Antitrust, Competition Law, Consumer Protection
Arts, Books, Entertainment, Music
Big Data, Cybersecurity, the Digital Economy, and Privacy
1. The EU’s AI Act could have a chilling effect on open source efforts, experts warn
2. The Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index provides the latest estimate of the total energy consumption of the Bitcoin network. And e-waste can be recycled, but in general, only about 20% of it is ever actually recycled, according to a U.N. report
3. The Pentagon and US Geological Survey have enlisted AI in their attempt to assess 50 minerals deemed critical for national security and the energy transition
4. Google closes $5.4B Mandiant acquisition and will integrate Calendar, Assistant reminders in Tasks to enhance app's functionality
5. Deepfake audio has a tell and researchers can spot it. That familiar voice on the other end of the line might not even be human
6. OpenAI open-sources Whisper, a multilingual speech recognition system
7. With eye on Big Tech, energy crisis, EU telcos call for shared network costs
8. Covert CIA websites could have been found by an “amateur.” A report raises serious doubts about the US intelligence agency’s handling of safety measures after flaws put sources at risk
9. “It is an incredible amount of money I’m up against.” Sen. Klobuchar says Big Tech money hasn’t stopped her antitrust push ... yet
10. Antitrust regulators expand their global reach. The European Union’s competition authority blocked a merger of Illumina and Grail, even though Illumina said Grail had no business in Europe [NY Times subscription]
11. Could the Federal Trade Commission lose its antitrust-enforcement authority? Recent developments cast a shadow over the future of antitrust enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a five-member federal agency led by Biden appointee Lina Khan
12. U.S. antitrust regulators take another big loss. Lina Khan’s ambitious FTC is facing ‘extremely difficult choices’. She said the agency needs more resources for antitrust enforcement but seems to have lost the goodwill and support she had last year when she was appointed
13. How to converge the US and European antitrust approaches toward big tech
14. The UK CMA’s guidance for business: cheating or competing? It’s your business to know the difference
15. And the OECD explains effective antitrust investigation in 8 minutes
16. Google loses challenge against EU antitrust decision that imposed a €4.125 bn penalty, other probes loom. And South Korea fines Google, Meta billions of won for privacy violations
17. And Meta says it’s not so big now as it prepares for its antirust trial
18. Adobe defends its $20 billion deal for Figma. Adobe-Figma deal likely to attract antitrust scrutiny
19. US House votes to pass merger antitrust bill
20. [PAPER] The political economy of the decline of antitrust enforcement in the United States
21. [PAPER] An access and transfer right to data—from a competition law perspective
Arts, Books, Entertainment, Music
22. Anger, stress, worry, and sadness reached record highs in 2021 according to the book, Blind Spot: The Global Rise of Unhappiness and How Leaders Missed It
23. World's largest corn maze celebrates 60th anniversary of James Bond
24. Emmys 2022: 12 Best, Worst, and Most WTF Moments. Rolling Stone’s picks for the highs, lows, and "huh?"s of television's biggest (and, as ever, boringest) night
25. Music on the brain: music does affect our mental processes
26. And if you watched the show, Space Force has revealed its official song: Semper Supra
27. Vinyl sales up 22% in first half of 2022 and here are the 150 Best Albums of the 1990s
28. Probably also because fans are quitting Spotify to save their love of music. Former streaming service subscribers have ditched mod cons for MP3s, CDs and other DIY music formats
29. Phil Collins and Genesis are the latest classic rock acts to cash in on their back catalogue, selling their song rights for over $300 million
30. How "Into the Spider-Verse" forced animation to evolve
31. [BOOK] The other Machiavelli…finding lessons for leaders in a lesser-known work by the Florentine political philosopher
32. [BOOK] What we Owe the Future by William Macaskill. Staggering numbers of people will lead lives of flourishing or misery or never live at all, depending on what we do today
33. [BOOK] In his book, Bono writes the story of his life and those he has shared it with. The video shows him reading an extract from the chapter titled 'Out of Control', talking about starting to write U2's first single on 10th May 1978 – his 18th birthday
Big Data, Cybersecurity, the Digital Economy, and Privacy
34. Ireland fines Instagram a record $400 mln over children's data
35. You’re being tracked through your email. It’s time to turn off those secret email read receipts
36. The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) confirms new rules to protect telecom networks against cyber attacks
37. The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) publishes guidance on privacy enhancing technologies
38. Payment apps like Venmo and Cash App bring convenience – and security concerns – to some users
39. Taking cost-benefit analysis seriously in consumer-data regulation
40. Payments giants like VISA to apply new code identifying sales at U.S. gun stores and say hello to crazy thin ‘deep insert’ ATM skimmers
41. A whistle-blower said Pentagon purchased mass surveillance tool collecting Americans’ web browsing data
42. Facebook users sue Meta for bypassing beefy Apple security to spy on millions
43. This controversial artist matches influencer photos with surveillance footage. ‘The Followers’ exhibit uses artificial intelligence and facial-recognition technology to comment on the surveillance state
44. Research from McKinsey suggests that consumer faith in a company’s cybersecurity, data protections, and responsible use of AI can make or break business growth.
