeper if you will.”

While Smith doesn’t name Apple, Bloomberg confirmed with Microsoft that he’s referring to the App Store specifically.

This week may go down in history as a turning point for Apple’s App Store. The iPhone maker has been caught up in an ongoing debate over its controversial decision to reject the new Hey email app. Apple initially approved the app, but later decided it broke App Store rules. Apple has been accused of acting like a monopolist and a bully by the chairman of the House antitrust subcommittee.

Apple’s decision has put a spotlight on Apple’s confusing App Store policies, just as the European Commission announced a formal antitrust investigation into the App Store and Apple Pay. It also comes just days before Apple’s annual WWDC developer conference, putting the company in an awkward position to host an event to entice developers to create apps for its platforms.

“I do believe the time has come, whether we are talking about Washington DC or Brussels, for a much more focused conversation about the nature of app stores, the rules that are being put in place, the prices and tools that are being extracted, and whether there is really a justification in antitrust law for everything that has been created,” says Smith.

Microsoft obviously has some experience and history with antitrust cases, after it was found guilty of monopoly abuses related to its bundling of Internet Explorer in Windows nearly 20 years ago. Microsoft was ultimately forced to open up Windows more to third-party developers, and it faced closer scrutiny on its practices for years. The European Commission went even further, ordering Microsoft to create a separate version of Windows without its bundled Windows Media Player and create a browser ballot for consumers to pick their web browser of choice.

Bill Gates At Antitrust Press Conference

The EU’s investigation into Apple’s App Store is still at an early stage, so it’s not clear what type of measures will be taken, but Microsoft is certainly sitting on the sidelines and encouraging action. Microsoft has faced its own issues with Apple’s App Store. The software maker attempted to launch its SkyDrive (now named OneDrive) app for iPhones back in 2012, but got locked in a battle over a 30 percent cut of revenue from purchases of cloud storage within the app. It was a minor scuffle that was a testing point for Microsoft’s launch of Office on iOS.

More recently, Microsoft has been battling to launch its xCloud game streaming service on iOS. The company has launched a preview version, but “to comply with App Store policies,” the app only includes a single game and is limited compared to the Android version. Microsoft hasn’t revealed exactly why xCloud is limited by App Store policies. Apple previously revised its App Store policies during WWDC 2018 to allow mobile apps like Valve’s Steam Link game streaming service, but both xCloud and Google’s Stadia have been unable to launch fully in the App Store.

While Microsoft has clashed with Apple over its App Store policies, it’s also benefited through various promotions for its apps in the App Store. Microsoft also appeared on stage at WWDC last year to promote Minecraft Earth, and the company has previously shown up at Apple events to tout Office improvements for iPhones and iPads.

Microsoft would benefit from a more open Apple App Store, both in terms of revenue and in how the company can design and launch apps. Microsoft has increasingly been embracing Android as the mobile equivalent of Windows, because of the many restrictions with iOS and Apple’s App Store policies. This Android investment has led Microsoft to partner more closely with Google and Samsung, and launch apps like Your Phone for Windows 10 that is barely functional when paired with an iPhone.

Apple is now doubling down on defending its App Store policies, but there’s a growing number of companies that are calling for change. Spotify led the pack with an antitrust complaint last year, and now Epic Games, Rakuten, Match Group, Microsoft, and others are making their feelings known. These calls will likely grow louder as the EU continues its investigations, but if there’s anything we know about Apple’s battles with European regulators it’s that it’s not afraid to fight back.

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Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

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LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

X

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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