!!!!! just unsealed, and higher than prior news reports. /1 we learned last Fall in a different G lawsuit (NdCal) during widely reported testimony the number 36% as the share Google paid Apple to be locked in as default search across Apple's surfaces.
But now this was just unsealed from the two key contracts (here is 2014 which even then was 37.5%) /2

Whoa. Facebook had a secret "Project Ghostbusters" (get it?) which allegedly was to decrypt "man-in-the-middle" style Snapchat traffic to copy it. Yellow highlight indicates redactions just lifted in nine unsealed plaintiffs briefs in private antitrust lawsuit. Wild stuff. /1 A lot of new stuff. There was lots of reporting (including Apple threats to boot Facebook) at the time on Facebook's software and Onavo acquisition allowing it to "spy" on competitive apps but I recall the decryption was written as a hypothetical. CEO email kickstarting it. /2

TikTok? Y’all are crazy. Yes, it’s a huge problem but hypocrisy. Last year after Facebook worked years to keep it sealed, a court unsealed its secret app audit. It showed 86,961 developers in China had access to all of our personal data…yet crickets. /1 storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… This is the same app audit Zuckerberg promised Congress after concerns American’s personal data had been readily mined in Russia. Throw in Iran, North Korea, you name it. Press didn’t dig in. A good source told me DOJ and Congress hadn’t ever even seen this forensic audit. /2

ok, I've now read the NYT response this week to attempts by OpenAI to dismiss NYT's landmark lawsuit against the high-flying AI company.
Put simply, NYT makes it brutally clear on page one how you can tell the difference between the two companies.
Oomph. /1 A few other observations from me. Like NYT's original complaint, it's smart and future-focused on fair value. Where OpenAI made frankly bizarre claims NYT was hacking the platform as it detected OpenAI had its content, NYT is right. OpenAI isn't and can't dispute it copied it. /2

That's rich.
Microsoft's motion to dismiss NYT landmark lawsuit against MSFT/OpenAI. The most valuable company on the planet at 3 trillion claims the right to mine (aka 'harness') every work of journalism as part of its 'collaboration.' Comparing it to copying video tapes. 1/6 To be fair, MSFT, and its leadership, were testifying from Australia to US Congress on importance of a free and plural press and antitrust enforcement to support it just a few yrs ago. They genuinely seemed to care now Team Nadella has prioritized its OpenAI 'collaboration.' 2/6

If you’re looking for positive courtroom news, Meta’s “nuclear” structural constitutional lawsuit v FTC in response to the FTC’s show cause to ban it from surveillance capitalism with minors went very very poorly just now. /1 Meta attempted to argue bias based on a few words in the show cause, not the statute itself, which the court called the “weakest argument” that there would be irreparable injury. A lot of back and forth but no ground given. /2

Oh dear, watch this. As near every state AG, school district and lawmaker is scorching Facebook, Instagram for child harms, their heavily funded fronts NetChoice, CCIA, Chamber of Progress run their interference while hiding behind Apple, Amazon, and Google on this issue. /1 This was in Vermont Senate yesterday. This is hysterical. After being pressed on their Meta funding, “let me check our website” oh look there. surprise. /2

Zuckerberg+Sandberg+Mosseri+Bosworth have made billions. “Men in these groups frequently praise the advent of Instagram as a golden age for child exploitation…’And there’s an infinite supply of it — literally just refresh your Instagram Explore page there’s fresh preteens.’” /1 Advertisers spent $134B last year supporting the company despite nearly every bipartisan state attorneys general, the federal trade commission and literally hundreds of school districts suing them on multiple fronts. Margins are built on a model where they can ignore harms. /2

Mark Zuckerberg, on behalf of his products, primarily Instagram and Facebook, faces the full Senate Judiciary Cmte now along with four other CEOs (three under subpoena) for harming children. This is how it has begun, “Mr Zuckerberg…you have blood on your hands. /1 After Republican and Democratic leadership show alignment on dealing with Zuckerberg backed up by the bipartisan state attorneys general lawsuits across the nation, the Chair again reiterates that Twitter’s CEO along with two others had to come under subpoena. Now under oath. /2

woah, most redactions just now removed in the New Mexico attorney general’s complaint vs instagram and facebook. it is even more shocking, infuriating and stomach turning to see what has now been lifted (in yellow).