45. The most searched consumer brands in 2022 by country
46. Netflix hunts for cost cuts, from cloud computing to corporate swag. The streaming giant seeks to impose more financial discipline as growth stagnates and even as Gulf Arab nations ask Netflix to remove ‘offensive’ videos
47. Patagonia founder gives away the $3 billion company: “Earth is now our only shareholder. Instead of "going public," you could say we're "going purpose," founder Yvon Chouinard said
48. Boeing to pay $200 mn to settle SEC probe over 737 Max
49. And while on planes, Qatar Airways is the World’s Best Airline at the 2022 World Airline Awards, with Singapore Airlines ranked 2nd and Emirates in 3rd place
50. Newly-unredacted document alleges dozens of incidents of sexual assault and harassment at Goldman Sachs
51. Ford can't get enough blue oval badges as supply chain shortages pile up
52. ICIJ’s data team explains what it took to extract bombshell findings from a leak of personal emails, text messages, calendar items and more from Uber, the rising tech giant
53. The Chartered Management Institute recently published its 75th anniversary research report, The Everyone Economy. It found that the UK has systemic challenges around workplace inclusion, with specific challenges for minoritised groups who feel overlooked and face discrimination
54. The economist who knows the miracle is over. An era of remarkable prosperity has ended
55. When it comes to the history of economics, don’t think like an economist
56. Is big business ungovernable?
57. Driven by consumers, US inflation grows more persistent
58. And Ex-BoE boss Carney says UK tax cuts are under-cutting BoE inflation fight. Even the IMF has sounded a warning: “we do not recommend large and untargeted fiscal packages at this juncture, as it is important that fiscal policy does not work at cross purposes to monetary policy. Furthermore, the nature of the UK measures will likely increase inequality.”
59. The LSE asks if this is the shortest economic suicide note in history and explains how the UK’s mini-budget fails to help long-run growth
60. After a week, Truss breaks silence on markets slump, defends her tax cuts. She also holds emergency talks with the Office of Budget Review after failing to calm markets
61. Biden’s new executive order triggers new front in U.S.-China economic competition
62. Auto suppliers feel the green squeeze as carmakers get clean
63. How much did supply constraints boost US inflation?
64. These books, recently reviewed by the IMF, tell you all you need to know about global economics right now
65. Can the economy grow for ever? With recent crises and rising inequality, is infinite growth possible on a finite planet? And one social entrepreneur explains what a post-growth economy looks like
66. Global trade is recovering
67. What does colonialism have to do with climate change?
68. What start-ups think about ESG and why it matters
69. Over 120 companies have co-designed the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, a set of data points that allows companies to consistently report non-financial disclosures. 121 companies are now reporting against the Metrics, 48 of which have reported for two years in a row
70. China watchers are on the rise in India. Besides civil servants and academics, there are now open-source enthusiasts, finding clues for China-related developments in satellite imagery and social media
71. Indonesia is looking for more than security support from the United States
72. More competition in green products markets can help save the planet
73. The chicken-and-egg problem of electric cars
74. Value chain resilience means adaptation and transformation, and the need to balance efficiency and resilience
75. Here's how the food and energy crises are connected. Digital technology can accelerate food sustainability
76. The world is at a point of significant economic danger, say experts. Are we headed towards a recession?
77. New York has declared a state of emergency over Polio
78. If you can pass any of these 4 tests, science says you're likely to live significantly longer and with less stress
79. Research shows acts of kindness, no matter how small, have a positive impact on the recipient. Even checking in with people matters more than we realise
80. Boredom is a warning sign. It’s our brain’s way of alerting us that things aren’t going well and to do something more meaningful
81. Drink 2 to 3 cups of coffee a day for longer life, better heart health
82. What were they thinking? Thumbs down to ‘middle finger’ health campaign for Hepatitis C awareness in New Zealand. Ads that feature smiling actors raising their middle fingers are deemed too offensive to be aired
83. Your career is only 1/8th of your life
84. 3 strategies to win the war for talent
85. Being digital is no longer enough…in an era of perpetual disruption, truly transformative companies differentiate themselves by heeding seven imperatives for going “beyond digital”
86. “Quiet quitting” – the new trend in the workplace. What it means for your organisation, and what you can do about it
87. Is quiet quitting real? It is and at least half of the U.S. workforce is quiet quitting. The workplace got worse for younger workers amid the pandemic. Managers are essential to combatting quiet quitting[1]
88. The economics behind 'quiet quitting' and what we should call it instead
89. On the other hand, a quarter of Americans who quit during the 'Great Resignation' regret their decision
90. Forget ‘quiet quitting.’ Workplaces should focus on ‘quiet firing,’ which means an employer purposefully treats a worker badly to try to get them to quit. Employers can choose to do this if they don’t know how to manage a poor performer and want to save on severance
91. Italians divided as soaring energy bills spark pasta debate
92. Adding one sentence to every email can free up hours, says Wharton psychologist Adam Grant
93. Generation Z will pay $226,000 in rent in their lifetime because of inflation, which is at a 40-year high now
94. Humans are hard-wired to hate networking
95. University of Cambridge releases report saying it received "significant financial benefits" from slave trade; Cambridge to increase scholarships for Black students among other initiatives. And Harvard releases its own report on the legacy of slavery, promising to allocate $100mn to redress matters
96. The first "Global Faith and Media Index," a partnership between The Radiant Foundation and HarrisX, is out. A survey of 9,395 people in 18 countries found that 63% said high-quality content on faith and religion is needed in their countries, 53% believe media coverage actively ignores religion as an aspect of society and culture, and 61% said media coverage often perpetuates faith-based stereotypes rather than addresses and protects against them
97. And a massive LinkedIn study reveals who actually helps you get that job. Acquaintances, more than close friends, show the strength of “weak ties” when it comes to employment
98. How Americans spend their money, by generation
99. How to really know another person
100. And 3 ways to respond to failure: get a bigger nail
101. Only 12% of Brits have trust in Truss
102. No one performed Britishness better than Her Majesty. She understood intuitively what an extraordinary force cultural power could be
103. Ken Starr, whose probe led to Clinton impeachment, dies
104. Einstein's theory of general relativity just passed its most rigorous test yet
105. EU wants tough rules on 'internet of things' products. The text also proposes an obligation for transparency on possible flaws or incidents and a certification that basic requirements of cyber-safety have been met
106. WhatsApp bans 2.4 million Indian accounts in July 2022
107. Twitter whistleblower says China, India had agents working for it and here’s why every business executive should pay attention to Twitter’s whistle-blower case. Basically, Twitter simply has too much user data and does a pretty bad job at managing it. In the meantime, Twitter will roll out long-awaited edit button to paid subscribers
108. Republicans and Democrats agree social media needs regulation. But they're no closer to doing anything about it
109. Have you ever wondered why YouTube keeps recommending the same clickbait content even after you click “dislike” or “do not recommend”? Read this report
110. Concurrent with Facebook’s meteoric rise has been growing concern over the mental well-being of adolescents and young adults. But there have been few causal studies about this topic, until now
111. Facebook whistle-blower launches non-profit to solve social media harms
112. Meta, Google to cut costs and staff. The companies are bracing for an economic downturn
113. Is social media making us sick?
114. Tech firms promise to address hate and extremism, again
[1] If you look carefully, you can see variations of Quiet Quitting: (i) office work has changed dramatically, (ii) I'm increasingly aware that the ways I used to engage with work, while once satisfying, no longer suit me and (iii) I'm experimenting with how these changed entities (work and me) exist in relation to each other, and what can I do improve myself to navigate this sense of misalignment. And it's not just people. Organisations are analysing how: (i) the economic and political climate has shifted and uncertainty looms. (ii) they made it through the pandemic –clever or lucky or both? (iii) They need to pivot again? Or just double down? Or make dramatic, strategic changes? Or just update goals…or maybe all of these?
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