“a 2021 presentation estimated 100,000 children per day...” /1 I'm threading what stands out to me in the parts now unsealed (yellow).
note: 99.99...% of Instagram and Facebook user parents aren’t Apple executives and don’t have this level of access to actually get Instagram to do what is right. /2

Subpoenas are flying in pension funds suit vs Facebook in Delaware resulting from inspection of its books and board comms (Thiel, Zuckerberg, Andreessen, Sandberg, et al) on why they allegedly overpaid the FTC at $5B to make it go away. Should be interesting how it plays out. /1 Facebook's law firm, Gibson Dunn, also received a subpoena which is interesting in light of the FTC reopening the $5B settlement, the appeal of a related dismissal being heard this spring in DC, and the $750MM+ settlement in NdCal for the MDL on the same case. /2

Woah. This is a huge deal, demands tech press attention. If Facebook moves forward, the FTC should be ready with (another) inquiry. This report says Facebook is going to start tracking web activity for users who have turned off “Off-Facebook Activity.” First, some background. /1 We learned in the UK from its competition investigation (UK CMA) that a majority of Facebook’s data uniquely comes from third parties (Google is the only other major platform like this - see ‘surveillance advertising’). /2

ok, I've now read the full NYT complaint filed this morning vs OpenAI and Microsoft. I'm impressed - it's future-focused around fair value for work vital to democracy. It also contains 220k pages of exhibits although the pages of Ex J stood out to me. more on that in a minute. /1 The complaint is a must-read imho, it's the only way to understand the alleged violations and the extent as to which the systems have been designed and tuned in order to generate certain output. It's filed in SDNY and it may well be a landmark case. /2

The sound of my jaw dropping in horror at this incredible Wall Street Journal report on Instagram. Read it top to bottom. A few things that caused me to stop and read twice, three times. /1 For those who saw my thread of the lawsuit against Facebook which they filed unsealed close to midnight on Thanksgiving evening, you will likely recognize the spin in this quote. I’ll link that thread at the end for those who missed it. /2

Called it! - classic Facebook move on Thxgiving eve. Unsealed nearly every redaction 233 pages in 40+ state AGs lawsuit alleging FB knowingly harmed children's mental health with addiction for profit. Email me, I'll send to you. Yellow = newly unsealed. 20 tweet summary here. /1 Important. Unsealed deep in the lawsuit we learn Facebook knew about upcoming whistleblower (Frances Haugen) weeks in advance of WSJ's report (mid-Sept 2021). And they knew it was particularly problematic as it was based on their own research. Here we go. /2

Woah. Watched this panel - to discuss state AGs child harm lawsuits filed vs Facebook - hosted by/with three big tech / Facebook-funded orgs (ITIF, Chamber of Progress, NetChoice). They invited a Gen-Z activist who absolutely owned them (watch in full). My eight highlights. /1 She then points out that the main obstacle to her advocacy efforts on behalf of youth is Facebook’s $14,600,000 spent on lobbying against them which of course the other panelists benefit yet try to duck and suggest their principles are behind them not Facebook’s cash. /2

Posting a few exchanges that stood out to me at the Facebook/Instagram whistleblower hearing this morning before a packed bipartisan Senate sbcmte. Establishing knowledge by Sandberg and Zuckerberg will be key to lawsuit filed by state attorneys general. /1 This exchange blew me away and I consider must-watch until the end. The emotion was raw to me knowing the effects of the platform that have gone unaddressed. /2

As I was walking in, I overheard Senate Blumenthal tell a large press group in hallway we will “hear BOMBSHELL testimony about the witness sounding the alarm directly to Mark Zuckerberg.”

https://twitter.com/jason_kint/status/1721894277792616627

As I was walking in, I overheard Senate Blumenthal tell a large press group in hallway we will “hear BOMBSHELL testimony about the witness sounding the alarm directly to Mark Zuckerberg.” A ton of young adults in the gallery by the way.

USA v Google. Incoming - Justice Dept just posted 14 more exhibits. This includes the "CY" (aka "Code Yellow") to scramble the jets across leadership to hit OKRs (aka Objectives and Key Results). tl;dr... G was very behind and concerned in Q1 2019. /1 This is the full thread when the actual "Code Yellow" was called at Google to squeeze more milk from the search cow. /2

USA v Google. Incoming - Justice Dept just posted 15 more exhibits - and more damning, very clear why they wanted to keep sealed.
Google exec seems to admit in this internal deck its core business is "tracking" users ...aka "surveillance." It is "the source of Google's magic." /1 To that point, brace. We finally have Apple's strategy deck from Eddy Cue's testimony. Here are a few highlights as Apple was planning to embrace consumer privacy putting limits on tracking (disclosure - we were engaged with apple at w3c as it thoughtfully worked on this). /2

USA v Google. Justice Dept posted 22 rich exhibits overnight. I see little coverage. If your interests include tech, media or public policy, I strongly recommend you take a look. Super helpful context seeing full docs, some newly redacted.
Some highlights from me not to miss. /1 These are the key paragraphs of (threat) letter revealed yesterday from Google to Microsoft when it found out MSFT would make its search engine the default in its new browser. Google's statements on power of defaults vs user choice undermine much of its defense to date. /2